RWBY: Remnants of Another World (DISCONTINUED)
by The Library of Strange Stories
Summary: This series may be over, though you can still read the rewritten version of this story under its new name. "RWBY: New World Hope" I hope to see you all there for this new redux of a familiar story with a familiar character.
1. The Beginning

**Hello readers! Welcome to the first installment of the self-insert fic, RWBY: Remnant's of another world.**

 **Now I know how most people tend to write Self-Insertion fan-fics, and how people tend to react to them, I do NOT intend to go down the road of "Hey, I'm in RWBY, now all of a sudden I turned from a nerdy loser to this Flawless Edge God now!" No, I do NOT intend to do that.**

 **I intend to flesh out my character and make him seem to grow like and an ACTUAL person.**

 **That being said, I'm in a world that's basically filled with monsters, criminals, criminal monsters, etc.**

 **So if the events seem unrealistic, then there's probably a good reason to that.**

 **I do also do NOT intend to make the story all about me, teams RWBY, JNPR, and the other major character's will still play their roles in this series that I decided to make.**

 **I will be changing the story somewhat to make it seem fresh, while also adding some elements myself. Now before you go hit the review button and say "The story is just fine as it is, why do you wanna change it!?" Well, one, I never said there was anything wrong with the story, and two, if you were in this situation would you just LET Yang get her arm cut off and let Pyrrha and Penny die?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, that's what I thought.**

 **Now I won't be posting everything about myself in this fanfic, for privacy reasons, the most I'll say is my name. Now if you already haven't clicked off of the story already, then you probably just want to read it, well I won't keep you waiting, let's get started!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Talking: "Beginning"

Thinking: _'Beginning'_

Flashback: _"Beginning"_

(My POV)

Well, we did it, we actually did it, we had one job, one freaking job, care for the planet, treat it as if it were your own family, and for the love of god, don't start a nuclear war!

Well, as you can see, we didn't really listen. The human race, at the point of extinction because a few people were stupid enough to think that starting a nuclear war with over 15,000 Nuclear bomb's at their disposal was a good idea.

"Well, considering the people in power as of now, I'm kinda surprised that this took so long to happen really." I said to myself with a slight chuckle.

.

.

What? Give me a break, I just died! I think that gives me the right to poke fun at the world I live in!

Well...used to live in that is.

I mean, you think after two world wars, TWO, we would finally learn our lesson. Guess not. People said that mankind was it's own worst enemy, though I didn't think that we would be the cause of our own extinction. Then again, I doubt anyone else did either.

"You'd think after Afghanistan became a nuclear wasteland, they would have called of the shots." I said.

Nope, fuck that I guess. Let's drag everyone down with us!

Bunch of assholes.

Right, I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Brandon, Brandon Kim. I'm dead, and probably most of the people living in the West Coast are either dead, about to be dead, or survived.

Then again, survival in our world means that you have to live in a secluded and cramped shelter, and while that may sound okay to some people, I would be wighing my options at that point. I also didn't die in the most painless way, nope, I got blown up by a nuclear bomb, yeah not exactly the most painless way to kick the bucket.

Then again, it's better than dying slowly from the cancer radiation can give you, so I guess it wasn't ALL bad.

Right now, I'm in an empty void, I don't know what's gonna happen to me, don't know whether or not there's some god up there, deciding if I'm going to heaven or hell, or if this is it, trapped in nothingness forever.

Well, hell doesn't really sound all that appealing to me so if this is it, then I'm fine with that.

"Though it would be nice to have SOME company at least, I'd imagine it would get quite lonely in here." I said, putting emphasis on some.

Well, I still have the clothing that I wore before I died for some reason. Then again, I guess that's better than a white robe or chains, DEFINITELY better than chains, I wore a black zip-up hood, though the inside of the jacket, as well as the hood were grey. I wore the jacket with a white t-shirt underneath it, dark blue jeans and a pair of black shoes with white laces. I have sort of a silver lining between black and brown when it came to my messy hair, I have brown eyes and pale skin.

In terms of looks, while I'm not drop dead gorgeous, though I'm not exactly what you would call ugly, at least that's what I think. I'm about 16, and I'm 5'8 Feet tall and weigh about 126 lbs. I guess there's really no point to it now because I'm dead, don't really think that look's matter too much in the afterlife.

I started to think to myself as I floated around in nothingness, thinking about the events that have just transpired.

It seems that this is the only thing I CAN do right now, think, think about my life, about my hopes about my dreams, everything I did, and everything I wanted to do. I started to recall the events that happened not that long ago.

* * *

(Four Hours Ago)

 _It was all so sudden, everything seemed just fine, everyone was going about their normal day, kids playing in the park, adults talking about whatever was on their mind and how they can't wait till their next paycheck, teenagers were either playing sports, hanging out, talking what they were going to do over the weekend, like going to parties, or starting parties, going out and getting drunk, or doing whatever teenagers do these days, everything just seemed fine at first._

 _That's where I come in, I was with my friend Matt as we just got done talking about whatever could really come to mind._

 _"Man, I can't believe I lost another one." He said, trying to get over his most recent break up._

 _"Meh, I wouldn't really let it get to your head. Relationships are nothing but a trap really. You get into one and you can never get out without looking like an asshole." I said._

 _"It's not all that bad man. It's nice to have a connection like that. Makes you feel as if you have someone to go through life with." Matt defended._

 _"Yeah well if we go by that logic then you've gone through at least twenty five lives, not counting the others you're bound to pick up." I said._

 _"Damn, that's cold man." He said._

 _"Oh well. You still stick around don't ya?" I asked._

 _"Yeah, I can always talk to you about this sorta stuff. Even if your method of talking is rather...blunt." Matt said._

 _"Whatever, nothing wrong with being honest. No point in sugar coating it." I said._

 _"How about you? You got your sights set on anyone?" He asked._

 _"As if. I don't need someone to help me feel like I'm wanted. I'm a one man guy. I don't need anyone like that." I said._

 _"Man, I don't really understand that. I mean, why go through life when you can't share a little bit of it with the people around you?" Matt asked._

 _"Why would I want to share MY life? It is mine after all. No one else's. If they want it? Well that's to bad for them." I said._

 _"You know you sound like a selfish asshole right now." He said._

 _"What else is new?" I asked. "So when's the new one coming in?" I asked.  
_

 _"Jeez you make this sound like a business." Matt said._

 _"At this point it is. I can never take this sorta stuff seriously anymore." I said._

 _"Jeez, no wonder you can't get a date." He said._

 _"I can't get one because I don't look for one, dumb ass." I said._

 _"That and your height. Girls tend to like boys who are taller than them." Matt said._

 _"Well no one asked them! They're missing out anyways!" I yelled._

 _"Heh heh, sure. Though I'm just messing with ya man. I'm sure you could make a girl happy one day." He said._

 _"Damn straight." I said._

 _"Still, really thought I had something going there." Matt said._

 _"You know the saying, "There are plenty of fish in the sea", you can't just keep reeling in every fish that decides it wants to take a little bite," I said_

 _"You see, some click with you, while others don't, and focusing on one single fish might just scare it off, and then you ruin your chances with it."_

 _"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, you wanna go out of town, I heard there's this really good movie playing in the drive-in theater. I was going to go with Sasha, but you know how that turned out." He said in a slightly saddened tone._

 _"Can't go out of town, remember?" I said as I pointed to the patrol at the front of our town. Ever since this whole war started a year ago, no one was able to go anywhere; the government decided that it would be for the best if we stayed in our towns, where the shelters were._

 _Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything they're doing for us, but I hate the feeling of being cramped into a single area, wasn't exactly good on anyone who had jobs outside of towns._

 _They had to quit their jobs to go help with the patrol, which meant either patrolling the border, helping with supply runs, or just serving the people who couldn't get homes due to the lack of space for the houses._

 _Most of the planet's countries were not able to support life due to the bombs, so a lot of people had to be sent to the other bigger countries to support their population. America wasn't doing so hot either, most of the East Coast was pretty much a radioactive wasteland and couldn't support the lives of the people living there._

 _It didn't really help that our town had most of the best weapons that our country had to offer._

 _So we were a PRETTY big target for the other countries._

 _"Oh, right." Matt said with a slightly disappointed tone in his voice._

 _"I really hope this damn war ends sometime soon, I can't stand being cramped in this town for any longer." Matt stated as he stretched his arms._

 _"Preach on that one brother, I know exactly how ya feel." I said back to him laying back on the bench we were sitting on._

 _"So, what do you wanna do then?" Matt asked me. I was about to respond until Matt's ringtone interrupted me. He picked up the phone and walked away from the bench to a more private spot. He was on the phone for a good 3 minutes before he hung up and started to walk back to the bench._

 _"Sorry man, Mom wants me home to help her cook dinner for the family, you know how it is right?" Matt said to me as he began to gather his things. I nodded my head understanding that he had to go home and cook for his 5 other siblings._

 _"Well, see you around man." I said as I waved goodbye to him. He waved back as he got into his car and drove off. I decided that it would be best to head home myself. I didn't have a car and buses were always crowded, so I decided to walk home._

 _Seems like everyone's doing something these days._

 _Not really a lot I can do to help around, I've got my own problems to take care of anyway._

 _Though still, sometimes I just hate that feeling of being useless while others are doing there best to help out._

 _Though every time any of the guys in my friend circle even tries to offer there help, there always shrugged off and were told to go enjoy there childhoods._

 _Yeah, a childhood with the looming threat of death and destruction over our heads, yeah, real childhood we're having._

 _Now I'm sure most of you are wondering why this specific town would be targeted if the other countries could go for the bigger cities. Well, it just so happens that we have most of out best scientists, soldiers, and medics working here._

 _Now why would the government make a decision like this?_

 _Well, not a lot of people expect there to be anyone important in a little town like this one._

 _So they decided to cramp every important soldier, medic, scientist, etc in one area._

 _So you can probably tell that it's really cramped._

 _Though even though that they're hard to find, they're not impossible to locate._

 _It's only a matter of time until the jig is up and some random country decides to bomb the place._

 _Though that won't happen for a while._

 _._

 _._

 _Right?_

 _I was just about half way home until I heard the sirens start to go off._ _Through the speakers, I heard the someone telling us to get to the shelter immediately._

 _"Incoming warheads, repeat, incoming warheads, please make your way to the shelter immediately."_

 _._

 _._

 _"Well shit." I said to myself._

 _I started to run as fast as I could to my house to see if my family was already getting ready to get to the shelter until I heard something in the sky, like some sort of cannon fire. I looked up to what can be only described as Armageddon._

 _"Okay, okay, let's see if we can't find a shelter before my ass gets blown all the way to kingdom come!" I said as I ran into town._

 _"Come on, come on." I said as I desperately looked for some form of shelter._

 _The town had already evacuated it seemed, well, I guess that's good, but they KINDA forgot someone!_

 _"Come on! Where the hell is a damn shelter?!" I yelled._

 _"Excuse me?" I heard a female voice ask._

 _I turned around to see that a young girl, probably no older than nine standing right behind me._

 _The hell? Is she lost or something?_

 _"The he-heck you doing out here kid?" I asked, catching my swear._

 _"I-I'm looking for parents. Do you know where my parents is?" She asked._

 _So she is lost, damn, bad time to get lost kid._

 _"No, I don't know. But more than likely she's in the shelter, I'll take you there, though you'll have to ride on my shoulders, we can't afford to loose any more time than we already have." I said._

 _"What do you mean? What's happening?" She asked._

 _She doesn't know? How the hell doesn't she know?_

 _...No, I guess it makes sense. A child her age wound't really understand the concept of war._

 _"Something really bad is about to happen, and we need to make sure that we don't get in the way of that bad thing." I tried explaining as simply as I can._

 _"W-what?" She asked._

 _"Look, just come with me. I'll take you to where your mom is, alright?" I said._

 _"Really?! Thank you so much mister!" The girl said as she ran up to hug my leg._

 _"Alright, up and at em, we need to keep moving." I said as I picked her up and put her on my shoulders._

 _"Wee! It's so high up!" The girl said._

 _Heh, guess it's a good thing that she's able to keep her free spirits and all that._

 _"Let's get moving." I said as I started to run._

 _"Whoa! So fast!" She said._

 _We ran down various streets, following the cars that were more than likely heading for the shelter._

 _"What's your name kid?" I asked._

 _"Alice." She said._

 _"Nice name, the names Brandon." I said._

 _"Nice to meet you Brandon! Hey, where are your parents?" The newly named Alice asked._

 _"Well, I HOPE that my mom and grand mother are at the shelter already." I said._

 _"What about your daddy?" She asked._

 _My face soured at the word._

 _"I don't like talking about him." I said._

 _"Why not?" Alice asked._

 _"Look, it's not exactly something I like talking about, so drop it." I said._

 _"...You don't have a daddy, do you?" She asked._

 _"Nosey one, aren't ya?" I asked._

 _"That's okay, neither do I." Alice said._

 _"Huh?" I asked._

 _"My daddy left when I was really young, mommy doesn't like to talk about it. But I would like to meet him some day!" She said._

 _"Why? He left you, he obviously doesn't care about you." I said._

 _._

 _._

 _Shit! That sounded REALLY insensitive._

 _"I don't believe that. Maybe he just had to go to keep mom and me safe." Alice said._

 _"Hate to be that guy but it's Mom and I." I said._

 _"Oh! Sorry." She said._

 _"Don't sweat it...I never had any desire to see that old bas- jerk. He left me, so I don't care where he is or what he does." I said._

 _"...Do you really believe that?" Alice asked._

 _"So what if I do?" I asked._

 _"What if he was just trying to keep you safe?" She asked._

 _"Well, he's sure got a weird way of going about it." I said._

 _"We all do weird things. I do, mommy does, we all do. But that doesn't make us bad, right." Alice asked._

 _...Is this kid REALLY nine?_

 _"How old are you kid?" I asked._

 _"Um..." She began, counting her fingers._

 _"Eight." Alice said._

 _E-eight? Like hell you are!_

 _"R-right." I said._

 _"What if you met your daddy? What would you say to him?" She asked._

 _"I wouldn't say sh- crap to him. I would punching in the face." I said._

 _"Now that's not very nice!" Alice said._

 _"Well, he wasn't exactly very 'nice' when he left me." I said._

 _"What if he tried explaining to you why he did what he did?" She asked._

 _._

 _._

 _Good question, what if he did?_

 _"I-I don't know." I said._

 _"Well, maybe you should give him a chance! I'm sure he's a nice man! I mean, your nice enough to take me to my mommy!" Alice said._

 _"Heh, you're a good kid. Don't loose that mentality, kay?" I said._

 _"I don't understand." She said._

 _"Don't worry about it, we're here." I said as I saw the pod leading down to the shelter ahead._

 _"Okay, now all we have to do is-!" I began, only to read the words on the screen door._

 _"Capacity: 587,923, limit, 587,924." It read._

 _Are. You. Kidding me?!_

 _"What's wrong Mister? Are you okay?" Alice asked._

 _"W-what? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I said._

 _Oh who am I kidding, of course I'm not! There's only room for one more person, and there's two of us!_

 _"Where's mommy? Isn't she supposed to be here?" She asked.  
_

 _I stood there in silence for a moment before sighing heavily._

 _"You're a good kid. Stay that way for me, kay?" I said._

 _"What?" She asked._

 _Though before she could question me any further, I shoved her into the pod and closed the doors._

 _Well, no turning back now._

 _"M-Mister?!" She asked._

 _I didn't respond, I just desperately attempted to figure out how this pod worked._

 _"W-what are you doing?! Why did you close the doors?! You need to get in!" Alice yelled._

 _"Sorry kid, only one of us will be making it down." I said._

 _Okay, I think you just press this button and-._

 _Sure enough, the button leading down to the underground shelter activated._

 _"W-what?!" She asked._

 _"Listen to me. You've got a bright future ahead of you, more so than me. Look for you mom and dad down there." I said, putting two of my fingers to my eyebrow._

 _"See you on the flip side, kid." I said as I pushed the button, causing the pod to go down._

 _I sighed and sat down on the ground and stared at the bombs that were heading directly towards me._

 _"...I'm okay with this. Be good kid, be better than me." I said._

 _Sure enough, the bombs landed on the ground, causing them to detonate._

 _I didn't feel any pain, everything was numb, I could only see a bright light in front of me as I felt my consciousness slip away._

 _Though before I fell into unconsciousness, I could hear a voice calling out to me._

 _"You're going to be alright." I heard a female voice say._

 _Then, nothingness._

* * *

(Present)

After that I woke up here, this empty void of nothingness. At first I tried to see if there was anyone else around me that could help me, and after calling out for a solid 10 minutes and getting nothing I began to try to see if I could move my body.

The only thing that I could only really do were flips and swing my arms around, after 5 minutes of that, I gave up and just floated, trying to process the events that have just unfolded. I couldn't believe it, everything was gone, taken from me in a matter of seconds. My family, my friends, my brother, my life, It was all gone.

"Now that I think about it, it was bound to happen eventually." I said.

"Though still, out of all the things we could have done to kill ourselves off, we choose the most painful way to go." I said.

"I wonder if that kid found her family."

.

.

"Maybe...I never liked thinking about things like this to hard. More questions just keep popping up." I said.

"What about my mom? I hope she made it to the shelters in one piece." I said in a concerned tone.

.

.

"Damn it, this is why I never liked thinking about this kinda shit. Makes ya a depressed mess." I said, burying my hands into my face.

"Still, hard not to think about it, I mean, it's really the only thing I CAN do at the moment." I said to myself.

After remembering the events that have just unfolded, a white light appeared in the distance.

"What the hell?" I asked myself as I looked towards the light.

"Is that the gate way to heaven or something? Or are we going with the reincarnation theory?" I asked myself. I fell to the ground with a loud thud, gripping my back in pain from the sudden fall. I started to get up.

"Jeez, a little warning would have been nice!" I yelled to no one in particular. After not getting a response I decided to look at the light in the distance.

"So I'm assuming that this is the way to the afterlife?" I asked.

"Maybe the reincarnation theory is right after all, and the second I walk into this light, I'll be born as someone new without any memories of my past life." I said.

"Well, which is it?"

.

.

"So either or. Great, I LOOOOVE these kinds of surprises." I said in a sarcastic tone, walking towards the light in the distance.

"Jesus! Why does the passage to life have to be so damn bright?!" I asked as I got closer and closer, the bright light got brighter. I had to shield my eyes from the intense light that was right in front of me.

"Huh, that rhymed." I said to myself.

.

.

"Wow, I am REALLY bored. Let's pick up the pace, shall we?" I asked, running towards the light.

"Well hopefully this is the way to the afterlife, I honestly hope I don't see my friends or family in there, it'll give me some comfort in knowing they got out alive." I said.

I started to walk into the light and as the light began to fade, I could see my surroundings more clearly. As I looked around to take in my surroundings I could clearly see that I was in a... hospital?

"Okay, not what I was expecting." I said to myself.

So are we going with the reincarnation theory?

I got up from the bed, though as my feet touched the floor, my legs started to burn with a sudden pain.

"Gah!" I yelled as a I fell to the floor.

Okay, that hurt, that really freaking hurt.

After the pain had subsided, I got up and started to look around the area.

Yep, it was definitely a hospital.

I looked for a nearby mirror to see if this whole reincarnation theory was correct.

Eventually, my gaze fell onto a bathroom.

I shrugged and started to walk into the bathroom.

As I looked into the mirror, I could see that my face hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Good, I like this face." I said with a smirk.

So I guess reincarnation is out of the window.

Then again, if it were reincarnation, I wouldn't be here, I would be in someones arms.

I also wouldn't be having these thoughts.

Maybe it was a dream?

.

.

Then why would I be in the hospital?

Maybe I survived the blast...I mean it's unlikely but hey, it's the only possible thing I can thing of.

I began to get out of the hospital bed to see if I could see any burn wounds from the blast.

Okay, legs...no. Arms?..No. Body? No! What the hell?! How is this possible?!

I shook my head and walked out of the bathroom, moving towards some curtains.

"Where am I?" I asked as I opened the curtains.

Though what I saw made me question the very state of my sanity itself.

What I saw was Beacon academy, from the internet series, RWBY.

I closed the curtains.

Then opened them again.

Closed.

Open.

Closed.

Open.

I did this for a few more seconds, though every time I did, I was met with the same sight as before.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked myself. My questions were completely cut off from the sound of a door opening. The person revealed was one that I couldn't recognize. The women had a sort of peach colored hair, neatly tied into a bun, red eyes and sort of mocha colored skin.

She was wearing what looks like a small lab coat with black outlines on it, what looked like a pair of safety goggles, a pair of black boots that went past her knees and black gloves that reached past her elbows.

Who the hell has pink hair these days?

.

.

Okay, I guess a few people do, but red eyes?!

She yelped in surprise, not expecting to see me out of bed. She dropped the tray of food that she was carrying.

Damn, that looked good to. I was hungry.

I thought to myself. She regained her composure and fixed the goggles she wore on her face into its original position.

"I see you're finally awake now, you were out cold for quite some time, young man." The women in question said as she began to clean up the mess she just made.

"Who are you, and how long was I out for?" I asked her, confused at the whole situation that was taking place here.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Vanessa Peach, I'm the doctor who was taking care of you. You were out for quite some time, I think it was about four days." She said as she finished cleaning up the spilled food.

"Oh, okay." I said.

.

.

"Wait, FOUR DAYS?!" I yelled in surprise. It didn't feel that long when I was in the void. What the hell is going on, where the hell am I?!

F-four days?! It felt more like four hours in that stupid void?! Also what kind of a name is "Vanessa Peach"?! Sounds like the name of some cartoon character.

Now that I get a good look at her, she's built like some anime artist drew her from scratch! I've seen a lot of women in my life and not ONE of them had a body like that!

.

.

What? I'm not staring...not that long at least.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked Vanessa as she put the spilled food into the trashcan just outside.

"Now, now. There's no need to be hostile. Let's just take a deep breathe and calm down." She said.

Calm down?! Sure! Let me calm down after being blown up by a nuclear bomb and suddenly waking up in the hospital. No! I want answers, I should be dead!

"If you answer the question, maybe I might calm down a bit." I said.

.

"Alright, fair enough. You're in the Beacon Academy's Medical District, young man." She said with a warm smile.

.

.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked in complete and utter shock.

No, no, no! That can't be right. It's just a web series, nothing more.

"V-very funny. Now tell me where I REALLY am." I said.

"I'm not joking, you're actually in Beacon academy." Peach said.

.

.

Okay, this is getting REALLY old!

In a state of panic, I quickly rushed into the bathroom that was in the room.

"Calm down, calm down." I said as I turned on the sink and splashed a hand full of water onto my face.

"This is all some kind of joke! There's no way in hell you're in Remnant." I tried to reassure myself.

"Young man! Are you okay?!" I heard Vanessa asked.

J-just ignore her. Okay, think. How exactly can you prove that you're NOT in Remnant?

.

.

Right! If I look outside to see that there's nothing but dust and bits of metal from the bombs, then I can be sure that I'm on earth!

I quickly rushed outside the bathroom and towards the curtains.

"Excuse me! I don't think you should be out of bed so soon!" She said.

She's not there.

"I mean, the headmaster did find you with no wounds or any form of injury but you just never know!"

Just ignore her.

"He also found this mysterious weapon next to you, but he's yet to tell any of us about it's origins."

Wait, what weapon?

.

.

Damn it! Now YOU'RE starting to believe her!

"Damn it! What the hell is happening?! I shouldn't be here! I should be dead!" I said a bit to loudly.

"W-what do you mean?" Peach asked.

"Shut up!" I yelled.

I ran out of the bathroom, falling down as I did due to the pain in my legs not yet subsiding.

"Gah!" I yelled.

"Young man!" She yelled as she ran to my side.

Though before I could continue, I saw a tiny little crystal roll past me.

A dust crystal.

.

.

"Young man? A-are you okay?" I barely heard Vanessa ask.

You know, I'm sensing a slight sense of irony coming from this situation, and not the good kind!

Now don't get me wrong, I like irony just as much as the next guy, but this is too much, even for me.

So, I did what any sane human being would due put in said situation.

I passed out on the hospital floor, hearing Vanessa's cries of concern as everything faded to black.

* * *

 **Journal** **Entry #1**

 **Here we go. Hope this peeked your interest.**

 **Now, I know that this may be hard to believe, but I actually don't have any intention to make my self a _OP_** _._

 **Big difference compared to MOST self-insert fan-fic's. Because let's be honest. No one in the entire world could possibly compare to any Huntsmen or Huntress in Rwby.**

 **Now keep in mind that the beginning of this story won't take place EXACTLY during the team RWBY time line.**

 **I'm a year behind them so I have time to train and what not.**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then be sure to leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**

 **Update: This chapter and the chapters after that are updated.**


	2. The Legend

**Welcome reader's to the second installment of RWBY: Remnant's of another world. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Talking: "The Legend"

Thought: ' _The Legend.'_

Flashback: _"The Legend."_

(3rd Person Pov)

Beacon Academy, one of the best, if not, THE best place to pursue your career as a Huntsman or Huntress. Though as the best school there is, they only accept the best, therefore, it's also one of the hardest academy's to be accepted in.

Though only some are accepted into the academy, and those who are accepted into the academy can expect rigorous training sessions, near-impossible exams, and hard-to-stay-awake classes.

Though there are some who have made it through that, and those who have, have become legends in their own regard. One of those legends is a man with gray hair, spectacles over his thin brown eyes, along with sharp facial features. He wore a black suit with a green undershirt that went with his dark green pants and scarf. This man was known as Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

 _'Hmm, there are quite a few applicants this time around. It's going to be hard to pick which one's will be the best of the best. All of them have amazing scores.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

Ozpin was currently sipping on his cup of coffee as he was picking out the first years for Beacon Academy until he suddenly felt a surge of power rush through him.

Ozpin stood from his chair, not expecting the sudden rush of energy. ' _What was that? There shouldn't be anyone who is able to generate that much energy.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

The head master closed his eyes and started to sweep the area for any signs of life, or rather any signs of unfamiliar life.

 _'I've felt that energy before. Once long ago. Though how exactly did one of them get here, or rather who was the one who even brought them here to begin with?'_ The headmaster asked himself.

 _'Let's see if we can't find these mysterious strangers.'_ Ozpin thought to himself, accessing the camera's of Beacon academy.

He then started to look on all of Beacon Academy's cameras: mess hall, living quarters east section, west section, north section, south section, the classrooms, he went through every camera until he stopped on the camera that showed the fields that were just outside of Beacon. There, he saw a boy, no older than sixteen, laying on the field unconscious with some sort of sword next to him. He then began to check the security footage of all the cameras, only to find nothing, the boy was nowhere in sight.

 _'It's almost as if he just appeared out of nowhere.'_ Ozpin thought to himself. He began to look at the past security footage of the camera that was in the fields outside of Beacon Academy. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, until a ball of light soon blinded the camera's field of view.

When the light faded, the boy was there, right next to the sword on the ground.

 _'Is it one of their powers? If so then why does a boy no older than sixteen have such a power at his disposal?'_ Ozpin asked. _'I need to see this for myself. Though I doubt Ms. Goodwitch would be to happy if I just left my office when there are papers to be looked at.'_ He thought to himself as he pulled out his scroll and dialed a number onto the screen.

 **"Hello? Oh, Professor Ozpin, I didn't expect to get a call from you. Have you decided which students will be attending our school?"** The women on the other side said. The women had bright blond hair tied into a bun and green eyes through a pair of oval shaped glasses.

She wore a long-sleeved dress shirt with a black business skirt, black-brown leggings, a tattered cape with the inside being purple, and a pair of black boots with brown heels. This was Glynda Goodwitch, the combat instructor for the students of the Academy.

"No Glynda, I'm still picking out the first year students. I called you because I wanted you to watch over my office."

 **"If I may ask, why do you need me to watch over your office?"** She asked.

"I need to check on something." Ozpin said with a serious tone. Glynda noticed the tone of his voice and nodded in agreement.

 **"Okay, I'll watch over the office, but as soon as you come back, I want you to finish picking out the first years. The first day of school starts in a week, so we need to be prepared."**

"Thank you, Glynda, I'll try to be as quick as possible with this. I will pick out the rest of the first years when I'm done." Ozpin said in a satisfied tone. The connection cut off as the call ended.

Ozpin picked up his cane and his coffee mug and made his way towards the elevator.

"Whatever that energy was, only time will tell if it will lead to a miracle or a catastrophe." He said to himself.

Meanwhile, the blonde haired witch herself was trying to contemplate possible reasons for Ozpin to temporarily leave his duties.

 _'What in the world could have grabbed Ozpin's attention?'_ Glynda asked herself as she closed the scroll back up.

 _'Hmm, perhaps I can see if I can't sense what the headmaster was sensing.'_ The witch thought to herself, closing her eyes and sensing for any known forms of life around the area.

After a few moments, Glynda eventually found two aura's that she did not recognize.

One was rather simple, it was the average level of aura that a person can obtain in there life. Though the other one was what caught her attention the most.

 _'What in the world?! Who's aura could that be?! I've never sense such a high level of aura, not even from Ozpin!'_ She said to herself.

 _'What in gods name is going on?'_ The witch asked herself.

 _'Where did they even come from? How exactly were they able to get past our security?'_ Glynda asked herself, each question just raising even more questions.

 _'Could it be one of the enemies that Ozpin was talking about? Have they come for the Maiden and it's relic?'_ The woman asked herself.

 _'...Well, if Ozpin is taking care of it, I suppose that he will determine whether or not they are a threat to the schools and it's students.'_ The witch said to herself.

 _'Though I should keep my guard up. If they were just able to appear like that then I don't doubt that they could cause trouble for us in the near future.'_ She said to herself.

 _'I should get going. The headmaster requested that I watch over his office, and watch over I shall.'_ Glynda thought as she started to walk out of her office.

 _'I should also clean it while I'm there. Ozpin was never good at organizing things.'_ She thought.

* * *

"Once I slew the beast I brought back it's head as a trophy and was celebrated as a hero by the town!...No, that's not right. It's impossible to put an actual Grimm's head on a platter." A man said to himself as he walked around the room.

The figure in question appeared to be a man in early old age. He wore a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons. His pants he wears tucked into olive boots, similar in appearance and construction to cavalry boots.

He has gray hair and a gray mustache and appears to be slightly overweight, not that he really minded that is.

This man was none other than Peter Port, a huntsmen slash professor that teaches children on the creatures of Grimm.

"Hmm, how can I use the stories from my youth to educate these young minds on the secrets of the Grimm?" He asked himself.

"...I know! I came back with the beast caged, it's snarl echoing through the town. It attempted to break out of it's cage, though it was useless, our hero had the beast trapped. That should work. I cage Grimm all the time for my lessons. If the children wish to learn about the Grimm then what better way than to have first hand experience? Ha ha! The thrill of a good hunt!" Port said.

"Now where was I? Ah yes! I came back with the beast captured, I was praised as a hero and a legend by the townsfolk. As a form of thanks and celebration they all held a feast in my-!" The huntsmen began, only for a surge of energy to run down his spine, causing him to leap from the ground and reach for his weapon.

.

.

 _'W-what blazes was that?!'_ Port asked himself, looking around the room in attempts to find the source.

Though it was no use, no matter how hard he had searched, he wasn't able to find the source of the sudden sure of energy. It had disappeared as quickly as it had it appeared.

 _'Well, someone really knows how to rile up this huntsmen.'_ The huntsmen thought.

Suddenly, the Grimm he had been keeping in his cage on the other side of the room started to go completely crazy, desperately attempting to break free from it's prison.

"Ah pipe down." The man said, though what Peter wasn't expecting was for Grimm to break out, the red marks on it's body glowing with a red light.

"W-what?!" The huntsmen yelled, not expecting for the Grimm to escape.

The Grimm charged at the professor with the intent to kill, though as it swung it's massive claw at Peter, he was easily able to dodge the attack by rolling under it.

He bolted for his weapon, causing the Grimm to lunge at the man. Though before it could sink it's teeth into the old man, he fired his weapon and blew the Grimm's head clean off.

"Hah, hah. Well, this is already proving to be an eventful day. Perhaps I could use this experience in one of my lessons." He said.

He looked around his room to see that it was completely trashed, the desks were destroyed and most of the papers were scattered everywhere.

"Though I can't say I'm looking forward to explaining this to Ozpin." Port said.

"Port! Port are you alright!" A young man's voice said.

"Ah, yes I am fine. Nothing that I couldn't handle." He said.

In the blink of an eye, a man ran into the room at an alarmingly fast pace, appearing as nothing more than a blur to the naked eye.

The man appeared to be a rather young man, with messy green hair with brown eyes. His attire was disheveled: his white shirt partially tucked into his dark-green pants and its collar raised, showing a slack yellow tie, along with mismatched brown and black shoes. He also has round glasses that appear to be opaque.

This man was none other than Peter's trusted comrade, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck.

"What in the name of the gods happened?!" He asked.

"Well, I was just rehearsing some of my stories that I would tell the newest set of huntsmen and huntresses we would get this year, when suddenly I felt this surge of energy run down my spine. Though just as it appeared-." Port began.

"It vanished as soon as it came." Oobleck said.

"So you felt it as well?" He asked.

"Indeed, though if the Grimm were affected by it at this distance then we might want to inform the headmaster." He said.

"Where was the source of energy coming from?" Port asked.

"I've managed to pin-point an exact location. It is near the cliff sides of Beacon." Oobleck said.

"The Grimm were still affected even from this far away?!" He asked.

"Yes, and there will no doubt be more. We must inform the headmaster at once." The doctor said.

* * *

 _'To think that another one would just show up at my front door yet again. It seems that history has it's unique way of repeating itself.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

His train of thought, however, was cut off as he reached the field that the boy lay in. As he began to walk towards the boy, he looked to see if he was unconscious, napping, or dead. He hoped that the last one wasn't true.

 _'There he is. I hope that the young man knows how it's power works. That would save us the trouble of having to figure it out along the road.'_ The headmaster thought as he walked over to the unconscious boy.

Firstly he put his hand up against the boys neck to see if the boy was even still alive to begin with. After a few second, Ozpin felt a pulse, causing him to release a sigh of relief.

 _'Good, the boy is unharmed. Now, let's see if he is in the mood to answer some questions.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

He put his hand on the boys shoulder and started to see if he couldn't shake him awake. He had to have been shaking him for a good minute, though he was having no luck whatsoever, not even a groan or a mumble out of him.

Ozpin frowned as he was now very curious, the boy was alive and well but didn't seem to be waking up.

 _'Strange. Perhaps he is under the symptoms of some disease. In that case I know just who to call.'_ Ozpin thought as he pulled out his scroll.

He then pulled out his scroll and decided to call the school's doctor and Dust Specialist, Professor Peach. It rang for a few seconds until the professor picked up.

 **"Hello? Oh, Professor Ozpin, I wasn't expecting a call from you, is there something you need?"** She asked a cheerful tone.

"Yes, I need you to come to the fields outside of Beacon immediately."

 **"Why? What's wrong? Are you feeling alright? I told you that you shouldn't be drinking that much coffee, I already have Oobleck to deal with, I don't need you acting like that."**

"It's not me, I found a boy out in Beacon fields that is in dire need of your medical abilities...and for the record, I do not need to cut down on the amount of coffee that I drink. I am doing just fine." Ozpin said.

 **"Oh! Okay, I'll be there right away, just stay with the boy and let me know if there is anything different with his behavior."** Peach said as she cut off the connection, ending the call.

He put his scroll away and began to inspect the boy on a closer perspective. The boy had black-brown hair, a black hoodie with white undershirt on, a pair of dark blue jeans, and black shoes with white laces. He looked like an average boy, so if he was the one to produce that massive amount of energy, how could he do it?

His eyes then trailed onto the sword on the ground. The sword in question had a silver handle with a black cloth wrapped around it and two black edges with some mysterious markings on them. It was in a dark leather sheath, which also had some mysterious markings.

"That must be it's vessel." Ozpin said as he picked up the blade.

He closed his eyes, causing his aura to start to flow around him, the wind around him starting to pick up.

Though as soon as he activated his aura, the handle of the weapon suddenly got very hot, causing the man to drop the weapon.

 _'Seems like it doesn't want to be disturbed. Not that I blame it. It must have made a massive leap if it had to use so much energy.'_ Ozpin thought.

 _'Though how was the boy even able to make the contract to begin with? From what I can see he doesn't even have his aura unlocked.'_ He thought.

His thought was cut off by the sound of rapid footprints coming his way. In the distance, Professor Peach could be seen in the distance, with a medical kit in hand.

"I came as fast as I could, so where is the boy you spoke of?" Peach asked with a worried expression on her face.

"He's right here. He hasn't had any changes in his behavior, but shows no signs of waking up anytime soon." Ozpin stated.

Peach began to inspect the boy to see if he showed any symptoms of any sickness, disease, or injury to the internal organs.

"So far, I have nothing Ozpin, he seems perfectly fine. If you want, I can take him to the Medical District here in Beacon for a further examination." Peach stated.

"Yes, that seems to be the best course of action right now. Let me know if he wakes up, I have some questions for him." Ozpin said.

Peach nodded and began to carry the boy to the Medical District for a further examination. Ozpin sighed heavily. As much as he was concerned for the boy's health, the blade was more important right now. He picked up the blade from the ground and began to make his way to Beacon's library.

* * *

As Ozpin arrived at the library, he began to search for the book that may or may not confirm his suspicions on the sword.

"Oh, hello Professor. Is there any particular reason why you're here after just leaving a few hours ago?" The librarian asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for this." Ozpin said as he pulled out a slip of paper from his back pocket.

.

.

"I didn't take you for the type of person who would be into fairy tales." The librarian said.

 _'Oh you have no idea.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

"May I ask why the sudden interest in this story?" She asked.

"I just want to confirm a suspicion of mine." Ozpin said.

"Very well, it is under the myths and legends category in the fifth row." She said, pointing to the top floor.

"Thank you." He said as he made his way up to the top floor of the library.

He continued to search under the Mythology category until he finally found what he was looking for; "Of Spirits and Weapons" He opened up the book and began to read.

 _"Long long ago, when the Kingdoms of Remnant were but simple towns, legends told of a legendary traveling blacksmith that went by the name of Olaf Avalonian. People say that his weapons were second to none because he was the very first person who started to manufacture dust into his weapons."_

 _"One day during his travels across the lands of Remnant, he came across a temple. The temple held an old and ancient library."_

 _"In that library, he found a book of incredible power. Though this was no ordinary book, rather than being filled with the stories of old, it was instead a book filled with various contracts. Once Olaf opened the book, twelve spirits came out and met the man, asking him what he was doing in there library. The man said that he was merely searching for ways to perfect his craft."_

 _"The spirits requested that they hear his tale, wanting to know more about this unknown world that they were now in. Once the man had finished telling his tale, the spirits made an offer to the man. Free them from the book by signing a contact with the realm where they reside, and they would help serve him and this world however they see fit."_

 _"The man agreed and signed the contract with the other realm. Allowing the spirits to be free to roam Remnant however they see fit. Though the spirits would need a vessel if mankind would ever have any hope in harnessing their power. Naturally, Olaf saw this as an opportunity to make his craft legendary. He allowed the spirits to use his weapons as a vessel."_

 _"Once the deed was done, Olaf's craft became legendary. Warriors of all kinds would attempt to harness the power of the spirits, though only few would actually be able to forge a contact with them. The ones that did were rewarded with incredible power."_

 _"Over time, they were given a tittle for there unimaginable power. They were known as the twelve Enchanted Weapons of Remnant."_

 _"Though as the knowledge of the spirits spread throughout all of Remnant, so did the greed in the people's hearts. They wanted to take the Book of Contracts for themselves and make a fortune of their own."_

 _"One day, a group of bandits attacked Olaf's convoy and demanded he gives them the Book of Contracts. Olaf refused, and the bandits attacked Olaf, though due to the power of the spirits, he was able to kill the bandits with ease."_

 _"Seeing the dangers of keeping the book, he went back to the temple and returned the book to the library. He then took the remaining enchanted weapons he had and scattered them across Remnant."_

 _"Though throughout the course of history, warriors would take these weapons for themselves and charge into battle with there abilities."_

 _"Some say that the kings and queens of Remnant wielded these weapons to protect there people."  
_

 _"Others say that Bandits would take them to have an easier time raiding the various villages of the kingdoms."_

 _"No one knows what happened to Olaf after that."_

 _"Some say he faded away in the ripples of time, while other's say he died due to his harsh and unhealthily working conditions."_

 _"Though he left behind a legendary legacy, the vessels where the spirits reside are proof of his success."_

 _ **Carnwennan: The Enchanted Dagger**_

 _ **Mjolnir: The Enchanted War Hammer**_

 _ **Indra: The Enchanted Bow**_

 _ **Rhongomiant: The Enchanted Spear**_

 _ **Cronus: The Enchanted Scythe**_

 _ **Sharur: The Enchanted Mace**_

 _ **Masamune: The Enchanted Katana**_

 _ **Perun: The Enchanted Axe**_

 _ **Dgraig Goch: The Enchanted Longsword**_

 _ **Flamberge: The Enchanted Sickles**_

 _ **Joyeuse: The Enchanted Rapier**_

 _ **Caliber: The Enchanted Sword**_

 _"No one knows what remains of the spirits to this day? Some say that they are nothing more than a myth. Some say that there is a possibility for the tale to hold truth."_

 _"There have been rumors, tales, and songs based off of the different descendants of the weapons. It is a tale that has held throughout the sands of time."_

 _"Though whether or not it keeps it's legacy will depend on the next generation of the weapon users."_

Ozpin read through each individual weapon. Each weapon had a picture of what it looked like, and Ozpin stared long and hard at the last one, Caliber.

"So it is as I suspected. This weapon indeed holds the spirit of Caliber." Ozpin stated. Now a whole new series of questions were in his head as he confirmed his suspicions.

"How did that boy get his hands on such a powerful weapon?" He asked himself as he picked up his scroll and called Glynda.

 **"Hello? Oh, Professor Ozpin. Have you finished your errands?"** Glydna asked.

"Not quite." I need you to meet me in the armory." Ozpin said.

 **"Understood, if you don't mind me asking, what for?"**

"It appears that history is repeating itself once again." Ozpin said as he walked out of the library.

* * *

(The Next Day)

"To think that another one would just show up at our door once again." Glynda said.

"Yes, one of them hasn't appeared on our doorstep, not since all those years ago." Ozpin said.

"Tch, yes I am all aware of the actions that your pupil decided to take when they found out about the truth of the situation." She said.

"They made a choice, and that should not be something that they should be disgraced for." He said.

"Though to turn your back on the kingdom?!" Glynda asked.

"I said that they made a choice, I never said that I had to agree with the choice that they made." Ozpin said.

"..."

"I know how you looked up to them during your first years in Beacon." He said.

"It was but a childish admiration. I do not hold them in the high regard I held for them in the time of my youth." She said.

"Still, there was no shame in what they did." Ozpin said.

"Some of us have different thoughts on that matter." Glynda said.

"I was partially to blame for the way things turned out. Do not forget that, Glynda." He said.

"..."

"Though it is in the past now. We must look towards the future." Ozpin said.

"Yes, we must look for a new user for Caliber. With his power we might be able to even the odds in this war of ours." She said.

"I believe we already have a wielder." He said.

"Hmm?...You mean the boy who appeared in front of the school?" Glynda asked.

"Well, the spirit was willing to act on it's own accord to send him here. That means it has at least taken a slight interest in the boy." Ozpin said.

"Still, you know what could potentially happen if he doesn't learn to regulate the power properly." She said.

"Yes...I am aware of the risks." He said.

Though before Glynda could respond, she was quickly interrupted by the headmaster.

"Though there is no guarantee that he shall even desire to bear such power." Ozpin said. "Though if he is willing to take such risks, then I shall personally train him." He said.

"..."

"Though it will only be if he is willing to bear the responsibility for the power. Though in the end, the decision is up to him." He said.

"..."

"Have faith Glynda. His youth means he will have more time to get accustomed to the power." He said.

"Very well, for now, don't you have some students to pick out?" Glynda asked with a slight smirk on her face.

"Ah, yes, I will get right to that. Thank you, Glynda you are dismissed." Ozpin said. Glynda nodded as she walked out of his office. Ozpin pulled out his scroll and began to look at the list of first-year applications. As he scrolled down, four students managed to catch his eye.

"Hmm, Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi." Ozpin said to himself as he looked over their transcripts.

* * *

(Two Day's Later)

As the beginning of the school year was approaching, Ozpin, who had just finished picking out the rest of the first years, had decided to see if he could find the boy in any of the systems. So far he was having no such luck; he looked at medical records, the birth records from Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas, any of the records of people who have made citizenship from outside the kingdoms. All showed no one who barred even the slightest resemblance to the boy's DNA, which he had gotten from Peach.

 _'It's almost as if he didn't exist until now.'_ Ozpin thought to himself, his thoughts were interrupted as his scroll began to ring. He looked at the number to see that it was Peach.

"Yes? What is it Vanessa, any news on the boy's behavior?" Ozpin asked.

"That's the thing, Ozpin, he was awake!" Peach said in an excited tone.

"Was? What do you mean by that?" Ozpin asked in a confused tone.

"Well he asked where he was, and I told him he was in the Medical District of Beacon Academy."

"Then what happened?"

"He passed out on the floor, so he's back in bed again. But, he's okay, for a second there I thought he was in some sort of a coma."

"I see, that's great news. Let me know when he wakes up again, I would like to speak with him personally."

"Okay, that's if he doesn't pass out again."

The connection cut off and the call ended. Ozpin then sat back in his chair with a slight smirk.

"This will be an interesting year."

* * *

 **Journal** **Entry #2**

 **So, we've officially learned some new lore, unique to this fan-fic. The twelve enchanted weapon's, and I apparently have one of them in my possession for some reason.**

 **Now, I will be the first one to say, that the Enchanted Weapons will NOT be OP. All of them will have there own unique strengths and weaknesses.**

 **Now I know what you're probably asking, "Will we see more of the Enchanted Weapons through out the story?" No, you won't see some of them, you will see ALL of them.**

 **I wouldn't have made twelve if I were only going to use one.**

 **If that were the case I might as well have called the story, "The Legend of Caliber."**

 **So don't worry, all of the weapons will make an appearance.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, be sure to follow, fav, and leave a review! I try to read and respond to every review, so don't be afraid to leave one!**

 **Here are some of the reviews from the last chapter.**

 **Review Response.**

 **ExoRipper: Thank's for the advise! I'll be sure to work on my grammar as the story goes on!**

 **Pokefanljb: I'm glad you decided to follow this story! :)**

 **Jack Redhawke: Thanks for pointing that out! I'll be sure to fix it!**

 **Gravenimage: Thanks!**

 **Reaver17: Um... Thanks?**

 **War Historian: Definitely better than dying from the after affects.**

 **Random Guest: Ha ha ha! No.**

 **Well that's about it!**

 **See you all in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	3. The Meeting

**Welcome readers to the next installment of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

Speech: "Meeting"

Thought: _'Meeting'_

Flashback: _"Meeting"_

(My Pov)

So after Peach told me where I was, I did what any normal person would do being put in that kind of situation. I passed out on the spot and considering there was a solid floor below me, it wasn't exactly the most painless fall. I couldn't believe it, this is impossible! How can I be in the world of Remnant!?

She said that I was asleep for four days. It couldn't have been that long, it felt like four hours in the void. So many questions were going through my mind right now. How did I get here? Why am I here? Why am I not dead? It was all so confusing.

Wait, this is all just a dream! Yeah, the second I wake up, I'll be back in my room, back home!

I was desperately trying to make sense of the situation at hand...oh who am I kidding, none of this makes any sense!

Okay Brandon, the second you open your eyes you're going to be right back at home.

I could feel myself slowly start to regain consciousness.

Okay Brandon, you're going to wake up, be in your room and-.

.

.

You're back in the hospital room. I don't get it, how is this possible? How-.

Though the sound of a familiar female voice brought me back to reality.

"Oh, I see you're awake again, you were asleep for a whole day, young man." Peach said in a delighted tone. I slowly got up and began to look at my surroundings.

Yep, still in the hospital.

"You gave us quite the scare there young man. It's not everyday we find someone as young as yourself right outside our doors you know?" Peach asked.

"Outside your doors?" I asked.

"So you don't remember, shame, Ozpin was planning on asking you a couple of things before he decided what to do with you." She said.

Okay I know that isn't her intention but she makes it sound like he wants to kill me.

"You should be excited young man. It's not everyday that someone gets the opportunity to speak with the headmaster personally." Peach said.

I'm just shocked that I'm going to speak to him period. I didn't even think he existed until now!

"Okay, I guess I'll just head on over to the-." I began, only as I moved the blankets off of my body, I could see that I was only in my underwear at the time.

"Uh...w-where are my cloths?" I asked.

"Well, I couldn't exactly do an operation with your cloths in the way." Peach said.

"O-Operation?!" I asked.

"Oh! Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with you. You're perfectly healthy." She said.

"Oh, okay. Whew." I sighed in relief.

"Though before you head on over, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions." Peach said as she pulled out a clip board.

"Okay sure." I said.

"Splendid." She said, clicking the pen she had in her hand.

"Okay, first things first, your name?" Peach asked.

"Names Brandon Kim." I greeted.

"Brandon Kim...okay, what about your age. You can't be any older than eighteen." She said.

"Well, I'm about sixteen years old." I said.

"Sixteen. Alright then, how about height?" Peach asked.

"You didn't measure me while I was sleeping?" I asked.

"Well I could be you kept slouching so it was kind of hard." She said.

"Fair enough. I'm five six." I said.

"Really? At your age? Strange, perhaps your growth is stunted." Peach said.

"Hey! It's a perfectly good height!" I yelled.

"Anyways, have you done any drugs?" She asked.

"You mean medical or the ones people think are cool but really aren't?" I asked.

"Last one." Peach said.

"No." I said.

"Any alcohol?" She asked.

"Well I did this one time when I was ten but I didn't really know what it was until I was actually told." I said.

"...I'll just put down other." Peach said.

"Okay." I said.

"Place of origin." She asked.

I was about to tell her the United State of America, though that wouldn't really work here in Remnant now would it?

"Outside of the kingdoms." I said.

"Hmm...okay, have you been engaging in any sexual activity?" Peach asked.

"...Yeah, totally. I was quite the stud where I came from." I lied with a cocky smirk on my face.

"...So no, okay." She said.

"Wha-?! Hey!" I yelled.

"Okay just do a little bit of this and..." Peach said, doing the finishing touches to her paper.

"Okay, that about does it, well it's a pleasure to formally meet you, Mr. Kim." She said as she extended her arm out to shake my hand. I was still in slight shock by the fact that I'm in the world of Remnant that I didn't notice that she was trying to shake my hand.

"O-Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something. Yeah, it's nice to meet you," I said as I shook her hand. When I came into contact with her hand, I felt a strange wave of energy flowing through it. Not expecting the sudden energy I jerked my hand away from her.

"Are you sure everything is alright, Mr. Kim?" Peach asked in a concerned and slightly surprised tone.

"Yeah, everything's alright, it's just surprising, it's not every day you just wake up at the famous Beacon Academy. " I said trying to change the subject. I started to think back, trying to see if I could figure out how I got here in the first place.

So I was walking home until I heard the sirens go off from the town's hall. I attempted to look for my family to see if they were alright, though along the way I ran into a little girl named Alice.

I decided to help her find her parents, something I still don't know whether or not she did or not. We came to the elevator leading to the under ground vaults that was probably deigned by someone who played Fallout or something.

There was only one charge left and so being the better man, I decided to send her down. Unfortunately that would leave me to fall victim to the war heads.

Except I didn't for some reason. If I did then I wouldn't be here now.

This isn't a dream, I've gathered that much, so how the hell did I come back to life, and then wind up in a fictional world?

This doesn't make any sense, none of this should even be possible.

I mean sure there were theories of other universes and all but coming back to life, even the greatest scientists of all time agree that it's not possible, especially after an explosion from a nuclear warhead.

My thoughts were cut off at the sound of Peach's voice.

"Yes, it can be quite the shock. Anyways, there is someone who would like to see you, he asked me to take you to him the second you were feeling better." Peach said as she pulled out a pair of clothes from the dresser right below the window.

"Here are your clothes. When you're done I will wait for you outside, then we can go." She said as she stepped out of the room. I began to change out of the hospital gown and into my clothes.

Once I knew she was gone, I took this chance to go into the bathroom to splash water on my face.

"Jeez, this has been one hell of a Thursday." I said.

I changed into my clothes and walked out of the door along with Professor Peach.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

Ozpin was sitting in his office, currently in a call with a man with slowly graying hair and with solid black eyebrows. A strip of silver metal stretched above his right eyebrow, and he wore a white overcoat with a gray undercoat, a black sweater, and a red necktie, a white glove on his left hand and white suit pants.

"Ozpin, are you sure that was the the actual sword? I mean how can a boy no older than sixteen have a sword that powerful?" The man said.

"I don't know James, I have him in the infirmary and Vanessa will inform me when he is awake. Only then will we be able to figure out how he got the sword." Ozpin said.

"Alright Ozpin, as for the test results, we can't do a proper search until we have his medical background. You said Peach was working on that, right?" James asked.

"Yes, once we have it, I will send it to you and then you can do a full search on this boy." Ozpin then got a call from the Doctor herself.

"Ah, it look's like Vanessa is calling me, I will call you back soon enough, hopefully with his medical history," Ozpin said.

"Alright, I'll see you soon enough Ozpin. Oh, and say hi to Glynda for me." He said as the connection was cut off. Ozpin picked up the call he was getting from Vanessa.

"Hello Vanessa, I assume you have news on the boy?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes, I have great news, he woke up, and didn't pass out this time!" Vanessa said in an excited tone.

"Ah, I see, have you gotten his medical history yet?" Ozpin asked, sipping his cup of coffee.

"Yes, his name is Brandon Kim, he's 5'6, and has no symptoms of any sort of disease." She said, reading off the notes she just wrote down.

"Splendid, I would like you to send him up as soon as possible, I have a few questions for him at the moment," Ozpin said with a pleased tone.

"Certainly, I will send him up over as soon as possible." She said as the connection cut off from the call.

 _'Brandon Kim, hmm, this will prove to be a very interesting year, Mr. Kim"_ Ozpin thought to himself as he took another sip of his coffee.

* * *

(My Pov)

To say that Beacon was big would be the understatement of the century. This place could be considered a city on its own, it was huge.

Seriously how the hell does anyone navigate through this?

"So where did you even find me, Vanessa?" I asked her, trying to see if I could find out more about how I got here.

"You were found in a field outside Beacon. I wasn't the one to find you, that would be the Headmaster, the man you are going to see now." Okay, so now I found out who found me, so maybe they might know how I got here.

"So why does the Headmaster want to see me anyway?"

"He just want's to ask you a couple of questions. After all, it's not every day that a boy just appears out of nowhere in the fields of Beacon." She reassured me.

"You know I've been meaning to ask you, how exactly did I appear?" I asked.

"We're not exactly sure to be honest. You just up and appeared out of nowhere. Though you did cause quite the commotion outside of the school." Peach said.

"...Wait, what?" I asked.

"Indeed. There was a second aura near you, a very powerful aura at that. For some reason it was driving the Grimm around the area completely crazy." She said.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Oh, of course. We took care of the situation rather easily." Peach said.

"Whew. Well that's good. Sorry for causing you so much trouble I guess." I said.

"Oh, it's fine. You couldn't really help it." She said.

As we continued to talk, we arrived at what was probably the tallest building in all of the Academy.

"Ah, here we are. Take the elevator to the top floor. There you will meet the Headmaster." She said.

"Okay, well, thanks for everything. Maybe I'll see you later." I said.

"Oh it was no trouble. If you need anything then I'll be at my office. It's in the medical district, you know where that is right?" Peach asked.

"Actually I sorta lost track of-." I began.

"Good! Well let me know how your meeting with Ozpin goes!" She said as she walked off.

"...Can I at least get a map?" I asked.

I walked into the building and headed towards the elevator in the center. I looked at the different buttons leading to the many floors in the tower and pressed the one that led to the very top floor.

"If anyone has the answers, it's him. Don't let me down, Ozpin." I said.

As the elevator ascended, I began to think about the new information that Vanessa gave to me. Okay, so I died, was found in the fields of Beacon by Professor Ozpin, was taken to the infirmary, cared for there, and then I woke up here.

Well, nothing out of the ordinary yet. Well, more like nothing that stood out, none of this was ordinary. The elevator made some sort of ding noise, notifying me that I was here. The doors opened and I walked into the office. There he was, sitting at his desk, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

"Ah, hello there. My name is Professor Ozpin, I've been expecting you." He said.

"Hey, my name is-." I began.

"Your Brandon Kim. The boy who caused quite the commotion with our staff and the local Grimm." Ozpin said.

"...How do you-?"

"Vanessa told me about you, I told her to send you here once you awoke from your slumber." He said.

"So you're the one who found me in the fields, thanks for picking me up I guess."

"It was no trouble, Mr. Kim. Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, though I myself have some questions for you, and if you would be so kind as to answer them to the best of your abilities, that would be lovely. Wouldn't you think?" He asked.

"So you ask me what you want to know and then I can ask you what I want to know?" I asked.

"That's how I was planning to do it. Though if you have a better idea I'm all ears." Ozpin said.

"Well none come to mind so shoot." I said.

"Very well. I would like to know how exactly you got your hands on one of the twelve spirits of Remnant?" He asked.

"...Wait, spirit?" I asked.

"The spirit that resided within the blade of the sword that was beside you when I found you?" Ozpin asked.

"...What?" I asked.

"Do you truly not know what I am talking about?" He asked.

"Can't say that I do. Is it important?" I asked.

"Very, which is why it is very concerning that you do not know of the spirit of Caliber." Ozpin said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Never mind. I was hoping to know what it's abilities are, and how powerful the spirit itself is. Though judging by your actions, it's clear to me that not even you know." He said.

"Pretty much." I said.

 _'Though that would mean that the spirit acted on it's own accord. Even when there was no contract binding the two together. What could have possibly driven it to help someone outside of it's contract?'_ Ozpin asked.

"Very well, next question. I'd like to know what it was you were doing before you suddenly appeared in front of our school." Ozpin said.

...So, how exactly do I tell someone that I was basically being blown into a thousand little pieces, was put back together, and was dropped from one world to another in a way that wouldn't make him question my sanity?

"Well..." I began.

Should I really tell him about earth? About the war? I mean I know he's probably one of the most wisest characters in the show but I seriously doubt he would believe all of this.

"Are you well, Mr. Kim? Should I call Ms. Peach so that you could get further medical attention?" She asked.

...What the hell? Not like I have anything left to lose anyways.

"No, it's fine. Though it's one hell of a story I'll give you that." I said.

"Believe me, Mr. Kim. There aren't a whole lot of things in this world that would surprise me." Ozpin said.

We'll see about that.

"Well...I'm a human from another planet called earth that's a planet that also is sort of a home to humanity. There was this big war that started that involved all of the countries of the world. Yes, even Canada. Which is weird because they were supposed to be so nice. Anyways, a lot of people were caught in the cross fire of this war, and it eventually went nuclear after a little while, if you don't know what nuclear energy is it's basically a very powerful power source though it has a nasty affect on the human body. After a while, the land was to infested with radiation to support life so we eventually had to go underground to avoid the affects of said radiation. Though I wasn't so lucky, you see we sorta developed these things called nuclear bombs that basically messed up anyone in or out of the blast radius. I somehow got into the center of a blast, it went as well as you would have expected it to. Though apparently I was put back together after I was blown a part and I was dumped onto this planet for some reason." I said in rapid succession.

Ozpin just stared at me with a deadpanned stare.

...And he thinks I'm crazy. Not surprising really, I mean I did basically say that I came back from the dead, something that should have been impossi-.

"Well, that would certainly explain everything up to this point." He said.

.

.

Wait, what?

"We don't have a single file under the name of Brandon Kim in all of Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral, so as far-fetched as it sounds. It does explain why you seem to not exist in any of the kingdoms." He told me.

"Wait, wait, wait, just like that?" I asked, bewildered that he believed me so easily.

"Yes, Mr. Kim, I trust you, though I can't say that I believe you just yet." He said.

"B-but I-! You don't-! What?!" I asked.

"It's as I said Mr. Kim. There aren't a lot of things in this world that would surprise me." He said.

"Though I heard the mentioning of war in your story. If you don't mind me asking, could you be a bit more specific with that? I mean, I've had my fair share of wars but to make it's own land unable to support life? I'll have to admit, you've peeked my curiosity." He said.

"Well, that's a bit of a complicated question right there. I only got the details of the war from news networks and social media, and all of those made the other opposing sides look like complete monsters. Though I seriously doubt that was the case." I said.

"It seems that our definition of war isn't so far off, Mr. Kim." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, only thing I can tell you is that a handful of people took a little grudge a bit to far." I said.

"Hmm, so what was your world like? I'm curios to see what progress humanity made before it doomed itself into the underground." Ozpin said.

"Well, it's kinda like this place, except there are no Grimm." He said.

"No Grimm? My, it sounds like our worlds have quite the striking differences." He said.

You have no idea.

"In our world Grimm is the biggest threat to mankind's progress." Ozpin said.

"Though we somehow managed to screw it all up." I said.

"What about the Faunus?" He asked.

"The what?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"Not even the Faunus exist in your world. My, what a strange place you live in." Ozpin said.

"So what's a Faunus?" I asked.

"A Faunus is a human with animal like features on their body." He said.

"Weird." I said.

"Be careful who you say that around Mr. Kim. There have been quite a few problems with the subject of race." He said.

"W-what?! No! I wasn't meaning to sound racist! I'm just saying that those kinds of people just don't exist in my world!" I said.

"I'm merely joking. I understand that you would find it strange." Ozpin said. "So, you are in an unfamiliar world with an unfamiliar terrain, unfamiliar creatures, and an unfamiliar political system. As far as I's concerned you're basically stuck here." He said.

"Yeah, I kinda put that together." I said.

"Where do you intend to go now?" Ozpin asked.

"...I'm not really sure. I mean, it is a whole new world out there though if these Grimm are as dangerous as I've heard then I probably wouldn't really survive for more than a few days." I said.

"Hmm, well, instead of wondering around Remnant aimlessly, how about you study here in Beacon?" Ozpin said.

"Well what exactly do you guys teach here?" I asked.

"I see that you are unfamiliar with the concept of huntsmen and huntresses. You see, this school, as well as three others were specifically made to mold and refine generations of potential warriors to become huntsmen, the protectors of the world." He explained.

"These warriors have taken it upon themselves to protect humanity from the creatures of Grimm. They are elite fighters, far surpassing any military officer." Ozpin said.

"Tell me Mr. Kim. How many fights have you been in?" He asked me.

"Well, I don't exactly have the best of attitudes so that got me into a lot of fights when I was a kid." I said.

"How many of those fights have you actually won?" Ozpin asked.

"..."

"...I see. So it appears that you don't have a lot of experience in combat. Not only that but you would be fighting a very unfamiliar enemy. The Grimm aren't like other animals you may have encountered in your world. They are savage beasts with the sole purpose of wiping out humanity." Ozpin said.

"There is no shame in running. Though if you would allow me, I would like to personally train you to wield Caliber's vessel, as well as teach you how to use it's power." He said.

"Wait, why me of all people? Don't you have other warriors that could utilize it's abilities far more than me?" I asked.

"That may be true, though that doesn't mean they would be able to forge a contract with it." Ozpin said.

"Contract?" I asked.

"It's the bond linking spirit and master. It allows you to utilize it's abilities to it's utmost potential." He said.

"Though it must choose who it makes a contract with, and if it was willing to save you, a mere mortal, from certain death, then I think that it is safe to assume that it has taken quite the interest in you." Ozpin said.

"Hmm, have you handled these spirits before?" I asked.

"I have taught someone how to use the spirits power once before, I can do it again." He said. "So what do you say Mr. Kim?" He asked as he extended his hand outwards.

"How would you like to be the next wielder of Caliber?" Ozpin asked.

.

.

Well, it's not like I have a whole lot of options to begin with.

"Alright Professor Ozpin, you got yourself a deal." I said, shaking his hand.

"Excellent, now before I go show you to your room, come here." He said. I did what he said and walked behind his desk. He stood up, closed his eyes and put both his hands on my shoulders.

"Close your eyes and concentrate." He instructed. I did as he said and closed my eyes. He then began to recite some sort of chant.

 _"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."_ As he finished, I could feel a surge of energy flowing within me. I felt great, like I could take on the world. I felt alive!

"What did you do? I feel like I was just renewed somehow!" I said.

"I used my aura to unlock your own. Your aura is one of the key tools a Huntsman has; it is his shield. By baring your soul outwards as a force, you can deflect harm. Without aura, a Huntsman would surely die." He said.

"So it's like a force field." I said.

"That's one way of looking at it, yes. Come now, I will show you to your room." He said as we began to walk towards the elevator.

"..."

"Are you coming Mr. Kim?" Ozpin asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I said as I walked towards the headmaster.

* * *

 **Journal** **Entry #3**

 **So I've officially met Ozpin and formally met Professor Peach now.  
**

 **I've always wondered why we've never see her in the show.** **Well, maybe I'll find out while I'm training here.**

 **Now, I do not intend to do a time-skip like most fic's that have this setting. I plan to do a story arc of sort's to get my self warmed up for the main event.**

 **So yeah! You all have that to look forward to.**

 **Here are some of the Review's from the last chapter!**

 **Review Responses!**

 **Mew Shadowfang: I'm glad you like the lore I added! Sorry about the shitty grammar, I'll do my best to work on that as the story goes on.**

 **Gravenimage: I have something else in mind. ;)**

 **Well that's about it for review's!**

 **If you want to see more, then be sure to leave a follow, fav, or a review!**

 **I'll see you all in the next update.**

 **Have a good one~**


	4. Meeting New People

**Hello Reader's! Welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Meeting New People."

Thought: _'Meeting New People.'_

Flashback: _"Meeting New People."_

(My Pov)

After my little agreement with Ozpin, we began to walk to the room I would stay in for the year.

I still can't believe this is happening. In the span of what felt like a few hours, I was blown to pieces, went to the void, came back from the void, was thrown into Remnant, met Professor Peach (whom we haven't seen in the actual show for some reason. I mean, she's a really nice person, how the HELL haven't we seen her yet?), met THE Professor Ozpin, got an opportunity to train to become a Huntsman and got my aura unlocked all in the same day.

Well, it feels like the same day to me, from what Peach told me it's been an entire week. Still don't know how I got here, or if there's a way back, though between going back to a world that's pretty much unlivable and staying in a world that's basically filled with monsters that want to kill anything and everything that lives and breathes... Well, at least I can live here so I'll deal with the monsters. Besides, I'm being trained to kill said monsters so it's not like I'm completely defenseless. Speaking of getting here.

"Hey, Professor Ozpin, mind if I ask a question?" I spoke up.

"Of course, I'm sure you have many questions about our world." Ozpin said as we entered the building I would be staying in.

That's an understatement, I'm in an entirely different world, anyone would have questions.

"Do you have any idea on how I got here, or how I can possibly get back?" I asked him.

"Oh, are you considering going back to your world?" He asked with a small grin on his face. I started to chuckle at his question.

"Not particularly, I mean, living in a world filled with monsters wouldn't sound appealing to most people, but I come from the world that's basically in ruins, so I'm not exactly keen on going back anytime soon. And it's not like I'll be completely defenseless against them, I'm just curious how I got here in the first place." I said.

"I see. Well, to answer your question, I believe that the spirit was the one who brought you here." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, right. What was his name again?" I asked.

"Caliber, the spirit that resides within the sword that was by your side when you had first arrived in Remnant." He said.

"So, mind going into further detail on all of that? I'm not exactly from here so I don't really know a whole lot about these "Spirits" and all that." I said.

"Well, if you are going to plan on utilizing such a power, then you might as well know the tale behind it." Ozpin said.

"...So are you gonna tell me or?" I asked.

"Let us speak in the open room we have prepared. That way the tale can be told in a more relaxing atmosphere." He said.

"Why does the atmosphere matter?" I asked.

"Mr. Kim. Telling a story is so much more than reciting words you have previously memorized. Everything must be taken into account when telling a tale, the atmosphere, the time of day, the location, and most importantly, the way you tell the tale." Ozpin said.

"...I still don't follow." I said.

"Then let this be your first lesson, Mr. Kim." He said.

"But I haven't even started training. Don't you think you should wait until we actually start combat training before giving me a lecture?" I asked.

"Combat isn't just about two warriors fighting to the death." Ozpin said.

"Though that's an essential part to it." I said.

"While that may be true, it isn't all of it." He said.

"You see, depending on the setting, the atmosphere, and the location of your battle will determine whether or not your battle will be remembered for the generations to come." Ozpin said.

"I'm listening." I said.

"It's like this, let's say that two warriors, both very skilled and talented at there craft engaged in combat in one of our various combat stations we have set up around the campus. There's nothing memorable about that, there would be no tension following the fight, the atmosphere of the battle will be completely ruined. It won't be a battle that people would remember." He said.

"Hmm...Fair enough." I said.

"Now, let's say that two warriors were fighting on a mountain summit, or a burning battle field. Now that would be a fight people remembered. Two warriors fighting to the death, there clashes would echo throughout the battle field and would sing songs of there hardships." Ozpin said.

"I mean I wouldn't put it like that but I get what you're saying." I said.

"So tell me, Mr. Kim. Which story would you remember? One told in a mere hallway, or one told where your parents would tell you stories so that you may have pleasant dreams?" He asked.

"...I guess I'd have to pick the latter." I said.

"Excellent. Oh would you look at that, we're here." Ozpin said as we arrived at the room where I would be staying at.

"Shall we?" The headmaster asked, pulling out a pair of keys from his pocket.

"Sure." I said.

"Now, you will have to stay in a room designed for four people because we don't have a room made for one person." Ozpin stated as he opened the door to my room.

"That's fine, I like having my own personal space anyway." I said.

As we entered the room, I began to take a look around the area.

There was an average sized bed in the right corner of the room, a bookshelf with a variety of books mainly for the different classes here at Beacon. Remnant History, Grimm studies, Dust sciences, etc.

There was a desk next to the bookshelf, with an assortment of pens, pencils, notebooks and other supplies for school.

On the wall next to the bed was a painting of what I assume to be the Forever Fall forest. There was a bathroom to the right of the room. Considering that it was made for four people, and only one person was staying it, it was bound to be pretty spacious.

"Now, sit. Allow me to explain the origin behind the power you will be wielding from here on out." Ozpin said as he walked over to a chair in the center of the room.

I nodded and walked over to the bed.

"Now, allow me to tell you the tale of the spirits. Of Spirits and Weapons." He said.

"Long long ago, when the Kingdoms of Remnant were but simple towns, legends told of a legendary traveling blacksmith that went by the name of Olaf Avalonian. People say that his weapons were second to none because he was the very first person who started to manufacture dust into his weapons." Ozpin said.

"Dust?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"Hmm, I never thought that I would have to explain the concept of dust to another individual." Ozpin said.

"Dust is a very powerful source of energy used to power most of our technologies that we use today. It can also be used to give weapons more of a kick." He said.

"Hmm, okay continue." I said.

"One day during his travels across the lands of Remnant, he came across a temple. The temple held an old and ancient library." He said.

"In that library, he found a book of incredible power. Though this was no ordinary book, rather than being filled with the stories of old, it was instead a book filled with various contracts. Once Olaf opened the book, twelve spirits came out and met the man, asking him what he was doing in there library. The man said that he was merely searching for ways to perfect his craft."

"The spirits requested that they hear his tale, wanting to know more about this unknown world that they were now in. Once the man had finished telling his tale, the spirits made an offer to the man. Free them from the book by signing a contact with the realm where they reside, and they would help serve him and this world however they see fit."

"The man agreed and signed the contract with the other realm. Allowing the spirits to be free to roam Remnant however they see fit. Though the spirits would need a vessel if mankind would ever have any hope in harnessing their power. Naturally, Olaf saw this as an opportunity to make his craft legendary. He allowed the spirits to use his weapons as a vessel."

"So wait, are there only twelve or are there more? Because I seriously doubt that this spirit realm only inhabited twelve spirits." I said.

"Well, these are the only known spirits. Whether or not more had made shelter in our world is still unknown." Ozpin said.

"Once the deed was done, Olaf's craft became legendary. Warriors of all kinds would attempt to harness the power of the spirits, though only few would actually be able to forge a contact with them. The ones that did were rewarded with incredible power."

"Over time, they were given a tittle for there unimaginable power. They were known as the twelve Enchanted Weapons of Remnant."

"Though as the knowledge of the spirits spread throughout all of Remnant, so did the greed in the people's hearts. They wanted to take the Book of Contracts for themselves and make a fortune of their own."

"People, always gotta ruin the good things for everyone in the world." I said.

"Indeed. Anyways, one day, a group of bandits attacked Olaf's convoy and demanded he gives them the Book of Contracts. Olaf refused, and the bandits attacked Olaf, though due to the power of the spirits, he was able to kill the bandits with ease."

"Seeing the dangers of keeping the book, he went back to the temple and returned the book to the library. He then took the remaining enchanted weapons he had and scattered them across Remnant."

"Though throughout the course of history, warriors would take these weapons for themselves and charge into battle with there abilities."

"Some say that the kings and queens of Remnant wielded these weapons to protect there people."

"Others say that Bandits would take them to have an easier time raiding the various villages of the kingdoms."

"No one knows what happened to Olaf after that."

"Some say he faded away in the ripples of time, while other's say he died due to his harsh and unhealthily working conditions."

"Though he left behind a legendary legacy, the vessels where the spirits reside are proof of his success."

"No one knows what remains of the spirits to this day? Some say that they are nothing more than a myth. Some say that there is a possibility for the tale to hold truth."

"There have been rumors, tales, and songs based off of the different descendants of the weapons. It is a tale that has held throughout the sands of time."

"Though whether or not it keeps it's legacy will depend on the next generation of the weapon users."

"...Wow." I said.

"Now, don't you think you will remember the story in this kind of atmosphere?" Ozpin asked.

"Probably. Can't really speak for my future self." I said.

"Fair enough." The headmaster said as he started to walk towards the door.

"You should probably get some rest for tomorrow." He said.

"We starting training tomorrow?" I asked.

"No, I want you to explore the campus, get familiar with the lay out of the area, and above all, meet some new people." Ozpin said. "It's always good to have people you can trust." He said as he closed the door behind him.

I sighed and walked over to the bathroom, turned on the sink, and splashed water onto my face.

"So, this is my life now, huh?" I asked myself.

* * *

(The Next Morning)

As I started to explore Beacon Academy, I could finally marvel how beautiful and massive it looked. I mean, it could be considered a city on its own; everything about this place was absolutely beautiful, the library, the classrooms, the ballroom, everything.

I'll admit, this place is certainly a sight to be seen. Though I guess that won't be to much of a big deal in the future because it will all probably be torn to the ground.

Though that's what I intend to stop, even if that means I have to fight the basic equivalent to the Grimm queen.

But hey, who ever said this stuff was supposed to be easy?

As I continued to walk around the school, a school that I was still having trouble trying to navigate around. I continued to walk around. I could see new students walking around, marveling at the different structures in Beacon Academy.

Now, before I can even plan for the Fall of Beacon or any of the events of RWBY, I need to find out what time I'm in. If I'm in the RWBY timeline, then this is gonna be WAY harder than I expected.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice the girl that was right in front of me.

"Oof!" The girl huffed. I was caught off guard from the sudden contact. I had been so deep in thought that I didn't realize that I just bumped into someone.

"Ow, I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to trouble you." She said in an Australian accent.

"No, it's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going." I said, trying to reassure her that it wasn't her fault.

"No, I should have looked where I was going, it's my fault." She said.

"No, really it's not a problem. Look, we got off on the wrong foot, why don't we start over. The name's Brandon Kim." I said as I held my hand out to help the girl out.

"Thank you, yeah, that sounds good." The girl said as she took my hand. As I helped her up, my brain finally started to notice what she looked like. The girl had long brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a short, long sleeved jacket with a golden zipper, brown pants and black leggings with golden detail.

She also wore a black, semi-translucent undershirt was beneath her jacket, along with golden spaulders and vambraces on both her arms, as well as a similar belt. The top of her leggings are edged with a similar band and her heel are likewise protected, but the most noticeable thing about her was the pair of long, brown rabbit ears.

.

.

Oh. My. God.

"Hello, my name is Velvet Scarlatina, nice to meet you, Brandon." She said with a warm smile.

.

.

"Um, are you okay?" She asked me with a confused look on her face.

Okay Brandon, don't be nervous, she's just a normal girl, just say something to break the ice.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said.

"...So...I like your ears." I said.

"Oh!...Um, thanks?" Velvet said.

What the hell are you doing?!

I don't know! Just roll with it.

"Um yeah, the way Faunus are treated these days is absolutely horrible." I said, trying not to stare too hard.

"Oh I know, it's absolutely horrible! So are you a first-year student?" She asked.

"What, oh no, I'm actually training here to become a Huntsman." I said.

"Well, yeah, we all are. So what year are you, then? First? Second? Third?" She asked me again.

Guess I worded that wrong.

"Oh no, I mean I'm learning how to fight here." I said.

She looked at me in shock.

"What? I thought you have to go to one of the combat schools before you could train here!" She said in surprise.

"Well, let's just say that I'm sort of a special case." I said.

Velvet tilted her head in confusion but shrugged her shoulders.

"So, why did you want to become a huntsmen?" Velvet asked.

...Good question really. Why do I want to become a huntsmen to begin with? I sorta just accepted the offer and left it at that.

Never really gave to much thought to it to be honest.

So why do I want to do this?

Well...

"I do this because I have nothing left to go back to." I said, causing Velvet's ears to perk up.

"...W-what do you mean you don't have anything to go back to?" She asked.

"I mean exactly that. No home, no family, and no friends left to go back to. Not after what happened." I said.

"...I-if you don't mind me asking. What exactly happened to you?" Velvet asked.

"..."

"R-right. I shouldn't have asked. I get that it's a sensitive subject for you and I probably didn't really he-." She began.

"No, it's fine. It'll be kinda nice to tell someone about what happened that day." I said.

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked.

"Look, do you wanna hear it or not?" I asked.

"...I would be lying if I said that I wasn't the least bit curious about what happened." She said.

"Well, there you go. So, guess I should tell you about the very beginning." I said.

"I used to live on a small island outside of the border between Vacuo and Vale, it was relatively free of Grimm and the whole White Fang situation going on down here. Though that didn't mean that it didn't have it's own share of problems." I said.

"With the Grimm not being to much of a problem, people started to turn more towards seeing the problem with the people around them." I said.

"...W-wait. Are you saying that your island fell because-!" Velvet began.

"That's right. It wasn't due to normal means. My home didn't fall to Grimm or anything like that. No, my home was destroyed because a few people couldn't settle a little grudge they had with one another." I said.

"My home was destroyed by it's own residents. Every man, woman and child paid for the actions of a small group of people. They didn't have anything to do with it. Some were just being born into this world. But clearly they didn't care. All they cared about was settling their little grudge." I said.

"...What was the grudge that drove them to destroy there own home?" Velvet asked.

"Hell if I know. It was a fairly big place. I didn't know about nor bother to know about the problems of ever little person there." I said.

"I am the only survivor of the destruction of my home. Everyone else was gone, burned in the remains of what was left of my home." I said.

"It wasn't a feud between Faunus and Humans. No, it was just a group of humans fighting another group of humans." I said.

"I managed to get a boat and get off of the island. I wasn't able to find anyone in the town. I just...bolted. I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was that I wanted to get the hell out of that mess." I said.

"Being the only survivor, I had nowhere left to go. Everyone I knew and loved was dead." I said. "So, to be blunt. I don't do this out of the goodness of my heart. I do this because I don't have any where else to go." I said.

"I knew that I had to get the attention of the headmaster, so I took something from the island. Something I knew would grab his attention." I said.

"So here I am. The only thing pushing me forward is to find someone." I said.

"Wait, you want to find someone?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, a good man told me about this person. They weren't able to stop them, that's why he gave me the knowledge of them, so I could stop them." I said. "That's really the only thing pushing me forward." I said.

I turned towards Velvet to see an expression of complete shock and concern on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Why? You didn't burn down my island." I said.

"I know. It's just... I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." Velvet said.

"Oh...well thanks I guess." I said.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was this mans name?" She asked

"Trust me, with your vocabulary you wouldn't believe me." I said.

Velvet tilted her head in confusion but just shrugged.

"Were you two close?" Velvet asked.

"Not particularly. Though he was a good man, helped a lot of people." I said.

"Well, I'm sure he entrusted you with this knowledge of his for a reason. He must have saw something in you." She said.

"Maybe. Either that or it was because I was the only one alive at the time." I said.

"Heh, well whatever the reason, I'm sure you'll be able to stop this person." Velvet said.

Maybe. I mean she does have magical powers so it's not exactly gonna be a walk in the park.

"Also..." She said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I hope you find your own purpose to live for one day. Something you found on your own." Velvet said.

"...Tch, yeah." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Heh heh, you're a strange one, you know that?" She asked.

"Gee, thanks." I said dryly.

"Oh! No I don't mean that in a bad way! It's just that you've lost everything you've loved, and yet here you are pushing forward." Velvet said.

"..."

"Anyways, I should get to the opening ceremony. It's been a pleasure meeting you Brandon! I really hope that we can talk more sometimes. I'd like to know about what it was like on the island you grew up on." Velvet said as she started to walk away.

"Later." I said.

Velvet waved goodbye and started to walk towards the amphitheater.

 _"Oh! No I don't mean that in a bad way! It's just that you've lost everything you've loved, and yet here you are pushing forward."_

Yeah, don't get me wrong, the thought that your friends and family might all be dead isn't exactly a very settling thought. Though I don't have the time to think about that.

Velvet was here as a first year, that means that I have exactly one year before the events of RWBY start. I can't afford to waste any time, I've gotta be ready for the things to come.

I turned my head towards Beacon tower, looking at the massive structure as the sun shone over it.

So, Caliber was it? I'm not really sure what you saw in me, or why you decided to bring me back from the dead. Though if I'm supposed to be the next wielder of your power, then I might as well use it to alter the future a bit.

I smirked and started to walk towards Beacon tower.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #4**

 **So I've officially met Velvet. Defiantly not the first person I expected to meet, beside's Ozpin and Peach that is.**

 **I've also figured out that I have a year to prepare for the events of RWBY.**

 **Well... It's better than nothing, I guess.**

 **Now before we move on, I'd like to explain what the information is at the bottom of the page. It's sort of a way for me to identify and rank certain character's**

 **Here are the ranking's from worst to best.**

 **E (None)**

 **D (Below Average)**

 **C (Average)**

 **B (Above Average)**

 **A (Excellent)**

 **Professor Ozpin.**

 **Height: 6'6**

 **Age: Unknown.**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Time step**

 **Summary: Ozpin's perception of time slows, allowing him to move at speeds that would normally be impossible for a normal Huntsmen. It also allows him to strike harder while keeping his precision. He can also make a shield that surrounds his entire body with it. This ability does not increase his physical defense however.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: C**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked this and want more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	5. The Training Begins

**Hello reader's, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Training"

Thought: _'Training'_

Flashback: _"Training"_

.

.

"Mr. Kim." I heard a muffled voice say in the distance, though due to my state of slumber, I wasn't paying much attention to the voice.

"...Mr. Kim. It is time to start your training." The voice said.

Meh, I'll do it later.

"...If you don't wake up on your own, then I will have to force you." The voice said.

"...Very well. Know that you brought this upon yourself." He said.

Suddenly, a sudden blast of sound could be heard throughout the entire room, causing me to wake from my slumber.

"Gah! What the-?!" I yelled, falling off of the bed I was sleeping on.

"Ah, good to see that you're awake." Ozpin said as he stood next to my bed with a scroll in his hands and earmuffs on his head.

"What the hell is your deal?!" I yelled.

"Well, I tried waking you up normally, though I soon realized that you are quite the heavy sleeper." He said.

"Though did you really have to almost burst my eardrums?!" I asked.

"Maybe, though at the time it was the only option available to me." Ozpin said.

"Okay, so why did you wake me up at...what time is it?" I asked.

"Hmm...I believe it is four." He said.

"...You woke me up at four in the morning?!" I yelled.

"My, you're quite the load young man, aren't you?" Ozpin asked.

"The sun isn't even up!" I said.

"Meaning we will have more time to see what you are capable of." He said.

"...Wait what?" I asked.

"It is time to start your training as the next bearer of Caliber's power. He didn't pick you for nothing, Mr. Kim." Ozpin said.

"Right, so how exactly do I use his power again?" I asked, attempting to call upon his power.

"Well, you don't have his power yet. First you must forge a contract with the spirit." He said.

"You know, when you involve contracts, and power, it normally means something bad." I said.

"Well, only time will tell." Ozpin said.

"That's not exactly reassuring." I said.

"Don't be so doubtful Mr. Kim. The fact that the spirit brought you back from the depths of the void at least says that it has a certain level of interest in you." He said.

"Still, I've seen enough movies to know that most contracts lead to bad things." I said.

"Well, there is quite a major difference when it comes to the events of the fictional world, and the real world." Ozpin said.

"..." I merely stared at Ozpin with a deadpanned look on my face.

"Is something the matter?" He said.

"Hmm? Oh, no it's nothing." I said.

"...Well, time is wasting Mr. Kim. Every moment we waste her is a moment we could have spent honing your craft." Ozpin said.

"You have to have craft in the first place in order to hone it." I said.

"That may be true. Though I believe that with what I have planned for today, you will learn that you will need to be a...fast learner." He said.

"...What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"How old are you, Mr. Kim?" Ozpin asked.

"What does that-? Never mind, I'm sixteen." I said.

"Well, that means you have to learn the basic combat requirements in order to earn a spot in this academy in just a single year, so if you want to keep up with the students of the next generation, I must use more...extreme training methods." Ozpin said.

"..."

"Well, we mustn't keep the staff waiting. Come now, Mr. Kim. We have training to do." He said, walking through the door to my dorm.

"...Wait, staff?" I asked.

* * *

"I still can't believe that Ozpin is entrusting such a power to a mere child. This is not something someone of his age should be handling." Glynda said.

"Come now, Glynda. The headmaster wouldn't have chosen the boy to bear such a responsibility without good reason." Port said.

"I still can't believe that the legends are true! Everything we have ever known about our current history has been completely changed! Every tale of the respective spirit is now fact!" Oobleck said, more hyperactive than usual.

"I know! Not only that but if the vessel containing Caliber exists, then the other eleven must be out there somewhere, waiting for there next user to arrive!" Peach said.

"Not only that, but there is a possibility that there are not one, not two, not even three I tell you, but eleven people with unimaginable power roaming Remnant as we very speak!" Oobleck said.

"It is quite the incredible thought indeed. To think all those tales people in our youth looked up to and admired were true all along." Port said.

"..."

"You okay, Glynda? You've been rather quiet ever since Ozpin called us here." Peach said.

The witch sighed and started to walk over to the table where the weapon was laying.

"Yes, I am just...concerned." She said.

"Concerned for what, if I may ask?" Oobleck asked.

"The spirits actions have defied everything the legends have told us." Glynda said.

"What do you mean?" Port asked.

"I mean that in every legend of every spirit known to man, not a single one has ever acted on there own accord without a contract binding them to there user." She said.

"Right...yes I see why that would raise some concerns." Oobleck said.

"The spirits power far surpasses the capabilities of anyone in this room. Though unlike our semblances, there is a risk to using this power." Glynda said.

"Risk?" Peach asked.

"...Yes, and it is one that could cost him his very life." She said.

"...You act as if you have seen this before." Port said.

"It's because I have, all of us have. I'm sure you all remember when Ozpin took her in as his pupil all those years ago. Have you ever wondered why?" Glynda asked.

"Hmm...hold on a moment, you mean to tell us that she was-?!" He began.

"Yes, she was one of the spirit bearers. It's why Ozpin took her in, so that he may teach her how to use the power of the spirits." She said.

"...Well now, this has certainly been an morning indeed." Port said.

"Though if Ozpin has taught one of them in the past, then I'm sure that he will be able to teach him how to use the power." Peach said.

"...Perhaps." She said.

"Well now, I was going to explain the situation to them myself. Though it seems that you have saved me some time." Everyone heard Ozpin's voice say.

"Oh! Professor Ozpin! Hello!" Port said.

"Good morning Port." Ozpin said.

"So, why exactly did you call us all in?" Peach asked.

"Well, I'm sure that you all know of what had transpired yesterday." He said, causing the four professors to nod.

"I am here to tell you all that as of this day, the boy named Brandon Kim will be my own personal student." Ozpin said.

"I see." Oobleck said.

"As you have heard from Glynda, I have once taught a spirit user in the past. I intend to do the same with this one." He said.

"Though unlike her, we will all have to contribute to his development. We must put him to the test and push him beyond his limits." Ozpin said.

"I see." Oobleck said.

"Peter, Bartholomew. I'd like for you to take him out into the Emerald Forest for a couple of days." He said.

"Ah ha! Yes, there is no better experience than on the field itself!" Port said.

"Not to worry, Professor. We will make sure that the boy gets the lesson of a life time!" Oobleck said.

"So, where is he anyways?" Peach asked.

Ozpin's only response was to turn towards the door to the arena.

"You can come in now." He said, causing the teen to walk into the room with his hands in the pockets of his hands.

"Yo." He said, walking towards the group.

"Oh ho! So this is your student." Port said as he walked over to the boy.

"Greetings young man! I am professor Port, and I will be one of your instructors during your time here at Beacon. A pleasure to meet you!" He said, extending his hand outward.

"...Yeah, pleasure." Brandon said, shaking the old mans hand.

"Now, this here is-." Ozpin began, only for Oobleck to rush over to the boy.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim! My name is Doctor Oobleck! I will be teaching all about the long history of Remnant!" Oobleck said as he shook Brandon's hand violently.

"Nice to meet you!" He said, his voice shaking.

"...Now then, I'm sure you have already met our dear doctor, Vanessa Peach." Ozpin said.

"Hello there!" Peach said.

"Hey." Brandon said.

"Lastly, we have our combat instructor, Glynda Goodwitch." He said.

"Greetings." She said.

"Uh, hey." Brandon said.

"Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" Ozpin said as he walked over to Caliber's vessel.

"So, I want you to answer me honestly, Mr. Kim. How much do you know when it comes to sword play?" He asked.

"..."

"I see. Well then, at least we have a starting point." Ozpin said as he handed Brandon the blade of Caliber.

"Okay, so how exactly do I do this?" Brandon asked, getting a firm grip on the blade.

"Well, let's see how good your swing is." He said, pointing to a log standing in the front of the room.

"...So what, you want me to cut it?" He asked.

"That isn't what I said. I want to see how good your swing is." Ozpin said.

"What you don't think I can do it?" Brandon asked.

"Oh ho Mr. Kim, I know you won't be able to cut it." He said.

"Yeah, watch me." He growled as he walked over to the log.

Brandon took a deep breath and raised the sword up over his head.

After a few seconds, he slammed it down on the log, though the only thing he managed to do leave a little cut in the wood.

"Damn it." He said, attempting to get the blade out of the log.

"Come on!" He grunted.

"Allow me." Ozpin said as he easily pulled the blade out of the log.

"Tch, okay so you've got me here." Brandon said.

"I wasn't expecting you to break the log, Mr. Kim. You have no experience with the art of the sword, so that is to be expected." He said.

"Though with the proper training." Ozpin began and in the blink of an eye, he cut the entire log in half.

"...Whoa." Brandon said.

"Indeed. Now, let us see if we can't link you and the spirit together." He said.

"Okay...so how exactly do I do that?" He asked.

"Repeat after me." Ozpin said.

"Okay." Brandon said.

 _"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."_ The two of them said in unison.

"...Okay, so what...happens...now?" Brandon said, though right as he finished, he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh my!" Peach said as she rushed over to the boy.

Once she knew she was able to feel a pulse, she sighed with relief.

"Good, he's just unconscious." Peach said with relief in her voice.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Port asked.

"I don't know. This is the first time I am seeing a user link themselves with the spirit." Ozpin said.

* * *

 _ **My POV**_

"...Ugh." I groaned as I stirred awake.

Well then, Ozpin didn't tell me this about the whole linking process.

I got up off of the ground, dusting myself off as I looked around the area I was in.

One thing was certain, I wasn't in Beacon anymore. From the looks of it I was in some sort of field filled with some strange looking flowers.

In the center of the field was some sort of tree with glowing light blue leaves.

"Jeez, this is sure one weird way of forging a contract that's for sure." I said to myself.

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of footsteps coming from behind me.

I spun my head around to face the person walking, though once I did, the source of the footsteps was nowhere to be seen.

"...Okay I didn't think there'd be other people here." I said.

I turned my head back towards the tree and clenched my fist.

"Well, I guess that I have to go there." I said as I started to walk towards the giant tree.

Though as I the gap between the tree and I started to close, the sound of a whisper could be heard coming from behind me.

"What the-?!" I asked as I turned around to face the sound of the voice.

Though just like the strange footsteps, the source of the voices was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, is this some sort of trick someone's playing on me?" I asked as I continued to walk over to the tree.

I continued to walk towards the tree, the bottom of the trunk now clearly visible. The whispers started to act up again, though this time a figure actually appeared in front of me.

"The hell?!" I yelled, stumbling back a bit.

The figure glowed with the same blue light as everything else in this strange dimension, they didn't really have any real face other than two glowing white eyes.

"...Okay, who the hell are you? Are you the spirit?" I asked.

After a few seconds, the strange figure looked like it was starting to giggle.

"Uh, so is that a no?" I asked.

The figure continued to giggle, though after a few seconds they started to run towards the tree.

"What the-?! Hey! Get back here!" I yelled as I started to run after the figure.

I continued to run after the figure, eventually reaching the trunk of the tree.

"Okay, if there's some sort of joke you're trying to play then I'm not...getting...it?" I said as I looked up at the trunk of the tree.

What I found strange was the fact that I saw not just one figure, but five figures sitting on the roots of the tree.

"So...these your friends?" I asked.

The six figures merely looked at one another before staring back at me.

"Silence. That seems to be a common thing here." I said.

Suddenly, a sixth figure walked in front of me.

"This everyone?" I asked.

.

.

"Yeah, I thought so." I said.

The figure turned towards me and held out her hand as if she were passing something to me.

"...Uh, okay?" I said, as I took her hand.

Though as soon as we made contact, she along with the five other figures disappeared from sight.

"Are you-?! Seriously what the hell is your...deal?" I asked as I turned around to face yet another strange figure. Though unlike the other one's, this had a lot more clearer features than the other figures I had met.

Well, I say clear because I can identify one thing on it's body, that being the top hat it wore on it's head. Everything else was just a silhouette of something.

"So, you have to be the spirit." I said, causing the figure to nod.

"I've got a couple of questions for you." I said, walking towards the spirit.

"Why did you bring me back from the dead?" I asked.

"..."

"So I'm assuming your only form of responses are gonna involve nods and other movements." I said, causing the spirit to nod.

"Then I guess questions can wait." I said as I stood in front of the spirit.

"Name's Brandon. Where do I sign?" I asked.

"..." The spirit merely extended his hand outwards.

"...So is this it? Is this the contract?" I asked, causing the spirit to shake his head.

"Oh, though I'm allowed to use your powers, right?" I asked, causing the spirit to nod.

"Then that's fine by me, contracts can wait." I said as I shook the hand of the spirit.

Suddenly, a bright light consumed my vision, temporarily blinding me.

"Ugh." I groaned as my eye's fluttered open.

"Ah, I see your awake now." Ozpin said as he walked over to me.

"Jeez, that was really weird." I said, getting up from off of the ground.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

As I stood on the ground, I started to open and close the palm of my hand.

"I feel...different." I said.

"Oh? What do you mean by different?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm not really sure how to describe it. I just feel...different than before." I said.

"Good or bad?" He asked.

"Hmm...I'd say it's kinda good. I mean I don't really know what _it_ is but I know it's not necessarily bad." I said.

"I see...Tell me, when you decided to take your little nap, did you have any strange dreams?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, I was in this weird field of some sort where the grass was glowing with this strange blue light." I said.

"Interesting." He said.

"I know, there was also this giant tree in the center of the field, and the strangest part was that I wasn't alone." I said.

"...Pardon?" Ozpin asked.

Well, that grabbed his attention.

"Yeah, there were six people waiting for me at the bottom of the roots of the tree. They kinda looked like spirits except they still kept there human form." I said.

"...Well now, that is quite a facinating discovery." He said.

"Wait, you mean you don't know what I saw?" I asked.

"Mr. Kim, while my knowledge of the world of Remnant is vast, my knowledge of the spirits are quite...limited." Ozpin said.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"I only know what I saw from my previous pupil." He said.

"Oh, okay...wait, you mean you've taught a spirit user before?" I asked.

"Yes, a very long time ago." Ozpin said.

"...Who?" I asked.

"That is a story for another day. For now, it's time we get onto the main event." He said.

"Main event?" I asked, causing Ozpin to propel himself off of the ground with his cane.

"Your training of course." He said, landing at the other side of the arena while spinning his cane in his hands.

"Oh, right...so do you have a training dummy or something?" I asked.

"We have a holographic training simulator, yes. Though today we won't be using that. Instead your opponent will be me." Ozpin said.

"...I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly." I said.

"You are my pupil after all, so it is my job to get you into fighting shape." He said.

"B-but I don't even know how to swing a sword!" I said.

"We intend on changing that very quickly. Though for now how about you show me how you are in hand to hand. You do know how to punch, correct?" Ozpin asked.

"Sure I do." I said.

"Show me." He said.

"...Okay, though what if I come in from right here?" I asked as I pointed at his left side.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he looked to his left.

As soon as he did, I swung my fist in attempts to hit the headmaster, though in the blink of an eye, he was right behind me.

"What the-?!" I yelled, stumbling forward a bit.

"Your form needs some work. Not to mention your physical strength." Ozpin said.

"How did you-?! When did you-?!" I asked.

"So, are we just going to stand around all day, or are we going to fight?" He asked.

"..." My only response was to get into a combat position.

"Lower." Ozpin said.

"What?" I asked.

"You have to be lower to the ground." He said.

"Oh, okay. So like th-?!" I began, only for Ozpin to give me a swift punch to the face.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I yelled.

"Next lesson, Mr. Kim, always be on your guard." He said.

"Right, yeah whatever." I said, recovering from Ozpin's sudden attack.

The headmaster quickly sent another punch my way, though this time I was able to dodge this attack.

Once I dodged another one of his attacks, I rushed forward and attempted to hit the man.

Though the headmaster was able to dodge my attacks with relative ease. Before I could go in for another attack, Ozpin swept his leg under my feet, causing me to fall head fist onto the floor.

"Ow." I said.

"Heh, tired already?" Ozpin asked.

"Tch, I'm just getting started old man." I said, wiping the dust from off of my cheek.

"Very well." He said with a smirk on his face.

I growled and ran at the headmaster with my fist clenched. I threw another attack at Ozpin, though just like before, he was able to dodge the attack with ease.

"Yah!" I yelled as I started to throw punch after punch at the headmaster, though right as I went for a kick, he quickly moved to the side once again.

"I will admit, you're quite the fast learner. I'll give you that. Though allow me to show you how it's done." He said with a smirk on his face.

In the blink of an eye, Ozpin managed to close the gap between us in an instant. He started to throw punch after punch at me, though while I was able to dodge the first couple of attacks, the last one he threw managed to hit me.

Before I could react, Ozpin gave me a swift kick to the cheek, causing me to slide across the floor of the arena.

"Though despite all that, you still have a long way to go." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, I figured." I groaned as I got up from off of the ground.

"Oh ho! We're ready to depart Professor Ozpin!" I heard Port say.

"Yes, we have the bullhead all packed and ready for lift off!" Oobleck said.

"Wha-?" I asked.

"Ah, I see that the next part of your training is about to begin." Ozpin said.

"...What?" I asked.

"You'll be needing this." He said, handing me the vessel that contained Caliber.

"...I know I already said this twice now but...what?" I asked.

"Come now Mr. Kim! It's time to go out into the field! No better lesson that a hands on one!" Port said.

"..."

"Ah yes, I forgot to tell you. You'll be going out into the Emerald Forest for a couple of days to get a general idea on the enemy you will be trained to fight." Ozpin said.

.

.

"I'm sorry wh-?!" I began, only for Oobleck to put a safari hat onto my head.

"Come now Mr. Kim! We are already behind schedule!" Oobleck said, pulling me by my hood.

"Wait, hold on a minute!" I yelled.

"Hmm, I never expected to train yet another one. What a strange turn of events." Ozpin said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #5**

 **So I officially began my training with Ozpin, and already I'm confused beyond belief.**

 **I mean, I think I became the next wielder of Caliber, I feel different, though I'm not really sure if that's because of the spirit.**

 **Also I'm not really sure who those people were.**

 **Well anyways, I have to go and possibly die now.**

 **If you liked this and want more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	6. The Hunt

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all right's to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Hunting"

Thought: _'Hunting'_

Flashback: _"Hunting"_

"Now! Mr. Kim! I'd like to ask you a few questions before we go and set up camp!" Oobleck yelled as the bullhead flew over the Emerald Forest.

"Yeah?" I yelled.

"Now, how exactly did you get your hands on such a weapon?! It's not every day a person finds one of the twelve most powerful weapons in all of Remnant!" He yelled.

"..."

Shit, what exactly do I say?

Hmm...okay, I've got it.

"Someone gave it to me a while back. He wanted me to have it when he kicked the bucket." I said.

"...Oh! I see. Were the two of you particularly close?" Port asked.

"Not really." I said. "Though with the situation we were in he didn't really see to much of an option." I said.

"I see." Oobleck said.

"Now onto the next question. How experienced are you when it comes to handling Grimm?" He asked.

"..."

"I see. Well not to worry Mr. Kim. We shall give you all the knowledge necessary in order for you to defeat the creatures of Grimm." Oobleck said.

Yeah, I'm totally looking forward to potentially dying in a forest.

"It appears that we have arrived out our destination! Are you ready young lad?!" Port asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" I yelled.

"Then let us go forth into danger!" He yelled as he jumped out of the bullhead.

"Well! No time to waste Mr. Kim! Let us begin!" Oobleck yelled as he grabbed my hood.

"Wait, hold on a minute!" I yelled, though it was no use he had already jumped out of the bullhead with me in tow.

"Onward and upwards!" He yelled.

After a couple of seconds, we landed on the grass of the Emerald Forest.

"Oh ho! The smell of that fresh forest air." Port said with a smile on his face.

"Yes, it has been a while since we have been out on the field. Even if it's just for training purposes." Oobleck said.

"I think I need a minute to get my bearings together." I said as I laid on the ground.

"Yes, it is always quite the rush of adrenaline for people who are inexperienced in the field." He said.

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly." I said.

"Now Mr. Kim. While you may have one of the twelve spirits of legends residing within that sword of yours, from this moment onward your first hunt has officially begun!" Oobleck said.

"Yes, it's time for you to get some hands on experience!" Port said.

"From this moment forward, you need to do exactly as Port and I say if you have any hopes of keeping your life! Are we clear?" Oobleck asked.

"Alright, yeah I get it." I said.

"Well, I believe we should set up camp. Doctor, why don't you get the camp ready while I take the dear lad out into the field?" Port asked.

"...Very well. Though do be sure to come back before sundown." Oobleck said.

"Not to worry, dear Doctor. Come now Mr. Kim. It's time you learn the ways of the wild." The old man said as he started to walk towards the forest.

"R-right." I said as I started to follow the professor.

"So, tell me Mr. Kim. How does it feel to be out in the field of combat?" Port asked.

"Well, technically I haven't actually fought anything of interest yet so I can't really give you a real opinion yet." I said.

"Hmm...well from the looks of it that is soon to change." He said.

"...wait, what?!" I yelled, spinning my head around the forest in attempts to find the Grimm that Port was talking about.

"Ah, not to worry young lad. There aren't any Grimm in the area...yet." Port said.

"What do you mean by yet?" I asked.

"Let this be your first lesson in the field. Tracking." He said as he pointed at the ground bellow.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

Sure enough, there were a good number of foot prints on the ground below us.

"The first step is to analyze your surroundings. Tell me what you see, Mr. Kim?" Port said.

"Well...I do see a couple of footsteps around." I said.

"I mean beside the things I've pointed out to you." He said.

"..."

"I see. Well that is to be expected from someone first going out into the field." Port said.

"So what exactly am I looking for here?" I asked.

"You see, Mr. Kim. Tracking is so much more than just examining your surroundings. It's also about visualizing them." He said.

"...I don't follow." I said.

"Allow me to show you." Port said as he turned towards the tree.

"These are a pair of claw marks. That means that there was a struggle of some sort, and if I had to judge my the foot prints, there was indeed a hunter of some sort in the Emerald Forest." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, judging my these strange marks in the tree's and rocks, I would have to judge that there was a bit of conflict involving some gunfire, and knowing that I'm sure that it would have drawn the attention of some Grimm." Port said.

"That so?" I asked.

"Not only that, but judging by the dirt left by the Grimm, I'd say that this was a more recent battle." He said as he pulled out his weapon.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"It means that we have a rescue mission on our hands." Port said as he ran off deeper into the forest.

"...Huh? Wait, hold up!" I yelled, running after the huntsmen.

We ran through the forest, the sound of gunfire getting louder and louder as Port followed the trail that was left behind by the battle.

"We're almost there young lad!" Port said.

"Mind telling me what's going on?!" I yelled.

"A battle for one's very life, and from the looks of it, the one fighting the Grimm is on the losing side!" He yelled.

After a few more second of running, we eventually came by to a cliff side.

Sure enough, there was a pack of Beowolves surrounding some huntress at the side of a cliff.

"Grr, damn it." She growled.

"Mr. Kim! I want you to go and make sure that the woman makes it back to the camp safely!" Port said as he rushed towards the Grimm.

"Got it!" I yelled, keeping a steady pace behind Port.

"How about you chew on something more tough?!" He yelled as he threw his weapon at one of the Grimm.

The Beowolf turned around to face the professor, though he was quickly silenced by the axe digging deep into it's skull.

"Come at me foul beast! I'll give you a fight that you won't ever forget!" Port yelled as he grabbed the handle of his axe, firing various fire based attacks at the Grimm.

"What the-?" The woman began.

"Hey, you just gonna sit there or are we gonna get out of here?" I asked.

"Who are-?" She began.

"We can do the introductions later! Let's get moving already!" I said.

She was a bit shocked at first, though eventually nodded.

"R-right." She said as she ran ahead of me.

"Port! Let's go!" I yelled.

"That's professor to you young lad! Also why would I tun when there is glory to found?!" Port yelled as he swung his axe at one of the Grimm's head.

"Ah ha! Is that all you got you foul beast?!" He yelled.

"Shouldn't we help him?" The woman asked.

"Yeah, no. I doubt this is even a challenge for him." I said.

"..." The woman was slightly concerned but kept on running through the forest.

After a few more minutes of running, we eventually made it back to the camp.

Guess those tracking skills Port taught me really did come in handy, would have been wondering around the entire forest if it weren't for it.

"Ah! Mr. Kim! Glad to see that you've-!" Oobleck began, only to see the beaten and bruised huntress next to him.

"My word!" He yelled, causing the woman to fall down.

"Oh hell no! You better not kick the bucket after all that!" I yelled.

"Bring her over here! I'll start treating her immediately! Where's-?!" Oobleck began, only for Port to walk through the forest with two wild pigs in his arms.

"Whew! Not that was quite a hunt indeed! Well, I got us dinner for the night. How is the huntress we found?" Port asked.

"Working on it!" I said, dragging the woman into the tent.

"I see. Well it's a good thing we've found her when we did. There's no telling what would have come of her if we hadn't showed up." Port said.

"Yes, though we shouldn't celebrate yet. That will more than likely be the first bout of many." Oobleck said.

"Indeed." He said.

"Now, why don't you watch over the young woman while I take Mr. Kim out for a stroll." He said.

"...Do you plan on taking him there?" Port asked.

"Not directly. Though I do plan on giving him a little lesson on the place." Oobleck said.

"Very well." He said.

"Mr. Kim!" He called out.

"Hmm? Yeah?" I asked.

"Come along now. There's something I want to show you." He said.

"Um...okay." I said as I followed Oobleck into the forest.

We continued to walk through the forest in relative silence, though after a few seconds, the Doctor eventually spoke up.

"So tell me Mr. Kim. Where exactly do you originate from?" He asked.

"I come from an island that's just off of the border between Vacuo and Vale." I said.

"Hmm, interesting. So why exactly did you leave your home to come to Beacon?" Oobleck asked.

"Well..." I began.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"I kinda had to leave my home behind, considering the last time I saw it, it was burning to the ground." I said.

"...Oh. I see, well I'm sorry for your loss." Oobleck said.

"Not your fault. Not like you could have done anything about it." I said.

"I am a huntsmen. It is my duty to make sure that the citizens outside of the kingdoms walls do not fall victim to the creatures of Grimm." He said.

"It didn't fall to the Grimm." I said.

"..."

"Grimm weren't exactly much of a problem really. It was more the people living in our town." I said.

"I see. So your town fell because of it's own people." Oobleck said.

"Basically." I said.

"...Tell me Mr. Kim. Why do you wish to become a huntsmen?" He asked.

"Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to go." I said.

"That may be true, though when I look at you I see someone who is driven by a desire. It may be a single desire, but it is enough to push you beyond the limits you thought possible." Oobleck said.

"...Okay, I guess the other reason is...I'm looking for someone." I said.

"Who?" He asked.

"I'm not really sure myself to be honest. Though the man who gave me the sword gave it with the hopes that I'd carry out his dying wish." I said.

"I see." Oobleck said.

"He wasn't able to stop them, though that's why he gave Caliber to me, so that I could stop them." I said.

"..." He said.

Though before we could continue our conversation, we eventually arrived at some sort of cliff side.

"Ah, I see we arrived." Oobleck said.

"Whoa." I said as I looked at the view.

It was a regular view of the forest, though in the distance I could see some sort of ruins.

Though before I could question him about the ruins in the distance, the sound of growling could be heard in the distance.

"What the-?!" I began, only for Oobleck to put his hand in front of me.

"Fret not Mr. Kim. Those Goliath's are not concerned with us." Oobleck said.

"..."

"Mr. Kim. Not every Grimm is mindless." He said. "Rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought that they've undoubtedly lived for hundreds of years." He said.

"Jeez." I said.

"Indeed, and in there time between killing humans and attacking our borders they've done one thing. They've learned." Oobleck said.

"They've learned that when they attack our borders there chances of death are significantly increased, and for what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more." He said.

"Then why are they so damn close to the city?" I asked.

"They're waiting." Oobleck said as he turned his head towards the ruins.

"So what is that?" I asked.

"That right there, is the largest grave in all of Remnant. Mountain Glenn." Oobleck said.

.

.

"Oh." I said.

"So you've heard of it?" He asked.

"Briefly." I said.

"Well, it was supposed to be an expansion on the city, though due to some...unfortunate circumstances, it was eventually sealed off from the rest of the world." Oobleck said.

"So is that why you brought me out here?" I asked.

"Partially. I want you to take a look at the ruins and tell me what you see." He said.

"Well it's kinda hard to see from this distance. Though I guess I see a lot of torn down buildings." I said.

"I see lives that could have been saved." Oobleck said as he started to walk away from the cliff side.

"As a huntsmen it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can have a much larger impact by doing it with my mind." He said.

"As a teacher I can take knowledge, the most powerful tool of them all and place it in the hands of every student that passes in my classroom." Oobleck said.

"I look at that wasteland and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity, an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger." He said.

"..."

"Well, it looks like the sun is going down. We might as well head on back to the camp grounds. With any luck the woman that you and Port had found will have recovered." He said as he walked further into the forest.

"Right." I said, following the doctor.

* * *

After a couple of minutes, we eventually arrived at back at the camp grounds.

"Oh ho! So the good doctor returns! Welcome! I had just finished cooking up dinner." Port said.

"Excellent." He said, moving over to the camp grounds in the blink of an eye.

As I walked over to the camp grounds, I could see the woman we had saved earlier sitting on a log with bandages wrapped around her arms.

"Oh, you're awake." I said.

"Yeah, I took quite the beating back there." She said.

"Tell me about it. So what the hell were you doing in the middle of the forest anyways?" I asked.

"Yes, if you're a huntress then you should know that the Emerald Forest has been infested with Grimm for generations now." Oobleck said.

"Well, I wasn't really trying to go as deep into the forest as I did." She said. "I was just hunting this Grimm for a job I was supposed to do and I guess I got a bit lost." She said.

"Yes well the Emerald Forest has been known for how vast it is." Oobleck said.

"Indeed." Port said.

"I never thanked the two of you before. I'm glad you came when you did, I would have been a goner for sure." She said.

"All in the days works of being a huntsmen my dear!" He said.

"No problem." I said, biting into a piece of the pig.

"Hmm, you look rather young to be in the field." She said.

"Well, Ozpin has decided to take him in as his personal pupil due to some...special circumstances." Port said.

"Heh, well aren't you a lucky kid?" She asked as she slapped me on the back.

"Urp!" I started to choke on the piece of pork I was eating.

After a couple of seconds, I managed to swallow the piece of pork I was eating.

"Grr." I growled.

"Heh, sorry kid." The lady said.

"I save your life and you try to kill me." I growled. "So anyways, why exactly are you out here anyway?" I asked.

"Didn't I just-?" She began.

"I meant what drives you to be put yourself at risk by being out here?" I asked.

"...Well." She began as she pulled out a photo.

"I'm doing it for this little one right here." She said as she showed me a picture of an child no older than five.

"Ah, so you're a mother." Port said.

"She's not actually mine, it was a decision my wife and I agreed to." She said.

"That so...wait, wife?" I asked.

"You have your preferences, and I have mine." She said.

I looked at the picture for a couple of moments before standing up, stretching my arms outwards in the air.

"Well, natures calling. I'll be right back." I said as I picked up the vessel that holds Caliber.

"Hmm?" The woman hummed.

"What?" I asked.

"Hmm...that's a strange sword you have there." She said.

"...Yeah, I guess so." I said as I walked off into the forest.

As I continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, I began to think about what happened after I made that weird link think with the weapon.

Seriously, who were those guys?

It was weird, as soon as I grasped that woman's hand I felt some feeling of...familiarity.

"Then there's this whole ordeal with the spirits. Ozpin said that once the connection was made I should be able to call the spirit to my side." I said to myself.

Question is, how exactly do I do that?

"...Uh, so hey spirit guy. I know you can't really speak and all that but I was wondering if you can give me a crash course on how to use your power." I said to the sword.

"..."

"So is that a maybe?" I asked.

"..."

"Grr, come on you stupid piece of junk! How the hell am I supposed to use your power if all you're gonna do is give me the silent treatment?!" I yelled.

Though before I could attempt to communicate with the spirit any further, the sound of a snarl could be heard from behind me.

"...Uh." I slowly started to turn around to see a fairly large Ursa standing behind me.

"Hi?" I called out, causing the Grimm to roar in my face.

I don't really know what I was trying to accomplish right there.

The Ursa growled and swung one of it's massive claws at me, though right before it could make contact with my body, I quickly moved backwards.

"Okay, spirit or no spirit I guess I'm fighting now." I said.

The Grimm roared as it started to charge towards me, it's burning red eyes drilling deep into my soul.

It's okay Brandon, you can do this. You have one of the twelve spirits backing you up...it's just that you can't even use it.

"I suppose there could be worse odds." I said as I dodged another one of it's attacks.

"Yah!" I yelled as I swung my blade at the arm of the Grimm, causing it to howl in agony.

"Come on big guy, that all you got?" I asked.

Though before I could even react, the Ursa swung it's claw at me once more, sending me flying towards a tree.

"Okay...guess that answers the question." I said.

The Grimm glared at me before charging towards me, it's eyes glowing with a bright red light.

It attempted to crush me with it's claw once more, though I was able to dodge the attack and slash at one of it's eyes.

I quickly jumped up into the air and slashed at it's arm, though this left me open for yet another attack.

The Ursa roared and sent me flying through the air and head first into a cliff.

"Ugh, okay. That one hurt." I groaned, turning to face the Grimm once again.

I ran at the Grimm and slashed my sword at it's face once again, though this time I was able to dodge it's attack and jab at one it's eyes, though it still wasn't enough to kill the giant bear.

The bear took this opportunity to send me flying towards the cliff again, causing my aura to shatter upon impact.

"D-damn it. Come on." I groaned.

Though as the Ursa started to charge at me, the woman from before came in and kicked it across the face.

"Hah, hah, damn. My wounds still haven't fully closed." The woman groaned.

The Grimm glared at the woman and started to charge towards her with the intent to kill.

The woman pulled out some sort of lasso of some sort, wrapped it around the arm of the Grimm and pulled, severing the wounded arm from it's body.

However, this only angered the Ursa even more. The Grimm snarled and swung it's extra claw at the woman.

She attempted to dodge, though the wound on her leg prevented her from doing so.

"Gah!" She yelled as she was sent flying back towards a tree.

Though before the Grimm could charge forward to deliver the final blow, I quickly jumped onto it's back and dug my sword into it's back.

It threw me up into the air, though due to it's wounded arm, it was staring to slow down.

I roared as I brought by sword down onto the body of the bear, though what I wasn't expecting was for the Grimm to split into two separate pieces.

"...Wait, what?" I asked.

"...Whoa." The woman said.

"What's up with...you?" I said as I looked to my right.

Suddenly, the silhouette of the same spirit that I saw in that field was right beside me with a sword in it's hand.

"...Whoa." I said.

Though right before I could question how or why it came out, it disappeared from sight.

"How did I-?" I began to ask myself, though right before I could finish my question, Professors Oobleck and Port arrived at the scene.

"Is everyone alright?!" Oobleck yelled.

"As soon as we heard the Grimm roar we took off immediately." Port said.

"...Huh? Oh, yeah we're fine." I said.

"Yeah, everything's taken care of." The woman said.

"I see...well, all's well that end's well." He said.

"Speaking of which. We had just called the school and a bullhead should arrive in the morning to pick you up." Oobleck said to the woman.

"Whew. That's good. Was getting real tired of walking anyways." She said.

"Anyways, let us get back to the camp. We should all use some rest." He said as he started to walk back to the camp.

"Yeah, I'm ready to hit the sack." I said, walking towards the direction of the camp grounds.

* * *

The morning came rather quickly, as well as the bullhead that would take away the woman I had saved twice now.

"We wish you luck on any of your further adventures." Oobleck said as she shook the hand of the woman.

"Yes, and remember, stay vigilant." Port said.

"Heh heh, you haven't changed a bit Professor Port." The woman said.

"Please, you are a full fledged huntress now. Call me Peter." He said.

"Whatever you say." She said as she turned towards me.

"You're...a weird kid." She said.

"Gee, thanks." I said dryly.

"No, I don't mean that in a bad way." The woman said with a chuckle.

"Mommy!" A female voice called out.

The woman spun her head around to see that her daughter and wife were running towards her.

"Hey my little pumpkin. I've missed you." She said.

The other woman walked up to her wife and embraced her before pressing her lips up against hers.

"Jeez, get a room you two." I yelled, causing the two to break away from embarrassment.

"Hmm?" The child tilted her head in confusion.

"What the-?! Why you-!" The woman attempted to say, all while Port and Oobleck were laughing at the scene.

I looked at the blade of my sword, recalling the events of what happened last night.

Not really sure how I managed to call upon you, though at least I was actually able to do it, even if I didn't know how I did it in the first place.

"..."

Silence. Yeah, that's what I thought.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #6**

 **So this is already turning out to be a very eventful camping trip. Not only did I save a huntress from death twice, I somehow managed to call upon the spirit of Caliber.**

 **With any luck, I'll be able to do it again soon.**

 **Not only that but I was barely able to kill that one Ursa Major.**

 **My first Grimm kill, guess it's a step in the right direction.**

 **Brandon Kim**

 **Height: 5'6**

 **Weight: 154 lbs**

 **Age: 16**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Spirit**

 **For those of you who are confused by the Semblance's stats, then let me put it in an explanation.**

 **Destructive Power: Pretty self-explanatory, a Semblance's power to cause destruction.**

 **Speed: The effect your Semblance has on your speed, agility, and reflexes.**

 **Endurance: A Semblance's effect on your endurance, and level of susceptibility to attacks and damage.**

 **Precision: Influence to a specified target.**

 **Potential Growth: A Semblance's potential to grow in power.**

 **Range: Effect on your range and accuracy.**

 **Here are some of the review's you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response.**

 **DragonLord501st: Don't worry, Ozpin will definitely be more of a troll in the future chapters. I'll also work on the personality of Glynda so that it matches the show.**

 **War Historian: Yes, definitely better then the after affects. As for Velvet, I have a plan for ships in the future, so look forward to that in the future. As for an OC team, I wouldn't mind if you guys came up with an OC team!**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	7. Off To Vale

**Hello readers, and welcome to another installation of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all right's to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Vale"

Thought: _'Vale'_

Flashback: _"Vale"_

"Yah!" I yelled as I swung my sword at Ozpin, though the headmaster was easily able to dodge the attack.

"Hmm, I must admit you're picking up on these techniques rather quickly." The headmaster said.

"Yet somehow I'm still not able to land a single blow on you. Even if it's just a tiny little graze." I said, swinging my blade at Ozpin once again.

"Well, I never really expected you to land even a little graze on me in your second week of school." Ozpin said.

"...Okay, fair enough." I said as I attempted to stab Ozpin, though he merely sidestepped with little effort.

"My, it's quite a nice day out today, is it not?" He asked.

"Quit your daydreaming!" I yelled as I charged forward in attempts to strike at Ozpin, though he merely blinked away at the very last second.

"Perfect day for a picnic, don't you think?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, whatever." I growled, charging forward in attempts to strike at Ozpin once again, though each time I swung my sword at him, he was able to dodge the attack with ease.

I continued to swing my blade at the headmaster, though each attempt was only met with the same results as before.

"Yah!" I yelled as I swung my sword at the man once again, though right before the blade could make contact, he disappeared. Before I could even react, Ozpin quickly blinked behind me and gave me a swift chop to the neck, causing me to go stumbling back a few feet.

"Still, you're methods of attack are rather predictable and rather sloppy if I do say so myself." Ozpin commented.

I growled and charged forward to face the man, rapidly swinging my sword at him. Though as I swung my sword at him once again, he quickly caught my blade with his hand.

"Down you go." Ozpin said as he threw me over to the fountain.

After a few seconds, I emerged from the water.

"Tired?" He asked.

My only response was to spit out the water that I had managed to suck up from within the fountain.

Ozpin looked at me with a look of expectation in his eyes and motioned me to come towards him with his right hand.

I growled and charged towards the headmaster. Once he was in my range of attack, I quickly started to swing my sword at the headmaster.

Though sure enough, the man was dodging the attacks as if it were nothing to him.

Ozpin quickly caught my sword again with his right palm and in the blink of an eye, put his right hand on my neck.

I quickly pushed him off of me and attempted to continue my assault, though right before I could even land another attack on him, he quickly wrapped his hand around my neck.

Before I could even respond, he quickly threw me across the field we were training in.

After regaining my footing on the ground, I quickly charged at Ozpin again, though the man merely extended his palm outwards, causing some sort of green burst of energy to shoot out of his palm.

"Hmm, perhaps I overdid it." Ozpin said as he saw me go flying across the field.

Though after the dust had settled, the headmaster saw me charging forward with my sword by my side.

Ozpin chuckled and started to block each and every one of my attacks before holding out his palm once again.

"I believe that is enough for today." He said.

"Tch." I said as I put my sword back into it's sheathe.

"While your progress is quite impressive, you still have ways to go before you're ready for the level of combat training required for this academy." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that." I said.

"Though unlike the other students, they don't have a fairy tale on their side." He said.

"Which brings me to my next point. You do know that you can use your spirit during these training sessions, do you?" Ozpin asked.

"Of course I know that." I said.

"Though during all of our training sessions you have yet to use your spirit even once." He said.

"Well...it's not that I don't want to use it. It's more like...I don't know _how_ to use it." I said.

"Really now? According to Port and Oobleck you were able to call upon the spirit during a little mishap with a Grimm in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said.

"I didn't really call on it. It just sorta appeared then disappeared." I said.

"Hmm, I see." He said.

"Ever since that day, I haven't been able to call upon the spirit." I said.

"Interesting. Well, it is a start." Ozpin said.

"You trained one of the spirit users before, right?" I asked.

"Some time ago, yes." He said.

"Well how did they do it?" I asked.

"I don't know." Ozpin said.

"...What do you mean you don't know?!" I asked.

"I mean that when I was training her to use her powers properly, she already knew how to summon the spirit to her side. I merely helped her hone her craft." He said.

"...Wait, her?" I asked.

"Yes, the spirit user I trained was indeed female." Ozpin said.

"Who was she?" I asked.

Maybe I can get a decent idea on who exactly each spirit user is, or at least where the rest of the vessels are.

"..." The headmaster didn't respond, he only got a serious expression on his face.

"Touchy subject?" I asked.

"Let's just say that it is a story for another time." He said.

"..."

"Anyways. Let us get back to you." Ozpin said.

"Yeah what about me?" I asked.

"There are some issues that we need to address for the future of your training." He said. "Firstly we need to talk about the way you fight. While you have picked up on the sword technique rather quickly, your still rather sloppy and predictable. If this were a fight with any normal student then I believe that the fight would be over rather quickly." Ozpin said.

"Tch, yeah whatever." I said.

"For the future of our training sessions, we should focus on refining your techniques as well as tapping into the power of the spirit." He said. "However, that is a lesson for another time." Ozpin said.

"Now, let us get onto the second part of our lesson." He said.

"Second part? I thought you said we were done with training?" I asked.

"We are. I'm talking about more of a...social lesson." Ozpin said.

"Social?" I asked.

"Indeed. You are in an unfamiliar world. Perhaps it is the time the world you now live in isn't so...unfamiliar to you." He said.

"I don't follow." I said.

"Then allow me to explain. I want you to go down into Vale." Ozpin said.

"Oh...why?" I asked.

"Well, I think you should get familiar with the kingdom you will be living in." He said.

I mean it will only be for about two years but hey, I guess it's better than nothing.

"I also believe it would be in your best interest to get a tad more...social." Ozpin said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"...It seems that the bullheads have arrived. Well, it's time for you to explore an unfamiliar world, Mr. Kim. Though do make sure that you make it back to Beacon before nightfall. Strange individuals take shelter within the nights of Remnant." Ozpin said.

"I'm sure I can handle a few street thugs." I said.

"Perhaps. Though street thugs aren't the only thing that roam the streets of Vale." He said.

...Right, there are a couple of criminals in Vale, as well as a Faunus cult that's hell-bent on the eradication of humanity.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be fine." I said as I walked over to the runway.

City of Vale, huh? Guess that won't be so bad.

* * *

The city of Vale was packed to the brim with various kinds of people, hailing from whichever kingdom they may have come from originally.

Faunus and Humans alike could be seen roaming the streets, going about there day to day lives.

Cars could be heard zooming down the streets while people navigate through the massive kingdom, the cars having a unique look to them due to them running on dust and not gasoline.

This city was so foreign to me, yet it felt familiar at the same time.

I was expecting to be so alien to me with all these unfamiliar concepts that were never really touched on in the show, though now I guess that wasn't really necessary to begin with.

When you boil down and look at it as a whole, Vale is almost like every other big city you'll find back on earth.

With the exception all the dust, superhumans, robots, and basically everything else you'll find on Remnant.

Look, what I'm trying to say is that it's not as unfamiliar as I thought it would be.

Though that brings up a question.

"Where the hell am I going?" I asked myself, looking around the city in attempts to find just where exactly I was.

Apart from Tukson's Book Store and that Old dude that runs every shop for some reason, I really had no idea what was really around the city.

Well, guess it's time to see the sights and take a look around.

I started to walk the streets of Vale, various Faunus and Humans passing by me.

You know, when all the background characters aren't silhouettes and copy pasted models, the people really do look rather diverse.

Though I guess it would be kinda hard and pointless to come up with unique models for every single character they put out into the show.

However, I was quickly cut off by the sound of my stomach growling.

"...Right, I haven't actually eaten yet." I said as I started to look for the nearest diner.

They have diners here, right?

After a few more moments of walking, I eventually found a promising place on the corner of a street.

"Guess you'll have to do." I said as I started to walk over to the building.

Once I walked over to the diner, I opened the door and walked inside.

"Welcome!" I heard a girl say from behind the counter.

I waved and walked over to one of the seats in the counter.

"So, what'll it be?" She asked.

"What'd you got?" I asked.

The only response I got was for the girl to point up towards the various signs above.

"Oh. I guess that would help." I said, reading the signs to see if anything caught my eye.

"Hmm, Hamburger, Spaghetti, Meat Sause with a large pep I guess." I said.

"You got it." She said as she walked over towards the back of the counter.

"So, you must be new around these parts, right?" The girl asked.

"I guess you could say that. How can you tell?" I asked as she placed the pep in front of me.

"People tend to come here a lot. You get to know the locals." She said.

"Ah."

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

"Brandon." I said as I started sipping on my drink.

"Brandon, huh? Neat name. Names Vivian." The newly named Vivian said.

"Nice name." I said.

"So, what's your story?" She asked.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"You know, what brings you out here into the big city? Work? Family?" Vivian asked.

"...I guess you can call what I do work." I said.

"How so?" She asked.

"Well, I am training to become a huntsman." I said.

"Ooh, going up to the big leagues are we?" She asked.

"Something like that, yeah." I said.

"So what is it? Money, Fame, Greater good? Huntsmen and Huntresses have all sorts of motivations these days." Vivian said.

"..."

That's a good question. What am I hoping to accomplish here?

I sorta just had the goal if kill Cinder in my mind when I first took Ozpin's offer. I never really thought about the rest.

"I...haven't figured that part out yet." I said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine." She said as she placed the food down in front of me.

"Hopefully." I said.

"Well, the food isn't gonna eat itself. Dig in." Vivian said.

"Right. Thank you for the meal." I said.

* * *

"Come again!" Vivian said as I walked out of the store.

"Yeah, later." I said as I moved onto the streets of Vale, continuing to take in all of its architecture.

Alright, where to next?

This place is massive so it's not like my options are limited.

I continued to look around the city in attempts to find something that might catch my eye.

Though so far, nothing really caught my eye.

Most of the buildings were either shops, restaurants or other places that required me to have Lien, so I couldn't really do any of that.

So my options are rather limited until I can get some Lien in my pocket.

Not to mention that a few of the stores I passed by had a sign that said "No Faunus Allowed" on the front of it in bold words.

Guess some things with humanity never change.

However, there was one place that did catch my eye.

Tukson's bookstore.

"Hmm, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I've never been one for reading but it wouldn't hurt." I said as I walked over to the bookstore.

I opened the door, causing the bell to ring above it.

"Hello?" I called out.

After a few moments of silence, a man came out from the door behind the counter.

The man wore a short-sleeved quarter-zip burgundy and black shirt with a visible white undershirt. His hair was cleanly cut, and he had noticeable sideburns, along with hairy, muscular arms.

"Welcome to Tuksons book trade, home to every book under the sun." The man named Tukson said.

"How can I-." He began, only to quickly cut himself off as his eyes met my own.

"...Sup?" I said.

"Uh, how can I help you?" Tukson asked.

"Just browsing." I said as I started to walk around the bookstore.

"Oh. Well, let me know if there's you need." He said as he went back to his work.

I nodded and started to walk around the store, Tukson moving back towards the counter.

Eventually, I stumbled upon a book called "The Four Lords."

"Hmm, this looks promising." I said, taking the book off of the shelf.

Alright, let's see what we got.

 _"The Great War, a part of history that will forever be remembered throughout all of Remnant. This was a time of bloodshed and conflict, each of the worlds Lords locked in a battle that raged for years."_

 _"What was once but a mere battle for Territory and Land turned into a full-scale conflict with the Forces of Remnant."_

 _"Each side had there own ideas, way of life that would prove to be the spark of the conflict that would become the Raging Inferno of the Great War."_

 _"King Wulfric wished to expand his Territory and Resources for the good of his people, often attempting to form an alliance with the other kingdoms in hopes to feed and protect his people."_

 _"Queen Mulan merely wished for her people to continue there way of life, as well as wanting to spread this way of life with the other Kingdoms of Remnant."_

 _"Queen Valor wished to keep her kingdoms individuality, not wanting to ally herself with other nations in fear they would attempt to conquer the Kingdom she had worked so hard to build."_

 _"King Arthur merely wished to end the bloodshed that plagued his people, not wanting to risk any more danger to his people."_

 _"Though yet despite all of the conflicting ideologies and bloodshed, the four lords were able to come together under a single cause, creating a new era of peace and prosperity._

 _"Then, during the final battle of Remnant, a beast of unspeakable Terror laid waste to there armies."_

 _"United under a common cause, the four lords struck the beast down."_

 _"Once the dust had settled, the Four saw an opportunity to finally achieve the peace that the lords wanted. On the final day of the War, the Four Lords stepped down from there posts and would continue to protect not just their kingdoms, but all of the World of Remnant."_

 _"Not as Lords, but as teachers. With this newfound treaty formed and the Huntsmen Academies founded, the former Lords would take the knowledge they had gained from the war and pass it down for the next generation of Huntsmen."_

 _"Once the war was over and the Kingdoms of Remnant were united, the four Lords were entrusted with the safety of there respective kingdoms."_

 _"Each kingdom needed a champion to guard and preserve the peace needed in order for the people to be safe."_

 _"King Wulfric Entrusted the safety of Altas to Winter, The Winter Maiden."_

 _"Queen Mulan Entrusted the safety of Mistral to Spring, The Spring Maiden."_

 _"Queen Valor Entrusted the safety of Vacuo to Summer, The Summer Maiden."_

 _"However, King Arthur would take a much different approach when it came to the protection of his kingdom."_

 _"Alongside his Companion, The Fall Maiden, he would protect his kingdom until his dying breath."_

 _"With this new found peace founded, he would fight alongside Fall with the Power of the Vessel containing the spirit of Caliber."_

.

.

"Wait, what?!" I asked, re-reading the last line.

 _"With this new found peace founded, he would fight alongside Fall with the Power of the Vessel containing the spirit of Caliber."_

 _"Thus ends the tale of The Four Lords."_

"What?! No, there has to be more!" I said as I flipped through the pages in attempts to find any other information about the king.

"Hey! Keep it down back there! This is a library!" I heard Tukson said.

"R-right! Sorry!" I said as I put the book back where I had found it.

Well, this was certainly a...informative visit to the library.

I wonder if there's anything else left in here that might give me an idea of who the other twelve wielders were.

...Wait, the other twelve...

"...I think I just figured out what I'm gonna do, Vivian." I said.

* * *

"Come again!" I heard Tukson say as I walked out of the store.

If there's any more information about the other wielders in your library then yeah, I'll be back fairly soon.

"Later." I said, walking out of the store.

I looked up to see that the sun was still out, meaning I still had time in the day to do anything else that was on my mind.

Though right now the only thing I can really think of right now is the other twelve spirit users.

After all, if we're gonna be ready for what's to come, then we might as well get ourselves some strong allies as well.

I mean, if Salem can have the Maidens Magic, I suppose we can have the Spirits Power.

Though right now, I really only know of one of them. The one Ozpin taught awhile back.

Maybe I'll find out soon enough, though right now I suppose I should focus on actually mastering my own powers before going after the others.

However, as I continued to walk down the streets of Vale, I looked around to see that I was starting to wander in a more sketchy part of the town.

"Jeez. How'd I get here?" I asked as I started to look around the town.

It was rather rough looking when compared to the rest of the city, though that doesn't really translate to it looks bad.

There were various people sitting on the steps of the complexes that surround the area.

Some guys were having a small little street fight while the others just sat around and talked.

For a place like this, it doesn't seem to be half bad.

At least from my perspective, I've only seen one part of the actual city so far.

However, as I continued to walk down the road, I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I said as I continued to walk down the road.

"Hey! Hold it runt!" The man said as he grabbed me by the collar.

"The hell you calling runt?" I asked.

"Listen to me, pipsqueak! No one runs into me like that, who the hell do you think you're messing with here?!" The man asked.

Well if I had to judge based on of your breath I'd say some thug.

"Maybe you'd like me to show ya, huh?!" He asked.

"Sorry, I can't quite understand you over your god damn smoker breath." I said, covering my nose in attempts to block out the smell.

"What the hell you'd say?!" The man asked, his grip on my collar starting to get tighter.

"Guess this small fry has a mouth on him!" Another man said as he walked up next to his other friend.

"How about we knock him down a few pegs?" The man asked.

"You have any idea who controls this part of the city? Us, that's who!" The leader said. "So don't you forget it." The man said with a cocky smirk.

"..." The only thing I did was give the man a deadpanned stare.

"You got something to say?!" He asked.

"Can you put me down now?" I asked.

"Heh! That's cute! If you thought you could cross us then your even stupider than you look!" The man said. "Come on boys, let's teach this punk a-!" The man began, only to be cut off as I punched the man in the face, causing him to lose his grip on me.

"Gah! Son of a-!" He began.

Well, I could have gone the entire day without that experience.

"Now you've done it!" The man said as he pulled out some sort of switchblade from his pocket.

I looked to my right to see that the man was charging at me with the switchblade in his right hand.

The only response I gave the man was to give him another swift punch to the jaw.

However, what I wasn't expecting was for the silhouette of the spirit to actually appear from behind me.

Once the fist of the spirit met the jaw of the thug, he was sent flying towards a nearby trashcan, landing inside of it perfectly.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting that." I said as I stared at my fist.

"So." I began, staring at the rest of the men.

"Who's next?" I asked.

However, the only response I got was for the men to slowly back away from me with looks of shock and fear on there faces.

"...Um-." I began.

"What the hell are you?!" One of them asked.

"Hmm, well last time I checked I was-." I began.

"He's some sort of demon!" The other men said.

"...What?" I asked.

"Yeah! It's like he's possessed or something!" One of them said.

"Well, I wouldn't really say-." I began, only for the men to start to run in the opposite direction.

"Run!" One of them said as he grabbed their boss from the trash can.

"..." Silence filled the town as the group of men ran down the town, leaving me to process what just happened.

"How'd I do that?" I asked myself as I stared at my fist.

Maybe if I try it again...

Though just like last time, the only thing I was met with was silence.

"Figures." I said.

Guess I should start heading back, the sun's starting to go down.

I put my hand in one of my pockets in attempts to grab the scroll Ozpin had given me.

Emphasis on attempt because the only thing I managed to grab was the thin air.

"W-what the-?! Where is it?! I had it just a second ago! Where did it-?!" I began, only for the sudden realization to hit me like a truck.

"Hey! Get the hell back here!" I yelled, running in the direction where the men started to run off to.

* * *

"Hah, what the hell was that kid?" One of the men asked from within there hideout.

"Yeah, its like he was possessed by some sort of spirit." The man said.

"Can't believe he was able to take down the boss so easily." Another man said.

"Who was he?" One of them asked.

"I'm not sure. Though I know that I don't want to get on that kid's bad side." He said.

"Tell me about it." He said.

"Ugh." They heard the boss said.

"Boss!" All of the thugs said as they ran towards the man on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

"Whew. Thought we lost ya there." One of them asked.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Don't you remember? That kid was some sort of demon." The thug said.

"Yeah, was able to knock you out with one hit!" The other thug said.

"Ugh, yeah I remember. I still feel it." The leader said.

"This town's got some real freaks in it now, huh?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, though that kid's gonna wish he hadn't crossed us." He said.

"What'd you mean boss?"

The only response he gave them was to pull out the scroll that he stole from Brandon.

"Ha! You got his scroll!" He said.

"That'll show that punk!" The man said.

"Yeah, it will. Now let's see what kind of dirt we can get on this-." The boss began, only to quickly stop himself as he saw what kind of connections he had.

"What's wrong, boss?" One of the men asked.

"...Holy crap." He said as he showed the men the connections Brandon had.

Everyone in the room stared at the scroll in shock as they saw the name of Beacon Academy on the screen of his scroll.

"Do you have any idea what we can do with this information?!" The boss asked.

"Holy crap, we can run most of the industrial district with this sorta stuff!" One of them said.

"Why stop there?! We could dominate all of Vale with this sorta stuff! Just think about it! The whole of Vale run by us!" The boss said.

"Yeah!" All of them said.

However, as they were cheering, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming from the entrance to there hideout.

"Huh?" The boss asked as he held out his hand, causing everyone to quiet down.

The figure of the character was blocked out by the sun coming from the door, making it so that the figure wasn't able to be clearly seen.

"Hey, what's your deal?" The boss asked.

The figure merely kept walking down the hideout, the heels on their shoes echoing throughout the hall.

"Hey, did you hear me?" He asked.

"..."

"You listening?! I said what's your deal?!" The boss asked.

The figure merely started to look around the hideout, as if they lost in there own little world.

"Don't think that you can just walk into our hideout and walk ou-!" He began, only for the figure to suddenly disappear.

The boss attempted to speak out once again, though he suddenly found it hard to say anything at all.

He started to feel light headed all of a sudden.

"W-what just-?!" He began, only to see a thin blade impaled in his stomach.

The figure yanked the blade out, causing the blood to shoot off of it and for the boss to collapse to the ground.

"..." The gang just stood there in silence, shocked at what they had just witnessed.

"T-this guy just took out the boss like it was nothing." One of them said through the murmurs of the crowd.

Suddenly, the figure opened there eyes and stared out into the crowd with a smirk on there faces.

The mob froze at the sight. The only thing they could see was the smirk that was starting to form on the figures face.

As well as one Pink eye, and another Brown eye.

* * *

"Come on, where'd they go?!" I asked as I ran down the streets of Vale.

Seriously, how the hell did that guy even take it?!

He must have taken it when he was holding me up by the collar.

Damn it, when I get my hands on that asshole I'm gonna-!

However, my thought process was quickly cut off as I saw the various members of the gan run out of a building.

"...Well, found them." I said as I started to walk towards the warehouse.

Though as I got closer and closer towards the warehouse, I could see two guys laying in front of the building with a puddle of blood under them.

...You know, normally when you see two dead guys laying in front of the building, most people would just walk the other direction.

Well, we're not most people.

Not really sure what I was thinking when I walked into the building with no idea what exactly was inside.

I was expecting some big boss dude that I had to fight in order to get my scroll back.

Though with who I saw standing at the end of the building, I would have taken someone like that.

At the end of the room stood a pale girl with two different eye colors, her right eye being pink and her left one being brown, her hair was the same color as her eyes except they were swapped.

The girl wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with very high heels. Under her jacket is a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wears a multitude of necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck.

If you couldn't catch on already, then this was Roman's Sadistic little sidekick.

Neopolitan...I don't really know her last name.

The girl in question was sitting on the chair that I assume the boss of the gang sat.

Speaking of which, where is that asshole? I need to pay him back for taking my-.

However, my question was answered as my eyes met the corpse of the boss of the gang laying in the middle of the room.

And he's dead.

Maybe taking back my scroll might be a bit easier than I-.

However, as luck would have it, Neo was flipping through my scroll as she sat on the chair the boss originally sat on.

Well, former boss, I should say.

...So, I've got a few ideas on how to get my scroll back. All of which involve a high possibility of death.

"Alright, let's just hope this works." I said.

"Hey!" I shouted, causing Neo to raise her head up to face me.

Well, here goes nothing I guess.

"I think you have something that belongs to me!" I said.

The girl raised one of her eyebrows before looking down at the scroll.

After a few moments of silence, she waved the scroll up in the air.

"Yeah, now give it." I said.

Neo looked at the scroll then back at me before shrugging and walking over towards me.

...Wait, really?

I slowly started to walk over to Neo, making sure not to lower my guard in case she was attempting to pull any tricks.

She is the sidekick of Roman after all.

Once I had managed to close the gap, Neo held my scroll outwards.

Huh, guess this went better than I-.

Though right as I went in to grab my scroll, she disappeared in a flash of white light.

"What the-?!" I asked as I spun my head around.

Sure enough, Neo was right behind me with my scroll still in her hand.

"Okay, very funny." I said as I walked over in attempts to grab my scroll again.

However, Neo disappeared in a bright light once my hand was about to make contact with my scroll.

Neo waved my scroll around with a mischievous smirk on her face as if she was challenging me.

"Come on." I growled as I attempted to grab my scroll once again, however, instead of appearing behind me, she appeared above me and kicked me to the ground.

"Gah!" I gasped, falling to the ground while Neo landed behind me.

She turned towards me and stuck her tongue outwards.

Okay, if that's how you wanna play.

I got up and charged towards the girl once again, however it was met with the same thing, her dodging the attack while mocking me.

Damn it!

I clenched my fist and swung it at the girl, only for her to shatter into glass.

I'll never hit her like this.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much time had passed. I just know that I've been at this for awhile.

My breaths were starting to get heavy while Neo wasn't even breaking a sweat.

I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and ran at Neo once more, reeling my fist backward's as the gap between us closed.

Neo blinked away in a flash of light, though what she wasn't expecting was for me to quickly turn around to face her once again.

"Got ya!" I yelled as I rammed my fist into her gut, causing Caliber's silhouette to appear behind me.

Due to the sheer force of Caliber's strength, he was able to send the girl flying backward's and through the chair that was at the end of the room.

"...Holy. I did it. I did it! Ah ha! I actually landed a hit on her!" I said to myself.

However, after a few moments of silence, Neo could be seen slowly getting up from the rubble with a serious expression on her face.

...Well, I'm dead. Nice knowing you world.

Though it looked like she was struggling to get up for a bit. Guess that's why she relies so much on dodging.

She eventually got up and started to walk towards me.

"Tch." I prepared myself for any other tricks the girl may throw at me.

However, what I wasn't expecting was for Neo to throw my scroll back at me.

"What the-?" I asked as I caught my scroll.

Though as I stared at the screen of the scroll, two things caught me off guard.

One was the fact that there was another number in there beside Ozpin, and two was the message I assume she had just written.

 **"I like you. You'll be the one to entertain me for when I get bored."** Neo's message said.

"...Huh?" I asked, causing Neo to smirk at me.

Before I could question her any further, she started to walk away from me.

"Wait, hold on a second!" I called out, though it was no use. By the time I turned around she was already gone.

...Great, Ozpin tells you to get out more and you go and grab the attention of the right-hand man...or woman, of the biggest crime boss in Vale.

...Hold on, this might actually work out for me. I've never really thought of this until now, but this might actually work out for me.

If I can get both Roman and Neo to switch sides, then I'd have two powerful allies, one having connections all across the underworld.

I mean sure one of them has a questionable sanity but hey, as long as she doesn't try to kill me or my friends then it won't be so bad.

Right?

However, before I could actually leave the building, the sound of sirens could be heard from outside of the building.

"Freeze! This is Vale Police Department!" I heard from outside.

"...Uh oh." I said as I fled the compound.

* * *

"Where the hell is that damn brat?" A man asked as he sat in his chair waiting for his right hand to show up.

The man in question was a pale one with slanted, dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. Black eyeliner traced his visible left eye.

He wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories included a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band.

This man was the infamous crime boss of Vale's underworld.

Roman Torchwick.

"How long does it take to take out some stupid gang leader?" He asked.

Though right as he was about to head out to look for his right hand himself, the girl in question walked into the warehouse.

"Well, look who decided to show!" Roman said.

Neo rolled her eyes and took out her scroll to type her response.

 **"Can it old man."** She said.

"I told them that my right hand and I would be at the meeting tonight. So how exactly do you think they reacted when I showed up without my right hand?!" He asked.

 **"Did you make the deal?"** Neo asked.

"Yeah, but-." Roman began.

 **"Then quit being so dramatic."** She said.

"Hah, so what took you?" He asked with a sigh.

 **"I ran into some complications."** Neo said.

"Please tell me you didn't get caught by the cops." Roman said.

 **"Jeez, have a little more faith in me than that."** She said.

"Then what happened?" He asked.

 **"I had some time to kill, so I decided to have a little...fun before I came back."** Neo said.

"Define fun because with you, your definition can vary." Roman said.

 **"I was just toying with some boy for a bit, though it turned out he's quite the interesting one."** She said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

 **"It means that he had some sort of...ghost inside of him or something."** Neo said. **"Let me tell you, that thing packs a punch."** She said.

"...Wait wait wait wait...someone was actually able to hit you?" Roman asked.

 **"I know! How can I pass up an opportunity like that?! Finally, a decent challenge!"** Neo said.

"...Alright, just make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew." He said.

 **"I'll be fine."** She said as she stretched her arms out. **"Well, if our new clients are gone then I'm gonna turn in for the night."** Neo said.

"Alright. Good night, Neo." Roman said.

 **"Night, Uncle."** She said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry # 7**

 **So yeah, today was certainly eventful.**

 **I had to make a get away from the cops so that I wouldn't have to explain to Ozpin why I was on the news.**

 **Not only that but I managed to get on the good side of the right hand of Roman Torcwhick.**

 **With any luck, I can get them to switch over.**

 **Some may question if getting on the good side of criminals is a good idea, but it's like a soon to be dead woman said.**

 **It's not about overpowering your enemy, it's about taking away what power they have.**

 **Review Response.**

 **DragonLord501st: Thank you for the OC submission!**

 **Cmndr: Thank you for the OC submission!**

 **Azure: Thank you for the OC- Okay I think you all get the point.**

 **Neopolitan**

 **Height: 4'10**

 **Weight: 118 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Illusions.**

 **Summary:** **Neo is able to create very convincing illusions which can be used to fool enemies. These illusions do not appear to be very solid, as they shatter on impact.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	8. Caffeine

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All right's to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Caffeine"

Thought: _'Caffeine'_

Flashback: _"Caffeine"_

(My POV)

It's been about a week since I had that run-in with Neo. Ever since then, I've been talking to her more and more each day to see if I can figure out more things about her, considering we know next to nothing about her backstory in the actual show. I don't want to be too straightforward with her, I mean we just met a week ago and I highly doubt that she's gonna tell me her life story to a person she barely knows.

It's a work-in-progress, but she's not as bad as people in the fandom made her out to be. Sure she can be she can be a bit cocky and a bit of a teaser, not that the last one is necessarily a bad trait. She's not absolutely psycho like so many people thought she was.

As for Beacon studies and training, I have learned a few new things about Remnant and the creatures of Grimm. I was currently learning how to sense aura with Glynda. It already sounded hard, and trust me, it was even harder to even learn how to do it.

While I do have the whole aura control thing down, it works a bit differently than suppressing your aura. You see, when you're suppressing your aura, you need to be in a completely calm state so you can rightfully suppress it. With sensing it, however, the key thing to even beginning to learn it is complete concentration, and an understanding of one's personality.

The concentration part I could understand, but the whole "reading a person's personality" was a bit confusing. She said that sensing someone's aura was the easy part of the lesson, though identifying your target was a very difficult task and that you would be able to sense a person's aura, but you wouldn't automatically know who that person was.

In order to identify a person, you need to learn more about them. When you learn more about them, you will be able to easily identify them. She said that it is a good tool when trying to locate an ally, but difficult when fighting an enemy.

It doesn't work on Grimm, since due to their lack of souls, they can't be sensed with this technique. This skill was for mainly locating allies or potential threat's, not for locating Grimm.

I learned of a few more Grimm in the world of Remnant. First, there is the Banenyx, which is some sort of ghost-like Grimm. This type of Grimm is actually pretty rare, only appearing in places teaming with darkness and death, like a graveyard or something. It is said that this type of Grimm are actually the reincarnation of souls so dark that they could be considered Grimm.

Banenyx's can take the form of a person's greatest fear and most influential person. Without the illusions, they appear to be a humanoid Grimm with a Grimm mask and an unmoving mouth. They also bear a cloak around them, and the color of the cloak depends on what class of Banenyx they are. If they have a blood-red cloak then they're a regular Banenyx, if they have a white bloodstained cloak, then it's a mother Banenyx.

Then there's the Basilisk, the poison dart frog Grimm. It's a giant 13-foot tall black frog with white lines and spots on it's back. It has smooth thick skin that secretes a deadly poison.

The roof of the Basilisk's mouth is covered in spikes to impale its victims before it swallows. The Basilisk's main feature is its poison, which it is completely covered with. This poison is very toxic and can paralyze victims through touch. The poison itself takes about three minutes to paralyze someone, but this varies depending on the individual. The good thing is that it's not permanent.

The Basilisk has a 20 meter long sticky tongue that can be fired at high speeds to grab its prey. It then tosses it's victim onto the roof of its mouth to impale it before digestion. This prevents the victim from using a weapon to slice through the weak skin in its stomach.

It is surprisingly quick due to them being able to make large leaps with their powerful legs. They normally do this to dodge an opponent's attack and fire their long tongues when they see an opening.

So yeah... let's move on to a different subject. In Remnant History, I learned about the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of Dust in the entire world. As you all know, the survival of the world of Remnant depends on a crystallized substance known as Dust.

Its powers our cities, fuels our machines, gives us a decent fighting chance against the Grimm, and while the last one is yet to be completely proven yet, it can also heal otherwise incurable diseases.

So it's pretty damn important, well, not that I'll ever need to use it. I mean, I have an enchanted weapon that has a lot of potential to do just as much, if not more, damage than Dust will ever do.

Nowadays, it's damn near impossible to buy Dust that ISN'T from the Schnee Dust Company. It didn't always use to be like that. Nicholas Schnee, the founder of the Schnee Dust Company, was the son of a Dust miner-turned-soldier. Born just after the Great War, he found himself it the perfect point in history to take full advantage of the kingdoms next big industrial revolution. The Kingdom of Mantle was at an age of technological evolution, but realized that they depleted nearly all of their natural resources to do so. That's where Nick came in.

Rather than watch his kingdom become dependent on the aid of others, Nick decided to spend his days at combat school, his knights working alongside his father in the dwindling Mantle mines, and anytime in between learning everything about anything he didn't know.

When his old man finally kicked the bucket, he left his son with everything he had accomplished over the years. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to set his plan into action.

He left school, rallied all the men he could afford and set out on an expedition to find a Dust deposit that had enough Dust to revitalize his kingdom. It would have gone just as well as you would expect it would. If it weren't for a tribe deep in the frozen tundra of Solitas.

Most of the men that Nick had either hired or decided to follow him into the mountains were either dead, about to be dead, or considering being dead.

They would have all died if it weren't for the Skaal, a tribe that laid deep in the tallest mountains of Solitas. They nursed Nick and his men back to health, and wouldn't you have it, the mountain where the village lay was right next to the Dust deposit.

Seeing an opportunity, Nick made a proposal. He would supply the Skaal with all the food, supplies, and other resources in return for the Dust that lay right next to their village. The village leader agreed to the terms and thus, the Dust was brought to Mantle.

Fast forward a few years and the name Schnee actually meant something. Quality, affordability, trust. All those years of combat school were so that Nick could personally oversee every new expedition. Always liked a man who was willing to get his hands dirty for a good cause, and that's how the Schnee Dust Company earned the business of every kingdom in Remnant.

Sadly, this is also what drove Nick to an early retirement. Nick had started a family that missed him, and his body was in pretty bad shape. Working year's in Dust mines will have that effect on ya.

And so enters Jacques Gele, having been married into the family, Jacques decided to take the Schnee name over his own. He was... a lot of things, none of those things are good, though.

Most importantly, he was a cunning businessman, and he was able to convince Nick that he was the 'perfect' man to run the Schnee Dust Company, or SDC for short. From a certain point of view he was right, Jacques was able to make the SDC more profitable than it has been in the past. He completely dominated the industry, but at the cost of the company's soul.

Cheap labor, dangerous working conditions, he did whatever it took to destroy the competition. Jacques doesn't care about people, only about winning. As for the Skaal, well Jacques cut off their deal after Nick died. He said that "they didn't any help from a village of savages.". So that was the end of the deal between the Skaal and the Schnee's.

Now, I bet you're wondering how the Skaal were able to survive all this time without worrying about enemy tribes, Grimm, or even Atlas from coming after them. Well, there are many rumors on how they did it. Some say that they used storm Dust to manipulate the weather around the mountains. Other's say that none of them wanted to risk going after them when they were already so deep in a dangerous climate.

But the most interesting one is that the leader of the tribe used the Enchanted Mace, Sharur, to protect his tribe from dangerous blizzards, while keeping Grimm or enemy tribes out. No one has seen or even heard anything about the Skaal after Jacques cut off their deal.

Peach was currently on an expedition to one of the Dust mines in Mistral, so I didn't really learn anything about Dust over the course of the week.

I was currently headed over to the training hall for combat practice. As I opened the doors to the training hall, I see Velvet and Yatsuhashi from across the room.

"Oh! Hey, Velv! Hey, Yatsu!" I said as I walked towards the duo.

"Oh! Hey, Brandon! It's good to see you again!" She greeted as she walked up to me.

"Hello, Brandon. Yes, it is good to see you again." Yatsuhashi said with a bow.

"Yeah, it's good to see ya to, Yatsu." I replied.

"So, what are you guy's doing here?" I asked them.

"Well, Professor Ozpin called us over here to help you with your training." She said.

"How are you guy's supposed to help me with my trai-." I was cut off by a familiar voice.

"So this is the kid you've been talking about Velvet." A female voice said. I look over Velvet to see a girl with fair skin, short dark-brown hair, and dark brown eyes. The girl has wavy locks on the side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel.

Her clothes consist of a long, cocoa-colored shirt with a dark brown waist cincher. She wore long, dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets. Above it, she wears another cocoa-colored belt with a gold crosshairs buckle. She also wore a bracelet with black roses as a decoration; they are accompanied by black gloves and necklaces. She also wore a beret of a darker brown and a pair of black, wire-rimmed aviator sunglasses.

Well alright then, was only a matter of time before I met her!

"Oh, right. You two never met each other. Coco, this is Brandon. Brandon, this is my teammate, Coco." Velvet introduced as she moved to the side so Coco and I could be in talking distance.

"Well, hello there. My name is Coco Adel." She said as she extended her hand to greet me.

Okay Brandon, be cool, you will NOT fuck up another first impression!

"Yeah, it's nice to meet ya, Coco. My name is Brandon, Brandon Kim." I said as I shook her hand.

So far so good. I mean most of my first impressions could use some work but hey, whatever.

"Oooh, a polite one, nice catch Velvet." She said as she turned her head toward Velvet.

"W-W-What?! N-N-No! We're just friends Coco, nothing more!" Velvet said with a blush on her face.

I just HAD to open my mouth, didn't I?!

"Y-Yeah, we're only friends." I said with a slight blush on my face.

"Oh? So you're available then?" She said as she raised her right eyebrow.

"C-Coco!" Velvet yelled, her blush getting deeper.

"I'm only teasing, Velvet." She said with a chuckle. She then turned and winked at me from under her sunglasses.

.

.

.

D-Did that really just happen?!

"Hey, Fox! Velvet's friend is here! Get over here and introduce yourself!" She yelled across the room to a boy who was currently sitting on a bench. The boy in question had dark skin and dark, messy copper hair that has a long fringe and a cowlick.

He wore a sleeveless and an orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. His eyes appeared to be pure white, and his arms were covered in scars. He also had a vertical scar on his lips and wore a pair of long black gloves and several pouches attached to his belt.

He got up and began to walk in the direction of Yatsuhashi.

"Uh?"

"Hello, my name is Fox Alistair, a pleasure to meet you." Fox said as he extended his arm towards Yatsuhashi.

"Fox, he's over on your left," Coco said.

"Oh." He said as he walked in front of me.

"Hello, my name is Fox Alistair, a pleasure to meet you." He said as he extended his arm outward.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you too." I said as I shook his hand.

"What's up with that?" I mouthed in the direction of Coco.

"He's blind." She mouthed back.

"Oh, okay. That explains it, thanks." I mouthed as I gave Coco a thumbs up.

"No problem happens all the time." She mouthed. Our introduction was cut short as the sound of the training room doors opened to reveal Professor Ozpin.

"Ah, I see you're all here." Professor Ozpin said as he walked into the room.

"Hello, Headmaster Ozpin." Team CFVY said in unison.

"Now, I assume you are all wondering why I have called you here today." He stated.

"Yeah, Velvet only said that we were helping him with his training." Coco said as she pointed towards me.

"You are correct, Ms. Adel. As of today all of you will be Brandon's official sparring partners." he said.

.

.

"Wait, what?!" I yelled.

"Wait, wait, wait, why us, why not anyone else in the school?" Coco asked Ozpin.

"Because your team members have are already in acquaintance with Brandon. I just assumed that Brandon would like to spar with people he knew and not some random stranger." He said as he took a sip from his mug.

"Don't I have a say in this?!" I yelled.

"Yes. Do you disagree with my decision Brandon?" He asked with a slight smirk.

.

.

.

"No." I grumbled.

"Good, now let's get started, shall we?" Ozpin said.

"So, who am I fighting?" I asked Ozpin.

"All of them." he said.

"No, I mean which one am I fighting first?"

"All of them."

.

.

"Um..?" I said in confusion.

"For your first sparring match, you will be fighting all four members of team CFVY at once." He said rather calmly as he took a sip from his mug. Team CFVY then looked at Ozpin in shock.

.

.

.

.

"I'M SORRY, WHAT?!" I yelled.

* * *

I knew it, I fucking knew it, Ozpin is trying to kill me! I was right all along!

I mean I knew that I have come a long way in a short amount and that I had one of the twelve enchanted weapons. I also had one of the enchantments unlocked, so that was an added bonus. But I didn't think that I was ready to fight all of team CFVY at once! Oh who am I kidding, I KNOW I'm not ready to fight all of team CFVY at once!

"All right, I assume all teams are ready?" Ozpin said through the speakers.

"Hang on!" Coco shouted.

"Yes, Ms. Adel? Is something the matter?" Ozpin asked.

"No, but I want to spice this matchup a bit." She said with a slight smirk.

"Oh, here we go." Velvet muttered knowingly as she rolled her eyes.

"I don't like the sound of this." I muttered.

"Okay, Ms. Adel, what do you suggest?" He asked.

"Okay Brandon, if we win, then I am taking YOU shopping." She said with a smirk.

.

.

"Shopping?" I asked in slight confusion.

Then again, I don't know why I'm surprised really.

"Yeah, no offense but your wardrobe right now ain't looking so hot." She answered, the smirk still playing on her lips.

"Gee, thanks." I said in a sarcastic tone.

"If I win, then you come with me so I can spice you up a bit." She said with a smirk.

"Okay, what do I get if I win?" I asked.

"Hmm."

.

.

.

.

"How about you decide? Surprise me, tough guy." She said with a cocky grin.

"Hmm."

.

.

"Okay, how about this, if I win, then all four of you owe me a favor. I can call this favor in at any time, and you can't object to it. Got it?"

"Alright, that sounds good to me. How about you guys?" She asked as she turned towards her team.

"Yeah, I'm fine with that." Velvet said.

"As am I." Yatsuhashi said.

"No objections here." Fox said.

"Alright, are we ready to begin now?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, we're good." Coco yelled.

"Very well, Filss, start the countdown." Ozpin said.

 **Yes, Professor Ozpin. Match beginning in 5.**

Yatsuhashi unsheathed his sword from his back.

 **4**

Fox activated his gauntlets, getting into a fighting position.

 **3**

Velvet then got into a martial arts stance, while Coco had her hand on her hip.

 **2**

"Hey, Ozpin."

 **1**

"Yes, Brandon?" He asked.

 **Begin!**

"I. Fucking. Hate. You." I said as I unsheathed my sword from its sheath. I was the first one to make a move; I charged forward at team CFVY, hoping to get some sort of advantage.

Alright, let's analyze the situation.

Fox and Velvet charged at me at a fast pace.

Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi are all close quarters fighters, while Coco is the only ranged one.

Fox then swung one of his blades at me, to which I block with my sword, only for Velvet to come in with a kick of sorts.

Coco should be the easiest one to take down when it comes to close quarters combat, though at ranged, there's not a lot I can do.

I ducked under Velvet's kick, only for Fox to take the offensive and follow up with a barrage of slashes from the blades on his gauntlets.

It doesn't really help that Yatsuhashi is guarding her either. Makes it harder to go on the offensive.

I parried Fox's incoming punch and follow up with my own barrage of slashes.

I need to stay on the defensive for now. I still need to come up with a strategy. Fox parries one of my attacks and connects his two fists with my abdomen.

SHIT!

I then fly toward the wall, but before I could get knocked out of the ring, I impale my sword in the ground, bringing me to a slow stop.

"Not bad." Coco said from behind Fox and Velvet. I then get up and charge towards the duo.

Fox and Velvet are pretty fast too, so it's gonna be hard to close the gap between those two.

Fox jumps backwards for Velvet to go in on the offensive.

I need to find a way to lure Yatsuhashi away from Coco.

Velvet goes in for a kick. I quickly dodge out of the way, to which she grabs the back of her case handle.

Wait, she using it NOW?! Okay, that's going to be a pro-

Velvet hits me across the face with the small case and kicks me away from Fox and her.

Okay, didn't expect that.

"Hey, Fox, Velvet, stand back." Coco said as she walked towards me. They both gave her a quick nod and jumped behind her. An idea then sparks in my head.

Maybe I don't need Yatsuhashi away from her, I just need an opportunity to strike at the big guy, without Coco mowing me down in the process.

Coco's briefcase then shapeshifts into a Gatling Gun and she begins to fire in my direction.

I begin to run around the arena, circling Coco in hopes to close the gap between us. As I got closer, I could see Yatsuhashi getting ready to charge in to defend her.

"Perfect." I murmured as I lunged at Coco. Coco then turned her Gatling Gun into a briefcase as she swings at my direction. I simply rolled under the attack and appeared behind Coco.

You may be good when it comes to ranged combat, but up close and personal is my specialty!

I started to slash, stab, and jab at Coco.

Coco did her best to block the attack, but there was only so much she could block with her purse alone.

Yatsuhashi then starts to charge to Coco's defense, getting ready to swing his sword at me.

 _'There we go!'_ I then activated the Enchanted Sword and the blade began to glow blue, blue sparks emanating off of the blade and my hands as I swung the blade at Yatsuhashi.

 ** _'Buster!'_ ** I cheered in my head as I go to deflect Yatsuhashi's blade. As our blades collided, the air around us picked up for a second. Team CFVY looked at the blade in shock. I then began to slash at Yatsuhashi. To which he blocked every attack I hit him with. I swung my sword at him with all my might, sending him towards Fox and Velvet. As he looked at his Aura, he was shocked to see that almost half of it was already gone from the barrage of attacks.

I then turn towards Coco, who just looks at me with a smirk.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't ya." She said as she got revved up her Gatling Gun.

Yatsuhashi, Fox, and Velvet get ready to charge in a different direction in hopes of cutting me off. I charge at Coco, Buster still activated. Yatsuhashi and Velvet run to the right of the arena, while Fox runs to the left. I began to slash at Coco, only for her to dodge out of the way of the oncoming slash and Fox following up with a barrage of attacks. Due to the massive size of my blade, I was able to block them easily. I then heard Coco revving up her Gatling Gun again, getting ready to mow me down where I stood.

I smirk and quickly side step away from Fox, Coco frowned, not able to get a clear shot without hitting Fox in the process. She then switched back to her briefcase and charged at me.

As she swung at me, I saw an opening to kill two birds with one stone. I quickly ducked under both Coco's and Fox's attack. I swung my sword upward at Fox. Though Fox was easily able to dodge the attack in time.

"Damn, he's tougher than he looks." I said. Though before I could react, Velvet and Yatsuhashi were both on my tail.

"Yatsuhashi!"

"Right!" They both began to charge at me.

 _'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, I should end this quickly.'_ I then charged at the duo.

Yatsuhashi swung his sword; I swung mine to counter the attack. Velvet goes in to kick me in the gut and I roll out of the way, only for Yatsuhashi to grab me by the throat and throw me in the air. Yatsuhashi throw's Velvet in the air in my direction, and she follows up with a barrage of kicks before finally slamming me to the ground, shattering my aura.

 **The match is over! Team CFVY is the victor.**

"Damn, I didn't even get one of them." I said as I began to get up.

"That was a good match Brandon." Velvet said as she ran towards me.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. Not many people are able to block my attacks so easily." Yatsuhashi said with a smile.

"Gotta hand it to ya. Didn't do half bad." Coco said as she got up from where she was standing.

"What was that? How did your blade suddenly get stronger and gain more range like that?" Fox asked.

"It's my Semblance." I said.

"What does it do?" Velvet asked.

"Well.. it does a lot of things, that's just one of them." I said.

"Well, as cool as it was, you still lost, now it's time you keep your end of the deal." Coco said.

"Alright, I'll let you change my outfit." I said.

"Good! Now let's get going!" she said as she grabbed my arm.

"Wait, now?" I asked.

"Yes! We have to go before we all the stores close!" She said.

"Okay, okay, don't shove me." I said as we walked out of the arena.

"Well, we better go before Coco-."

"You three, with me, now!" Coco said to the rest of her team.

"Never mind." Velvet said.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

"Alright, so what do you think would look good on him?" Coco asked Velvet as she held up two shirts in front of her.

"Hmm, I don't know, I mean the one on the right is really cool, but the one on the left I feel would really bring out the color of his hoodie." She said.

"Yeah, speaking of which, I wonder of their done sewing in that emblem he requested?" She wondered as she put the two shirts on top of Yatsuhashi's arms.

"Coco, I understand that Brandon needs some new clothing. But do you have to get so much?" He said, trying to keep the pile of clothes from falling on top of him.

"Yeah, come on, I can barely keep all this clothing from falling over." Fox said, struggling to keep his balance.

"Well, I would like him to have his options for picking an outfit, you know. Besides, I didn't hear you two complaining when we were picking out your outfits." She said.

"I have to agree with Yatsuhashi, I think we have enough clothing for now." Velvet said.

"Not you too! Alright fine. Let's give him the clothes so that he can try them on." Coco pouted.

As they began to walk towards the fitting room, they could see Brandon waiting outside the tailor door, waiting for his hoodie.

"We got all the stuff that we want you to try on, go to the changing room and try them all on. When you've decided on which outfit to wear then come on out." Coco said to him.

"Okay, when my hoodie comes, come and give it to me," He said.

"Yeah, I will. Now go on, go try them on." She said as she put the clothing in front of the changing room.

"Jeez, ya think you got enough clothing?" Brandon asked her.

"Oh hush, go on and try them on." She moreorless ordered.

"Alright," He grumbled as he went into the fitting room.

"Too flashy."

"Too colorful."

"Too goth."

"Too bright."

"Too boring."

"Too glamorous."

"Too asshole-looking."

"Okay, this isn't even a shirt for men!"

Brandon searched in the pile of clothing for a good couple a minutes before finding a few clothes that peaked his interest.

"Huh, this might do just fine." He said as he began to take off his shirt.

"Here's your hoodie." Coco said as she opened the dressing room door.

"GET OUT!" Brandon yelled at her angrily. Coco then quickly shuts the door.

"Jesus, that woman's gonna be the death of me." He muttered to himself.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

"So what do you think of him guys?" Velvet asked.

"Well, he seems to be a confident young man, given the situation, though he can be quick to temper. He is pretty experienced when it comes to fighting, though considering that he's training under Ozpin, that's not a surprise." Yatsuhashi evaluated.

"What about you, Fox?" Velvet asked.

"Well I-."

"GET OUT!" They all heard Brandon yell.

.

.

.

"Um... as I was saying, I've only known him for a day. But he does seem like a cool guy, though he can be a bit loud." Fox said. Coco then walked out of the dressing room with a smirk on her face.

"What about you, Coco? What do you think?" Velvet asked.

"Well, he does have some nice muscles, and his abs aren't that bad either." She said with a smirk.

"I-I mean what do you think about him as a person!" She said, a light blush on her face.

"He seems like a nice guy, but not too nice. You know, the types that know how to fool around and have fun every once and awhile." She said with a wink, making Velvet blush even harder, making Yatsuhashi chuckle, and making Fox face-palm.

"Fuck!" They heard him shout.

"Though his filter could use some work." She commented thoughtfully.

"Yeah." Velvet said, sweat dropping a bit.

"Without a doubt." Yatsuhashi said.

"No kidding." Fox said with a chuckle.

A few minutes passed until Brandon came out of the room. When he walked out, he wore the same black zip-up hood, with the inside of the jacket, as well as the hood being grey, though there was also a knights helmet on the upper chest part of his jacket.

He wore a white shirt with a knight pointing the edge of his sword outwards, dark blue ripped cargo pants with various black belts with pouches, there was also a silver locket attached to the belt.

He also wore a pair of new black sneakers with white laces, and a pair of white socks. He also wore a black finger-less glove on his right hand, and a a white wristband with the same knight that was on the front of his jacket.

"Well, it's not what I had envisioned but hey, it's an improvement." Coco said with a smile. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm blind so I don't really know, but I'll just say it's good," Fox said.

"Thanks for this Coco." He said.

"It's no problem. I can't have my sparring partner looking like he just came out of the slums, now can I?" She said with a smirk.

"So if you don't mind me asking, just how much is this all worth?" Brandon asked her.

.

.

Coco then started to bang her head on the nearest wall she could find.

"There she goes again, wasting all her money on clothing." Velvet said with a chuckle.

"She'll never learn, will she." Yatsuhashi said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #8**

 **So I've finally met the rest of team CFVY, I guess it was only a matter of time.**

 **I like my new look!**

 **Even if it's similar to my original look, but hey, it's the thought that counts.**

 **Here are some of the reviews from the last chapter that you guys left.**

 **Review Response.**

 **Lazymanjones96: Thanks!**

 **DragonLord501st: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!**

 **nightmaster000: Thank you! Yes, each weapon has different enchantments. I will only have one girlfriend, I can't stand harems. I do plan on going through events up until Volume 4, after that we might go off canon. During the events of the story, I only know of the CANON villains, not of their abilities.**

 **Coco Adel**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 140 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Hammer Space.**

 **Summary: When activated, Coco has the ability to shrink any object she touches. This effect does not apply to humans, however. When activated again, she can return the object to its original size. An example of this is when she turns her briefcase into a Gatling Gun. She can also enlarge items, but this is both very exhausting and very aura consuming.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Fox Alistair**

 **Height: 6'2"**

 **Weight: 136 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: D**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: One Vision.**

 **Summary: When activated, it allows Fox to have superhuman hearing and senses. He is able to hear anything, including heartbeats and breathing.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Velvet Scarlatina**

 **Height: 5'6"**

 **Weight: 120 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Mimicry.**

 **Summary: When activated, she is able to copy anyones fighting style and weapon. She cannot, however, copy their Semblance, and once she uses a memory, she will have to relearn it again.**

 **Destruction Power: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: B**

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi**

 **Height: 7'0"**

 **Weight: 172**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Battle Stance.**

 **Summary: When activated, he is able to apply so much force into his blows that he is literally able to shatter the ground beneath him.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	9. The Tournament

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all right's to the series go to Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release**

* * *

Speech: "Tournament."

Thought: _'Tournament.'_

Flashback: _"Tournament."_

Neo Talking... Or Typing: **"Hi, Everyone!"**

Brandon: "Neo! Fourth Wall!"

Neo: **"Fourth what?"**

(My Pov)

It's been about two weeks since all of team CFVY became my sparring partners. Coco helps me counter ranged enemies, considering she has a Gatling Gun in her briefcase. She's also a pretty good tactician, though I would assume that's one of the requirements of being a team leader.

I'm now officially Coco's new "Shopping Buddy", or as I like to call it; "You carry the shit that I buy so that I don't have to, buddy".

And oh ho boy, does she shop A LOT. To put it into perspective, take everything you heard about Coco's shopping problem, multiply it by ten, and BAM! That's what Coco is like when she's shopping. She call's it a "Shopping Habit" rather than a shopping problem.

Yeah, well, when you're spending more money on clothing and accessories than you do on actual bullets, then I think there's a problem.

Fox is actually a pretty cool guy when you get to know him. He helps me with my hand-to-hand combat, as well has helping me learn how to sense aura.

When Professor Goodwitch isn't that is, and considering that he relies on this technique to identify the people he's met over the years, it's practically second nature to him. I've also become his new reading partner.

What? I can't watch any of the show's that I watched back on Earth, I needed to find SOME way to kill time, other than training that is. He can read Braille, so he's fully capable of reading without me. Though he says that he does finish books faster when someone who can actually see reads it to him.

Speaking of which, this guy makes a lot of blind jokes. I mean, at first, I didn't want to make the jokes because I didn't want to come off as an inconsiderate asshole, though Fox said that he really doesn't mind that much.

There isn't really a lot to say about Velvet that hasn't been said already. She helps me with hand-to-hand combat when Fox isn't around to do so. Though in exchange, I have to teach her how to use my sword.

I told her that my sword was just a regular sword, and she would probably be better off without it. She told me that I was probably hiding a second function to my sword when we were fighting. I told her I wasn't, though she didn't believe me. Guess weapons that aren't other weapons are pretty uncommon nowadays.

To my surprise, the weapon did actually have a unique feature that most weapons don't have; the metal of the blade was almost indestructible. Not only that, but it was able to cut through steel with ease.

Must be one of the effects of the enchantments placed on the weapon. I help her with photography, and by that, I mean she shows me a picture and asks me if it looks good or not.

She mainly takes pictures of weapons to add to her own weapon. Still don't know how that thing works, all I know is that it makes an exact replica of the weapon she took a picture of.

Last, but certainly not the least, Yatsuhashi. He helps me with my technique with the sword. I mean, it's not like that I'm bad with a sword, but he's had years of training and experience when it came to fighting with a sword, and I only had two months of training.

So he's teaching me how to perfect my technique and even how to deflect bullets. He's also my new workout partner. It's kinda hard to find a limit to Yatsuhashi's strength though, considering that Yatsuhashi is one of the most physically strong people I've ever met. So I decided that a new workout routine was required if he were to push himself to his limit.

Who would have thought that the people of Remnant never heard of "Strong Man Training". If you don't know what that is, I'll give you a run down. Instead of using weights or other machines designed to test your physical strength, you use an everyday object like a tire or a heavy shelf instead.

So far, it seems to be working out well. He said that he hasn't had a good workout like this in months. Right now we're seeing if he can drag a car through Vale and back.

Now, on to the different types of Grimm that roam this world. First, there's the Troll. The first thing they teach you in combat school is that brute force is something that you'll be expected to come against as a huntsman. From Ursai to Beringels, the creatures of Grimm have plenty of powerhouses on their side, but out of all of them, the Troll species is one of the strongest.

The Trolls are hulking beasts with terrifying strength. They are known for breaching the defenses of villages, allowing for Grimm to flood in and wipe out its people.

They also tend to use their environment, sometimes uprooting fully grown trees to swing around as its weapons.

What's worse is that a Troll's defenses get better the older they become. A young troll has little armor, and a considerably much slender body. A matured Troll's body is much more hulking and has more armor to protect it, most notably in the chest and arm areas.

It should also be noted that its downward-angled horns all grow and make it difficult for anyone who tries to slash at its neck.

The armor of a Troll is extremely tough and can withstand most attacks.

I've even heard that a Troll once blocked a blast from a heavy cannon just with its arm. Of course, even if that could have just been an over-exaggerated tale, I still wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Even without the armor, a Troll's skin is very thick and difficult to cut into.

As you could probably guess, a Troll's greatest weakness is its speed. In fact, as it gets older and bigger, it becomes much slower. So dodging its attacks won't be too difficult, but if you aren't able too, you'll be in trouble.

Even for an experienced Huntsman, a matured Troll can prove extremely difficult. The best way to deal with one is with a team that attacks from multiple angles.

When the Troll focuses on someone, that someone should worry about avoiding it, while their teammates attack.

When it changes its focus to someone else then that person should avoid it, while the original joins in on the team's attacks.

The best place to attack is the Troll's legs, as it's the least protected area and would restrict its mobility. If you come across a young Troll, you should take the chance to kill it there, or at the very least, maim it some way, like cutting off an arm or shooting out an eye or two. You may indirectly save someone's life in the future.

Then there's the second Grimm, the Gargoyle. When in contact with bright lights, specifically from the sun, a Gargoyle's movements become more sluggish.

In a combative sense, you could compare them to young Beowolves, but with wings.

However, when a Gargoyle is out of contact from light, they become far more ferocious. Their movements become more quick, and sporadic.

Their reaction times improve greatly, and their keen sense of hearing gives them a great advantage in dark areas. While their offensive skills improve, their defensive strength remains the same.

This means that as long as you can dish out some damage, the Gargoyle will go down just like when you fight it in the light.

The real trouble is being able to land a hit. A single Gargoyle shouldn't provide too much trouble, but if a Huntsman were to encounter even a small pack of them at night... Well, let's just say they better hope the sun will rise soon.

That's about it for Grimm Studies. Now let's get on to History. Let's talk about the Faunus Rights Revolution, or the Faunus War as some call it. Yep, that's right, another war, and only three years after the Great War.

Unlike the Great War, which was started due to a bunch of people not knowing the meaning of the word "sharing", the Faunus War started due to social and cultural ideology ideals, or everyone was a racist asshole back then.

Well... people are still racist assholes, but it's not that bad anymore, at least they have equal rights now. Basically, the war started when the human's wanted to put all the Faunus on a tiny island called Menagerie, and to countermand rights the Faunus earned in their participation in the Great War.

Not much is really known about the details in between, but the war came to a turning point during its third year, in the Battle of Fort Castle. General Lagune, an inexperienced leader in the Human army, attempted to ambush Faunus troops in their sleep.

The Faunus used their near-perfect night vision to their advantage and defeated the Human's larger army. Though they would have been outnumbered, if it weren't for the sniper that was staying above the enemy forces.

Rumor says that the sniper used the Enchanted Bow, Indra to pick off the enemy forces one by one.

No one was able to tell the tale of the Faunus who wielded Indra, because anyone who tried to get close never had the chance to identify the Faunus.

It is unknown how much longer the war carried on after this. In the aftermath of a war, likely the Revolution, the White Fang was founded for the purpose of acting as a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and Faunus.

Well, it USED to be that way, that is. Now the White Fang's tactics are a lot more brutal than before. But I'm sure you know that already.

Right now, I was heading towards Ozpin's office. He said that he has a special type of training for me.

So when he say's special training, he really means training he will enjoy watching, and I won't enjoy doing.

I shook my head and opened the door to Ozpin's office.

"Ah, hello Mr. Kim. Come in, have a seat." He greeted me as he sat down at his desk.

"Yeah, what kind of torture are you gonna put me through now, Ozpin?" I asked him. He was about to respond before I cut him off.

"Wait, don't tell me. You're gonna launch me back into the Emerald Forest to work on my landing strategy?" I predicted.

"Oh no no, wait. You're gonna throw me into the Emerald Forest for an entire week, telling me to live off of nothing but the fat of the land?" I said.

"Actually, the last one isn't such a bad idea." He said, putting his hand on his chin.

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GIVE HIM IDEA'S YOU STUPID FUCK?!

"I'm kidding. Anyhow, neither of those are the reason why I called you here today." He said as he put his coffee mug down.

"The reason why I called you here is because of your performance in combat."

"I'm working on it, I've only been at this for about two months." I muttered indignantly.

"No, you're actually doing better than I thought. Your performance in both your technique with the sword and hand-to-hand combat has improved immensely over the past two months you've been staying here." He corrected.

.

.

"Oh! Well, then what's wrong with my performance?" I asked.

"It's too good." He said.

.

.

"... Okay, you've lost me." I said.

"You don't know how to hold back your strength; you go in using all of your strengths and reserves right at the beginning of the fight." He tried to clarify.

"Well, what's the matter with wanting to end a fight as quickly as possible?" I asked.

"Let me put it this way. What if you're fighting a swarm of Grimm and you kill the first wave with all of the energy you had in you. When suddenly, another wave of Grimm even stronger than the last comes. What will you do? You used up all of your energy fighting the first wave. How will you defend against the next wave when you used up all your energy?" He asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Hmm." I thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with a response.

"I wing it?" I said with a shrug. Ozpin simply chuckled and shook his head.

"You will be eaten alive by whatever Grimm decides to make you its snack." He said.

"Okay, so how are you going to fix this problem?" I asked. He simply took out a slip of paper from under his desk.

"Remington's Fighting Tournament?" I read, a little confused.

"Fighters from the all of the different sectors of Vale will be participating in the tournament. I want you to go to the address labeled on the flyer and participate." He replied.

"Okay, so how exactly is this going to help me hold back my strength?" I asked him.

"During the tournament, you will fight a number of different combatants, most of which will not have their auras unlocked yet." He answered.

"Oh." I said, not really knowing what else to say.

"So basically, if you don't hold back when fighting against your opponent's, well, best case scenario, you'll give them a few broken bones." He said.

"Worst case scenario?"

"You'll kill them." He simply said.

.

.

.

"The tournament begins at 10:00. I would go get ready to participate if I were you." He said as he took a sip from his coffee mug.

"Y-Yeah." I said as I walked out of his office.

* * *

 _Downtown Vale Arena._

Okay, Brandon. You just have to fight in the tournament, without killing anyone in the process.

I was trying to mentally prepare myself as I walked in the direction of the Arena. Well, the building is probably the correct term to use, though as I walked, I got a message on my scroll. I glanced down to see that the message was from Neo.

 **"Hey, meet me at this new ice cream parlor, I need someone to go with."** I read the message Neo sent me.

"You mean you need someone to pay for it?" I asked.

 **"Tomato tomato."** She said.

"Sorry, I can't today. I'm busy." I told her.

 **"Aw, what could possibly be more important than hanging out with little old me? ;)"** I read.

Glad to see that she's just as humble as ever.

"Well, I'm going to participate in a fighting tournament, so that's gonna take up most of my time." I told her.

 **"The one that's in downtown Vale?"** She asked.

"Yeah, that one. Maybe next weekend I'll be able to go with you."

 **"Hmm, okay, I'll go with you then, after that we can go and get ice cream."** She suggested.

"Yeah, that could work, I'll meet you outside the arena." I said.

 **"It's a deal. I'll see you in a bit."** I closed my scroll and went to sit on a nearby bench to wait for her.

All of a sudden, a white flash of light appeared in front of me. I yelped at the sudden flash of light, falling off of the bench I was sitting on. I then look up to see Neo giggling down at me.

"You know, you could have given me a warning at least." I said in an annoyed tone.

 **"I could have, but where's the fun in that?"** She said.

"I hate you." I said. She then put her hand on top of her chest, giving a fake look of offense. She started to giggle again.

 **"So, have you actually entered the tournament yet?** " She asked.

"No, I was waiting for you to get here before I entered." I said as I got up from the ground.

 **"Well, here I am. What are we waiting for? I want to see you kick some ass."** She said as she began to push me towards the building.

"Alright! Alright! Quit shoving me!" I said as we began to walk towards the warehouse. As we walked in front of the building door's, we could hear a lot of voices from the other side.

"You think this is the place?" I asked her. All of a sudden, the doors opened. A guy then flew out of the building and hit the road in front of the warehouse.

"That's enough alcohol for you!" A man from the other side of the door said. The man behind the door was a tall man who had clean brown hair and a curly brown mustache. He wore a white shirt that was held up by red suspenders. He also wore a pair of black dress pants and black dress shoes.

"Aw, come on man! One more shot never hurt anyone." The man on the road said with a slight slur in his voice.

"I said-" He said as he pulled out his Model 870 Express Tactical Shotgun from his back.

"Get. Out!" He yelled as he pointed his shotgun at the guy on the road and fired near his legs. The man then scurried away from the building and into a nearby alleyway.

 **"Yeah, I think we're in the right place."** Neo said to me.

"Well, that takes care of that." The man said as put down his shotgun. He then looks over in out direction.

"Hello there, anything I can do for you?" He asked rather politely, considering he had just shot at a drunk guy.

"Is this the place?" I asked him as I pulled out the flyer. He looked at the flyer and nodded.

"Yeah, this is the place. You and your girlfriend gonna watch some fights tonight?" He asked. Neo started to laugh at my reaction.

"What?! No! She's not my girlfriend!" I said.

 **"What?! I'm not? But I thought we had something special."** She said, wiping away a fake tear.

"You're not helping!" I said. She simply began to laugh harder at this.

"Oh, well then what are you here for kid?" The man said.

"I'm here to compete." I said.

.

.

After a few moments of silence, he began to laugh and started to slap me on the back.

"Well then, why didn't you say so sooner? Come on in, we're about to start!" He told us as he led us both inside the building.

"By the way, the name's Remington." He introduced.

"Hi, the name's Brandon, and that's Neo." I said, pointing my thumb at Neo.

"Well, hi there ma'am. Hope you'll enjoy your time here." He said to her. She simply nodded at him.

"Well then, let me show you to the changing rooms. Oh, here, you'll have to put these on." He said as he handed me a white sleeveless shirt and a pair of black sweat pants.

"The changing rooms are right over there. Put these on and be prepared to enter the ring." He instructed as he walked off in the direction of the bar.

"Well, wish me luck." I said to Neo.

 **"Meh, I doubt you'll need it."** She said with a shrug.

"Probably not." I said as I walked towards the changing rooms.

* * *

I walked towards the arena after I finished changing. There were a group of people in front of it, probably other fighters participating in the tournament. Then, Remington went up to the ring and began to talk into a microphone.

"Hello, everyone! I am pleased to welcome each and every one of you to Remington's Fighting Tournament!" He said into the microphone. Everyone in the crowd from the stands began to cheer in excitement.

 **"Now before we start, there are a few rules you will have to comply with, or else you will be disqualified."** He said.

 **"Rule Number One, if someone yells stop, someone goes limp or taps out, then the fight is over."**

 **"Rule Number Two, fight's will go on as long as they have to."**

 **"Rule Number Three, if a fighter is caught with a weapon of any sort throughout the fight, then they will be disqualified and banned from any future tournaments."**

Sounds like the rules to fight club.

Except they excluded the rule of, you do not talk about fight club.

 **"That's all for the rules. Now I'm sure you all want to see some fights!"** He excitedly yelled into the microphone. The crowd roared in agreement.

"That's what I like to hear! Now let's see who will be fighting first." He said as he pulled out his scroll.

"The first two contenders will be: Aiden vs Brandon." He announced.

Well, here goes nothing, this shouldn't take long anyway.

I did a few stretches and climbed into the ring. The man named Aiden was a tall, muscular man with pale skin and brown hair. He wore a green sleeveless shirt and black sweatpants.

"Ha! I didn't know they let kids enter. I thought this was supposed to be the best fighting tournament around!" He taunted.

Yeah, this shouldn't take long at all.

"Alright fighters! Are you ready?" Remington asked into the microphone.

"Yeah, start the match already, this shouldn't even be a challenge." He said. I simply rolled my eyes and nodded. I looked over to one of the stand's to see Neo waving a flag that said "GO BRANDON! :)" written on it.

Where the hell was she keeping that?

.

.

.

O-on second thought, I'd rather not know.

"Alright fighters! BEGIN!" Remington said as he rung the bell. Aiden then began to circle me.

"Alright kid, how bout I show you how a real man fi-!" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as I punched him in the face. He stumbled back a bit before landing on the railing of the ring.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt you? I didn't mean to do that. Please, show me exactly how a REAL man fights." I said with a cocky grin.

"You're gonna pay for that!" He yelled, charging at me again. I duck under another one of his punches. He then tries to go in for a kick, only for me to simply sidestep out of the way.

He started to throw a series of punches and kicks, only for me to simply dodge or block each oncoming attack.

Wow, this guy is REALLY predictable, and he calls himself a fighter? Hmm, maybe I can have a little fun with this.

I rolled out of the way of his attacks and to the other side of the ring.

"Get back here!" He yelled as began to charge at me.

I've always wanted to do this.

"You're probably about to say..."

 **"I'll show you what happens when you piss me off!"** They said in perfect unison. He stopped dead in his track's, clearly shocked about how I could so easily predict what he would say.

"Huh?" Before he could question me any further, I took the opportunity to punch him across the jaw, knocking him out.

Ah, Jojo. What would my life be like without you?

"That's one victory for Brandon, everyone!" Remington said into the mic. The crowd erupted into applause.

"But it look's like the fight isn't over for Brandon!" Remington announced.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, you see here, in Remington's Fighting Tournament, anyone can join the fight." He explained. As soon as he said that, five other guys began to climb into the arena.

"Well, alright then." I said, cracking my knuckles.

Maybe this will be a little bit challenging.

I reeled my fist back in preparation to fight as all five guys began to run towards me.

* * *

(20 Minutes Later)

It wasn't. Most of the guys that I fought went down within the first few hits, mainly because they didn't have their aura unlocked. Then again, I didn't come here looking for a challenge, Ozpin sent me here so that I could learn to hold back. I haven't killed anyone yet, so that's good. As for broken bones. Well... one out of two isn't bad, right? It's not like I did it on purpose! I just went a bit... overboard. The door to the room I was staying in opened, and a man in a tuxedo and sunglasses walked in.

"Hey, you're up." The man in the suit said.

"Thanks." I replied as I began to walk towards the ring, only to be stopped by the man grabbing my shoulder.

"Be careful with that one. I saw his last match, you won't win as easily as your last match." He warned me before letting go of my shoulder.

"Um, thanks, but I think I'll be fine." I said as I began to walk towards the ring.

'Actually, this might be just what I needed.' I said to myself as I stepped into the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Welcome to the final round of Remington's Fighting Tournament! Unfortunately, the last two fighters who entered the ring were able to get rid or scare off the remaining competitor's." Remington said.

Well, that was quicker than I thought. Wonder who the other guy is.

"But to make up for the lack of matches, we have probably the most intense fight we will have tonight!" Remington announced. There was sudden applause coming from the crowd.

Okay, now I'm curious.

"For our first fighter, he's cocky, he's hot-headed, he's clever, but most importantly, he's a master in the making! Give it up for Brandon!" Remington announced. The crowd then began to cheer and chant my name.

Heh, I could get used to this sort of attention.

I waved to the crowd and climbed into the arena.

I wonder who my opponent is. He definitely has to be tough, he was able to do what I did during my fight.

"And for our second fighter, he's carefree, he's a thrill seeker, but don't let him fool you, he's level headed and serious in a fight." Remington said.

Hmm, carefree, thrill seeker, but also level-headed and serious.

If you couldn't already tell, I was trying to see if I could remember anyone from the show who was like that.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for-!" As he was announcing the other fighter, a well-built boy began to climb into the ring. He had pale skin, gray eyes, and gray hair. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt and black sweatpants.

"Mercury!" Remington announced. The crowd cheered and chanted Mercury's name.

.

.

.

.

Well, shit.

* * *

Seriously?! I mean seriously?! First Neo, then Mercury?! Who's next? Emerald?

"Alright, fighters! Are! You! Ready?!" Remington said.

No.

Mercury nodded at Remington

"Hey, Brandon, are you ready?" Remington asked away from the microphone. Reluctantly, I nodded my head.

"Alright, fighters! Begin!" Remington said, ringing the bell to signal the beginning of the fight. Mercury and I began to circle on another, waiting for the other side to make a move. I begin to walk slowly towards Mercury, and he started to walk towards cautiously. Mercury then charges at me, going for a kick to my head. I was barely able roll under it.

Okay Brandon, think, Mercury's fighting style exclusively consists of kick's. On the plus side, he doesn't have his weapon to do that wind thing he did in Volume 3. On the downside, he-.

My thoughts were interrupted by Mercury moving in for another attack. Not able to dodge this one, I quickly extend my arm upward to block the kick.

He still has his metal prosthetics.

I stumbled towards the edge of the railing, though Mercury wasted no time to go in for another kick. I roll under him, making my way to the other side of the ring to strategize.

Okay, so blocking his kicks is out of the question.

I quickly rubbed the area where Mercury hit me.

I need to try and dodge each of his attack's.

As I stood up, Mercury started to charge towards me. He tried to kick me, but I push his leg towards the side to dodge his attack before going in for the offensive. I first uppercut his chin, then dig my elbow into his abdomen. He stumbles back a bit before regaining his composure and going in for the attack again.

He goes in to kick me with his right leg, only for me to move left slightly and follow up with one of my own roundhouse kicks. He stumbles back into the railing. He uses the rubber railing to launch himself towards me and kick me with both his legs, sending me flying. He turns around and dusts himself off.

Seeing an opportunity, I grabbed onto the rubber railing, launching myself towards Mercury, who was not on his guard. I slammed my entire weight onto Mercury, sending him flying across the ring.

He got up and gave me a smirk. I smirked back at him, getting ready to fight again. At first, I was very nervous to fight someone who basically took on Coco and Yatsuhashi at the same time and didn't even get a scratch. But now, I felt something that I never thought I would feel towards the person who basically helped usher the Fall of Beacon. Respect, and from the look in his eyes, he felt the same way. We both charge at each other, but before we could start our attack, some of the guys that we beat before tackled me onto the ring's floor.

I kicked the guy off of me and threw him out of the arena. Just as I did that, more guys that we beat before began to climb into the ring.

 **"Well, would you look at this! It seems that our former competitors from before are here for some payback!"** Remington said. Mercury and I were then forced to move to the center of the ring.

"So, temporary truce? Seems these assholes need to taught a lesson." I said with a grin.

"Yeah, you take the 20 on your side, and I'll take the 20 on mine." He said.

"Screw you, I'll take 21!" I boasted.

.

.

"I like you." He replied with a sly grin as he charged towards the men on his side.

Is this gonna be a recurring thing every time I run into an antagonist for whatever reason?

The men charged at me, though I was able to beat them down one by one easily. As I was beating the guy in front of me, I felt another guy latch onto my back.

"Hey, Merc!" I yelled. He then turned towards me.

"Catch!" I yelled as I threw the guy off me and sent him flying towards Mercury. Mercury then kicked the guy straight in the face, sending him crashing onto one of the tables around the ring. This went on for a few minutes before we beat the last two guys in the ring.

"Well?! Anyone else wanna go at it?!" I yelled at the crowd in between breaths. No one got up to go to the ring.

"Thank you, now, where were we?" I said as I turned towards Mercury. We then both charged at each other. He goes in for some kicks. I was able to dodge the first one, but due to exhausting my energy against the men from before, I wasn't able to dodge the other kicks. He sent me flying out of the arena with one final kick.

"And the winner is Mercury!" Remington announced to the crowd. I laid on the ground, thinking back on what Ozpin said.

 _'Let me put it this way, what if you're fighting a swarm of Grimm, you kill the first wave with all of the energy you had in you, when suddenly. Another wave of Grimm even stronger than the last comes. What will you do? You used up all of your energy fighting the first wave. How will you defend against the next wave when you used up all your energy?'_ I remembered him saying. I then started to chuckle at this, considering that was the exact reason I lost in the first place. I see Mercury walking over to me, extending his hand out.

"That was a fun fight." He said as he pulled me up.

"Yeah." I replied as I got up off of the ground.

"Let's have a rematch some time, without interference." He offered.

"Yeah, I'd like that. But just so you know, I won't lose next time." I said to him.

"Yeah, whatever you say." He said with a slight chuckle.

"Soooo... you want a drink?" I asked him.

"Yeah, by the way, I'm Mercury, Mercury Black." He formally introduced as we walked towards the bar area.

"The name's Brandon Kim." I said.

* * *

As we sat down to have a drink, we started to talk about different things in life. Comic books, stories, movies, etc.

"And so she tells me to tell her what a hooker was." I said as I started to tell him one of my stories from back on Earth.

"And I'm like "Okay, okay, no need to get your panties twisted." I said.

"I then told her: "Lisa, you want to know what a hooker is?" She says yes and then I tell her "Those are your sister's friends." I said. Mercury bursts into a laughing fit.

"Did you really say that?" He said in between laughs.

"Yeah, and every time her friends came over, she was like "The hookers are here." Mercury, at this point, is holding his sides from laughing too hard.

"Hey! Brandon! Mercury!" We hear Remington call out. We turn to see him walking towards us with our things.

"Here's your stuff." He said as he put our stuff on the counter of the bar.

"Oh, I got an offer for ya." He said as he held out a flyer.

"Remington's Grand Tournament?" I read out loud.

"Yeah, it's pretty similar to this one, only this time, you get to use your weapons. The Tournament is split into two categories; PvP, which is where two people fight it out, and then there is PvE, where you have to survive waves of Grimm in order to pass on to the next round. You'll need a partner for the last one." He explained.

"Remington." Mercury said as he took a swig from his cola.

"You had me at tournament."

"Well, Brandon, what do you say?" Mercury asked, his hand extended outwards.

"Hmm."

.

.

.

'Okay, maybe I might be able to change his mind about siding with Cinder, but that's even more unlikely than Neo. Speaking of which, where is she?' I thought.

"Hey, Brandon!" Mercury said, snapping me back to reality.

"So? What do you say? You. Me. Grand Tournament." He said.

Well, I'm already trying to change Neo. Why not Mercury while I'm at it.

"Yeah, you got yourself a deal." I agreed, shaking his hand.

"Cool. Here, let me give you my scroll number, we'll talk about it more." He said as he got out his scroll. I registered his number into my list of contacts.

"Alright, now as much as I would like to stay here and listen to you, I gotta go, my boss wants me back at the base." He said as he took his stuff and began to walk out of the building.

"See ya." He said as he walked out. I then take out my scroll to see if Neo had left me a message for me. Sure enough, she did.

 **"Hey Brandon, I have to leave earlier than expected, my uncle wanted me home early."** I read.

"Hmm, kinda glad she left before the fight between and Mercury." I said.

"What time is it anyway?" I asked myself as I looked at the time on my scroll.

12:04

.

.

.

Shit, Ozpin's gonna kill me.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #9**

 **So I officially met Mercury. Jeez, first Neo, then Mercury. Who's next, Emerald?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Why are you all looking at me like that?**

 **Anyways, I also learned an important lesson on holding back.**

 **I've also agreed to enter Remington's Grand Tournament.**

 **That should be an interesting part of the story.**

 **And a long one.**

 **Here are some reviews you guys wrote in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:**

 **DragonLord501st: Thanks! As for other characters, I might be able to do Qrow. Cinder would be a little hard. I don't think I can do Amber though.**

 **nightmaster000: Thanks! Glad you liked the unexpected meeting with Neo, and Neo might have taken a fancy to Brandon.**

 **Ragnorak16: If he doesn't kill me then I don't know what will.**

 **rocketmce: Maybe it will, maybe it won't.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Sit down Neo.**

 **Anime References:**

 **Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendencies.**

 **Poll Progression:**

 **Arkos: 14 (Why am I not surprised that this one is at the top.)**

 **ReNora: 13 (The one ship that's technically canon but not at the same time.)**

 **IceBerg: 6 (Okay, THIS surprised me.)**

 **Black Sun: 5 (Almost to the 3rd spot.)**

 **Cinnabun: 3 (Don't worry Yatsu, I still love ya man, no homo.)**

 **Shades and Blades: 2 (Don't worry Fox, I'm still holding out for ya.)**

 **Lancaster: 1 (Sorry Ruby, the power of Arkos is too strong.)**

 **Mercury Black**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 140 lbs**

 **Age: 16**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Whirlwind**

 **Summary: He is able to store compressed air in the guns in his boots. With this, he can fire it at the enemy, using the air to increase his mobility or even using it in the air, making a sort of double jump effect.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you saw and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or review.**

 **See you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	10. The Thief

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all right's to the series goes to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Thief."

Thought: _'The Thief.'_

Flashback: _"The Thief"_

So it's been about two weeks since I fought Mercury, and since he and I decided we would enter the Grand Tournament, we've been discussing on potential opponents that would be in the Grand Tournament and how we would be able to counter them.

Our goal is to have our rematch in the finals of the Grand Tournament.

No restriction, no reserves, and definitely no interruptions.

Mercury himself is a pretty carefree kind of guy, he says that it's nice to have a friend who knows how to joke around and how to take jokes.

Now that I think about it, he and I aren't too different from each other, maybe that's why I liked him so much when I was watching the show. Though he says I swear A LOT more than he does.

Anyway, onto the creatures of Grimm that roam this world.

First, there's the Zizuzik, which is basically a flying Monkey Grimm.

It can come in various sizes, but the matured ones are about 40 ft tall.

The average ones are about 4-5 feet tall.

The little ones alone aren't that much of a threat, but when they're in a pack, they can prove to be pretty dangerous due to their mobility.

They can also fly with the wings on their back as well. Unlike most Grimm, who are just drawn by negative emotions, the Zizuzik are attracted to greed and envy.

The alpha Zizuzik is the one you have to watch out for.

They are just as mobile as the smaller ones and have enough brute strength to destroy a Bullhead with a single swing of its fist.

Alone, they are a pretty large threat, but if it has a group of smaller Zizuzik's around it, then you probably have no hope of winning against all of them.

Though this is mostly due to Huntsmen thinking they have to take down the big guy first, then kill the smaller guys.

Though if playing RPG's have taught me anything, is that you take down the smaller guys first so that they aren't a problem anymore, then you kill the big guy last.

Next, there's the Hellion.

There have only been two sightings of this creature in the last 80 years and many suspect it to be the same one, making this Grimm even more dangerous.

The Grimm itself is very humanoid in appearance, roughly ten feet tall, their ebony body bearing similarities to that of a Beowolf without its spikes, exposed ribs covered by white armor, bipedal on cloven hooved feet, white shoulder fur sprouting around their neck and shoulder and with lanky yet powerful arms ending in humanoid hands.

Their head makes them stand out the most; a multitude of ivory horns crowning its head, a pair of pronged horns like an elk's antlers going down from its forehead, along with multiple jutting out from its chin like a beard.

The head is also covered by a shell, similar to a Barbute helmet, leaving the face exposed.

The frightening part of this creature is the face, vaguely humanoid, a mouth shaped to smile cruelly and deep red, pupil-less eyes.

This Grimm, unlike others, doesn't have sharp claws or teeth to shred their prey, nor do they possess the immense strength of a Beringel to bash the nearest Huntsman to a messy puddle of themselves.

What makes these Grimm so extremely dangerous is their high intelligence and their adaptability.

For example, they are able to mimic the very weapons of Huntsmen after witnessing them only once, and what they lack in strength they make up for in speed and quickly learning how to use the weapons of Huntsmen after they stole them from their previous owners.

They also show a sense of leadership and tactician, able to lure other Grimm towards inhabited places and finding their weakest point.

They lack the ability to speak our language, but these creatures seem to understand the basic of human speech and react accordingly, making it even more dangerous than the common Grimm.

Only one was documented, notably by its single eye while the other was slashed or burned severely away, giving it the moniker One-Eye.

Although the reports are based upon Huntsmen who fought this creature, most fell victim by the first encounter, though the most noticeable encounter was with a lone huntsmen, losing his weapon to it too.

The only known Huntsmen to have survived an encounter with this Grimm were Team STRQ.

In short, when you see this guy, be ready for the true meaning of an endurance fight.

That's about it for Grimm Studies. Let's move on to Remnant History.

Let's talk about Mistral.

Out of all the kingdoms in Remnant, Mistral has the most controlled continent.

It has a wider variety of ecosystems compared to the other kingdoms.

While Vale has its lush green forests, Vacuo has its deserts, and Atlas has its frozen tundras, Mistral has all three.

It's a place anyone can live in and be happy. T

he main city of Mistral takes pride in their contribution to theater, fashion, architecture, art; you name it and Mistral will probably have it. In terms of looks, just think of Japan and all of its palaces and that's basically what Mistral looks like.

There's also a separate city below the city of Mistral; the city of thieves.

Now, how did this city come to be, you may ask.

Well, I'll tell you before it was known as the city of thieves, it was the biggest underground black market in all of Remnant.

That was at the time of the Great War. During this time, there were a group of people who didn't exactly agree with Mistral's decisions with the Great War.

So they decided to make their own City in the underground of Mistral.

Mistral wasn't happy with their decision and decided to take action after a year since it's development.

They sent their best troops down into the City to take control of the city. This sparked the "Mistral Revolution."

It wasn't a very long one, considering that Mistral already had their hands full with the Great War, and now they were trying to take control of an entire city.

The leader of the city led the revolution, and was half of, if not most of the reason why they won.

He was able to kill a lot of the different Captains that were sent to take control of the city with the Enchanted Dagger "Carnwennan". No one knows exactly what the enchantments do.

Eventually, Mistral decided it was best to focus their forces on Vale and Vacuo.

The Mistral Revolution was finally over, and the city of thieves was entirely independent of Mistral's rule.

Many people wonder how this city wasn't plundered into chaos, well it's all because of one unspoken rule in the city of thieves.

"Everyone inside these walls is to be considered family. To go against that is like going against the city itself."

To put it into perspective, no one could steal from anyone or kill anyone while they were inside of the city's walls.

Right now, I was currently walking around Vale to look for a "job". Ozpin said that he wanted me to get my own spending money, instead of relying on him all of the time. So far, it's not going very well.

"Seriously! Ya think that a city this big would at least have ONE place that needed workers!" I yelled at nobody in particular.

I tried going everywhere; I went to the different restaurants, convenient stores, weapon shops, I even tried that one store from the very first episode.

I think it was called "Dust to Dawn" or something like that.

Now that I think about, that same old dude was at multiple shops I went to. It's like this guy owns every fucking store in existence or something.

Seriously, how the hell does he move so fast?!

I was right about to give up my search and try tomorrow until my eyes fell on a particular bookstore.

"Tukson's Book trade, Help Wanted." I read aloud.

.

.

"Well why not, I mean, it's a good start when it comes to changing things." I said to myself as I walked into the store. I looked around to see if there was anyone in the store or behind the counters. There wasn't anyone in sight. It looked almost abandoned.

Maybe no one's here.

I was about to walk out of the store until I heard a door from behind the counter open.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, Home To Every Book Under The Sun." I heard the man from behind the counter say.

Never mind.

The man in question wore a short-sleeved quarter-zip burgundy and black shirt with a visible white undershirt. His hair was cleanly cut, and he had noticeable sideburns, along with hairy, muscular arms.

"Um, I'm here for a job." I said bluntly.

"Oh!" He said in surprise.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"It's just kids your age don't normally apply to... well... bookstores." He said sheepishly.

.

.

.

"I mean, if you don't want the help then I'll-." I was about to leave the bookstore only for Tukson to cut me off.

"No! I was just shocked, that's all. If you want a job here, then I can give you one." He offered.

"Cool. When do I start?" I asked.

"Well, I still have to interview, you know, for legal purposes." He replied as he walked behind the counter and took out a clipboard.

"Okay, let's do it." I said.

"Okay, let's see." He said as he flipped through the different papers on the clipboard.

"Ah! Here it is." He said, taking out a pencil from the counter.

"Okay, name and occupation?" He asked.

"Brandon Kim, and student. Sort of." I answered.

"Sort of?" He asked.

"It's complicated. Personal stuff." I said.

"Alright, well I'll just put down student." He decided.

"Okay, next question. Age, Height, and Weight?" He asked.

"Sixteen, soon to be seventeen, 5'8, and 164 lbs." I answered.

"Okay, how good are you at talking to people?" He asked.

Well, I'm friends with the niece of the most dangerous criminal in Vale, and the guy that will potentially kill you in the near future so yeah, I'm pretty good at it.

"I like to think I'm pretty good at it." I said to him.

"Alright, that seems to be about it." He said as he tore one of the papers out and put it in a file.

"So when do I start?" I asked him.

"Well, normally, I would have you start tomorrow, but I have some important business to attend to today. So would you mind watching the shop until I get back?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said.

"Great! I shouldn't be too long." He said as he walked out of the shop. I started to look around the bookstore, trying to get a get a feel for where everything is. After looking around, I sat on the chair behind the counter, waiting for someone to come to the bookstore.

.

.

.

"Okay, this is ridiculous! I would think that ONE person would have come to the sto-!" I was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"O-Oh, welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, Home To Every Book Under The Sun. How can I help you?" I asked the man in question.

"Yes, do you have the book, The Thief and The Butcher?" He asked me.

"Yeah, it's over there by the mystery section." I answered.

"Thank you." He said as he walked over to the Mystery section.

"By the way when you say "Home To EVERY Book Under The Sun." Do you really mean every book?" He asked me.

"It's just a catchphrase." I said.

"It's false advertising!" He said.

"FINE, walk out and I'll greet you in a more PROPER matter!" I said in an annoyed tone.

"Hmm, very well." He said as he walked out of the door. He then opened the door again.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, "Home To ALMOST Every Book Under The Sun." I said.

"There! Are ya happy now?!" I asked.

"Yes, now, I would like to purchase this book." He said as he put the book down on the counter. I then scanned it, put it in the bag, only to be stopped by the man.

"Aren't you going to ask me if I want hardcover or paperback?" He asked me in a smug tone. I then put another copy of the book in, scanned the item, took the man's credit card, slid it into the machine, and put the books in front of him.

"There, now you have both." I said.

"W-what?! B-but you just charged me for TWO of the SAME books!" He exclaimed.

"Well sir, if you're having problems with our customer service, call 1-800 eat a dick." I said. The man then picked up the bag and stormed out of the store.

"I should talk to Tukson about changing the slogan." I told myself, waiting for more customers.

* * *

A couple hours had passed since Tukson left the store. I was currently walking out of the store, Tukson coming back. He gave me an early paycheck for watching over the store for him.

I was currently walking down the streets of Vale, looking for something to eat.

Seriously, how many restaurants does this place have?

I mean I'm not complaining, the more food there is the better, but still, kinda makes it hard to narrow down what you want to eat in the first place.

It also didn't help that Vale didn't have most of the foods that I had in America.

I kinda expected it due to Vale being an entirely different "County", so it having different cultures, foods, and accustoms wasn't really to surprising.

But do you have any idea how heart breaking it is when you ask someone where you could get some Chinese food, and there response was "What's a Chinese?"?

.

.

Now I know they weren't trying to sound racist but still...just sorta happened.

So no Italian, Korean, Mexican, or any other cultural foods that I grew up with are here.

Well, at least they have the basic foods that everyone ate in America.

I eventually settle at one of the hot dog stands on the sidewalk.

"Okay, sir that will be about 3 lien." The hot dog stand owner said. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet, only for someone to grab it out of my hands.

"Hey! What the he-!" I was cut off mid-sentence as I got a good look of the thief in question.

She was a young woman with medium-brown skin and dark red eyes.

Her hair is a light mint green cut with a straight fringe and bangs, as well as two long locks on each side at the back.

She wore two bronze-colored rings on her middle fingers as well as a pair of high-heeled shoes.

She also wore white pants and brown chaps that end at her calves and an overlong belt, twice-wrapped.

.

.

.

"Sir! That women just stole your wallet! Aren't you going to go after- Why are you hitting your head against that wall?" The man asked.

"No reason." I muttered as I began to run after the thief.

Okay, god, or Monty, or whoever they worship here. When I asked "Who's next? Emerald?" two weeks ago, I WAS MAKING A FUCKING JOKE!

I quickly started to run after Emerald.

* * *

(Third Person POV)

"Heh, what an idiot, didn't even see me coming." Emerald smiled to herself as she ran into the alley way.

"Let's see how much he had." She said as she pulled out the boy's wallet.

What she saw was a wallet filled to the brim with different types of lien varying in different value.

"Damn, I hit the jackpot!" Emerald said as she pulled out a handful of lien from the wallet.

This could be her ticket out of this job...while she had no intentions to quit, it was always nice to have at least one back up plan.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" A man said from the other side of the alleyway.

 _'Great.'_ Emerald thought to herself sarcastically.

The pair of men then began to walk towards her with greedy eyes.

The man on the right was about 6 feet tall, wearing a black t-shirt, with brown pants.

The man on the left was a dark skinned man with curly black hair.

He wore a black shirt with blue jeans. On the side of his waist was a .44 Magnum.

 _'Alright Emerald, just take out your weapon and scare the idiot's off. No need to get blood on your hand's here.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Alright, I'm just going to take out my weapons and-'_ Her thought process cut off as she grabbed thin air where her weapon used to be. She then patted the empty space.

 _'And I left my weapons at the warehouse. Shit.'_ She thought to herself. She knew that she could take the men, even without her weapon. Though she still remembered the instructions Cinder gave her.

 _'During our stay here, I want you both to keep your hands clean. At least until we put our plan into motion, that is.'_ She remembered Cinder saying. She couldn't run out of the alley, the men were cutting off her path. The men then grabbed her by one of the straps on her shirt and slammed her against the wall.

"Alright bitch, here's how it's going to work. You're going to bring me 20 dollars each week, and half of what you steal. Do that, and I won't report you to the police." He said in a cocky tone.

 _'Bastard's.'_ Emerald thought as she gritted her teeth in anger at the two men.

"Hello, excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice said to the men.

Emerald and the two men turn their heads in the direction of the unknown voice. Emerald was shocked to see the boy who she just robbed standing at the other end of the ally.

"Oh look, it's the guy who just got robbed." The man holding Emerald said.

"Sorry sir, we caught the thief red handed, we were just about to return the wallet back to you." The man holding Emerald said.

"Okay, how should I put this? Here's what happened." The boy said as he pulled down his hood.

"She actually didn't steal the wallet you have there, it was a gift I gave to her." He said to the men.

.

.

.

 _'Wait, what?!'_ Emerald thought in surprise.

* * *

 _(A few minutes earlier.) (My Pov)_

 _"Damn it! I can't believe I actually got robbed. I swear when I get my hand's on her-" I was about to run into the alleyway where Emerald ran into, only to stop myself by the sound of an unfamiliar voice._

 _"Alright bitch, here's how here's how it's going to work. You're going to bring me 20 dollars each week, and half of what you steal. Do that, and I won't report you to the police." One of the men said to Emerald._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Don't do it, Brandon, just walk away, you can get more money later._

 _I turned the opposite direction of the alleyway._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Damn it! You already have enough on your plate with Neo and Mercury alone, don't add to the pile!_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _I'm already in the alley, aren't I?_

 _I look at the situation that was currently transpiring. One of the men was holding Emerald by one of the straps of her shirt, while the other was holding some sort of gun in his hand._

 _Why is it always the bad guys? Why can't I get someone like Yang or Ruby?_

 _"Hello, excuse me." I said to the men. Both the men and Emerald looked over in my direction._

 _"Oh look, it's the guy who just got robbed." The man holding Emerald said._

 _"Sorry sir, we caught the thief red handed, we were just about to return the wallet back to you." The man holding Emerald said._

 _Oh look! My bullshit detectors are going through the roof right now._

 _Okay Brandon, think of something._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Alright, here goes nothing._

 _"Okay, how should I put this? Here's what happened." I said as I pulled down my hood._

 _"She actually didn't steal the wallet you have there, it was a gift I gave to her." I said to the men._

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

 _'Why the hell is this guy covering for me? I just robbed him!'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"So then, would you please return both wallet and the girl?" The boy asked.

"A gift you say." The man holding her said.

"Just like I said, it was a gift. She and I are good friends actually. So would you please return my wallet, and let her go now?" The boy said. The man threw Emerald to the ground and started to walk towards the boy.

"A good friend you say." He said as he put his hand on one of the boy's shoulders.

"Why don't you tell me what your friends name is?" The man asked.

"Hmm."

"What's the matter, kid?" He asked.

"Here's a little present for ya!" The man said as he punched the boy across the cheek.

.

.

.

"Oh, what's the matter, kid? Why don't you leave this stuff to the adu-" The man didn't even have time to finish his sentence as the boy punched him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out in the process.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were finished." The boy said, cracking his knuckles. The man next to him then pointed the gun at the kid.

"You made the wrong move, asshole!" The man said.

"Okay, listen, I really don't have time for this. So how about you just-" The boy was cut off as the man pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the boy directly in the head.

 _'Shit!'_ Emerald thought to herself. The man smiled victoriously, only for the boy he just shot to rub his head and turn to the man.

"Never mind then, be that way.." The man didn't even have time to fire another shot before the boy pulled out a soda bottle from his pocket. All of a sudden, the bottle began to emanate blue spark, shaking as the sparks made there way around it.

All of a sudden, the cap flew off and went straight towards the finger of the man, shattering his finger.

The man screamed in pain, but was quickly silenced as the boy threw the bottle at the man, causing the bottle to explode and knock the man out.

.

.

.

"Now then, I believe you have something that belongs to me." The boy said as he walked over to Emerald.

* * *

(My Pov)

Well then. That went better than expected.

"Now then, I believe you have something that belongs to me." I said to Emerald. She looked reluctant at first, but decided she would give me back my wallet.

"With all of the cash, please," I said to her. She then takes out the cash from her pocket and handed it to me.

"Now, why the hell did you did you steal my wallet in the first place?" I asked her. She was about to respond until the growling of her stomach cut her off.

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.

.

"Oh, that's why." I said. She started to kick the ground in embarrassment.

"You know, if you wanted food, you could have just asked, instead of, ya know, stealing my wallet." I said to her. She looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Okay, so where do you want to go? I may have a lot of money, but try not to take us anywhere expensive." I said.

"Wait. Why? Why did you help me? I just robbed you." She asked me.

.

.

.

"Well if you don't want the food then-." I said to her.

"Wait! I was just curious! Most people don't offer the person who just robbed them a meal." She said quickly.

"Lady, you're gonna learn pretty quickly that I am not 'most people'." I told her.

"Hmm. Well, thanks for the offer. By the way, my name's Emerald, Emerald Sustrai." She introduced herself as we walked out of the alley.

"Name's Brandon, Brandon Kim. Nice to meet ya." I said.

"So how did you do that?" Emerald asked me.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb! How the hell did you just break a cops finger with a soda bottle?!" She asked.

"Oh, it's my semblance, or at least a part of it." I said.

"What does it do?" She asked.

Should I REALLY tell a potential enemy how my enchantment works?

.

.

Meh, what the hell? It's not like I'm much of a threat...yet.

With any luck she'll forget about me after this encounter.

"Well, I can basically give a power boost to any non-organic object." I said.

"Uh, what?" She asked.

"Do you have a bottle or something?" I asked.

Emerald looked around before running towards a booth that was selling food.

She went up to the cashier and swiped a soda bottle without him noticing.

"Here." She said.

"Do you always steal without a second thought?" I asked.

"Yes." Emerald said.

Well at least she's honest, I'll give her that.

"So you know how if you shake a soda can hard enough, the liquid will explode out of the bottle?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Well, I can do that-." I said as I activated the buster enchantment.

Suddenly, blue sparks started to surround the bottle, causing it to shake.

"Only it's instant-." As I said this, the cap on the bottle flew out, along with the contents of the bottle, creating a fountain of some sort.

"And it's more pressurized." I said.

Emerald whistled before looking around.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Emerald quickly went to a fruit booth and stole a banana.

"Can you do it with this?" She asked.

"I said NON organic material." I clarified.

"It's the tree that has life, not the banana itself." Emerald said, rolling her eyes as she did.

"I don't think that's how it works." I said.

"Just use your damn semblance on it." She said.

"Fine, but I don't think-!" I didn't have time to finish as the banana shot out and nailed me right in the face, covering it with the remains of the banana.

.

.

Emerald was holding her hands against her mouth, trying her best not to laugh.

"Oh ha ha! You're hilarious!" I said as I wiped away the remains.

"I try." She said.

"Ugh, so have you seen any place you liked?" I asked.

"Hmm.." Emerald hummed as she looked around.

Who were those guy's anyway?

They looked well dressed so either there a bunch of stuck up rich assholes, or they're part of a gang.

Well, considering that one dude pulled a gun one me, I'm gonna assume it was a gang.

Rich assholes NEVER have the balls to do anything violent.

Or the muscle.

Well, I guess that will show them not to mess with me.

.

.

Wait, I just broke some random guys finger. The police are bound to find out about this.

That means.

"Shit!" I shouted in a panicked tone.

"Jeez! What?!" Emerald asked in an annoyed tone.

"I lost my temper again! Aw, Peach is gonna kill me!" I said.

"Who is she? Your mom or something?" She asked.

"What?! No, she's my-!"

Wait, should I really tell her about Beacon? That might make her suspicious of me, and that's the LAST thing I need right now.

"She's my aunt!" I said.

"Close enough." She said.

"Crap! She's really gonna drill into me when I get home!" I said.

"Wait, you talk about her like she's your guardian? What about your folks?" Emerald asked.

"Well..there not exactly around." I said.

"Oh." Emerald said before moving onward.

Okay, looks like she bought it.

Still, Peach is gonna kill me if she finds out about this!

.

.

Wait, IF she finds out.

All I have to do is keep this situation under wraps and I-.

Though before I could do anything else, I felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket.

"Oh, busted." Emerald said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, I don't think she'll find out that-."

 **"Would you mind explaining to me why I'm getting a call from the police saying that two men are in the hospital because on has a broken jaw and the other has a missing finger?"** Peach said.

Shit.

 **"Why do you assume it's me?"** I asked.

 **"I don't know, do you know anyone else who can remove a mans finger with a soda bottle?"** She asked.

 **"To be fair they attacked first."** I said.

 **"Meet me in my office."** She said.

Great, now Peach is gonna kill me, is it too late to join Cinder?

"Hey." Emerald said, breaking me away from my scroll.

"What?" I asked.

Emerald said nothing, the only thing she did was point to a restaurant across the street.

"Isn't that the one place that robs people of it's money due to how expensive the food is?" I asked.

"Expensive, but REALLY good they say." She said.

.

.

"No." I said, causing Emerald to nod her head.

"No!" I said.

.

.

"No! I am not going to a restaurant that turns rich people into homeless people!" I said.

* * *

So we went to the restaurant that turns rich people into homeless people.

"I thought I said somewhere that WASN'T to expensive!" I said to her as I took a bite out of my sushi roll.

Though I can't complain too much, this stuff is a real treat!

"You said TRY." She said as she took a bite out of one of her sushi's.

Because that makes all the difference here.

"Anyway, you didn't answer my question back in the alley." She said.

"Hmm?" I said as I took a bite of my roll. She rolls her eyes at me and chuckles.

"Why did you help me back there?" She asked me.

Oh, right.

"Well, you did have my wallet." I replied matter-of-factually.

"Okay, yeah, I had your wallet, but if you just wanted your wallet, you wouldn't have offered me food." She pointed out.

She does have a point there, why did I do that? I mean she IS in cahoots with the woman who's gonna destroy Beacon.

So why did I do it?

"Okay, you got me there." I said.

"Well, I didn't really do it because I wanted to help you. Well.. that's part of it. But the main reason is because those guys really pissed me off." I said.

"Wait. That's it? They pissed you off." She said in bewilderment.

"Well, part of it was to help you, but that was only a little bit of it. The other was because I wanted to teach those assholes a lesson or two. That's the other part of why I helped you." I replied.

.

.

She then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry! It's just-it's just, I didn't expect that to be the reason." She said in between breaths.

"Well, I haven't really said thanks yet, so yeah... Thanks for helping me, even though I robbed you."

"No problem. Let's just eat." I said as I went to go and grab the other roll, only for me to grab thin air.

"What the- did you eat my roll?!" I asked her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said with a smirk. I then hit my head against the table. She started to laugh again.

.

.

.

"You know what, you're alright." She said.

Of course I am.

She gave me a slip of paper with a scroll number.

"I haven't laughed like that in a LONG time, here, as a thanks for the meal." She said.

And add Emerald to the list! We got Neo, Mercury, and now EMERALD!

Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. It's just going to be even HARDER, mainly because she's probably the most loyal to Cinder out of all of her members.

"Yeah, here's my number by the way." I said to her as I wrote my number down on a piece of paper.

"Thank's, now where were w-." She was cut off by the sound of her scroll going off.

.

.

.

"Oh, my boss wants to talk to me. I'll see you around." She said as she walked out of the restaurant.

"Yeah, see ya." I said.

Hmm, maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be, maybe I can actually redeem them, maybe-.

My thought process was cut off as I looked into my wallet and noticed that half the lien was gone.

.

.

.

God damn it, Emerald.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #10**

 **Ah irony, she's a very unforgiving one. Well, with the exceptions of Roman, I've officially met all of Cinder's 'minions' so to say.**

 **Maybe this will backfire, maybe it won't, hopefully it won't.**

 **I also got a job at Tukson's. Hopefully I can save the guy, he seems nice enough.**

 **Here are some of the reviews that were in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response.**

 **YviSalty: Wow, out of all of the review's I've gotten so far, this easily makes the top 5. I'm so glad you like the story.**

 **DragonLord501st: Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to find a way to introduce the Skaal into the series.**

 **nightmaster000: Yeah, I didn't think I would win either.**

 **War historian: Okay, thanks for the clarification.**

 **Poll Progression:**

 **Arkos: 16 (Still in the lead.)**

 **ReNora: 15 ( The most recent episode had ReNora fan's rejoicing.)**

 **IceBerg: 6 (Still in third.)**

 **Black Sun: 6 (Neck and Neck.)**

 **Cinnabun: 4 (Don't worry, at least you got one vote.)**

 **Shades and Blade's: 3 (Don't worry Fox, you'll get there someday.)**

 **Lancaster: 2 (Sorry Ruby, the power of Arkos is STILL too strong.)**

 **Emerald Sustrai**

 **Height: 5'6"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 16**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Individual Mental Hallucinations**

 **Summary: When activated, Emerald has the ability to modify the sensory information in a person's head while their brain is processing it. She can make one (or more) see and hear things that aren't necessarily there. In other words, instead of generating an illusion that everyone nearby can see, she causes her target to hallucinate.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: S**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	11. The Mission

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series belong to Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Mission."

Thought: _'Mission'_

Flashback: _"Mission"_

It's been about two weeks since my run-in with Emerald. Ever since then, I've had to bail her out of trouble she's caused. Seriously, it's like this women is a magnet for trouble! It also doesn't help that every single encounter between Emerald and I always ends up with my wallet being a bit lighter that it was before.

Though I'm making some progress however, I mean my wallet gets a little less light every encounter we have.

So I guess it's something, she also decides to hang with me while I'm working at Tukson's. While she's there, she's either messing with me, messing with the customers, or in some cases, both at the same time.

She also does tends to 'buy' some of the books in the store with some of the money she 'borrowed' from me.

Mercury and I have been training for the upcoming Grand Tournament. Coming up with different strategies to kill the Grimm, to defeat opponents and how to make our fighting styles work with one another. So far we've come up with a few strategies, but it's nothing really over the top yet.

We're still working on combos for our Semblances, though it's kinda hard to come up with a combo move for something as simple as the Buster enchantment. He also tends to hang out at my workplace, reading the comic books and manga we have in stock.

Didn't think Remnant had manga but, hey, I didn't think this place would have the greatest creation in the entire universe, funnel cake.

Neo is well, Neo. There isn't a lot to say about her that I haven't said already. I've tried to get her to talk about her past more, though. I didn't really get much, though, all she told me was 'my uncle made a promise to take care of me when I had nowhere else to go.'

It's not much, but hey, it's something. I don't want to pry so I decided to drop the subject for now.

Though I would like to know what happened, especially to make someone like Roman make a promise to someone. If there is one thing that has changed is that Neo has become very... clingy, so to say. I mean, I don't mind the affection, it's just hard to work when there's a Neapolitan-themed girl constantly clinging to your leg.

Coco recently tried to get me out of my hoodie, and into something more... fashionable. Well, she was lucky enough that I allowed her to even stitch the emblem on the back of my hoodie. This is the last thing that I have to remember my family, and I wasn't about to part ways with it. Sure it's not much, but hey, better than nothing.

Okay, let's move on to Grimm Studies. Let's talk about the Bubonica. Now before we go any further, let me give you a fair warning. If you ever come into contact with one of these things, you'll need at least ONE person on your team with extensive medical knowledge.

Now, let's begin. Bubonica are tiny, wingless insect Grimm, heavily resembling the common flea in both body shape and type, although being slightly larger and mostly black. Their bodies are very squishy, with most of its insides being liquid, making them hard to kill through physical force.

A Bubonica's most prominent feature is their typical white, mask-like face with glowing red eyes, although this glow is very faint and nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

They have three sets of legs, much like actual fleas, with the back set being the largest and the front set being the smallest. Each leg is equipped with a pair of hook-like claws, highly adapted for holding onto hair, skin, and flesh with minimal contact, although the front pair have been reported to be larger on some older individuals.

Along with this, their legs are incredibly powerful, granting them amazing jumping abilities. In some cases, specimens have managed to jump up to 14 inches in a single go.

Their proboscises are tube-like in nature, with the ability to split in two, revealing a razor sharp end, and equally sharp 'teeth' in between the two proboscis segments.

There are glands in the back that have been confirmed to produce a sort of anesthetic 'saliva', which also contains the bacteria that create the perfect environment for the development of "The Dark Plague" to grow.

... Onto a different subject, let's talk about 'The Age of the Great Dragons'. Now, this was a time BEFORE the Great War, where everything was just tense, and no one was declaring war on another nation.

Though the world of Remnant was hardly what you would call 'peaceful' at the time. There were these Dragon Grimm that roamed the world of Remnant, slaughtering thousands of innocent people and burning civilizations to the ground.

Very few were actually able to kill the Dragons at the time, and those who did either died imminently after to another Dragon, or died due to a wound the Dragon inflicted on them. Though there was one particular event that stood out from the rest during The Age of the Dragons. That one event was called 'The Battle for Vale.'

Now, unlike the Battle for Vale that was in the show, there was one major difference that set the two apart. Instead of one Dragon being there, there were TEN Dragons during the previous Battle for Vale. Now, I know what you're probably thinking.

"How the hell were the people of Vale able to fight off TEN Dragons, when the main cast couldn't fight off one?". Well, it would have been a complete slaughter, if it weren't for a lone swordsman who just so happen to be in the area.

If it were any normal swordsman than they would have been killed before they could do any real damage. But this swordsman was said to wield the Enchanted Longsword, Dgraig Goch. That battle is actually where the weapon got its name from.

The weapon was named after the fallen Alpha Dragon that was attacking Beacon. No one really knows what exactly Dgraig Goch can do, though one thing is known about the sword, it's specifically designed to kill dragons. After the dust had settled and the people of Vale had won, the Lone Swordsman left as quickly as he came.

Ever since then, there has been a significant decline in attacks from the Dragons. Some believe that the Lone Swordsman killed them all, some believe that without the alpha to lead them, they returned to their place of origin: the Badlands, which is the island just above the continent of Sanus, and left of the continent of Solitas. Not much is actually recorded about the Badlands, mainly because it's home to some of the most dangerous Grimm in all of Remnant.

In other words, most people who go i, don't ever come out. Though whatever the reason, the previous Battle of Remnant marked the end of the Age of the Drago's. Though the age of peace didn't really last that long, due to the Great War starting three years after.

Currently, I was sitting behind the counter of Tukson's Book Trade, waiting to serve customers. Normally, it's pretty quiet around here, with the exception of Neo, Mercury, and Emerald.

And we just got those brand new X-Ray and Vav comics in stock, I would have thought at least ONE person would have come to pick up a copy.

As I waited, I took the time to read said copy of X-Ray and Vav. The door bell then rung, signaling that there was a potential customer waiting to be served.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, Home to ALMOST every book under the sun." I said to the new customer. Tucson agreed that this would be the new catchphrase so that people wouldn't accuse him of false advertisement in the future.

"Thank you. Do you by chance know where the adult book section is?" The girl asked. The girl in question was wearing a purple zip-up hoodie, with a white shirt. She was also wearing black pants and heeled shoes. I couldn't get a clear look at her face though, since her hoodie was covering it up.

She seems familiar.

"Well, if I didn't know where everything was, then I think Tukson would have fired me already." I said. She let out a light chuckle at my joke.

"They're over there." I pointed in the direction of the Adult Book section.

"Thanks." The girl said as she walked over the adult section.

Wonder where I've seen her before.

I felt my scroll rumble, I quickly looked down to see who the message is from.

"Brandon, this is Professor Ozpin. I need you to come back to Beacon at once. I have a special mission I want you to look into." The message said.

I'm half tempted to just ignore the message entirely, though I don't want to piss off Ozpin. So why not?

"Okay, I'm just about to finish my shift. I'll get there as soon as I can." I messaged him back. The women then put a couple of books on the counter.

 _'The Man With Two Souls'_ I read as I scanned the item.

 _'The Man With FOUR Souls.'_

 _'Ninja's of Love: Recipe for Passion.'_

.

.

Wait a minute.

"Here's my library card." The girl said as she handed me her card from her pocket. I read the name that was on the card, and sure enough, my suspicions were correct.

Holy. Shit.

Blake Belladonna.

.

.

"Uh, are you okay?" She asked.

"What? Oh! Y-yeah, I'm fine!" I stuttered. I put the books into a plastic bag and handed them to Blake.

"Thanks." She said as she puts sixteen lien on the table.

"H-have a nice day!" I said to her.

"Yeah. You too." She said as she walked out of the door.

.

.

HOLY! SHIT!

* * *

After my run-in with Blake, I left Tukson's early to go back to Beacon to see what Ozpin wanted. I told Tukson about what was going on. He told me that he understood and that he would be able to take care of the shop for the rest of the day. After an hour of walking, flying, and more walking, I finally arrived at Professor Ozpin's office.

"Ah, Brandon. Come in, we have much to talk about." Ozpin greeted me. As I walked into the room, I was surprised to see Professor Port standing next to Ozpin's desk.

"Professor Port! What are you doing here?" I asked as I closed the door behind me.

"Ah! Hello, Brandon! Glad to see you! As for why I am here, well, I'll let Ozpin explain it." Port said.

"I'll get straight to the point. I need you to go down to the Emerald Forest and investigate some suspicious activities there." Ozpin said.

"Suspicious activity?" I asked him.

"Yes. Recently, we've been having some trouble with the Security Network in the Emerald Forest. We need boots, or sneakers in your case, on the ground to investigate. That's where you come in my good lad! We need you to go down into the Emerald Forest to investigate this suspicious activity." Port said.

"Wait, why me? Why not, and this is just a suggestion, a fully trained Huntsman?" I asked the two men.

"Well, most of the Huntsmen in the area are currently undergoing missions of their own, and the staff here are too busy teaching the students to go and investigate the area themselves," Ozpin answered.

Of course, that would have been TOO easy

"Besides! I think it's time you got a better understanding of the area, and what better way than going on a mission of your own!" Port said.

"Okay, I'll head down to the general area and investigate," I said, mentally sighing.

"Excellent, now before you go, there are a few things we need to give you." Ozpin pulled out a scroll and some sort of earpiece from his desk drawer.

"What are these things?" I asked him as I picked up the items.

"This." He said as he pointed to the scroll in my right hand, "is a special kind of scroll. It will run a full scan through the area. It will be able to detect an oncoming threat and the general direction of your goal. This is also how we will send you the coordinates to your destination." He said. He then pointed to the earpiece in my left hand.

"This is the device we will use to keep in touch with you. When you are at your objective, or if you have any questions, then just press this button." He pointed to a button on the side of the ear piece.

"I have high expectations for you." Ozpin said as he took a sip of his cup of coffee.

"When you are ready, head to the lifts and wait for the Bullhead we called in." He instructed.

"Okay." I said as I headed out of Ozpin's office.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

"So, why did you lie to him when you said that we don't have any available Huntsmen?" Port asked Professor Ozpin.

"Well, I thought that this would prove good training for him when it comes to actual field work." Ozpin replied. "That, and I thought that this would prove to be quite entertaining for me."

"Well, whatever you say, sir, I trust your judgment." Port said.

"Yes, you may take your leave now, Peter." Ozpin said. Port nodded and headed out of Ozpin's office.

"Besides, with him dealing with this, I can focus on the bigger threat at hand." Ozpin mused to himself.

* * *

(30 Minutes Later)

(My Pov)

I was now sitting in the Bullhead, waiting for the pilot to drop me off at the drop zone. I'd just finished setting up the gear that Ozpin gave me.

"Hey, kid! We're almost here! Get ready to jump down!" The pilot yelled as he opened the doors to the Bullhead.

"By the way! Aren't you too young to go on missions?!" He yelled.

"Aren't you a bit too old to be a pilot?!" I yelled back at him.

.

"Fair point!" He yelled. He then started to descend to drop zone.

"Well, good luck kid! Hopefully, I'll be here to bring you back to Beacon!" He yelled.

"Yeah, well I don't have any intention of dieing here, but thanks anyway!" I yelled back. I then jumped out of the Bullhead and onto the ground of the Emerald Forest.

"Now, let's give this thing a try," I said as I pressed the button on my earpiece to call Port.

 **"HELLO, YOUNG LAD! I SEE YOU MADE IT TO THE EMERALD FOREST!"** Port yelled through the earpiece.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!

I took the earpiece out and turned down the volume.

"Yeah, I made it to the Emerald Forest, Professor Port." I said through the earpiece.

 **"Splendid!"** Port said, now at a much lower volume.

"So what exactly am I looking for?" I asked him.

"Hmm, well whatever is affecting our Security Network, it must be doing some sort of damage to our Control Centers. I would try checking there first. I'm sending you the coordinates to the Control Center now." Port instructed.

"Control Center. Got it. If I find anything, I'll give you a call." I said to Port.

 **Updating Map.**

"Thank you, Filss." I said.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

Great.

I then turn around to see about six Creeps circling me.

"So, have any of you seen any suspicious technology around here?" I asked the Grimm. My only response was one of the Creeps charging at me, but before the Creep could even land a single blow on me, I sliced him clean in two with my sword, slowly disintegrating as it landed on the ground behind me.

"I'll take that as a no." I muttered. The other Creeps, in response, charged at me. I rolled out of the way of the first two that attacked me. Then another one came out of the ground to get the jump on me. I roll out of the way, just in time to jump off one of the other Creeps and cut the Creep in the air in half. The other two then started to charge at me. Only for me to activate the Buster enchantment to kill both of them at the same time.

"So." I said, wiping the blood off of my blade.

"Who's next?" I asked. I was answered by a Creep that I wasn't expecting to pop up out of the ground and attack me. I was sent flying into the air, only to be sent back to the ground by the same Creep that just came out of the ground.

Alright, I get it, I get it. I got cocky.

I got up off of the ground to look at my attacker. It was particularly larger than the rest of the Creeps I've been fighting.

"You seem to be bigger than the rest of these assholes. Are you the big boss or something?" I asked it. My only response was the Creep letting out a loud roar before charging at me.

"I'll take that as a yes!" I yelled at the Creep. I started to charge at the Creep, activating my Buster enchantment.

"Hah!" I yelled as I cut the Creep in two. Its remains were turned to dust before they could hit the ground.

The last two remaining Creeps then charge at me. I duck under both of them before their claws could reach me. I stabbed one of the Creeps in the chest and swing my sword at the other, cutting it's head clean off. The two Creeps fell to the ground, turning to dust.

"Well, that take's care of that. Now let's find this Control Center."

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

I didn't even have time to move in the direction of my objective before I was cut off by a pack of Beowolves.

.

"Give me a break already." I sighed as the pack began to charge at me.

* * *

I started to walk in the direction of the objective after I dealt with the Beowolves.

"Jesus, these thing just keeps popping out of nowhere. I'll just be walking, minding my own business when all of a sudden I hear Filss say 'Warning! Incoming hostiles'." I said to myself as I walked through the forest. I started to look around, marveling at the beauty that the Emerald Forest had to offer.

"Damn, this place doesn't look half bad!" I said to myself.

 **"Ah yes, the Emerald Forest is filled with ruins of ancient kingdoms. It's quite the marvelous sight, isn't it?"** Port said through the earpiece.

"Gah!" I yelled in surprise.

 **"What's the matter?! Are you being attacked?!"** Port asked me through the earpiece.

"Can you give me a warning next time you decide to suddenly talk?!" I yelled back at him.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I forgot to mention that the earpiece can work both ways. I can contact you from Beacon, and you can contact me through the Emerald Forest.

"That would have been nice to know beforehand!" I yelled.

"Yes, well have you made it to the Control Center yet?" Port asked.

"Not yet, though I think I'm getting close." I said to Port.

 **"Splendid! Let me know when you get there, and remember, be careful. You never know when there's a Grimm ready to pounce on you at any moment."** Port cautioned.

"Yeah, I'll keep my guard up. I'll update you on anything I find." I said.

 **"Great. I'll be waiting to hear from you."** Port said as he cut off the connection.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

"Of course there are." I said to myself, unsheathing my sword.

* * *

After dealing with a couple packs of Beowolves and Creeps, I finally manage to arrive at my destination. It looked like whatever was jamming the Security Network was coming from the cave that was right in front of me.

"Please don't be infested with Grimm. Please don't be infested with Grimm." I said to myself as I walked into the cave. As I walked into the deepest part of the cave, I could see some sort of device that I've never seen before.

"Hmm, better send a picture to Port." I said. I took a couple of pictures of the object in front of me at different angles. My eyes fell on some sort of symbol on the center of the machine.

"Weird, I don't remember seeing this symbol on the show before." I said as I dialed Port.

 **"Ah, hello Brandon! Have you found anything suspicious yet?"** Port asked.

"Yeah, I found some sort of weird device in the Control Center in the cave in the Emerald Forest. I'm sending you some pictures now." I said as I hit the 'send' button.

 **"Hmm, looks like some sort of strange foreign object. I feel like I've seen that symbol somewhere before."** Port said.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

 **"Never mind that! Defend the Control Center while I undo the damage. There should be a place for you to insert your scroll. Insert your scroll in the slot and defend the Control Center!"** Port commanded.

"Right!" I said. I looked for the slot Port was talking about it.

"Here we go!" I said as I inserted my scroll into the slot on the machine.

All of a sudden, Creeps began to appear out of the ground.

"Alright, who's hungry?" I yell at the wave of Creeps. The Creeps charged at me. I roll under the two that were about to attack me and begin to slash repeatedly at the Creep behind the two that attacked me, before stabbing it in the chest. I turn around and swipe my sword at the two Creeps behind me. Both of them shriek in agony; I stab the Creep on the right in the head before cutting through the Creep on the left with one swing of my sword.

I then turn around to kick the last Creep across the face before stabbing it with my sword.

"How are we doing, Port?" I yelled into my head piece.

 **"I'm about a quarter of a way done! Just keep holding them off."** Port said. All of a sudden, a pack of more Creeps pop out of the ground, along with two Alpha Creeps.

The regular Creeps, with an angry shriek, charge at me with the intent of ripping me to shreds. I start to slash at the Creeps one by one. One of the Creeps burrows underground, planning killing me that way. I see an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. I hold one of the Creeps in place, waiting for the Creep underground to arise. I felt the Creep coming out of the ground, in quick succession, I push the Creep that I had in place in the path of the Creep through the ground. I jump at the Creeps, cutting both of them in half.

I stab one of the Creeps on my way down, slash in the direction of another one, cutting it in half. The two Alpha Creep's waste no time to charge at me. I roll under the first one before delivering a barrage of slashes at the second. The Alpha Creep howled in pain, I brought down my Buster blade to finish it off. I then jump at the Creep behind me, cutting it in half before landing on the ground.

"How about now, Port?" I yelled.

"Halfway there!" He said. All of a sudden, I heard a pack of Beowolves coming into the cave.

"Well hurry it up!" I yelled, charging at the pack of Beowolves. The first one tried to slice me with one of its arms, but I ducked under it and sliced its arm off from its body. The Beowolf howled in pain, I quickly silenced it by stabbing it in the chest. I turned around to deal with the other three. I stepped out of the way of the first swing of the Beowolf's claw, only to be hit by the other one. I hit the wall with a thud before getting back up.

I slashed upwards at the Beowolf, cutting its jaw and its snout in two. The Beowolf howled in pain, I stabbed it in the chest to finish it off. The other two didn't waste any time before they came in for another attack. I run at the two, slashing their abdomens. They both reeled back in pain, and before they could go in on the offensive again, I quickly get in between the two and do a circling slash motion, cutting the two Beowolves in half.

"Port!" I yelled.

 **"Just a few more minutes!"** He yelled back. I looked over to my right to see two Alpha Beowolves enter the cave, though one was bigger than the other.

"Alright, let's go!" I yelled. The smaller of the two rushed at me with incredible speeds. I was barely able to dodge out of the way, I began to deliver a barrage of slashes at the Alpha Beowolf. It howled in pain, and with incredible speed, sending me flying towards the wall. I hit the wall again with a thud, and the Beowolf didn't waste a single moment to charge at me. Before it could sink it's claw's in me, I duck out of the way. Fortunately, the Beowolf applied enough force to its attack that its arm was now stuck in the wall.

I quickly activated the Buster enchantment to cut off its arm and slice its abdomen in half. I turn around to see the bigger Beowolf charging at me. Fortunately for me, this one was slower than the other one, so I had more of an opportunity to dodge. I roll out of the way of its oncoming attack. I then slash at its leg to try and get it on its knees. The Beowolf howled in pain, as it kneeled on the ground. I climb up onto its back. The Beowolf tries to shake me off, but I stab my sword into its back to keep my footing. It howled in pain again. I took the opportunity to use my Buster enchantment to slice off its head.

.

.

 **"Done!"** Port said.

 **"Bravo, young lad! Bravo! The security network in this region is in shipshape once again. I'll get some of our staff to see if they can find anything about that mysterious symbol. Excellent work."**

"Thanks." I said in between breaths.

 **"Now you would be done by now, but unfortunately."** Port began.

"Oh, goddamn it." I huffed.

 **"There is still one more security network that is in need of repair."** Port continued.

"Great." I said with fake enthusiasm.

 **"Are you sure you can still keep going?"**

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can keep going."

 **"Well alright! I see that you have the determination required of a true Huntsmen! I'm sending the new coordinates to your scroll."** Port said.

 **Updating Map.**

I take out my scroll and look at my map.

"Okay, it's not too far." I said.

"Also, keep an eye out for any clues about who did this." Port said.

"Yeah, I'll look into it." I replied.

I think it'd be best if I were to lie low until I get there. I need to regain the energy I lost from those fights.

I put the scroll into my pocket and started to head towards the security network.

* * *

(20 Minutes Later)

Hiding from the Grimm wasn't to hard to do, though I was eventually stopped at some sort of temple. The bridge that led in the direction to the other side was currently closed. I looked over to the right of the bridge to see some sort of big gear.

 **"Hmm, I know it's a stretch, but maybe you can operate that mechanism to extend the bridge."** Port said.

"Are you sure it will actually work? It looks really old." I said to Port.

 **"Like I said, it's a stretch."** Port replied. I shrugged and began to access the bridge controls from the modifier below the gear. Sure enough, I was able to get into the controls and open the bridge.

 **"HA! It worked!"** Port exclaimed triumphantly.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

 **"And... seemed to attract some Grimm. Luckily, it doesn't look like there are that many of them, though. Well, happy hunting!"** Port said.

I turn around to see about four Boarbatusks waiting for me at the beginning of the bridge. One of the Boarbatusks huffed, stomped one of its hooves and charged at me.

Okay, no armor under its belly. I just need to knock it over and go in for the kill.

I use my sword to block its path before shoving it backwards. It stumbled around a bit before it was completely knocked over. I quickly ran over to the Boarbatusk and brought my sword down through its chest.

"Seems easy enough." I said. Two of the Boarbatusk started doing this rolling motion before launching itself at me.

Oh now, this is just too easy.

I wait for the two of them to be right near me before rolling out of the way. The two Boarbatusk's then roll off down the cliff where the bridge should have been. I then look at the last one who decided to charge at me. I get ready to do what I did for the first one, only for it to jump and do that rolling motion. We were both knocked back to the edge of the cliff. Before I could fall off, I stabbed the ground with my sword to slow down my momentum. The Boarbatusk however, wasn't so lucky. It fell off of the cliff like the previous two Boarbatusk did.

The bridge then finished opening, clearing the path towards my destination.

 **"Well done! Excellent work! Now, onwards! We have a security network to repair."** Port said.

"Yeah, let's get this over and done with." I said as I walked across the bridge to the Control Center.

* * *

I finally arrived at the last Control Center, though I noticed that there was some sort of cage next to it.

"Hmm, this cage seems to have the same symbol as the Control Center from before." I examined. I called Port to give him an update on the situation.

 **"Hello? Ah, Brandon! Have you arrived safely at the Control Center?"** Port asked.

"Yeah, though I found these weird cages next to the Control Center. I'm sending you the pictures I took of them." I said as I sent him the new info.

 **"Just as I thought, more sabotage from our friend with the symbol. But those cages... was someone trying to capture Grimm? Hrm... I don't like the looks of this. For now, let's just focus on our objective. Insert the scroll into the slot in the machine."** Port instructed. I nodded and put the scroll into the machine. All of a sudden, I hear a loud shriek coming from within the forest.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

 **Warning! Threat Level's Rising!**

Okay, that's new, and it's not exactly the good type of new either!

I unsheathed my sword as I got ready to intercept the oncoming threat from within the forest. All of a sudden, a Deathstalker appeared from the forest and a pretty big one.

 **"A Deathstalker! Be careful, Brandon! While it doesn't appear to be an alpha, it still shouldn't be taken likely. Defend the Control Center and whatever you do, don't let it's venom touch you!"** Port cautioned through the speaker.

"Yeah! You don't have to tell me twice!" I yell back. The Deathstalker charges, getting ready to swing one of its massive claws at me. I rolled backwards, only for the next claw to send me hurtling through a stone pillar.

"Okay, that hurt." I groaned. The Deathstalker charges at me, swinging one of its claws at me again, though, instead of rolling back, I roll forward so that I was out of the other claw's reach.

I move forward and start to deliver a barrage of slashes to the Deathstalker, only for my sword to bounce off its armor each time.

Damn it! This isn't working! Alright, let's try something else!

I changed my strategy and stabbed the Deathstalker in one of its many eyes. The Deathstalker howled in pain before swinging its tail at me, knocking me back towards one of the trees.

I was sent straight through the tree, and before I could get up, the Deathstalker wasted no time charging at me again.

"Shit!" I shouted as I jumped out of the way of its tail before it could stab me. Luckily, its tail got stuck in the ground. I took the opportunity to jump on the Deathstalker's tail, slashing at the its stinger, severing it from its tail. The Deathstalker screamed in pain as it desperately tried to shake me off. I took the opportunity to activate my Buster enchantment to cut off one of its claws. It screeched in pain as it finally threw me off of its tail. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep the grip I had on my sword. My sword was sent flying, landing next to the Control Center.

"Oh, now that's just what I needed!" I yelled, frustrated. The Deathstalker noticed the absence of my weapon and charged at me once again.

"Seriously?! How are you not dead yet?!" I yelled at it. Luckily, the Deathstalker had an opening for me to run and get my sword. I ran in the direction of the Deathstalker's missing arm and towards my sword.

Sliding under a claw swipe, I picked up my sword, only to be grabbed by the Deathstalker. I activated the Buster enchantment, cutting off its other arm. It screeched in pain as it dropped me, along with its severed arm.

I reeled my sword back, delivering the final blow to the Deathstalker. I breathed heavily as I walked over towards the Control Center.

 **"And done! Well done Brandon! I've just received a report."** Port praised.

"A report on what?" I asked, tired.

 **"Hmm, it's a report on the unknown symbol. It turns out that symbol we've been seeing belonged to Merlot Industries."**

"Merlot Industries?" I asked him.

 **"I'm not surprised you haven't heard about it, this was far beyond your time. Merlot Industries was an old research and development corporation. The company was crippled by the collapse of Mountain Glenn, where they lost their primary facility and chief staff members. They never recovered from the incident and eventually shut down."** Port explained.

"Okay, but if they were shut down, why is their technology suddenly popping up in the Emerald Forest?" I asked.

 **"Hmm, I don't know. We'll have to look into it more. For now, you've completed your objective. Congratulations! Your first mission was a success! I'm sending a Bullhead to come and pick you up when you get back at Beacon. Report to Professor Ozpin's office when you arrive. He would like to see you."** Port said.

"Yeah, I will, see ya." I said as to cut off the connection.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Meanwhile, on an island just outside of Vale, there was an abandoned warehouse. Inside the warehouse was a mysterious man, who was currently contemplating on the recent events that have just transpired.

"Hmm, this is most intriguing. This boy will prove to be a useful test subject." The mysterious man said as he took a sip of his red wine.

"Just wait, Ozpin, soon all of Vale will crumble before my creations." He said with a sinister laugh. "Then everyone will know the name of Merlot Industries."

* * *

(1 Hour Later)

After I successfully killed that Deathstalker and gathered all of the required data for the mission, I followed Port's instructions and headed up to Ozpin's office.

"Ah, Mr. Kim! I'm glad to see you made it back in one piece." Ozpin greeted me.

"Yeah, yeah, what do you wa-?" I was cut off by the sight of Professor Peach sitting in a chair in front of his desk.

"Professor Peach!" I said in surprise.

"Ah! Hello, Brandon! Congratulations on your first successful mission! Weird that Merlot Industries is suddenly popping up now." Peach said.

"Wait. How do you-" I was cut off by Professor Ozpin.

"Peter informed us awhile ago." Ozpin briefly explained.

"Oh, okay." I said.

.

Wait a minute.

"If you didn't need me to inform you on the details, then why did you call me up here?" I asked Ozpin.

"For the same reason Peach is up here."

"What?" I asked.

"Well you see, I'm going to be going on a Dust expedition in Atlas tomorrow."

"Okay, what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"Well, I just had a little chat with Ozpin, and he agreed to let you come with me to Atlas for my next expedition!"

.

.

"Wait, what?!" I yelled.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #11**

 **Well, from the looks of it, Cinder might not be the only one I have to worry about.**

 **Looks like I head off to Atlas tomorrow. That should be interesting. Maybe I'll see some familiar faces.**

 **Nothing should go wrong right?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Right?**

 **Disclaimer: Okay, I realize that I caused some confusion with the introduction of Merlot Industries this early in the story. Allow me to explain. You see, this would be sort of a 'Practice Villain' for me to warm up with before I tango with Cinder.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Neo Tastsuji the Human: Ha ha ha! It's funny because it will never happen.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **EVER.**

 **Update: Accidentally mixed up Emerald's and Blake's Semblance, fixed it.**

 **Arkos: 19 (Surprise, surprise.)**

 **ReNora: 18 (The recent episodes have had me liking this ship even more.)**

 **IceBerg: 7 (And Iceberg takes the lead!)**

 **Black Sun: 6 (Come on Sun! Don't let Neptune leave you in the dust!)**

 **Shades and Blade's: 5 (Wow! Went up, good job Fox!)**

 **Lancaster: 4 (Well, you're not in last at least.)**

 **Cinnabun: 4 (Poor Yatsuhashi.)**

 **Blake Belladonna**

 **Height: 5'6"**

 **Weight: 121 lbs**

 **Age: 16**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Shadow**

 **Summary: When activated, it allows her to create clones of herself. These clones are solid but can be dispelled easily if hit or if Blake moves too far away from them. They can be used to distract foes or take hits for Blake, and they appear to propel her in whatever direction she chooses.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, than leave a follow, fav, or review.**

 **See you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one.**


	12. The Expedition

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Atlas."

Thought: _'Atlas'_

Flashback: _"Atlas."_

(The Next Morning)

Ah Atlas, the great frozen tundra of Remnant. Now there isn't a lot to say about Atlas that hasn't already been said before. But the is a small little detail that wasn't on the original show. Let's get the basics out of the way. Early settlers came to the icy continent of Solitas in order to begin a new civilization.

Its harsh climates and great mountain ranges helped to suppress the threat of the Grimm, but it also proved difficult for the population to grow. Humanity adapted, however, by using Dust in tandem with advanced technology, developed out of necessity and at faster progression than the rest of the world and eventually creating what came to be known then as the Kingdom of Mantle.

Their advancements in Dust application allowed Mantle to expand and devote more territory to mining and research, including the area beside the kingdom's combat school, Alsius Academy.

Out of all of the kingdoms, Atlas definitely had the superior technology, environment, and settlements at the time. Though unlike the other armies throughout the kingdom of Remnant, Atlas had a more 'stuck up' military than the others, not counting Mistral that is.

Unlike Mistral, Atlas's army was kept in line due to one of their greatest general's. She turned the Atlas army from a bunch of undisciplined, selfish, stuck-up assholes to the Great Army of Atlas that we know today. Not only was she a great drill sergeant, she was also one of the greatest fighters that Atlas has ever had.

She was the main reason that Atlas was known for its superior army, secured borders and high security. Unlike most of the other generals that were in the different kingdoms, she was said to wield the enchanted rapier, Joyeuse, though any records on what the sword did were either scrapped or are non-existent.

She was also said to be the very first Headmaster of Atlas Academy. Now, I was standing in front of the runway with Peach, waiting for the Airship to take us to Atlas.

"So, why exactly are you taking me again?" I asked Professor Peach.

"Well, I was originally going to leave you here at Beacon, but then I thought 'Hey! How about I bring Brandon with me on my expedition! It would be a great learning experience for him if he were to take part in one of Atlas's Dust Expeditions!" She explained to me with a smile.

"Besides, from what you told me, you've never been anywhere outside of Vale and your village! I thought you would be excited to go somewhere different." She said.

"No, I am! It's just that you've never invited me to go on one of your expeditions before. What's so special about this one?" I asked her.

"Well, this one mine in particular is said to house more Dust than the one Nicolas discovered all those years ago! There's no telling how much Dust will be in this mine! Who knows, there might even be a brand new element of Dust that we have yet to discover yet!" She said enthusiastically.

"Huh, now that does sound exciting!" I said.

"The best part is that there will be a lot of people who will get ill in the mines!" She said all-too-happily.

.

.

"Wait, how is that a good thing?" I asked her, a little more cautious.

"Think about it! With all of those ill people, I can use the Dust from the mines to conduct some of my experiments! Think of the possibilities!" She said as her eyes sparkled.

.

.

I suddenly don't want to go on this trip anymore.

"While we're in the mine, however, I would like you to bring your weapon." She said to me.

"Why? I thought we were just going to mine some Dust." I said.

"Yes, well there are also some Grimm who like to make their nests in the different mines, which is why they require at least one Huntsmen with them during the different expeditions. It's why I'm rarely seen at Beacon, I'm always going on a different expedition to the many different mines across Remnant." She explained.

So THAT'S why we've never seen her on the show before!

"That's also the other reason to why I'm taking you with me. You never know when you'll be called to go on one of the many expeditions that take place throughout the kingdoms of Remnant." Peach said.

"Oh! I think I can see the Airship in the distance!" She said. The Atlesian Airship differs in appearance from the passenger Airship. It had an arrow-shaped hull with two nacelles coming off its sides, most likely its engines. It also has several spines protruding from the engine supports. There were also several nozzles in between the spines, as well as on the bottom of the engine supports, most likely the main source of propulsion. Given its size, slow speed and lack of wings, it most likely used Dust to stay aloft.

As the Airship landed on the runway, the front doors opened to reveal a series of different Atlas soldiers.

"What's up with the soldiers?" I asked.

"Well, considering that this is a HUGE development in the department of Dust, there's bound to be some very high security." She answered.

"Ms. Peach?" One of the soldiers addressed.

"Hmm? Yes, that's me." She said.

"We're here to take you to Atlas, I assume that you finished all of your preparations." The soldier said.

"Yes, I'm ready to go to Atlas." She said.

"Great, though if you don't mind me asking, who's the kid?" He asked her.

"Oh, him? He's my little helper. He's going to come with us on the expedition." Peach said as she patted my head.

"Oh, well okay, just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." The soldier said as he walked back to the Airship.

.

.

.

"Can you stop patting my head already!" I yelled.

* * *

(12 hours later)

(Atlas)

As we were flying over Atlas, I could finally get a good look at the actual Academy. I was actually pretty excited to see the Academy, considering that we've never actually seen it in the show. Tall, big metal buildings surrounded the academy, and in the center of it was Atlas's CCT. The city, however, was a different story. Tall buildings, fancy looking stores, a very tall clock tower and various houses as far as the eye could see. Just think of London City, make most of the buildings white or black, and then there you go, that's what Atlas looks like. The snow that covered the ground made it all look perfect. The way it glistens under the night sky makes the scenery all the more beautiful to look at. I then felt my scroll rumble, I looked down to see who was messaging me.

"So, what do you think?" Peach asked me.

"About?" I asked her.

"The Academy." She said.

"Oh. To be honest, it's kinda underwhelming." I said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"To be blunt, it looks more like a Military Facility than an actual Huntsmen Academy. I was expecting some sort of high tech Huntsmen Academy." I said to her.

"Not surprising. A few years ago, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, James Ironwood, decided to involve his students with a more military lifestyle." She said to me.

"Why?" I asked her.

"He wants to encourage his students to join his special operatives force." She said to me.

"Oh."

"What about the city of Atlas?" She asked me.

"It's beautiful. I've always had a little soft spot when it came to snow." I said to her.

"Well then, I'm sure you'll love it here, though remember why we're here in the first place." She reminded me.

"Yeah, grab the Dust and go." I summarized.

"Well, there's a lot more to it than that but yes, we just need to get as much of the Dust as we can." She said.

 **"Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Atlas Academy in a few moments."**

"About time! I was starting to get bored." I said. Peach simply chuckled at me.

"Yes, now before we go, put this on." She said as she pulled out a white jacket, with black fur on the end of the sleeves and on the hoodie.

"It's bound to be very cold out there." She explained to me.

"Thanks." I said to her as we began to head out of the ship.

* * *

After we got off of the ship, we were informed to go to the Headmaster's office immediately. After a short walk, we stood in front of the door of the Headmaster's office. Before we even knocked, the door opened.

"The general will see you now." The woman said to the two of us. We nodded as we headed into the office. As we walked inside, I could finally get a clear view of the Headmaster in his office. The man wore a white overcoat with a gray undercoat, black sweater, a red necktie, and a white glove on his right hand. His suit pants share the same color as his overcoat and are tucked into silver boots accented in gray. His hair was a slowly-graying black, while his eyebrows were a thick solid black. This was James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy.

"Ah, Vanessa! It's good to see you again." Ironwood said.

"General." Vanessa said, saluting to him.

"Please, drop the formalities. Call me James." He said. His eyes then fell on me.

"I see you brought one of your students with you. Any particular reason why?" He asked her.

"Well, I thought that this would be a great way for him to learn about Dust and the different expeditions Mr. Schnee holds." She said.

"Hmm." Ironwood got out of the chair and walked towards me.

"I don't believe we've met yet. I'm General James Ironwood." He introduced himself as he held out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Brandon Kim. Nice to meet ya." I said, shaking his hand. His eyes then widened in response.

"Oh! So you're the boy Ozpin's been teaching." He said.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I can see why you brought him here. I'm sure he'll be a great asset to our expedition." He said, turning back to Vanessa.

"Now, let's get down to business." He said as he went to his desk to pull out a series of documents and files.

"These are the specific details to what we should be expecting when entering the mine." Ironwood said.

"Hmm, this is interesting, I'll be sure to look through all of these for tomorrow's expedition." Peach said, skimming over the files.

"Thank you, and before you go, there is one more thing I'd like to talk about." Ironwood said.

"Hmm? Yes, what is it?" Peach asked.

"The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company will be joining us on tomorrow's expedition." Ironwood said.

.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"Oh! That's wonderful, though I have to ask you, why is someone her age coming with us?" Peach asked. He then pointed at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay I get it, but he's been training under Ozpin. OZPIN! He might as well be Huntsmen already." She said.

"Okay, fair point. If you really want to know, it was a special request from Jacques. He said that if his daughter is to take over the company, she has to know what to expect." He said.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." Peach said.

Wait, Weiss is coming?! Well then, I met Blake yesterday, now I'm meeting Weiss! About time I met some of the main characters!

"Well then, you two better get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." He said. We then turn around to walk out the door, only to be stopped by Ironwood.

"Wait. Peach, you can go, but I would like to speak with Brandon here, alone." He said. I then looked at Peach.

"I'll wait for you outside." She said as she walked out the door. I then turn around to face Ironwood.

.

.

.

"So, what do you need? I asked.

"I'd like to talk to you about Ms. Schnee." He said.

"What about her?" I asked.

"I want you to guard her during the expedition tomorrow." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"She is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. The title alone makes her very important. While I don't doubt the combat skills of Ms. Schnee, I want you to make sure she's safe during our expedition. Most of the huntsmen that will be there will be guarding the miners, I want you to guard Ms. Schnee during the Expedition." He explained.

"So you want me to be her bodyguard?" I said to him.

"Basically, yes, I want you to be her bodyguard." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, I'll do it." I said.

"Now, I know you're eager to take part of the expedition, though this is a matter of utmost importan- wait what?" Ironwood asked.

"I said I'll do it." I said.

"Just like that?" He asked me.

"Yeah, just like that." I said.

.

.

.

.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." He said.

"Is that all? Because I would like to eat something that's not shitty airplane food." I asked. He simply chuckled at my remark.

"Well, I'll try not to keep you too long. I just have one request." He said.

"Alright, what is it?" I asked him.

"I would like to see your sword." He asked.

.

.

"What?" I asked him.

"Your sword, can I see it?" He asked, his arm outstretched.

"Yeah, sure." I said as I pulled out Caliber and gave it to him. He held the blade as if it were some priceless artifact, he then began to swing it around, before turning towards me.

"Ozpin said that this is the Enchanted Sword, Caliber, though how do I know that this is the real thing?" He said as he handed it back to me. I responded by activating the Buster enchantment.

"That's how." I said with a smirk on my face. He reeled back a bit before he went up and touched the blade. He reeled back as the blade of energy burned one of the fingers on his prosthetic hand.

"I don't really recommend you touch it." I said.

"Amazing! So this is the legendary sword, Caliber!" He said in awe.

"You wanna hold it?" I asked him. He then proceeded to take the sword out of my hand's, only for the Buster enchantment to deactivate when it left my grasp.

"What did you do?" I asked him.

"I don't know! It just disappeared!" He said.

"Give it here." I said. He then handed me back my weapon, and as it came into contact with my hand, the Buster enchantment reactivated.

"Weird." I said. I handed it back to him.

Off

He hands it back to me.

On.

To him.

Off.

To me.

On.

Wait a minute.

"Oh! Right, the enchantments will only work for me." I said.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"I remember Ozpin telling me something called an 'Aura Lock' which makes it so that only I can use the sword. I guess this is what he meant when he said that." I said.

"Ah, that would explain it." He said.

"Okay, well that's all I needed from you. I won't keep you here any longer, I'm sure you're tired and hungry." He said.

"Yeah, I'm more tired than hungry." I replied.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'll give you the specific details in the morning." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, see ya." I said as I walked out of his office.

* * *

"So, what did he want you for?" Peach asked me as I stepped out of his office.

"Well, he wanted me to guard We- Ms. Schnee for tomorrow's expedition." I said to her.

Please don't notice, please don't notice, please don't notice!

"Oh wow! What an honor! It's not everyday you get to guard someone as important as Ms. Schnee." Peach said.

Whew! Thank god she didn't notice. Damn it, Brandon! You have to be careful! Only Ozpin knows that you're from another world. You can't afford to slip up like you almost did!

"Yeah, a real honor." I said, though before we could say anything else, we hear two growling noises coming from the hallway.

.

.

"Heh, I guess we're both pretty hungry after that long trip." Peach said.

"You don't even know the half of it, that airplane food was terrible." I said.

"Well then let's go get some food! I know this great restaurant from my last visit here." Peach said.

"Lead the way." I said as we began to walk towards the elevator.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

As Brandon and Peach were talking to one another, neither of them noticed an Atlas guard from the corner, who just so happen to be listening in on their conversation. He then pulled out his scroll and dialed a number.

"Hello brother, I expect that you have the coordinates to the Dust supply." The mysterious voice said from the other end of the scroll.

"Yes brother, I'm sending them to you now." The guard said as he sent the coordinates to the mysterious man.

"Excellent, the lieutenant will be pleased with your results, brother." The man said.

"Another thing before you go." The guard stopped the man from hanging up right there and then.

"I just heard that one of the Schnee's will be present during the expedition." He told the man.

"The lieutenant will be most pleased with your results. That will be all, brother. I will bring the information to the lieutenant, you report back to base." The man said.

"Yes, brother." The guard said as he cut off the connection and walked towards the stairs leading down.

* * *

(The Next Morning)

(My Pov)

"Jeez, it's 5:00 in the morning. I know Ironwood said that he would call me up in the morning, bit still, this seems pretty early." I said, rubbing my eyes as I walked towards Ironwood's office. I then walk up to the front of the door and knock.

"Come in." I heard Ironwood say.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. Glad you could make it." Ironwood said.

"Why the hell did you call me so early in the mo-!" I was cut off at the sight of a familiar girl sitting in front of the desk. The girl wore a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The back of the bolero displays the Schnee Crest, which bears a resemblance to a snowflake.

She also wore an apple-shaped necklace along with a pair of thin, rectangular earrings. She wore white, heeled wedge boots that went up to her mid-calf; the insides are also lined with red. Her long white hair is pulled back in an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She has a pale complexion and ice blue eyes.

She also wore a small bag on the back of her dress, wrapped around her waist with a ribbon.

"Mr. Kim, allow me to introduce you to Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Ironwood said.

.

.

.

.

Well, I'm awake now!

"Ms. Schnee, this is Brandon Kim, he will also be coming with us on the Dust expedition." Ironwood said to Weiss.

"Hmm." Weiss looked at me, her eyes narrowed. As she looked at me, I noticed that her left eye didn't have the scar yet.

This must be before the concert then.

"I was expecting better." Weiss said.

'lright, it's 5:00 in the morning, cut me a little slack.

"Well, let's get down to business." Ironwood said as he sat back down in his chair.

"As I'm sure you both know, during this Dust expedition, we'll be going to a mine even bigger than the one Nicolas found all those years ago." Ironwood said. We both nodded.

"Good, now I'm sure you already know, but there are bound to powerful Grimm there. That's why we need Huntsmen, to protect the miners and secure the mines." Ironwood said.

"Here's the plan, once we get to the mines, you and the other Huntsmen will be going into the mines to clear them out. After you've done that, half of the Huntsmen will be guarding the miners from any Grimm they may have missed. You and the rest of the Huntsmen will go around the mines and look for any remaining Grimm. Once we're done, I'll call the two of on your scrolls." Ironwood briefed.

"Seems simple enough." I said.

"Are there any questions?" Ironwood asked. Weiss raised her hand.

"Yes, what is it, Ms. Schnee?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes, how come I have to work with him?" Weiss asked Ironwood.

"Well, while I understand that you are fully capable of taking care of yourself, you are still not fully trained yet. Which is why I'm having Brandon here go with you. Is there a problem with that, Ms. Schnee?" Ironwood asked.

"Well, he hardly looks like he's a Huntsman-in-training, let alone a fighter." Weiss said.

I'm right here ya know.

"I guarantee you, Ms. Schnee, he is a capable fighter." Ironwood said.

.

.

.

"Whatever, just make sure he doesn't get in my way." Weiss said.

"I'm right here ya know." I said. She then turned towards me and glared.

"Hmph." Weiss then walked out of Ironwood's office.

Okay, I know she get's better in the future, but right now, I really don't appreciate her attitude.

"I'm sorry for her attitude, she's just very cold towards strangers." Ironwood said.

"Eh, it's fine." I told Ironwood.

"So when are we heading out?" I asked him.

"We're just about ready to go now. All we need is to gather the Huntsmen." Ironwood said.

"Let's get going then." I said as I walked out of the door.

* * *

(Four hours later)

After we gathered everyone, we headed towards the mines. It took us a couple of hours of air travel before we actually got to the mines. As we landed, we began to unload the supplies from the different Bullheads. We then gathered all the different equipment to set up camp around the mountain. After we were done setting everything up, the Huntsmen and Huntresses were called over by Ironwood.

"Okay, now I'm sure you already know the plan, but in case you weren't listening, I'm going to go over it one last time," Ironwood said, everyone nodded.

"Each of you will be going into the mines to clear them out. After you've done that, half of you will be guarding the miners from any Grimm you may have missed. The rest of the Huntsmen will go around the mines and look for any remaining Grimm. Once we're done, I'll call you on your scrolls. Any questions?" Ironwood said. Everyone shook their heads.

"Great, now move out!" Ironwood ordered. Everyone nodded and headed into the mines. Everyone went their separate ways except for Weiss and I. We both looked at each other in silence.

.

.

.

"So... lead the way." I said. Weiss nodded as she walked in the direction of one of the caves. We walked in silence before we heard a growling noise. The both of us unsheathed our weapons, getting ready to take on whatever threat was there. A pack of Beowolves began to circle us. We both then charged into different directions, one of the Beowolves pounced at me, only to be sliced in half.

Another Beowolf then pounced at Weiss, but she used one of her Glyphs to charge at it with incredible speed, before summoning more Glyphs around it. She stabbed at the Beowolf before it finally collapsed and died.

Two more Beowolves the charge at me. Both of them tried to slash at me, but I duck out of the way of the two. I then slash in a circling motion, both of them reeling back in pain. I quickly slashed the Beowolf on the right in half, before I stabbed the one on the left.

Two more charged at Weiss, she used on of her Dust cartridges to freeze them in place, before using lightning Dust to electrocute both of them. The two Beowolves howled in pain before disintegrating into piles of ash.

We then turn towards one another, making sure that the other side was cleared. We stood there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

.

"You're not half bad." Weiss said.

"Thanks, you're not so bad either." I said.

"Thank you." Weiss said with a bow.

"Well, there's no point in staying here, our mission is to clear out any Grimm that may be in the mines. Let's keep going." Weiss said.

"Lead the way." I said as we went further into the cave.

* * *

After we killed a couple packs of Beowolves, Ursa Minor's, and a flock of small Nevermore's, we reached the end of the trail. As we reached the end, we ran into a cave filled to the brim with different types of Dust.

"Damn! It's like a gold mine!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, it is quite beautiful," Weiss said. I then went to touch a light blue Dust crystal from one of the walls, only to be electrocuted in the process.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"Don't touch it, you dunce!" Weiss yelled. "This Dust hasn't even been refined yet, so it's very unstable. You're lucky it was just a small one, anything bigger would have killed you."

"That would have been nice to know beforehand!" I said, annoyed.

"I thought you knew. Considering you were chosen for this mission, I would have thought that you at least had the required knowledge." Weiss said.

"Still would have been nice to know." I grumbled. I then look towards the end of the cave, at the end, I could see a particularly large Dust crystal.

"Hey, that's a pretty big Dust crystal." I said, pointing at the crystal. Weiss's eyes widened as she laid eyes on the crystal. She ran up to it, marveling at the size.

"Do you know what this is?" Weiss asked me excitedly.

"It's a giant crystal?" I asked.

"No, you dunce! It's a powersource, and quite a big one at that!" Weiss said.

"What do you mean powersource?" I asked.

"I mean that this Dust crystal could power Atlas for at least another decade!" Weiss explained.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Don't you know anything about the kingdom you live in?!" Weiss yelled in frustration.

"I'm from Vale." I said.

"Oh, I guess that explains it. Vale doesn't need that much power compared Atlas. We need these crystals to live, to power our weapons, our ships, and even our city. Without it, we would probably freeze to death." Weiss explained.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"I'm going to call Ironwood, he'll want to know the location of the crystal." Weiss said as she pulled out her scroll.

Ya think at least one person would have tried to come and mine the stuff. Getting here was easy enough, what's keeping other people from taking the Dust for themselves?

"Strange, he's not picking up." Weiss said.

"Maybe all this Dust might be interfering with the signal." I said.

"Well, then let's just go somewhe-!" Weiss was interrupted by the sound of an explosion coming from the outside.

"What the hell!" I yelled. I then hear my scroll ring, I looked to see that Peach was trying to get a hold of me.

"Peach! What the hell's going on?! What was that?!" I yelled.

 **"Brandon! You and Weiss need to get out of here!"** Peach said.

"What do you mean?! What's going o-?!" I was interrupted by the sound of some sort of weapon revving up.

 **"Brandon, what was that?! Are you oka-?!"** She didn't have time to finish her sentence as the connection cut off.

"Peach?! Peach!" I yelled.

"Damn it! The connection cut off!" I yelled.

"What's happening?! What was that explosion?!" Weiss yelled.

"I believe I might me able to answer that." A rough voice said. Weiss and I turn in the direction of the cave's entrance to see a tall muscular man. He wore black pants and black gloves, and his forearms have metal guards. He also had a distinctive top with a collar that sticks up around his neck and lacks the buttoned look of the standard garb, he also wore some sort of hood over his head. He held a giant drill-like weapon in both of his hand's.

But the most noticeable thing about him was the Grimm Mask that covered his whole face and had red eyes with thin red streaks streaming to the bottom of the mask.

"Of course, they're here. Why wouldn't the White Fang be here." I grumbled to myself.

"I've always wanted to kill a Schnee." The White Fang member said.

* * *

"Why are you here?!" Weiss asked the White Fang member.

"We're here to take this Dust mine for ourselves." The White Fang member said.

"And I'm here to kill you." The White Fang member chuckled in a low tone as he revved up his drill. Weiss then got into a combat position.

"I won't let you take all this Dust." Weiss said. I then unsheathed my sword, getting ready to assist her.

"And I won't let you kill her." I said. I looked towards Weiss who simply nodded at me.

"I think that's enough talk!" He yelled, seemingly annoyed as he charged at us. He swings his drill at the two of us, I roll out of the way while Weiss backflips. He swung at Weiss again, but Weiss uses her one of her Glyphs to shield herself from the attack.

The White Fang member stumbles back before swinging his drill at Weiss. Weiss parries the attack before she jabs at him, she then jumps and slashes at his face before landing on the ground.

The White Fang member swings at Weiss, only for her to backflip out of the way and jab at his abdomen. I go up and start to slash at him. He tries to swing his weapon at me, but I block it with my weapon. He then starts to rev up the drill. Sparks could be seen coming off of my sword. I smirk and activated the Buster enchantment.

He stumbles back a bit before I swing my sword at him, sending him flying towards the wall.

"What is that?" Weiss yelled/asked.

"It's my Semblance, I'll explain what it does later." I said. Weiss nods and then charges in the direction of the White Fang member. She summons her Glyphs around the White Fang member before she slashed at him, using the different Glyphs to propel herself towards him in different directions.

The White Fang member then grabs Weiss by her neck and throws her at one of the walls. He then swings at her, she tries to block it, but he activates his drill, which sent her rapier hurtling across the room.

I catch the rapier and run to assist Weiss. The White Fang member goes in to impale Weiss with his drill, but I rolled under him to block the drill from making contact with Weiss. Sparks could be seen coming off of my weapon. I shove the White Fang member backwards before I swung at him with the Buster enchantment. He flew backwards but used the drill to stop himself from hitting the wall.

"What is that thing made of?" The White Fang member grunted to himself.

"Here." I said to Weiss, handing her rapier back to her.

"Thank you, now, let's take this guy down!" Weiss said.

"Whatever you say, Ice Queen." I said with a smirk. I go to activate my Buster enchantment, only for the blade to glow purple.

"Well, this is new," I said as I looked at the blade.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." I said.

The White Fang member then charges at the two of us. Weiss charged right back at him, summoning some of her Glyphs around him. She gestures me to go in. I nod and charge at him, my blade still glowing purple. Both of us slash and jab at him, using the Glyphs to propel ourselves off towards him.

He stumbled back a bit before Weiss used another one of her Glyphs. Imagine our surprise when we see two white Beowolves appear from them. The two glowing wolves then swing at him, sending him hurtling towards the wall. He falls to the ground, unconscious.

Wait, I though Weiss couldn't do summoning yet!

"W-what did you do?" Weiss asked me.

"I-I don't know!" I said, a little panicked.

"Can't you do this normally?" I asked her.

"N-no! I can barely do time dilation! Let alone summoning!" Weiss said. I look over at the summoning Glyph to see that it had the same purple aura around it.

"I think it's my Semblance." I observed.

"What exactly does your Semblance do?" Weiss asked me.

"Well, it can do a lot of things, I don't know exactly what, but I guess this is one of them." I said. I look at Weiss to see that the same purple aura was flowing around her.

"Hmm.'" I hummed to myself.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

"Well, I feel stronger, like I just got a sudden burst of power. I feel like I could do so much more with my Semblance than before." Weiss said. I deactivate the enchantment. As soon as I did that, the Beowolves went away.

"Try doing it now," I said. She nodded and tried to activate one of her summoning Glyphs. Though she had little to no results.

"Now I can't even summon the Glyph!" Weiss said, obviously frustrated.

"I guess that this part of my Semblance makes other Semblances stronger." I said.

"Though now that brings up another question." I said. Weiss looked at me questionably.

"What do I call it?" I asked. We stood there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

.

"How about **Enchant**?" Weiss suggested.

"Enchant?" I asked.

"Yeah, I mean it powered up my Semblance. It seems fitting." Weiss said.

"Enchant, Enchant." I said the name to myself a few times.

"Yeah, I like it!" I said. We then turn in the direction of the White Fang member we just defeated.

"What do you want to do with him?" I asked. She then used her ice Dust to freeze the lower half of his body, as well as freezing his hands together.

"Let's hand him over to Ironwood. I'm sure they already defused the situation by now." Weiss said. I nodded.

"Oh, and Brandon." Weiss said.

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked.

"I'm sorry for my attitude earlier today." Weiss said.

"It's cool, I don't hold it against you." I said.

"No, I want to make it up." Weiss said as she reached into her pocket and grabbed a piece of paper.

"Um, you're giving me paper?" I asked.

"No! It's a ticket to my show tomorrow!" Weiss said.

"And it's not just any ticket, look at what it says." Weiss said.

"Schnee Concert, V.I.P Privilege." I read.

"I was supposed to give it to Ironwood, but he said that he couldn't make it, so I'm giving it to you." Weiss said.

"Thanks." I said, putting the ticket in my pocket.

"Let's head back to base, Peach is probably pulling out strands of her hair worrying about us." I said. Weiss chuckled before following me out of the cave.

"Oh, and Brandon." Weiss said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What's Vale like?" Weiss asked.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked.

"I'm just curious, that's all!" Weiss said, a touch indignantly.

"Well, it's nice, tall buildings, nice people, there's a lot of things to do around there too." I said.

"What's Beacon like?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it's very welcoming, the teachers are nice, and it has a good combat system." I said to her.

.

.

.

Oh, now I see why she's asking.

"You should apply there. You'd like it." I said with a smile.

"And who knows? You might even meet a few friends."

* * *

(The Next Day)

The Atlas military was able to fend off the White Fang, though there were a few casualties. Some of them were the miners, some were soldiers who were fighting the White Fang. We eventually set up everything for the miners. After our work was done, we were sent back to Atlas. Now, I'm here in front of the theater that Weiss told me to go to.

"Damn, this thing is huge." I said. I walk up to the front doors, only to be stopped by the two guards.

"Hold up kid, this party is for nobles only, kids like you aren't allowed here." One of the guards said.

"Unless you were invited by a person of power." The other guard said. I take out my ticket and show it to the guards. Their eyes widened in response before quickly bowing.

"My apologies, sir! I didn't know your status!" One of the guards said.

Yeah, status, let's go with that.

"Right this way sir! The concert is about to start!" One of the guards said. They led me towards one of the seats in the very top row.

"If there is anything you need, just call us." The guard said.

"Yeah, alright," I said. The lights then began to dim, and the stage light shone on Weiss.

Huh, a live performance of 'Mirror Mirror'. Never thought I'd see the day.

I heard the piano playing, and Weiss began to sing into the microphone.

 **(A.N: Play Mirror Mirror part 1)**

 _Mirror, tell me something,_

 _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _(Instrumental)_

 _Mirror, tell me something,_

 _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _Fear of what's inside of me,_

 _Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?_

 _(Instrumental)_

 _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?_

 _Save me from the things I see!_

 _I can keep it from the world,_

 _Why won't you let me hide from me?_

 _Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_

 _Who's the loneliest of all?_

 _I'm the loneliest of all._

The entire audience roared with applause.

Damn! That was even better than listening to it on my phone! Well, I guess I better get goi-

My thought process was cut off the musicians began to play another song.

Wait, I thought it was just Mirror Mirror. What else are they pla-?

My thought process was cut off once again by the sound of Weiss's singing.

 _(A.N: Play Mirror Mirror Part 2)_

 _Who am I to complain?_

 _My life's been spared so much pain._

 _Born with all that I need,_

 _My comforts all guaranteed._

Mirror Mirror part 2!

 _So what's the problem?_

 _What's keeping me?_

 _From moving forward,_

 _It's hard to see._

 _I should be free now._

 _I should be fine._

 _But the life I fought for,_

 _Still isn't mine._

 _Some believe in fairy stories,_

 _And the ghosts that they can't see._

 _I know that I could do so much,_

 _If I could just believe in me._

 _Mirror, mirror,_

 _Tell me something,_

 _Can I stop my fall?_

 _Years of scorn will leave you cold,_

 _"Forget your dreams do what you're told"_

 _When disapproval's all you're shown,_

 _The safest place becomes alone._

 _And isolation's,_

 _The price you pay._

 _And every friendship,_

 _Is pushed away._

 _But bit by bit now,_

 _A step each day._

 _I'm slowly starting,_

 _To find my way!_

 _Some believe in fairy stories,_

 _And the ghosts that they can't see._

 _I know that I could do so much,_

 _If I could just believe in me._

 _Mirror, mirror,_

 _I'll tell you something,_

 _I think I might change it all._

The audience the roared with applause. Weiss then looked up up to the top of the stage, smiled, then waved. I got up out of my chair and waved back to her.

Damn, didn't expect that.

I'm glad I came here.

I stood up and started to make my way out of the theater.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #12**

 **And so ends the expedition.**

 **The meeting with Weiss went better than I expected.**

 **On the plus side, I managed to befriend her before she came to Beacon.**

 **I also never thought that I would get to see a live performance of Mirror Mirror Part 1 and 2.**

 **On the down side, I've also made myself an official enemy of the White Fang. Yeah, that's gonna put a dent in things.**

 **I'm sure it will work out though.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response.**

 **Guest: Don't worry, I will.**

 **Cmndr: Yeah, I think I clarified why I did what I did with Grimm Eclipse in the last chapter.**

 **DragonLord501st: If you like hack and slash games, then Grimm Eclipse is for you. I'll go back and check the chapter for grammar mistakes.**

 **Keklord: Hope that's a good thing.**

 **tsukiyomi83: Yeah, I fixed the error with Blake's and Emerald's Semblances.**

 **nightmaster000: Yeah, I was originally gonna do it in "The Thief" chapter, but decided that it was a bit early. Glad you liked the twist I added into the story!**

 **Poll Progression:**

 **ReNora: 21**

 **Arkos: 19**

 **Black Sun: 8**

 **Iceberg: 7**

 **Lancaster: 5**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Cinnabun: 4**

 **Weiss Schnee**

 **Height: 5'3"**

 **Weight: 119 lbs**

 **Age: 16**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Glyphs**

 **Summary: Unlike most semblances, the Schnee Semblances are hereditary to members of the Schnee family. Her Glyphs have a variety of effects on objects, monsters, and people (including herself). Weiss often uses her Glyphs for propulsion, as they have the ability to control motion, exerting push/pull forces on other objects and acting as a solid surface. She can also slow down someone's perception of time, as well as summon her fallen foes.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: C**

 **New Enchantment Data:**

 **Enchantment: Enchant**

 **Summary: When activated, Brandon can power up the Semblances of his allies. When activated, his sword, as well as his allies, are surrounded by a purple aura.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	13. The Investigation

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, all rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Investigation."

Thought: _'The Investigation.'_

Flashback: _"The Investigation."_

It's been about a week since the expedition. Ever since then, I've been thinking about the recent events. I was an official enemy in the White Fang's eyes, considering I just got one of their lieutenants put in jail for life.

Though I doubt that they're behind the security incident in the Emerald Forest. Speaking of which, Port and Oobleck have been investigating the return of Merlot Industries while I was gone. They said that they would inform me on any details regarding the mysterious re-appearance of Merlot Industries.

Now, I'm sure you all want to know about the different Grimm in Remnant. Well, there's the Antonin, which is basically an ant Grimm. They are typically between 10 and 16 centimeters in length.

They have six legs, each around 3 centimeters long. They are mostly black, but their pincers are red. Some of them will have red stripes, which can be used as a way to detect which ones are poisonous. The Queen also has golden eyes.

A swarm can have hundreds, if not thousands, of Antonins. They live in underground constructs, networks of tunnels. From the surface, these are only visible as a large perfect circle of dry dirt, void of any grass or other plant life.

These colonies can be between 1 and 10 meters in depth, and average around a meter in radius. Although it appears solid, the area of ground above acts similarly to a spider web. Once anything attempts to walk on it, the circle will collapse and the creature will become trapped in the resulting hole. They are then consumed by the swarm of angered Antonins.

Antonins will also venture out of their colony to hunt. This usually means surrounding their prey underground, before a pheromone signal tells them when to all emerge and attack at once, overwhelming the opponent.

Once effectively paralyzed with the Warrior's poison, the prey will be carried back to the nest to be feasted upon. The only way to detect if you are being hunted is to watch very carefully for subtle shifts in the earth around you.

There are three types of Antonins known, the Queen, the Warrior, and the Worker.

The Queen Antonin never leaves the colony. It is the biggest variation, averaging at around 15 centimeters. They can be identified by their golden eyes. When a creature is unlucky enough to fall into the colony, the Queen may either allow her subjects to feed on it, or she may choose to inject it with her eggs.

Once inside, these eggs will gradually transform the body mass of the entire being into a new generation of Antonins.

The Warrior Antonin is the type that will leave the colony to go hunting. They can be identified by red stripes across their bodies. The Warriors average at around 13 centimeters. Their pincers have a paralyzing poison that can cause complete paralysis in an average human after only 15 seconds with only five bites.

The Worker Antonins are by far the most common. They average at around 11 centimeters and are responsible for rebuilding the colony whenever anything falls into it. They usually construct the top layers first as to keep up the illusion of solid ground. These top layers can usually be completed in under 6 hours if the colony is at full manpower.

Now, let's move on to Remnant History. Let's talk about Mountain Glenn, or the fall of Mountain Glenn. Mountain Glenn was the Kingdom of Vale's first serious attempt at expansion.

The kingdom developed an elaborate underground metro system that allowed the settlers to commute to and from the main kingdom and the new territory, thus bypassing the danger of the Grimm, while also setting up an aggressive perimeter defense that worked for a short period of time, keeping the thousands of the city's residents safe in their new home.

However, Mountain Glenn did not boast the type of natural barriers Vale did, and as such Grimm attacks began to increase daily until inevitably they overwhelmed the city's defenses. These ever increasing attacks were partly due to the actions of Merlot Industries which worked to attract more Grimm for the purpose of experimentation.

In a last-ditch effort to stave off destruction, the citizens of Mountain Glenn took refuge in the tunnels they had initially cleared for their subways, converting them into an underground settlement and cutting themselves off from the surface entirely.

Unfortunately, this supposed safe haven was eventually compromised when an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern filled with subterranean Grimm.

Most of the citizen's within Mountain Glenn would have died if it weren't for a mysterious woman, she fought off the Grimm while the other citizen's escaped. While it is uncertain whether she survived or not, one thing was certain, she did a damn good job at clearing out those Grimm.

The remaining survivors said that she was using a very powerful scythe to fight off the Grimm. Rumors said that she was using the Enchanted Scythe, Cronus, to fight off the Grimm. Though not everyone survived, there were a total of one-hundred and fifty-four casualties during the attack.

Though, out of five hundred people, it could have been worse. With no other recourse, Vale sealed off the tunnels permanently, creating the world's largest tomb. The ruins of Mountain Glenn now stand as a dark reminder of history to reflect upon.

Now, I was currently making my way up to Professor Ozpin's office, since he said that he had an update on the situation with Merlot Industries. As I walked in, I could see Doctor Oobleck sitting in front of Ozpin's desk.

"Ah! Mr. Kim! Glad to see you could make it! Come, sit! We have much to talk about!" Oobleck said.

"Yeah. So what's the situation on Merlot Industries?" I asked Ozpin.

"Well, while you and Peach were in Atlas, Doctor Oobleck has been researching some potential areas to further the investigation on the situation with Merlot Industries." Ozpin said.

"Yes, Professor Port has informed me that you have encountered some of the remnants of Merlot Industries' technology interfering with our security network. Whether or not this is a big deal, or just simply a coincidence, is what we intend to find out. We believe that investigating the old Merlot Research Facility in Mountain Glenn would be the best course of action. If my old maps are still accurate, then the research facility should be located somewhere near the center of town." Oobleck told me.

"That's where you come in, we need you to go to the old research facility to investigate." Ozpin said.

"Let me guess, most of the Huntsmen are currently undergoing missions of their own." I said dryly.

"Unfortunately, yes, most of our most experienced huntsmen are on missions of their own. You will have to undergo this investigation alone." Ozpin said with a smirk.

I knew it! He's trying to kill me!

"Do not fret, Mr. Kim! For I, Doctor Oobleck will be guiding you through Mountain Glenn." Oobleck said.

"But you won't be helping me fight, right?" I asked.

"No."

Great.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, from what Peach told me, you have acquired a new enchantment while you were in Atlas." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, an enchantment that's only useful if other people are fighting with me!" I yelled. Ozpin then took a long sip of his cup of coffee before he set it down on his desk.

.

.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, you've been showing incredible progress during your time at Beacon." Ozpin said. "If you were able to fight a White Fang Lieutenant, then I'm sure you will be able to take care of whatever Mountain Glenn has to throw at you."

"I had a friend to help me." I said.

"Oh, would you look at that. The Bullhead that's supposed to take you to Mountain Glenn is supposed to arrive soon. I suggest you get ready." Ozpin smirked knowingly.

"If I survive this, I'm poisoning your coffee." I threatened as I walked out of Ozpin's office.

.

.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

"Well, let's hope that the young man finds something." Oobleck said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Oobleck." Ozpin said.

"I still don't understand why you send him alone on these missions. I can understand the Emerald Forest, but Mountain Glenn seems a little extreme." Oobleck worried.

"If it were any normal student, I would have sent one of the available Huntsmen to investigate the situation, however, you and I both know that Brandon is far from normal." Ozpin said.

"Yes, he is a very rare kind of person." Oobleck said.

"Besides, he would have to learn how to execute missions on his own sooner or later." Ozpin said.

"I guess I can't argue with that. Well, I should get prepared to guide Brandon through Mountain Glenn. Good day, Professor Ozpin." Oobleck said as he left the room at his usual very fast pace.

"Let's hope that this isn't a big deal. I already have enough on my plate as it is." Ozpin sighed as he took a sip from his cup of coffee.

* * *

(My Pov)

As I made my way to Mountain Glenn, I took the time to look over the map that Oobleck gave me. The center of the city wasn't too far away, so I shouldn't be too much trouble getting there. Worse case scenario, I just hide in one of the buildings.

"Hey, kid! We're arriving at the front of Mountain Glenn!" The pilot shouted at me.

"Yeah, okay!" I shouted back. We then begin to slowly descend down to the ground.

"Jeez kid, you're something special! First the Emerald Forest, than Mountain Glenn!" The pilot shouted.

"Yeah, I'm so happy to be special." I said dryly.

"Try not to die out there! I heard Mountain Glenn has had some pretty dangerous Grimm recently!" The pilot warned.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning!" I shouted back as I jumped out of the Bullhead and onto the ground. I was about to put the earpiece in, only for me to remember what happened beforehand. I turned down the volume on the earpiece, then I put the earpiece in and try to contact Professor Oobleck.

 **"Ah! Mr. Kim! I assume that you have arrived at Mountain Glenn."** Oobleck said through the speaker.

"Yeah, I made it." I said.

 **"Excellent! Now, I'm sending you the coordinates to the Research Facility."** Oobleck said.

 **Map Updating.**

"Okay, I got them." I confirmed.

 **"Excellent! Contact me if you have any further updates."** Oobleck said.

"Alright, I will." I said as I cut off the connection. I began to make my way up the hill towards Mountain Glenn. As I made my way towards the top of the hill, I could get a clear view of the mountain. It was a defunct city dwelling comprised of destroyed and dilapidated buildings. Sand and Grimm have begun to retake the landscape. I felt very... uneasy as I made my way towards the city.

Damn, this place has a very uncomfortable vibe.

Though despite my feeling of uneasiness, I made my way towards the city.

Then again, this is the world's largest tombstone, I guess it would have that kind of feeling to it.

As I walked towards the city, I see an Ursa Major in front of its gates.

"Well, I was starting to get bored." I muttered as I pulled out my sword. I began to run towards the Ursa. The Ursa turns around, roars, and charged right back at me. It swung its right claw at me, but I roll out of the way.

I then stab the Ursa in the abdomen. It shrieks in pain and stumbles back a bit. It tries to slash at me with its left claw, but I roll out of the way. It tries to swing at me again; this time I jump onto the Ursa's arm. It tries to shake me off, but I dug my sword into its arm to keep myself from falling off.

I then jump onto the Ursa, swinging my sword and slicing the Ursa's head clean off. The Ursa's dead body then falls to the ground, disintegrating into a cloud of smoke.

"Well, that take's care of that." I said as I put my sword back into its sheath.

"Now, let's find that Research Facility." I ran towards the coordinates on my map.

As I made my way towards the coordinates Oobleck gave me, I encountered various Grimm packs. They varied from Beowolves to Creeps and even to Ursai. I slowly made my way towards the bridge that would take me to the research facility, only for the bridge to be completely blocked off by the rubble. I called Oobleck to tell him about the situation.

"Hey, Oobleck. The bridge leading to the research facility is blocked off." I said to him.

 **"Well, that's an issue. Fret not, Mr. Kim! According to my map, you should be able to take a detour through the city's old waterway system."** He said.

"So I have to go into the sewers, great." I said dryly.

"Well, this is the second quickest way to get to the research facility. I suggest you get going." Oobleck said as he cut off the connection. I sighed and made my way towards the waterway.

As I arrived at the waterway, I could see that the entrance was closed off. I called Oobleck to give him an update.

"Oobleck. The door leading to the waterway is closed." I said.

 **"Worry not! I think that there should be a switch near the entrance. Activate that switch to open the lock."** Oobleck instructed. I made my way towards the lock and upon further examination, it looked very rusty and old.

"Are you sure this thing even work? It looks old and rusty." I asked Oobleck.

 **"Well, there's only one way to find out."** Oobleck said. I shrugged and pulled the lever. Fortunately, the switch was still in good enough shape. The door slowly began to open.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

"Great." I said dryly. I then turn around to see a pack of Beowolves in front of me. I unsheathed my sword and, without hesitation, charged at the pack. The pack howled and charged at me. One of the Beowolves swung at me, only for me to roll out of the way. A second Beowolf pounced at me, I activated the Buster enchantment and swung at the Beowolves, cutting a few clean in half and making the others stumble back.

I jump at the first one, cutting it in half before it could get up. The next one tried to slash at me, but I quickly swing my sword at his abdomen, finishing it off.

The other two Beowolves charged at me. The first one tried to slash at me, only for me to block it with my sword. I swing upwards, cutting the Beowolf's arm off. It shrieked in pain, I quickly stabbed him in the abdomen before I ripped my sword through the rest of its body. I use the Buster enchantment to kill the second one.

I sliced the Beowolf that was charging at me in half. I swing my sword in a circular motion, extending the range of the Buster enchantment and effectively finishing off the majority of the pack.

The last one obliviously charged at me. I roll my eyes, activated the Buster enchantment, and cut the Beowolf in half. As I killed the last Beowolf, I could hear the door from behind me opening.

 **"Ah! The door has opened! Quickly, to Merlot's Research Facility!"** Oobleck said. I nodded and ran towards the facility.

As I made my way towards the facility, I had a few run in's with a pack of Beowolves, Creeps, and Boarbatusks. As I made my way up a hill I could see a massive building in the distance. I then take out my scroll to take a few pictures of the facility, then I tried to contact Oobleck.

"Hey, Doc. Is this the building you were talking about?" I asked as I sent him the photos.

 **"Yes! That's the facility! I can't believe how well it's withstood the years... a shame, still... Dr. Merlot would never let something like this hinder the progress of his work. I can only imagine what we'll find inside."** Oobleck said.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

 **Warning! Threat levels rising!**

 **"Be very cautious Brandon! I'm detecting a very powerful Grimm near you! Be on your-"** Oobleck was cut off as I felt something hit my back, sending me hurtling towards a concrete building. I hit the building with a thud before I got up to see what just hit me. The Grimm was covered in black skin, with bone-like plates covering its body at certain places like armor. A red pattern or symbol resembling an eye is present on its back.

 **"A Beringel! Be careful Brandon! These things are very aggressive in combat!"** Oobleck said.

"What a coincidence." I said as I unsheathed my sword.

"So am I." The Beringel roared before jumping at me. I roll out of the way and stab it in it's abdomen, though it barely went in at all. The Beringel turned around, grabbed me, and punched me towards another building.

'I could really go for a gun right about now.' I thought to myself.

"Alright tough guy, I see you got some tough armor." I said as I activated the Buster enchantment.

"Let's see how it handles this." I said as I charged at him. The Beringel then jumped at me with its arms raised. As it came down, I block its attack with my blade, sending a shockwave around the area. I then duck and slash at its abdomen and it shrieked in pain as it reeled back.

"Damn, even Buster can't cut through it completely." I cursed under my breath. We both circled each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. I charged at the Beringel first. It tries to crush me, but I roll forward and slash at its abdomen. I jumped over it, slashing wildly at its back.

I try to cut off one of its arms, but to no avail. The Beringel tries to punch me with his right arm, but I use the Buster enchantment's massive blade to block it. It then goes for a left punch, but I blocked that too. I then swing at its chest, only for it to block it with its arms. I jump to try to cut him in half, but it knocks my blade out of the way. The Beringel tries to swing at me, only for me to roll and slash at its back.

It then swings at me with its left arm, which I dodged by rolling backwards. It ,seeing that just swinging its arms weren't working, changes tactics and slams the ground, creating a shockwave. I fall backwards; it then swings its fist at me, sending me towards another building.

"Okay, now you're starting to piss me off!" I yelled as I charged at it again. It tries to crush me with its massive arms, only for me to roll backward and swing my sword at its legs, tripping it the process. I then swing my sword onto the Beringel's body, cutting it clean in half.

 **"Excellent work, Mr. Kim! Now, let's head inside the-"** Oobleck was cut off as the building in the distance crumbled to the ground.

"Research facility." Oobleck finished.

.

.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" I yell at the sky.

 **"Fret not, Brandon! Hope is not lost!** " Oobleck quickly tried to console me.

"The building just fucking collapsed! What else is there!?" I asked angrily.

 **"There is a slight chance the some of the remnants of Merlot Industries equipment could have fallen into the underground. The good new is that you'll be able to do an even further investigation!"** Oobleck said.

"What's the bad news?" I asked, tired.

 **"You'll have to make your way to Mountain Glenn's subterranean level to get there. Which just so happens to be the most dangerous part of Mountain Glenn."** Oobleck said.

 **"Why can't anything be easy anymore."** I muttered as I made my way towards the wreckage.

* * *

As I made my way to the subterranean levels of Mountain Glenn, I felt even more uneasy. It looked just like they described it, a graveyard. Skeletons could be seen in some of the holes in the ground, the walls were stained with blood and the room underground smelled exactly how it looked. I had a few run ins with some Creeps and Beowolves on my way down here as well.

"Jesus, you guys were not kidding when you said that this was the largest tomb in Remnant." I said to Oobleck.

 **"Yes, even to this day, Mountain Glenn is just a dark piece of history for us to reflect upon."** Oobleck said.

"You guys never tried to take it back?" I asked.

 **"It's not that simple, Brandon. Even if we cleared out the Grimm in one part of the city, more would come to take its place. Human lives are more important than territory."** Oobleck explained.

"Yeah, I know, Oobleck, I know." I said. All of a sudden, I saw a Creep in the distance. But this Creep looked different than the ones I fought before. It had some weird green crystals on it's back, and it was radiating with some sort of green smoke.

"Well then, you're new." I said as I unsheathed my sword. I then charge at it, only for the Grimm to suck the smoke around it and explode. I was sent flying back a few feet before I got up. I then gripped my leg to see some sort of green acid on my pants. I quickly shake it off before it spread even further.

"What the hell was that!?" I asked Oobleck.

 **"It appeared to be a creature of Grimm, but modified... Mutated. This will require further investigation. It's fascinating... but very, very troubling. I suggest you go further into the cave to investigate."** Oobleck said. I nodded and ran further into the cave.

 **Warning! Explosive Device Detected!**

.

.

I'm sorry, what!?

 **"Oh dear, it seems that there is some sort of explosive device in the caves. Quickly! Head over to the explosive device! I'm sending you the coordinates!"** Oobleck said.

 **Map Updated.**

I nodded and ran towards the direction of the bomb.

I ran into a few packs of Beowolves on my way towards the bomb, but quickly dispatched them in my hurry. I arrived at the place where the bomb should be. Key word being 'should'. The bomb wasn't here. I then try to contact Oobleck.

"Hey, Doc. I'm here at the place where the bomb SHOULD be, but I'm looking around, and I'm not seeing any bomb." I said.

 **"That's weird, the coordinates should be accurate. Hmm, try opening that door! Maybe there is a clue that will lead us to the bomb's location."** Oobleck instructed. I nodded and opened the door in front of me.

.

.

Only to see a very big bomb on the other side of the door.

"Uh, Doc." I said.

 **"Yes, what's the matter?"** Oobleck asked.

"I found it." I said as I took some pictures and sent them to Oobleck.

"Oh dear, this is not good. That is the bomb and a very large one at that. Who would set a bomb here, though?! Give me a moment..." Oobleck said.

 **"Okay, physically tampering with the device or the cart it's attached to could trigger an explosion. Luckily these traps lead to a deep chasm and underground river, but the way the device is set up, you're going to have to power the cart's engine. Gather as many nearby Dust crystals as you can find. Time is of the essence, but remember to remain calm."** Oobleck instructed. All of a sudden, we hear a loud roar in the distance.

 **"Right, FORGET THAT! JUST HURRY!"** Oobleck basically shouted. I nodded and ran as fast as I could to the nearest Dust deposit. Luckily, it was right next to the cart. I picked up the crystal and put it into the cart.

 **"Great! Now, don't put too much in! The cart will go speeding forward off of the tracks and blow the cave and you to oblivion!"** Oobleck said.

"That would have been nice to know before!" I yelled. I put a few more crystals into the cart. Suddenly, I heard the engines starting up and the cart began to slowly move forward.

 **"Excellent! Now, you'll probably have to go and get more Dust crystals to keep the engine running!"** Oobleck said.

"Right!" I said.

 **Warning! Incoming Hostiles!**

 **"You will also have to defend the bomb from any Grimm you see!"** Oobleck said to me.

* * *

"Great." I sighed as I unsheathed my sword.

As I made my way down the tracks killing Grimm and getting Dust crystals, the load roar I heard in the distance from before was getting louder. Good news is, I finally made it to the hole that Oobleck was talking about. Bad news is I have one minute to get it to the hole before it explodes.

 **"Alright Brandon, just put the Dust crystals into the deposit and-"** I was cut off by the sound the same roar from before, only this time, it was even louder. I turn towards the direction of the bridge to see a very big Ursa covered in the same green glowing crystals from when I fought the Creep.

"Uh, Oobleck! We have a BIG problem!" I yelled as I took a picture of the Grimm and sent it to Oobleck.

 **"Oh dear, this is very, very bad. This is extremely not good. Okay, what's the timer at now?"** Oobleck asked. I looked at the timer.

"Fifty-one second's till detonation!" I yelled.

 **"Damn it! I was going to suggest you kill the Ursa, but not even the most skilled huntsmen could kill an Ursa of that size in fifty seco** nds!" Oobleck pondered.

"Then what the hell do I do!?" I asked.

 **"Just give me a second!"** Oobleck said. I then looked at the Ursa, then at the bomb. All of a sudden I got an idea.

"Hey, Doc, I got a question for ya." I said.

 **"Yes? What is it?"** Oobleck asked me.

"You said if I put enough Dust crystals into the deposit, the cart would go speeding forward, right?" I asked.

 **"You are correct Brandon, yes."** Oobleck said.

.

.

 **"Yes! That's brilliant! You can push the bomb into the Grimm, sending both the Grimm and the bomb down the hole!"** Oobleck said.

"Yeah, hopefully, this thing doesn't explode in my face!" I yelled.

"Well, we don't have time to think about that! Grab as many Dust crystals as you can and put them into the deposit!" Oobleck ordered.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I yelled as I pulled out all of the Dust crystals in my pocket.

 **"Now, as soon as the bomb takes off, run towards the nearest form of cover. This will be a big explosion!"** Oobleck yelled.

"Done!" I yelled as I pushed every single Dust crystal I had into the deposit.

"Hey! Fat ass!" I yelled at the Ursa. The Ursa turned around and looked at me.

"Here's a present for you!" I yelled as the bomb went speeding forward. Luckily, the bomb didn't go off as soon as it hit the Grimm, it pushed the Grimm into the hole in the ground. I then run in a small crater and cover my ears.

3

2

1

The earth shook as the bomb exploded, along with the mutant Ursa.

"HA HA! YEAH! TAKE THAT ASSHOLE!" I yelled. Oobleck then lets out a sigh of relief.

 **"Well... I'm glad that you were able to keep your cool... and not explode... that would have made for a very uncomfortable meeting with Ozpin. Still... who reprogrammed the security network? Who set the trap? And where in the world did that mutant Grimm come from? I have several theories... and none of them are good news."** Oobleck said.

"Well, we can discuss more about this topic when you get back to Beacon! I'll have a Bullhead come and pick you up. I'm sending you the exits coordinates." Oobleck said.

 **Map Updating.**

"I'll see you back at Beacon," Oobleck said.

"Yeah, I'll see you there." I said as I made my way towards the exit.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #13**

 **Looks like that this whole 'Merlot Industries' incident still isn't over, even after Mountain Glenn.**

 **Mutant Grimm are suddenly popping up.**

 **Why was that bomb there armed?**

 **Was it a coincidence?**

 **I doubt it.**

 **So we've officially hit over 50 favorites. I just want to thank everyone who has read the story up to this point. We would have never gotten here if it weren't for all of you. About the season finale, I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I warn you, you the feels train will be hitting. HARD. But in a good way.**

 **Here are some of the reviews that you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **DragonLord501st: Hmm, well I had originally intended for Ruby and Yang to make an appearance. Qrow is unlikely, but not impossible. But how the hell would I meet Raven?**

 **Glad you like the second Enchantment of Caliber.**

 **nightmaster000: Yep, was bound to happen one way or another.**

 **Gravenimage: When this story is taking place, she's 16.**

 **Also, here's the very first Omake of the series. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Omake: The Ball

After the concert, the guards escorted me to the Ball. I began to wander around, looking at the different paintings on the walls as well as eating the various foods placed for us on the table. As I was shovelling food into my mouth, I hear Weiss's voice from the distance.

"There you are!" I heard Weiss yell. She then walked over to me with her hands on her hips.

"I've been looking for you for twenty minutes!" Weiss huffed.

"Sorry." I said around my mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Weiss snapped at me.

"Sorry." I said again as I swallowed the food.

"Ah, so this is the boy that helped you defeat the White Fang Lieutenant." I heard someone say. I turn to see a tall young woman, with a fair complexion, white hair, and slate blue eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the rear left corner of her head, causing her bangs to fall towards the right side of her face, and leaving a small curled lock of hair that reached below her left ear.

.

.

"How... underwhelming." The women said.

Oh. My. God.

"Brandon, I would like you to meet my sister, Winter Schnee." Weiss introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you." Winter said with her hand extended outward.

"Y-yeah, it's nice to meet you." I stuttered, a little shocked.

"I must say, Weiss, he certainly doesn't look like a fighter." Winter commented.

Again, I'm right here.

"Trust me, Winter, looks can be deceiving and he's a perfect representation of that phrase." Weiss said in defense.

"Hmm, well alright, I suppose I can take your word for it." Winter said. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

"Weiss, could you leave us for just a second? I would like to have a chat with your friend here." Winter asked.

"Oh!" Weiss said, not expecting to be dismissed. "Well, okay." She headed off towards the banquet.

"Now, Brandon." Winter said as she put one hand on my shoulder.

"Uh, yeah?" I asked.

"What exactly are your thoughts on my sister?" Winter asked.

Strange question.

"She's nice, in her own way." I said.

"Oh? And what do you mean by that?" Winter asked.

Shit! Come on Brandon! Don't fuck this up now!

"W-well, she wasn't exactly the nicest person at first." I started. She nodded.

"Not surprising, my sister has had a lot of trust issues throughout her life." Winter said.

"I can tell." I said, sighing.

"Now, next question. How does she look?" Winter asked.

Okay, she's up to something.

"She's pretty?" I said, more of a question then a statement.

"Hmm, interesting." Winter said.

"Is there anything else you need?" I asked.

"Yes, I have a request for you." Winter answered.

"You see, Weiss is going to Beacon in a couple of months. She told me that you are attending Beacon, as well." Winter said.

"Yeah, I'm attending Beacon." I said. 'Sort of.' I kept that last part to myself.

"I want you to make sure that she doesn't shove other people away." Winter said.

.

.

"Wait, that's it?" I asked.

"Yes. Why, is there a problem with the terms?" She asked with her eyes narrowed.

"No, not at all! I accept, but I just don't think she'll need my help. She'll be just fine." I said to her.

.

.

"And just a quick little thought, how about you and Weiss become an item." Winter thoughtfully said.

"Wait, what!?" I yelled in shock.

"Well, it's just that Weiss seems so friendly towards you, and she's not friendly to anyone. I just thought that this might be a sign of affection, is all." Winter said with a mischievous grin.

"What!" I yelled again.

"Oh, look, Weiss is coming back over here." Winter said, smirking.

"Are you two done yet?" Weiss asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Yes Weiss, he's all yours." Winter replied with a sly smile.

"W-Winter!" Weiss yelled in embarrassment.

.

.

Brandon. Exe has stopped working, please wait as we attempt to reload.

* * *

 **Yeah, so you guys let me know your thoughts on the Omake! Also, don't be afraid to give me ideas for Omake's, this Omake idea was originally by DragonLord501st.**

 **Poll Progression**

 **ReNora: 22**

 **Arkos: 21**

 **Iceberg: 9**

 **Black Sun: 8**

 **Lancaster: 6**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Cinnabun: 4**

 **Winter Schnee**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 162 lbs**

 **Age: 26**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Glyphs**

 **Summary: Winter has the Schnee family Semblance of Glyphs. Her glyphs have many of the same effects that her sisters do, most notably including the ability to exert forces on herself and objects, which Winter uses to move around with great agility in combat.**

 **Like Weiss and other members of the Schnee family, she can also summon versions of her past enemies to fight for her. Unlike Weiss, she displays great mastery of this aspect of her Semblance. Her Summons are known to include dozens of miniature Nevermore, as well as a full-sized Beowolf. Her Summons take on a white-blue coloration and emit a soft glow, similar to that of sparkling snow.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav or review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	14. PvE

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "PvE."

Thought: _'PvE.'_

Flashback: _"PvE."_

So it's been about four weeks since that... incident that we will not talk about again. Ozpin and I decided that it was best to destroy the pink dust, even though Professor Peach was strongly against it. We also informed Ironwood of what happened at Beacon that day, and asked him to destroy all know forms of pink dust.

He was... reluctant at first, not because he wanted to use the pink dust for himself, but because he found our story very far-fetched. In the end, he decided that it was best not to question Ozpin's reasoning and ordered his men to destroy all the pink dust they currently had, as well as stop any further experiments with the dust.

Okay, now that that's taken care of, let's talk about the creatures of Grimm. More specifically, the Dark Mare, the horse Grimm. The Dark Mare is a Grimm with the shape of a horse, but about twice the size of one.

Its eyes are covered in a typical white Grimm mask, with red lines down the sides and glowing red eyes. Its entire body is covered in black hair, smooth and short, save for the back, where the hair is longer all the way down the spine. Its hooves are white and are able to shatter almost any object instantaneously.

This Grimm has the ability to sprint at speeds incomprehensible to normal humans. As it resides in flatlands and plains, this allows for a speedy attack and retreat if necessary. However, in order to turn, it must make a complete stop, or else it simply tilts to the side it sprints towards.

The call of this Grimm has been known to paralyze almost all who hear it. It has been attributed as an omen of dark times or a shrieking person in the night. Many a wanderer have fallen prey to this beast simply because they believed the shriek was human.

Dark Mares have a divided family system. While the Males of the group are larger, the Alpha Male, known as the Stallion or Patriarch, does not typically roam with the pack, but instead stays about a mile away, able to track the rest.

Packs are usually made up of 10 Mares, The Patriarch, the Matriarch, four beta females, and four infants. If the infants are attacked, the entire pack chases and attacks the attacker, until either they are all dead or the culprit is dead.

When a male of the pack reaches a certain age, they engage in combat with the Patriarch. Losers are exiled and must find or form another pack, and winners kill the current Patriarch and replace him. Since Grimm continue to grow until they are killed, this makes the Patriarchs gigantic.

Now let's talk about Remnant History, or more specifically, Vacuo's history.

Vacuo was founded in a large oasis with lush jungles, abundant resources, natural barriers and the largest Dust deposit ever recorded in Remnant's history. These favorable conditions allowed the people of Vacuo to flourish, and nomads would travel across the harsh desert surrounding Vacuo in the hopes of reaching the verdant paradise.

However, these comfortable conditions also bred complacency in Vacuo's people, who had no inclination to develop and adapt as others living in less ideal conditions were forced to. This unpreparedness made Vacuo an easy target for exploitation by other Kingdoms, who wished to claim their vast resources for themselves.

Years of warfare, mining, and ecological disasters exhausted Vacuo's resources and transformed the once rich Kingdom into a wasteland of heavy industry and makeshift settlements. It's people frequently moved from place to place due to scarce resources and attacks from Grimm.

You all know about Vacuo's involment in the Great War so I won't go any further into that category. The aftermath is what I wanted to talk about. After the war, Vacuo decided that it was time to establish some form of government.

Unfortunately, Vacuo's citizens weren't exactly thrilled with that. They wanted Vacuo to stay a free and independent kingdom, and while freedom is a good thing, too much of it will start giving you a pretty bad view on how the world works.

As much as we hate to admit, not all people are created equal, some don't have the luxuries or freedoms that other people have. Some don't have it due to financial problems, others don't have it simply due to their race.

One person eventually decided that it was finally time to establish a government. To get the approval of the citizen's he proposed that all of Vacuo's warriors would take part in a tournament. Whoever won would be able to change Vacuo as they see fit.

After he got the approval of the queen, he gathered his men, built the Colosseum, and gathered the contestants for the tournament. After many hard fought battles, the man emerged victorious. It was said that he won every battle by striking his foes down his mighty hammer, **Mjolnir.**

It was following the tournament that a formal government was finally established in Vacuo, but its actual ability to govern was limited due to the people's disregard for its laws. The only widely accepted source of order in the Kingdom was Shade Academy.

However, they live by the philosophy that anyone who is able to survive the harsh conditions of Vacuo is welcome to live amongst them. This acceptance may also extend to Faunus, which could explain why there is less racial discrimination in Vacuo compared to the other Kingdoms.

Currently, I was making my way to downtown Vale with Mercury. Today was the big day, the day of the Grand Tournament, or the day of the preliminaries to be exact.

"Well, this is it! The day of the Grand tournament! You excited?" Mercury asked.

"I'm excited, but also a little nervous." I said to him.

"Why? I doubt any of the people we fight there will put up much of a fight." Mercury said.

"I don't know, I heard that huntsmen were allowed to enter the tournament, so winning might not be as easy as we thought." I said.

"Eh, I'm sure it will be fine. You just have to have confidence." Mercury said. "Besides, we get to use our weapons this time around, and with your weapon and semblance, I guarantee you that you make it to the finals." Mercury said as slapped my back reassuringly.

"Yeah, but we still need to get through the preliminaries. You were listening when I was going over the basics of the preliminaries, right?" I asked Mercury.

"W-What? Oh, yeah, sure I was." He said.

"That's what I thought. Okay, I'll go over it ONE more time, but please listen this time!" I said, slightly annoyed.

"Alright alright." Mercury said.

"Okay, so during the preliminaries, we will have to fight off a hoard of Grimm. Whoever is still standing after the Grimm are all dead will be able to participate in the actual tournament." I said.

"Wait, where did they get all the Grimm?" Mercury asked.

"Beats me." I said.

"What happens to the people who don't make it through the preliminaries?"

"Well, then they don't get to participate in the tournament."

"No, I mean how exactly do they get disqualified?"

"I don't know. Remington said he would give all of the contestants the specifics of the preliminaries when we got there." I said.

"Hmm, doesn't that sound a little suspicious to you?" He asked.

"What, you plan on bailing?" I asked.

"Heh, keep dreaming pal." He said as he lightly jabbed my arm.

* * *

As we arrived at the warehouse where the tournament would take place, there was a guard at the front of the door greeting people that I assume weren't fighting in the tournament. As we arrived at the front, he asked for our names. After we told him, he nodded and told us to go to the back of the warehouse.

As we made our way to the back, we had the opportunity to look at our potential opponents. Most of them looked like low-lives and thugs. Mercury even pointed out that there were a few huntsmen, who we assumed were hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs, in front of the warehouse.

 _'Guess winning won't be as easy as I thought.'_ I thought to myself. We waited in front of the warehouse for about twenty minutes before the door leading into the warehouse opened.

"All contestants follow me." The man in the suit said. Everyone then got up and followed the man inside the warehouse.

The man that we were following led us to some sort of elevator. He motioned us to get inside, we all nodded and walked into the elevator. As the elevator door's closed, the monitor on the top of the door turned on.

 **"Hello, contestants!"** Remington said through the monitor. **"Welcome to Remington's Grand Tournament!"** Remington said.

"Well, I guess the ACTUAL tournament hasn't started yet, these are the preliminaries." Remington said.

"This way we can see who is tough enough to participate in the actual tournament." Remington said.

"Hey, what's the prize for this anyway?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know, it didn't say." I responded.

 **"Now I'm sure you all want to know what the grand prize for winning the tournament is."** Remington said.

 **"The prizes are divided into three categories, first place, second place, and third place. Anyone below that will get nothing."** Remington said.

 **"The prize for third place is five thousand lien."** Remington said.

 **"The prize for second place is ten thousand lien."**

 **"And the grand prize for winning the tournament is..."** There was a short pause before the big reveal.

.

.

.

.

 **"Fifty thousand lien! As well as a mystery prize for the winner!** " Remington said. Murmurs could be heard from every direction in the elevator.

"Holy shit! Fifty thousand?!" Mercury said to me.

"I know, right!" I said back to him.

"Now, I'm sure you're all excited, but first you'll have to get through the preliminaries. Allow me to explain the rules to you." Remington said.

"The rules are simple, fight off all of the Grimm. The last men standing will be able to qualify for the tournament!" Remington said.

"There are two ways to get disqualified from the preliminaries." Remington said.

"One way to get disqualified is if you leave the ring, then you are disqualified from the preliminaries and will be forced to leave."

"The second way is if you get killed by the Grimm, and before you ask, no, there will be no one there to help you, if you die, then it's your own fault. If you want to leave, then stay in the elevator." Remington said.

"Jesus, no pressure." I said.

"No kidding. They're not even going to help us, not that I'm going to need it." Mercury said.

"Well, doesn't matter if you need it or not, I got your back." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, try not to get killed." He said as he patted my back.

"You all have thirty minutes to get ready, use your time wisely." Remington said. The monitor then turned off and the doors to the elevator opened. Only half of us walked out of the elevator, while the other half stayed inside. Everyone was preparing for the tournament in various ways, whether it be sharpening their weapons, loading their guns, punching the various punching bags, or in Mercury's case, doing a few modifications to his prosthetic legs. After everyone was ready, the elevator opened, revealing two men in suits.

"Will all contestants please come with us." The man on the right said. Everyone then followed the men into the elevator. As the man on the left pushed the button on the bottom of the console, the elevator doors closed. A few minutes passed before the elevator doors opened again. Everyone then walked into the dark room, waiting for further instructions. The elevator doors then closed, leaving us in a pitch black room.

Before any of us could react, light began to shine above us, and the ground began to move upward. As we reached the top, we could see the arena clearly, people were cheering from all directions and Grimm could be heard from the doors on the side of the arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to Remington's Grand Tournament!" Remington said through the speakers. The crowd roared with applause, demanding that the tournament start.

"For those of you who are just joining us for today, the tournament will be divided into 5 categories. The preliminaries, the starting round, the semi-final qualifiers, the semi-finals, and the finals. We will bend the rules based on the number of contestants that make it to the tournament." Remington said.

 **"I'm sure that you're all waiting for the tournament to start. Let's begin the countdown."** Remington said.

 **5**

Everyone got out their weapons, ready for battle.

 **4**

I took my sword out of its sheath.

 **3**

Mercury put's a bullet magazine into his boot's.

 **2**

"Try not to die." I said to Mercury.

 **1**

The doors on the side then opened, revealing a horde of Grimm on the other side.

"Same to you." Mercury said.

The Grimm then roared and began to charge at us. Everyone then went in separate directions, charging at the Grimm. A few Beowolfs charged at me, one of them tries to slash it evasive claw at me, but I was able to roll out of the way. I slashed at its arm, making a clean cut as it cut through its flesh. It reels back in pain, I then pushed my sword through it's chest, silencing it.

I turned towards the next one, who was already charging at me to avenge it's fallen, friend. It tries to pounce on me, but I roll backwards and swing my sword at its head, making a clean cut in its armor. It goes and grabs my sword with one of its claws, trying to break my grip from it. Smirking, I activate the buster enchantment, cutting it's claw off in the process. It howls in pain, I go and swing at its abdomen, cutting it clean in half.

"Would you look at that folks! It seems that Brandon has a few tricks up his sleeve." Remington said. I turn towards Mercury to see how he was doing. A Boarbatusk charges at Mercury, but Mercury kicks the Boarbatusk in the head, firing his weapon, and killing it in the process. Three more Boarbatusk then charge at Mercury, but he uses his semblance to propel himself into the air.

He fires a few shots from his boots while he was in the air, propelling him even higher up. The first two shot kills the two Boarbatusk's, but the other shots bounce off of the Boarbatusk's armor. Mercury uses his semblance to shoot himself down to the ground, slamming his boots onto the Boarbatusk, crushing its skull in the process.

I didn't even have time to react as a Beowolf pounced on me. I use my sword to try to push it off of me, but it was determined to rip me to shreds. Before the Beowolf could attack, Mercury kicks it in the head, killing it in the process.

"Looked like you could use some help." Mercury said as he held his hand outward.

"Thanks." I said as I grabbed his hand. A pack of Beowolfs then circle around us, ready to kill us.

"Hey, how about we use enchant?" Mercury asked.

"Hell yeah, let's kick some ass." I said as I activated Enchant. Mercury and I were surrounded by a purple aura, feeling empowered. The Beowolfs then rushed at us, but Mercury used his semblance to push all three of them backwards. The pressure from the wind was so strong that it was enough to kill all three of the Beowolfs as they made impact with the wall.

"Damn! This feeling never get's old!" Mercury said. I rushed forward at two more Beowolf's, the first one tried to slash at me, but I was able to dodge and push him in Mercury's direction. Mercury kicked the Beowolf upwards, using his semblance to add extra power. The Beowolf slammed into the ceiling, as it was falling, Mercury used his semblance to push himself upward.

Mercury kicked it to the ground, killing it in the process. As Mercury landed, more Beowolfs started to surround us. Mercury smirked and started to fire his wind rockets around us. He then started to kick the Beowolf's in the direction of the rockets, as he landed the kicks, one rocket made it's way to the Beowolf. As it made contact, it was enough for the Beowolf to completely explode.

A fairly large Ursa Major started to charge at Mercury, Mercury then shot himself upwards, and then straight down onto the Ursa, as his foot made contact with the Ursa major, the rest of the rockets made their way towards the Ursa, killing it as they landed.

 **"Quite an incredible display of skill from Mercury Black everyone!"** Remington said. The crowd then began to chant Mercury's name. All of a sudden, I heard a scream from behind me, as I turned, I could see that a pack of Beowolfs were surrounding the man. Taking action, I started to run towards the man in attempts to save him. As I ran towards him, I activated the buster enchantment. As the aura around Mercury faded, Mercury turned towards me to see what I was doing.

"Brandon! What are you doing?!" Mercury shouted.

"What does it look like?! I'm trying to save a person's life!" I yelled. The man shoots his revolver at one of the Beowolfs, but only hit's his abdomen. The Beowolf then slashed at his abdomen, shattering his aura.

Shit! The guy's going to die if I don't move faster!

As I saw the Beowolfs close in, I started to run even faster.

The Beowolf slashed at his leg, leaving a nasty cut in it. The man yells in pain, but was quickly silenced as one of the Beowolfs teeth made contact with his torso. He screamed in agony as the Beowolfs teeth sunk deeper and deeper into the man's torso. He tried to fire his weapon, but the Beowolf then grabbed his left arm and sunk its teeth into it. The man couldn't even yell as he started to cough up blood. The Beowolf then yanked his arm clean off, chewing on it all the while.

I cut the Beowolf that was chewing on the man's arm in half, and then stabbed the one that was eating the man's torso in the head. I rushed over to the man to see what the damage was. To say that it was bad would be putting it lightly, the guy got fucked up. Most of his side body was completely gone, half of his right arm was bitten off, and his torso... well... let's just say that you can still see his cribbage, and a severally fucked up lung.

I tried to say something to the man, to give him some form of comfort in. Like "You're going to a better place." or something. But it was already too late, the man was already dead. Every sound around me sounded muffled and unclear, I could also hear some sort of ringing noise around me. I was brought back into reality by Mercury shaking me violently.

"Brandon!" Mercury shouted. I blinked a couple times before responding.

"Mercury?"

"You can come to terms with what happened later, but right now we need to stay focused or else we're going to end up just like him." Mercury said, pointing at the man's corpse.

"Y-Yeah, okay." I said in a low tone.

"Good, now pick up your weapon and fight!" He said. I looked at my feet to see my sword near my feet, I shake my head and pick up my weapon. As I picked it up, I noticed that the front edge of the blade had a weird black aura on it.

Well, this is new.

Though before I could inspect it any further, it disappeared.

Is it a new enchantment?

I shook my head and ran towards Mercury.

I can think about it later. Right now I need to make it through the preliminaries. I thought to myself. Two Beowolfs then charged at me, I activated the buster enchantment. I swing at the first Beowolf, cutting its arm off. I slash again at the Beowolfs torso, cutting it clean in half, silencing it.

I turn towards the second Beowolf and clash at it. It dodges it just in time, and slashes at me, sending me flying a few feet. I charge at him, doing a slicing motion as I run, silencing it as my blade made contact with the Beowolf's torso.

 **"Would you look at that folks! Our contestants are making clean work of the Grimm! Unfortunately, there was one casualty, as sad as it is, he knew what he was getting into when he entered the Grand Tournament."** Remington said.

 **"How about it folks? Should we spice things up a bit?"** Remington asked, the crowd then yelled in agreement.

 **"Well then, I do aim to please!"** Remington yelled as he pulled a lever on the wall. All of a sudden, the ground began to rumble and the ground door opened. As it opened, we could hear a loud growl from the other side of the door.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." I said as a Deathstalker appeared from the floor. The Deathstalker then roared loudly and charged at a few of the contestants. They all ran in different directions, but one of them was grabbed by the Deathstalker. He yelled in pain as he was thrown against the wall, shattering his aura. He didn't even have time to react as the Deathstalker used it's tail to stab the man in the stomach, killing him instantly. My eye's then widened as the Deathstalker started to charge in the direction of Mercury.

"Mercury, heads up!" I yell as loud as I could, but to no avail. The mixed sound of gunshots and Grimm roars were so loud that Mercury couldn't hear me. I started to run in Mercury's direction in hopes to push him out of the way of the oncoming attack.

No no no no no!

I tried to rub even faster, but it was no use, the Deathstalker reeled it's tail backwards, getting ready to deliver the killing blow.

"MERCURY!" I shouted out to him. The Deathstalker then lunged at Mercury with the intent to kill.

.

.

Only to be stopped by an orange barrier that appeared around Mercury. Mercury was surprised for a second before he used his semblance to move himself out of the way.

"What just...?" I asked myself before looking at my blade. The blade was surrounded by an orange aura, the same aura that surrounded the barrier that saved Mercury.

A new enchantment.

"Holy shit! That was close, I owe you one man." Mercury said as he landed beside me.

"Yeah, well now we're even." I said to him. The Deathstalker roared and charged at the two of us.

"Gimme a break." I said.

"So how do you wanna handle this?" Mercury asked.

"Try to find a way to pin the Deathstalker to the ground, after that, I'll use enchant to power up your semblance, use your wind rockets, then see if you can kill it." I said.

"Alright, let's do it." He said. The Deathstalker then tried to stab one of us with its tail, but we both roll in separate directions to try to throw it off. I go into slice one of its small legs off of its body. It shrieks in pain and then starts to swing the its tail in a circular motion, knocking both Mercury and I onto the floor. It goes in to stab me with its massive tail, only to be stopped by the barrier enchantment.

I rolled sideways and grab its tail. It tries to shake me off, but to no avail. I activate the Enchant enchantment.

"Mercury! Now!" I yell. Mercury nods and shoots a barrage of wind rockets in various directions. There were so many rockets surrounding us that it looked like we were in a dome of wind. I then deactivate Enchant, and activated the Buster enchantment. I shove my sword though it's abdomen, holding it in place.

Mercury jumped and slammed his foot into the Deathstalkers. The different rockets that surround us then come speeding towards the Deathstalkers. The Deathstalker then shrieked and pain as the different rockets made contact with its body, explosions going off all over it's body.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that." Mercury says, dusting himself off.

"Yeah, now I need to get my-." I began, only for a very pissed of Deathstalker to roar, blowing the wind away.

"Sword." I finished.

"Are you kidding me?! That's every single rocket I had how is this thing not dead yet?!" Mercury yelled. It then stumbles forward in attempts to close the gap between us.

"Well, it looks like it's almost dead, let's finish this thing off!" I said. Mercury nodded and we both charged at the weakened Deathstalker. It tries to swing its massive claw at us, but because it was already weakened, the attack was slow and predictable. I roll backwards and grab onto the massive claw. I run up to unsheathe my sword from its abdomen. I activated the Buster enchantment and cut off its massive stinger. The stinger stabs the Deathstalker's abdomen, causing the Deathstalker to shrieks in pain.

"Mercury, go!" I yell as I roll off of the Deathstalker. Mercury nods and uses his semblance to propel himself upwards, and slams his boot onto the stinger, impaling it further into the Deathstalker, silencing it.

" **The preliminaries are over!"** Remington said into the mic. Mercury and I looked around to see that all of the Grimm were dead.

"Eight people will be moving on to the actual tournament." Remington said as he pulled a lever on the wall. A door then opened from one of the walls, revealing a lobby, and a medical team prepared. A few of the doctors came out with two body bags, one for the guy who got killed by the Deathstalkers, and the other who got killed by the... Beowolfs. All of a sudden, my heart felt very heavy. I start to hyperventilate, realization kicking in.

I just watched a man die.

"Brandon." Mercury said, but it the only thing I heard was a muffled version of someone's voice.

"Brandon!" Mercury yelled.

.

.

"BRANDON!" Mercury yelled, shaking me violently.

"Look, I get why you're upset, you just watched a man die. But it's a part of life. People will die for the stupidest of reasons, for the stupidest causes. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to move on with your life!" He said to me. It took me a moment to process what he said before I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks Merc, I'm just a little out of it. I mean, I just watched a guy die." I said to him.

"Maybe I could have saved him." I said to him.

"Yeah, and maybe you could have gotten killed in the process, don't think about it too hard. It will only make the pain worse." He said.

Yeah, I know. I mean, I've been doing that a lot recently. With me dying and being ripped from my world and all.

"Let's go and get a drink, on me." He said.

"Yeah, thanks." I said as I followed Mercury into the room.

* * *

"Ow ow ow!" I said as one of the doctors used some disinfectant on my cut's.

"Just hold still." The doctor said.

"Hey! They posted next week's match-ups on the leader board!" One of the fighters said.

We all then walked out to see who we were fighting against.

 **Brandon. Vs. Alexa**

 **Mercury. Vs. Jack**

"So, Alexa will be my first opponent, huh?" I said.

"And I'm fighting some guy named Jack." Mercury said.

We both turned towards our opponents.

Alexa was a 5'4 girl with black hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a red shirt with black pants. She also wore a pair of black wristbands on her wrists. She looked rather... basic to be fighting in a tournament, to be honest.

Jack was a 5'8 man with white hair and blue eyes. He wore a black hoodie with armor plating's on the arms, as well as a white shirt underneath. He also wore black pants with knee pads and black boots with white lacing.

Both of them start to walk towards us. As they stood in front of us, Jack extended his hand outwards.

"Greetings! It is nice to meet our future opponents!" Jack said politely.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you." Mercury said as he shook his hand.

"Hey, it's nice to meet ya!" I said as I extended my hand outward, Alexa looked hesitant at first before she slowly shook my hand.

"May the odds forever be in your favor!" Jack said as he walked away from us and out of the door. I then turn towards Alexa, or well, the spot that Alexa used to me in.

"Well, that could have gone better." I said. I then looked at Mercury, he seemed to be very tense at the moment.

"Hey man, what's up with you?" I asked.

"Did Jack seem kinda... odd to you?" Mercury asked me.

"He seemed pretty fine to me." I said to him.

"I don't know, there just something about that guy that runs me the wrong way." Mercury said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Let's just say, that I can tell that there's a lot of blood on his hands." Mercury said.

"Well, try not to think about it too much, you still owe me a drink, remember?"

"Alright, let's get out of here, I'm starving." He said as we walked out of the warehouse.

* * *

 **Journal Entry # 15**

 **And so concludes the preliminaries. There are a lot of questions on my mind right now. Like who is Jack, and why is Mercury so tense about him?**

 **And what was up with that strange black aura that surrounded my blade during the fight?**

 **Well, I guess I'll know the answer to both of those questions in time.**

* * *

Omake- An Alternate Ending- Not Cannon

"Hmm, it's better than I expected." I could hear Ozpin say.

"Professor Ozpin?!" All of the girls and Mercury yell.

"About time you got here! What the hell took you so long?!" I ask.

"I needed to get the required ingredients for the cure." He said.

"Then give it to me! These girls are about to-!" I was cut off by Ozpin pouring his hot cup of coffee over my head.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO-!" I was interrupted by a very unsettling feeling behind me.

"Uh..." I said as I turned around to face the six girls, who all had visible hearts in there eyes.

"Ozpin, I thought you said that this would cure me?!" I yelled.

"Hmm, it appears I may have done a miscalculation, instead of making a cure, I actually amplified the effect and range." Ozpin said.

"We love you Brandon!" All the girls shouted.

"Excuse me, but what did you say?" Mercury said as he walked up to the girls.

"Mercury?!" I yelled.

"Well then, this is both unexpected and... amusing." Ozpin said with a smirk.

"You seem to be surrounded by a great number of beautiful women. Perhaps you can explain the meaning of all this..." Mercury said.

"Ah shit! Not you too! Wait... what's with your eyes? They're...heart-shaped...?!" I said.

"Hmm it seems that the pink dust now has an effect on men as well." Ozpin said.

"Then why aren't you acting like him?!" I asked him. Ozpin shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the scene unfold.

"Back off Mercury! He's not yours for the taking!" Emerald shouted.

"Oh you're all such fools." A voice from behind us said. We turn to see that Cinder Fall was standing right behind us.

"C-Cinder?!" Mercury and Emerald shouted.

"Brandon would want to be with a more mature and powerful woman. Why do you think I got the Fall Maidens power?" Cinder said. I then look at Ozpin who was currently reading a newspaper he got from the coffee shop.

"Um... Aren't you going to do anything about that?!" I yelled as I point towards Cinder.

"Nope, this is an omake, so anything we do here is non-canon." Ozpin said.

.

.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABO-?!" I was int erupted by the sound of weapons unfolding.

"You two would betray me?" Cinder said with a smirk.

"If it meant having Brandon, I would fight the entire world!" Emerald said.

"Excuse me?!" A familiar voice said from the distance. We all turn to our right to see that Weiss and Winter were walking towards us.

"I don't recall giving any of you permission to talk with MY fiance!" Weiss said.

"Well, at least it's not husband." I said under my breath.

"Oh Weiss, I believe you're already to late for that, he's already MY fiance." Winter said as she gripped one of my shoulders.

Bad Touch!

I turned my head towards Ozpin to see that he was eating a bowl of noodles he got from the noodle stand right around the corner.

"Oh come on. He would never settle for a Schnee." An unknown voice said. All of a sudden, a black rope wrapped it's self around me, pulling me up towards the roof of a building.

"He's mine." Blake said.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!" I yell.

"Of course I do!" Blake said.

"What's my name?!" I yell.

.

.

"Bookstore guy?" She said.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I yell. Cinder then fired a fire ball at Blake, though she was able to dodge just in time before it landed.

"I would advice you to put down my future husband." Cinder said in a low tone.

"He's my husband!" eight girl's said in unison.

"You horrible pack of harpies, don't you dare touch my brother! Get out of my way, or I'll rip you to pieces!" Mercury yelled as he charged towards all nine of the girls.

* * *

 **Here are some review responses from the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **zeldawolffang: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!**

 **Guest: Not from the last chapter, but I'll talk about it anyway. I do plan on going into Brandon's emotional state after the whole universe swap in a later chapter, I haven't completely forgotten about it.**

 **He Who Listens: This guy get's it!**

 **dragoncraftertex: I'm glad you thought the chapter was funny.**

 **War historian: Welp, time to break my legs.**

 **nightmaster000: Glad you liked it!**

 **jeit93: Sorry! Shit happens.**

 **Poll Progression.**

 **ReNora: 27**

 **Arkos: 26**

 **Black Sun: 12**

 **Lancaster: 10**

 **Iceberg: 9**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Cinnabun: 4**

 **Alexa**

 **Height: 5'4"**

 **Weight: 121 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown**

 **Jack**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 142 lbs**

 **Age: 24**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	15. The Silent Truth

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Mute Truth."

Thought: _'The Mute Truth.'_

Flashback: _"The Mute Truth."_

(3rd Person Pov)

 _'No, no, no, why is this happening?'_ Neo thought to herself as she walked across the docs.

 _'He wasn't supposed to be involved in this.'_ Neo thought.

 _'Out of all the professions in the world, he just had to pick THAT one!'_ Neo thought to herself as she recalled today's events.

* * *

 _Neo was currently waiting outside of her usual Ice Cream parlor, waiting for Brandon to arrive. She had grown quite attached to the young man over the last nine months; he was her only friend so it was bound to happen. She found someone who was willing to tolerate the fact that she was a mute, and that the only way they would be able to communicate was through text or sign language. Though recently, Neo has been feeling rather strange around Brandon. Every time they talk, she felt... happy, and not like the joy she felt when she beat up thugs that thought they were hot shit, no she felt genuinely happy. She hasn't felt this way in a long time. Not since... that day._

 _Neo shook her head, trying to shake away the bad memory._

 _"Heya." She heard. She turned to her left to see Brandon walking in her direction. She smiled an waved at him. As he was walking towards Neo, she took out her scroll and began typing in it._

 _ **"Don't you know it's rude to keep a women waiting?"** Neo said with a mischievous smirk._

 _"Yeah, well the qualifiers for the Grand Tournament took longer than I expected." Brandon said._

 ** _"So, did you get in?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"What do you think?" Brandon asked with a confident smirk. Neo silently giggled and began to type in her scroll again._

 _ **"Oh, well aren't you a cocky one."** Neo said as she walked towards the door._

 _"You're one to talk." He said._

 _"So can I eat my own, or are you going to eat my ice cream again?" Brandon asked._

 ** _"Yep!"_** _Neo said as she opened the door._

 _"Wait, yep to which one?" Brandon asked._

 ** _"Yep!"_** _She responded._

 _"Whatever." He sighed as he followed Neo inside._

 ** _"So what exactly did you have to do to get into the tournament?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"We had to kill a lot of Grimm." Brandon said._

 ** _"Seem's simple enough."_** _Neo said._

 _"Well, we weren't going to get any help from the security guards. If you lost, then you lost the right to be in the tournament, as well as the right to live." Brandon said._

 _ **"What kind of Grimm were in the tournament?"**_ _Neo asked._

 _"I'm fine thank you very much! They thought that the best way to bring out a fighters true potential is to put their lives on the line." Brandon said as he sat on one of the chairs in front of the table._

 _"To answer you question, it was just basic Beowolfs and Ursa, nothing to over the top." He said._

 ** _"Well, I'm glad you decided not to kick the bucket. If you died, then who would be my ice cream_ _buddy?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"I'm sure you have other friends that will buy you ice cream." Brandon said._

 _ **"Nope."** Neo said. _

_"Come on, I'm sure you have at least one person who will buy ice cream." Brandon said._

 _._

 _._

 _"Wait, your serious?" Brandon asked. Neo simply nodded._

 _"I'm you're only friend?" Brandon asked, shocked. Neo nodded again._

 _"I don't know whether to feel sorry or happy." Brandon said._

 ** _"Hey, you're better than nothing. Besides, I like you, not a lot of people can keep me entertained for an extended period of time."_** _Neo said._

 _"Still, you should probably try to make other friends, you never know when I might kick the bucket." Brandon said._

 ** _"Well with your dumb luck, I'm sure that won't be for a long time."_** _Neo said with a smirk._

 _"Probably." Brandon said._

 ** _"So, who exactly are you fighting in the first round?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"I'm fighting some girl named Alexa." Brandon. Neo smiled mischievously as she began to type her response on her scroll._

 ** _"Oh, a girl, maybe if you play your cards right you can finally get a date."_** _Neo said._

 _"I'm going to throw your scroll in the water." Brandon threatened. "Besides, she's not my type." He said._

 ** _"Ooh, I didn't know you had a preference. Tell me, what do you look for in a girl?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"_ _It'd probably be someone with a strong and confident personality that isn't a complete pushover, but not overly serious and stern, I want someone that I can have fun with_ _." Brandon said._

 ** _"Ooh, do go on."_** _Neo said._

 _"I also like girls that are independent, I'm willing to help them out, but I can't always be there for them. Sometimes they have to learn how to deal with their own problems." Brandon said._

 ** _"What about looks?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"Well, my standard for that has never been that high, if the girl looks nice but is a total bitch then I can't see myself staying with her for very long."_

 ** _"Just answer the question."_** _Neo said._

 _"Well..." Brandon said. He paused for a couple of seconds, thinking on how to respond._

 _._

 _._

 _Suddenly, Brandon had a sly grin on his face._

 _"I like short girl's, girls who know how to kick some serious ass and I also like girls with **Pink** and **Brown** hair." Brandon said, adding emphasis to pink and brown._

 _Neo just stared at Brandon with a deadpanned stare._

 ** _"If you're trying to seduce me, it's not working."_** _Neo said._

 _"Well, can't blame a guy for trying." Brandon laughed._

 _ **"What about desires, what do you want in life?"**_ _Neo asked._

 _"Well, I never really wanted too much in life, I sorta just take what I have now and make the best of it." Brandon said._

 ** _"What about dreams?"_** _Neo asked._

 _"Hmm, well I'm not really sure. Maybe I'll start my own Odd Job company or something. Yeah, we'll do anything, no matter how dangerous it may be. As long as you got the cash for it." Brandon said._

 ** _"I would have thought you would be a cop or something."_** _Neo said._

 _"Nah, I don't want to be a cop. I never really cared for that sort of thing. Let people do what they want." Brandon said. "What about you, what are you're life goals?" Brandon asked. Neo simply shrugged in response._

 _"Figures." Brandon said._

 _ **"Well, what are you doing now?"** Neo asked. Brandon sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before responding._

 _._

 _._

 _"I'm training to become a huntsmen." He said. As soon as the word 'huntsmen' left his mouth, Neo had to try her hardest not to choke on her drink._

 _"Jeez, didn't think it be that much of a shocker." Brandon said._

 ** _"I thought you said you don't like getting involved with that sort of thing!"_** _Neo said._

 _"Well, being a huntsmen does have it's perks access to otherwise restricted information and areas as well as full access to the hunters black market." Brandon said._

 _"Plus, the different missions I would go on would make for some great writing material." Brandon said._

 _._

 _._

 _"What's up with you? You've had that shocked expression on your face for a while now." Brandon said. Neo blinked a couple of times before her shocked expression turned into a panicked expression._

 ** _"I have to go."_** _Neo said as she got up and walked out of the parlor._

 _"Well, I guess I should have expected a reaction like that." Brandon said as he walked out of the parlor._

* * *

(Present)

 _'I knew I shouldn't have gotten so attached. Uncle Roman warned me about this sort of thing.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 _"Look, I'm glad that you finally made a friend, but try not to get to attached. I don't think it will last after this operation."_ She remembered Roman saying.

 _'I should have listened to him.'_ She thought.

 _'Thanks, fate, you take the only friend I have and then give him the profession that will have him hating me in the future._ Neo thought.

.

.

.

.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in Neo's head.

 _'Maybe it doesn't have to be this way! I can ask Uncle Roman if we can leave for Vacuo earlier than planned. I'll just tell Brandon that my uncle got a better job out in Vacuo, and that we have to move there.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 _'I'm sure Uncle Roman will agree, we were planning on doing it originally.'_ Neo thought.

 _'I won't get to see Brandon that much anymore, but at least it's better than option one.'_ Neo thought to herself bitterly. She arrived at the warehouse that her Uncle Roman and her were staying in.

 _'Okay Neo, just ask if we can leave earlier than expected, I'm sure he'll say yes.'_ Neo thought as she walked into the warehouse. As she walked in, she knocked on the doors of the warehouse, letting Roman know that she was home.

"Hey, Neo." Roman greeted her. Roman was currently looking at the maps given to him by their new client. Neo then walked over to the table where Roman was.

 **"What's this you got here?"** Neo asked.

"Different dust shops and mines that our boss wants me to raid." Roman said.

 **"Again? You really need to get another hobby, like knitting!"** Neo said.

"I already do that." He said.

 **"Right."** She said.

"And before you ask, no, you cannot come with me." Roman said.

 **"Why not?"** Neo asked.

"I'll be working with the White Fang during the raids, and I don't trust those animals with your life." Roman said.

 **"What, you don't think I can handle myself?"** Neo asked.

"No, it's not that. I just don't want you to be there when shit hits the fan." Neo just stood there, her eye's wondering off for a moment.

"What's with that look? Did you accidentally kill another thug?" Roman asked. Neo shook her head in response.

"Thank god, I was starting to get tired of constantly hiding or burning bodies." Roman said. "So what is it?" He asked.

 **"Well, I was wondering if we could leave for Vacuo earlier than originally planned."** Neo said.

"Alright, how early are we talking?" Roman asked.

 **"Right now?"** Neo asked.

.

.

"Look, Neo, I'm not sure why you're asking this, but the answer is no." Roman said.

 **"But why? Even you said that you would be able to get out of this!"** Neo said.

"Yes, after I do what my client wants me to do, but right now I can't get out of this without putting both of us at risk." Roman said.

 **"Why? What's so bad about this new client? Why are you so willing to help her?"** Neo asked.

"Look, all we have to do is do what the lady wants, and we'll be free to go. Why are you asking anyways?" Roman asked. Neo looked a bit hesitant to tell him about her friends current occupation, but she decided that it was best if he told him.

 **"My friend is training to be a huntsmen at Beacon."** Neo said.

.

.

"Oh, that's why." Roman said. "Look, I understand that you and your friend have become close recently, despite me telling you not to get to attached." Roman said.

"But still, this operation comes first, I won't risk your life just for the sake of one person." Roman said. Neo began to type her response in her scroll.

 **"Can't we just try to convince him to join our side?"** Neo asked.

"Look, I may not know him like you do, but from what you told me, I highly doubt he's the kind of guy to get involved with this sort of business." Roman said.

 **"Then how we give him a warning? He'll be able to prepare for the fall."** Neo suggested.

"Out of the question. If our client finds out that we told someone about our operation, she'll kill us and him on the spot." Roman said.

"I'm sorry Neo, I really am, but you're just going to have to deal with the fact that youe friend may die during the operation." Roman said. Neo began to type her response on her scroll, only for Roman to cut her off.

"But nothing young lady! I made a promise to keep you safe, and I intend to keep that promise! We're going through with this operation and that's final!" Roman shouted.

"S-shut u-up!" An unknown voice said. Roman then turned towards Neo, shock and concern written all over his face.

"Neo, what did I tell you about using your voice." Roman said.

 **"I don't care!** " Neo said. **"You may not value other's lives, but I've learned that there are things in this world worth protecting!** " Neo shouted.

"Neo, I will not put your life at risk for the sake of that kid!" Roman shouted back.

 **"You don't get to make that decision for me, you rotten old shit!"** Neo shouted as she ran out of the warehouse and into the night.

"Neo wait!" Roman shouted, but it was to late. Neo already used her semblance to teleport herself away from the warehouse.

"Damn it Neo." Roman said to himself as he took out a cigar and lit it with his lighter.

* * *

(My Pov)

Hmm, I wonder what I should have for dinner.

I was currently trying to look for a way to get my most recent encounter with Neo out of my mind. Telling her that I was a huntsmen-in-training really upset her, not surprising considering her occupation.

"I just hope this doesn't come and bite me in the ass later on." I said to myself. I then felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket, I reached in to see who the message was from. To my surprise, it was from Neo.

"I would have thought she wouldn't want to talk to me for at least a week." I said to myself as I opened my scroll to read the message.

 **"Hey, can I stay at your place for the night?"** Neo asked.

"Okay, this was unexpected." I said as I typed my response into my scroll.

 **"Sure, if you don't mind me asking, why?"**

 **"My uncle is being a asshole."** Neo responded.

"Wow, Roman must have done some serious shit to make Neo upset. She's normally very tolerant of his behavior in the show." I said.

 **"You wanna talk about it?"** I asked.

 **"Maybe. Can you come and get me now?"** Neo asked.

 **"Why? You have legs, can't you walk here yourself?"** I asked.

 **"I'm lost."** She said.

 **"How the hell did you get lost?"** I asked.

 **"I teleported myself away from my Uncles place, I guess I wasn't thinking straight and I ended up in some forest."** She said.

"So if her concentration is broken then she teleport's somewhere completely random." I observed.

 **"Can't you just teleport back?"** I asked.

 **"If I don't have a clear visual of my destination, I can't go there. I also have to have a certain amount of aura, and I used most of it up when I made this big jump."** Neo said.

"Right, that would have been too easy." I said.

 **"Well describe the place you teleported to so I can get a clear idea where you are."**

 **"Well, there are a lot of tree's."** She said.

 **"Oh gee, that's so helpful. Can you be a bit more specific?"** I asked. **  
**

**"Well, the tree's are green so I'm not in Forever Fall."** Neo said.

 **"Okay, what else besides tree's do you see?"** I asked.

 **"Well, there's some stone pillars as well different caves in the mountains."** Neo said as she described her surroundings.

 **"Okay, anything else?"**

 **"Oh! There's this temple in the middle of a field."** Neo said.

"Okay, tree's, caves in the mountains, stone pillars, and a temple in the middle of a field." I said to myself.

.

.

"Oh shit." I said to myself in realization as I began to rapidly type on my scroll.

 **"All right, find some place to hide, wait for me to get to you, and make sure your weapon is ready."** I said.

 **"Why? Where am I?"** Neo asked.

 **"The Emerald Forest."** I said.

 **"Don't worry, just find a place to hide, and make sure your weapon is close to you."** I said.

 **"I don't have my weapon."**

.

.

 **"Why don't you have your weapon?!"**

 **"Well excuse me for not grabbing my weapon when I ran out of there! I wasn't exactly thinking straight!"** She said.

 **"Just hide, I'll get there as fast as I can. If you encounter any Grimm, run like hell!"** I said as I ran towards the runways.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

 _'Great, just great. I just had to teleport to the one place that's completely infested with Grimm.'_ Neo thought to herself bitterly.

 _'To make matters worse, I don't have my weapon, and Roman can't get to me without ten packs of cops following him in pursuit.'_ Neo thought to herself as she looked around the area for a place to hide.

 _'Okay Neo, just hide in one of those caves over the-'_ Neo's thought process was interrupted by the sound of a Grimm growling from the other side of the cave.

 _'On second thought, let's just hide on one of those cliffs.'_ Neo thought as she began to climb the stone wall in front of her. As she reached the top, she looked around to see if there were any other Grimm in the area. When she was sure that no other Grimm were in the are, she sat on the cliff and waited for Brandon to arrive.

As she sat down, she heard a Grimm roaring in the distance. She winced at the sound, it didn't help that she didn't have her weapon or her uncle with her.

 _'Don't think about it Neo. Just don't think about it.'_ Neo thought to herself as she waited atop the cliff.

* * *

(My Pov)

"We're almost there kid!" I heard the pilot say from the front of the Bullhead.

"If you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you want to go the Emerald Forest so late at night?" The pilot asked.

"My friend has a teleportation semblance, she fucked up on the procedure and now she's in the Emerald Forest. She asked me to go and get her." I explained.

"Damn, well I hope your friend is okay." The pilot said.

"Yeah, so do I." I said.

"This is the place, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, this is the place." I said. He nodded and began to lower the bullhead to the ground.

"Good luck kid. Hope you find your friend." The pilot said. I nodded and jumped out of the bullhead. I then began to look around to see if I could spot Neo anywhere.

"Neo! Where are you?!" I yelled.

.

.

No response, not even a message from her. I then pull out my scroll and began to type on it.

 **"Hey, I'm here. Where are you?"** I said.

.

.

Nothing.

"Okay, that's not good." I said.

"Welp, time to test out that new trick I learned from Glynda." I said. I then closed my eyes and began to concentrate. All of a sudden, the area around me flared to life, blue energy radiating around every tree and plant. I was currently trying to sense Neo's aura. After a couple of minutes of walking around the forest, suddenly, a different color of aura appeared in my vision. The aura was a hot pink color, with some white in the middle.

Bingo.

I started to run towards the location of the aura. As I arrived, the figure was much more clear than before.

"Neo!" I yell upwards. Neo then peeked her head over the cliff with a look of relief on her face. However, that look of relief was soon replaced by fear.

"What's up?" I yell. She then points behind me. I slowly turn around to see that a giant Ursa Major was towering above me.

"Oh." I simply said. The Ursa then swung its massive claw in my direction. I slide under the attack and unsheathe my sword. It then roars loudly and charges in my direction.

"Let's test out the new enchantment." I said as I activated the new enchantment, which I have promptly named **B** **arrier**. The Ursa swings it's massive claw at the barrier, only for it to bounce off, making the Ursa stumble back a bit.

"Alright let's do this!" I yell as I charge forward. The Ursa clashes at me, but the attack was blocked by the barrier enchantment again. I go in and slash at the Ursa's abdomen, it shrieks in pain before reeling its arms upward and bringing both of them down onto the barrier, shattering it upon impact. I reel back a bit before the Ursa swung it's claw upward, sending my flying towards the cliff.

"Ow." I simply said before looking towards Neo, who had a concerned expression on her face.

"I don't suppose you have any other weapons on you." I said. Neo unbuttoned on of her boots and pulled out a knife.

"Huh, convenient." I said. Neo nodded before jumping down to the ground along with me.

"Let's do this." I said. I then look and Neo, who's hands were slightly shaking.

"Hey." I said, grabbing her attention.

"Wipe that scared expression off your face, it doesn't suit you. We'll make it through this. Just follow my lead, after that we'll go and get some ice cream." I said. Neo looked surprised for a moment before nodding her head with a confident smirk.

"There's ya go. Now let's kill this Ursa and go home." I said as I activated the Barrier enchantment. She nods and flipped the knife so that the blade was pointing downwards. We turn towards the Ursa who was currently charging at us. The Ursa tried to swing its claw at us, but I was able to roll to the side, while Neo shattered into little bits of glass before reappearing behind the Ursa.

The Ursa tired to swing its other claw at me, but the Barrier blocked the attack. I go in and slash at one of the Ursa's legs, it shrieked in pain as it fell towards. Neo then appeared on top of the Ursa's head and began to repeatedly stab the Ursa in its left eye.

It then started to flail wildly, trying to get Neo off of its head, but Neo dug the knife further into the Ursa's eye to keep herself from falling off. Suddenly, the Ursa grabbed Neo with its left paw and threw her towards the cliff. Neo would have felt the full impact of hitting the wall if it weren't for the Barrier enchantment shielding her, making her bounce off of the wall like a ball.

"You all right?" I asked. Neo nodded as she got up off of the ground.

"Good, now how about we finish this?" I asked as I activated Enchant. Neo nodded. The Ursa then charged in our direction, ready to rip us to pieces. But as soon as the Ursa's claws made contact with us, our bodies shattered into tiny pieces of glass. We reappeared above the Ursa, I slashed the armor on it's head into pieces, after that Neo stabbed the Ursa in the head, killing it. The Ursa fell to the ground and started to disintegrate.

"Well, that takes care of that." I said. I turned towards Neo who was currently putting the knife back into the sheath in her boot.

"I know you didn't mean to come here, but why was your teleportation so unstable?" I asked. Neo took out her scroll and showed me the screen, showing me that it was out of battery.

"Here use mine." I said as I handed her my scroll. She took the scroll out of my hands and began to type on the screen.

 **"I got into a fight with my uncle. I got upset and teleported. I wasn't thinking clearly so I teleported to some random place."** Neo said.

"Well, you can tell me more about it when we're eating ice cream. Come on, let's get out of here before more Grimm come." I said as I started to walk in the direction of Beacon.

* * *

After we got our ice cream, or after I got her ice cream, we went to a park in the middle of Vale to talk more about what happened between her and Roman.

"So after your little fight you went accidentally teleported to the Emerald Forest." I said. She nodded.

"There has to be more to it than that. What were you two arguing about that got you so upset?" I asked. Neo looked away from me, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Look, I don't care what you were arguing about, but I need to know if I want to help you in anyway." I said to her.

 **"You'll wind up hating me afterwards."** Neo said.

"Look, I'll never hate you no matter what you say. You can attempt to kill me, even then I won't hate you." I said.

 **"You wouldn't understand."** Neo said.

.

.

"You don't trust me." I said to her. Neo looked at me with a shocked expression before shaking her head rapidly.

"Look, I don't care what you did that making you not want to tell me. You could have killed someone, robbed a bank, robbed an ice cream store. I don't care, but all I ask is that you trust me." I said. Neo looked hesitant for a second before nodding. She then picked up my scroll and began to type on the screen.

 **"Okay, I trust you. My uncle is Roman Torchwick, and before you ask, yes it's that Roman Torchwick. We were arguing about going through with an operation that could put your life at risk. I suggested that we just run away to Vacuo, but Roman said that doing that would put us at risk of dying. He said that he wasn't going to break the promise he made to someone and that he was going through with the operation, that's what got me upset. I ran out of the place we were staying in and accidentally teleported to the Emerald Forest."** Neo said.

.

.

"Okay." I said as I handed my scroll back to her. Neo blinked a few times before typing on the screen of my scroll.

 **"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!"** She asked.

"What else do you want?" I asked as I took a sip from my bottle of iced tea.

 **"No question?!"** She asked.

"Of course I have questions, but I'm sure you have your reasons for staying with Roman, but you trusted me enough to tell me, the least I can do is trust that you have a good reason for staying with Roman." I said.

 **"You're not mad?!"**

"Why would I be mad?" I asked.

 **"I'm working with one of the most dangerous criminals in Vale, and all you have to say is 'Okay'?!"** She reasoned.

"Everyone needs to do something to get by. I'm not saying that it's right, but I can understand why you guys do it." I said as I took another sip from my bottle of iced tea.

"If you don't mind me asking, who did he make a promise to?" I asked.

 **"My mother."** She said.

.

.

Well, hello backstory! Yes, you may let yourself in!

"What was the promise?" I asked.

 **"That he would keep me safe."** Neo said.

"What happened? Why does he need to take care of you? What happened to your mother?" I asked. Neo paused for a moment before shaking her head violently, gripping it with both her hands.

"Look, I won't force you to tell me. If you don't want to tell me, then I understand, but if you ask me, I think you need closure, because right now, you're messed up." I said to her bluntly.

 **"Gee, thanks."** She said.

"Anytime." I said. Neo closed her eyes for a moment before nodding.

 **"Okay, I'll tell you."** She said. Neo then began to type on the screen of my scroll, as she was doing this, I could see a single tear drop from her eye.

"Here." I said as I handed her a napkin. She nods and takes it in her hand. I sat there for a good several minutes before Neo handed me the scroll.

 **"Well, before I tell you about what happened, I should probably tell you about where I come from. I lived in a small little village right outside of the border between Vale and Vacuo. It wasn't the best but it was good enough for us. My mother, Megalo** **was the town's veterinarian. She would sometimes take me with her to work and let me see all the cute little animals that were in the vet."**

 **"My father, Metero, was a hunter of sorts, not a huntsmen, just a hunter. He would go into the woods and get the town the food and water it needed. We didn't get that many Grimm attacks, and the ones we did get were pretty small. It wasn't perfect, but I loved every second of it."**

 **"Though that all changed on the day of my eleventh birthday. My father was late for my party, I assumed that he was just out hunting for food for the village. But then my father just burst through the front door, breathing heavily. He told my mother and I that we were evacuating the village, before my mother could ask, we heard a roar in the distance. My mother then picked me and ran out of the house, my father went to help the people on the front lines. As we were running, I could hear the Grimm from behind me, the air felt really hot, my skin felt like it was burning."**

 **"My mother was about to say something to me, only for a large foot to crush her body. I was too shocked to say anything, I just watched my mother die right before my eyes. I looked to my right to see a large raptor-like Grimm above me, and in it's mouth was the corpse of my father. I ran, I ran as fast as I could to the nearest place that was safe. The Grimm must have seen me run because it shot one of its hot breath attacks at me. I was able to dodge, but not in time. I accidentally swallowed some of the remains of the Grimm's breath attack. It wasn't hot enough to kill me, but it was hot enough to completely burn my windpipe."**

 **"That Grimm is the reason I can barely speak, and every time I do, I felt excruciating pain. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it still stings. That's also why I eat so much ice cream, it's the only food I can eat that won't hurt me. The Grimm would have eaten me alive, but through the chaos, I somehow managed to unlock my aura and my Semblance. I teleported away from the village and into the woods. My entire village, burned to the ground."**

 **"After that, I had to live off of the remains of what was left of my village. I would have starved to death if it weren't for my Uncle Roman. He said that he was a friend of my mother's and that he was here to take care of me. I was skeptical at first, but Roman showed me a letter that my mother left for him a long time ago. I've been living with Roman ever since."**

.

.

.

.

Well then, this is...something.

I looked over to Neo who was trying to fight back tears. I then did what I thought was right at the time. I put my hand on her shoulder and began to pat her.

"I'm uh...sorry." I said to her.

Neo nodded and wiped away the tears that were in her eye.

"I'm not really sure what to do here. I'm not really good at this sort of stuff." I admitted.

Neo chuckled and lightly punched me in the chest.

"Jeez, I offer you emotional support, and what do I get? A punch."I said.

Neo nodded and just started to stare at the sky. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes before she finally turned her head towards me. She wiped away some of the remaining tears and picked up my scroll again.

 **"Never knew you had this sorta side."** She said.

"I can say the same to you.." I said.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"When you said that "It's not as bad as before, but it still stings' does that mean you can still?" I asked. r do.

 **"Yes. I can still talk. Though I prefer not to because of the pain."** Neo said

I sat there for a couple of seconds with a dumb look on my face.

"Well shit, I never thought I'd see the day." I said.

 **"Yeah, I'd imagine t-that it would be a surprise."** Neo said.

"Yeah. Well, only one more thing to do." I said to her as I got up from the bench we were sitting on.

 **"Where are you going?"** Neo asked.

"WE'RE going back to your uncles place." I said.

 **"What! Why?!"** Neo asked.

"Well, I'm sure that Roman is worried sick about his niece. So how about we head on over there and put his worries to rest." I said.

"But, what if he tries to kill you?!" She asked.

"Well, then I guess I'll need a knight in shining armor to come to my rescue." I said as I ruffled her hair a bit. Neo looked at me, shocked for a moment before nodding.

 **"Yeah, but don't come crying to me when a gun is pointed between your eyes."** She said as she got up.

* * *

 **"Are you sure this is a good idea?"** Neo asked as we stood in front of the warehouse that Roman and her were staying in.

"Nope." I said to her.

 **"Okay, just making sure."** She said as she opened the door to the warehouse.

Neo knocked on the door three times in some unfamiliar rhythm.

"Neo!" I heard Roman say. All of a sudden, the doors burst open, Roman wrapping his arms around Neo.

"Where the hell have you been young lady?! I was just about to-!" Roman stopped himself mid sentence when he laid eyes on me.

"Neo." Roman said.

 **"Yeah?"** Neo asked.

"Who's this?" Roman asked.

 **"This is the friend I was talking about."** Neo said. Roman then stood up and walked past Neo looking at me dead in the eye.

"Hello there." Roman said in a low tone.

I've made a terrible mistake

"H-Hey." I said to him.

"How about you come inside. I'd like to have a little 'chat' with you." Roman said.

"I really shouldn't. You two look like you need your alone time." I said to him as I turned around and began to walk away.

"No, please." Roman said as he fired the grip of his can at my hoodie, hooking me to it.

"I insist." He said as he dragged me inside.

Shit.

I tried to break free of Romans weapon, but it was no use, I was dragged into the building. He continued to drag me until we reached a set of chairs in the middle of the room.

"Sit." He said as he pointed towards the wooden chair. I quickly nodded and sat on the wooden chair.

"What's your name kid?" Roman asked.

"Brandon Kim." I said.

"Okay, and how long have you known Neo?" He asked me.

"I think about nine months now." I said to him.

"Okay, and what is your relationship with her?" Roman asked.

Neo kicked Roman in the shin with a annoyed look on her face.

"Not now, Neo." Roman sushed.

"She's a good friend." I said. Roman then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"How much have do you know about her?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Roman then fired his cane at the wall behind me.

"I think you know exactly what I mean." Roman said. I sighed before telling him everything that happened tonight.

"After she told me what happened, we decided that it would be best if we came back here. That's about it." I said to him. Roman then closed his eyes before looking towards Neo.

"Neo, can you leave us alone for a moment?" Roman asked. Neo was about to protest, only for Roman to cut her off.

"I'm not going to kill the kid. I just want to ask him a few more 'personal' questions." Roman said. Neo looked hesitant for a moment before nodding and walking towards her room.

"Alright kid." Roman said to me.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to stay with her after hearing all that?" Roman asked.

"Uh?"

"I mean most people don't exactly want to hang around a person who's uncle is one of the most dangerous criminals in Vale." Roman said.

.

.

"Well, if I'm going to be completely honest. I know how she feels." I said.

"What do you mean?" Roman asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, just like her, I lost everything I loved." I said to him. I then proceeded to tell the altered version of my story.

"After that, Ozpin took me in. He saw that I still had the will to live and fight for something." I concluded.

"Neo's kinda lucky now that I think about it." I said to her.

"How exactly is she lucky?" Roman asked me.

"Because she still has someone she can call family." I said to him. Roman's eyes widened at my statement.

"Me? All I have to remember them is this locket." I said as I pulled out a silver locket from my jacket pocket.

"It was a gift from my grandmother." I said.

"What's in it?" Roman asked.

"Tch, not even Ozpin knows that one." I said to him.

"Well, you don't seem like a bad kid." Roman said as he lit a cigar.

"Though one question has been bugging me." Roman said.

"Why do you want to become a huntsmen? From what Neo told me you never really cared about it before. What changed your mind?" Roman asked.

"Well you're right, I never did care about becoming a huntsmen before." I said.

"But now, well let's just say..." I began.

I always wanted to use this quote.

"Knowing what comes next, I can't afford not to care anymore." I said to him. He looked at me with a confused expression before taking his cigar out of his mouth.

"Look, I have a favor to ask of you." Roman said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Look, something big is coming to Vale. Something dangerous, I'm sure that I'll be able to survive it, but on the off chance that I don't, I'm gonna need you to take care of Neo." Roman said.

"Sure." I said.

"Now, I know that it's a lot to take in, but you're just gonna have to- wait what?" Roman asked, the cigar falling out of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'll do it." I said to him.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

.

.

"Why?"

"Well I like Neo, I wouldn't mind having her around more." I said to him.

.

.

"Well then, that was easier than I thought." Roman said.

"So does this mean I can go now?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'll tell Neo you said bye." Roman said.

"Oh." He said as he pointed his cane at my head.

"You never saw me." He said to me.

"Never saw who?" I asked. Roman chuckled at my response.

"Alright kid, now get out of here." Roman said. I gave him a thumbs up and walked out of the warehouse.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #16 And done! I hope you guy's like this early chapter I decided to put out.**

 **So we now officially have a backstory for Neo. Didn't expect that.**

 **I had a run in with Roman which went... well.**

 **I mean I'm not dead so I guess it went alright.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left.**

 **Review Response**

 **War Historian: *Slowly turns towards all four of the women***

 **Me: Hey! It was there idea!**

 **Banru: *Slowly turns towards Blake***

 **Me: Yeah, I just loved that.**

 **Blake: I said I was sorry.**

 **nightmaster000: Wow! Epic, that's a new one!**

 **Guest: Am I going to constantly be shipped with people I haven't even met yet?**

 **BlackwaterHell: We need a mechanic!**

 **Ragnorak16: Yes, yes it was.**

 **New Enchantment Data:**

 **Enchantment: Barrier**

 **Summary: When activated, Brandon can summon a barrier around himself and his allies. This barrier is not invincible, and can be broken if enough force is applied to it.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: B**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	16. The Tournament Begins

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Tournament Begins"

Thought: _'The Tournament Begins'_

Flashback: _"The Tournament Begins"_

It's been about a week since that whole encounter with Neo, ever since then she's been talking to me more and more. It's been weird lately, I now know about her past, and that she has a voice, something the show didn't even do. But it's the good kind of weird, I feel closer to Neo, and that will make it easier to switch her to the good side.

Especially since I'm on Roman's good side... Okay, I guess I'm not on his good side quite yet, but I'm not on his hit list, so that's better than nothing, I guess. She's also been acting weird lately, she hasn't been as sassy or sarcastic recently...okay that's a lie she's just as sarcastic and sassy as she was before.

Okay, now that that's taken care of, let's talk about the creatures of Grimm. Or, more specifically, the Gigas Prime. Gigas gets its name due to its sheer size. Standing upright, Gigas can reach a height of around 230 feet tall from the tip of the head to the bottom of its feet.

Lengthwise, Gigas stretches to around 410 feet from the tip of its snout to the tip of its tail. With its back hunched over, Gigas stands around 170 feet tall.

The most noticeable features on Gigas are the massive spikes on its back. There are a total of 10 spikes on its back; 4 massive white spikes down the center, along with 6 smaller white spikes jutting out beside the larger spikes.

These spikes are believed to be utilized as a form of 'solar sail.' From a biological standpoint, these spikes can be used to regulate its internal temperature.

There are blood vessels throughout these spikes, allowing Gigas to either keep itself warm or to cool itself off easily. Due to a Gigas' size, these spikes are vital for it to maintain a proper body temperature. Along with the larger spikes, Gigas also have hundreds of smaller spikes throughout its entire back and tail.

Gigas have massive and powerful legs that support most of its body. Each foot has five toes that have long sharpened claws at the end. To go along with its massive legs, Gigas also has medium sized arms. Each arm has three fingers and a thumb, each ending with a long sharp claw.

A Gigas' head is around 45 feet long and covered with small armored white plates. Its mouth is armed with dozens of sharp teeth. Gigas have red eyes on the sides of its head that are angled forward for binocular vision.

Gigas also have many tools at its disposal that are built throughout its entire body.

Another key feature to Gigas is the large crest on its head along with the fleshy air sacks on its neck. The large nostrils on the head crest are not to be confused with noses. They are special air holes that allow Gigas to increase the intensity of its roar.

When needed, Gigas would fill up the sacks with compressed air, which would cause the sacks to increase in size. Once a Gigas has acquired the appropriate amount of air, it would release it as a Sonic Roar.

The Sonic Roar is Gigas' signature, and most powerful, attack. Gigas would use this attack to take down its prey. The Sonic Roar releases air at around Mach 10 speed, although the speed would decrease with distance.

The intensity of the roar is so powerful, it can kill if the target is within 150 feet of Gigas. From 151-500 feet, the Sonic Roar could stun most creatures. From 501-800 feet, the roar would knock back most creatures. The initial temperature generated from the roar within 60 feet can reach up to 8000 degrees Fahrenheit. The power of the roar is also depending on how much air the Gigas takes in.

Gigas have a total of four hearts to support its massive size. These hearts beat simultaneously to pump all the blood through its body. Gigas can survive with just two hearts, but would not be as strong or as mobile as it would be with all four hearts.

That's it for Grimm Studies, let's move on to Remnant history. Or to be more specific, the Battle for Sonoyuma. Sonoyuma was a village on the outskirts of Mistral. Most villages had already adapted to the new law that Mistral issued across the land of Anima.

Sonoyuma however, wasn't exactly so keen on adapting their lifestyles just so that the people in the big city could have it easy.

They packed up their things and headed to the ocean side of Anima, which was said to have lots of resources and few Grimm nests. It would also be far enough to be completely independent of Mistral's law. After a few months of travel, they eventually arrived at Anima's ocean side, though not everyone made it there alive.

After a few years of living on the ocean side, the citizens of Sonoyuma thought they would be safe from Grimm and bandits. Well, they would have been completely safe if it weren't for these bandits. The group of bandits decided that they wanted to take the land and its resources for themselves. They would have had it too if it weren't for one of Sonoyuma's warriors defending the village from the bandit's constant attacks.

The warrior was said to wield the Enchanted Spear, Rhongomiant. After the war, Mistral decided that they would make a deal with them. They would provide the village with the required resources to expand their settlements, as well as complete independence from Mistral's new law. In return, they would have to trade some of the resources they find in the different caves and lakes in the area for Mistral to use to expand. The villagers eventually agreed to the terms, seeing the benefits in expanding their village.

Now, I was currently holding a very tall pile of boxes around the streets of Vale. Coco was strutting along next to me with an impish grin on her face.

"Remind me again why I need so many clothes?" I asked, struggling to keep all of the boxes from toppling onto my body.

"Well, not all of them are yours, some of them are mine. Also, I'm tired of you wearing the same type of clothes every single day." Coco said.

"It's been... how long have we known each other?" She asked.

"Eight months." I said.

"Eight months! I think it's time we expand your wardrobe!" Coco declared.

"I'm fine with the clothes I have now." I said to Coco.

"Hey, you never know when you're going to need some new clothes for a hot date." Coco said, nudging my arm. Caught off guard from the sudden contact, I wobbled a bit, trying to keep the clothes and myself from falling to the ground. As I regained my balance, I turned towards Coco, a scowl on my face. Coco scratched behind her neck, laughing nervously.

"Heh heh, sorry." She said sheepishly.

"Next time warn me when you're going to suddenly touch me like that!" I yelled.

"I said I was sorry!" She defended. I sighed before shaking my head.

"It's alright, just warn me next time." I said.

"Yeah, well we're almost done, just one more store." She said.

"Quick question." I said.

"Yeah, what's up?" Coco asked.

"Why can't you just shrink this stuff with your Semblance?" I asked.

"I can, I just choose not to." Coco said with a sly smirk.

.

.

.

.

"Then why the hell am I carrying your shit all the time?!" I yelled.

"Well, I didn't ask you to carry it, you volunteered, and who am I to turn down such a generous offer?" Coco said.

"That's not the point! I wouldn't have offered if I knew you could have shrunken it!" I yelled.

"Okay, okay, calm down. If you want to know the real reason, I have you help me because I like spending time with you." Coco said.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Why don't you just ask me to hang out a park or something instead of taking me on these crazy shopping sprees?" I asked.

"Well, I thought that I could get all my shopping out of the way, as well as have a good time. Kill two birds with one stone." She said.

"Alright, I guess I can't argue with that." I said to her.

"Look, I'm going to get coffee after we're done. How about I get you something? What do you like?" She asked me. I thought about it for a moment before I had a sly grin on my face.

"I'd like a **hot cocoa.** " I said, putting emphasis on hot and cocoa. Coco stopped in her tracks, a slight blush clear on her face.

 _'Time for a little payback.'_ I thought to myself.

"I'd also like some extra **whip cream w** ith that." I said. The blush on Coco's face spread further across her cheeks and had an even darker shade of red. We stood there in silence before I started to laugh.

"Ha ha ha, you should see your face right now! Though a hot cocoa would be nice right now." I said to Coco.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, Coco?" I asked, trying to get her attention. No response.

 _'Oh shit I might have fu-'_ My thought process was cut off by the sound of Coco laughing.

"Haha, you crack me up." Coco laughed as she walked up and slapped me in the butt.

"Ah!" I yelped in a high pitched voice. Coco turned towards me, her eyes widened and her mouth agape.

"Was that you?" Coco asked me.

"No." I said to her.

"Oh my god! That was the most adorable thing I've ever heard! Even more adorable when I caught Velvet singing 'Caffeine' in our room." Coco said.

"You caught Velvet singing Caffeine?" I asked.

"Yeah, I even recorded it on my scroll." Coco said, smiling.

"That seems like a huge invasion of privacy." I said to her.

"You want the recording?" Coco asked.

"Hell yeah." I said to her. I then felt my scroll vibrate from within my pocket. I quickly take out my scroll to look at the message I just got. The message was from Mercury.

 **"Hey, I'm at the arena, let me know when you get here."** I read.

 _'Shit! I completely forgot about the tournament!'_ I thought to myself.

"Hey Coco, I need to go." I said to her.

"Why?" Coco asked.

"I'm sorta part of this tournament that's taking place in downtown Vale, and my match is today." I told her.

"You're participating in a tournament and you didn't invite me?! I'm hurt!" Coco said dramatically, putting her right hand above her chest.

"Very funny. I'm really sorry, but I can't miss this." I said to her.

"No problem." Coco said as used her Semblance to shrink the boxes of clothes so that they could fit in her pocket.

"I can take it from here." Coco said as she put the tiny boxes in her pocket.

"Okay, I'll see ya later." I said as I began to walk towards downtown Vale.

"Oh, and I'm still thinking about taking you up on your offer." Coco said.

"What offer?" I asked.

"Letting you put your **whip cream** in my **hot cocoa**." Coco said with a sly grin.

"GOODBYE COCO!" I yelled as I started running towards the arena.

* * *

As I arrived at the arena, I typed in the coordinates for my location on my scroll and sent them towards Beacon.

 _'Should be here in 3'_

 _'2'_

 _'1'_ I thought to myself. All of a sudden, a locker fell from the sky and landed firmly into the concrete in front of me.

 _'I love this mechanic.'_ I thought to myself as I typed in a code onto the locker. I opened the locker and grabbed Caliber from inside of it, then typed in the coordinates for Beacon Academy. The locker took off and flew back towards Beacon Academy. After that, I walk towards the arena where the tournament would take place. I was about to walk into the arena, only to be stopped by one of the guards at the front of the door.

"Hey!" I said as the two guards extended their arms outward to block my way.

"Name." The man on the right said.

"Brandon Kim." I said to the man. He looked at the clipboard that he was holding in his hand before nodding to himself.

"Alright, you're on the list, head on in." The man said.

"Thanks." I said to him as I walked inside. There were a good amount of people in the arena. People were either sitting at the tables that were set up around the room, or drinking at the bar on the right side of the room. Some of them looked like fighters, while others just looked like they were here to spectate. I looked around the room to see if I could spot Mercury anywhere in the bar.

"E-excuse me?" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see a girl standing right behind me.

"Oh, hey." I said to her.

"I just wanted to say g-good luck." The girl said, extending her hand outwards.

.

.

.

.

"Um, who are you?" I asked her.

"I'm A-Alexa, your opponent." Alexa said.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm not very good with names." I apologized to her, scratching the back of my neck.

"I-it's okay." Alexa said.

"Well, good luck to you too." I said to her as I shook her hand. I walked away to continue my search for Mercury.

"Hey Brandon!" I heard Mercury yell. I turn to see that he was sitting at the bar, a cold drink in his hands.

"I don't think you should drink right before a fight." I told him as I sat next to him.

"Relax, it's only one drink." He said, waving it off.

"Whatever you say, don't blame me if you get your ass kicked in the first round." I said.

"Very funny." He said. "So, you think you'll have a fighting chance against that girl?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know. She doesn't look or act like a fighter, though she was able to make it through the preliminaries." I told him.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, you were able to go toe to toe with me, and you didn't even have your weapon." Mercury said.

"Still, she has to have at least some form of strength just to make it to the preliminaries." I said to him.

"What making you so skeptical?" Mercury asked.

"Ever heard of the phrase, 'never judge a book by its cover'?" I asked. He simply looked at me with a confused expression.

"That's a no. Okay, well you know how a comic book could look bad based off of its cover?" I asked him.

"Yeah."

"Well, imagine that you pick up that comic book and it looks bad, but you read it anyway because you have nothing new to read. When you start reading it, you realize that the comic is actually pretty good." I said to him.

"Oh, so you're saying that under that shy attitude, there might be some battle-crazed warrior ready to fight." Mercury said.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." I said to him. "But yeah, you have the basics down."

"Well, if you're really that paranoid, then just end it with one quick slash of your buster attack. Quick and easy, just like I was taught." Mercury said before his eyes widened, realizing what he just said.

 _'Right, he doesn't know that I know that he's an assassin.'_ I thought to myself.

"Right, I meant to ask, who exactly taught you how to fight?" I asked him. Mercury paused for a second before responding.

"My father." He said in a low tone.

"Oh, well I bet he's a great fighter if he taught you how to fight." I told him.

"Yeah, he WAS." Mercury said, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Don't be sorry, he was a shitty old man anyway." He said. Before I could say anything else, I felt someone grab my shoulder. I turn around to see that one of the guards was standing behind me. Alexa stood behind him with a nervous look on her face.

"You're up, kid." He told me.

"Oh, okay." I said as I got off of the seat.

"Good luck." Mercury said.

"Thanks." I said as I followed the guard towards the arena.

* * *

We followed the guard into a tunnel leading down to the arena.

"I'm going to explain the rules, so listen up." He said to both of us.

"One, you two aren't allowed to get any help from any outside source. If we find out that there was a third party involved, then you will be disqualified." The man said.

"Two, we are not responsible for any injuries you may have during the fight."

"Three, fight until the opponent is no longer able to fight. If their aura has reached zero and they're still kicking, then you go on in."

"W-what if they die?" Alexa asked.

"Not our problem." The man said.

 _'Jesus, these guy's don't fuck around.'_ I thought to myself.

"Alright, looks like the match is about to start, good luck to the both of you." The guard said as he walked away from us. I looked over towards Alexa who was visibly shaking, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Hey." I said to her, grabbing her attention.

"I won't kill you. I can go be a bit aggressive in a fight, but I'm not that aggressive." I told her.

"I'm not w-worried about myself. I'm more worried about y-you." She said to me.

"Why?" I asked her.

"W-well, let's just say that my Semblance makes me lose it sometimes." She told me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her. Before she could respond, we heard Remington from outside of the tunnel.

 **"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Remington's Grand Tournament!"** Remington announced. The audience roared with applause.

 **"Let's introduce our fighters for our first match of the day!"**

 **"On our right, we have Brandon Kim, the hot-headed and loudmouth swordsman!"** Remington said.

"I don't know whether I should be insulted or not." I said.

 **"And on our left we have the shy but deadly brawler, Alexa Alamos."** Remington said.

"I-I think that's our cue." Alexa said. I nodded as we made our way out of the tunnel and into the arena. As we emerged from the tunnel, we could hear various cheers coming from the crowd.

"I can't hear you!" I shout as I put my hand towards my ear. The crowd begins to cheer louder.

"That's what I like to hear!" I yell, throwing my arms up in the air.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." Alexa said.

"A bunch of people cheering your name, who wouldn't enjoy that kind of attention?" I asked.

"I don't know, I never really liked attention like this." Alexa said.

"Eh, suit yourself." I said we stood in the middle of the stadium. A man wearing a white collared shirt and a red hat who I assume is the referee walked in between us.

"Are both sides ready?" The referee asked. I nod and look towards Alexa who nodded as well.

"Then begin!" The referee shouted.

As soon as the referee signaled us to begin, I unsheathed my sword and charged towards Alexa, who was in a boxing stance. I go in to swing my sword at her torso but she quickly rolls out of the way. She charges at me with her fist reeled backwards; as soon as she was right in front of me, she quickly jumped over my head. I turn around only to be met with Alexa's fist making contact with my right cheek. I stumble backwards a bit before Alexa uses her other fist to uppercut me. I fly back a few feet before landing on my feet.

 _'Damn, this girl knows how to punch!'_ I thought to myself as I rubbed my right cheek. She didn't waste any time rushing at me again with her left fist reeled backwards. I activate the Barrier enchantment to block Alexa's punch. Surprised by the sudden barrier, she stumbles back a bit, giving me an opportunity to attack. I swing my sword at her abdomen before crouching and doing a sweeping motion with my sword, knocking her to the ground.

I activate the Buster enchantment and swing in an underhanded motion, knocking her towards the wall. She hits the wall with a thud before she lands on the ground. As she dusts herself off, she goes in for another attack. I smirk and activate the Barrier enchantment. She tries to use her punches to break the barrier, but she only manages to do minor damage to it. She charges in at top speed, she then jumps into the air, intent on kicking the barrier with all of her might.

I deactivate the barrier and switch to the Buster enchantment. I then swing the massive blade at her, hitting her directly in the abdomen. She goes flying towards the wall, leaving a small crater as she made contact with the wall.

"Looks like Alexa is in trouble! Will she be able to come back from this?" Remington said. She gets up and looks at me with a slight glare. I smirk and motion her to come at me. As she was running towards me, I could see her fist glow with a red aura. I activate the Barrier enchantment to block the attack. To my surprise, she was able to destroy the barrier with three strikes. She then rushes at me, her right leg glowing with the same red aura from before. She then kicks me right in the jaw, sending me flying towards the wall.

I hit the wall with a thud before landing on the ground. I stood up slowly, struggling to remain conscious. I see her running towards me, her fist glowing red. I then activate Enchant to power up her Semblance. I quickly roll out of the way, only to be blown back from the wind pressure caused by the punch. The entire stadium yells in surprise, not expecting the power of the punch.

 _'Please work, please work, please work!'_ I thought to myself. As the dust settled, Alexa could be seen struggling to remove her arm from the wall. I smirk and start to charge at her, activating the Buster enchantment as I ran. She removed her arm from the wall, but before she could counter, I swing the massive blade at her abdomen, shattering her aura and sending her flying towards the ceiling above.

"What a blow! Brandon just shattered Alexa's aura! This could be it folks!" Remington said through the mic. As the dust settled, Alexa could be seen standing up, slightly scratched from the attack.

"Look, I don't want to kill you. It's over, I won." I told her. Alexa then closes her eyes and starts to breathe heavily.

"Hah hah hah."

"You.." She said as she opens her eyes, which were glowing red.

"You BASTARD!" She yells. All of a sudden, Alexa was surrounded by the red aura. The aura was so strong that it was actually creating gusts of wind around her. As the aura calmed down, I could see Alexa, whose skin was not slightly darker, and the edges of her hair were glowing red. She then looks up at me with an expression of anger, her eyes pure red.

"Uh, I'm sorry." I said. Alexa screams towards the sky, making shockwaves around her. She runs towards me at speeds that would put Ruby to shame. I activate the Barrier enchantment to shield myself from the attack, only for the barrier to be shattered instantly. Before I could dodge the attack, Alexa grabs my leg and slams me onto the ground. She then raises her arms above her head, intent on crushing my head on the concrete floor. I quickly roll to the side before she could attack me. As her fists made contact with the ground, she created a shockwave that put some distance between her and I.

"So this is her Semblance, huh?" She looks towards me and starts to charge in my direction.

"Sorry, but it looks like I'm going to have to get my hands dirty." I said as I activated the Buster enchantment. She goes in for a right hook, but I quickly duck over it and slash at her arm, leaving a very visible cut. To my surprise, the cut is surrounded by a red aura, and all of a sudden the aura completely closes the cut.

"What the hell!" I yell. Alexa then grabs me by the neck and throws me up towards the ceiling. I use the Barrier enchantment to soften the impact. As I was coming down, Alexa was getting ready to attack me again. Before I could hit the ground, Alexa punched me straight in the stomach, shattering my aura and sending flying towards the wall. I slowly got up, coughing up a little blood.

"J-Jesus, I'm going to die if this keeps going." I said to myself. I then think about how I'm going to win against someone that seems to be completely immune to my attacks.

 _'Well, if you're really that paranoid, then just end it with one quick slash of your Buster attack. Quick and easy, just like I was taught.'_ I remembered Mercury saying.

"Just one hit." I said to myself. I then apply every ounce of aura I had left into the Buster enchantment. The blade was about the same size, but there were even more sparks coming off of the blade. She charges at me, her fist reeled back. I swing my sword at the oncoming punch, making sure the it hit the blunt part of the blade and not the sharp part. I swing my blade forward, sending Alexa straight through the wall. I breathed heavily as the sparks could be seen across my body. As the dust settled, Alexa could be seen on the floor, unconscious.

"And the winner is Brandon Kim!" The crowd roared in applause. I collapse to the ground, exhausted after my recent battle. A pair of medics then come towards Alexa and I, ready to treat us on the spot.

"Weird, why do I feel light headed?" I asked myself as I fell backwards, everything then faded to black.

* * *

As I woke up, I noticed two things. One, I was in an unfamiliar room, and two, my stomach felt like it was splitting open.

"Ow ow ow ow!" I said to myself as I clenched my stomach with both my hands.

"Ah, glad to see you're awake kid." I heard someone say. I turn to my right to see Remington sitting next to my bed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, you took one hell of a beating back there kid." Remington said bluntly.

"Where's Mercury?" I asked.

"He and Jack are getting ready for their match." Remington said.

"But, before you go, there's someone here to see you." He said.

"Hey! You can come in now!" He yelled at the door. As the door opened, Alexa could be visibly seen.

"She has something to say to you." Remington said to her. She nodded and slowly began to approach me. She stood there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted as she bowed her head.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sorry! I always lose control when I use my Semblance, and because of that, you're seriously injured." Alexa said.

"Hey, I'm fine. It's nothing too serious. Right Remington?" I asked.

"Yeah, nothing our doctors couldn't fix." Remington said.

"See? No harm done." I said to her.

"But-"

"But nothing! I don't care and neither should you." I said to her.

"You're not mad?" She asked.

"Why would I be mad at something you had no control over?" I asked.

"I just-"

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine! It's okay!" I said to her.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch my friend's fight." I said to her as I walked out of the room.

* * *

As I walked across the bar, I could already hear people cheering for either Jack or Mercury. I quickly find a place to sit and wait for Mercury and Jack to show up. I waited for a good couple of minutes before Mercury and Jack came out of the tunnel.

"Hey Merc!" I yell. Mercury looks over in my direction and begins to chuckle.

"Man, Brandon, didn't think a girl that shy would be able to corner you like that!" Mercury yells.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you in the ring with her!" I yelled back.

"Whatever, I'll see you in the finals!" He shouted as he turned towards Jack, who had a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Are both sides ready?" The referee asked. Both Mercury and Jack nodded.

"Then begin!" The referee said, signaling both sides to start. Mercury was the one to make the first move. He charged towards Jack, who unsheathed a blade from his wrist. Mercury kicks Jack in the abdomen a couple of times before he gave Jack a swift kick to the chin. Jack quickly recovers and charged at Mercury at a speed that made him practically a blur. He quickly slashes at Mercury's arm, leaving some kind of purple liquid on it.

"What the hell?" Mercury asked himself. Jack then kicked Mercury in the abdomen, and for some reason, it hurt a lot more than he was expecting. Mercury stumbled back a bit before using his Semblance to launch himself towards Jack. He quickly dug both of his feet into Jack's abdomen, sending him flying across the arena. Jack raised his arm outward and began shooting purple bullets from his wrist. Mercury was able to dodge the first two, but the remaining bullets hit him the arm. Mercury started to breathe heavily, clutching his chest with his right hand.

"What did you do to me?!" Mercury shouted. Jack then began to chuckle darkly.

"So you finally noticed." Jack said.

"My Semblance specializes in applying poison to any weapon I touch." Jack said as purple liquid fell from his knife, burning the floor as it made contact.

"I know who you are, Mercury Black." Jack said. "You're the son of Marcus Black, the greatest assassin in all of Remnant." He said. Mutters could be heard from all across the crowd.

"Yeah? So what if I am?" Mercury asked.

"I also know that you killed him." Jack said. Mercury's eyes widened before turning into a glare.

"If I kill you, then I can claim my title as the best assassin in all of Remnant!" Jack said as he charged towards Mercury. Mercury quickly used his Semblance move out of the way of Jack's attacks, though Jack pulled out his knife slashed at Mercury's face, leaving a visible cut. Mercury then used his Semblance to launch himself into the air before quickly coming back down, hitting Jack with one of his legs. Jack was able to block the attack, but before he could go on the offensive, Mercury quickly ducked out of the way and uppercut him with his right foot.

Jack charged at him, both of his knives out of their sheaths. He slashed at Mercury multiple times, but Mercury was able to dodge all of them with ease. Mercury kicked Jack in the abdomen, making him stumble back a few feet. Before Mercury could go on the offensive, he felt the poison kick in, restricting his movements. Jack fired a barrage of poisonous bullets at Mercury, but Mercury fired a few of his wind rockets to intercept them. Mercury began to fire wind rockets around the stadium, but before he could fire anymore, Jack quickly dug the knife into Mercury's arm.

Mercury uppercutted Jack before launching himself into the air and digging foot into Jack's abdomen as he came down. The wind rockets that surrounded the arena then came speeding towards Jack, shattering his aura upon impact. Mercury began to breathe heavily, doing his best not to collapse from the poison.

"I won't lose!" Jack yelled stubbornly as he began to charge towards Mercury.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you and claim my title as the greatest assassin in Remn-!" Jack didn't have time to finish as Mercury's boot made contact with his chin. As it made contact, Mercury fired one of the bullets stored within the boot, killing Jack instantly. Jack's corpse fell to the ground with a thud.

 **"And the winner is Mercury Black!"** Remington announced. The crowd roared with applause, though I simply sat there, contemplating on what just happened. Mercury fell to the ground, exhausted and drained from the poison. Soon after, medics came to treat Mercury and to remove the poison from his body. A pair of men in suits came to collect Jack's body from the arena. I then get up and walk towards the medical room.

* * *

"Excuse me?" I asked the nurse from behind the counter.

"Yes?" The nurse asked me.

"Is Mercury awake yet?" I asked her.

"Yes, he's awake, though he doesn't want any visitors at the moment." The nurse said.

"Didn't ask if I could see him." I said as I walked toward the room.

"Wait! Sir!" The nurse said, trying to stop me from entering, but I quickly make my way into the room, locking the door behind me. I turn towards Mercury who was currently eating a steak that he got from the bar.

"Hey." I simply said.

"I thought I said I didn't want visitors." Mercury said in a low tone.

"Yeah, well I didn't listen." I said as I walked towards his bed. We sat there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

.

.

"Are you really his son?" I asked him.

 _'What kind of a question is that?! You already know the answer to th_ at!' I thought to myself.

"Yeah." He said gruffly.

"You can leave now." Mercury said.

"Why would I leave?" I asked him.

"I'm the son of the greatest assassin in all of Remnant, why wouldn't you leave?" He asked me.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked him.

"What do you mean 'so what'?!" He yelled. "I tell you that I'm related to the most dangerous assassin in all of Remnant, and that's all you have to say?!" Mercury asked.

"Why are you so angry?" I asked him.

"I'm not angry! I'm confused!" He yelled at me. I sighed before shaking my head.

"What was your dad like?" I asked him.

"What?" He asked me.

"Your old man, the man who gave you life, the guy that fucked your mother, your pick. Tell me about him." I said. He paused for a moment before responding.

"Alright, he was a pretty shitty old man. Was always beating my mother, and when he wasn't beating my mom, he was beating me. He taught me how to fight, how to kill, and how to turn off your emotions. He wanted to turn me into a monster. He was an asshole, a murderer, selfish, and an alcoholic." He told me.

.

.

.

.

"Okay." I simply said.

"Wait, What?!" Mercury shouted.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

"I just told you I was an assassin!" Mercury said.

"No, you WERE and assassin." I said to him.

"What?! But I just-!" Before Mercury could finish, I quickly put my hand on his mouth.

"Look, I don't care about what you did back then. The only thing that matters is the here and now." I told him.

"I've still killed people, even to this day." He told me.

"The whole thing with Jack was self-defense at least!" I told him.

"No! That's not what I meant. The person I work for, one of the requirements to keep working for her is to be prepared to kill." He said.

"Well, you need to do what you have to do." I said him.

"Let me ask you something. Out of all the people you've killed up to this point, have they all deserved it?" I asked. Mercury sat there for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"Yeah." He told me.

"Then I don't see the problem with it." I said.

"Though, out of all the thing's you mentioned about your dad, you're only one of those things." I said.

"What's that?" He asked.

"You're an asshole." I told him. He began to chuckle a bit at my statement.

"Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Anytime." I said. We sat there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

.

.

"Maybe, you're right." He said.

"When have I EVER been wrong?" I asked.

"When you told me that Alexa wasn't a battle-crazed warrior." Mercury said with a smug grin.

"That doesn't count." I said.

"Hey." Mercury said.

"What?" I asked. Mercury extend his hand outwards towards me.

"Thanks." He said. His eye's widdened in surprise as I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't pull the "I carry the burden of my families past" bullshit on me again." I said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #17**

 **And there we go, the tournament begins!**

 **Jeez, if Mercury and I had trouble in the first round, there's no telling what's waiting for us in the second one.**

 **Well, only time will tell, really.**

 **Also glad I got to slap some sense into Mercury, about time he stopped with that whole "I carry the burden of my family's past" bullshit.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **Brandon: So, how many of these reviews are people shipping me with Neo?**

 **A good amount of them.**

 **Brandon: I don't know how I feel about this, I mean she's only one year older than me so it's not as bad as SOME ships I've been getting. Anyway, let's move on.**

 **jeit93: It's okay man. *brings him into a hug* let the manly tears flow.**

 **rocketmce: *Turns towards Neo, who looks at me with one of her eyebrows raised.***

 **Me: Yes, most of the reviews will be people shipping us together.**

 **nightmaster000: Yeah, I've always wondered what Neo's backstory was, we never really got it yet so I made it up myself.**

 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Sans: Yeah, I thought it was cool too. hey, maybe I could hook you up with some of my jokes, it will be a 'skeleton' of fun.**

 **Me: How did you even get here?**

 **Logic1213:**

 **Me: Is that so? *Turns towards Neo who was as red as a tomato***

 **War Historian: *Turns towards all of the women mentioned in the review***

 **Me: I mean you're not wrong.**

 **Mountain edge:**

 **Me: See what I mean! *Neo is laying on the floor with her legs curled up to her chest, steam coming off of her head***

 **TheRealCactoos:**

 **Papyrus: NO! I ALREADY HAVE TO DEAL WITH ONE SANS! I CAN'T DEAL WITH ANOTHER ONE!**

 **Me: How did YOU get here?**

 **angeldoesmc: *Neo pumping out her chest with pride***

 **Me: Please don't make her ego bigger than it already is.**

 **TrueNecromancer: Well, I'm glad you're liking it!**

 **MoonDragon713: It's only the beginning of the story, let's not get ahead of ourselves.**

 **Alexa**

 **Height: 5'4"**

 **Weight: 121 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Berserk Mode.**

 **Summary: This will only activate when Alexa's aura has been completely depleted, she get's a massive boost in speed, strength, and durability. She also gets a new regeneration power when it is activated.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: E**

 **Range: D**

 **Jack**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 142 lbs**

 **Age: 24**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Poison.**

 **Summary: Jack is able to apply poison to any weapon he wants to. Jack can bend this poison effect willingly, making it have a variety of uses.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: C**

 **Poll Progression:**

 **ReNora: 30**

 **Arkos: 28**

 **Black Sun: 13**

 **Lancaster: 11**

 **Iceberg: 9**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Cinnabun: 4**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	17. Bitter Taste of Coffee

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Cold Cocoa"

Thought: _'Cold Cocoa'_

Flashback: _"Cold Cocoa"_

It's been a week since the first round of the tournament and ever since then, Mercury has been more open around me. He's more comfortable when we hang out, and more open when we talk about personal stuff like family and all that.

This will definitely make things easier when I try to bring him over to our side, so we can cross him off of the list. Now all that's left to do is get a personal connection with Emerald, so that it'll be easier to convince her to switch sides.

Though bringing her to our side will definitely be the hardest out of the three, considering she has a personal connection with Cinder.

Okay, let's see what's on the agenda for today. Alright, Grimm Studies.

Let's talk about the Phyllostomidae, and before you ask, yes, they are running out of ideas for names.

Technically, there are two types of Phyllostomidae, though we'll talk about the first one first.

The Phyllostomidae's body is mostly made out of flames. It possesses a hard exoskeleton and has bone structures that allow it to fly or glide at high speeds, similar to a bat. It has the same face structure of any Grimm: white skull-like bone mask with red designs.

It has a pretty strong immunity to fire and lightning elements, so it is definitely a formidable enemy. Unlike most bats, however, it sleeps during the night and awake during the day because they feed on the radiation of the sun.

It often stays in mid-air during fights because of its cautious behavior, getting out of reach of melee attackers. It attacks by gliding with its fiery wings and breaths fire when the enemy is out of its melee range, so close-combat fighters like me will have some trouble killing this Grimm. I should definitely work on adding some range to my arsenal, maybe a gun or two.

For obvious reasons, they are vulnerable to the water element. Also, if Hunters are after it during the night, they are rather easy to spot since they are always glowing and the Phyllostomidae do not move one bit during their sleep.

Okay, let's talk about the other types of Phyllostomidae, the alpha Phyllostomidae. Like the normal Phyllostomidae, it possesses a hard body structure and flaming body. Unlike the typical Phyllostomidae, however, its body is harder and tougher to break through.

It also has the power to regenerate its entire body, except its face/head, making it more dangerous than the normal one. Unlike the normal one, the Alpha's do not sleep, not even a little. It is very mobile and looks for food anywhere it goes. Because of its monthly migration, it is very hard to track.

It can be found everywhere in Remnant, so no one knows its exact location.

It fights like a savage beast; it will attack anyone it will sees, even fellow Grimm. It hunts alone, so it's completely independent and does not require a pack to survive. It breathes blue flames, which is more powerful than the usual fire of a Phyllostomidae, and uses its claws and talons to attack.

Melee attackers should also be careful, for its flaming body can and will melt their weapon. Ranged weapons are advised. Ice Dust proves to be useless, as the ice will melt away upon contact. I should really get a ranged weapon...

Like the regular Phyllostomidae, they are vulnerable to the water element. Because of its regeneration, it proves to be a formidable enemy.

However, the only part that does not regenerate is its head, so if you happen to run into one of these things, then go for the head.

If you are melee attacker, a Hunter needs a durable weapon to able to withstand its intense body heat. Maybe I should ask Ozpin if he could help me make a gun.

Alright, what's next? Okay, Remnant History. Let's talk about Vacuo. Not the history of the city, we already talked about that. No, let's talk about the Sand Burial Incident. Now, a lot of people talk about how Vacuo is one of, if not the most, dangerous place to live.

Why do they say that? Well, there are these things called Terramontus that live in the sands of the Sanus. I'll try to keep it brief for you.

These creatures will eat anything they can fit in their mouth, which includes people, plants, animals, other Grimm, and even inorganic materials such as stone and metal. It's usually rare, but the Terramontus has caused disruptions with caravans and rail lines.

It has been discovered that its head armor is made of the strongest material it has eaten, which can range from wood to diamond. Legend has it that there is a huge Terramontus that is twice the size of a normal one and has head armor made out of diamond and Dust.

How big are these creatures exactly? They can range from two thousand to two thousand and five hundred feet long. So yeah, they're pretty damn big. Now despite what I told you, these Grimm are not invincible; it is said that they are more vulnerable on the inside than they are on the outside.

It is also rumored that they have an aversion to a very rare type of plant.

Now let's talk about the actual incident. When people first moved into Vacuo, they just wanted to have fun in the oasis that they dreamed of for so long. However, some people decided that it was time to start building shelter and civilization.

They packed up their things and moved further into the deserts of Sanus. After they found a good part of the land that was close to the ocean, they decided that this would be the start of the new civilization. They built the city and eventually, new settlers from the ruins of the oasis began to settle in the city.

One day however, a Terramontus twice as big as the average one appeared next to the city. The people of the city tried to fight the beast off, but with little to no effect what so ever.

Most of the city had been consumed by massive Grimm, and everyone was about to give up and run into the desert. Almost everyone. Suddenly, a lone stranger who was wandering the deserts saw what was happening in the distance and went to aid the people in their fight.

It would have went just as well as you would expect it, if it weren't for the fact that the warrior was wielding a weapon that could manipulate the elements of fire itself. With the weapon, the warrior burned the beast from the inside out.

Most of the city was in ruins, but the residents still rebuilt what was left of the city. The city was named after the warrior who saved them all, the city of Dahub. It was rumored that the warrior was using the Enchanted Sickles, Flamberge, to kill the Terramontus.

Now, I was currently standing outside of a clothing store with Velvet, waiting for Coco to arrive.

"So why did Coco want to meet us here again?" I asked. Velvet shrugged in response.

"I don't know, she just said that she needed us for something important." Velvet said.

"Hey!" We heard Coco say from a distance. We turned to see Coco walking towards us with a bag in her hands.

"Hey, thanks for coming guys, I really appreciate it." Coco said cheerily.

"So why are we here?" I asked.

"You'll find out." Coco said as she began to walk into the store. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet." Velvet and I shrugged and walked into the store with Coco. As we walked into the store, we could see a wide variety of clothing to pick from, most of which were brown, black, or red.

"Is this where you got your outfit?" Velvet asked.

"Yep." Coco said. She walked up to the counter and started to talk to the cashier. They talked for a few minutes before the cashier nodded and walked into a room behind the counter.

"So where's Yatsuhashi and Fox?" I asked Velvet.

"Yatsuhashi went to visit his family outside of Vale, and Fox went to see his sisters near the Vacuo border." Velvet said.

"Oh, then why aren't you visiting your family?" I asked.

"My family lives in Vale, I see them all the time." She said.

"Oh, okay." I said.

"Alright guys, come on." Coco said as she walked behind the counter and into the room the cashier just walked into. Velvet and I followed Coco into the room. As we entered, we could get a clear view of the room's surroundings.

It had a long bookshelf on the right side of the room, which was completely filled to the brim with books. A table with a coffee maker on the top of it sat on the left side of the room. In the center were four red sofa chairs and a dark wooden table in the center.

At the very end of the room was a wooden desk with a few books scattered on it, as well as a few documents.

"So these are the 'extra men' you were talking about." We heard from behind the desk. We look up to see a woman sitting behind the desk. The woman was wearing a dark brown vest with a black shirt underneath. She also wore a pair of sunglasses, and fingerless gloves. T

he most noticeable part about her, though, was her brown hair that was curled up into a ponytail, and the ponytail was dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel.

"Guys, meet my sister, Mocha Adel." Coco said. Mocha stood up and walked towards Velvet and I.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Mocha said, extending her hand outwards.

"Yes, it's pleasure to meet you." Velvet said as she shook her hand.

.

.

"You have a sister?" I asked. Velvet then lightly smacked my arm.

"What? Oh, I mean, yeah, nice to meet ya." I said to Mocha as I shook her hand. Coco was currently burying her hands in her face, while Velvet just shook her head.

"You sure know how to pick them, sis." Mocha said.

"So why did you call us here?" Velvet asked.

"Well, I didn't call you here, Coco said that she had some pretty capable fighters, and that they would help with today's investigation." Mocha said.

"What investigation?" I asked.

"God damn it. Didn't you tell them anything, Coco?!" She asked.

"I thought you would! I barely know what's going on myself!" Coco defended. Mocha sighed before grabbing one of the documents off of her desk.

"There have been multiple reports of kidnappings in every district in Vale." Mocha said. "We have done our best to track down the culprit, but we've had no such luck until recently."

"What changed?" I asked.

"Most of the victims that have been kidnapped have been important military soldiers, or different Dust scientists." Mocha said. "We've come to conclude that whatever the culprits want, they definitely need a lot of Dust and information."

"You think it's Roman Torchwick?" I asked. Mocha shook her head before responding.

"No, Roman Torchwick's crimes have always been public and open." Mocha explained.

"We've narrowed it down to one location, and that's why we need you guys." Mocha explained before showing us the document. Velvet and I looked at the document before our eyes widened in response.

"The White Fang? Why them?!" Velvet asked.

"That's what we intend to find out. We need you guys to be there in case things go south." Mocha said.

"But this doesn't make sense. The White Fang never needed Dust before, why do they need it now?" Velvet asked.

I have a good idea why.

"We don't know, but we intend to find out. Hopefully, some of the victims are still alive." Mocha said.

"The scientists are likely to be alive, the soldiers, however, aren't so lucky." I said.

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" Mocha asked, one of her eyebrows raised.

"Well, they definitely need the scientists to work with the Dust and different weaponry. The only reason they need the soldiers for is information. They don't get that, they have no reason to keep them alive." I reasoned.

"But maybe some of them are still alive!" Velvet said.

"Is is possible? Yes. Unlikely? Also yes." I said. Velvet's head sunk a bit. I sighed before putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Look, I'm not saying that ALL of the soldiers are dead, I'm just saying that most of them probably didn't make it through alive." I said.

"I know, it's just..." She began, only to stop herself mid-sentence.

"Brandon's right. Most of them probably are dead, but you're also right Velvet, there is a possibility that some of them are still alive." Mocha said.

"Yeah, we just have to hope for the best, but expect the worst." I said to her. All three of them looked at me with confused expressions on their faces.

Alright, I guess not EVERY idiom is known in Remnant.

"It means we can hope for the best, but don't be surprised if we encounter the worst." I explained. They all nodded their heads, understanding what I meant.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." Velvet said.

"Well, we should get going. I can give you the specifics of the investigation in the car." Mocha said.

"Well then, let's move it, team!" Coco said.

"Yes ma'am!" Velvet said jokingly, following Coco out of the room.

"You're not even my leader." I said, following the two.

* * *

As we drove towards the warehouse where the victims and culprit were suspected to be, Mocha started to tell us what would be expected of us when we arrived.

"Alright, let's go over this ONE more time." She said to us.

"First off, I want you all to have your weapons next to you at all times." Mocha told us.

"Secondly, I want you to be on the search for any victims, soldiers, scientists, or civilians."

"Lastly, if you happen to engage the culprit, do your best to capture him. We need the culprit alive." Mocha explained.

"Understand?" Mocha asked us. We all nod in agreement.

"Alright, we should be there shortly, so it would be wise to get your weapons ready." Mocha said. We all nodded and proceeded to make our preparations. Well... Coco and Velvet started to make their preparations, all I need to do is take my sword out of its sheath and start slashing at shit. As we arrived, we could see a swarm of police cars and trucks waiting outside the area.

"Ms. Adel!" One of the officers said.

"Yes, what's the report on the situation?" Mocha asked.

"We've yet to find any traces of the culprit, or victims yet." The officer said.

"Damn. Alright team! I want you all to secure the perimeter! Make sure this bastard has nowhere to run!" Mocha shouted.

"Yes sir!" Everyone shouted as they went to their posts.

"You three, you're with me." Mocha said as she pointed towards us. We nod and follow Mocha into the building. I look at Coco, who had a look of admiration on her face.

"You really look up to her, don't you?" I asked her.

"Yeah, it's only natural. I mean, look at her! She's so determined and confident that we'll find him! What's not to look up to?" She asked.

"She is pretty cool." Velvet said.

"What about you? Don't you have any family you look up to?" Coco asked. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"Well, I used to." I said as I walked ahead.

"What's up with him?" Coco asked.

"Right, you don't know." Velvet said, a tone of sadness entering her voice.

"Know what?" Coco asked. Velvet looked hesitant for a moment.

"Go ahead, Velv." I said to her.

"She was bound to find out eventually." Velvet nodded before turning towards Coco.

"Brandon's...well... he doesn't have a family anymore." Velvet said. Coco stopped in her tracks, a shocked expression clear on her face.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Brandon's village was attacked by Grimm ten months ago, as far as he knows he's the only survivor." Velvet said. Coco just stood there, shocked. She then walked up to me and proceeded to pat my back.

"What are you-?" I asked, only to be interrupted by Coco.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to comfort you." Coco told me.

"I'm fine." I said.

"Are you sure? I know it can be hard to lose-." Coco was interrupted by me shouting.

"I said I'm fine!" I yelled. Velvet and Coco looked at me, shocked by my sudden outburst. My eyes widened, realizing what I just did.

"Sorry for shouting. I just...I just don't like talking about it." I said.

"No, it's okay." Coco said.

"Let's go, Mocha's waiting for us." Coco said, getting us back on task.

* * *

As we walked into the warehouse, we started to look around in the different rooms to see if we could find any of the hostages.

We were prioritizing the hostages first because they would be able to give us information on what happened while they were captured and why the White Fang needed so much Dust. Even if I knew the reason why they needed it, though I couldn't just flat out tell them because I have no proof to support it.

Coco, Velvet, Mocha and I were currently looking in one of the rooms where the scientists did their research.

"Hey." Coco said, grabbing my attention.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked.

"What was your family like?" Coco asked. Velvet turned her head towards the two of us, a concerned expression on her face.

"I thought I said I don't want to talk about it." I said in a low tone.

"I know, I'm just curious." Coco said as she continued to look through the papers on one of the desks.

.

.

"Alright." I said, grabbing Coco's and Velvet's attention again.

"My mom's name was Shawn. She was a teacher at the local school in my village. She taught little kids, mainly preschoolers, about the world of Remnant and all of that." I told them.

"I actually got my sarcastic attitude from her, as well as my hair color, eye color, skin color, height, and reckless attitude." I told them.

"What about your dad?" Velvet asked.

"Never knew him, left after I was born." I told them.

"Do you know where he is?" Coco asked.

"No. I don't care either." I said. Coco and Velvet decided that they wouldn't go any further on the subject.

"I know how ya feel." Coco said. Velvet and I turned towards Coco, confused looks on our faces.

"My dad walked out on us when I was a little kid, which left Mocha and my Mom to take care of me. My mom was already damaged due to the incident in Mountain Glenn, so it was up to Mocha to take care of me." Coco said

"What about you? You have any siblings?" Coco asked.

"Only child. Didn't have the chance to have any more kids." I told them.

"What about friends?" Coco asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I had a lot of trouble making friends. Not a lot kids wanted to hang out with a sarcastic asshole like me." I said.

"Though, I did have one friend, his name was Matthew." I told them.

"He was like the brother I never knew I wanted."

"He did have a lot of problems with girls, though." I said.

"What, did he have trouble talking to them?" Velvet asked.

"Not exactly, he was a bit too forward with them, always wanting to get serious with the relationship ten days into it." I said. Coco began to chuckle, while Velvet had a slight blush on her face.

"How many has he had?" Coco asked.

"I lost track after fifteen." I said. Coco began to laugh harder, and the blush on Velvet's face grew redder and deeper.

"Then there's my Grandma. She's most of the reason why I'm slightly tame with my attitude. She was always scolding me and all that, though she's the best Grandma I could have asked for. She's also the reason why I know what my dad looks like." I told them.

"She gave me this the day before she passed, and before you ask, no, it wasn't to Grimm. Her age just caught up to her is all." I said as I pulled out a silver locket from my jacket pocket.

"What's in it?" Coco asked.

"That's a story for another time." I said as I put the locket back into my pocket.

"Though I did make a promise to her, when I got the locket." I said. "She said that she wanted me to give this locket to whoever I want to spend the rest of my life with. Because that's what my grandpa did." I said.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Velvet said.

"Yeah." Coco said with a blush on her face.

"Hey!" We heard Mocha say from the distance.

"Get your asses over here!" We heard from the other room. We hurried over to the other room to see a man in a lab coat lying on the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Velvet said as we ran over to the man.

"Brandon, Velvet, guard the door! We don't know if they are any White Fang members in hiding." Mocha ordered.

"Hey." Mocha said to the man. The man slowly woke up and began to hyperventilate as he looked around his surroundings.

"It's alright, we're not here to hurt you." Mocha said as she took her badge out from her pocket.

"I'm with the police." She said. The man began to calm down.

"Hey." Velvet said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Do you hear something?" Velvet asked. I listened to the surroundings around me, trying to see if I could hear anything.

"No, I don't hear anything." I said.

.

.

"No, I definitely hear something." Velvet said. I listen again, trying to hear what Velvet was talking about.

.

.

All of a sudden, I could hear footsteps. They sounded really light, but I was able to hear them thanks to Velvet pointing it out. From the looks of it, it sounds like they were very close.

"Yeah, I can hear it!" I said to Velvet, and, looking back at Mocha, she could hear it as well. Mocha looked in the direction of the footsteps, which just so happen to be right behind Coco.

"Coco!" Mocha yelled as she pushed her sister out of the way, only for someone to pounce on her instead, stabbing her in the arm.

"S-sis!" Coco yelled. Coco quickly turned her briefcase into her mini-gun and began to rev it up. However, the man picked up Mocha and held her in front of her, blocking Coco's line of fire.

"Let her go!" Coco yelled at the masked White Fang member. The White Fang member pulled out a gun from his side and, before we could react, shot the scientist straight in the head.

"Y-you bastard!" Mocha yelled at the man. The White Fang member proceeded to sever the lower part of Mocha's arm from her body.

"Ah!" Mocha screamed as her severed arm fell to the ground.

"You.. you.." Coco growled as she started to walk towards the man.

"No! Stay back!" Mocha yelled. All of a sudden, the Faunus impaled Mocha in the stomach with one of his arms.

"Mocha!" Coco yelled as she revved up her mini-gun.

"D-don't come closer!" Mocha said as she coughed up blood. The man shot the window above us and jumped to the top of the building.

"Mocha!" Coco yelled. Velvet jumped off of the walls and onto the ceiling.

"Here, grab my hand! I'll pull you up!" She yelled. I nodded and grabbed Velvet's hand.

"Alright, come on Coco!" She yelled. As Velvet was pulling her up, I began to look at our surroundings to see if I could find the White Fang member that killed the scientist.

"Where did he go?" I asked myself.

"Hey, did you see what the guy looked like?" I asked Coco as Velvet pulled her up.

"No, but we have a good idea on what kind of Faunus he i-!" Coco stopped mid-sentence as she looked at one of the trees near the warehouse.

"Coco, what's up?" I asked. She didn't respond, all she did stare at the trees next to the warehouse. Velvet and I looked towards the trees, and what we found was... the corpse of Mocha hanging from one of the branches.

"Oh my god." Velvet said as her hands flew to her mouth, trying her best to keep herself from throwing up or screaming. I looked at Coco, who had tears flowing down her cheeks. She couldn't even scream. Coco fell to the ground, her glasses falling off her face and shattering on the pavement.

"Coco!" Velvet yelled as she ran towards her. I ran towards the edge of the warehouse where the police were.

"Hey! Get your ass over here! We need help!" I yelled. Half of the police came to get us, while the others went to go and investigate the body that was hanging in the tree.

* * *

(A Few Hours Later)

After the police did a full investigation on the warehouse, they were able to find a group of scientists in the basement of the warehouse. After a few hours of questioning, Coco finally woke up, though she wasn't exactly doing so hot.

She wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Velvet. She just... shut down. But can you blame her? She just watched her sister die right in front of her very eyes.

We were taken back to Beacon after the investigation was done, and Professor Ozpin was informed of the events that have just transpired. He understood the situation, and gave Coco the week off from classes.

Velvet called Yatsuhashi and Fox and told them what happened. They understood and came back to Beacon as quickly as possible.

Now, I was currently walking through Vale, looking for a place to eat.

"I wonder how Coco and her team are doing." I said to myself. All of a sudden, I felt my scroll vibrate from within my pocket. I took it out to see that Velvet had sent me a message.

 **"Coco's gone."** Velvet said.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" I asked her.

 **"I mean she's not at Beacon! Yatsu, Fox and I looked all over the place for her and we can't find her. You're in Vale, would you mind looking for Coco while you're there?"** Velvet asked.

"Don't worry, I think I have a good idea where she is." I said.

 **"Where?"** Velvet asked.

"Meet me at the clothing store we went to this morning." I said.

 **"Okay, I'll grab Yatsu and Fox and we'll head over there."** Velvet said. I put my scroll into my pocket and walked to the clothing store we went to this morning. As I arrived at the store, I could see Coco sitting on a bench across the street from the store.

"Hey." I said as I walked over to the bench. Coco looked over in my direction, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey." She said, sounding drained.

"Mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"Yeah, go for it." She said. We sat there in silence for a couple of seconds.

.

.

"You know, I didn't tell you the whole story about why Mocha was so important to me." Coco said, breaking the silence.

"I do have a few memories of my dad, though none of them are very pleasant. My dad was an alcoholic, so that made for a pretty rough childhood."

"My mom was always the one who had to pay for the family, considering Mocha was still too young to work, and my dad was well...my dad." Coco said.

"My mom was severely damaged after the incident with Mountain Glenn. She can't even walk anymore." She said.

"A few months after the incident, my dad left, and I haven't heard from him since."

"I was way too young to work or cook, so Mocha had to do most of the things around the house."

"She was my role model, the women I wanted to be. It's the reason why I wanted to be a Huntress, to become just like her." Coco said.

"What do I do now? She's gone, and she's never coming back. I didn't even say goodbye." Coco said, her voice breaking as she tried to fight back tears.

.

.

"Look, I'm not going to say it'll get better. Death sucks, especially if you're the one who watched it. It leaves a gaping hole in your heart that feels like it'll never heal." I said.

"But you can't let this bring you down, Coco." I said to her.

"Because if you're brought down, then your entire team is brought down with you. You need to be strong, not for the sake of honoring your sister's memory, but for the sake of your team." I said.

"It's not just about you, it's about your team. They need you just as much as you need them." I said.

"He's right, you know." I heard Velvet say. We turned to see Velvet, Yatsuhashi, and Fox standing behind the bench.

"Well, don't you have convenient timing." I said to them.

"Sorry, we had some trouble looking for you." Velvet said.

"She wanted to see where your conversation was going." Yatsuhashi said bluntly.

"Yatsu!" Velvet shouted, embarrassed.

"Though he is right Coco, we're here for you, whether you like it or not." Fox said as he walked up and put his hand on Coco's shoulder. Yatsuhashi and Velvet did the same. Coco wiped a few tears away from her eyes, glad to have her friends and teammates support her.

"Yeah, thanks guys. Though I think it'll be a while before I get closure." She said.

"Take as much time as you need." Yatsuhashi said.

"Well then, I'm starving. Who wants something to eat?" Coco asked.

"I could go for a meal right now." I said. Coco shot me a mischievous look.

"Why Brandon! Thank you so much for offering to pay!" Coco said.

"W-wait! I didn't-!" I began only to be cut off by Velvet.

"Thanks Brandon!" Velvet said, smiling all-too-cheerfully.

"It is appreciated." Yatsuhashi said.

"Thanks, man." Fox said.

"Alright, let's go, I know this great restaurant we can all go to." Coco said as she got off of the bench.

"I listen to your problems and what do I get? Money taken from my wall-!" I was cut off mid-sentence as Coco pecked me on my cheek. I stood there for a few seconds, shocked by Coco's sudden kiss.

"A little present." Coco said as she winked at me.

.

.

.

.

What just happened?

* * *

 **Journal Entry #18**

 **Well then, I met Coco's sister, only to see her die in the same day.**

 **I hope Coco gets the closure she needs soon.**

 **Who was that guy anyway?**

 **Now you're probably thinking, this can't get any darker, right?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Sure, keep telling yourself that.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **War Historian:**

 **Brandon: W-wife?! I think your getting a little ahead of yourself there!**

 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Brandon: Note to self, never introduce him to Yang.**

 **nightmaster000: Thanks man. :)**

 **Banru: Yep, Pokemon references for the win.**

 **V1DEOGAMER: Here you go.**

 **Overtale: I could have sworn she was Australian.**

* * *

Omake-Misunderstanding (Non-Canon)

"Maybe, you're right." He said.

"When have I EVER been wrong?" I asked.

"When you told me that Alexa wasn't a battle-crazed warrior." Mercury said with a smug grin.

"That doesn't count." I said.

"Hey." Mercury said.

"What?" I asked. Mercury extend his hand outwards towards me.

"Thanks." He said. His eye's widdened in surprise as I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't pull the "I carry the burden of my families past" bullshit on me again." I said.

.

.

.

.

All of a sudden the door flew open and Neo walked into the Hospital room.

 **"Sorry I'm late, Brandon! I just got caught up in this weird argument with this red headed girl about which was better, ice cream or cookies."** Neo said as she walked into the room. Neo's eyes widened as she saw the position Mercury and I were in.

"How many of my co-workers do you know?!" Mercury shouted.

 **"Oh, I'm sorry Brandon, I didn't mean to interrupt you."** Neo said.

"Interrupt what?" I asked.

 **"You know, you two were having a moment, and I just barge on in here and ruin it."** Neo said.

.

.

.

.

"W-wait! No, this isn't what it-!" I was interrupted by the sound of Emerald walking into the room.

"Mercury! Come on, we need to g-!" Emerald stopped herself mid sentence when she saw Mercury and I.

"Oh. Oh ho ho ho! This is rich!" Emerald shouted as she started to laugh.

"Not you too, Emerald!" I yelled.

"Brandon, there's nothing wrong with it." Neo said.

"Yeah, especially with him." Emerald said in between laughs.

"It's not like that!" I yelled.

"It's not?/ **It's not?** " Emerald and Neo asked.

"It's not?" Mercury asked.

"Yes!" I shout.

.

.

.

.

"Wait, why are YOU surprised?!" I yell.

"Well, you did just hug me. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, Brandon, I just don't swing that way though." Mercury said.

"It was a BRO hug!" I yell.

"Are you sure about that?" Ozpin asked as he poked his head from out of the door.

"WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!" I yelled.

* * *

 **Poll Progression**

 **ReNora: 31**

 **Arkos: 28**

 **Black Sun: 14**

 **Lancaster: 11**

 **Iceberg: 9**

 **Cinnabun: 5**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Mocha Adel**

 **Weight: 145 lbs**

 **Age: 26**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: E**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	18. Semi-Final

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Semi-Final's"

Thought: _'Semi-Final's'_

Flashback: _"Semi-Final's"_

The day after Mocha's death was a... somber day. I mean, it wasn't as somber as the day it actually happened, but still. Ozpin told Team CFVY that they could have the week off after the incident, so that they could all be there for Coco in her time of need.

Not me though, I mean, it's not like I provided half of, if not most, of the emotional support she got, no, let's give Brandon the middle finger!

Though in all seriousness, I'm glad that Coco is getting the help that she needs, she really needs it after yesterday.

Alright, let's see, okay, Grimm Studies. Let's talk about the the HviturRidari, or Ridari for short. Don't even try to pronounce the name, I've butchered it many times. Originally a set of armor possessed by a Geist, overtime, these Grimm have fused entirely with their host, making one being and them inseparable. Meaning if their body is destroyed, so is the Grimm.

God knows how they did it, merging with the knight armor, forming a new body and even granting them a unique weapon. If you ever encounter this Grimm more than once, you'll notice that none of them look the same.

Each one of them has a rather unique weapon and fight accordingly to its move set. They are spotted mainly around places where once great battles have commenced, wandering aimlessly around in search of combat.

Their appearance differs from the suit they have possessed but they have mutated over the years, whether it was naturally or through forbidden experiments; like the experiments the infamous Dr. Merlot has conducted.

They usually become completely one with their armor, turning it white with the usual Grimm markings, although no pattern is the same on each individual.

Their 'helmets' are usually lined with red light, indicating how their eyes are formed. In terms of size, they must have expanded their armor, making them nearly 8'2 feet tall. Their mass always differs from type to type.

Professor Port has a picture of a Ridari with a Armet for a head and a slender, yet armed figure, wielding a slim blade which seems to glow with a faint aura, which is impossible as Grimm possess no soul, and therefore no aura. Needs further study, assuming one can survive an encounter with them.

Fighting these monsters is a task only veteran Huntsmen or the mentally insane should do.

They have mastered the art of their one and only weapon and they can take on a squad of advanced Atlas Paladin-290 on their own.

Their fighting style depends on the weapon they wield, so a great sword Ridari is slow, but awfully powerful, able to cleave a Paladin in half with just one blow.

Meanwhile, a Ridari with a lance is highly agile and can speed through showers of bullets and deliver consecutive hits within mere moments.

In terms of weaknesses, they have the usual weak spots; chop their heads off, impale them or just riddle them with so many Dust bullets until they drop. The damn problem? Those hides of theirs are tough to pierce through.

Interestingly, these Grimm never attack a human settlement or a human who is unarmed, mainly just ignoring them and then moving on.

Even during combat, when a human would lose their weapon, they'd divert their attention towards another armed foe instead of the disarmed one. They seem to value honor during a duel and seek constant combat, despite being the very enemy of all in Remnant.

But there are also those which attack anything and will take any opening. The Ferreter, the one beast I present to you, is relentless and merciless.

Once it has you in its sight, it will chase you to the ends of the world and wouldn't hesitate to attack a heavily armed fort on its own, even if it meant its own demise.

They act mainly as the Vanguard and open a way for their fellow Grimm to swarm said fortress.

They prefer one-on-one duels, but will engage against multiple foes at once without hesitation. My advice for approaching these Grimms is a thoroughly coordinated team of Huntsmen attacking it.

Alone?

Heh.

You're not going to be disappointed by its fighting skill. Just don't expect any mercy when they win. They are creatures of Grimm after all.

Okay, next up is Remnant History. Let's talk about a certain tribe, the Branwen.

And before you ask, yes, this is the same tribe that shares the same last name of the infamous Qrow Branwen and Raven Branwen.

Moving on, not a lot is actually known about the Branwen, except that they normally reside within the continent of Anima, though we do know a few details about them thanks to a few Huntsmen that survived an encounter with the Branwen.

Most groups of bandits normally attack villages that have a lot of resources and very few Huntsmen. But the Branwen are different, they attack any village with a lot of resources, whether they are well protected or not is irrelevant to them.

They have the mentality of 'Survival of the Fittest', so they see the tiny little villages as weak and irrelevant, a waste of resources. Though all of the groups of bandits have one thing in common: they never stay in the villages they attack, mostly because due to all of the chaos, the Grimm start to settle into the villages, attracted by all of the negative emotions.

Though the Branwen never really had to worry about the Grimm, mainly because it's rumored that the leader of the Branwen wielded the Enchanted Katana, Masamune, which its abilities are unknown, since those who ran into the leader never lived to tell the tale.

Yeah, not everyone who wielded one of the enchanted weapons was some sort of hero of the past. Anyone can wield the weapons, how it's used is entirely up to the wielder.

I wish there was more information on the tribe, it seems like the people of Mistral, if not all of Remnant should worry about that tribe if their leader is one of the wielders of the Masamune.

I've also been noticing a trend; almost every point in history has at least one tie to one of the enchanted weapons. All we need now is Perun, the Enchanted Axe.

Now, I was thinking on all of these events in the library I worked in.

Is it a coincidence? I mean most of them are just rumors, it could be their Semblances.

"Brandon." I heard Emerald say.

No, they have to be true, I have one of the weapons. What's to stop others from getting their hands on them? Especially since they're so powerful.

"Brandon!" Emerald said, a bit louder this time.

Also, if the weapons are real, that means the Enchantment Book is real as well. What's to stop people from looking for it and creating their own enchanted weapons?

"BRANDON!" Emerald shouted. I jump a bit, surprised by Emerald's sudden shout.

"Huh? Oh, sorry I spaced out a bit there." I said to her.

"Yeah, well, we need to go. Your Grand Tournament match is about to begin." Emerald said.

"Right! I forgot!" I said.

"Yeah, Mercury's already there so we don't need to worry about waiting for him to be late again." Emerald said dryly.

"Alright, okay, let's go." I said.

"What about your weapon?" Emerald asked.

"Hang on a minute." I said as typed in the coordinates for the bookstore to my locker at Beacon.

"What did you-?" Emerald began to ask, only for me to put my hand out, signaling her to wait.

"Wait for it." I said.

.

.

All of a sudden, my locker landed in front of the bookstore, shattering the concrete upon impact.

"There it is." I said to her.

"Huh, convenient." She said as we walked out of the bookstore. I walked over to the locker and pulled out Caliber, strapping it to my back.

"So what, do you have to carry it back to where it originally was?" Emerald asked. I pressed the return button on my screen and the locker flew back over towards Beacon academy.

"Nope." I said.

"You have gotta get me one of those." Emerald said.

"Might be hard, they don't exactly sell them." I said.

"Tell me where they make them then. I'll steal one." Emerald said.

"That might be hard as well." I said to her.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Well, the place is pretty well guarded." I told her.

"What, you think I'll get caught?" She asked in fake offense.

"No, I just don't want to be the one bail you out of that situation." I told her.

"You're no fun." She said, chuckling lightly.

"Also, can I have my money back now?" I asked.

"Damn, you're getting too good at this." She said as she handed me back some of my cash. I say 'some' because I can guarantee you that she kept some of the money.

"I've known you for seven months, I was bound to catch on eventually." I said to her.

"Great, I like a good challenge." She said with a mischievous look in her eye.

"Let's just go to the damn arena." I said. Emerald chuckled before nodding, walking beside me as we walked towards the arena.

* * *

As we arrived at the arena, we could see Mercury waiting for us outside one of the doors.

"About time you two showed up." Mercury said.

"Don't act like you haven't been late before." Emerald said dryly.

"Whatever, what took you so long?" Mercury asked.

"My shift took longer than usual, sorry about that." I said to him. Mercury paused for a moment before looking at the two of us coyly.

"Oh I get it, you wanted some 'private time' with Emerald here. Give yourself a performance boost, that right?" Mercury asked. Emerald's face then proceeded to take a fairly dark shade of red.

"M-MERCURY!" Emerald yelled, hitting Mercury with both of her fists.

"Ow! I was kidding! I was kidding." Mercury said in between laughs.

"Though I'm not hearing you deny it." Mercury said. Emerald then proceeded to kick Mercury in his family jewels. Mercury hunched over in pain, gripping his groin as he fell to the ground.

"It was a joke." Mercury said in between laughs and groans of pain.

"Calm down Emerald, we need Peg-Leg's here in fighting shape if he has the slightest chance of winning his fight." I said.

"He'll be fine, he's survived worse." Emerald said. Mercury then proceeded to get up slowly off of the ground.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He said.

"Alright. Oh, and Emerald." I said, grabbing her attention.

"What's up?"

"I wouldn't mind having a little 'private time' in the backroom of the library." I said as I walked into the arena.

.

.

Steam could be visibly seen coming off of Emerald's face, her face rivaling that of a tomato. Mercury was now laughing so hard that his family jewels started to hurt again. Emerald shook her head and began to chuckle.

"Yeah, keep on dreaming, Casanova." She said as she lightly tapped the back of my pants.

"Emerald." I said, grabbing her shoulder.

"Wallet. Now." I said. Emerald began to laugh as she handed me my wallet, only for there to be no cash in it.

"WITH ALL OF THE MONEY PLEASE!" I yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said in between laughs.

"Why do I get a kick to the balls and all he gets is a few lien stolen?" Mercury asked.

"Because I like him more than you." Emerald said as she walked into the arena.

"Come on Mercury, let's get you some ice." I said as I put Mercury's arm over my shoulder.

"Thanks." He said as we walked into the arena.

As we entered the bar area of the arena, I quickly helped Mercury over to one of the chairs at the bar.

"Hey!" I shouted over towards the bartender.

"Aren't you a bit young to be in a bar?" He asked me. I slammed a pile of lien onto the counter.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Get me an ice pack." I said to the bartender.

"And a bottle of cola." Mercury said.

"Alright." The bartender said as he went behind the bar.

"Hey, I'm gonna go and look at our matchups, sit tight, I'll be back." I said as I walked over to scoreboard.

"Alright, let's see." I said as I looked at the scoreboard, only for the entire thing to be completely blank.

"What the hell is this?" I asked myself.

"Didn't you hear?" I heard someone say behind my back.

"Hear what?" I asked.

"To prevent the other side from getting an advantage over the other, they won't announce who your opponent will be until the actual fight." The spectator said.

"Well that's unfortunate." I said to myself. I walked back over to Mercury to see that Emerald was sitting next to him, looking around the bar.

"Hey." I said, grabbing both of their attention.

"Well look who's back." Mercury said.

"So, who are you fighting?" Emerald asked.

"Didn't say, they want to keep it a surprise." I said.

"Yeah, that sounds like Remington." Mercury said.

"Well, whoever it is, I'm sure you'll be able to kick their ass." Emerald said.

"I don't know, I barely won my match with Alexa and that was only the first round." I said.

"Okay, so she had a Semblance that made her go absolutely crazy, I'm sure that there's no one else like that here." Emerald said.

"Ya never know." I said.

"You're being paranoid." Emerald said.

"No, I'm just being cautious." I said.

"Whatever you say." Emerald said as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

"You Brandon Kim?" I heard one of the guards ask me.

"Yeah, that's me." I said.

"Your match is about to begin, come with us." The guard on the right said.

"Well, wish me luck." I said to Mercury and Emerald.

"You probably won't need it." Emerald said. I looked at Mercury who gave a thumbs up, his forehead placed on the counter of the bar.

.

.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Mercury asked.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

"I've never seen you this nice… well... EVER." Mercury said.

"Am I not allowed to be happy?" Emerald asked.

"No, it's just that I've noticed a change in your attitude, a change that I only see when you're near Cinder." Mercury said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emerald asked.

"Look, I'll just ask it, do you like Brandon?" Mercury asked.

"What? Yeah, why wouldn't I like him?" Emerald asked.

"Not what I meant." Mercury said.

"Then what did you... wait no! I don't feel that way towards Brandon!" Emerald yelled.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Emerald said.

"Alright, whatever you say." Mercury said.

"What made you ask me so suddenly?" Emerald asked.

"Well, you know how Neo knows Brandon as well?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Emerald asked.

"Come on, you've had to have noticed her weird behavior lately." Mercury said. "She's happier and more open, even with us!" Mercury said.

"You think Brandon had something to do about it?" Emerald asked.

"No, I know Brandon had something to do with it." Mercury said.

"So what? What does this have to do with my relationship with Brandon?" Emerald asked.

"Well..." Mercury began.

"Wait, you think Neo likes him?" Emerald asked.

"No, I think Neo's fallen in love with him." Mercury said. Emerald sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before responding.

"Ha, very funny Merc, the only thing Neo will ever 'fall in love with' is ice cream." Emerald said.

.

.

"Wait, you're serious?!" Emerald asked.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but even I know what someone looks like when they like someone a lot." Mercury said.

"Whatever, I don't feel that way about Brandon anyways." Emerald said.

"Whatever, just don't say I didn't warn ya." Mercury said.

It doesn't bother you Emerald.

It doesn't bother you.

It REALLY doesn't bother you.

.

.

God damn it! Why does it bother you so much?!

* * *

I followed the guard down the tunnel leading to the arena.

"You need me to go over the rules again?" the guard asked me.

"Nah, beat the opponent even if their aura has completely shattered." I said.

"Yeah, that's basically it, though I would be more careful with this one." The guard cautioned.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, she had the highest Grimm body count out of all of the contestants, so I would be more cautious with this one." The guard said.

"Alright, thanks for the warning." I said.

 **"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the semi-finals of Remington's Grand Tournament!"** I heard Remington announce.

"Looks like that's my cue." I said as I began to walk out of the tunnel.

 **"For our first contender, we have Brandon Kim, the trickster!"** Remington said.

"Is that an insult?" I asked myself.

 **"And for our second contestant, we have the blonde bombshell-."**

.

.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." I said as the second contestant walked out of the tunnel. She was a teenage girl who wore a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow low-cut crop top with a black crest that resembles a burning heart. The vest had puffy cap sleeves with black cuffs. On the sides of the cuffs, there are two small golden buttons.

She wore a brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object. The same burning heart crest appears on this banner, except golden in color. She wore black shorts under her belt, which resembles a pleated skirt in the back. Over the short shorts, but under the belt, is a white asymmetrical back skirt.

Aside from an orange infinity scarf around her neck, she wore no discernible jewelry.

She wore brown leather knee-high platform boots, with orange socks of different lengths. Her left leg also has a gray bandanna-like object wrapped around the top of her boot.

She wore fingerless black gloves underneath her weapons, which resemble two yellow mechanized gauntlets with a black design.

Her long blonde hair becomes lighter in color at the tips and flows in a loose and messy manner, with a few locks sticking out and a small cowlick on top of her head. She had a pale complexion and lilac eyes.

 **"Yang Xiao Long!"** Remington said as Yang walked out of the tunnel. The crowd cheered Yang's name as she walked across the arena.

"Yeah! That's what I like to hear!" Yang yelled, throwing one of her fists in the air. She then turned towards me and gave me one of her trademark grins.

"Hey, no hard feelings to the loser. Maybe after this we can grab a bite." Yang said as she activated her shotgun gauntlets.

.

.

"Uh, you okay?" She asked me. I shake my head for a moment, snapping back to reality.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine." I said as I unsheathed my sword.

Oh, who am I kidding, of course I'm not fine! I'm fighting Yang Xiao fucking Long!

Okay Brandon, don't panic. You were able to beat Alexa who had a similar Semblance to that of Yang's. The only difference is that if I hit her just as hard as I hit Alexa and she doesn't go down, then I'm basically fucked at that point.

"Are both fighters ready?" The referee asked.

"Yeah, let's dance." Yang smirked as she hit her two fists together.

No.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." I said.

"Alright. Begin!" The referee said. Yang wasted no time to quickly charge at me, using both of her gauntlets to propel herself forward. I quickly activate the Barrier enchantment to block Yang's attack. Yang bounces off of the barrier and lands on the ground with a thud. I quickly go on the offensive, but Yang fires her gauntlets at the ground, propelling herself upward.

As she moved up, she headbutted me, grabbing my collar as she went up. She then reels her fist back before punching me across the face, sending me flying towards the ground.

"Ow." I said as I got up off of the ground. I quickly charge at the area where she would land, activating the Buster enchantment as I ran. Before she could hit the ground though, she fires her gauntlets at the ground, flying upward again. As she moves upward, she fires in different directions, sending her flying whichever way she fired her gauntlets.

Eventually, though, she ran out of bullets and fell to the ground. I ran at her and swung my sword at her, sending her flying towards the wall. She hit the wall with a thud before she fell to the ground.

"Wow, that sword packs a punch!" Yang said as she got up off of the ground.

"You don't know half of it." I said.

"It's pretty big too. Say, are you compensating for something?" She asked.

"W-what?! No!" I yell. She begins to laugh at my reaction. She reloads her gauntlets and fires them against the wall to propel herself forward.

"Son of a-!" I yell, only to be interrupted by Yang's fist making contact with my cheek, sending me flying towards the wall. She quickly fires a few rounds in my direction. I use the Barrier enchantment to block the oncoming shots, and charge at her with the Buster enchantment. Yang grins and slams her fists together, flames appearing around her hair.

"Here we go." I said under my breath. I quickly block one of Yang's attacks with my Buster enchantment, sparks coming off of the two weapons as they clashed together.

"Jeez! What's this thing made of?" Yang shouted, struggling to hold her ground. I quickly slash at Yang, before swinging my sword in an upward motion, sending her flying towards the ceiling. She fell to the ground, but before she could land, she fired her gauntlets at the ground, breaking her fall.

"Gotta say, haven't had this much fun in a while." Yang said. She wastes no time charging at me, she cocked her fist backwards, getting ready to punch me across the room. I activate the Barrier enchantment, but Yang quickly stopped herself, firing her gauntlets at the ground before kicking the barrier.

I was expecting for her to fly across the room, but imagine my surprise when I started to roll across the ground. She then grabbed the barrier with both of her hands before throwing me upward towards the ceiling.

As I fell, the Barrier enchantment faded, leaving me wide open for an attack. Yang reeled her fist backwards, getting ready to deliver the final blow, but I quickly activate the Buster enchantment to shield myself from the punch. I flew across the room, but before I could hit the wall, I dug my sword deep into the ground, stopping myself.

"Gotta say, you are definitely tougher than you-!" Yang stopped herself mid sentence, looking at me with an ominous blood red bleeding into her eyes.

"Oh fuck." I said as I slowly look down at my hand, which had a strand of her golden hair in its grasp.

"You..." She began as the arena began to rumble.

"W-wait, hold on! I didn't mean to-!" I began, but it was too late, the damage was done.

"You bastard!" Yang yelled. All of a sudden, fire surrounded her entire body. She charged at me using Ember Celica's recoil. I try to use the Barrier enchantment to block the attack but it was no use, she broke through the barrier with ease and punched me across the room, shattering my aura.

"Ow." I said as I got up. But Yang wasn't done yet, she began to charge at me again, reeling her fist backwards.

"Alright, let's do this." I said as I activated the Buster enchantment. Blue sparks could be seen coming off of me, my eyes glowing blue as well. I swing my sword in the direction where Yang's attack would be. Our weapons clashed, making sparks as they made contact. I finally swung my sword at Yang, she reels back a bit, I then stab at her abdomen, sending her flying towards the wall.

"Finally, thought I was a-!" I didn't even have time to finish as Yang's aura flared, her eyes now pure red and most of her head being completely consumed by fire.

"Goner." I finished. Yang charged at me, yelling as she reeled her fist backwards. I try to activate the Barrier enchantment, but to no avail, I was to exhausted to make a stable shield.

"SHIT!" I yelled as I braced myself for the pain of Yang's wrath.

.

.

Only it never came. I stood there with my eyes closed for a few seconds, before looking to see what happened. The entire arena went silent, no one making a sound. I look to see that there was a giant hole in the wall next to me, Yang underneath all of the rubble.

"What just happened?" I asked myself.

 **"F-folks, I don't know what I just saw, but the winner is Brandon Kim!"** Remington announces, the crowd cheering for my victory. I let out a huge sigh of relief before sitting down on the floor.

"That." I heard Yang say as she climbed out of the debris.

"Was pretty damn cool." Yang said as she held her hand out.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." I say as I grabbed her hand.

"Though if you don't mind me asking, what was that?" She asked.

"What was what?" I asked.

"Ha ha, very funny. No seriously, how'd you do that?" She asked me. My only response was the same confused look I've had on my face ever since my victory. Yang's eyes widened in shock.

"You didn't see that?" Yang asked.

"See what?" I asked, getting slightly frustrated that no one was telling me what it was.

"Before I could attack you, a silver aura began to flow around you, and some sort of silver armored arm came out from the side of your arm and punched me through the wall." Yang said.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, even more shocked than Yang.

"So not even you knew what it was, huh?" Yang asked me.

"Yeah, this is new to me." I said.

"Well, I did say that we should grab a bite when we were done, so how about it?" She asked.

"As long as you're paying." I said.

"Well, you did win, so I guess it's the least I can do." She said.

* * *

As we walked around Vale looking for something to eat, I began to think about what exactly Yang saw.

So I began to glow with a silver aura and all of a sudden an armored arm came out of my arm and attacked Yang _._

Is it an enchantment?

I tried to see if I could activate it, but as I looked at my arms, I could see that it wasn't the case.

Okay, so it's not an enchantment, then what the hell is it?

It's not a keystone enchantment either, all of the enchantments I've gotten have been power ups, not physical beings.

What was that?

"Hey!" I heard Yang shout, breaking me out of my daze.

"What?" I asked.

"We're here." She said.

"Oh, all right. By the way, can we get another burger? My friend Mercury wants one." I said.

"Yeah, but you're paying for that one." Yang said.

"No problem." I said.

* * *

In the forest outside of Vale stood a mysterious figure, gazing at its architecture, its people, and most importantly, Beacon Academy.

"Hah, guess I'm a bit homesick." The women said to herself. She was about to turn around and head back into the forest, only to stop herself, feeling a very strong presence within the city.

"This feeling." The women muttered.

"It can't be. How can someone in Vale have one of the enchanted weapons?" The women asked herself.

"Is it Ozpin? No, Ozpin would have hidden it from the public, just like he did with the Fall Maiden." The women wondered.

"I must do a further investigation." She decided as she ran towards the city of Vale.

As she walked through the alleys of Vale, making sure that she stayed hidden from the public, she tried to see if she could sense the aura of the enchanted weapon.

"Where is it?" The women asked herself. All of a sudden, she could feel it again, it was faint, but it was still there.

"There we go." She said as she ran towards the aura of the enchanted weapon. She turned the corner to see that there was a boy, no older than seventeen walking the streets of Vale. On his back was the Enchanted Sword, Caliber.

"How did a child get his hands on such a powerful weapon?" The women asked herself.

"Well, no matter, I can ask him all the questions I want when I-!" The women began, only to stop herself, as she laid eyes on the girl next to him.

"T-that's-!" She said, recognizing Yang. She shook her head and walked back into the alley.

"No, I can't risk getting caught. I just have to wait for another opportunity." The women said as she pulled out a scythe. The scythe in question had a blade on the end of it, with a red outlining on the tip of the blade. The handle of the scythe was black with a few curves near the end. The top of the scythe had small little blades at one end, the small blades had holes in them that had chains through them. The blade of the scythe was a pure red blade of energy.

"I hope you're ready for what's to come, wielder of Caliber." The mysterious woman said as she scattered into rose petals.

* * *

"Ah, that was a good meal." Yang said as she lightly tapped her stomach.

"Yeah, thanks for paying by the way." I said.

"No problem." She said. I felt my scroll rumble from within my pocket. I look to see that Emerald was messaging me.

 **"Hey, I need your help. I'm in some pretty deep trouble."** Emerald said.

"What did you do this time?" I asked.

 **"Remember those two guys you beat up when we first met?"** Emerald asked.

"What about them?" I asked.

 **"Well they're back for revenge, and they brought their buddies."** Emerald said.

"Can't you take them?" I asked.

 **"There are a lot of them."** Emerald said.

"Fine, where are you?" I asked.

 **"Remember the warehouse in downtown Vale?"** Emerald asked.

"Yeah." I said.

 **"That's where I am. Get here quickly."** Emerald said.

"Alright, I'll get there as quickly as I can." I said.

"Hey, I need to go and help my friend out with something, mind if I leave?" I asked Yang.

"Sure, go for it." Yang said.

"Okay, thanks." I said as I ran towards downtown Vale.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #19**

 **So yeah, I've officially met Yang, as well as getting the full taste of her wrath in the same day.**

 **Those assholes that I met when I helped Emerald out that day are back, and they're not exactly happy.**

 **Well, I guess this was bound to happen eventually.**

 **I've been meaning to test out a new trick anyway.**

 **Also, what was that arm that came out of my body? It's not an enchantment, so what is it?**

 **Here are some of the reviews that you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response  
**  
 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Yang: The Punisher! I like it. I think you and I are gonna get along a skeleton in the future.**

 **Me: God damn it, Yang.**

 **War historian:**

 **Brandon: Yeah! When is THAT gonna happen?!**

 **Me: Eventually.**

 **Brandon: Why not now?!**

 **Me: Not far enough.**

 **CraazyReader: Oh, I'm just getting started.**

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **ReNora: 32**

 **Arkos: 29**

 **Black Sun: 16**

 **Lancaster: 13**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 5**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Yang Xiao Long**

 **Height: 5'8**

 **Weight: 132 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Energy Absorption**

 **Summary: Yang's Semblance is the ability to absorb energy from the damage she's taken and redirect it twice as hard at her opponent, effectively making her stronger with each hit. Her ability also causes her eyes to change color from lilac to red, which is a "side-effect" of her Semblance, though it does occasionally happen outside of combat. When using her Semblance, she draws power from her hair.**

 **However, Yang's Semblance does not grant her invincibility, and she does take damage from her opponents.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: C**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	19. Emerald in the Rough

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Rough Emerald"

Thought: _'Rough Emerald'_

Flashback: _"Rough Emerald"_

"Goddamn it, Emerald." I muttered to myself as I ran towards the warehouse where Emerald was. I knew that beating those guys up would come back and bite me in the ass in the long run, but no, I just had to go and beat the fuckers up.

"I know I get her out of trouble, but this is a bit much." I said.

"Well, I don't need to fight them, I just need to grab Emerald and get the hell out of here. I'm still pretty beaten up after my last fight with Yang." I said.

"Hope for the best, expect the worse as they say, right?" I asked myself.

"Besides." I said as I pulled out a handful of Dust crystals from my pocket.

"I've been meaning to try out a new trick for awhile now." I smirked to myself as I arrived at the location Emerald sent me.

"Okay, which one is it?" I asked myself. All of a sudden, I heard gunfire coming from my right.

"Probably the one over there." I said as I ran towards the direction of the gunfire. As I arrived at the warehouse, the gunfire died down a bit.

"Huh, maybe they're gone." I said as I walked into the warehouse. Only to quickly walk back outside when I saw the sight of a group of armed men in the warehouse.

"Okay, they're not gone! They are NOT gone!" I whispered to myself. I quickly pull out my scroll and quickly contact Emerald.

"Hey!" I whisper.

 **"Where are you?!"** Emerald whispered through my scroll.

"I'm outside! Where the hell are you?!" I asked.

 **"I'm hiding in the warehouse."** Emerald said.

"Well then sneak out and let's go!" I said.

 **"It's not that simple!"** Emerald said.

"What do you mean?!" I ask.

 **"Well, there's about thirty to forty men. I can't exactly sneak by ALL of those men without being caught by ONE!"** Emerald said.

"Don't you have an illusion Semblance? Can't you just make these guys not see you?" I asked.

 **"Yeah, it only works for ONE person!"** Emerald whisper-shouted back.

"Great." I mumbled to myself.

"Can't you just make one of the guys see a Grimm or something and make him shoot the place up?" I asked.

 **"You don't think I've tried that already? Look to your left!"** Emerald said. I looked to the left of the inside of the warehouse to see a dead body with a lot of bullet wounds in it.

"Okay, can't do that." I said.

"What the hell do we do?!" She asked.

"Just wait until they leave! They're bound to leave sometime soon!" I said.

"You better get your sorry ass out here or else we're gonna blow this joint!" One of the men said.

.

.

.

.

"Scratch that, don't wait until they leave." I said. "Why are you here in the first place?" I asked.

 **"Well..."** Emerald was slightly hesitant to tell me at first but sighed and began to tell me why she was here.

 **"I needed to get some documents for my boss, they just so happen to be here."** Emerald said.

"Just how important are they?!" I asked.

 _'You know why they need them! Stop playing the clueless idiot!'_ I thought to myself.

 **"I can't say, all you need to know is that they're important, and we need them for an 'operation'."** Emerald said.

"Whatever, do you have them with you?" I ask her.

 **"Yeah, I have the documents with me."**

"Okay, we just need to leave with the documents without being caught." I ask.

 **"No, I need to leave with the documents without being caught."** Emerald said.

"Okay, let's beat the guys up and-" I began, only to be cut off by Emerald's voice.

 **"No! My boss specifically said no bloodshed."** She said.

"Of course she did." I said under my breath.

"Okay, give me a minute." I said, thinking hard.

.

.

.

.

"Revised plan, I'LL beat the guys up." I said.

 **"What the hell did I just say?!"** Emerald asked.

"You said that YOUR boss said no bloodshed. I don't work for your boss." I pointed out.

 **"Okay, you have a point."** Emerald said.

"Okay, I'll give you a signal when I start the brawl." I said.

 **"What kind of signal?"** Emerald asked.

"You'll know it when you hear it." I said.

 **"I don't like the sound of that."** Emerald said.

"Wait for the signal." I said as I cut off the connection.

"Well." I began as I pulled out a Dust crystal from jacket pocket.

"Now's a better time than any to try my new trick out." I said. I walked up to the front of the warehouse, making myself visible under the moonlight.

"Hey!" I shout. Everyone turns towards me, pointing their guns at me.

"Who the hell are-!" One guy began, only to be cut off by one of the guys I knocked out in that alley.

"You! You're the one who knocked me out!" He shouts.

"Miss me, jackass?" I asked.

"You're gonna fucking pay for that!" The man said.

"That right?" I asked with a cocky smirk.

"Yeah, and after I'm done with you, I'm coming for your friend! Though I won't just capture her. Maybe I'll make her my servant for a while, I needed someone to satisfy my needs." The man said.

"Good luck with that." I said under my breath.

"So how about we get down to business?" The man said as he pulled out a pair of brass knuckles.

"You're probably about to say.." I began, pointing my index finger at him.

"The name's Butch, remember it well asshole!" We said in perfect unison. Butch's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that I knew just what he was going to say.

"What the-?!" He began.

"Next you'll say..." I began.

 **"You bastard, how the hell did you know?!"** We said in perfect unison.

"W-what the? How do you always know?" Butch asked.

"It's not that hard, I can read idiots like you like an open book." I said with a cocky smirk. Butch growled, smashing his knuckles together.

"Boys! Let's go." He ordered. All of the men charged at me with knives, clubs, and a variety of other weapons. I smirked and activated the Barrier enchantment to block all of their attacks.

"What the hell?!" Butch shouted.

"What did you think it be that easy?" I asked them.

"Rhgaa!" Butch yelled as he ran towards me. He swung his fist at my face, but I simply sidestepped to the left, dodging the attack. Butch reeled his other fist backwards and attempted to punch me across the jaw, but I was able to roll backwards to avoid the attack. Butch then pressed a button on his knuckles, activating the Dust in them. He as well as two other men with knives charged at me.

I dodge the first man's attack, quickly kicking the knife out of his hands and punch him across the face, sending him flying towards his friends. Another thug came at me with a machete, he tried to swing at my abdomen, but I quickly block the attack and slash at him. Luckily, his aura was activated, so I didn't cause any fatal damage. I then swing at him a few more times before sending him flying towards the wall.

Butch swung his fist at me, fire Dust radiating off of the knuckles. I quickly block Butch's attack and swing my sword at his abdomen. I charge at him quickly and connect both of my feet with his face, sending him rolling across the room. At the corner of my eye, I could see four men charging at me with machetes. I smirk and activate the Buster enchantment, swung my sword in a circular motion, and swept all of the thugs off of their feet. I quickly go on the offensive and slam my sword onto one of the thugs, shattering their aura. The other two got up, only for me to connect my sword with both of their bodies, sending them hurtling across the room.

I turn to see that Butch was charging towards me, anger written all across his face.

"What's the matter, tough guy? I thought you said you would make me fucking pay!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" He yells as he reels his fist backwards. I smirk and activate the Buster enchantment. Butch then gets a wild grin on his face. All of a sudden, my sword was shot out of my hand by one of the thugs that were in the room.

"What the he-!" I began, only to be cut off by Butch's fist connecting with my jaw, sending me flying backwards towards the crates on the other side of the room. I hit the crates with a thud, leaving a dent in the crates as I fell down. Butch then begins to laugh wildly.

"Ha ha ha! Without your weapon, you can't do any of those fancy tricks!" He yelled. I chuckle and get up off of the ground.

"Your next line is..." I began.

 **"What's so funny punk?"** We said in perfect unison.

"What the-? Quit doing that!" He yelled.

"Let me ask you a question." I said.

"Did you think my Semblance was just exclusive to my weapon?" I asked as I pulled out a fire Dust crystal.

"What are you-!" He began, only for his eyes to widen in fear.

"News flash." I said. All of a sudden, my hand was surrounded by the same blue sparks that surrounded my weapon when the Buster enchantment was activated.

"It's not." I said as I threw the Dust crystal at the the group of men.

"Get down!" Butch said, but it was too late, the Dust crystal exploded thanks to the power-up from the Buster enchantment. I take out a handful of Dust crystals and applied the full force of the Buster enchantment to them. I threw all of the Dust crystals in different directions around the warehouse, each exploding upon impact to the ground. A few of the grunts were knocked out cold from the blast, while others were trying to tend to the wounds they suffered from the blasts.

"You bastard!" Butch yelled at me.

"What's the matter? I don't even have a weapon and you still can't kick my ass!" I taunted him.

"I'm- I'm gonna-!" Butch was cut off as I started to walk towards him.

"You're gonna what?" I asked as I slowly walked towards him. He couldn't even say anything, he only fell to his knees, fear written across his entire face.

"That's what I thought." I said as I punched him across the jaw, knocking him out.

"Alright." I said as I turned towards the rest of the thugs.

"Who's next?" I asked. The thugs looked at each other quickly, then proceeded to run out of the warehouse and into the night.

"Wh-what the- Hey! You get the hell back here!" I yelled, though before I could give chase to the thugs I was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the warehouse. I turn around to see that Emerald was walking towards me.

"What's got you so mad?" Emerald asked. I looked at the entrance to see that all of the thugs have escaped.

"It's nothing, you got the documents?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're right here." Emerald said.

"Hey." Emerald said, grabbing my attention.

"What's up?" I asked.

"After this do you maybe want to... go out?" Emerald said with a blush on her face.

.

.

.

.

 _'Is she seriously...?'_ I thought to myself.

"N-not like a date or anything! I mean just the two of us, as friends." Emerald quickly clarified.

"Oh." I said, slightly disappointed.

"I mean if you don't want to go then-" Emerald started.

"What! No! I'm fine with that. Sure, we can hang out after this." I said.

"Cool." Emerald said.

"I just need to deliver these documents to my boss." She said.

"Cool, now let's-" I began, only to see a very muscular man to stand in front of the warehouse entrance, blocking our path.

"Go." I finished.

"Great." Emerald said sarcastically.

"You two aren't going anywhere." The man said in a very deep voice.

"So who are you? Their boss or something?" I asked.

"I guess you could say that. Hi, I'm Derek." He said. "Though I have to ask."

"What the hell do you need fake transcripts for?" He asked, pointing at Emerald. Emerald's eyes widened before looking at me with a feared expression.

 _'Wait, THAT'S what those are?'_ I asked myself.

"I-I-" Emerald stuttered on her words, trying her best to look away from my shocked expression.

"Well, personally, I don't care. But I do not appreciate you beating up my men." Derek said as he took out a baseball bat with spikes at the tip of it.

"Now, I'm about to beat the holy hell out of you two." He said as he charged at the two of us. He jumped and tried to swing his bat at Emerald, but I quickly tackle her to the ground, preventing the bat from making contact with her body.

"Look, the whole transcripts thing isn't over, after this, I'm gonna want a full explanation on that. But for now..." I said as I picked up my sword off of the ground.

"We need to kick this guy's ass." I said as I activated the Barrier enchantment.

"Y-yeah." Emerald said as she took out her dual pistols. Emerald activated her Semblance to put Derek under one of her illusions. Derek's eyes widened, he then began to frantically look around the room to see if he could spot us anywhere.

"Okay, now be very-" Emerald began, only for me to activate the Buster enchantment and charge at him, aiming for the gut.

"Wait!" Emerald called out. Derek looked over towards me and swung his bat at my abdomen, sending me flying a few feet.

"What the hell?! I thought you put him under your illusion?!" I asked.

"I can only manipulate what he sees, now what he hears! So you shouting doesn't exactly help the-!" Emerald was cut off as Derek sent her flying towards the crates over on the other side of the room.

"Emerald!" I yelled. I quickly charge at Derek with the Buster enchantment still activated. Derek quickly swings his bat at me, but I block the attack with my sword. Derek smirks and presses a button on his bat, all of a sudden the spikes on the top of the bat began to spin rapidly, sparks could be seen coming off of the bat. Derek then sweeps his leg to throw be off my balance. He brings his bat up to deliver the blow to my body, only for green bullets to hit him directly in the face. Derek turned towards Emerald who was currently on top of one of the crates.

Derek pressed another button on his bat, suddenly the top of the bat flipped open revealing a cannon in the center of the bat. He pressed the button again, firing the weapon at Emerald, but Emerald quickly dodged out of the way of the blast. She fired her pistols at Derek, though he was able to block the bullets with his bat. I get up and go in for an attack on Derek. I swing my sword at Derek's back, sending him flying towards the crates. Emerald jumped off of the crates and fired the chains in her guns so that they wrapped around Derek. She threw him over towards me, but before I could react, Derek fires his cannon at Emerald.

"Look out!" I yell. I quickly activate the Barrier enchantment, shielding Emerald from the attack, but Derek quickly swung his bat at my abdomen, shattering my aura and sending me flying towards the wall.

"Eyes on me!" Derek shouted. I quickly grab one of my Dust crystals from my pocket, activate the Buster enchantment to amplify the effect of its blast, and threw it at Derek. He was blinded by the blast for a brief moment, but that moment was all I needed swing my sword at his abdomen, sending him flying across the room. Emerald used her Semblance to put Derek under an illusion, after that, she quickly ran over towards me, concern written all over her face.

"You okay?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah, it'll take more than that to kill me." I said to Emerald. Emerald chuckled a bit before lightly hitting me in the arm.

"Yeah whatever. Let's finish this guy off." Emerald said.

"Yeah, let's go!" I said as I activated the Buster enchantment.

.

.

.

.

Or at least I thought I did. I looked to see that the blade of the sword was blue, but it wasn't growing any larger and the blue sparks weren't there anymore.

"What the hell?!" I yelled.

"What's the matter? Having performance issues?" Emerald said with a mischievous smirk.

"Is now really the time for that?!" I yelled.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." Emerald said. "Seriously, what's the deal?" She asked.

"If I knew then I wouldn't be shouting 'what the hell' now, would I!" I yelled.

"Alright, I guess you got a point there." Emerald said. Derek, snapping back from the illusion, was currently running towards us.

"Well, you better figure it out quickly, looks like he snapped out of it." Emerald said.

"Okay, let's go motherfu-!" I was cut off as I went speeding past Derek and right into the wall.

.

.

.

.

"Uh." Derek said as he looked at me.

"Don't worry. Everything is under cont-!" I said as I ran towards Derek, only to speed past him, hanging over the edge of the docks.

"You okay there?" Emerald asked.

"Give me a sec-!" I was cut off as I ran into the water, falling into it.

"Is this normal?" Derek asked.

"You have no idea." Emerald said. I climbed back onto the docs, gasping for air.

"Okay, just take it real slowly." I said as I began to walk slowly. I close my eyes and concentrate, after I tried to activate the enchantment. In the blink of an eye, I appeared right in front Derek. Derek picked me up by my hood, looking at me with a glare.

"Are you done fooling around?" Derek asked.

"Yeah." I said as I ran backwards away from Derek, before Derek could do anything, in the blink of an eye I appeared behind him. I slash at Derek's back, sending him flying backwards.

"Emerald!" I yelled.

"Yeah I know!" Emerald said as she fired a barrage of bullets at Derek.

Derek was running towards us, but I quickly blink atop of him and slash at his back, shattering his aura. Emerald gave Derek a quick kick to the face, sending him flying into the water. Emerald sighed in relief as he ran away into the night.

"Well, that takes care of that." Emerald said.

"Now let's-" Emerald began, only to cut herself off as she saw my face.

"Go." She finished.

"I'm assuming you want an explanation about the fake transcripts, right?" Emerald asked. I simply nod my head.

"Okay, but not here, let's go somewhere more… relaxing." Emerald said.

"Alright, lead the way." I said as I followed Emerald away from the warehouse.

* * *

Emerald lead me to some hilltop deep within the forest by Vale. Not the Emerald Forest, it was just a regular forest with plants, berries and animals. As we arrived, I could see various books and drinks next to one of the trees.

"What is this place?" I asked Emerald.

"This is the place I go to if I want to relieve myself of stress." Emerald said. I looked at her with one of my eyebrows raised.

"You mean like..." I began. Emerald looked at me with a confused look before a blush came across her face.

"W-what! No not like that!" Emerald said as she lightly kicked my leg.

"Ow! Okay, okay, I was just wondering." I said as I rubbed the area where Emerald kicked me. Emerald walked over to the tree and sat next to it. She motioned me to sit next to her.

"You want some tea?" She asked as she took out one of the bottles.

"Sure." I said as I grabbed the bottle. We sat there in silence for a couple of moments.

.

.

.

.

"So about those fake transcripts." I said. Emerald flinched a bit, hoping that I would have forgotten about it already.

"Was kinda hoping you'd forget about that." Emerald said.

"My memory isn't THAT shitty." I said. She chuckled a bit before responding.

"I guess it's not." She said as she handed me the transcripts. I opened the file and began to look over the transcripts.

"These are for Haven Academy." I said to her.

"Yep." She said.

"Before I make my decision, I want to know why you need these." I asked.

"Because I want to actually make a difference in this world, for the better." She said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I want to create a world where no one will go hungry. Where everyone will have a home, and no one will be alone." Emerald said. "I'll do whatever it takes to make that dream a reality. Whatever it takes, and if I have to get some blood on my hands, then so be it."

 _'Is this why she joined Cinder? Because if it is, then boy, is she in for a world of disappointment.'_ I thought to myself.

"You sound like you speak from experience." I said. She looked hesitant at first before responding.

"It's because I do." Emerald said.

"You wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"Sure, you were bound to know about it eventually." Emerald sighed.

"Do you know about the city of thieves that's right below Mistral?" Emerald asked.

"Well, I've never been there personally, but I've heard things about it." I said.

"Well, most people see at a place for thugs, murderers, and thieves." Emerald said.

"For me? I see it as my home." Emerald said.

"I grew up in the city of thieves. It's where I learned to pickpocket, steal, and even how to fight." Emerald said.

 _'I thought Cinder taught her how to fight. Then again Cinder doesn't seem like the kind of woman to teach anything to anyone.'_ I thought to myself.

"My parents were, well, now that I think about it, I don't really remember a lot about them." Emerald said. "They left me at a very young age because they couldn't afford to keep me around."

"You mean like they were targeted or something?" I asked.

"No, I mean they didn't have the money to support all three of us so they kicked me to the road and focused on supporting themselves." Emerald said.

"They sound like assholes." I said.

"Well, they WERE assholes." Emerald said.

"When I stopped by their house to see what they were doing, I saw them lying on the floor, dead." Emerald said.

"You know what was the strangest thing is? I felt sad. Why? They were the ones who abandoned me in the first place." Emerald said.

"It's natural to feel sorry when a family member bites the dust, even if they were a complete asshole." I said.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe there was a small part of me that still believed that they loved me deep down." Emerald said.

"Well... I wouldn't go that far." I said.

"Heh, asshole." She said with a chuckle.

"Who took you in?" I asked.

"Well, I roamed the city for a while, looking for food and trying to make ends meet." Emerald said.

"One day, I decided that I would take some of the cash that was in the vault in city hall." Emerald said. I looked at her with a look that basically said 'are you crazy'.

"I was eight, give me a break!" Emerald defended.

"Anyways, it went as well as you would think. I was caught and was sent to the leader of the city of thieves." Emerald said.

"Instead of sending me to the jails or the orphanage, he took me in. He said that he saw potential in me and that he would teach me everything he knew." She said.

"So he taught you how to fight?" I asked.

"Yeah, as well as how to steal, and how to go unnoticed." Emerald said.

"Though he was always better than me, he had this Semblance that specifically specialized in stealth and assassination." Emerald said.

"Now that I think about it, you two have pretty similar Semblances." Emerald said.

.

.

.

.

 _'Wait, what?!'_ I thought to myself.

"His Semblance did a lot of things, though most of them were stealth based. Yours focuses more on giving you slight buffs that help you during battle." Emerald said.

"He even had that weird arm thing that came out of your body. Only he had an entire body, not just an arm." Emerald said.

 _'The leader of the city of thieves is an enchanted weapon user?!'_ I thought to myself.

"What weapon did he have?" I asked.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked.

"Just curious." I said.

"Well, he had a dagger." Emerald said.

"Just a dagger?" I asked.

 _"Yeah, just a dagger." Emerald said._

 _'So he has Carnwennan.'_ I thought to myself.

"He took me in, he treated me like family. I guess you can say he's the father I always wanted." Emerald said.

"Is he still alive?" I asked.

"Last time I checked, he was." Emerald said.

"Then why'd you leave?" I asked.

"Well, I couldn't really do anything from within the city now, could I?" Emerald said.

"Alright, fair point." I said.

"At first it was hard, I had to steal and what not to survive outside the city." Emerald said.

"One day, I wound up in Vale, I was running away from the police after I stole this ring from a jeweler." Emerald said.

"That's when I met her." She said.

 _'Cinder.'_ I thought bitterly.

"She could have easily turned me in. But she... she didn't. She showed me things, impossible things. She gave me the opportunity I was looking for, the chance to make a difference." She said.

"I want to change this world, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that change." Emerald said.

.

.

.

.

"Well, that's some story, though you still didn't answer my question." I said.

"We need the transcripts so that we can get into Beacon." Emerald said.

"Yeah, I know that, why do you need to get into Beacon?" I asked.

"We're... looking for something." Emerald said.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter, you're not a part of it." Emerald said.

"No, I am." I said.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

.

.

.

.

"I'm currently training at Beacon." I said. Emerald promptly spit the tea that she was drinking out of her mouth.

"W-what?!" Emerald asked, shocked.

"Yeah, if you're looking for something, I might be able to help you out." I said.

'If by help you mean completely screw over your plans then yeah, I'll help ya out!' I thought to myself.

"No, you can't." Emerald said.

"How come?" I asked.

"Well, I can't say specifically. But let's just say you'd find my bosses methods...less than agreeable. I really wish I could tell you specifically, but right now you're just going to have to trust me." Emerald said.

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.

"Alright." I said as I got up.

"W-what?! Just like that?" She asked.

"Well, I can't say that I agree with your decision. But I trust that you probably have a good reason for not telling me." I said.

"Although." I said as I turned towards Emerald.

"If it really is 'less than agreeable' like you said, then I hope that you'll realize it soon." I said. She just sat there in silence.

"I'm your friend, Emerald, your REAL friend. I hope you realize the difference soon." I said as I began to walk back towards Vale. Emerald just sat there in silence for a couple of seconds.

"Hey!" I yelled, grabbing Emerald's attention.

"If you decide to go back on your 'operation' then call me. I think I can pull some strings to get you into Beacon." I said as I walked into the forest. Emerald just sat there in silence before calling out to me.

"Wait!" Emerald yelled. I walked out from the bushes towards Emerald.

"Why? Why are you being so nice to me? I'm a thief, a street rat! Why are you still so willing to help me?" Emerald asked. My only response was to walk over to Emerald and flick her in the forehead.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Emerald asked, annoyed at my actions.

"Don't sell yourself low. I don't care if you're a street rat or a killer like Mercury." I said. Emerald's eyes widened.

"How did you-?!" Emerald asked.

"Remember when you walked in on Mercury and I in the hospital?" I asked.

"Yeah." Emerald said.

"Well, he just finished telling me about his old man." I said.

"Oh." Emerald said.

"I don't care what past you came from. If you're willing to lay back and have a good time, then you're cool in my book." I said.

"Besides. Everyone deserves a second chance in life." I said. All of a sudden, Emerald walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my chest, laying her head on my shoulders.

"Thank you." Emerald said.

"Yeah, anytime." I said.

"Now I should probably head back, see you around." I said as I walked into the forest.

* * *

(3rd Person Pov)

After Emerald's and Brandon's talk, Emerald began to head back to the warehouse that she was staying at. She stood in front of the door, the conversation she had with Brandon weighing on her mind.

 _'I'm your friend Emerald, your REAL friend. I hope you realize the difference soon.'_ Emerald remembered Brandon saying.

"Does he-?" She began before quickly shaking her head.

"No, there's no way he can know about Cinder." Emerald said as she walked into the warehouse.

"You're late." She heard from within the warehouse. Emerald froze at the tone of the voice. She looked up to see a woman who had ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes. Her fingernails were painted a dark red. She wore a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, v-neck mini-dress with yellow designs. A blue feather-like accessory adorned her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ended in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees.

A baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the dress' upper back, revealing a black tattoo of what appears to be a pair of high heel shoes placed sole to sole, forming a heart shape, at the same height as her chest. The sleeves ended in a triangle shape, which are wrapped or tied around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists.

"Cinder." Emerald greeted nervously.

"I do not like to be kept waiting." Cinder said. "I expect that you have the transcripts."

"Yes, they are here." Emerald said. Cinder began to look through the documents, but stopped when she saw a blood stain on the folder.

"What is this?" Cinder asked as she pointed towards the blood stain.

"There was a struggle." Emerald said.

"I thought I SPECIFICALLY said no bloodshed." Cinder said, putting emphasis on specifically. She thought about it for a moment. Technically she didn't start the fight, she could easily tell her that there was a person who started the fight. But then Cinder would have gotten suspicious, putting Brandon at risk.

"I'm sorry." Emerald said. Cinder slapped Emerald across the face with her free hand.

"I do not want your apology. I want success." Cinder said.

"Do not disappoint me again." Cinder warned as she walked away from Emerald. Emerald rubbed the area where Cinder slapped her and walked towards her room.

"Damn it." Emerald swore.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #20**

 **So yeah, new enchantment! What should I call it?**

 **Hmm**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **How about 'Speed'?**

 **Yeah, I know it doesn't sound original but it perfectly describes exactly what the enchantment does!**

 **Also I now have an official location of one of the enchanted weapon users.**

 **Hopefully the heart-to-heart I had with Emerald will help her realize that siding with Cinder isn't the best idea in the world.**

 **I guess only time will tell.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **red qim: I mean Arkos is almost a guaranteed ship to happen at this point so I guess I might consider Rose Garden. (Even if they've never met yet)**

 **Raidentensho: Well, it's not EXACTLY a stand, it is inspired by the idea, as well as the Persona's from the Persona series. The weapon is just an ordinary weapon, it's the enchantments that make it unique. Also if Brandon hasn't fanboyed from seeing the members of team RWBY, then I doubt he will if he meets Pyrrha.**

 **TrueNecromancer:**

 **TFS Cell: Yeah, was it?**

 **Author: How did you-?**

 **TFS Cell: Muffin button.**

 **Author: Uh... okay then. Yeah, it was.**

 **Ragnorak16: *Takes out cell phone***

 **Author: Toby, please pick up your character, he's in the wrong franchise.**

 **CraazyReader:**

 **Author: *Puts on sunglasses and starts playing Hell 2 Da Naw Naw by Bishop Bullwinkle***

 **Fiction Fan 369: Was wondering when someone would get the Xenoblade reference. Considering this is a self-insert, he's mostly based off of me, but I also based him off of Joseph Joestar from Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: Battle Tendency.**

 **Storylover213: No, his Semblance is the different enchantments the sword has. The spirit arm thing is something all of the enchanted weapon users have.**

 **nightmaster000:**

 **Brandon: Meh, I'm not complaining.**

 **Author: That's because they're not trying to kill you.**

* * *

Omake-Nope (Non-Canon)

"I wonder what's in stock for today?" Brandon asked himself as he walked towards the continent store named From Dust till Dawn. Brandon was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the women that was right in front of him.

"Oof!" The women huffed.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." Brandon said.

"It's quite alright." The women said.

"Sorry about that, how about we start over? I'm Brandon Kim." Brandon said as he extended his hand outwards.

"Hello, my name is Cinder Fall." Cinder said.

.

.

.

.

"Nope." Brandon said.

"Excuse me?" Cinder asked. Brandon then started to walk towards Beacon, constantly saying nope as he walked.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." Brandon said, leaving Cinder mildly confused.

"What just?" Cinder asked herself.

* * *

"Alright you animals, here's how it's gonna happen." Roman said to a group of White Fang members.

"I want you to-" Roman was cut off by the sound of a person walking towards them.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." Brandon said as he walked in and out of the warehouse.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, what just happened?" Roman asked. The White Fang members shrugged in response.

"You know what? Let's just call it a day." Roman said as he lit a cigar.

* * *

"So then I go in and try to punch him, right?" Yang said to her younger sister Ruby.

"Yeah?" Ruby said.

"Then all of a sudden, this arm just pops out of his body and sends me flying through the wall!" Yang said.

"Wow, he sounds so-!" Ruby was interrupted by the sound of someone walking towards them.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." Brandon said as he walked past the sisters.

.

.

.

.

"Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah?" Yang asked.

"Who was that?" Ruby asked.

"That was the guy I was telling you about." Yang said.

"He seems weird." Ruby said.

"Yeah." Yang said.

* * *

"Okay, let's go over the plan again." Salem said to her followers.

"Watts, you will be going to Mistral." Salem said. Watts nodded.

"Tyrian, I want you to search for the Spring Maiden." Salem said to Tyrian.

"Anything for you, my queen." Tyrian said with a wicked smile.

"Hazel, you will go and meet with Adam of the White Fang." Salem said to Hazel.

"As you wish." Hazel said.

"Okay, you are all-" Salem was cut off by the sound of someone walking towards the room.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." Brandon said as he walked in and out of the room.

.

.

.

.

"What just-?" Watts asked.

"Oh, must be an Omake." Salem said.

"What?" Watts asked.

"Nothing." Salem said with a smirk.

* * *

 **Poll Progression**

 **ReNora: 33**

 **Arkos: 31**

 **Black Sun: 16**

 **Lancaster: 14**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 5**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Cinder Fall**

 **Height: 5'11'**

 **Weight: 136 lbs**

 **Age: 20**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Semi-Fall Maiden Powers**

 **Summary: While the full extent of their abilities is not known, the previous Fall Maiden displayed several astounding powers, including the ability to levitate, summon enormously powerful gusts of wind, telekinetically control leaves and freeze them solid to create deadly projectiles, manipulate the weather and bring lightning down upon her enemies, as well as shoot deadly fireballs. When she uses her Maiden powers, her eyes appear surrounded by a fiery glow. Cinder Fall presumably also gained the same abilities when she became the Fall Maiden, but she seems to have a special affinity towards fire.**

 **It is not known if the four different Maidens have different powers, or if they all possess the same powers.**

 **While Cinder only has half of the Fall Maiden's power, she is still a huge threat to those who oppose her.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Enchantment Update:**

 **Enchantment: Speed**

 **Summary: Brandon, as well as his allies, gain a brief speed boost while the enchantment is active.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: B**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	20. The Promised Fight

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Chapter 8: Caffeine.**

 **Original: During his fight with Team CFVY, Brandon beats Coco and Fox.**

 **New: During his fight with Team CFVY, Brandon only beats Coco, due to his fighting style countering hers in the right situation. I made this change to make Brandon's progression more believable.**

 **Enchantment:**

 **Original Name: Blink.**

 **New Name: Speed. I thought Blink was too similar to every ability ever in any video game.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Promised Fight"

Thought: _'The Promised Fight'_

Flashback: _"The Promised Fight"_

It's been about a week since my fight with Yang, and my little heart-to-heart with Emerald. Ever since then, she's been more... nice to me. Not like the nice where she just doesn't steal my shit, no, she still does that unfortunately.

Though I have noticed that she's been genuinely more nice, though you wouldn't notice it at first, you would have to know her for an extended period of time.

Mercury and I DEFINITELY noticed it, she seems more tolerable of Mercury's behavior, though she still gets annoyed at him from time to time.

But can you blame her? He IS Mercury after all, he's just as much of an asshole as I am.

She's also more open and honest about things. If you want a specific example, she's more open to tell me about her experiences with her foster father, or the wielder of the Enchanted Dagger. I've been more curious about the other possible enchanted weapons.

If they're out there, then they've done a DAMN good job keeping the identity of their weapons hidden. Not that it's particularly hard to keep it hidden, any normal person would say it looks like a normal weapon.

Now, as sad as this may be, this will be our last Grimm Studies session. Though I've saved the best for last, let's talk about the Ancient Grimm. Okay, so not a lot is actually known about these Grimm, they're probably as old as Remnant itself, making them incredibly powerful and intelligent.

There was one professor who tried to do further investigation on these Ancient Grimm, the late Professor Alfred G. Conroy.

He left for Atlas twenty years ago after reports of an Ancient Grimm spotted near the southern parts of Atlas. The only thing he left behind was this letter.

 _"You may or may not believe what you are about to read, my friend, but hear me out."_

 _"In the more forgotten parts of the world, isolated pockets of Grimm live without Human or Faunus contact. These Grimm are old, possibly even some of the first Grimm."_

 _"Of course, this is purely a theory, but it is a theory based on convincing evidence. Throughout history, the Grimm we have seen have changed, albeit subtly. Every so often, a Grimm will be seen that matches a historical account, until it's either killed or ran off. But these sightings are rare and spaced out, both in time and in area."_

 _"Several weeks ago, an Ancient Grimm was spotted in southern Atlas, I will be leaving to investigate this soon."_

 _"If I don't return, get this to Beacon, Signal, whoever will believe you."_

 _"I leave this to you my friend, good luck."_

 _\- Alfred_

This letter was from the files of Professor Alfred G. Conroy. Professor Conroy left on an expedition into an area he believed 'Ancient Grimm' resided two weeks after writing this note, he hasn't been seen since. So yeah...don't go pursuing these things, you're better off not knowing.

Now, all that's left is Remnant History. As you may have noticed, we've been talking about the specific points in history where the enchanted weapons were mentioned. We talked about Carnwennan, Mjolnir, Indra, Rhongomiant, Cronus, Sharur, Masamune, Dgraig Goch, Flamberge, Joyeuse, and Caliber. All that's left to talk about is the Enchanted Axe, Perun.

Okay, well the origins of the weapon comes from Vacuo. Deep within the sands of Sanus was a tribe named the Siwa Oasis. It's actually one of, if not the ONLY, remaining oasis in Vacuo's desert. But how did this tribe come to be?

Well, here's the thing, while some supported or were at least able to tolerate the newfound government in Vacuo, some of Vacuo's citizens weren't exactly happy with the new rules. So a group of people packed up their shit and moved deeper into the desert, similar to the sand burial indecent only this time they didn't have to deal with giant sand worms.

But that doesn't mean that they didn't have their own fair share of problems. Because they had possibly the only oasis in Vacuo, that made them a prime target for bandits or more developed kingdoms.

Both wanted it for the same reason, but for different purposes. The bandits wanted it so that they had enough resources to go and attack the next village they set their eyes on. More developed kingdoms... or Atlas, wanted the land for their resources so that they can use them to develop their own kingdoms.

Though, unlike most of the oasis' that were attacked, this one in particular had a lot of warriors that came from Vacuo... Okay, I won't beat around the bush, one of the warriors had the Enchanted Axe, Perun, so they were able to fight off most of the attacks held at the oasis.

Not a lot is known about this axe, hell, next to nothing is known about the axe.

Eventually, Atlas got tired of losing men and decided to stop all attempts to take the land. As for the bandits... well there's a reason why Vacuo doesn't have a lot of problems with bandits anymore.

Well, that's about it for the important stuff in Remnant History, anything else was either boring, short, not important, or in some cases, all three. So yeah, I spared you all the unimportant shit.

Now, I was currently waiting for Ozpin outside Beacon's weapon armory.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" I asked myself. After what seemed like hours, I could finally see Ozpin in the distance, holding his mug of coffee.

"What the hell took you so long!?" I yelled.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way." Ozpin said with a smirk.

.

.

"I. Hate. You. SO. FUCKING. MUCH!" I yelled.

"Oh, I know." Ozpin said with a chuckle.

"Well, whatever. Is it ready yet?" I asked.

"Yes, it took a long time to develop it so that it would work with your weapon's enchantments but yes, it is ready." Ozpin said.

"Thank god! I was hoping that I would have it in time for the finals." I said.

"Yes, come inside, Jack and Geoff have it ready for you." Ozpin said as he walked inside. I nodded and followed him inside. As we walked inside, I could hear a very loud explosion from the room behind the counter.

"Uh." I began, only to be stopped by Ozpin.

"Give it a minute." Ozpin said.

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"GOD DAMN IT, GAVIN!" I heard a very loud voice shout from the room behind the counter.

"What the-?" I began, only to be stopped by Ozpin.

"Brandon, I have met a lot of people over the course of my life, and during that time, I have never met a group of individuals nearly as bizarre as these men. I have learned that it is probably best to not question their actions." Ozpin said.

 _'Damn, even Ozpin can't figure out what goes through the minds of the Achievement Hunter crew.'_ I thought to myself.

"Excuse me." Ozpin said. All of a sudden, I could see a group of men scrambling out of the door. The first person to come out of the door was a tall man with black hair and a thick mustache. He wore a black shirt with a white hand holding up a middle finger, as well as a pair of brown cargo jeans. His arms had a variety of tattoos, but the most noticeable feature was a scar he had on his left arm.

 _'Well that's new.'_ I thought.

The second person was a tall man with orange hair and a short orange unnerving beard, as well as a pair of glasses placed upon his face. He wore a gray shirt that had the same beard he wore upon his face, and a pair of brown shorts. Similar from before, the man had a scar across his left eye, and speaking of his left eye, it was pure white.

The third person was a tall man with curly brown hair, a pair of glasses placed upon his face. He wore a red shirt with a stack of dynamite that had a frowning yellow face in the center of it, and a pair of dark blue jeans. While he didn't have nearly as many tattoos as the first man, he still had some visible ones that were on the lower parts of his arms. But the one part that caught my attention the most was the pair of bear ears that were on his head.

 _'How fitting.'_ I thought to myself sarcastically.

The fourth person was a short man with messy brown hair and a very short beard on his face. He wore a similar shirt that the third person was wearing, only instead of a frowning yellow face, his stack of dynamite had a smiling yellow face on the center of it, and a pair of black jeans.

The fifth person was a tall man with brown hair and a very short beard on his face. He wore an army green shirt that had a Boarbatusk in a hole, and above the hole were the words 'Edgar is the one in the hole' written in big bold letters, as well as a pair of dark brown jeans. The most noticeable, feature, however was the prosthetic left leg he had.

 _'Wow, this universe was not nice to Ryan.'_ I thought to myself.

The sixth and final man was a short man with brown hair, but the top of his hair was green. He wore a white shirt with the words 'I am monster truck' written on the front of the shirt, a pair of sunglasses on his face, and a pair of gray shorts.

"Brandon, allow me to introduce to you the Achievement Crew." Ozpin said.

"Hey kid, I'm Geoff." Geoff said.

"I'm Jack." Jack said.

"The name's Michael." Michael said.

"Gavin!" Gavin exclaimed.

"I'm Ryan." Ryan said.

"Jeremy." Jeremy said.

"Heya, the name's Brandon." I said as I raised my hand to greet them.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, how about we get down to business." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, so where's the guy with the sword that Michael and Gavin couldn't blow up?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, I have a few questions for him." Michael grumbled.

"He's right here." Ozpin said as he put his hand on my head.

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"WAIT WHAT?!" Michael and Gavin yelled. The other men looked at me with their eyes wide.

"This is the guy who has the indestructible sword?!" Michael asked.

"Yes, he is." Ozpin said.

"Damn, where the hell did you get a weapon like that, kid?" Jack asked.

"Family weapon." I said.

"What's the sword made out of?" Jeremy asked. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

"What do you mean you don't fucking know?!" Michael asked.

"I just slash at shit, I don't know what the weapon's made out of." I said.

"Alright, fair enough." Michael said.

"So where'd you pick this one up, Oz?" Geoff asked.

"Right outside of Beacon, I saw potential in him so I decided to train him." Ozpin said.

"Damn, you're one lucky kid." Geoff said.

"I question that sometimes." I said lowly.

"Damn, that bad?" Jack asked. I look towards Ozpin with my eyes narrowed.

"You have no idea." I said.

"Well then kid, it took awhile to develop, but we managed to finish it." Geoff said.

"Cool, so can I have it? I'm kinda in a hurry." I said.

"What's the rush?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I'm participating in this tournament, and my finals match is just about to begin. I would have gotten there on time but SOMEONE ran into a black cat." I said as I glared at Ozpin.

"It had to be done." Ozpin said. The Achievement Hunter crew began to laugh.

"Ha ha! You never change Ozpin." Jack said. "Jeremy, can you go get it?" Jack asked Jeremy.

"Sure, be right back." Jeremy said.

"So kid, how's training with Ozpin?" Jack asked. I stood there in silence before I responded.

"Well, I was never that much of a religious man. But if hell exists, I can't imagine that it'll be too far off from what this asshole does to me." I growled. Ozpin simply chuckled at my statement.

"Damn, that's rough." Geoff said.

"You have no idea." I said. Jeremy then walked out of the door at the back of the room, carrying a small box in his arms.

"Here ya go, kid." Jeremy said as he handed me the box. I smirked and grabbed the box out of Jeremy's hands and opened it.

"Well, what do ya think?" Ryan asked.

"Oh ho ho! I'm gonna have SO much fun with this." I said with a cocky smirk.

* * *

After my little encounter with the Achievement Hunter crew of the RWBY universe, I headed towards the arena for my final match against Mercury.

"Boy, is he in for a surprise." I said with a grin. As I arrived at the arena, I could see that Emerald and Neo were waiting for me outside of the arena.

"Well, you took your sweet time." Emerald said.

"Sorry, I was busy." I said.

 **"What could possibly be more important than being around little old me?"** Neo asked.

"I'm right here." Emerald said.

"Oh, yeah, Emerald too." Neo said.

"Gee, thanks." Emerald said dryly.

"You're welcome!" Neo said with a grin.

"If you're wondering, I was picking up a little surprise for Mercury." I said to them.

"What kind of surprise?" Emerald asked.

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if told you now would it?" I asked.

 **"You said it was for Mercury though!"** Neo said.

"I know, I just thought it'd be more fun to keep it from you two." I said.

"Asshole/ **Asshole**." Neo and Emerald both said.

"I try." I said.

"Where's Mercury?" I asked.

"He's waiting inside for you." Emerald said.

"Well, let's not keep him waiting. We all know how impatient he can be." I said as I walked into the arena's bar. As soon as I walked in, I headed straight to the bar, because I knew that's exactly where Mercury would be. As we walked by the bar, we could see Mercury laying face down on the bar, snoring loudly. I pushed my index finger against my lips, telling Emerald and Neo to keep quiet. They both nodded, understanding what I was trying to do. I slowly creep towards Mercury, and as soon as I got over him, I violently shake his shoulders and began to scream.

"AHHHHH! AHHHHH!" I screamed, Mercury jumped, screaming along with me.

"GAH! WHAT!? WHAT HAPPENED!?" Mercury asked. Mercury looked at me to see that I was laughing, he looked behind me to see that Emerald and Neo were laughing just as hard.

"Prick." Mercury said as he punched my arm.

"I'm just messing with ya." I said. Emerald and Neo turned towards each other and smiled mischievously.

"Hey Mercury, you better watch out, Brandon has a 'surprise' for you." Emerald said.

"Emerald!" I yelled.

 **"Yeah, you're in for a real 'good time'."** Neo said.

"Neo! What the- wait 'good time'?" I asked as I turned towards Mercury who was currently wearing a very shocked and confused face.

"Good time?" I asked myself.

.

.

.

.

"Wait! No! No! No! No! That's not what I meant by 'surprise'!" I yelled.

"It's fine Brandon." Emerald said.

 **"Yeah, we won't think any less of you."** Neo said.

"You're not helping!" I yelled. Emerald and Neo began to laugh, and soon, Mercury joined in on there laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." I said.

"Hey." We heard. We turn to see two guards standing in front of us.

"Mercury, Brandon. You're up." The guard on the right said.

"Well then, about time we had that rematch." I said to Mercury.

"Won't be any different from last time. Besides, I know all of your tricks." Mercury said.

"Not all of them." I said with a smirk.

"Emerald told me about your speed power." Mercury said.

"Emerald!" I yelled. Emerald simply started to whistle in response.

"Yeah, well I picked up a new trick on my way here." I said to Mercury.

"Good, would have been predictable if you had the same old bag of tricks." Mercury said as we got up and followed the guards.

* * *

We followed the guards through the tunnel that lead to the arena.

"Do you need us to-" One of the guards said, only to cut off by Mercury.

"We made it to the final's, why the hell would we need to hear the rules again?" Mercury asked.

"Good point." The guard on the right said.

"Good luck to the both of you." The guard on the left said.

"Thanks, won't need it." Mercury and I said as we walked towards the arena.

"So, who do you think's gonna win?" The guard on the left said to the guard on the right.

"I don't know, that Mercury kid's shown that he's able to fight, even if he's under the effects of poison. Not to mention he's the son of the legendary Marcus Black." The guard on the right said.

"Yeah, but that Brandon kid has managed to pull through some pretty tight situations. Let's not forget that arm thing that came out of him in the match with that Xiao Long chick." The guard on the left said.

"Yeah, was able to send her flying through the wall with one punch." The guard on the right said.

"Kid's full of surprises." The guard on the left said.

"What are they talking about?" Mercury asked.

"Probably betting who will win." I answered.

"Probably." Mercury said.

 **"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the final match of Remington's Grand Tournament!"** Remington announced.

"Think that's our cue." Mercury said.

"Try not to get your ass kicked." I told him.

"Same to you." Mercury said as he extended his fist. I smirked and bumped my fist with his own.

 **"On our right, we have the boy with the spirit arm, please give it up for Brandon Kim!"** Remington said. I could hear the crowd cheering my name from outside the tunnel.

" **On our left, we have the former assassin, please, let me hear it for Mercury Black!** " Remington said. We could hear people cheering Mercury's name from outside the arena. We walked out and walked to our respective sides. I looked up to see that Neo was waving the same flag she was waving during the regular tournament. I smiled and waved back at her. I look towards Emerald who was currently giving Neo a comedic glare. Seeing this, Neo stuck her tongue out at Emerald, only deepening Emerald's glare.

"Are both sides ready?" The referee asked. We both nod. I unsheathed my sword, while Mercury gets into a martial arts stance.

"Then, begin!" The referee said. As soon as he told us to begin, I activated the Speed enchantment and rushed towards Mercury. Over the course of the week, I was able to figure out how to manipulate the amount of speed I was getting from the enchantment, making it much easier to move around, though he was able to block my attack with his boot, pushing me away with his Semblance.

After he pushes me away, he uses his Semblance again to launch himself towards me. The Speed enchantment still activated, I quickly move to my left dodging the attack. After I recovered, I quickly dash at Mercury, slashing at his abdomen as I moved past him. I wasn't done there though, I quickly move towards him, slashing at him again. I repeat this barrage of attacks for a few seconds before I quickly move towards the wall, making a loud thud upon impact.

.

.

I said I could manipulate the speed, I never said I had complete control over it. Sometimes I'll lose control of the enchantment and it just decides that it's gonna make my body move at the highest speed possible without warning me. I get up off of the ground to see that Mercury was laughing, holding his sides as he laughs.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen!" He said in between laughs.

"Shut up! You try and control this stupid Semblance!" I yelled.

"Yeah, whatever you say." Mercury said with a shrug. After he calmed down, Mercury ran at me, swinging his leg in an upward motion before bringing it down, kicking me straight on the head.

After I recover, I quickly activate the Buster enchantment and swing my sword at Mercury. He backflipped, only to be knocked towards the wall by the blade extending in range.

He quickly recovers and uses his Semblance to launch himself off of the wall and straight towards me. I quickly switch to the Barrier enchantment to block Mercury's attack. After Mercury hit the barrier, I lower the Barrier and quickly reel my sword backwards before bringing it down as Mercury landed.

I go in for another attack, only for Mercury to kick me in the chin, sending me flying upwards. He fires two wind rockets at me, but I quickly use the Barrier enchantment to block the attacks. Mercury smirks and kicks the barrier. As his boots made contact, he activated his Semblance, sending me flying towards the wall and shattering the barrier.

"You know, you should really give me the name of that girl. I need to thank her for showing me that trick she used with your barrier." Mercury said. I dust myself off and activate the Speed enchantment.

I ran towards Mercury at speeds that would rival Ruby's Semblance, slashing at Mercury as I ran past him. As I landed on the wall, I launch myself at Mercury, activating the Buster enchantment as I moved towards Mercury.

When I came into range of attack, I swing my sword at Mercury, sending him flying towards the wall. Mercury gets up off of the ground and quickly runs in my direction. We trade blows for a few seconds before Mercury back flipped away from me.

Noticing that he was about to use his Semblance to propel himself into the air, I quickly activate the Enchant enchantment to power-up Mercury's Semblance.

As Mercury landed, he activated his Semblance to propel himself back upward... only to be launched straight towards the ceiling, making a loud thud as he hit the top of the room.

"Ha! Ain't so funny when your own Semblance works against you, huh!" I yelled. Mercury smirks and begins to shoot wind rockets around the room.

"Great." I said sarcastically. I quickly dash towards Mercury, activating the Buster enchantment as I ran towards him. Mercury smirks and jumps as I swing my sword at him, landing on the blade of the sword. I shook him off my sword, but Mercury used his Semblance to launch himself towards me, digging both is boots in my abdomen. All of a sudden, the wind rockets that surrounded me came speeding towards me, exploding as they made contact with my body.

"Damn, that's gotta hurt." Emerald said from the crowd.

 **"What about that trick that Brandon told us about?"** Neo asked.

"Guess he never got a chance to use it." Emerald said. Mercury turned towards me and began to dust himself off.

"Sorry man, better luck next time." Mercury said with a cocky grin.

 _'Guess now would be a better time than ever to show everyone that new trick._ ' I thought to myself.

"Maybe I'll give you some of the reward money. How about one thousand? No? Two thousand? How about-! " Mercury was cut off by the sound of a loud bang filling the stadium. All of a sudden, Mercury felt something small, but hard hit his abdomen, sending him flying towards the wall.

"No thanks." Everyone heard me say from within the dust cloud. As the dust settled, everyone could see a silver model 500 double-action revolver with a black handle in my left hand. The revolver itself looked like the standard revolver, only with an extra barrel below the original barrel. The cylinder of the gun has also been modified to release to the right, rather than the left. But the most noticeable features were the various glowing markings around the gun.

"I'll be taking all of the prize money." I said.

"Oh, and by the way." I said as I pointed my revolver at Mercury.

"I have a gun now." I said as I fired the gun again, but instead of a regular bullet, the bullet that came out of the gun was glowing blue. Mercury quickly dodged before getting hit by another bullet again.

"Gah! What the hell are those bullets made of?!" Mercury asked.

"They're just regular bullets." I smirked.

"Bullshit they are!" Mercury shouted.

"Well, my Semblance doesn't apply to just my sword." I said to Mercury.

"No, it can move to other objects as well, such as Dust crystals, bombs, or in this case," I said as I pointed the revolver at Mercury again.

"Bullets." I finished as I fired a round at Mercury.

"Shit!" Mercury shouted as he used his Semblance to propel himself upward. I chuckle and point my gun at Mercury and fired. Mercury tried to use his Semblance to dodge, but the bullet hit one of his prosthetic legs. As Mercury fell towards the ground, I unsheathe my sword and activate the Buster enchantment, hitting Mercury as he fell to the ground.

Mercury struggled to get up at first but was quickly able to recover from the recent attack.

"So is THIS the surprise you were talking about?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah, this is it." I said as I twirled the gun around with my index finger.

"Well, you sure as hell surprised me." Mercury said as he used his Semblance to launch himself towards me.

"Oh, and there's also this cool feature that comes with being able to apply your Semblance to the weapons you have." I said as I ducked under Mercury's attack.

"Charged shots." I said as I pulled the trigger, firing the weapon. As the weapon fired, the ground beneath me cracked a bit, as well as sending Mercury flying towards the ceiling, shattering his aura. Mercury landed on the ground with a loud thud, making a small dust cloud as he hit the ground. When the dust settled, Mercury stood up, looking at me with his gray eyes. A few seconds past as we both stared each other down.

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All of a sudden, Mercury collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily as he laid there.

"It's all over! The winner of the tournament is Brandon Kim!" Remington announced. The crowd went wild, various people cheering my name.

"What was that?!" I yelled, cupping my hand around my ear.

"Hell yeah!" I hear Emerald yell. Neo tapped Emerald on the shoulder and handed her her scroll.

"Neo says "Good job! Maybe after you're done we can-!" Emerald stopped herself, blushing wildly as she read further into Neo's message.

"I am NOT reading the rest of that message!" Emerald shouted as handed Neo's scroll back to her.

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.

 _'Yeah, I don't want to know.'_ I thought to myself as walked towards Mercury.

"Hey." I said as I shook Mercury's shoulders.

"Well, looks like you won the rematch, just like you said." Mercury said as he sat down on the floor.

"Told you I'd kick your ass." I said as I extended my hand outwards.

"Good job you two!" We heard someone say. Mercury and I turned around to see that Remington was walking towards us with two briefcases in his hands.

"Throughout all my years hosting tournaments, that fight was the second most exciting fight I've ever experienced." Remington said.

"What was the first?" I asked.

"Well, there was this chick that had these two sickles that could produce a lot of fire." Remington said.

 _'Sickles that produce fire?'_ I thought to myself.

"Now that I think about it, she had something similar to your spirit arm." Remington said.

 _'Flamberge!'_ I thought to myself.

"Weird, I thought Semblances were an exclusive thing." Mercury said.

"Yeah, I thought the same." Remington said as he place the two briefcases in front of us.

"Here's the prize money." Remington said. We took the briefcases and opened them up to see the money that lay inside.

"Hm hm hm hm hm!" I chuckled as my eyes came into contact with all of the money.

"Right, I forgot there was a second place." Mercury said.

"Well boys, enjoy your money. Right now I have a lot of cleaning up to do." Remington said.

"All right, let's get out of here." I said to Mercury.

"Yeah, let's go." _Mercury_ said as he got up from the floor.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to loan some of that extra lien you have?" Emerald asked.

"Nope." I simply said.

 **"Surely you'll loan some to such an adorable girl."** Neo said.

"Nope." I said, making Neo's head drop a bit.

"How about me?" Mercury asked.

"You have your own money!" I said.

"Not as much as you!" Mercury said.

"Well sucks to be you! You'd probably just take the rest of it!" I said as I pointed to Emerald.

"You'd just spend it all on ice cream!" I said as I pointed to Neo.

"And you... well... I don't actually know what you spend your money on." I said as I pointed to Mercury.

"Meh, I still don't know what to do with it." Mercury said.

"Exactly why I'm not giving any of it to you!" I yelled. All of a sudden, I heard a vibrating noise of some sort from close by. I took my scroll out of my pocket, but when I looked, I didn't seem to have any messages in my inbox.

"Hey." Emerald said, grabbing my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"Sorry, our boss wants us back, we've been out long enough." Emerald said.

"Well alright then, I won't keep ya." I said as I waved goodbye to them as they walked away.

 _'Now that they're gone, I can finally think about Flamberge in peace.'_ I thought.

 _'Okay, so far, this is what I know. Emerald's adoptive father is the wielder of Carnwennan, and some unnamed woman is the wielder of Flemberge.'_ I thought to myself.

 _'Damn, at least I have a location for one of them at least. I don't even know where that kind of woman can be.'_ I thought to myself. Before I could dive any deeper into the topic, I felt my scroll vibrate, alerting me that I was getting a message. To my surprise and slight annoyance, it was from Ozpin.

"Brandon, come to my office quickly, there is something we must discuss." I read.

"Well, I guess I can think about it later." I thought to myself as I typed my response onto my scroll.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." I said as I started to walk towards the bull head station.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_**

"If there's one thing I hate about these tournaments, it's cleaning up afterwards." Remington muttered to himself.

"Hello Remington." A voice said from within the shadows. Remington quickly pulled out his shotgun and pointed it at the mysterious person.

"Who's there?" Remington asked. The person came out of the shadows, revealing a very tall and muscular man with dark hair and a leather jacket.

"Don't you remember?" The man asked as he pulled out a knife.

"Sorry kid, I'm not good at remembering names." Remington said.

"You're the guy who killed my brother!" The man said.

.

.

"Brother? Who?" Remington asked.

"Don't you remember? He was an assassin, just like me and you killed him!" The man said, getting angrier by the second.

"A lot of assassins have been after me, kid." Remington said as he kicked a few pebbles over to the man.

"You son of a bitch! You killed him and you don't even remember! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?!" The man yelled.

"Look, kid, do you even know why I started these tournaments?" Remington asked.

"Why should I care?!" He yelled.

"Well, you see, I was a Huntsman originally." Remington said.

"Wanted the thrills, to feel that sense of excitement again."

"I did, but only for a while. When you have a powerful Semblance like mine, fights kinda start to get boring." Remington said.

"You see, I can turn anything I touch into a bomb."

"Including the pebbles beneath your feet." Remington said as he pushed his thumb down on his fingers. All of a sudden, the pebbles started to explode, creating a blast big enough to shatter the assassins aura and kill him in the process.

"You bastar-!" He didn't have time to finish as the bombs beneath his feet turned him to ashes.

"Like I said." Remington began as he put down his shotgun.

"Too easy." He finished.

* * *

 ** _Ozpin's office_**

"So why did you call me here?" I asked as I walked into Ozpin's office.

"Well, we have a report on the Merlot situation." Ozpin said.

"About time, so where am I heading?" I asked.

"The Forever Fall forest." Ozpin answered.

"Huh, haven't been to Forever Fall yet." I pondered out loud.

"It's quite beautiful." Ozpin said.

"So who's gonna be guiding me or whatever?" I asked.

"Doctor Oobleck will be the one to guide you through the forest." Ozpin said.

"Cool, what exactly am I looking for anyway?" I asked.

"There have been multiple reports on various unidentified cargo ships picking up crates of Grimm in the Forever Fall forest. We need you to go investigate." Ozpin said.

"Alright, so when am I leaving?" I asked.

"Tomorrow." Ozpin answered.

"Of course I am." I grumbled.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #21**

 **So we're finally getting back into the whole Merlot situation. About time.**

 **Also. I've found out about the wielder of the Enchanted Sickles, Flamberge.**

 **Doesn't really help that I only know the gender.**

 **Well, whatever.**

 **Also. I FINALLY got a gun. This will definitely come in handy in the future.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:**

 **DaToskin: Maybe, what do you think, Salem?**

 **Salem: Well, we haven't actually met yet so I don't see the harm.**

 **Me: Cool.**

 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Penny: Hello there, friend! Does your name happen to be Brandon?**

 **Me: Oh! Well it's a bit early for you to show up, but yeah, that's me.**

 **Penny: How would you like to go and 'hang out' as the people in Vale call it?**

 **Me: Uh, sure.**

 **Penny: Great! That's Sansational!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Me: Who told you how to say that word?**

 **Penny: Oh, it was this weird skeleton man I met earlier said it was the right way to say it.**

 ***Pulls out phone and dials a number***

 **Me: TOBY! SANS! OUTTA HERE! NOW!**

 **Penny: Who's Toby?**

 **Me: Some asshole who won't pick up his character.**

 **CraazyReader:**

 **Salem: I may be evil, but I still know how to have a little fun.**

 **Me: What qualifies as 'fun' for you?**

 **Salem: Watching a village burn and scream for their god to have mercy on them. But spoilers... I'm not listening.**

 **rocketmce:**

 **Tracer: Ever get that feeling of- *Shot by Brandon***

 **Me: No! I DO NOT GET THAT FUCKING FEELING OF DEJA VU!**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:**

 **Me: Why would I? We're tea buddies.**

 **Salem: Yes, we're not that far into the story so it's okay.**

 **TrueNecromancer: You make my goal sound like the cheesiest goal in the world.**

 **Jack Redhawke: Changed it to where Brandon only beats Coco, because Brandon's fighting style counters Coco's when he was in the situation.**

 **Jack Redhawke: Been working on that.**

 **Jack Redhawke: Fixed.**

* * *

Omake- Neo's Neo (Non-Canon)

I was currently laying on my bed, working on some VERY important homework.

Shipping.

"Alright, let's see." I said as I opened up my scroll.

"ReNora? Well that ship's TECHNICALLY already canon but Rooster Teeth never wants to make it official so that shouldn't be to hard." I said to myself.

"Arkos?" I asked myself.

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.

.

.

"Yeah, that is FUCKING happening! Not in the way Rooster Teeth did it where Pyrrha confessed her feelings towards Jaune and then IMMEDIATELY dies." I said to myself.

"Okay, what about-" I was cut off by the sound of someone knocking at my door. I get up and open the door to my dorm. To my surprise, Neo was standing in front of the door, holding a carton of ice cream in her hands.

"How did you find my dorm?" I asked.

 **"Ozpin told me where it was."** Neo said.

"Of course he did, what do you want? I'm busy." I said. Neo handed me a carton of ice cream that had the word's 'Neo's Neo' on the front of it.

.

.

.

.

"I am not eating this." I simply said. Neo proceeded to give me her best puppy dog face she could muster.

"I'm not eating it."

.

.

"Stop that."

.

.

"Stop!"

.

.

"OKAY! I'LL EAT THE DAMN ICE CREAM!" I yelled. Neo began to clap her hands and jump around in joy. I took out a spoon, opened the carton and took a bite out of the ice cream.

* * *

 ** _Roman's Warehouse_**

"Damn, what a day." Roman sighed.

"Alright, let's look to see if the news has caught on to my most recent heist." Roman said to himself as he turned on his T.V.

 _"This is Lisa Lavender, standing live in front of Beacon where authorities believe one of the students fell into a coma due to eating a brand of ice cream named 'Neo's Neo'."_ Lisa Lavender said.

.

.

.

.

"God damn it Neo." Roman said as he dug his hands into his face.

* * *

 **Poll Progression**

 **ReNora: 35**

 **Arkos: 33**

 **Black Sun: 17**

 **Lancaster: 15**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 5**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Remington Roland**

 **Height: 6'2'**

 **Weight: 142 lbs**

 **Age: 32**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Dynamite (Namesake: Dynamite-Taio Cruz)**

 **Summary: Remington is able to turn anything he touches into a bomb. This bomb will detonate upon Remington command.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **That's it, pretty simple.**

 **Destructive Power: S**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Weapon Update**

 **Brandon's Revolver**

 **Abilities:**

 **Buster Shot: Brandon is able to apply the Buster enchantment to the bullets in his revolver.**

 **Charged Shot 1: Able to charge his shot for five seconds, giving his bullets a massive boost in power.**

 **Charged Shot 2: Able to charge his shot for ten seconds, giving him an even greater boost in power.**

 **Charged Shot 3: Able to charge his shot for fifteen seconds, giving him the strongest boost in power he can possibly get.**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	21. The Discovery

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Discovery"

Thought: _'The Discovery'_

Flashback: _"The Discovery"_

So the morning after the tournament, Ozpin sent me off to Forever Fall immediately. So, here I was, sitting in the Bullhead waiting to be dropped off at the forest. I decided to ask Professor Oobleck to give me the specific details as I sat in the Bullhead.

"So, what exactly am I looking for?" I asked Oobleck.

 **"Well, we've been analyzing the different rail lines that are below Mountain Glenn, and we've concluded that the one going towards the Forever Fall was the one being used the most."** Oobleck said through the earpiece.

"I'm guessing that it has something to do with Doctor Merlot." I said.

 **"That is what we intend to find out."** Oobleck said.

"Here's hoping that we find something. After the incident with Mountain Glenn, it's like all activity of Doctor Merlot stopped." I said.

 **"Yes, it is suspicious. Well, we can only hope that we find some sort of lead."** Oobleck said.

"Yeah, hopefully." I said.

.

.

"Hey, doc." I said.

 **"Yes, what is it?"** Oobleck asked.

"Remember that tournament I won last night?" I asked.

 **"Yes, what about it?"** Oobleck asked me.

"Well, Remington said something about a woman with two sickles that had the pretty similar abilities to that of my Caliber." I said.

 **"Do you think it's Flamberge?"** Oobleck asked.

"I think so. I mean, what other weapon gives you the ability to grow spirit limbs?" I asked.

"Fair point. But still, this is a shocking discovery." Oobleck said. **"What about the other weapons? Did he mention anything about the others?"** Oobleck asked me.

"No, he only mentioned Flamberge." I said.

 **"Interesting. Most interesting."** Oobleck said.

 _'I don't know if I should tell Oobleck about Emerald's relations with the wielder of Carnwennan. He's most likely going to tell Ozpin about Flamberge, so if I tell him about Carnwennan, he'll most likely tell Ozpin, putting Emerald at risk.'_ I thought to myself. I shook my head lightly before sighing.

 _'Yeah, I think it would be best if I kept my mouth shut, for now, I'm getting pretty close to getting those two to turn on Cinder.'_ I thought.

.

.

 _'Okay, maybe not Emerald, but Mercury maybe._ ' I thought to myself.

 **"Are you alright, Brandon? You've been silent for quite some time now."** Oobleck asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I said.

 **"Very well. What about the tournament? Did you unlock any new enchantments while you were fighting your foes?"** Oobleck asked.

"No, but I did see something strange." I said.

 **"Something strange?"** Oobleck asked.

"Yeah, when I was about to be attacked, this arm came out of my body and punched the attacker away." I said.

 _'I think I'll keep the fact that Yang tried to kill me a secret. I doubt that would look good on her transcripts.'_ I thought.

 **"I see. It appears that your weapon spirit has begun to manifest."** Oobleck said.

"You know about the spirit that came out of my body?" I asked.

 **"Yes. Are you sure that it was just the arm?"** Oobleck asked.

"Yeah, it was only the arm." I confirmed.

 **"Hmm, it seems that you need to further expand upon your weapon before you can fully manifest them. From what the book tolds us, the spirits were already fully manifested."** Oobleck said.

"What can you tell me about the spirits?" I asked him.

 **"Well, as you know already, each weapon has different enchantments, though all of them have one thing in common, the weapon spirits."** Oobleck said.

"Weapon spirits? So what, they're an enchantment or something?" I asked.

 **"Not quite, the weapon spirits are the projection of the user's soul."** Oobleck said.

 _'So they're basically stands.'_ I thought to myself.

"So each spirit is unique depends on the user?" I asked.

 **"Yes, depending on the user's soul and mental state, the weapon spirit will look different."** Oobleck said.

"So what, it's just the looks that change?" I asked.

 **"Not quite, the spirit will also develop as the user develops their aura."** Oobleck said.

"Can they use the enchantments as well?" I asked.

 **"Hmm, I'm not sure."** Oobleck said.

"How do I control the spirits?" I asked.

 **"That is also a mystery to me."** Oobleck answered.

"Great." I said sarcastically.

"Well then, I wonder what my spirit will look like?" I asked.

 **"Only time will tell."** Oobleck said. Before we could go any further into the topic, I suddenly heard the pilot call me from the cockpit.

"Hey, kid! We'll be arriving at the Forever Fall soon! Get ready!" He said. I walked to the side of the plane to get a good view of the Forever Fall. To say that it was beautiful would be an understatement. No picture painted or made by the show could ever portray the full beauty of the entire forest in front of me.

"Wow." I say, bewildered at the sight before me.

 **"I take it that this is your first time in the Forever Fall forest?"** Oobleck asked.

"Yeah, this is the first time I'm seeing this." I said.

 **"Yes, it's quite the sight, even I find myself looking in awe every time I come across the forest."** Oobleck said.

"I'd imagine, this place is beautiful." I said.

"Hey kid! We're just about there! Grab your things and get ready!" The pilot called again.

"Okay!" I yelled.

"Remember, Brandon, if you find any leads on the source of the mutated Grimm, or the person behind it, be sure to contact me immediately." Oobleck said.

"Roger that." I said as I picked up my sword and revolver.

"Here we are, kid!" The pilot yelled as the Bullhead descended to the ground.

"Thanks again!" I called as I got ready to land.

"Try not to die." The pilot said.

"Don't plan to." I said back as I jumped out of the Bullhead and landed on the ground of the Forever Fall forest.

"Alright." I said as I cracked my neck a few times.

"Let's go find us a ship." I began to walk further into the forest. All of a sudden, I heard an audible growl coming from behind me.

"Well, then." I began as I pulled out my revolver and began to charge up my shot. I turn around to see that the Beowolf was attempting to pounce on me. I smirk and pull the trigger on my gun, killing the Grimm as the bullet went through its abdomen.

"I was starting to get bored." I said as the pack of Beowolves circled me from all sides, as well as an Ursa Major in the middle of a pack. I started off by shooting a few Buster rounds at the Beowolves. The Beowolves reeled back as the bullets punctured their bodies. The Ursa roared and started to charge at me, reeling one of its arms backwards. I roll backwards to avoid the attack, only for one of the Beowolves to pounce on my body in an attempt to rip me to shreds. I quickly point my revolver at the Beowolf's head and pull the trigger.

"Thank god Grimm evaporate after they die. That would have been disgusting if they didn't." I muttered to myself. The other Beowolves began to charge at me in a pack at an attempt to avenge their fallen ally. I dodge the first attack with no problem at all, but I was thrown back a few feet by the second Beowolf swinging its claws at me.

"Damn, I guess I got a bit rusty. Been awhile since I fought a Grimm." I grit my teeth as I got up off of the ground. I pulled out my sword, activated the Speed enchantment, and charged at the group of Beowolves. I swung my sword at the first Beowolf's abdomen before swinging back around at the second Beowolf's leg. Both of the Beowolves howled in pain, hunching over as the blood leaked out of their wounds. I quickly move in to kill the two Beowolves.

.

.

Only to speed past them at blinding speeds, hitting a tree in the process.

"This is REALLY getting old!" I yelled as I got up off of the tree. The Beowolves slowly loped towards me, the second Beowolf having some trouble walking since its leg was basically split open. I deactivated the Speed enchantment and quickly switched over to the Buster enchantment. The Beowolf pounced at me, but I ducked under it, dragging my sword through its abdomen, cutting it in half. After I killed the Beowolf, I quickly pull out my revolver and shot the second wounded Beowolf in the head.

All of a sudden, I was sent flying into the air by some sort of shockwave. The Ursa quickly swung its claw at me, but I quickly switch over to the Barrier enchantment to block the attack. I bounced off of the ground a bit before landing on the the ground.

"So the Barrier enchantment acts like a ball of sorts." I said to myself.

"I'll have to keep that in mind when I come up with different ways to use my enchantments." I said as I deactivated the Barrier enchantment and switched back to the Speed enchantment. The Ursa roared at the sky and began its assault. Before the Ursa could attack, I quickly jump onto the Ursa's back, grabbing onto one of the various bone spikes jutting out from it's back.

The Ursa desperately tried to shake me off of its back, but I stab the Ursa with my sword to prevent myself from falling off, eliciting another roar of pain.

It roared in agony as I dug the sword deeper into its back. I quickly grab the sword with both my hands and activate the Buster enchantment. The blade of the sword extended and enlarged, impaling the Ursa through it's chest .I quickly take out my revolver, charged up the shot before firing the gun at the Ursa's head. It falls to the ground, evaporating as I jumped off it.

"It's been awhile." I said to myself as I dusted myself off.

 **"Brandon, are you okay? The connection cut off for a few moments."** Oobleck asked.

"Yeah, I ran into some Grimm but I was able to defeat them." I told Oobleck.

 **"Good, I'm sending you the coordinates to your destination. Head there now."** Oobleck instructed.

 **Updating Map.**

"Alright, I got them." I said.

 **"Also, be sure to keep an eye out for any of those mutated Grimm. I'm sure that if you run into any, they'll lead you to the ship."** Oobleck said.

"How is a Grimm gonna lead me to a ship?" I asked.

 **"I meant follow the trail of Grimm."** Oobleck clarified.

"Oh, yeah, I can do that." I said.

 **"Contact me immediately if you have any further updates on the situation."** Oobleck said.

"Roger that." I said as I cut off the connection.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles!**

"Will you give me a break already!" I yelled as a group of Creeps popped out of the ground.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles!**

"I should really learn when to shut up." I said to myself as more Creeps popped out of the ground.

"Alright, let's go!" I said as I activated the Speed enchantment and dashed towards them

.

.

Only to go head first into a rock behind the Creeps.

"Really? NOW of all times?!" I yelled at the sword. The Creeps roared and charged in my direction.

"Alright." I said as I switched to the Buster enchantment.

"I guess you'll have to do." I said as I charged towards the creeps.

* * *

The fight with the Creeps wasn't necessarily challenging, so I was able to wrap it up rather quickly. Creeps have never been a problem for me every time I encountered one. Unless they were popping out of the ground right below my feet. THEN they were a problem for me.

"Damn, how hard is it to find Grimm with glowing green crystals coming out of their bodies?" I asked myself as I walked through the forest.

"Don't think I've tried here yet." I said as I made my way through the bushes. As I reached the other side, what I found wasn't a Grimm, but rather a person standing in a field of roses.

"Well, not a Grimm, but this is unusual." I muttered from the bushes.

"Who the hell would be out in the Forever Fall forest anyway?" I asked myself as I pulled out my scroll to contact Oobleck.

"Hey doc, I found a person in the Forever Fall." I said through the scroll.

 **"Hmm... What are you talking about? The radar isn't showing any signs of anyone else's aura in your area."** Oobleck said.

"What!? No! They're right there!" I said.

 **"I'm sorry, but there's no one there."** Oobleck said.

"Nevermind, I'll go talk to them myself." I said as I cut off the connection and started to head towards the person in the field.

"Hey!" I yelled. The person turned towards me, their face hidden under their cloak.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is?" I asked.

"..." The person stood there in silence.

"Hey! I'm talking to-!" I stopped myself mid-sentence at the sight of a fairly big Ursa sneaking up from behind the person.

"H-hey! Get out of the way!" I said as I ran in front of the person.

'Damn, this is a big one. I might have some trouble fighting this-!' My thought process was cut off at the sight of the person walking in front of me.

"Hey! What the hell did I say?!" I asked. The Ursa roared towards the sky and charged at the two of us.

"Shit! Hey, dumb ass! Get the hell out of here! Now!" I yelled. The person began to walk towards the Ursa.

"What are you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself ki-!" I stopped myself mid-sentence when I saw a figure with a scythe pop out of the women, slicing the Ursa as it charged at the person.

.

.

"Holy shit." I said as I looked at the figure. I wasn't able to get a clear look at it, though it wore a white cloak that flowed in the wind.

"You're an enchanted weapon wielder." I said in shock and realization. The figure appeared to be feminine, so I assumed that the wielder was a woman. The woman nodded at my statement.

"Who are you?" I asked. The women stood there in silence before scattering into small rose petals. I looked around for a bit before I saw the woman standing behind me, Caliber in both of her hands.

"W-when did you?" I asked myself as I grabbed the empty space where my sword originally was. Now I was able to get a clear view of some of the spirit's body. It didn't look nearly as armored as my spirit. Then again, I've only seen the arm of my spirit. It wore a dark gray skirt with black trims, as well as a belt on the waist part of the skirt. It wore a long-sleeve, dark gray shirt with black armor pads on both of its lower arms. It also wore a black brown piece of armor on its stomach area, as well a pair of black armored shoulder pads on both of its shoulders. It wore black leggings and black boots with dark gray laces.

 _'So this is a weapon spirit, huh?'_ I thought to myself as I studied the spirit. My thought process was cut off as the woman tapped me on one of my shoulders. I looked at her and saw that she was holding my weapon outwards.

"Oh, uh thanks." I said as I grabbed my weapon and put it back in its sheath.

"Wait, you still haven't answered my question! Who the hell are you?!" I yelled. She stood there in silence before scattering into rose petals.

"W-what the- hey! You get the hell back here!" I yelled as I looked around to see if there were any signs of the mysterious woman's whereabouts.

"Tch, damn. She got away." I said to myself.

"No doubt about it, that was the wielder of Cronus." I said as I took out my scroll to contact Oobleck.

"Oobleck." I said through the scroll.

 **"That's DOCTOR Oobleck to you, young man."** Oobleck corrected with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah, whatever. Turns out that the woman in the field was actually the wielder of Cronus." I said. I could hear Oobleck spit and choke out his coffee from the other side of the call.

 **"A-are you sure?!"** Oobleck said.

"Yeah, it even had it's weapon spirit manifested." I said.

 **"That must be what was jamming the system!"** Oobleck exclaimed.

"Yeah, must be." I said.

 **"Were you able to get the name of the wielder?"** Oobleck asked.

"No, I didn't get a clear look at her face either." I said.

 **"How were you able to know the wielder's gender then?"** Oobleck said.

"Well, their spirit was feminine, so I thought it made sense that the wielder would be female." I said.

 **"Hmm, I guess you have a point there." Oobleck said. "Professor Ozpin will want to know about this immediately. For now, continue your investigation."** Oobleck said.

"Alright, sounds like a plan for now." I said as the connection cut off. I put my scroll back into my pocket and walked further into the forest.

* * *

A few packs of Beowolves, Creeps, and Ursai later, I finally arrive at the front of the location of the railway.

"Looks like I'm almost there." I said. All of a sudden, a pair of Creeps popped out of the ground. But they were different, they had the same green crystals that were coming out of the mutant Grimm at Mountain Glenn.

"You again!" I yell. The Grimm screech and charge in my direction. I activate the Barrier enchantment to block the blast of the explosions.

"Hey doc! I just ran into some mutant Grimm." I said into my scroll.

 **"Excellent, looks like we're on the right track. Follow the trail that they appeared in, it might give us a lead on the source of these Grimm."** Oobleck instructed.

"All right, go towards the dangerous exploding Grimm. Got it." I said dryly. I followed the path that the mutant Grimm were on. As I reached the end of the trail, I could see a clearing that also lead to the location of the railway.

"Hey doc, I'm here." I said through the scroll.

 **"Excellent! Now, just follow the railway and it should lead you to the-."** Oobleck was cut off by the sound of a Grimm roaring, and from the sound of it, it was VERY close by.

 **"Nevermind. It looks like you're going to be busy at the moment."** Oobleck said. I turn around and take my sword out of its sheath. My eyes widened as the Grimm made its way out of the forest and into the clearing I was in. It was a Beowolf, but it was bigger and it had those same glowing crystals that came out of the mutant Creeps from before.

"Looks like this one's a mutant Beowolf." I said.

 **"Then it looks like we're getting closer to the source. For now, kill the mutant Grimm."** Oobleck said as he cut off the connection.

"So... do you explode?" I asked. The Beowolf's response was to hit the ground with its arms, summoning a trail of crystals that were coming towards me.

"Well, you can do that!" I yelled as I rolled out of the way of the attack. The Beowolf charged at me and swung its claws at my abdomen, leaving a green trail as it swung its claw. I was sent back a few feet before landing on my feet.

"Well, upside is, you don't explode when I get close to you." I grunted as I got up off of the ground.

"Though that crystal thing is new." I noted. The Beowolf roared and slammed his arms towards the ground, summoning more crystals. I activate the Speed enchantment, roll out of the way, and dash at the Beowolf, slashing at its abdomen as I moved past it. I was half expecting the Beowolf to howl in pain, but as I turned around, I could see that the area where I slashed at was covered in a crystal-ish armor.

"Great, add crystal armor to the list of shit I have to deal with." I said sarcastically. The Beowolf grabbed a few crystals off of its back and threw them in my direction. I quickly activate the Barrier enchantment to block the crystals. As the crystals made contact, the barrier started to crack, telling me that their crystals hit HARD.

"Okay, avoid getting hit by those." I noted to myself as I lowered the barrier. The Beowolf roared and charged at me. I noticed that this Beowolf was a bit slower than the average Beowolf. I guess that's due to the crystals on its back. I switch to the Buster enchantment and charge at the Beowolf, though I noticed that parts of its arm began to glow green. As the sword made contact with the arm, I could see that the Beowolf's claws were completely covered by crystals.

"Just keep adding to the list." I said as sparks flew off of my weapon. I was able to cut through the armor, making the Beowolf reel back in pain. I take the opportunity to go in for another attack. I swing my sword at the Beowolf's shoulder, leaving a nasty cut as the sword dug deeper into its flesh. As I tried to yank my sword out of the Beowolf, I looked to see that there were crystals holding it in place.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I yelled as I let go of my sword and pulled out my revolver. I activated the Buster enchantment and fired a few rounds at the Grimm. The first two bounced off of its armor, but the third one went through its flesh.

 _'Damn, it barely worked.'_ I thought to myself. I ran towards the Beowolf and began to charge up the shot. I dodged its attacks for a good ten seconds before I pointed the revolver at its arm and pulled the trigger. The arm of the Beowolf was completely shot off of its body, making it shriek in pain.

"Guess your armor can't defend against EVERYTHING, now can it?" I asked with a cocky grin. The Beowolf roared at the sky and charged at me. I smirked and began to charge the shot again. I dodged the Beowolf's attack for five more seconds before firing my gun at the Beowolf's abdomen.

The Beowolf's armor desperately tried to defend against the attack, but the armor shattered, placing a fairly large hole in the Beowolf's abdomen. I quickly point the gun at the Beowolf's head and pulled the trigger, silencing it forever. The Beowolf fell over and began to disintegrate into some green liquid. I sighed and put my revolver back into its holster.

"Huh, well this is new." I said as I picked up a rock and threw it in the liquid. As the rock fell into the liquid, it began to disintegrate.

"Okay, so don't touch the weird glowing liquid." I said as I picked up my sword off of the ground.

"Okay, let's call Oobleck. I'm sure he wants to know that he doesn't have to tell old Oz I'm dead." I said as I opened my scroll to inform Oobleck about the situation.

"Hey doc, Grimm is down." I said through the scroll.

 **"Excellent work! Now, we must get going to the source of where these mutated monstrosities are coming from, and most importantly- who is behind it. I sense that we're getting close! If you can manage to get to the end of the rail line, we might find the answers we need."** He said.

"Well then, let's not waste any more time." I said as I cut off the connection and run towards the rail line.

* * *

After my fight with the Beowolf, I began to follow the rail line. I moved along the path that lead deeper into the Forever Fall forest, and eventually, I came across a large door of some kind.

"Hey doc, there's some door blocking my way." I said to him.

 **"Hmm, yes, this does seem to be troubling. No sign of the train tracks anywhere either. They must be hidden behind one of those doors. See if you can find a way to get it open. If you want MY suggestion, I recommend you look for a key of some so-!"** Oobleck was cut off as I fired a charged shot at each individual door, destroying it in the process.

 **"Or you can just destroy them. That also works."** Oobleck said.

"Alright, let's see. Which door are we gonna go through?" I asked myself. I take out a coin and flip it. I looked at the coin to see that it landed on heads.

"Okay, right it is." I said as I made my way down the right pathway. As I reached the end of the pathway, I could see some sort of lake in the middle of the forest, but the most noticeable thing was the giant cargo ship that was on the other side of the lake.

"Hey doc?" I asked.

 **"Yes? What is it?"** He asked me.

"Is this normal?" I asked as I showed him the boat.

"Oh dear." Oobleck said.

"I don't like the sound of that." I said in a worried tone.

 **"This discovery is a bit unexpected and is worse than I feared."** Oobleck said.

"Are you just saying that to be dramatic?" I asked.

.

.

 **"Moving on. That appears to be an active Merlot Industries ship. But Doctor Merlot hasn't been heard from in ages... I must inform Ozpin at once. Meanwhile, I want you to investigate the ship, but please keep a safe distance."** Oobleck said as he cut off the connection.

"Alright, time for a little swim." I said as I jumped off of the cliff and into the water. I swam across to the other side of the lake, all the while keeping a good distance away from the ship. As I reached the shore, I quickly move towards a tree to wait for Oobleck's instructions.

 **"Brandon, are you there?"** He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm right next to the ship." I said.

 **"Great job! Now, remember when I said to keep a safe distance away from the ship?"** Oobleck asked.

"Yeah?" I said, slightly confused.

 **"Well, forget what I said. I need you to get a closer look to see what kind of cargo they're carrying. But, be careful not to be spotted. Who knows what kind of security they have."** Oobleck said.

"Right. Stealth mode." I said as I flipped my hoodie over my head. I quickly move towards the crates that the forklift was currently moving onto the boat.

"All right, let's see." I said as I looked at the crates.

"Wait, this is the Schnee Dust Company logo. What the hell are crates of Dust doing all the way out here?" I asked. As I went further to investigate, I spotted an open crate.

"Weird, why do they have an opened crate filled with nothing in it?" I asked myself as I went inside the crate. All of a sudden, I heard something hit the floor of the crate. As I turn around, the doors to the crate were beginning to close.

"Hey! What the he-!" I was cut off as the object exploded, releasing some sort of gas.

"W-what the-" I said as I started to cough violently.

 **"Brandon?! Where are you? Report in!"** Oobleck said. I tried to say something, but it was no use. I was slowly losing consciousness.

 **"Brandon! Please!"** Oobleck said. I tried to say something, only for me to hit the floor, my vision to turn black.

* * *

 **Beacon**

"Brandon! Brandon! Report in!" Oobleck yelled into the microphone.

"Out of my way!" Peter roared as he pushed Oobleck away.

"Brandon! This is Professor Port! What happened?! Are you alright?! " Port said into the microphone.

.

.

Nothing.

"Brandon! Say something!" Port yelled.

"Let me try!" Peach said, worry evident across her face.

"Brandon, this is Professor Peach! Are you okay?!" Peach yelled.

.

.

Nothing.

"Oh no." Peach said in a low tone.

"What's going on?" Glynda said as she walked through the door.

"We suddenly lost all contact with Brandon. We can't get a hold of him." Oobleck said. Glynda's eyes widened before she took out her scroll to contact Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin? Yes. We have a situation." Glynda said to him.

"Oh dear. Ozpin's not going to be happy about this." Oobleck said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #22**

 **Professor Oobleck: Well then, um, hello everyone this is Professor Oobleck. Brandon currently isn't here to do the Journal Entry right now.**

 **Professor Port: So we decided that we'll take his place for now and give you an update on the situation!**

 **Professor Peach: As you have just read, Brandon was attacked by some unknown party and is being taken to Oum knows where.**

 **Professor Goodwitch: We are still waiting on a report from Professor Ozpin.**

 **Professor Port: Ah, this reminds me of a time from my youth. Why, I remember it like it was yesterday. It all started when-**

 **Professors Oobleck, Peach and Goodwitch: GO TO THE REVIEW RESPONSES!**

 **Review Responses:**

 **DaToskin:**

 **Brandon: Yeah! What's up with that?!**

 **Neo: I didn't think the drug would be THAT strong.**

 **Brandon: That's not the point!**

 **Neo: Also, the 'Neo's Neo' is an RWBY Chibi thing. Last episode, check it out! It's not poisonous!**

 **Brandon: *Holds up a sign saying 'Yes it is'***

 **TrueNecromancer: Well... Not EVERYONE, though I do want to attempt to save this world. Also, I don't think you can eradicate something that spawns due to negative emotions.**

 **CraazyReader: *Looks around the room frantically***

 **.**

 **.**

 **Me: Okay, no ninja's here.**

 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Me: Okay, this is getting old, if you don't leave, I'll make you leave.**

 **Ragnorak: Oh yeah? Make me then.**

 **Me: Okay, I'll sing.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Ragnorak: You wouldn't.**

 **Me: You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies.**

 **Ragnorak: Okay, Okay! I'm leaving! Though you do have to admit, those jokes were pretty 'Punny'.**

 **Me: I'd like to make myself believe!**

 **Ragnorak: Okay I'm leaving!**

 **Me: Well then, that joke finally ended.**

 **Lord Adhes: You have NO idea how happy I am that one-hundredth review was a Jojo review.**

 **Raidentensho: Nah, you're fine.**

 **Raikaguken: Probably not.**

 **Raikaguken: Haven't played the legion.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Or world or warcraft.**

 **nightmaster000:**

 **Roman: No, I apparently can't!**

 **Neo: I said I was sorry.**

 **Raikaguken: Welcome to the ship.**

 **Raikaguken: Maybe.**

 **Raikaguken: Of course I do, why wouldn't I?**

 **Guest: I guess you can say the assassin *Puts on sunglasses* bit the dust.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **I'll go sit in the corner now.**

* * *

Omake- Unexpected (Non-Canon)

"What the hell is taking him so long?" Mercury asked himself as he sat in front of the arena waiting for Brandon to return with his food.

"Hey!" He heard Brandon call.

"About time! I'm starving!" He yelled.

"Sorry, had to get Emerald out of trouble again." Brandon said.

"Well, whatever. You have the burger?" He asked.

"Yeah, here." Brandon said as he pulled two burgers from his bag.

"Thanks." Mercury said.

.

.

"Hey." Mercury said, grabbing Brandon's attention.

"What?" He asked.

"What do you think about that blonde chick?" Mercury asked.

"You mean Yang?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, Yang." He said.

"Well, she's pretty fun to be around. I've only known her for a day so I can't really go into detail." Brandon said.

"Do you think she's hot?" Mercury asked with a blush.

.

 _._

 _'Oh my god, this is happening.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

"I don't know, why do you ask?" Brandon said with a mischievous smirk.

"W-well, I just wanted to know." He said.

"She's single you know." Brandon said.

"Really?!" Mercury asked.

.

.

"Yeah, absolutely." Brandon said with the biggest grin on his face.

"Shut up." Mercury said as he ate his burger.

* * *

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **ReNora: 36**

 **Arkos: 35**

 **Black Sun: 18**

 **Lancaster: 15**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 8**

 **Shades and Blades: 5**

 **Mysterious Woman**

 **Height: Unknown**

 **Weight: Unknown**

 **Age: Unknown**

 **Strength: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Perception: Unknown**

 **Semblance: Unknown**

 **Semblance: Enchantments**

 **Summary: Like Brandon, this woman is also able to use enchantments like Brandon can. Though unlike Brandon, she has fully manifested her weapon's spirit.**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Weapon Spirit: Cronus**

 **Appearance: Cronus wears a dark gray skirt with black trims, as well as a belt on the waist part of the skirt. It wore a long-sleeve, dark gray shirt with black armor pads on both of its lower arms. It wore a black brown piece of armor on its stomach area, as well a pair of black armored shoulder pads on both of its shoulders. It wore black leggings and black boots with dark gray laces.**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you liked what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	22. The Rude Awakening

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Rude Awakening"

Thought: _'The Rude Awakening'_

Flashback: _"The Rude Awakening"_

(3rd Person Pov)

Beacon Academy

"So let me see if I understand you all correctly." Ozpin said to the three professors.

"Brandon went to go investigate the suspicious ship. Then all of a sudden, you lost all communication with him." Ozpin said. The professors nodded.

"Yes, after we lost contact with him, all we got from the connection line was static, implying the connection between us and him as been cut off." Oobleck said. Ozpin sat in his chair with his eyes closed.

"What do we do, Ozpin? There's no telling where Brandon is." Peach said, worry evident on her face.

"Doctor Oobleck, how long would it take to figure out the route of the ship that took Brandon?" Ozpin asked.

"Not long enough, a few days at least." Oobleck replied. Ozpin sighed and dug his hands into his face.

"This isn't good, I doubt Brandon will be able to survive for that long." Ozpin said.

"Then what do we do? We can't just sit here and let the young lad die!" Port said.

"I know Peter, but without a location, we can't send anyone to retrieve him." Ozpin said.

"Then how about-!" Port began, only to be cut off by the sound of static coming from Oobleck's scroll.

"Wait! I'm getting something!" Oobleck yelled as he pulled out his scroll.

"Brandon! Are you there?!" Oobleck yelled. They could hear the tone of his voice, but they weren't able to make out what he was saying.

"Can you repeat that?! You're breaking up!" Oobleck yelled, only to get the same results from his scroll.

"It's no use, I can't make out what he's saying." Oobleck said.

"Give me the scroll." Ozpin said to Oobleck as he held out his hand. Oobleck nodded and handed Ozpin his scroll. Ozpin inserted the scroll into the slot on his desk. All of a sudden, a projection of the map of Remnant came into view from the center of room.

"What is this?" Peach asked.

"This will tell us the location of Brandon." Ozpin said as a flashing yellow dot appeared right outside of where Vale was on the map.

"There, that's where Brandon was taken." He said as he pointed at the dot on the map.

"Fantastic! I'll work on getting the Bullhead ready so we can head over to aid him!" Port said.

"I'll work on getting an exact location." Oobleck said. Ozpin pulled out his scroll and dialed a number on the screen.

"Glynda, send team CFVY up to my office immediately." Ozpin ordered.

"Understood." Glynda said.

"Wait, why team CFVY? They're only first years." Peach asked.

"Well, they have shown that they are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight compared to most of the first years. Not only that, but I believe they'll be more than willing to help Brandon in his time of need." Ozpin said.

"Fair point." Peach said.

"I suggest you all get going, we have a long day ahead of us." Ozpin said. The three professors nodded and headed out of his office.

"It looks like this whole Merlot incident is more than just a coincidence, it seems." Ozpin said as he filled his mug with coffee.

* * *

Coco was currently standing in front of a gravestone that was in the graveyard near the residential district in Vale. The gravestone was shaped like a cross, a pair of sunglasses placed on one of the pedestals next to it.

"Here lies Mocha Adel. A loving sister, daughter and a hero to us all." The gravestone read.

"Rest in peace."

Coco sighed before removing her beret and sunglasses.

"Hey sis. Sorry I didn't say anything at the funeral." Coco said to the grave as she wiped a tear from her right eye.

"I was still in shock after what happened, I didn't want to accept the fact that you were gone." She said.

"Though, a friend of mine helped me out." Coco blushed.

"He told me that you would slap me if you caught me acting like this." Coco said with a chuckle.

"I don't doubt for a second that you would do that."

"He told me that I needed to be strong. Not for the sake of myself but for my teammates. Ozpin made me the leader of team CFVY for a reason, and I'll be damned if I disappoint him." Coco said.

"He's right, I have to be strong. For my teammates, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, and Fox." She said.

"Because if I fall down, then I'll be dragging them with me." Coco sighed.

"So here I am. Here to say my final goodbyes." Coco said as she pulled out a bag of coffee beans and placed them on the pedestal.

"Goodbye, Mocha, you were the best damn sister I could have asked for." Coco said.

"But I swear to you-" Coco began as she put her beret and sunglasses back on.

"I will find the bastard that killed you, and I will make him pay for what he did." Coco said in a low growl.

"Coco!" She heard Velvet call from behind her.

"Velvet, what's wrong? You sound worried." Coco asked.

"It's Ozpin, he wants us to go to is office immediately." Velvet replied.

"Why? What's happening?" Coco asked.

"It's Brandon, he's in trouble!" Velvet said.

"Brandon is ALWAYS in trouble. You're gonna have to be more specific." Coco said.

"I mean his LIFE is in danger!" Velvet yelled. Coco froze up at Velvet's words, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"C-Coco? Are you okay?" Velvet asked in a concerned tone.

.

.

Coco shook her head and slapped both of her cheeks with her hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Tell Fox and Yatsuhashi to meet us in front of Beacon Tower." Coco said.

"Right." Velvet said as she pulled out her scroll.

"Just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Coco asked herself.

* * *

"So, why did Ozpin want us here again?" Fox asked in a slightly tired tone as they walked down the hallway that led towards Ozpin's office.

"I told you, Fox! Brandon's life is in danger, and we need to help him!" Velvet said, slightly annoyed.

"Yes, we all still have a debt to repay to him after he helped Coco." Yatsuhashi said.

"I know, but why does it have to be so early in the morning?" Fox asked with a yawn.

"Come on Fox! Brandon would have done the same for you if your life was in danger." Velvet chided.

"I guess you're right." Fox said. Coco started to walk faster as the doors to Ozpin's office could be visibly seen.

"Coco wait!" Velvet called out. But Coco wasn't listening, she walked up to the doors of Ozpin's office kicked them open with her leg.

"Details, now!" Coco demanded as she walked towards Ozpin.

"Was kicking my door really necessary?" Ozpin asked.

"You wanted us here, and now we're here. So details!" Coco demanded as she slammed her hands on Ozpin's desk.

"I understand why you are stressed, but let's try to calm down and focus on the situation at hand." Ozpin said as calmly as ever. Coco sighed before sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Alright, so what happened?" Coco asked. Ozpin proceeded to tell Team CFVY what happened recently, as well as the events leading up to it.

"So let me get this straight, you have been sending Brandon on dangerous missions that could have possibly gotten him killed. All for the sole purpose of 'it entertains you?" Coco asked.

.

.

"Well, there's more to it then just that." Ozpin said.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Coco yelled.

"Coco, calm down!" Velvet said. Coco sighed before sitting down in her chair.

"That's why I called you here. I believe that the four of you will be able to pull it off." Ozpin said.

"Why us, though? Why not a Huntsman?" Velvet asked.

"Well, I believe that your relationship with Brandon will give you the motivation to push yourselves." Ozpin explained.

"Okay, so when do we leave?" Coco asked.

"Right now." Ozpin said.

.

.

"WHAT?!" The three members of team CFVY shouted.

"Alright, let's move team!" Coco said as she put on her sunglasses.

"WHAT?!" They shouted again.

* * *

 _Unknown Island (My Pov)_

.

.

"Oh hey, Neo. What are you doing with that ice cream?" I mumbled as I laid on the floor of the crate I was in.

"Hey Emerald, nice of you to drop by. You want to join too? It's starting to get PRETTY intense. Oh look, Coco and Velvet, come join the party!" I mumbled as I turned over to my side. All of a sudden, I hear a loud mumbled shriek from outside of the crate.

"GAH!" I yelled. I look around frantically to see where the noise was coming from.

"Ah, my head." I groaned as I rubbed my temples.

"Where am I?" I asked myself as I got up off of the ground and walked outside of the crate.

 _'Look's like I'm on some island of some sort.'_ I thought, looking around.

 _'How far away am I from Vale?'_ I thought to myself as I looked towards the ocean.

 _'Well, I can't see Vale anywhere in the distance so I guess I'm pretty far.'_ I thought dryly. I pulled out my scroll and tried to contact Doctor Oobleck.

"Hey doc? You there?" I asked. I was able to hear the tone of Oobleck's voice, but I wasn't able to make out what he was saying because of all the static.

"What was that? You're breaking up!" I said. Though I got the same response from before, static.

"Connection must not be good here." I muttered to myself. I walked around the beach before spotting some sort of radio tower in the distance.

 _'Huh, maybe that might help with the connection.'_ I thought.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles!**

I turn around to see two robots with a red and black color scheme wielding a pair of spears with blades on both of its sides coming towards me.

 _'Well, not Grimm, but I doubt you'll be easy to beat.'_ I thought as I unsheathed my sword. The first robot charged toward me with its spear reeled backwards. It tries to stab me with one of the blades, but I roll out of the way to dodge it. The second robot joins the fight, delivering a flurry of jabs with its spear.

"SHIT!" I yelled as the robot sent me tumbling towards the water.

 _'Damn! How fast are these things?!'_ I thought. Their spears begin to fire out green bullets from one part of the blade.

 _'Right, rule number one of the RWBY universe, EVERYTHING is a fucking gun! Except if you have an enchanted weapon, then you have to either make your own gun, or you can just go fuck yourself.'_ I thought bitterly as I activated the Barrier enchantment to block the bullets. The robots wasted no time to charge at me and deliver a flurry of jabs and slashes. I quickly switch to the Speed enchantment to dodge the oncoming attacks.

I switched back to the Buster enchantment and swing at the two robots. The first one blocked it, but it was sent flying backwards into its friend, making both of them fly into the water with a satisfying splash.

"Well then, that takes care of-" I stopped myself mid-sentence when I saw the two robots climb out of the water.

 _'Of course they're waterproof. Why wouldn't they be waterproof?'_ I thought dryly. The two robots wasted no time charging at me, reeling their spears back as they came closer towards me.

I roll backwards to dodge the flurry of attacks, but the two were immediately swinging their weapons at my abdomen, sending me flying towards the wall.

 _'This isn't working.'_ I thought to myself. I quickly put my sword back in its sheath and pull out my revolver.

 _'Let's try ranged combat, it's not my specialty but it'll have to do for now.'_ I thought to myself. The two robots began to charge at me again, so I used this time to begin charging up one of my shots.

As the first robot came to attack me, I quickly pulled the trigger on my gun, sending the robot flying back a few feet. The second robot starts to swing and jab in my direction, though I was able to dodge its clear pattern.

I quickly roll under its spear and fire another charged shot into the robot's abdomen. I look over to the two robots to see that they had fairly large holes in their bodies, but were still able to stand.

 _'Looks like they're pretty weak.'_ I thought to myself. I quickly fire a few shots at the two robots but they were able to deflect them with their massive spears.

 _'Guess ranged can only do so much.'_ I thought to myself.

I quickly pull out my sword and activate the Speed enchantment.

 _'Please don't hit a wall, PLEASE don't hit a wall!'_ I yelled internally as I ran towards the wounded robots. Luckily, I was able to control the speed on my Speed enchantment, so I was able to dodge the attacks the robots threw at me and was able to land in between the two robots.

As I stood in between the two, I switch over to the Buster enchantment and swing my sword in a circular motion, cutting the robots into scraps.

 _'Damn, first Grimm, then the White Fang, now ROBOTS?!'_ I thought to myself a little belatedly. I walked over and quickly examined the robot.

 _'Maybe it's one of those Atlas robots.'_ I thought to myself as I began to pick through the pile of scraps. My eyes widened when they recognized a familiar logo.

"Merlot Industries. Why am I not surprised?" I said to myself as I threw the piece of metal over my shoulder.

"Well, I can worry about that later, for now, let's get over to that radio tower." I said to myself as I started to run towards a path in the wall. As I followed the path that HOPEFULLY lead to the radio tower, I started to think about the events that just transpired.

 _'So let's think back. I was investigating the various cargo boxes on the ship when suddenly, I was knocked out by some gas of some sort. I doubt it was a coincidence, someone set that up. Someone knew I was coming.'_ I thought to myself as I continued to walk down the path.

 _'Oh hey look, a fence.'_ I thought as I unsheathed my sword, activated the Buster enchantment and started to swing rapidly at the piece of metal that was blocking my path.

 _'Alright, let's move on.'_ I thought as I continued to walk towards the radio tower.

'There you are! Now if I can just get a little clo-!' My thought process was cut off by the sound of growling coming from behind me.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles!**

"Do you have a mute feature by any chance?" I asked as I turned towards the pack of Beowolves, sword at ready.

* * *

After I killed the Beowolves and ran into a door that wouldn't open, I continued to walk down the path that lead further into the island. Suddenly, I started to hear Oobleck's voice coming from my scroll, or well, his tone at least. I still wasn't able to make out what he was saying due to all the static coming from the scroll.

"I *Static Noise* Can't *Static Noise* Understand *Static Noise* You *Static Noise* When *Static Noise* You *Static Noise* Sound *Static Noise* Like *Static Noise* THIS!" I yelled into the scroll.

 _'Well, I'm at the radio tower at least. Let's try to get a better reception here.'_ I thought as I climbed the stairs leading to the control center.

"Alright just put THIS in HERE and..." I said as I put my scroll into the control slot.

"Doc, can you hear me?" I asked.

 **"Yes I can (Radio static) ou! Whatever you just did... keep doing that! The radio (unintelligible speaking)... somewhere else on the island. You must... (Radio static) ... and then (Radio static). Understood?"** Oobleck explained through the scroll.

"Okay that's a little better, but still not enough." I said. I look towards the doors that were just recently closed to see that they were opened for some reason.

"And now those doors are open for some reason." I said as I climbed down the cliff and headed through the opened doors.

 _'Looks like a factory of some kind.'_ I thought as I began to walk around the factory.

 _'Wonder what they were building here?_ ' I thought to myself.

 _'There's the exit, time to move.'_ I ran further down the path. As I ran, I could see another radio tower in the distance, just over the mountains.

"Bingo." I said as I ran towards the radio tower. After a few minutes of running, I finally arrived at my destination.

"Finally." I said as I breathed heavily.

 _'Okay, let's hope this works!'_ I thought as I walked over to the control center, repeating the same actions I did at the previous tower.

"Doc! Do you copy?!" I yelled into the scroll.

 **"Brandon! It's working! The signal seems better, but for some reason, I'm not sure if you can still hear me."** Oobleck said.

"No, I can hear you." I said through the mic.

 **"Just a little more and I can pinpoint your exact location on the island. And if you can't do that, then you'll die a horrible death."** Oobleck said.

"Oh, lovely." I said dryly.

 **"Nevertheless, keep it up!"** Oobleck said as the connection cut off.

 _'Okay, let's find us a THIRD radio tower!'_ I thought as I ran down the path that lead deeper into the island. As soon as I turned the corner though, I could get a clear view of the next radio tower.

"Huh, that was fast." I said.

 _'Maybe luck is on my side today.'_ I thought to myself.

 _'Well, whatever it is, let's head over there!'_ I thought as I ran towards the radio tower.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles.**

"You just had to say that RIGHT after I said that luck was on my side." I groaned as I turned towards the Beowolves.

* * *

After dealing with the pack of Grimm, I ran towards the next radio tower.

 _'I really hate this stupid island!'_ I thought as I arrived at my destination.

"Well, let's hope this works." I said as I walked up the path that lead to the control console.

"Okay, just put THIS into THIS and..." I said as I placed my scroll into the control slot.

 _'That should do it!'_ I thought.

"Hey doc! Can you hear me?!" I yelled.

 **"Ah, that's better. Sorry, but the reception is always so BAD all the way out here. I hope you're enjoying your stay on the island. You're the first visitors I've had in, well, you are the first."** A unknown voice said through the mic.

"You're not Doctor Oobleck." I said, stating the obvious.

 **"No, but I AM a doctor."** The man said.

"Yeah, well would you mind putting Oobleck back on the line? I'm kinda in a hurry to get out of here." I said.

 **"Oh what's the rush? Why not stay awhile, have a cup of tea?"** The man said.

"Who am I talking to?" I asked.

 **"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Merlot.** " Merlot said through my scroll.

.

.

 _'Well then, I found the man behind this!'_ I thought to myself.

 **"You don't know me, but I certainly know who you are."** Merlot said.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people know who I am. Not all of them are good." I said.

 **"Oh, well aren't you a popular lad. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled you're here. You might be exactly what I need for a very important... experiment."** Merlot said.

"What kind of of experiment are we talking about here?" I asked. All of a sudden, a Ursa with green crystals coming out of its back appeared from within the cave.

"Okay, the kind of experiment that involves trying to kill me." I said as I unsheathed my sword.

 **"For one of the wielders of the enchanted weapons, this should be an easy test, right?"** Merlot asked.

 _'And he knows about my weapon. GREAT!'_ I thought to myself sarcastically. The Ursa roared and charged towards me. It raised its arm and slashes at me, but I quickly dodge the attack.

I move onto its back and activate the Buster enchantment. I move in to impale the Grimm, but as soon as I reached the top, the crystals on its back began to shoot out, knocking me off of the Ursa.

 **"So we meet again, Doctor Merlot."** I heard Ozpin say from my scroll.

"Where the hell have you been?!" I yelled as I dodged another one of the Ursa's attacks.

 **"Ozpin? Or shall I call you Oz, just like old times?"** Merlot asked.

 **"I thought you perished in the Mountain Glenn disaster, a tragedy you played no small part in."** Ozpin said.

"Now?! We're doing this NOW?!" I yelled as I slashed at the Ursa's abdomen.

 **"Twas a mere speed bump on the superhighway of scientific progress. You couldn't possibly imagine the ramifications of my latest research."** Merlot said.

 **"The world was a much safer place without you, Merlot. Your actions were reckless and dangerous to the people of Vale."** Ozpin said.

"We really are doing this right now." I groaned as I blocked one of the Ursa's attacks with my Barrier enchantment. I lower the barrier and quickly switch to the Buster enchantment. I quickly swung the massive blade at the Ursa, making it stumble back a few feet.

I quickly slash at its abdomen, leaving a nasty cut as it made contact with the Ursa.

 **"You're calling me the reckless one? You're the one who sent one of your students on an excursion like this."** Merlot said.

 **"He's more than a match for your mindless robots. What you're doing here is wrong, Merlot."** Ozpin said. The Ursa roars and shoots the crystals on its back flying towards me.

I dodge the first two, but I was hit by the third one, causing me to fly towards one of the crates near the mountain.

 **"You were saying?"** Merlot asked.

 **"I said he can handle your robots. Your abominations, however, are a different story."** Ozpin said. I quickly switch over to the Speed enchantment and dash at the Grimm. As I stood in front of it, I activated the Buster enchantment and swung my sword at the massive Ursa. It tried to swing its claws back at me, but due to the Ursa being even slower than before, I was easily able to dodge it and climb onto it's back.

"RGHAA!" I yelled as I drove my sword down into the Ursa's head, killing it in the process.

 **"Trying to make the world a better place is wrong? Say what you will about me, Ozpin. It won't change the fact that you're powerless to stop me."** Merlot sneered.

 **"You'll botch this somehow. You always do."** Ozpin said.

"Well, let's agree to disagree. I tell you Oz, it's been truly a pleasure catching up, but unfortunately it's time for me to go. Farewell, old friend." Merlot said as he cut off the connection.

 **"Are you alright, Brandon?"** Ozpin asked.

"Considering everything that's happened today, yeah, I'm fine." I said, dusting myself off.

 **"Well, I'm glad you're alright. We were able to figure out your whereabouts with a special chip implanted in your scroll. We need to stop Doctor Merlot. Head further into the island. I'm sending a team to aid you."** Ozpin informed me.

"Team?" I asked.

 **"Don't worry, you're already quite familiar with each other. For now, head further into the island."** Ozpin said.

"Got it." I said as I cut off the connection.

 _'All right Doctor Merlot, let's see how I can shit on your day.'_ I thought as I ran further into the island.

* * *

As I progressed further into the island, the sun began to set, welcoming the night.

 _'Well, I guess this could be a good thing, my hoodie does blend in well with dark colors.'_ I thought as I pulled my hoodie over my head. As I turned the corner, a large facility could be seen in the distance under the moonlight.

"Bingo." I said as I began to walk towards the facility. As I walked along the path, I could see a green puddle on the ground.

 _'Looks familiar.'_ I thought as I picked up a rock and threw it in the liquid, causing it to disintegrate as it fell in.

 _'Yeah, it's the same liquid that comes out of the mutant Grimm when they die.'_ I thought.

 **"Brandon, have you found something?"** Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, I think I found the thing that Merlot is using to make the mutant Grimm." I said.

 **"Hmm, fascinating. Do you have anything to contain the liquid in?"** Ozpin asked.

"No, the liquid disintegrates anything it touches, so it wouldn't matter either way." I said.

 **"Unfortunate. Well, continue your search, I suspect that Merlot is on this island for a reason."** Ozpin said.

"No really? I thought he was just on it for a little vacation." I said sarcastically.

 **"I wonder if I should recall the reinforcements?"** Ozpin asked himself.

"I was kidding! I was kidding!" I yelled.

 **"Good. Moving on, he's harvesting this substance, and whatever he's using it for can't be good."** Ozpin said.

"Come on Oz, it doesn't take a scientist to figure out he's using it to mutate his Grimm." I said.

 **"Then why hasn't he harvested this part?"** Ozpin asked.

.

.

"Good point, why didn't he?" I asked.

 **"Well knowing Merlot, some of his 'experiments' might not have worked."** Ozpin said.

"So you think this is the result of his failed experiments?" I asked.

 **"That's exactly what I'm implying."** Ozpin said.

"Alright, then." I said.

 **Warning! Incoming hostiles!**

"Great." I said dryly as I turned to face a pack of Beowolves.

 **"Hmm, how about we grab the attention of the good doctor? Kill these Grimm, that should get his attention."** Ozpin said.

"I have a better idea." I said as I fired a Buster shot at one of the tanks. A green liquid began to pour out of the tank, spilling all over the pack's body.

The Beowolves screeched in pain as the liquid burned through their bodies.

 **"Using your enemy's weapons against them. It seems I taught you well."** Ozpin praised.

"So, what's next Oz?" I asked.

 **"Follow the pipeline. With any luck, it will lead us right to Doctor Merlot."** Ozpin said.

 **"I can hear everything you're saying, you know!"** Merlot said indignantly.

"Can we get him off of our call please!" I yelled as I ran across the pipeline.

 **"It's amazing that you survived the disaster in Mountain Glenn, Merlot. Was it sheer luck or part of your master plan?"** Ozpin asked.

 **"Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't my fault?"** Merlot asked.

 **"No."** Ozpin and I said in unison.

 **"I believe that you wouldn't take accountability for your actions."** Ozpin said.

 **"Admittedly, Mountain Glenn is a bit of a sore spot for me. Decades of hard work, countless research projects, not to mention all of the specimens I'd collected over the years. All lost without a trace."** Merlot sighed.

 **"So let me get this straight... you're upset that you lost your research?"** Ozpin asked.

"Do you have any idea how many people died in that incident?! Countless innocent lives, gone! Children, orphaned, and all you care about IS YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH?!" I yelled angrily tone as I ran towards the front door leading into the facility.

 **"The work done at Merlot Industries was critical in the advancement of artificial intelligence and genetics. Without it, Remnant would still be in the dark ages."** Merlot said.

 **"You've missed the point. An entire city was laid to waste. Countless lives were lost. My only question is how much damage were you personally responsible for?!"** Ozpin asked, his tone betraying hints of anger.

 **"Well, how else was I supposed to conduct my research? Our supply of test subjects was running thin."** Merlot said.

 **"And when the Grimm came back, the city's population was driven underground where it was safe. No thanks to Merlot Industries."** Ozpin countered.

 **"Oh, Ozpin, that was only the beginning. Soon, all of Vale will know the results of my research."** Merlot said.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I yelled.

 **"Now, why would I want to ruin the surprise?"** Merlot asked. **"I'm sure you're wondering why it's been so quiet lately."**

.

.

"Oh, shit." I said as the front doors opened, revealing a horde of mutated Grimm and robots.

 **"While it was fun, it looks like we'll have to part ways. Farewell, wielder of Caliber."** Merlot said.

"Oh SHIT!" I yelled as the Grimm and robots charged as one in my direction.

 **"How does it feel, Ozpin? Knowing that your precious pupil is about to die, and there is NOTHING you can do about it."** Merlot asked, cackling evilly. To his surprise, Ozpin started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Merlot asked.

 **"Oh Merlot, you'll soon figure out that you can't kill Brandon THAT easily."** Ozpin snickered.

 **"Besides."** Ozpin said. All of a sudden, the sound of a Bullhead could be heard in the distance.

 **"I sent some reinforcements."** He finished.

I turn towards the source of the noise to see that a Bullhead was flying in the distance. I smirked and waved at the Bullhead.

"It's about time you assholes got here!" I yelled.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Velvet shouted.

"Just can't stay out of trouble can you?!" Coco yelled as she and the rest of Team CFVY jumped out of the Bullhead.

"Damn, would you look at these things." Coco said.

"What kind of Grimm are these?" Velvet wondered out loud.

"They're mutated Grimm created by Doctor Merlot." Ozpin said through my scroll.

"Who?" All four members of Team CFVY asked.

"He's basically the man responsible for the incident at Mountain Glenn." I said.

"Is that so?" Coco asked.

"Then boy do I have a few words for him. He's the reason my mother can't walk anymore." Coco snarled angrily.

"Yeah, so do I! I lost a lot of friends because of that incident!" Velvet said.

"Then let's bring justice upon this man!" Yatsuhashi declared as he pulled out his sword.

"Wait!" I yelled as I activated the Enchant enchantment.

 _'Time for an Overwatch quote.'_ I thought to myself.

"You're powered up! Get in there!" I yelled. All of them nodded and pulled out their respective weapons. Velvet and Fox ran towards the horde at blinding speeds. Yatsuhashi pulled out his sword and jumped at a pack of mutated Beowolves. He slammed his sword on the ground, activating his Semblance as it made contact. The Grimm that were rushing towards him were blown away by his powered-up Semblance.

Fox and Velvet were throwing a barrage of kicks and punches at the different Grimm. Fox slammed his blade onto the ground, which just so happened to have a Creep underneath it. Due to the Enchant enchantment, Fox was able to hear... well anything, including the Grimm's blood flow. Fox rushed forward to a mutant Ursa before kicking it in the air. As it fell to the ground, Fox delivered a flurry of slashes at it's abdomen before sending it flying over towards a group of Grimm and robots. As it landed in the center, it exploded, sending crystals in all directions.

Coco was currently mowing down various Grimm and robots with her mini-gun. A flock of mutant Nevermore were making their way towards Coco. Coco smirked and activated her Semblance, shrinking the birds down to a manageable size before mowing them down with her mini-gun.

"Velvet!" Coco yelled. Velvet nodded and pulled out a perfect replica of Coco's weapon. The two proceeded to mow the horde down with their mini-guns.

"Alright, looks like we almost got them all!" Coco yelled.

"Let's finish this!" I yelled as I switched to the Buster enchantment.

"Hey." Coco said, grabbing my attention.

"What's up?" I asked. Coco touched the handle of my sword, all of a sudden, the blade started to get bigger.

"What the hell is this?!" I yelled.

"New feature to my Semblance. Turns out I'm able to make things grow as well." Coco explained. I nodded and swung the massive sword at the rest of the horde, killing them all in one clean swing.

"Hahaha! That was awesome! Coco, I could kiss you!" I yelled.

"Alright." Coco said as she walked up and gave me a peck on the cheek.

.

.

"I was making a joke!" I yelled hotly.

"I wasn't." Coco said. Fox and Yatsuhashi laughed, but Velvet was standing there with her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed out.

 **"Good work, team! Now head into the building and stop Doctor Merlot once and for all! It's important that you all stick together; there's no telling what Merlot has planned for you."** Ozpin said.

.

.

 **"Brandon's already gone, is he?"** Ozpin asked.

"Yep." All four members of team CFVY said.

"Then I suggest you go after him. It can be quite hard to find him after he's wandered off." Ozpin said.

"Right. Hey, Brandon! Wait up!" Coco yelled as she and the rest of her team followed me inside.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #23**

 **So we're finally gonna meet Doctor Merlot face to face. It's about time.**

 **Also, now that I think about it, we're only a few weeks away before the actual canon story of RWBY starts.**

 **Damn, I guess time flies when you're killing Grimm.**

 **Welp, we have to stop Merlot first.**

 **I wonder who that woman was in the last chapter, and how she got her hands on Cronus.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Fiction Fan 369:**

 **Brandon: I'm right here.**

 **Me: Yeah, he's fine.**

 **rocketmce:**

 **Reinheart: Nah, he's fine.**

 **Brandon: So when am I getting my tactical visor?**

 **Reinheart: *Pulls out hammer***

 **Brandon: Nevermind.**

 **Ragnorak16:**

 **Me: R.I.P**

 **Raikaguken:**

 **Brandon: Ya hear that Mercury? He ships it!**

 **Mercury: Shut up!**

 **Banru:**

 **Raven: No, I have better things to do with my time.**

 **Brandon: Well fuck you too.**

 **DragonLord501st: Well here ya go!**

* * *

Omake- God Damn it Emerald- (Non Canon)

"I don't care what past you came from. If you're willing to lay back and have a good time, then you're cool in book." I said.

"Besides. Everyone deserves a second chance in life." I said. All of a sudden, Emerald walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my chest, laying her head on my shoulders.

"Thank you." Emerald said.

"Yeah, anytime." I said.

"Now I should probably head back, see you around." I said as I walked into the forest.

"Wow, I didn't realize how late it was until I got back to Beacon Academy." I said as I walked around the school. At the corner of my eye, I saw two familiar figures walking around.

"Oh hey! It's Coco and Velvet." I said as I walked towards the two. All of a sudden, a slight breeze went by me, making me shiver.

"Why is it so cold out?" I asked.

"Hey! Coco! Velvet!" Velvet turned around to greet me, but only for her face to light up red and quickly turned away.

'What's up with her?' I thought to myself.

"Oh, hey BrandoooOOOOOH MY OUM!" Coco shouted as her glasses fell off of her face.

"What's up with you?" I asked. Coco just stood there in shock, her face bright red.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be so bold in your approach." Coco said.

"What the hell are you on about?" I asked.

"W-W-W-W-WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANY CLOTHES ON?!" Velvet scream-asked.

"Wait WHAT?!" I yelled as I looked down to see that the only thing covering me up was my boxers.

"When did- how did?!" I asked myself before realization sunk in.

.

.

My look of shock and confusion quickly turned into an expression of anger.

"GOD DAMN IT EMERALD!" I yelled into the sky.

* * *

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **ReNora: 38**

 **Arkos: 35**

 **Black Sun: 18**

 **Lancaster: 17 (You do realize that Jaune can only get ONE girl, right?)**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 9**

 **Shades and Blades: 6**  
 **  
Coco Adel  
**  
 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 140 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Hammer Space Enchanted**

 **Summary: When activated, Coco has the ability to shrink any object she touches. This effect does not apply to humans, however. When activated again, she can return the object to its original size. An example of this is when she turns her briefcase into a Gatling Gun. She can also enlarge items, but this is both very exhausting and very aura consuming. Coco is also able to enlarge objects she touches as well, and with the Enchant enchantment, she is able to apply this to living creatures.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**  
 **  
Fox Alistair  
**  
 **Height: 6'2"**

 **Weight: 136 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: D**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: One Vision Enchanted**

 **Summary: Fox's senses have been sharpened to the max, allowing him to react to attacks almost instantly, as well as hear little things like the blood flow of a living creature.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Velvet Scarlatina  
**  
 **Height: 5'6"**

 **Weight: 120 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Mimicry Enchanted**

 **Summary: When activated, she is able to copy anyone's fighting style and weapon. Due to the Enchant enchantment, she can now use these copies without any repercussions.**

 **Destruction Power: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: B**

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi  
**  
 **Height: 7'0"**

 **Weight: 172**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: S**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Battle Stance Enchanted**

 **Summary: When activated, he is able to apply so much force into his blows that he is literally able to shatter the ground beneath him. This is only amplified by the Enchant enchantment.**

 **Destructive Power: S**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: B**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	23. The Final Exam

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Final Exam"

Thought: _'The Final Exam'_

Flashback: _"The Final Exam"_

(3rd Person Pov)

Soon after the fight between the creations of Doctor Merlot, Brandon, and team CFVY, Brandon quickly rushed into the building in pursuit of the Doctor, leaving team CFVY behind.

"Damn it, he can't fight all of them by himself." Coco said as she and the rest of her team went inside.

"So, this is where we'll find the doctor himself." Yatsuhashi said.

"Looks like Brandon has already been through here, the doors are already opened." Velvet said.

"More like he broke it down." Coco said as she stared at the remains of the metal door.

"Hey, there's a console of some sort on the wall." Velvet said as she stood in front of the console.

"What does it do?" Fox asked.

"Let's find out. Velvet, turn on the console." Coco said. Velvet nodded and pressed the largest button that was on the console.

 **"Greetings, and welcome to Merlot Industries, where we're building a better tomorrow...today!"** Merlot said through the console.

"Heh, better tomorrow." Coco said sarcastically.

"Hey, Velvet." Coco said, grabbing Velvet's attention.

"Yeah?" Velvet asked.

"You said that you lost some friends because of this guy, right?" Coco asked. Velvet's ears drooped down a bit, her expression turning into a sad one.

"Yeah." She said in a low tone.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Yatsuhashi asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, now's a better time than any." Velvet said.

"When I was a kid, I didn't really have a lot of friends, mostly because of these." She said as she pointed to the ears on her head.

"It was hard, constantly being picked on, stepped on, and even beaten." Velvet said.

"Though there were a few people that treated me like an equal." She said.

"They were the closest thing I had to friends, and I was so happy to have them." Velvet said, tears welling up in her eye's.

"But then the incident at Mountain Glenn happened." She said.

"That incident took them away from me. I swore on that day that I would become a huntress and find the person responsible for the incident." Velvet said.

"Damn, I'm sorry." Coco said.

"It's alright, because now I finally have the chance to get back at the man who did this." Velvet said with a determined look on her face.

"Yeah, we all have something to say to this man." Coco said.

"Come, let's go. Brandon has most likely progressed further into the lab.

 **"Team, can you hear me?"** Ozpin asked.

"Professor Ozpin, why are you on out scrolls?" Velvet asked.

 **"Just before you left to go and assist Brandon, I implanted a special chip in them just in case I needed to contact you for a situation like this one."** Ozpin said.

"Well, then. That makes things a bit easier." Coco said.

 **"Okay, in order for me to help you, I'll need to know the layout of the lab. Keep your eyes peeled for any maps, schematics, or better yet- any access terminals that would allow us to tap into Merlot's network."** Ozpin said.

"Okay, we're on it." Coco said.

 **"While your at it, be on the look out for Brandon, there's no telling where he ran of t-."** Ozpin was cut off by the sound of a crashing noise.

"I think we found him." Coco said to Ozpin.

 **"Right, just follow Brandon's shouting."** Ozpin said.

"Right." Coco said.

"Wait!" Velvet said.

"What's up Velvet?" Coco asked.

"Just now, did you hear that?" Velvet said.

"Hear what?" Fox asked.

"The tone in Brandon's voice, it sounded... angry." Velvet said.

"Velvet, if I have learned anything about Brandon through the year, it is that his default emotion is angry."Coco said.

"No! That's not what I meant. This is a different type of anger." Velvet said.

"What do you mean?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"It seems more... unsettling." Velvet said.

"I know Yatsu just asked this but I'll ask again. What do you mean?" Coco asked.

"When Brandon was fighting outside, I noticed something. He was fighting more aggressively than usual." Velvet said.

 **"I see you've noticed."** Ozpin said.

"Noticed what?" Coco asked.

 **"Let me ask you all a question, are you all aware of what happened to Brandon last year?"** Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, we all know." Coco said as the rest of her team nodded.

 **"Good, well I do believe that Brandon hasn't truly gotten over it."** Ozpin said.

"He seems alright." Coco said.

 **"That's the issue. I believe that Brandon is doing something that is VERY unhealthy for his mental state."** Ozpin said.

"What?" Velvet asked.

 **"Instead of talking about it and coming to terms to it, he bottling it up and pretending it never happened in the first place."** Ozpin said.

"That would explain why he doesn't like to talk about his past." Coco said.

 **"Yes, and I believe soon, that bottle will reach it's limit and burst open."** Ozpin said.

 **"So I have a request for you all."** He said. **"Don't let Brandon fight Merlot alone, if he finds him, that bottle will surely burst, and not in the most pleasant way."** Ozpin said.

"Okay, you got it professor." Coco said.

 **"Now, I suggest you all get moving before Brandon get's to far ahead."** Ozpin said.

"Right." They all said as they walked towards an elevator. Velvet pressed a button on the elevator, causing it to descend towards the lower floors.

"Damn, looks like Brandon was here to." Coco said as she walked out of the elevator. Robot's and remains of mutant Grimm were scattered across the room.

"We should find him before he does anything reckless." Yatsuhashi said.

 **"Making yourselves at home, I see? I want my guests to feel welcomed, but, my Security team rarely feels the same way."** Merlot said through the teams scrolls.

"How did you get this number?" Coco asked.

 **"I have my ways, luckily for you, Brandon seems to have taken care of them. Quite an angry young fellow, is he not?"** Merlot said as he cut off the connection.

"Come on, let's go." Coco said as she began to walk further into the facility.

* * *

Finding there way around the facility wasn't to hard, all team CFVY had to do was follow the trail of dead bodies and destroyed Robots. Though the progress came to a stop as the path that lead further into the lab was blocked of.

"Damn, Brandon must have accidentally blocked the path when he was fighting the Grimm." Coco said.

"Let's try to find another way around." Yatsuhashi said.

"Hey guys!" They heard Velvet yell. They turn towards the direction of Velvet's voice to see that she was standing in front of a vent.

"Good thinking Velv, we can use the ventilation system to get to the other side." Coco said as she and the rest of her team walked towards the vent. As they made there way through the vents, they could hear Brandon shouting in the distance.

"Coco." Velvet began.

"Yeah, I know." Coco said. "I think I see the way to the other side, let's go." Coco said to the rest of her team.

 **"Here at Merlot Industries, we take pride in innovation. Together, with your help...and a little of your special spark, we will build a better tomorrow!"** Merlot said through one of the monitors on the wall.

"There won't be a tomorrow for your sorry ass." Coco growled.

"Look, I see another elevator." Velvet said.

"Let's go." Coco said as they made there way inside the elevator. As the elevator descended, they could hear the sound of Brandon's shouting from the other side of the doors.

"I think were getting close." Coco said, but as soon as the elevator doors opened, Brandon was sent flying into the elevator.

"Gah!" He yelled.

"Brandon!" Velvet said as she quickly rushed over to his side.

"I'm fine, let's just kill these things!" He said as he activated the Enchant Enchantment.

"Right." Coco said.

"Also, do you see those containers?" He asked as he pointed towards one of them.

"Yeah, what about them?" Coco asked.

"I think that holds the thing that's making the mutant Grimm." Brandon said.

"So destroy the containers?" Coco asked.

"Destroy the containers." He said with a cocky smirk.

"Alright team, lets move out!" Coco said as she pulled out her mini gun. Yatsuhashi started the fight by slamming his sword at the ground, causing any Creeps in the area to die, as well as destroy any near by containers. Fox and Velvet charged at the Creeps, ready to kill them.

"Wait! Don't get near the mutant ones! They-!" Brandon began, but it was too late, the creeps already exploded, sending Fox and Velvet flying backwards.

"That would have been nice to know BEFORE we went charging in!" Fox yelled in a angered tone.

"Sorry." Brandon said sheepishly.

"Okay, so keep our distance then?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah." Brandon said. Velvet nodded and pulled out a perfect replica of Coco's mini gun.

"Let's go!" Velvet yelled as she began to mow down the various Creeps in the room.

"Open fire!" Coco yelled as she did the same. Creeps were dropping left and right, containers were shattering upon impact. They did this for a few minutes before the creeps stopped popping out of the ground, and all of the containers were destroyed.

"Looks like that's the last of them." Coco said.

"Now." She said as she walked over to Brandon and hit him straight on the head.

"OW! What the hell?!" He yelled in an angered tone.

"What do you think you were doing, running off like that?!" Coco shouted.

"I was doing fine." Brandon said.

"Yeah, and what would have happened if you were outnumbered and overwhelmed? What then?!" Coco yelled, clearly angrier than Brandon.

"I would have-." He began, only for Coco to cut him off.

"No! I don't want to hear anything about how you would wing it! You could have died!" Coco yelled.

"Look I'm-!"

"Do you have any idea how worried we all were?! For all we knew, you were already dead!" Coco yelled.

.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry." He said. Coco and the rest of team CFVY widened there eye's in shock.

"Wait what?" Coco asked.

"I said I was sorry." Brandon said.

"Wow... that I didn't expect." Coco said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brandon asked in an annoyed tone.

"It's just you never apologized for this kind of stuff before, it's just shocking that you are now." Coco said.

"Yeah." Velvet said.

"Well I'm sorry now. you happy?!" He yelled.

"Now there's the Brandon we know." Coco said.

"Hey, looks like the door is blocked." Yatsuhashi said.

"Don't worry, I got this." Coco said as she revved up her mini-gun and began to fire at the door. Bullets were bouncing off of the door as they hit, and one of them just so happened to hit Brandon directly in the face.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, sorry, my finger slipped." Coco said sheepishly.

"GOD DAMN IT COCO!" Brandon yelled as he rubbed the spot where the bullet hit.

"Stand back." Yatsuhashi said. Coco moved back a bit and Yatsuhashi proceeded to raise his sword and swung it at the door, shattering it upon impact.

"Let us move." Yatsuhashi said.

 **"I would really appreciate it if you didn't break all my things, but alas, my androids will rebuild it in no time. This way please."** Merlot said.

"By the time I find you, me breaking your shit will be the least of your worries." Brandon growled.

"Let's just go, there's an elevator up ahead." Coco said as they walked towards the elevator at the end of the hallway.

* * *

(My Pov)

"Any idea where were actually going?"I asked as the elevator descend.

"Down." Coco said.

"No shit, I was talking about what PART of the lab we were going to." I said.

"The lower part." Coco said with a smirk.

"I will break your fucking glasses." I threatened as the doors to the elevator opened.

 **"Here we have the Engineering wing, the so called 'brains' of the operation, if you're not counting my own intellect. Don't be shy, there aren't any traps here...yet."** Merlot said.

"Looks like some sort of data processing center." I said as they looked around the room.

 **"Good, that's exactly what were looking for. Do you see any terminals that you can access?"** Ozpin asked. We started to look around the room to see if we could spot any terminals that we could access.

"Nope." I said.

 **"Hmm, there's bound to be a terminal somewhere."** Ozpin said.

"Hey guy's!" We heard Velvet say. We run towards Velvet to see what she wanted us for.

"You find something?" I asked.

"I think so, is that it?" Velvet said as she pointed towards a terminal.

 **"Yes, that's the one, Brandon, quickly, go insert your scroll into the terminal. After that, see if you can proxy the signal over to me with your scroll."** Ozpin said.

"Hey, watch my back." I said as I jumped down to the terminal.

"Alright just put this into here and.." I said as I placed the scroll into the terminal.

"Got it!" I said.

 **"Oh no! You started to upload the layout to my lab, I'm doomed!"** Merlot said dramatic before bursting into laughter.

 **"Did you really think I would have left the terminal unguarded?"** Merlot asked. All of a sudden, the doors leading to the terminal closed, leaving team CFVY on the other side.

"Brandon!" They yelled from the other side of the door.

 **"What have you done Merlot?!"** Ozpin asked.

 **"Oh Ozpin, you may have gotten the layout to my lab, but at what cost?"** Merlot asked. Suddenly, a gas started to fill the room I was in.

 **"You see this gas? This gas holds highly a radioactive chemical, enough to completely wipe out an entire city full of people!"** Merlot said.

"No!" Coco yelled as she began to fire her weapon at the door. Team CFVY proceeded to do the same, using whatever strength they had to open the door.

 **"No! Stop it now!"** Ozpin said to the team.

"B-but Ozpin! He'll die if we-." Velvet began, only to be cut off my Ozpin.

 **"If you destroy the glass, then the gas will spread here!"** Ozpin said.

"B-but." Velvet said, tear forming in her eyes.

 **"I'm sorry, I truly am, but there's nothing we can do for Brandon now."** Ozpin said in a low tone. Velvet proceeded to fall to the ground, letting her tears flow.

 **"I am terribly sorry student's but it looks like you'll have to say goodbye to your little friend."** Merlot asked.

 **"Leave them out of this!"** Ozpin said in an angered tone.

 **"Consider this payback Ozpin, any second now, your precious student will fall."** Merlot said.

.

.

.

.

 **"Any second now."** Merlot said.

.

.

.

.

Brandon just stood there, not showing any signs of being affected by the radiation.

 **"Why won't you die?!"** Merlot asked.

* * *

(Beacon)

Ozpin was stood there, just as confused as Merlot was.

 _'Why isn't he dying from the radiation?'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

.

.

.

.

 _'Wait!'_ Ozpin thought to himself as he remembered what Peach and Brandon said to him.

 _'His immune system is completely different compared to the average person, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. It fight off all of the dust I inject into is body in a matter of seconds.'_ He remembered Peach saying.

 _'I died due to a nuclear blast, though I'm surprised that I didn't get affected by the blast at all. I expected a few burns from the blast at least.'_ Ozpin remembered Brandon saying.

 _'That's it! The nuclear blast must have caused a genetic mutation in his body! His immune system is fighting off the radiation faster than it can spread!'_ Ozpin thought.

* * *

(Merlot's Lab)

"What's going on? Why isn't he dying?" Coco asked. I proceeded to shoot the various gas pumps that were in the room I was in.

"Are you sure this stuff's radioactive? If so, I don't feel it." I said as I shot the last remaining pump.

 **"What?!"** Merlot shouted as the gas that filled the room disappeared.

 **"Quickly! Destroy the glass!"** Ozpin said to team CFVY. They wasted no time taking out there weapons and and attacking the glass, shattering it.

 **"It's complete. Let me see...yes, I have everything I need. Team, I want you to head to the lower levels... to the Manufacturing wing."** Ozpin said.

 **"I'll be waiting..."** Merlot said.

"Okay team, you heard the man, lets move out!" Coco said as she and the rest of her team began to walk deeper into the labs.

 **"Brandon, there's something I need to tell you, and ONLY you."** Ozpin said.

"Okay, what's up?" I asked.

 **"I may have figured out why you weren't affected by the radiation."** Ozpin said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

 **"You told me that you died due to a nuclear blast back on your planet, right?"** He asked.

"So you believe me?" I asked.

 **"With the evidence presented now, yes, I believe you."** Ozpin said.

"What evidence?"

 **"I believe that you were affected by the blast, just not in a negative way."** Ozpin said. **"You see, I think the radiation caused a genetic mutation in your body, more specifically, your immune system."** Ozpin said.

"What does my immune system have to do with it?" I asked.

 **"The radiation amplified your immune system, it was fighting off the radiation faster than it could spread."** Ozpin said.

"So I'm immune to radiation?" I asked.

 **"I think your immune to more than just that."** Ozpin said.

"Hey! What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Coco yelled over towards me.

 **"Let's not keep them waiting."** Ozpin said.

"Yeah, let's go and pay the old doctor a visit." I said as I ran towards team CFVY.

* * *

We arrived at the Manufacturing wing soon after Ozpin gave us the coordinates to that would lead us to it. The confrontation between us and Merlot was quickly approaching.

"Were almost there." I said.

"You nervous?" Coco asked.

"Hell no, I can't wait to smash that fuckers skull in." I said.

 **"Good news, team. The coordinates of Merlot's secret lab were contained within the data retrieved from the terminal. An airship has been deployed and will rendezvous with you shortly."** Ozpin said.

"Glad to see that we have a way out." I said.

 **"You should be entering a power facility. Destroy everything that may seem vital to Merlot's operation."** Ozpin said.

 **"You're not authorized to be here!"** Merlot said.

"Sorry! I can't here you over the amount of FUCKS I don't give!" I yelled as I picked up a container.

 **"D-don't touch that!"** Merlot said.

"You mean this?" I asked.

 **"Yes! That!"** Merlot yelled.

"Okay." I said as I dropped the container, causing it to shatter upon impact.

 **"NO!"** Merlot said.

"How about this?!" I said as I swung my sword at another container.

 **"Stop it!"**

"Or this?" Coco asked as she swung her purse at another container.

 **"STOP IT!"**

"What about this?!" Velvet asked as she threw a arm full of containers at Yatsuhashi. Yatsuhashi swung his sword at all of the containers, shattering them as they made impact with his sword.

 **"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!"** Merlot commanded.

"What's that? Continue?" I asked.

 **"NO!"**

"You heard the man, go wild!" I said as I began to swing my sword at everything that seemed important.

"Looks like that's everything." I said as I wiped the sweat off of my forehead.

 **"You did it! That should deliver a shock to Merlot's system."** Ozpin said.

 **"F-fine. If THAT'S how you want to play!"** Merlot said as the doors to the elevator opened.

"Let's go." Coco said to her team. I was about to follow them, only for my eyes to make contact with a small, but shiny crystal.

"Ooohh!" I said as I picked up the crystal.

"I'm sure no one would mind if I picked up a little souvenir." I said as I put the crystal in my pocket and walked inside the elevator.

 **"I'm warning you students, if you keep this up, your fates are sealed!"** Merlot said as the elevator descend.

 **"Don't mind him, his threats are as empty as his theories."** Ozpin said as the doors to the elevator opened. As we waled out, we could see spikes coming out from the floor.

"Oh, look, traps that are probably so easy to dodge that a five year old could do it." I said dryly.

 _'Seriously, you'd think a mad scientist would have some DECENT traps laid out.'_ I thought to myself.

"I see a vent on the other side." Velvet said.

"Let's go then." I said as I walked around the spiked.

 **"According to my map of the lab, this room contains more processing equipment for his serum. You need to take it out. All of it."** Ozpin said as we walked out of the vent.

"So destroy anything in your path." I said with a grin.

"Team CFVY, welcome to my area of expertise." I said as I pulled out my sword.

 **"Stop it! I'm warning you!"** Merlot said. But it was too late, we had already begun destroying the serum containers.

 **"STOP IT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"** Merlot said.

"Sorry, can't hear you! To busy destroying your shit!" I yelled.

 **"NO STOP! C-Coco, what about your mother?"** Merlot asked. Coco stopped dead in her tracks, a shocked expression on her face.

"H-how did you?" She asked.

 **"My serum can help her walk again, think about it, she'll be able to be happy again."** Merlot said.

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"Shut up." Coco said in a low tone.

 **"W-what?!"** Merlot asked.

"Did you really think she'd accept help from the likes of you?! You're the reason she can't walk in the first place, you bastard!" She yelled as she unloaded her mini guns clip into the various serum containers.

 **"NO! MY SERUM!"** Merlot yelled.

 **"You did it! You destroyed his serum!"** Ozpin said.

 **"Alright, you asked for it. Now, I use my secret weapon!"** Merlot yelled.

 **"Fantastic work, I must admit, you've really handled this well. The team back at Beacon is cheering for you. Now all you have to do is get to the bullhead."** Ozpin said.

"You heard him, let's get the the bull head and go home." Coco said.

"No." I said.

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"I'm sorry what?" Coco asked.

"This bastard needs to pay." I said as I pulled out my scroll and called Merlot.

"What are you doing?!" Coco asked.

"Where are you?! Send everything you've got at me! I'll kill it all! Then I'm coming for you." I said in a low tone.

 **"Brandon! Now is not the time for that! You need to get out of here, you're exhausted enough as it is."** Ozpin said.

"I wasn't talking to you, Ozpin." I said.

 **"Very well, you want payback that badly? Then come over to the testing grounds, I'll upload the coordinates to your scroll. I'll be waiting."** Merlot said. I looked at my scroll and nodded.

"Brandon, come on! We can do this another time! We need to go!" Velvet said.

"We may not get another opportunity like this! If you want to go then fine, go! But don't expect me to come along with you." I said as I ran towards the testing grounds.

"Brandon, wait!" Coco yelled, but it was too late, I was already gone.

* * *

"Just make a right turn here and-." I said as I arrived at the testing grounds.

"Here we go." I said as I ran down towards the testing grounds.

"Well, I'm here! So come on out!" I yelled. Suddenly, I heard someone clapping slowly.

"Bravo, bravo Brandon, you managed to foil my entire plan to launch my attack on Vale." Merlot said.

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"Why are you looking at me like that?" Merlot asked.

 _'Wow, never thought I'd find someone smaller than Neo.'_ I thought to myself as I looked down at Merlot, I then proceeded to do what I thought was appropriate at the time.

Laugh my fucking ass off.

"HA HA HA HA! Why- why are you so small?!" I asked in between laughs.

"How dare you!" Merlot said.

"N-no, stop! You're killing me!" I said, holding my sides. This went on for about twenty seconds until I calmed down.

"Are you done?" Merlot asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." I said.

"Though seriously? The slow clap?" I asked.

"What?" He asked.

"You couldn't think of ANYTHING else?" I asked.

"I thought it would be more threatening." Merlot said.

"It's more annoying than threatening." I said.

"No matter, I have a very special surprise for you." He said as he pressed a button on his watch. The ground began to shake, and all of a sudden, the ground beneath Merlot began to open, revealing a giant mech suit.

"Of course it's a mech suit. Why wouldn't it be a mech suit?" I asked myself dryly.

"I must admit, I didn't think I'd have to use this so soon. But alas, things have changed, my serum is gone, and my test subjects destroyed. Now... I only want to kill you." Merlot said as he went inside the mech suit.

"Oh, and where are your posse, hmm? Did they run, because they knew that defeating me was only a dream?" Merlot asked.

"No, we're right here." I heard Coco say from behind me.

"Was wondering if you'd never show up." I said.

"And miss out on this? Hell no, you'd just get yourself killed." Coco said as she pulled out her mini-gun.

"So, this is the weapon Merlot was talking about." Coco said.

"It's huge!" Velvet said.

 **"This is it students! You're final battle, I'll be sure to make it your last."** Merlot said through the Mech.

"Scatter!" Coco commanded. We all nodded and proceeded to run in separate directions.

 **"Which one should be the first to go?"** Merlot asked. **"How about you?"** Merlot said as he fired rockets at Fox.

"Heads up!" Coco yelled as she fired her weapon at the rockets, causing them to explode.

"Brandon! Speed!" Coco commanded.

"On it!" I yelled as I activated the Speed enchantment, causing all five of us to move at blinding speeds. Merlot opened the back side of the mech, causing green liquid to pour out of it.

"Shit!" I yelled as I deactivated the Speed enchantment.

"What's up?" Coco asked.

"Don'r touch the liquid! It evaporates anything it touches!" I yelled.

"Give us Enchant!" Coco yelled.

"One Enchant, coming up!" I yelled as I activated the Enchant enchantment.

"Yatsu, Velvet! Cinnabun!" Coco yelled. They both nodded and charged at the mech. Yatsuhashi picked up Velvet and threw her atop of Merlot's mech. Velvet used her semblance to create a copy of a shotgun. Velvet began to fire the gun at the mech, making Merlot stumble back a bit. Yatsuhashi jumped at Merlot, swinging his sword at the arm of the mech, severing it as it cut through.

 **"Well then, no matter."** Merlot said as a new arm flew onto him from one of the doors in the room.

"Oh come one that's bull shit!" I yelled.

"Yatsu, Fox, Dancing Blades!" Coco yelled. They nodded and charged at the mech. The mech tries to swing it's fist at the two, only for the two to do a series of flips and rolls, as if they were dancing. They slashed at the mech as they moved, Yatsuhashi throwing Fox atop of the mech before swinging his sword at it's legs.

 **"This is starting to get tiresome!"** Merlot said as he moved the mech so it hit both Yatsuhashi and Fox.

"Velvet! Chocolate Bunny!" Coco said. Velvet nodded and pulled out a perfect replica of Coco's mini gun. Coco used her semblance to enlarge the barrel of the gun.

"Well them, that's not terrifying at all." I said sarcastically. Velvet began to fire the mini-gun at the mech, though the mech summoned a barrier in the last second to deflect the bullets.

"Hey! Barriers are my thing!" I yelled.

 _'Well, Ozpin has a barrier... now that I think about it, why isn't there a barrier semblance? It would probably be very useful.'_ I thought to myself.

"Brandon." Coco called over to me.

 _'Maybe it's Jaune's semblance is a barrier."_ I thought.

"Brandon!" Coco yelled.

 _'Nah, seems to simple for Jaune of all people.'_ I thought.

"BRANDON!" Coco yelled.

"What?" I asked, only for the fist of the mech to make contact with my body.

 _'I should really learn not space out during battle.'_ I thought as I was sent flying towards the wall.

"Ow." I said simply.

"You alright?" Coco asked.

"Define alright?" I asked.

"Yeah you're fine." Coco said.

"Fox, Velvet... umm." Coco began.

"Seriously?!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry! It's hard to come up with a team attack name that isn't completely offensive!" Coco yelled.

"Fox, Velvet, chocolate fox! See, wasn't that hard!" I yelled. Fox and Velvet proceeded to climb onto the mech, Velvet making a perfect replica of my weapon.

 **"Little pests!"** Merlot said as he tried to shake them off, but they had a firm grasp on the mech. I ran towards the mech with my sword and slashed at it's leg, slicing it off.

"There we go." I said, only for the extra food to come in and hit me straight in the back. After the leg attached, Merlot shook Velvet and Fox off of his back.

 **"Now it's your turn!"** Merlot said as he reeled the mech's fist backwards and threw it at me.

"Brandon!" Velvet called out.

 _'Son of a bitch!'_ I thought as I braced for impact.

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.

Only it never came.

 **"What now?!"** Merlot asked.

I looked over to see two arms coming out of my own arms holding the mech's fist. All of a sudden, the blade of my sword began to glow bright, the arms began to move outward revealing the rest of it's body.

 **"W-what is that thing?!"** Merlot asked.

 _'My weapon spirit.'_ I thought as I looked at the spirit in-front of me. Though it looked different from the other time it appeared. It didn't have any armor, it looked like a cloud of glowing silver smoke with arms and legs really.

 _'Must not be fully manifested then.'_ I thought.

"Yatshu! Chocolate samurai!" Coco yelled. Yatsuhashi nodded and charged at the Mech. Coco activated her semblance and enlarged the blade. Yatsuhashi swung the sword at the mech, cutting it in half.

"No, you little pests!" Merlot said as he got out of the mech.

"Well, if I'm going down, then you're all coming with me!" Merlot said as he pulled out a detonator.

"Let's end this with a bang!" Merlot said.

"No! Don't let him press that button!" Coco yelled.

"This is it student's! Time to day goodby-." Merlot was cut off as the fist of the spirit made contact with his face, breaking his nose and making him drop the detonator.

"Y-you bastard! I'm going t-!" Merlot cut himself of as the spirit grabbed him by his neck.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you." I said as I glared down at Merlot.

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"What's the matter? Oh, you're finished. Well then-." I began.

"I think it's about time you cashed in your payment." I said.

"N-now, now. Let's not be hasty! H-how about this? I-I'll give you whatever your heart desires! Money, sex, fame, fortune. I can give you all of that!" He said in a terrified tone.

"Anything?" I asked.

"B-Brandon! You can't seriously-!" I cut Coco off with my right hand.

"Yes! Anything you desire, I can make it happen." Merlot said.

"Okay, though I only want ONE little favor from you." I said.

"Yes? What is i-!" Merlot was cut off mid sentence as the spirit's fist made contact with his face.

"Eat shit asshole." I said.

The spirit began to punch Merlot rapidly, blood coming out of Merlot's body as the punches made contact with him.

 _'Oh my god. This is FUCKING AWESOME!'_ I thought to myself as the spirit continued to punch Merlot. This continued for a couple of seconds until the spirit eventually punched Merlot towards the wall.

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"Why did the background change three different times?" I asked myself as the spirit disappeared.

"N-no. T-this is all wrong." Merlot said as he tried to stand up, only to fall back onto the ground. Sudddenly, two pairs of Mutant Beowolf's appeared from one of the doors.

"Y-yes, my creations. Go! Kill these pests!" Merlot commanded. The two Beowolf's turned towards Merlot with hungry looks in there eyes.

"What are you waiting for?! Kill them!" Merlot yelled.

"What are you- no. No stop it!" Merlot yelled as the two Grimm walked towards him.

"No. NO! NOOOOOO!" Merlot yelled as the two Grimm began to sink there teeth upon his flesh.

 **"Students, are you there? The bullhead has just arrived! Head over to it quickly."** Ozpin said.

"Yeah, were on it." I said.

 **"What of Doctor Merlot?"** Ozpin asked.

"Let's just say that his experiments turned on him." I said.

 **"Oh, well no matter, I'll meet you all back at beacon."** Ozpin said.

"You heard the man, let's move out!" Coco said as she and the rest of her team walked towards the direction of the bullhead.

"Hey kids! Glad you're all alright!" The pilot said as it landed on the runway.

"Thanks!" Velvet said.

"Where's Brandon?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Wait up!" I yelled as I ran towards the bull head.

"What took you so long?" Coco asked.

"Sorry, I was picking something up." I said as I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand.

"Well, let's go!" Coco said as she climbed into the bullhead.

"Alright, we're all here!" Coco yelled.

"Okay, here we go!" The pilot said as we flew out of the bullhead. We sat there in silence for a couple of minutes as we flew away from the island.

"Well, I'm starving, how about we celebrate when we get back?" Coco asked.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Fox said.

"By the way Brandon, what was it that you needed to get?" Velvet asked.

"This." I said as I pulled out the detonator and pressed the button.

"W-wait what are you-?!" Coco yelled, only for the sound of an explosion to be heard from behind us.

"W-why did you-?" Velvet asked.

"Merlot may be dead, but his research was still there. There's no telling who would have found it." I said.

"So I decided that it was best to destroy it." I said.

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"Hey Brandon, what was that?" Velvet asked.

"What was what?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb with us, we're not stupid. What was that thing that came out of you and punched Merlot to death?" Coco asked.

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 _'Well then, this isn't going to be fun to explain.'_ I thought to myself.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #24**

 **And so concludes the Merlot arc. Just one more chapter after this, and we head into the canon story.**

 **Also my stan- I mean spirit SORTA manifested.**

 **We're closing in on the canon story.**

 **It's crazy, right?**

 **Well, I guess it's almost time to see if my training was worth it.**

 **Here are some of the review's you guy's left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Responses**

 **Ragnorak16**

 **Ragnorak: It's okay.**

 **Coco: Um, who are you?**

 **Ragnorak: Shh just let it out.**

 **Coco: Who is this?**

 **Me: Some dude.**

 **Fiction Fan 369**

 **1\. Do you mean like a trailer or sorts? I haven't really thought about it.**

 **2\. Yeah, but don't expect the members of team RWBY to be one of those love interests, it's over done.**

 **3\. Thanks!**

 **rocketmce**

 **1.**

 **Neo: I ship it too.**

 **Brandon: I don't think you can ship a ship you're already a part o-**

 **Neo: I. Ship. It.**

 **2.**

 **Rocketmce: ****Also, weilder of the enchanted scythe is~... *Points gun at head***

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Me: What I thought mother fucker.**

 **3.**

 **Merlot: ...**

 **War historian:**

 **Brandon: *Looks over at Coco.***

 **Coco: I said I was sorry!**

 **jeit93:**

 **Coco: Oh believe me, I know.**

 **Brandon: Help.**

 **Qwertypip: Like I said, she only has HALF of the maidens power, not all of it, though I should probably change Cinder's development potential to S.**

 **TrueNecromancer:**

 **Emerald:... *Takes Money* Deal.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **Me: Yeah, I have her right here. *Holds up a gravestone* don't tell Ruby I have this.**

 **Guest:**

 **1\. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.**

 **2\. Probably not.**

 **3\. I haven't really thought about it.**

* * *

Omake- DEFIANTLY not another JoJo reference. (Non-Canon)

"Alright let's go over the plan one more time." Cinder said to her subordinates.

"First off, Roman here will-." Cinder was cut off by the sound of someone walking towards them.

"Alright, I don't know who you are, but how about you come out here quietly, I'll make it quick." Roman said.

"Okay." They heard a familiar voice say. Everyone but Cinder's eyes widened as they saw who walked out from around the corner.

"B-Brandon/ **Brandon**?!" Everyone but Cinder said.

"Heya." I said as I waved towards the three of them.

"W-why are you here?!" Emerald yelled in a desperate tone.

"Am I not allowed to visit my friends?" I asked.

"Friends? Oh you silly boy, do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Cinder said as she walked over towards me.

"Mercury the assassin, Emerald the thief and Neo the Ice Cream crazed girl?" I asked.

 **"Hey!"** Neo said.

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"I'm terribly sorry, but you can't know about this operation." Cinder said. Mercury and Emerald closed there eye's, while Neo looked like she was on the verge of breaking down.

"I'll make this qui-!" Cinder was cut off mid sentence as the spirits fist made contact with her face.

The spirit rapidly punched Cinder until the spirit made the final blow.

 **"ORA** **!"** It shouted as it punched Cinder through the wall.

"Again with the background, why does it keep doing that?" I asked myself.

"Okay, I'm good, carry on." I said as I walked out of the warehouse.

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"What the fuck just happened?!" Mercury asked.

"I-I don't know, but I suddenly don't want to steal from him anymore." Emerald said.

"You got some weird friends there Neo." Roman said.

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"Neo?" Roman said as he looked over towards Neo who had a black look on her face, her eye's pure white.

"Wow, he actually broke her." Roman said.

"Hey, Boss! You alright?" Mercury shouted.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Cinder wheezed.

* * *

 **Final Poll Results**

 **ReNora: 40**

 **Arkos: 38**

 **Black Sun: 19**

 **Lancaster: 17**

 **Iceberg: 10**

 **Cinnabun: 10**

 **Shades and Blades: 6**

 **Yes, after this chapter is uploaded, the poll will be officially closed. Hope you're all happy with the results.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Caliber-Incomplete**

 **Appearance: It's actual appearance is unknown, due to it not being fully manifested.**

 **Destructive Power: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: D**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: C**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	24. The Talk

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Talk"

Thought: _'The Talk'_

Flashback: _"The Talk"_

So after we destroyed Merlot Industries for good, I began to tell team CFVY everything about my weapon, it's origins, and what the spirit was.

"Okay, where to begin?" I asked myself.

"How about you start by telling us what that spirit was." Coco said.

"All right, but first I have a question for you." I said.

"Do you know of the tale of Olaf and the twelve enchanted weapons?" I asked. They looked at me in confusion before shaking there heads.

"No, we haven't." Coco said.

"Well then, I'll tell you." I said.

"What does this Olaf guy have to do with the spirit that came out of you?" Coco asked.

 _'Well, no turning back now.'_ I thought to myself.

"If you'll listen to me, I'll tell you." I said. Coco leaned over to her teammates, whispering to them for a couple of seconds.

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"Alright, tell us." Coco said.

"Well okay then." I said.

"This took place long before our times, hell, the Kingdoms of Remnant didn't even exist back then." I started to explain.

"Back then, there was this famous traveling blacksmith that went by the name of Olaf Avalonian. People say that his weapons were second to none because he was the very first person who started to manufacture dust into his weapons." I said.

"Though he wasn't completely satisfied with his work, so one day during his travels across the lands of Remnant, he came across a temple. The temple held an old and ancient library." I said. Velvet quickly jumped in front of me, her eye's sparkling.

"A library! Where?! Where is it?!" She asked rapidly.

"Hey! I only know about the library, not where it is." I said.

"Oh." She said as her ears drooped downwards.

"Well, as I was saying, in that library, he found a book of incredible power. This was known as the "Book of Enchantments"." I said.

"Book of Enchantments? What does it do?" Fox asked.

"Well, it can give any item a massive boost in power, the possibilities for the potential enchantments are limitless." I said.

"When he found the book, Olaf saw an opportunity to make his weapons legendary. He took the book and learned how to apply the enchantments to his weapons. From that day forth, he would be known as the best blacksmith in all of Remnant." I said.

"Then why don't we have more of these weapons?" Coco asked.

"Well, that's the thing, as his weapons grew stronger, so did the greed in the people's hearts. They wanted to take the book for themselves and make a fortune of their own." I said.

"One day, a group of bandits attacked Olaf's convoy and demanded he gives them the Book of Enchantments. Olaf refused, and the bandits attacked Olaf, though due to the enchanted weapons, he was able to kill the bandits with ease." I said.

"Seeing the danger in keeping the book, he went back to the temple and returned the book to the library. He then took the remaining enchanted weapons he had and scattered them across Remnant." I said.

"What about Olaf, what happened to him?" Velvet asked.

"No one really knows knows what happened to the old man after that, but one thing was for certain, he was, and always will be, the greatest blacksmith in the history of Remnant. The weapons he left behind are proof of his success." I said.

"He left twelve weapons behind. Carnwennan: The Enchanted Dagger, Mjolnir: The Enchanted War Hammer, Indra: The Enchanted Bow, Rhongomiant: The Enchanted Spear, Cronus: The Enchanted Scythe, Sharur: The Enchanted Mace, Masamune: The Enchanted Katana, Perun: The Enchanted Axe, Dgraig Goch: The Enchanted Longsword, Flamberge: The Enchanted Sickles, Joyeuse: The Enchanted Rapier and finally." I said as I pulled out my sword.

" **Caliber: The Enchanted Sword.** " I said.

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"Wait. THAT'S Caliber?!" Coco asked.

"Yep." I said.

"You still haven't explained what that spirit body is." Velvet said.

"To be honest, I don't know a lot about it myself." I said.

"All I know is that all the enchanted weapons have them." I said.

"Damn, so this spirit thing is new to you as well?" Coco asked.

"Well, they're called "Weapon Spirits"." I said.

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"So let me see if I got this right." Coco said as we were flying over Vale.

"You have one of the enchanted weapons that the great blacksmith Olaf made before the kingdoms were created." Coco said.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Basically." I said.

"And that spirit thing that came out of your body was the spirit of the weapon." Velvet said.

"That's about right." I said.

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 _'Well, this is it. They think I'm fucking crazy. Good job Brandon, good fucking jo-!'_ My thought process was cut off by Coco.

"Well, I guess that would explain a few things." Coco said.

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"Wait, what?!" I asked.

"Well, I did find it rather unusual that you had a semblance that had multiple uses, not even the huntsmen at our school have a semblance like yours." Coco said.

"Not to mention it explains why your weapon was glowing when your spirit came out during the fight." Velvet said.

"It also explains the weird and unfamiliar writing on your blade." Yatsuhashi said.

"Wait, wait, wait. Just like that?!" I yelled.

"Well, don't get us wrong. The story sounds completely far fetched." Coco said.

"Yeah, but you trusted us back in the facility." Velvet said.

"So the least we can do is trust you." Coco said.

"Though I'm sure we all have questions." Coco said to her team.

"Yeah, like why haven't other people tried to enchant there own weapons?" Velvet asked.

"Well, one of the reasons is that no one really know's where the book is." I said.

"What about the other weapons?" Fox asked.

"Well, I do know of three of the weapons." I said.

"Wait, Three?!" Coco asked.

"Yeah, Cronus, Flamberge, and Carnwennan." I said.

"I met the wielder of Cronus in the Forever Fall Forest." I said.

"I was told about the wielder of Flamberge by Remington." I said.

"Who?" The member's of team CFVY asked.

"Do you remember that tournament I entered?" I asked. They nodded.

"Well, that's the guy that hosts all the tournaments, and the wielder of Flamberge entered on of his tournaments in the past." I said.

"My friends foster father is the wielder of Carnwennan." I said.

 _'I think I'll leave the fact that he's the leader of the city of thieves hidden for now.'_ I thought.

"What about the others?" Velvet asked.

"Sorry, those are the only ones I know of at the moment." I said.

"What about you? How did you get your hands on such a powerful weapon?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"My old man left it behind." I said.

"Where is he no-?" Fox began, only for Coco and Velvet to quickly cut him off.

"What?" He whispered.

"His father is a very... sensitive subject." Velvet said.

"Oh." He said.

"Hey kids! We're about to arrive at Beacon!" The pilot said.

"Okay, thank you!" Velvet shouted. As we landed at Beacon, we could see that Professor's Oobleck, Port, Peach, and Goodwitch were waiting in front of Beacon.

"Professors!" Velvet said.

"Student's! I'm glad to see that you're all safe!" Port said.

"Yes, you all did a tremendous job today!" Oobleck said.

"Even if some of your actions were beyond reckless. Now, Ozpin has told you all to-" Glynda was interrupted by running past team CFVY, ran in front of me, and proceeded to pinch my cheeks.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell is your problem!" I yelled.

"What's my problem?! What's YOUR problem!?" Peach yelled.

"What were you thinking?! Charging in without any support or backup! You're lucky that team CFVY was there to support you, you might have died!" Peach yelled.

"Okay, Okay! I'm sorry!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry what?!" Peach yelled as she pinched cheeks harder.

"I'm sorry Peach!" I yelled. She growled and started to stretch them.

"OW! OW! OW! OKAY, I'M SORRY MA'AM! NOW LET ME GO ALRE-!" I was cut off by Peach pulling me into a bear hug.

"Don't you ever make me worry like that again! Do you hear me?!" Peach yelled.

"Choking! Not breathing!" I wheezed out.

"Do you hear me?!" Peach yelled as she tightened her grip around me.

"Yes! Yes! I get it!" I managed to say.

"Good." She said as she released her grip on me, causing me to fall to the ground gasping for air.

"Sorry about that student's, carry on." Peach said with an innocent smile.

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"Uh, yes, as I was saying, Professor Ozpin want's you all to go to his office immediately." Glynda said.

"Um, yeah, okay." Coco said as she and the rest of her team started to walk towards Beacon tower.

* * *

I leaned my back against the elevator wall as I stare ahead at the door.

 _'Why does this tower have to so damn tall?!'_ I thought to myself.

I know I've done this a million times before but still, this is taking to damn long!

 _'Now that I think about it, Cinder had to take the same elevator to go down to the secret chamber. Wonder if she had similar thoughts to that of mine?'_ I thought.

My thought processes was cut off by the sound of the ding that indicated that I've arrived to the top of the tower.

"About time." I said as the doors leading to Ozpin's office opened.

Ozpin was sitting in his chair with his trademark mug in his right hand.

"Ah, thank you Glynda for retrieving team CFVY and Brandon for me." Ozpin said.

"You're welcome professor Ozpin." Glynda said. Ozpin nodded and turned his head so that he was facing team us.

"As for you, I'm glad you were all able to put a stop to Merlot's plan's. Now all the souls that were lost at the fall of Mountain Glenn can finally be put to ease." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, I know, we're awesome." Coco said as she puffed out her chest in pride.

 _'Great, just what we needed. Her ego's even BIGGER now."_ I thought to myself.

"We're always glad to be of service Professor Ozpin." Yatsuhashi said with a slight bow.

"Glad to see one of us is humble." Fox said. Coco's response was to go over to Fox and whack him across the head.

"Ow!" Fox yelled.

"Anyway's were you able to figure out what Merlot's plans were?" Ozpin said. Before team CFVY could respond, I quickly chimed in.

"Yeah, he wanted to release the mutant Grimm into the city of Vale." I said.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Velvet asked.

"Well, before you guy's arrived at the fight, Merlot was telling me about his little scheme that we just ruined." I said.

"Well, it's a good thing you stopped him, if not, then we would have had another incident like Mountain Glenn." Ozpin said.

"Yes, well, as bad as his intentions were, he was a genius in the field of science." Oobleck said.

"The team you requested is here professor Peach." Glynda said as she moved her scroll away from her ear.

"What team?" Velvet asked.

"The team that's going to salvage the materials of the lab." Glynda said.

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 _'Fuck.'_ I thought to myself.

"Ah, thank you Glynda, maybe we can actually put his work to some good use now." Peach said.

 _'Fuck!'_ I thought as team CFVY looked at me with blank expressions.

"Oh, just think of what we could do! We can make a serum that could cure most of the diseases that are a problem for us today. We could further expand upon our technological advancements! We could-!" Peach cut herself off when she saw the blank looks on team CFVY's faces.

"What's with those looks? Aren't you excited about the scientific possibilitie-." Peach cut herself of when she saw the nervous look on my face.

 _'God, Monty, whoever is the god of this universe. I promise I'll be a good person, as long as you don't make Peach ask-.'_ My thought process was cut off by the dark look on Peach's face.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Peach said in a monotone voice.

 _'Why do you hate me?'_ I thought.

"What?" I asked meekly.

"You heard me." Peach said as she tightened her grip on my shoulder.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She asked again.

"W-well would you look at the time? I'm starving, who wants to go and celebrate our little vicor-."

"Brandon blew up the lab." All of the member's of team CFVY said in unison.

 _'Hate. Hate! HATE! I'M GONNA FUCKING-!'_ My thought process was cut off as Peach grabbed my hand and placed a couple of gravity dust crystal in it.

"Here. You're gonna need this." Peach said.

"Why?" I asked.

"For the dust bomb." She said.

"Why am I gonna need the dust bo-?" Peach cut me off by picking my up and throwing me out of one of the windows in Ozpin's office.

* * *

 _(3rd Person Pov)_

"Okay, I feel a lot better now." Peach said. Everyone but Ozpin was looking at her like she had just killed someone... well Velvet already passed out from shock.

"Was that really necessary?" Ozpin asked.

"Don't worry, all he has to do is turn his barrier into the dust bomb, he'll be fine." Peach said.

"Wait, did you just say bomb!?" Coco asked. Peach motioned for everyone to look over the edge of the tower. As they looked over, sure enough, Brandon was floating down safely, surrounded by a dark purple aura.

"Hey, are you okay!" Peach yelled.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Brandon yelled back.

"I wonder how high you would have to be to hit terminal velocity." Peach said as she took out her weapon from within her hair.

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Peach said.

"So how exactly does he make the dust bomb?" Oobleck asked.

"Well, he uses the barrier part of his semblance to-."

"Oh, by the way, we know about Brandon's weapon being the enchanted sword." Coco said.

"What?! How did you figure it out?" Peach asked.

"He told us." Coco said.

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"After all the trouble we go throng to keep it a secret, he goes and just tells people about it." Peach grumbled.

"So moving on, how does the Barrier enchantment fit into the dust bomb?" Coco asked.

"Well, I'm sure you know that Brandon can apply his Buster enchantment to things other than his sword." Peach said. Everyone in the room nodded.

"Well, the same can work for the Barrier enchantment. If he applies the Barrier enchantment to the dust crystal, then the barrier will have a unique affect based on the type of dust he uses. For example, if he uses a gravity dust crystal, he can make a gravity bomb. After the gravity bomb is set off, it will lower the gravity of anything in it's blast radios." Peach explained.

"What?" Fox asked.

"I know, right? Think of all the possibilities when it comes to potential recipes for bombs!" Peach said.

"What about other types of dust?" Oobleck asked.

"Well, he can create just about any type of bomb with a certain type of dust, so far we have the fire, ice, lighting, air, etc." Peach said in an excited tone.

"Glynda, are you okay?" Peach asked.

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"You gave him access to bombs!?" Glynda yelled.

"Don't worry, we haven't blown any thing up... yet." Peach said.

"That doesn't exactly put me at ease!" Glynda yelled.

"So how how long does the gravity affect last?" Coco asked.

"Well, it is temporary, so the affects should last for about a few-." Peach was cut off by the sound a high pitched scream.

"Seconds." Peach finished.

"Is he okay?" Velvet asked as she regained consciousness.

"Well there's no red around his body so that's a good sign." Peach said.

"Well then, moving back to the subject at hand. Glynda, can you inform the team that they will not be needed?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes, professor." Glynda said as she pulled out her scroll.

"So what exactly happened to Merlot?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, after Yatsuhashi destroyed the mech Merlot was in, this spirit came out and-." Coco was cut off by all of the professors turning towards her with there eye's widened.

"The weapon spirit manifested?!" Oobleck asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think." Coco said.

"What did it look like?!" Oobleck asked.

"It looked like a cloud of silver smoke with arms and legs." Velvet said.

"Well that's... unusual." Oobleck said.

"Why?" Coco asked.

"Well, from what Brandon told me, that wasn't the first time the spirit appeared. The first time it appeared, it had armor on it." Oobleck said.

"Must not be fully manifested." Port said.

"Well, let's move on, how did the spirit act?" Ozpin asked.

"What do you mean?" Coco asked.

"When the spirit appeared during your fight with Merlot, what did it do, how did it act?" Ozpin asked.

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"The spirit beat Merlot to death." Coco said. Ozpin closed his eye's as he processed the new information.

"I see." Ozpin said.

"Professor Ozpin?" Glynda asked.

"I'm sure you're all aware of what happened to Brandon a year ago." Ozpin said.

"Yes." Everyone said as they nodded there heads.

"The world took everything from him." Peach said.

"His home." Glynda said.

"His family." Port said.

"His friends." Oobleck said.

 _"His right to paradise.'_ Ozpin thought.

"As you'd imagine, Brandon would be quite angry at fate for taking away what was most precious to him." Ozpin said. Everyone nodded, agreeing with Ozpin's statement.

"Well, I believe that Brandon's anger towards the world is what caused the weapon spirit to manifest." Ozpin said.

"How?" Velvet asked.

"You see, a weapon spirit doesn't form based of off the user's physical state, it forms based off of the user's mental state." Ozpin said.

"Brandon's mental state...well... he's in a very troubled state of mind." He said.

"So Brandon's state of mind is what caused the spirit to act so violently?" Coco asked.

"Yes, you are correct, Ms. Adel." Ozpin said

"Damn." Coco said.

"Yes, and if Brandon keep's building up his anger, I believe it will burst and turn into something much more... savage like." Ozpin said.

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"What I'm trying to say is that I believe Brandon's spirit shows that he has a lot more going on in his mind than he lets on." He said.

"Now that you've heard that, any questions?" Ozpin asked. Velvet sat up from the chair she was sitting in, causing everyone to look at her.

"Yes, Ms. Scarlatina?" Ozpin asked.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Velvet asked.

"Well, we can't really do anything until Brandon opens up to us more." Ozpin said. Velvet looked down, her ears drooping a bit.

"Look, I'm sure he'll open up in time." He said.

"Why don't you go and celebrate your victory, I think you've all earned it." Ozpin said. Everyone nodded and walked out of the door's to Ozpin's office.

* * *

"Damn, that was... something." Fox said as they walked out of the elevator.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Coco said.

"Well, you heard the man. Let's go down to Vale and celebrate." She said.

"You guy's can go ahead, I need to go somewhere." Velvet said as she walked ahead.

"Where are you going?" Coco asked.

"I'm going to visit some old friends." Velvet said.

"Oh! Okay, meet us at the usual place when you're done." Coco said.

"Will do." Velvet said.

"Oh, and if you find Brandon, tell him we'll be at Uncle Bob's, just in case he want's to join us." Coco said as she walked towards the elevator.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him." Velvet said as she began to walk out of the tower and towards the airships.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

 _'Damn, didn't think she's be that mad.'_ I thought to myself as I dusted off the last of the remaining ruble off of my hoodie.

 _'Now, let's see if I can't manifest my spirit again.'_ I thought to myself as I closed my eyes.

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As I opened my eye's I looked to see that an armored arm was coming out of my own arm.

 _'Well, I can summon the arm. How about the rest of it?'_ I asked myself as I tried to summon the rest of the body, only for the arm to completely disappear.

 _'Okay, only one arm it seems.'_ I thought.

 _'What about legs?'_ I thought as I tried to manifest the legs.

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 _'Nope.'_ I thought as I looked below me.

 _'What about two arms?'_ I thought.

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 _'Nope.'_ I thought as I only saw one armored arm coming out of me.

 _'Well, at least I can get one arm, better than nothing, I guess.'_ I thought as I made the arm disappear.

 _'Well, now that the whole Merlot situation is over, what do I do now?'_ I asked.

 _'I guess I just start preparing for the fall.'_ I thought.

 _'As well as preparing to smash Cinder's skull in.'_ I thought grimly.

"Hey guy's." I heard a familiar voice say.

 _'Velvet?'_ I thought as I began to walk towards the source of the voice.

 _'What's she doing in a graveyard?'_ I asked myself. Only to stop and smack myself in the forehead.

 _'Gee, I wonder why she would be in a graveyard? Certainly not to mourn the death of lost one. Seriously what the hell is wrong with you?'_ I asked myself.

"It's been awhile." She said as she stood in front of three gravestones.

 _'Who are they?'_ I asked myself as I hid behind a tree.

"I guess I should catch you guy's up on some things." Velvet said.

"Well, I was accepted into Beacon! My teammates are very nice, you would have loved them." Velvet said.

"I also met this one boy." She said.

"And Before you say anything, we're just friends! He's a nice guy and all but...okay nice isn't really the word I would use to describe him." Velvet said.

 _'Gee, thanks.'_ I thought dryly.

"Though he has helped us get out of a lot of trouble...and we helped him get out of just as much, if not more trouble." Velvet said.

"You all would have liked him." She said.

"Though recently, we actually just saved Vale from a mad scientist." Velvet said.

"Yes, I know it sound's crazy and unlikely, but we actually did it! His name was Doctor Merlot. He... he was responsible for the incident that happened at Mountain Glenn." Velvet said.

"So, I guess you can say that I brought the man that took your lives to justice." She said.

"So you all can...can." She began, trying her best not to breakdown.

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She shook her head before wiping the tears away from her eye's.

"No, I won't cry. Not anymore." Velvet said.

"Thank you, all of you. It was all thanks to you that I could make it this far." She said.

"When I first lost you all, I felt... empty. Like multiple parts of me were taken away, and weren't coming back." Velvet said.

"But looking back, that loss is what pushed me to become the woman I am today." She said.

"Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi. We've all come a long way. Not just as teammates, but as people and general." Velvet said.

"We still have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves huntsman and huntresses." She said.

"I'll make you all proud." Velvet said as she turned around, only for her eye's to widened as she saw me crouching behind a tree.

"Uh, hey." I said sheepishly.

"Brandon! Were you eavesdropping on me?!" Velvet asked.

"Eavesdrop is such a strong word. I prefer the word...people-watchi-." I was cut off as Velvet's hand made contact with my face, making an audible slapping noise echo through the graveyard.

"I said I was sorry!" I said as I rubbed the area where Velvet smacked me.

"That doesn't make it any better!" Velvet said with a pout.

"So who are these guy's anyway?" I asked as I sat in front of the tombstones.

"They're my friends that I lost back at Mountain Glenn." Velvet said.

"Oh." I said.

"Yeah, I just came here to tell them that they can rest easy now." She said.

"Were you close?" I asked.

 _'What kind of a question is that?'_ I thought to myself.

"Yeah, they were the very first group of people to treat me like an equal." Velvet said.

"They're the whole reason why I wanted to become a huntress." She said.

"Wish I could have met em." I said.

"Yeah, you would have liked them." Velvet said as she got up.

"Well, I should go, you know how Coco hates to be kept waiting." Velvet said.

"Yep." I said.

"Oh! Coco told you that if you want, you can come celebrate with us." She said.

"Nah, go have with your team, I have a different set of plans in mind." I said.

"Oh? What's that?" Velvet asked.

"I'm going to a night club." I said as I walked out of the graveyard.

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"Wait, what?" Velvet asked.

* * *

"Now if I remember correctly then Juniors night club should be somewhere around here." I said as I walked around downtown Vale. As I arrived, I saw that two guards were standing in front of the door.

 _'Well, Yang was able to walk right in, so I should be able to get in with out too much trouble.'_ I thought.

 _'I've always wanted to go to a nightclub.'_ I thought as I walked towards the front doors, only to be stopped by one of the guards.

"Hold up, kid." The gourd on the left said.

"Aren't you a bit young to be goin to a place like this?" The guard on the right said. My only response was to stare blankly at the two and reach into my pocket.

"What'ca got there kid?" The guard the left asked with a cocky smirk.

"Here, hold these." I said as I pulled out two gravity dust crystals and handed them to the two guards.

"Why?" The guard on the right asked.

"No reason." I said.

"Okay buddy, I think you need to-!" The guard on the left was cut off as the crystal's in the guards hands exploded.

"What the hell!?" The guard on the right said as he floated into the air.

"Later." I said as I pushed the two guards out of the way of warehouse entrance.

* * *

 _(3rd Person Pov)_

"Okay, now remember Neo, let me do the talking, you just stand there in case things go south." Roman explained as they were walking towards Junior's bar.

 **"Okay, Uncle Roman."** Neo said with a smile.

"Remember to stay close to me, I don't trust any of these assholes around you." Roman said.

 **"I can take care of myself, Uncle Roman!"** Neo said with a pout.

"I know, but my boss said she would like to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed." Roman said.

 **"Okay, l'll behave."** Neo said.

"Good, now let's-." Roman stopped himself mid-sentence as he saw two of Juniors men floating in front of the entrance to the bar.

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"Uh, you're seeing this to, right Neo?" Roman asked.

 **"Uh, yeah. I think so."** Neo said. Roman sighed as he lit a cigar.

"H-hey! Give us a hand here!" The guard the left said.

"I haven't even worked with the men, and I already know I'm going to be disappointed." Roman said as he walked into the building.

"Great, so... how's the girl?" The guard on the left asked.

"Oh, she left me." The guard on the right said.

"Oh." The right guard said.

"My mom died to." He said.

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"My dad got deported."

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"But I got the job!" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, you did." He said.

"Uh, hey." They flipped to see a young girl walking towards the front of the bar.

"Do you know where I can find a man named Junior? I have a few questions for him." She said as she cracked her knuckles.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

 _'Jeez, I know it's a night club, but why does the music have to be so damn load.'_ I thought as I walked into the room.

 _'Also why does it have to be so damn bright?"_ I asked myself.

"Excuse me." I said as I made my way through the crowd of people.

 _'You know, this place looks much more lively than it did in the Yellow trailer.'_ I thought.

 _'Then again, anyone who wasn't of importance to the story was just a walking shadow.'_ I thought as I made my way towards the bar.

"Hey." I said as I sat down. The Bartender looked at me with one of his eye brows raised. I proceeded to take out a hand full of lien out of my pocket and slam it on the counter.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Do you have any cola?" I asked.

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"What?" I asked.

"Seriously? Cola?" He asked.

"I don't like alcohol." I said. He sighed before grabbing two bottles of Cola.

"Diet or Regular?" He asked.

"Regular." I said as I grabbed one of the bottles. After he gave me the Cola, he walked up to a large man with a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants. He had gray eyes, short black hair, along with a matching beard and mustache. The man is also exceptionally tall, standing a full head over most of the men in the bar. The man nodded and walked up to me.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Sup." I said.

"Aren't you a bit young to be in a club like this?" He asked.

"I'm paying aren't I?" I asked.

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"Alright, you can stay. Just try not to cause any trou-." Junior was cut off by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Junior! Just the man I wanted to see!" I heard Roman said.

"Great." Junior said sarcastically.

"What do you want now?" He asked as he walked up to Roman.

 _'Well then, if Roman's here then Yang shouldn't be to far behind.'_ I thought as I activated the Buster enchantment to pop off the lid to the bottle.

"Hey." I heard two voices say.

 _'Why do I suddenly want to punch someone?'_ I asked myself as I turned around to face the source of the voices.

The first person was a teenage girl with long black hair and pale green eyes, highlighted by heavy cyan makeup. She wore a white, strapless dress with cyan lining.

Her accessories include a large white flower hairpin above her left ear, a white feather scarf, a silver pad with cyan and red feathers on her left shoulder, white gloves, a small silver bracer over the glove on her left arm, a bow in the center of the top-most part of her bodice, a silver chained belt, cyan wings on the lower back, and long white boots with blades at the heels.

The second person was a teenage girl with short black hair and pale green eyes, highlighted by heavy red makeup. She wore a red strapless dress with black lining.

Her accessories include large red and white feathers above her left ear, black fur hanging off her shoulders and held at the front by a dark gray chain, red gloves, a black bow tied around her waist, and long red boots with very high stiletto heels.

Her dress seems to be made out of, or is decorated with, newspaper articles with the heading "A New York la pop art di Alborghetti".

 _'Wait, how the hell do they know what New York is here?_ ' I thought to myself.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"We're the Malachite twins." They said.

"I'm Melanie." The girl on the right said.

"And I'm Miltia." The girl on the left said.

"Hey, I'm Brandon." I said.

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"So, can I help you?" I asked.

"Come with us." They said in unison.

"Why?" I asked. They rolled there eye's and gave me a 'Why do you think look'.

"Sorry, but I'm waiting for someone." I said.

"Who is it?" Milta asked.

"Yes, tell us." Melanie said.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough." I said as I started to drink my cola. As I looked over to my right, I could see Neo sitting in front of the counter with a drink in front of her. I smiled mischievously, grabbed a gravity dust crystal from my pocket, and activated the Barrier enchantment to make the dust bomb.

"Hey, where did that purple ball come from?" Milta asked.

 _'The explosion won't be as big, so Neo won't really notice until it's too late.'_ I thought.

"Is he ignoring us?" Milta asked.

"I think he is." Melanie said.

 _'Alright, let's try that little trick Jotaro showed Josuke in part four but for never used it again for some reason.'_ I thought as I manifested the arm so it held the dust bomb in between it's fingers.

"W-where the hell did that come from?!" Milita asked.

 _'Okay, just toss the gravity bomb near Neo.'_ I said as the arm reeled back and threw the dust bomb near Neo.

Neo's eye's turned white as the liquid from her cup suddenly stated to float in mid air.

 _'Aaaand 3.'_ I began.

 _'2.'_

 _'1'_ thought as I the effect of the bomb wore off. I quickly pull over my hood and act like nothing happened at all, chuckling all the while.

All of a sudden, the liquid that was above Neo's head fell onto her.

Neo turned her head towards me with an angry expression on her face.

"Uh, I think we should leave sis." Miltia said.

"Yeah." Melanie said as they walked away from the bar. Neo walked over to me, grabbed my hood, and pulled it over my head. I turned towards her with a coy expression on my face.

"Sup." I said. Neo's eye's widened, and her angered expression quickly turned into an annoyed expression.

"What's up with yo-!" Neo cut me off by kicking me directly in the shin.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I yelled as I rubbed my shin. She pulled out her scroll and began to type on the screen.

 **"Don't do that!"** Neo said.

"It was a joke!" I yelled. Neo sighed before she shooke her head and sat in the chair next to me.

 **"Well, anyway's. When did you learn to that?"** She asked.

"The gravity thing?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Something I found out when I was experimenting with dust." I said.

 **"Can you make more?"** She asked.

"I think so." I said as I gripped the gravity dust crystal in my hand to create anther gravity bomb.

"Alright, now just need to apply the Barrier enchantment to the crystal and.." I said as a gravity bomb appeared in my hand.

"There we go!" I said. Neo looked at the bomb, curiosity evident in her eye's.

"Just so you know, this thing can be kinda... explosive." I said.

 **"What do you mean 'explosive'?"** Neo asked.

"It's a bomb." I said.

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Neo smiled widely, stars in her eye's.

 _'Fuck.'_ I thought as Neo grabbed the bomb from my hand.

"N-Neo, calm down, let's not get do anything we-!" I was cut off as the bomb exploded, causing both Neo and I to float in the air.

* * *

 _(Roman Pov)_

"So, do we have a deal?" I asked as I pointed my cane towards Junior.

"Yeah, just try not to get them all killed." He said dryly.

 _'I might kill them myself if they're anything like those idiots out there.'_ I thought dryly.

"Good! Glad to see someone's being cooperative." I said as I lit a cigar.

"What, were the guy's out front giving you trouble?" He asked.

"No, though I doubt anyone who can get there asses stuck in mid air can handle what my client has planned." Roman said.

.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry what?" Junior asked.

"Before I came in, the two guards out front were floating in front of the entrance to the bar." I said.

.

.

.

.

"I-I'll say it again, what?" Junior asked.

"Look, I don't know what happened! It might have been someone's semblance or something." I said.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just grab my niece and-." I stopped myself as I saw Neo floating around the room.

"Go." I finished. I sighed and walked up to Neo.

"Neo, what the hell is this?" I asked.

 **"It's a dust bomb!"** She said as she flipped backwards.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'bomb'!?" I shouted. Neo nodded as she continued to float in the air.

"How the hell did you get your hands on a bomb?!" I asked. Neo pointed to her right. I looked over to see that Brandon was floating in the air.

"What the- when the hell did you get here?!" I asked.

"Just a little while ago." Brandon said.

"So, does the affect ware off?" I asked. All of a sudden, Neo fell onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Yeah." He said.

 **"Ow."** Neo said.

"Come on, we're going home." I said.

 **"But I was just starting to have fun!"** She said.

"Come on Neo!" I said as I began to walk out of the club.

 **"Alright, bye Brandon."** She said as she followed me outside.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

"Well then, that was a thing." I said.

"Now, if Roman just left then that means.." I said as looked towards the center of the room.

"Oh Junior, I was just playing with you. Don't be so sensitive." I heard a familiar voice say.

"Yep, Yellow trailer." I said.

"Come on, let's kiss and make up, okay?" Yang asked.

 _'Should I?'_ I asked as I reached for a water dust crystal.

"Huh? Oh, okay." Junior said as he walked towards Yang.

 _"Why not, the guy let me stay, least I can do.'_ I said as I created another gravity bomb and threw it in between Junior and Yang. As Junior went in to kiss Yang, Yang reeled her fist back to punch Junior.

Only for her and Junior to start flouting in the air.

"W-what the-?!" Junior said as he floated around the room.

"What the hell?" Yang asked.

"I'm gonna give you a couple of reasons why you shouldn't do that." I said as I made my way through the crowd.

"One, she's a minor." I said.

"Two, she was about to send you flying across your own bar." I said.

"What?! N-no I wasn't." Yang said.

"Wait, I know you! Your that guy I fought at the tournament. Braden was it?" She asked as she fell to the floor.

"It's Brandon!" I yelled.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing! Why were you about to start a bar fight?" I asked as I created another bomb.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" She defended.

I looked at her with a deadpanned look.

"Okay, I might have wanted start a LITTLE brawl." She said.

"Well, how about we just call it a night and go ho-!" My eye's widened as I looked at the color of the bomb.

 _'Whoops, wrong bomb.'_ I thought as I dropped the bomb and walked backward.

"What's up with you?" Yang asked.

"Okay, so no one freak out, but you see that thing on the floor?" I asked as I pointed at the bomb.

"Yeah, what about it?" Junior asked.

"That's a bomb." I said.

.

.

.

.

"What?!" Junior and Yang shouted. Everyone screamed and ran out of the bar.

 _'What the hell did I just say?'_ I thought.

"What do you mean this thing is a bomb?!" Yang asked.

"I mean exactly what I said, this thing is a bomb, a fire bomb to be specific." I said.

"Okay, so how do we disarm it?" Junior asked.

"I don't know." I said with a shrug.

.

.

"What do you mean 'You don't know'?!" Everyone shouted.

"I know how to make them, not how to disarm them!" I said.

"Okay, everyone just calm down, let's just take this bomb and move it somewhere-." Junior was cut off as one of his men hit the bomb with his weapon in attempt to cut it in half.

"Safe." Junior finished.

"HIT THE DECK!" I yelled as ran behind the counter and covered my ears.

.

.

.

.

Only for the bomb to burst into a ball of smoke.

"Huh, looks like it was a dud." I said.

"Can that happen?" Yang asked.

"Apparently." I said.

"You okay boss?" One of the men asked Junior. Junior grabbed the man by his collar and proceeded to shake him violently.

"THERE IS A BOMB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, AND YOU HIT IT WITH YOUR WEAPON?!" Junior shouted.

"I think we should leave." I said.

"Yeah." Yang said as we walked out of the bar.

* * *

"Well, that was a thing." Yang said as we walked out of the bar.

"Yeah, so why were you about to trash the guy's bar?" I asked.

"Well, he didn't have the information I needed, so.." She said sheepishly.

"Don't you think you might have over reacted?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Yang, is that you?" I heard a familiar voice say.

 _'Welp, this is happening.'_ I thought as I turned towards the source of the voice. The girl was a fair skinned young girl with silver eyes and black hair that fades to dark red at the tips cut in an asymmetrical bob.

She wore a long sleeved thick black blouse with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves, a black waist cincher with red lacing up the front, and a black skirt with red trim. She also wore a pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots with red laces, red trim around the top and red soles.

Her outfit is topped by a red hooded cloak fastened to her shoulder by cross shaped pins. Her emblem appears as a large silver brooch and is pinned to a wide black belt slung around her hips on an angle, which also has bullets and a pouch attached.

"Oh, hey sis!" Yang said.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well... it's a long story." Yang said as she scratched her neck.

"I've got time." Ruby said.

"Well, I was looking for some info at this club, which I didn't find. So yeah, I didn't take to take it very well, and I planned on messing the place up."

"Of course you did." Ruby sighed.

"Though, this guy here stopped me before I could." Yang said as she patted me on the back.

"Uh, hey." I said as I raised my hand to greet her.

"Hello, thank you for stopping my sister, honestly Yang, that would have been the second one this month!" Ruby said.

"Oh, right, my name is Ruby Rose." Ruby said as she extended her hand outwards.

"Brandon Kim." I said as I shook her hand.

"So how did you stop my sister?" Ruby asked.

"Well, he used this weird gravity bomb to-." Yang was cut off as Ruby sped towards me with stars in her eye's.

"A bomb!" Ruby said.

"Can I see it? Can I?" Ruby asked.

"Well.." I began, only for Yang to grab her by her hood.

"Whoa there! Let's not get to hasty, it is a bomb after all." Yang said.

"Aw." Ruby said her head drooped down.

"Well, we are in an open space so the damage won't be as bad." I said.

"Really?!" Ruby asked as her head perked up.

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?" Yang asked.

"Okay, just need to apply the dust crystal to the barrier enchantment and..." I said under my breath as a red bomb formed in my hand.

"There we go." I said as I threw the bomb, pulled out my revolver, and shot the bomb mid air.

"Wow! That was so cool! Can I see your gun?" Ruby asked with stars in her eye's.

"Uh... sure, here." I said as I handed her my revolver.

"Hmm, a model 500 double-action revolver with two barrels on it, instead of one." Ruby said as she inspected the weapon.

"Wait, why does the cylinder release to the right? Shouldn't it release to the left?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I use my left hand to fire my gun, so this makes it easier to reload the gun." I said.

"Interesting, not bad, not bad at all." Ruby said as she handed my gun back to me.

"Well it was nice meeting you, but Yang here has to prepare to go to Beacon tomorrow." Ruby said.

"Gah! You're right, I totally forgot!" Yand panicked as she ran to her motorcycle.

"It was nice seeing you again! Maybe we'll meet again in the future." Yang said as she got on her bike.

 _'That'll be sooner than you think.'_ I thought.

"Yang! Wait up!" Ruby said as she ran after her sister with her semblance.

.

.

.

.

 _'Wow, tomorrow huh?'_ I thought to myself.

 _'Weird how time flies.'_ I thought as I started to walk towards Beacon.

 _'So it's finally time. Alright, let's see if I can't throw a wrench into Cinder's plans.'_ I though.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #25**

 **And thus, Vol 0 of RWBY: Remnant's of Another World comes to a close.**

 **Now, before you all go and ask 'Will there be another Vol?'**

 **Yes, but it will be in the same story, so I won't be making multiple stories for each Vol. They'll all go here.**

 **So I've officially met Ruby, and not in the cliched way of meeting her during the robbery.**

 **Wonder if Weiss will recognize me?**

 **Maybe. I'll find out tomorrow.**

 **So we'll be going back to our original once a week schedule, due to my Spring break ending soon.**

 **Here are some of the review's you guy's left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Hopefully the first one, though due to the butterfly affect being the bitch that it is, something is bound to go wrong. **

**jeit93:** **Meh, I've always been more of a Bloody Stream kinda guy.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Well I was originally gonna call it Caliber but you guy's can come up with names if you want. **

**Ragnorak16: Congrats, you just killed everyone. **

**CraazyReader:**

 **Brandon: *Grin's Darkly***

 **Me: Yeah, his spirit can be a bit more... savage than he is.**

 **Raidentensho:** **Well, my second favorite Joestar is Josuke (Part 4) so it is possible. Also I could add a little breathing tevhnique similar to Hamon.**

 **DragonLord501st:**

 **Okay, let's cover these topics in order.**

 **1\. You'll find out that Brandon has a more interesting role, rather than being put into a team. Before you ask, he won't be put on team RWBY, that's to cliche.**

 **2\. Like Ozpin said, Brandon likes to bottle up his rage. Though it will have an inevitable burst. A spirit doesn't manifest based off of the user's physical physique, but rather there mental state. Brandon is in a very... troubled mental state, and his spirit is his way venting out his anger. So in a way, the beat down that Brandon gave Merlot was him letting his spirit show his rage, rather than do it himself.**

 **3\. It's a pretty good game. The story could use some work, though horde mode is by far the funnest thing in the game. From what the game tells us, Merlot is responsible for the fall of Mountain Glenn.**

 **4\. I'm thinking about writing the whole thing, as well as introduce one of the Grimm that was mentioned in the Grimm studies section.**

 **fanficcyberman: ****Thanks, I'm glad you like it.**

 **hammer: Okay.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King : **

**Me: *Looks at Ruby who has Crescent Rose in her hand***

 **Ruby: Drop. It. Now. Or I'll do to you, what I did to Tyrian.**

 **Me: I don't have a tail.**

 **Ruby: Oh, no. I'll cut off...something else.**

 **Me:...Help.**

* * *

Omake: Neo's Voice-(Non-Canon)

 **"So do you think you've got it down now?"** Neo asked me as we sat on a bench in the park of Vale.

"Yeah, I think so." I said.

 **"Okay, show me."** Neo said.

"Alright." I said.

 **(A.N: I don't actually know sign language so it will be put in bold letters like these.)**

 **"Hi, my name is Brandon. Nice to meet you Neo."** I said. Neo giggled and began to clap her hands.

 **"Yeah! You got it!"** Neo said. Neo looked to her right to see that there was an ice cream truck parked in front of the truck.

 **"Hey, I'm gonna go get some ice cream! Do you want any?"** She asked.

"Sure, get me the usual." I said. Neo nodded and walked towards the truck.

 _'I know I've heard Neo's voice somewhere. Rooster teeth did confirm she had a voice actress, though they never got that far into the show.'_ I thought.

 _'I think I've heard it in a video game before.'_ I thought. I look to my to my right to see that Neo was carrying two ice cream cones in each of her hand, though she suddenly tripped and dropped them.

"D-damn it!" Neo said as she walked back to the truck.

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.

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 _'Oh my god it's Laura Bailey.'_ I thought.

 _'If Laura sounded like she just got her throat burned that is.'_ I thought.

 _'You know now that I think about it, that's actually kind of fitting.'_ I thought as Neo came back with two more ice cream cones.

 **"Here you go."** Neo said.

"Thank's Laur- I mean Neo." I quickly corrected myself. Neo looked at me with a confused look before shrugging and eating her ice cream.

* * *

 **I can't wait to hear Neo's actual voice actress and watch this theory of mine get shit on.**

 **For those of you who don't know who Laura Bailey is, she is a voice actress that voiced quite a few characters in a couple of video games.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Okay, she's been in a lot of video games.**

 **Enchantment Update**

 **Enchantment: Barrier**

 **Summary: When activated, Brandon can summon a barrier around himself and his allies. This barrier is not invincible, and can be broken if enough force is applied to it.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A (Originally B)**

 **Dust Abilities: Dust Bomb's **

**Summary: By applying different types of dust to the barrier enchantment, Brandon can create dust bombs by compressing the dust into the barriers, creating a bomb like weapon.**

 **Destructive power: A**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: D**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: B**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	25. The Start

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Chapter 25: The Talk.**

 **Original: Bubbles were apart of the barrier enchantment.**

 **Updated: Dust bombs, I switched it mainly because I didn't think bubbles fit Brandon's character, or how he fights.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Start"

Thought: _'The Start'_

Flashback: _"The Start"_

 _(Ruby POV)_

 _'Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh! This is actually happening!'_ I thought to myself as I waited in front of the airship for my sister Yang.

 _'Beacon accademy, and a whole two years earlier! If this isn't the best day ever, I don't know what is!'_ I thought.

 _'Oh, Uncle Qrow is gonna be so proud of me!'_ I thought.

 _'What's taking Yang so long? I knew I should have waken her up earlier than usual.'_ I thought in frustration.

 _'I wonder who I'll meet at Beacon? I hope I'll be able to live up to Ozpin's expectations.'_ I thought.

 _'Though I do have to wonder, why did Ozpin let me in as early as he did?'_ I thought. I quickly shook my head, dismissing the thought.

 _'Meh, I'm sure that he'll tell me in the future. I can't wait to see all the different weapons that all of the other student's have!'_ I thought.

All of those weapons~

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W-what?! No! I'm not drooling! You're drooling!

"Oh! Hey sis!" I heard Yang say from a distance.

"O-oh! H-hey, Yang." I said as I quickly wipe my mouth with my sleeve. Seeing this, Yang got a mischievous smirk on her face.

 _'Oh no.'_ I groaned internally.

"Were you drooling again?" She asked.

"N-no! I wasn't drooling! If anyone was drooling it was you!" I said as I pointed at her.

"There's no shame in it, sis. Everyone has there fetishes, yours just happens to be weapons." Yang said as she nudged my arm with her own.

"I-I don't have a weapon fetish!" I yelled, my face lighting up.

Whatever that is!

Seriously! I don't even know what a 'fetish' is, or why Yang keeps teasing me about it.

Though if dad scolds Yang every time she uses that word around me, then it can't be good.

It doesn't help whenever I ask either Yang or Dad, they'll either say they'll tell me when I'm older, or that I don't need to know...period.

I did try asking Qrow once, but his only response was to stare at me with a blank look before taking a long drink from his flask, and simply told me 'No'.

"Relax, sis. I'm just pulling your leg." Yang said as she lightly hit me on the back.

"I would still like to know what a fetish is." I said as I puffed my cheeks out.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Yang said.

You see what I mean?!

"So, what are you doing here anyway? Here to see your big sister one last goodbye before she goes to Beacon?" She asked.

"Not exactly." I said as I pulled out the certificate Ozpin gave me.

What was this certificate you ask?

Why, this is the certificate that tells me that I'm an official student of Beacon academy.

"What's this?" Yang asked as she took the piece of paper out of my hands.

.

.

"No." She said as her eye's widened.

"Yeah." I said as I nodded my head.

.

.

"Seriously?!" She asked as a grin began to form on her face.

"Uh huh!" I said.

.

.

"Oh my Oum! This is amazing!" Yang said as she brought me into a bear hug.

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is gonna be attending Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang said.

Need! Air!

"Y-Yang! Choking! Not breathing!" I barely said.

"Sorry." Yang said sheepishly as she released her grip on me.

"Hey, are you gonna help me, or am I gonna have to do all of this myself?" I heard a familiar voice say. I turn to see a tall man with graying black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. With a red, tattered cloak, he wears a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.

"UNCLE QROW!" I shouted as I ran towards him, causing him to drop whatever.

"Uncle Qrow! I haven't seen you in forever!" I said as I hugged his chest.

"You saw me yesterday." Qrow said as he started to pick up all of Yang's luggage.

"Really? It feels longer." I said.

"So, what are you doing here, pipsqueak?" He asked.

"Uncle Qrow! What did I say about calling me that?" I asked as puffed out my cheeks.

"Heh, heh, sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes." He said in between laughs. "Though seriously, what are you doing here?" Qrow asked.

"Yang, show him." I said. Yang nodded and handed Qrow the certificate.

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.

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.

"Good for you, pipsqueak." He said as he handed the certificate back to me.

"That's it?!" I shouted.

"Well, your mother got in a year early, so it's not really surprising that you got in." Qrow said.

"Still, I would have thought you would have been at least a little surprised." I said.

"Meh, when you've seen the thing's I've seen, nothing really surprises you anymore." He said. Before I could respond, Yang quickly calls me over.

"Ruby! The ships are about to leave! We need to go!" Yang shouted.

"Oh, u-um, I'll see you later Uncle Qrow! Wish me luck!" I said as I grabbed my bag and ran towards Yang.

"Hey!" Qrow called, stopping me in my tracks.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm proud of ya kid, your mother would be to." Qrow said.

.

.

"Thanks! I won't let you down!" I said as I ran towards the ship.

 _'I hope you're watching mom, I'm gonna make you the proudest mom in the history of proud mom's!'_ I thought.

* * *

 _(Weiss POV)_

 **"Do you have your extra supply dresses?"** Winter asked me through my scroll.

"Yes, Winter." I said into my scroll.

 **"Do you have your supply of dust?"** She asked.

"They're right here, Winter." I said.

 **"Do your weapon?"** Winter asked me.

"No, I left home without the ONE thing I need to actually get into the school." I said sarcastically.

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.

.

"Oh my, I am so sorry Winter, I didn't mean to-." I said, only to be cut off by the sound of Winter chuckling.

 **"It's alright Weiss, if anything I'm glad your not being so formal with me anymore. We ARE siblings after all."** Winter said.

"I know, but you graduated at the top of your class in Atlas academy, not to mention you're the lieutenant of the Atlas army. You deserve at least a little respect." I said.

 **"You shouldn't have to, you're my sister, not my subordinate."** Winter said.

"Still, you turned down the position of heiress to the Schnee dust company, something I don't think I could ever do." I said.

 **"Just because I turned down a position of power does not mean that I am strong by any means. You have your dreams, and I have mine."** She said.

 **"Speaking of which, why did you pick Beacon academy of all places? Why not a more advanced academy like Atlas?"** Winter asked.

"Well, part of that reason was to escape father's control. He can't control me if I'm not within his reach." I said.

 **"I wouldn't get to comfortable, you and I know just how far father's reach is."** She said.

"Well, Vale is the farthest I'll get from him. Vacuo has those miners that he sends every year or so, and Mistral and Atlas have had an alliance for nearly a century now." I said.

 **"Yes, I suppose you do have a point."** Winter said.

"Besides, a friend of mine recommended this place to me." I said.

 **"Oh? It couldn't be that boy that accompanied you during last year's expedition, could it?"** She asked.

"W-Winter!" I yelled, my face lighting up a bit.

Seriously! I've known him for one day! Then again, he's better than all of the other suitors that come to my door asking for my hand in marriage.

Hmm, now that I think about it, it would be amusing to see father's reaction to Brandon, his presence alone made the other nobles look at him in disgust, not to mention his clear lack of manners. Though he did bring a little excitement to the otherwise boring party.

.

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.

.

I DEFIANTLY need to introduce him to father.

 **"I'm kidding."** Winter said.

"Well, you're only half right. I was considering applying there, he just convinced me to actually go through with it." I said.

 **"Do you think you'll meet him at the academy?"** Winter asked.

"Hopefully, it would be nice to see him again, give him my thanks for telling me about this academy." I said.

Maybe I can get him as a partner. He demonstrated clear experience in the art of the sword, not to mention his semblance is very useful, especially with my semblance.

 **"Weiss."** Winter said, grabbing my attention.

"Yes?" I asked.

 **"The general has requested my presence, I have to go now."** Winter said.

"Already?" I said, slightly disappointed.

 **"Well, duty calls."** Winter said.

"Well, I wish you luck, sister." I said.

 **"Yes, when you are able too, tell me about the team you were assigned to."** She said.

"I will, goodbye." I said.

 **"Goodbye, sister."** Winter said as she hung up the phone.

"Ms. Schnee?" I heard one of my butlers ask from behind my door.

"Yes? Come in." I said.

"We'll be arriving at Beacon shortly." He said as he walked into the private lounge.

"Thank you, I'll be ready shortly." I said.

"Do you require any further services?" He asked.

"No, you are dismissed." I said. He bowed and walked out of the room. As I pulled out my weapon, Myrtenaster, I felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket. I pulled out my scroll, hoping it was Winter.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Winter, but instead, my father. I frowned and closed my scroll, cutting off his connection.

* * *

 _(Blake POV)_

 _'How did I get here?'_ I thought to myself as I rode the airship leading towards Beacon.

 _'How did it come to this?'_ I asked.

 _'I was once a proud member of the White Fang, I truly believed what I was doing was right.'_ I thought.

 _'Now look at me, a traitor.'_ I thought.

 _'I'm a traitor to a cause I believed just, now I'm being hunted by the person I thought I could trust. He gave me everything, the ability fight, the strength to survive, and a purpose in life.'_ I thought.

 _'I can now see why Mom and Dad left, they saw what I couldn't see.'_ I thought.

 _'I wonder what they're going now? Mom's probably making tea for dad while he works in his office as leader of M_ _enagerie, he's always been busy, even after he's stepped down as the leader of the White Fang.'_ I thought.

 _'Well, no use crying about it now. All I have to do is hide and hope that Adam or the White Fang never find me, and maybe after this whole thing has settled, I can return home, and apologize to Mom and Dad.'_ I thought to myself.

 _'I said some pretty horrible things to them, I called them cowards, traitors to their own kind. But in the end, they were right, they always were.'_ I thought to myself as I pulled out a letter from my pocket.

 _ **"Dear, Blake."**_

 _ **"How are you honey? We haven't really talked much these day's, ever since you left the White Fang. Though I'd imagine it be quite hard, hand written letter's were never really reliable, were they? Anyway's, what have you been up too? Your father and I have been doing well ourselves! Your father had just recently become the new Island Leader of M**_ ** _enagerie, though many of the White Fanged members representing M_** ** _enagerie were against the idea. Your father has been busy all day and night, locking himself in his office and reading those books, I guess you inherited that from your father. As well as his ideal's, his moral's, his will to fight, and... oh you get the point. I've been doing what I can to help him out, both emotionally and physically, if you know what I mean."_**

 _'Don't think about it, do not think about it. Do. Not. Think. Abou-!'_ I thought to myself as I tried not to imagine what mom meant by 'physically'.

 _'Aaaaand that image is permanently burned in my brain.'_ I thought bitterly.

 _'Sometimes I wish I didn't share my mom's interest in a certain... genre of books.'_ I thought.

.

.

I-it's not smut! I prefer the use of... romantic novel.

A VERY descriptive romantic novel.

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.

Moving on.

 ** _"I do wish that you would write back to us, but I understand that you are about to become a huntress in training, you're probably gonna be busy fighting off all the creatures of Grimm. Sweet heart, your father and I just want you to know, that no matter what path you decide to take, we will be there to support you, it's your life honey, better make the best of it. How's Ilia by the way? Last time I saw her, you two were talking about the newest edition of the "Ninja's of Love" series. And before you ask, yes, I did get the copies of the books in the mail, and while I do appreciate the offer, I appreciate the "Classics" of the genre. Though don't worry, I won't tell your father about your interest in romantic novels."_**

See?! She get's it!

As for Ilia, well...

.

.

.

.

Let's just say that we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms.

Now that I think about it, most of, if not all of the people I left behind at the White Fang didn't take my leave very well.

 ** _"Now before you go, I have a request for you. Please, come home, I don't care if it's just for a visit, just please, come home. Your father and I miss you. Seriously, your father REALLY misses you. The other day, he bought a black cat from the market on his way back from a meeting. Though, I can't really complain, this little thing is so adorable! She kinda reminds me of you from when you were little."_**

I clenched my free fist in guilt, biting my lip as I read the letter.

 _'Just...just wait a bit longer mom. I'll be home soon.'_ I thought.

 **"Well, I'm sure you're busy, so I won't take up to much of your time. Try to write back if you can!"**

 **"Love, Kali Belladonna, your loving mother."**

I sniffed before wiping a stray tear away from my eye.

 _'I'll make you guy's proud.'_ I thought.

 **"P.S: If you meet any cute boy's, tell me about them. I want to know all of the details.**

 _'Mom!'_ I thought.

 **"From Ghira: Don't listen to your mother, you stay away from them!**

 _'Dad!'_ I thought as I folded the letter back up and put it back into my pocket.

 **"Attention students. We will be arriving at Beacon academy shortly. Gather your belongings and prepare for landing."** I heard someone say. I grabbed my suitcase and started to walk towards the exit of the airship.

 _'Maybe I'll find the redemption I'm looking for here.'_ I thought.

* * *

 _(Yang POV)_

"So Ozpin just LET you in after what you did at the convenient store?" I asked Ruby after she told me about what happened a few hours ago.

"Yeah, he didn't really tell me why though. He just asked me if I wanted to join his academy and just let me joining after I said yes!" Ruby said.

"Why would he let me in, especially two year's earlier?" Ruby asked herself.

"Why? It's because you're awesome! That's why!" I said as I brought Ruby into a bear hug.

"Please. Stop." Ruby struggled to say.

"But I'm so proud of you! Just think about it! We get to spend the next four years training to become huntresses. Isn't it incredible?!" I asked her as I let her go.

"Really, it was nothing, I'm sure that anyone could have done what I did if they were put into the situation." Ruby said.

I STRONGLY doubt that.

I don't know why she's being so hard on herself, she stopped Roman Torchwick.

ROMAN. TORCHWICK! Not a lot of people can say that they've stopped Roman and still live to tell the tale.

Also not a lot of people can say that they've eaten a whole plate of cookies in twelve seconds.

Seriously, she's the worst when it comes to eating healthy how is she not worried about her figure?!

"What do you mean 'It was nothing'? You were incredible!" I said to her.

"You weren't even there!" Ruby said.

"Well, if it was enough for Ozpin to let you in two year's earlier, then I'm sure that you were incredible! Just think about it! Everyone at the school is gonna think you're the bee's knees." Yang said.

People still use that term, right?

.

.

.

.

Right?

"Okay, I don't want to be the 'bee's knee's', I don't want to be any kinda knee's! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knee's.

Yeah, because training at a school made to train kids to fight monsters of the darkness qualifies as 'Normal'.

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" I asked.

"Of course I'm excited! I just... I got moved ahead two years, I don't want people thinking I'm special or anything." Ruby said.

"What's wrong with being special? If I were you, I'd be basking in all of the glory that I'd be getting." I said with stars in my eye's.

"Ohhh." Ruby moaned as she crouched down and pulled up her hood.

Great, you made her feel even worse than she is now. Good job Yang!

"Look, there's nothing wrong with being special. As long as you don't go rubbing it into people's faces, then they won't hold it against you." I said as I wrapped one of my arms around her.

 ** _"The robbery was lead by the nefarious criminal, Roman Torchwick. Who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department."_** We heard a man on the projection screen say.

Yeah, because the police have been SO reliable in the past. This is a job for a huntress.

 _ **"Back to you Lisa."**_ The man said as a woman appeared on the screen.

 _ **"Thank you, Cyril."**_ Lisa said.

Jeez, get this lady a tissue, sounds like she has a major cold.

 _ **"In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Right's protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."**_ Lisa was cut off as the projection of a woman took her place.

 _"Hello, and welcome to Beacon."_ The woman said.

"Who's that?" I asked.

 _"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."_ Glynda said.

"Oh." I said.

 _"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."_ Glynda said.

 _"Out world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."_ Glynda said.

 _"You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training needed to protect our world."_ Glynda said as she faded away.

Damn, straight to the point, I like this place already!

"Wow!" Ruby said as she ran over to the window to get a better view of Vale.

"Look! You can see signal from up here!" Ruby said.

I looked out the window to see Patch not to far off in the distance.

"I guess home isn't too far after all." Ruby said.

"Beacon's our home, now." I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder. We turn our heads to the sound of someone groaning.

"Well... I guess the view isn't for everyone." I said as the boy walked past us.

"It was a nice moment while it lasted." Ruby said.

"I wonder who we're gonna meet." I said.

"I just hope they're better than "Vomit Boy" over there." Ruby said.

Yeah, I think things are starting to look up for us.

"Oh, Yang, gross, you have puke on your shoe!" Ruby said as she walked away from me.

.

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.

I just HAD to open my mouth, didn't I?

* * *

 _(My POV)_

 _'So, here we go.'_ I thought to myself as I walked in front of Beacon. As I walked, I could see the various student's that were attending Beacon, some looked like they had some cool weapons, some just had weapons that looked sort of... meh. Then again, all I wield is a sword and a revolver so I don't really have a lot of room to talk.

 _'I'm officially in the canon story line. So... where do I start?'_ I thought.

 _'There's not really a lot that's in need of changing in Vol 1, though maybe I can help wrap up the whole Jaundice arc quicker than the show did.'_ I thought.

 _'As for Vol 2, I think that will be my best chance on getting Neo to switch sides and join the fight against Cinder. Even then, the only chance I'll get at that is at Mountain Glenn before the breach.'_ I thought.

 _'Even so, convincing her to fight against her uncle will one HELL of a thing to do, not to mention the fact that there's a pretty high chance of everyone finding out about Neo.'_ I thought as I walked across the courtyard.

 _'Though Neo will probably be the easiest to switch over, Mercury I don't think would be particularly hard, he just needs to know that he'll survive after he does. It's Emerald that I'm worried about. She seems to be the most devoted to Cinder, and the least likely to switch sides.'_ I thought.

 _'Vol 3 is will probably be the most difficult, not because preventing the event's will be hard. No, that shouldn't be to hard, it's Cinder I'm worried about. If I do succeed, then I doubt that Cinder will be happy about it.'_ I thought,

 _'I mean, she was able to kill Ozpin, fucking Ozpin! I can barely land a finger on the guy!'_ I thought.

 _'Well, I technically have half a year or so to prepare for the fall.'_ I thought.

 _'As for Vol 4, well I do know that they're more people working for Salem, and that it's not just Cinder. Speaking of Cinder, Ruby fucked her up good, I mean she can barely speak. Though if I do succeed, then I doubt that future will actually happen.'_ I thought.

 _'Well, there are a bunch of things that probably happen and they never really showed. Where do I start?'_ I thought, only for the sound of an explosion to break me out of my thought process.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" I heard a familiar voice say.

"I'm really, REALLY sorry." I heard anther familiar voice say.

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.

 _'Should I really start off like every other fan fic in the history of RWBY fan fics?'_ I asked myself as I saw the scene that was unfolding in front of me.

"Ugh! You complete dolt! What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?!" Weiss asked.

 _'Then again, every other fic starts off as the OC main character not knowing the main characters. I know Weiss, and I know Ruby to a certain extent.'_ I thought.

"Well, I-." Ruby began, only to be cut off by Weiss.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school, it's not just sparing and practicing you know. We're here to fight monsters." Weiss said as she crossed her arms.

 _'Well, through out the series, you've shown that most of your time at Beacon has been sparing and practicing, but what do I know? Some stuff could have happened in between.'_ I thought.

"So watch where you're going!" Weiss said.

"Look, I said I was sorry, princess!" Ruby said in frustration.

 _'Cue Blake.'_ I thought.

"It's heiress actually." I heard Blake say.

You know the drill.

 _'Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world.'_ I thought as Blake gave Ruby Weiss's status update.

"Finally some recognition." Weiss said in relief.

Now for part two.

 _'The SAME company infamous for it's controversial labor forces and questionable business partners.'_ I though.

Seriously, do you even need me to repeat this shit?

 _'That's my cue.'_ I thought as I walked over to the three girls.

"How dare yo-!" Weiss began, only to be cut off by the sound of my laughter.

"Really? Heiress? Princess? Those are some good names, but I prefer the term, Ice Queen." I said as I stood behind Weiss. Ruby began to laugh, while Blake began to chuckle.

"Who do you think you a-!" Weiss stopped herself as she turned around to face me, her eye's widening.

"Good to see ya again, Weiss." I said with a grin.

"Wait, you know her?" Ruby asked, only for her to recognize me from last night.

"Wait, I know you! You were at the bar last night!" Ruby said.

"You were at a bar?!" Weiss yelled.

 _'God damn it Ruby.'_ I thought.

"What was your name? Brando?" Ruby asked.

"It's Brandon!" Weiss and I yelled in unison.

We already have enough JoJo references as it is.

"Eek! There's two of them!" Ruby said.

 _'I don't know whether I should be offended by that or not.'_ I thought.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this! I have better things to do." Weiss said as she stormed off.

Good, now I can finally meet Jau-

"You're coming with me." Weiss said as she grabbed my hoodie and dragged me away with her.

Damn it.

"I promise to make this up to you!" Ruby shouted.

Well, at least it's not COMPLETELY like every RWBY fan fic ever made.

* * *

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Will you quit pulling?!" I yelled as Weiss led me to the front of the amphitheater. Weiss let go of my hood and turned to face me.

"It's good to see you again." Weiss said with a smirk.

"You know, you gotta weird way of greeting people." I said. Weiss's response was to kick me in the shin with one of her boots.

"Ow!" I yelled as I gripped the place she kicked.

"Oh calm down. If you're able to defeat a White Fan lieutenant, then you'll be able to handle a kick to your shin." Weiss said.

"You're wearing heels!" I yelled.

"Glad to see your attitude hasn't changed a bit." Weiss said dryly.

"I can say the same to you, Ice Queen." I said.

"Ow! Quit doing that!" I yelled as Weiss kicked me again.

"Then stop calling me Ice Queen!" Weiss said.

"Stop acting like one!" I yelled.

"Moving on to a different subject." Weiss sighed as she rubbed her temples.

 _'Don't ask about the bar. Don't ask about the bar. Don't ask about the-!'_

"How have you developed?" Weiss asked.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"You know, with your skills as a fighter." Weiss said.

 _'Thank god.'_ I thought.

"Well, I did pick up a few tricks." I said.

"Like?" Weiss said, motioning me to go into further detail.

"Well, I-." I began, only for Weiss to cut me off.

"No, don't tell me, you can show me at the initiation tomorrow." Weiss said.

"Uh, okay, what about you?" I asked.

"Oh! I'm glad you asked. Well, I have even more control over my Glyph's than before, and I even started to practice time dilation." Weiss said.

"What about that summoning thing?" I asked.

"Well... I can't really do that. At all." Weiss said somberly.

"What are you talking about? You were able to do it when we were fighting that lieutenant." I said.

"Well, that was with the... the?" Weiss said as she struggled to remember the name of my enchantment.

"Enchant?" I said.

"Right! It was because of your enchant semblance that I was able to summon those Beowolf's." Weiss said.

"My enchant semblance only amplifies the user's semblance. It doesn't add to it." I said.

"That means that somewhere in there, lies the potential to do your summoning." I said to her.

.

.

.

.

"Hah, I know I can do it." Weiss sighed.

"Then why-?" I began, only to be cut off by Weiss.

"It's just, it's the ONE thing I've constantly had trouble with." Weiss said.

"Well you're not gonna get any better at it by complaining about it." I said.

"I'm not complaining!" Weiss shouted.

I just look at her with a deadpanned look on my face.

"Let's just move on to a different subject, why were you in a bar?!" Weiss asked.

"I was...curious is all." I said.

"About what?!" Weiss asked.

"I didn't get drunk if that's what your so angry about." I said. Weiss pinched the tip of her nose before sighing.

"Whatever, let's just go inside." Weiss said as she walked into the amphitheater.

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.

.

Suddenly, a mischievous grin formed on my face.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" I asked as I formed an Ice Bomb in my hand.

"What's this?" Weiss asked as she looked at the bomb.

"Here, take it." I said, placing the bomb in her hand.

"Okay, but what is i-?" Weiss was cut off as the bomb exploded, covering her in icicles.

"Now you really are the Ice Queen." I said in between laughs. Weiss stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before rubbing her temples with her hands.

"You are so immature." Weiss said as she walked away from me.

"It was a joke!" I yelled as I started to follow her into the amphitheater. Only for a pink blur to speed in front of me.

 _'What the hell just-?!'_ I thought, only to be cut off by a barrage of questions.

"Oh my Oum! How did you do that?! I knew there was another bomb user here! What kind of bombs to you use? I've never seen bomb's like yours, how do you make them glow like that? Can you show me? I want to make my grenades glow pink, for added affect, you know?" The girl asked at a thousand miles per hour.

 _'What?'_ I thought as I looked at the girl in front of me. The girl had short orange hair and turquoise eyes. Her clothing was a mix and match of some sort, with different colors and themes. She wore a collared black vest that ends at her waist. Her emblem, which was a hammer with a lightning bolt, can be found on the back. Under the vest are two layers of clothing, colored red and light-blue respectively.

She also wore a white sleeveless top that forms a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, with a white detached sleeve on each arm. She wore matching fingerless gloves on each hand. She sports a pink skirt that starts at the waist and ends mid-thigh. Her shoes are a mix of pink and white with pink laces, displaying her emblem on their soles.

She also wears armor that begins in the middle of the shoulder and neck and ends by the waist.

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Nora Valkyrie." Nora said as she slapped my across the back.

"Ow." I said.

"Nora, what did I say about running off so suddenly?" I heard a male voice ask. I turned to see a male teenager with long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back. There is a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes match the streak in his hair, and his clothing appears to be influenced by Chinese culture.

He wore a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that is red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. The trimming goes down the right side of his torso and forms a black collar.

This color scheme seems to be influenced to some degree by the lotus flower, which is his emblem. He wore a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit, and light-tan pants with black shoes.

"Oh, sorry Ren, you know that there are two thing's I love in life, pancakes, and explosions." Nora said to Ren as he walked towards us.

"I know, but that's no excuse to just go up to him and start asking questions without a proper introduction." Ren said.

"Okay, I'm sorry about that. I just get so excited when I see an explosion!" Nora apologized.

.

.

.

.

"Hey, you okay?" Nora asked as she tilted her head sideways.

 _'Well then, didn't think I'd be meeting them this early, but hey, guess it's less cliche than Jaune.'_ I thought.

"Yohoo! Everything okay up there?" Nora asked as she waved her hand in front of my face.

"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I said.

"So, how did you make those bombs?" Nora asked.

"You mean these?" I asked as I formed a dust bomb in my hand.

"Oooh!" Nora said as she snatched the bomb out of hands.

"Uh, I would throw that if I were you. There's not exactly a-." I was cut off mid sentence as the bomb exploded.

"Detonator." I said.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Nora said as pink sparks formed around her.

"Uh." I began, only to be stopped by Ren.

"Her semblance make's her immune to lightning attacks." Ren said.

 _'Right, I guess I'm starting to forget some of the things that happened in the show.'_ I thought.

"Well, I do believe that the speech will start soon, it will be wise to move into the amphitheater." Ren said.

"Oh, right! The speech! Yeah, we should probably get going! Don't want to get kicked out already!" Nora said as she ran inside.

"Is she ALWAYS like this?" I asked.

"Yes." Ren responded.

"How the hell do you deal with someone that act's like they've just had fifty cups of coffee?" I asked.

"You get used to it." Ren said as he began to follow Nora inside.

"Oh! Hey, I gotta go, I'll see you after the ceremony!" I heard Ruby say.

"Hey, wait!" I heard a familiar voice say.

 _'Welp, better now than never.'_ I thought as I walked up to the tall teenage boy with dark-blue eyes that are emphasized by his messy blonde hair. He is quite toned, having strong muscles in his arms, shoulders and upper chest.

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.

Just realized how weird that sounded. Any way's, he wore a white diamond-shaped chestplate and white spaulders with rerebrace. Under the armor, he wears a black hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves and an image of the bunny rabbit Pumpkin Pete hidden underneath the chestplate. He also wears blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black sneakers.

He has two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them. He wore brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and a small metal plate on the back.

"Great, now where am I going to find a nice quirky girl to talk to?" Jaune asked.

"Well." I began, causing Jaune to turn to face me.

"I'm not exactly a 'nice, quirky girl' but hey, I'm better than nothing." I said as I walked next to him.

"Beside's, it looks you could use a couple of guy friends." I said.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah! Guy friend, who needs a nice, quirky girl when I have my guy friend!" Jaune said.

.

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.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" I asked.

"Nope." Jaune said.

"Well, the name's Brandon, nice to meet'ca." I said as I extended my hand outwards.

"Oh, Jaune Arc, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." Jaune said.

"Do they really now?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"W-well not yet. B-but they will! Just you wait." He said.

"Whatever you say, Jaune." I said as we walked through the crowd.

"So...what kind of weapon do you have?" Jaune asked.

"I've got this." I said as I pulled out my sword.

"Oh, nice to see someone has an appreciation for the classics." He said.

"Well, I also have this." I said as I pulled out my revolver.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"I'll keep it short, it's a revolver." I said.

"Nice, small and simple, I like that." He said.

"That's why I picked it. I prefer a more up close and personal approach personally." I said.

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, try on cloths, and talk cute boy's like tall, blonde and scraggly over there." I heard Weiss say.

"I-is she talking about me?" Jaune asked.

"Do you see anyone else that fit's that description?" I asked.

"Wow! It's already the first day of Beacon, and I'm already attracting some of the ladies." He said.

 _'I can see why Weiss would find this annoying.'_ I thought.

"I think she was being sarcastic." I said.

"Look at her. She's as beautiful as the white snow." Jaune said.

"Are you even listening to me?" I asked.

 **"I'll...keep this brief."** Ozpin said through the microphone.

 **"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction."** He said.

 **"Closure."** Ozpin said as he looked my direction.

 **"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."** He said as he walked off of the stage.

 _'Why did he look at me when he said that one part?'_ I asked myself.

 **"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready, you are dismissed."** Glynda said into the microphone.

"Hey, Jaune, did you notice anything off about his speech?" I asked.

.

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.

.

"Jaune?" I asked as I turned around to see that Jaune was walking towards Weiss.

"I'm a natural blonde you know." Jaune said.

 _'God damn it, Jaune.'_ I thought.

* * *

The ballroom was filled to the brim with sleeping bags as everyone got ready to sleep for the night. Everyone was either getting ready to go to sleep, already sleeping, or were just making idle chat with some of their friends. The girls were swooning over the different guy's that walked around the room, while the guy's were admiring the girls as they chatted with there friends.

I was in the bathroom, getting ready to go to sleep myself, though there was one question that was weighing on my mind.

Why the fuck do I have to sleep in the ballroom, even though I have my own room already?

I mean seriously?! Why the fuck would I want to sleep in a room filled with a bunch of hormonal teenagers? That's a bomb waiting to go off!

 _'Then again, I can't really complain. Maybe I can see if Weiss's inconsistent chest size is canon or not.'_ I thought.

"Hey Brandon." I heard Jaune say from behind me.

"Oh, hey Jau-." I couldn't finish my sentence as I just burst into a laughing fit.

"W-what?!" Jaune asked.

"W-what are you wearing?!" I asked in between laughs.

"They're my lucky pumpkin peet footie pajamas!" Jaune said.

"What did you do? Send in a box top to win in a prize?!" I asked.

"Yeah! Twenty!" He defended.

 _'Well, it's not fifty so it's not as sad. Though seriously, why didn't they have those for sale in the Rooster Teeth store? I'm sure they would have made a lot of money off of them.'_ I thought.

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughing." Jaune grumbled.

"Sorry, though seriously, you should probably consider tossing those." I said.

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Well, girl's aren't exactly gonna go running to a guy wearing footie pajama's." I said.

"You don't know that." Jaune said.

"So... nice night, don't ya think?" Yang asked from across the room.

"What are you looking at?" Jaune asked as he looked over in my direction.

"That." I said.

"Yeah, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book I'm reading...which I will continue to read... as soon as you leave." Blake said.

"Jeez, talk about awkward, am I right?" Jaune asked.

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.

"Brandon?" Jaune asked. I shook my head, stood up, and walked over to the three.

"W-wait! What are you doing?" Jaune asked as he followed me.

"Look at the Jaune, tell me what you see." I said as I pointed at the three.

"I see three girls trying to have a conversation?" He guessed.

"Wrong! Those are three girls FAILING to have a conversation! Look at them! They're getting nowhere." I said.

"What are we gonna do?" Jaune asked.

"I'M going to go lighten things up a little." I said.

"How are you gonna do that?" He asked.

"Just watch." I said as I began to walk towards the trio.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"So... nice night, don't ya think?" Yang asked.

"Yes, it's lovely." Blake said in fake enthusiasm. "Almost as good as this book I'm reading." Blake said, hoping they would get the hint.

.

.

"Which I will continue to read." Blake said, slightly annoyed.

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.

 _'Seriously?'_ Blake thought.

"As soon as you **leave**." Blake said, putting more emphasis on the last word.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang scoffed, realizing that the girl really wasn't interested in talking to them.

 _'Finally, maybe now I can finally get back to my-.'_ Before Blake could continue to read, she heard footsteps coming towards her.

 _'What now?'_ She asked.

She looked up to see that the boy from this morning was walking towards them with a look of determination on his face.

"Oh! Hey Brandon, didn't expect to see you here." Yang said.

 _'Brandon, huh?'_ Blake thought.

"Uh, what are you doing." Ruby asked as Brandon walked towards Blake with one of his hand's raised.

 _'What the hell?'_ Blake thought as Brandon approached.

 _'What's this guy up to? Wait...! Is he trying to take my bow off?!'_ Blake thought as Brandon approached.

 _'Is he a spy from the White Fang? No, the White Fang would never trust a human. Is he an assassin?! Oh Oum, it hasn't even been one day, and I've already been-.'_ Blake was cut off as Brandon poked her nose with his finger.

"Boop." He said.

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.

 _'What the hell just-?!'_ Blake thought, only to be cut off by Brandon.

"Oh I get it, you're one of those silent and mysterious type's of girls. Alright, I can work with this." Brandon said.

"Uhh." Blake said, trying to make sense of the whole situation.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" He asked.

"W-what?! N-no! I don't know what you-."

"Then try to be a bit more social, we're just trying to have a friendly conversation here." Brandon said.

"The book won't go anywhere, now come on, let's have a little fun, huh?" He asked.

"B-but I-"

"Now that I've gotten a closer look at you, your looks aren't half bad, ever think about picking up modeling?" Brandon asked.

"Come on, give me a smile." Brandon said as he extended both his index finger's and his thumb's to create a screen of some sort.

"Aw come on, we've already got cold and mysterious. How about we switch to a different look?" He asked.

"Come on, give some love to the camera! Show us some of those moves." Brandon said with a cocky grin.

.

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.

.

"Um, Brandon." Yang asked.

"What's up?"

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked.

"Trying to get her to crawl out of her little book fort." He said.

"Uh, I don't think you're doing a good jo-." Jaune was cut off by the sound of Blake laughing lightly.

"Job." Jaune finished.

"There we go." Brandon said.

"Heh, wow, I haven't laughed like that in a long time." Blake said with a smile.

"Thanks." She said.

"Meh, don't mention it, I just don't like it when people act all depressed like you were." Brandon said with a shrug.

 _'Gee, thanks.'_ Blake thought sarcastically.

"So, is there anything you wanted?" Blake asked.

"Well, my friend Ruby here is dying to ask you about your book." Brandon said.

"She is?" Blake asked.

"I am?" Ruby asked, only to be lightly hit in the arm by Brandon.

"I mean, yeah! I am! What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Well, it's about a man with two souls, each soul fighting for control over the his body." Blake said.

"Oh, yeah...that's really lov-MMPH" Yang was cut off by Brandon placing one of his hands on Yang's mouth.

"You wanted her to talk to someone, well there you go!" Brandon said.

"I love books." Ruby said. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of hero's and monster's... They're one of the reason's why I choose to become a huntress." Ruby said.

"And why's that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked, a small grin showing on her face.

"Well, I hope we all do. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in those books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!" Ruby said with a determined look on her face.

"You... have some pretty ambitious goals for a child." Blake said before her smile turned into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Blake said.

 _'You don't even know the half of it sweet heart.'_ Brandon thought.

"Well that's why we're here. To make it better for everyone." Ruby said.

 _'Jeez, could have used her when my world's countries decided to go to war.'_ Brandon thought.

.

.

 _'Where the hell did that come from?!'_ He thought.

"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang said as she brought Ruby into a bear hug, lifting her into the air.

Cut it out!" Ruby yelled in protest, kicking Yang in the face. Soon enough, what started off as some sisterly love quickly turned into a dust cloud straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Blake and Jaune couldn't help but laugh as they watched the brawl play out.

"Well, Ruby, Yang, Brandon..uh?" She said as she pointed at Jaune.

"Oh, Jaune Arc." Jaune greeted.

"Right Jaune, well it's been a pleasure to ha-"

"What in the world is going on here?! Weiss asked.

 _'So she IS flat.'_ Brandon thought.

"Don't you realize that some of us are trying to sleep?!" Weiss asked. It was at this point where Yang and Ruby took note of the angry heiress and Weiss finally realized that these were the same people getting on her nerves earlier.

"Oh not you again!" Yang and Weiss shouted at each other.

"Shh! Guy's, she's right!" Ruby interjected quickly. "People are trying to sleep!"

Oh, NOW you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's just trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

 _'This is gonna get old REALLY quick.'_ Brandon thought bitterly.

* * *

 **So then... that does it, we've officially started the canon story line.**

 **So I've met MOST of team JNPR, as well as finally officially meeting Blake.**

 **The initiation starts tomorrow.**

 **Wonder if it will play out like it did in the show?**

 **Though knowing my luck, something is gonna go wrong one way or anther.**

 **Guess we'll just have to wait until then.**

 **Here are some of the review's you guy's left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response: **

**CraazyReader: Well, I've never actually watched Jason Borne so I wouldn't have done it intentionally.**

 **rocketmce:**

 **Neo: I am, aren't I.**

 **Me: Stop feeding her ego.**

 **Ragnorak16:** **Well, Tyrian, Watt's and Hazel are still alive, so there's that.**

 **Fiction Fan 369:** **That was changed, even then it wasn't EXACTLY like it. Glad you liked the chapter, and don't worry, Cinder will get what's coming to her.**

 **jeit93:** **Yeah, she finally had enough.**

 **BlackwaterHell: I can't get that image out of my head now.**

 **fanficcyberma** **n:** **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.** **Well, Neo won't kill you, so that's good!**

 **Raidentensho:** **So many JoJo references.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **Me: Fuck.**

* * *

Omake-Story Time-(Non-Canon)

"Brandon?" Ruby said as she shook my body.

.

.

"Brandon." She said a bit louder than before.

.

.

"Brandon!" Ruby said.

"Jesus, Ruby. What time is it?" I asked as I rubbed my eye's.

"12:30." Ruby said.

"Why the hell are you waking me up so late?!" I silently yelled.

"I need you to read me a story." Ruby said.

"Aren't you a bit old for that?" I asked.

"Please?" Ruby asked.

"Why can't Yang do it?" I asked.

"Because she can't sleep either." Yang said from behind me. I sighed in defeat before rubbing my temples.

"Okay, fine. I'll read you two a story." I said.

"Thanks!" Ruby said.

"Okay, let's see.." I said as I pinched my chin, trying to think of a story.

.

.

.

.

"Okay, I got a story for ya." I said. Suddenly, I heard footsteps walking towards us, I turned around to see that Weiss was walking towards us with a angered look in her eye's.

"What are you two doing?! Shouldn't you all be asleep?!"Weiss asked.

"Look, it's the Ice Queen." Yang said dryly.

"Brandon's going to read us a story." Ruby said.

"Aren't you a bit old for a bed time story?" Weiss asked.

"You're never to old for a story!" Ruby said.

"Fine, just keep it down." Weiss said.

"Why don't you join us?" Ruby asked.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"What?!" Yang asked.

"Why not? She's already here." Ruby said as she moved so Weiss could sit.

"Fine." Weiss said as she sat next to Ruby.

"Okay, so let's get sta-." I began, only for Blake to appear next to Yang.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I heard you were telling a story, so I decided to listen." Blake said.

"Anyone else want to join?!" I asked. All of a sudden, Nora sat in front of me with Ren following close behind her. Jaune also sat next to Ren with a curious look on his face.

"Alright, now can I start?!" I asked. Everyone nodded there heads and proceeded to get ready to listen.

"Okay, this story is called "Andy the Frog." I said.

"Now I'll warn you, this story feature's long convoluted similes, though I'll warn you when we get to that part." I said.

"What's a simile?" Ruby asked.

"It's a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid." Blake said.

"Oh."

"Okay, Once upon a time, there was a frog named Andy. Andy lived at the Patten Park Pond and had never hopped anywhere else his entire frog life. He had 3 best friends." I said, holding up three of my fingers.

"Millie- who never left her lily pad." I said holding up one finger.

"Billie- who was always hopping mad." I said holding up two fingers. Weiss rolled her eye's, while Yang seem uninterested in the story.

"Then there was Roger- who was arrested for possession of tadpole porn." I said.

.

.

.

.

"This story took a weird turn." Jaune said. Weiss looked horrified, Ruby looked confused, Blake looked interested, Yang was trying her best not to laugh, Nora was already laughing, and Ren was trying to calm her down.

"W-what kind of a story is this?!" Weiss asked.

"Shh, this is starting to get interesting." Blake said.

"Yang, what's po-!" Ruby began to ask, only to be cut off by her sister.

"Don't ask." Yang said.

"But I-."

"Ever."

"Moving on, So one day, Andy saw something hop across the grass on the other side of the pond!" I said.

"Millie, Billie, Roger, look!" said Andy.

"Across the pond stood the most beautiful frog that Andy had ever seen." I said.

"So it's a romance story." Weiss said.

"Sort of." I said.

"She's gorgeous!" said Millie.

"She's beautiful!" said Billie.

"BIT OLD FOR MY TASTE." said Roger.

"Classic Roger!" I said.

"And then she was gone."

"I need to go find her," said Andy, "I need to follow my little frog heart."

"So Andy followed the beautiful frogs footsteps into the forest." I said.

"He then came across a turtle."

"You can't pass!" said the turtle.

"Please?" said Andy.

"NO." said the turtle.

"Now, heads up, we'll be getting into the first long convoluted simile." I said.

"Then, there was a rustling in the bushes, and like a man who had been shot in the chest with a rifle, the turtle was shot in the chest with a rifle." Yang proceeded to roll on the floor in a laughing fit.

"Yang!" Ruby said.

"Andy kept moving, but at this point, like the doctor of a Kenyan track team, his patience ran thin." I said. Everyone looked at me with confused looks.

 _'Right, they wouldn't get that joke.'_ I thought.

.

.

.

.

"Andy kept moving." I said, moving on with the story.

"He then came across a giant crocodile, and the crocodile began to chant."

"I woke up this morning and I sat on a log, I opened up the menu and the menu said frog!" The crocodile said.

Andy said, "NO! No, please let go of me, I can feel myself dying, you're ripping up my insides, I'm never gonna find her am I, there's no god is there, fuck, fuck!"

"The end." I said as I blew out the candle that was lit next to me.

"Wait, what about the moral of the story?" Blake asked.

"Moral of the story is go to bed." I said.

* * *

 **Original story by Bo Burnham.**

 **Ruby Rose**

 **Height: 5'2'**

 **Weight: 116 lbs**

 **Age: 15**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Speed. (Yeah, I know my enchantment has the same name, though they have different affects on the user)**

 **Summary:** **Ruby can use her Semblance to move at speeds that are nearly too fast for the eye to catch, making it appear as if she can teleport. She uses this ability in combat to dodge attacks, disorient enemies, hastily retreat and quickly counterattack. Her Semblance is also capable of providing limited flight capabilities.**

 **she is also fast enough to create a slipstream that can pick up a large number of objects, including people. Ruby can also grab hold of other people or objects and carry them off at high speeds with her Semblance.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	26. The Initiation (Part 1)

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Initiation"

Thought: 'The Initiation'

Flashback: "The Initiation"

(My POV)

"Hey, it's time to wake up." Nora said as she stood above me.

.

"Come on sleepy head, don't want to be late for initiation!" She said as she poked my nose.

.

"Do I need to tickle you?" She asked.

.

"Okay, you asked for it!" She said as she tickled me in various areas.

(Nowhere below the waist.)

.

"Oh, he's good." Nora said as she stood up and started to climb one of the stone pillars in the ballroom.

"Nora, what are you doing?" Ren asked.

"Waking up Brandon." She said as she prepared to jump.

"CANNONBAAAAAALL!" She yelled as she jumped off of the pillar and landed straight on my body.

"GAH!" I yelled in pain as I awoke from my slumber.

"Rise and shine! There's Grimm to be slain!" She said all-too-cheerfully.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" I yelled in an angered tone.

"Well, you wouldn't wake up, so I decided to give you my famous "Secret Cannonball Technique!" She said, puffing her chest out with pride.

"What?!" I asked.

"I'm surprised you're able to speak, most people have to go to the doctors after they were hit." Ren said.

"What?!"

"Come on! They're making pancakes~!" Nora called in a sing-song voice as she ran out of the ballroom.

"Come on, everyone already left." Ren said much more calmly. I nodded and started to stand up, only to crouch back down, holding my stomach in pain.

"Ow." I said as I held my stomach.

"You need some help?" Ren asked as he held his hand out to help me.

"Yeah, I would appreciate that." I said as I grabbed his hand.

"Let's go before Nora drinks all of the syrup again." Ren said.

"She drinks syrup?" I asked. Ren nodded as he pulled me up.

"That can't be healthy." I said.

"It's not." He said.

"Ugh." I groaned as I struggled to walk.

"Hmm, it appears that you're still worn out from Nora's secret cannon technique." Ren said.

"Really? I would have never guessed." I said sarcastically.

"I have just the thing." Ren said as he walked over to his bag and pulled out a cup.

"Here, drink this, it will help you feel better." Ren said as he placed the cup in my hands.

"What is this?" I asked as I looked at the liquid.

"This is a drink with a blend of herbs and vegetables that all contain nutrients vital to your body's well being. I call it 'the secret elixir'." Ren explained.

"Why is it green... and bubbling?" I asked.

"That is one of the side effects of the different herbs." Ren said.

"Uh." I began, only to be cut off by Ren.

"Please, there's no need to thank me." Ren said.

I doubt I'll be thanking you by the time I finish drinking this.

Should I? I mean Nora threw up the second she took a sip of this juice.

"Well, go on." Ren said with a hopeful look in his eyes.

.

.

I can't say no to that face.

I undid the cap and held the tip of it up to my face.

"Well, bottoms up." I said. As I started to chug the liquid down.

"Wait! You're not supposed to drink it all at-" Ren cut himself off as I drank the last remaining liquid from the cup.

"Once." He finished. I dropped the cup with my eyes wide and vacant of life.

"Uh, are you okay?" Ren asked.

I don't feel very well...and my vision is going black and I can't feel anything.

"Oh no, this isn't good." Ren said as he caught my body.

"I knew I should have used more herbs." He sighed.

* * *

(3rd person POV)

The cafeteria was filled to the brim with various students and teachers eating their respective meals.

 _'Wow, there sure are a lot of people in here.'_ Jaune thought as he walked around the cafeteria trying to find somewhere to sit. Jaune was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the person walking right in front of him.

"Oof!" Jaune huffed as he pumped into the massive figure.

"Hey! Watch it!" The figure said as he turned to face Jaune. The figure had burnt-orange hair that was combed backwards with a slight peak at the front, and indigo eyes. He wore silver-gray armor with gold trim.

The chest-plate sported a bird with its wings outstretched. Underneath the armor, he wore a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red belt tied around his waist.

It should also be noted that the figure was very tall. He stood at least a head above Jaune.

"S-sorry!" Jaune said frantically.

"You better be sorry! See this chest plate? This isn't exactly easy to clean." The man said.

"I'm really sorry!" Jaune said.

.

.

"I'll let you off with a warning, but don't ever piss me off again." The man said as he walked away from Jaune.

"Great, it hasn't even been one day, and I've already made an enemy." Jaune sighed as he continued his search for somewhere to sit.

 _'I don't see Ruby or Brandon anywhere.'_ Jaune thought.

'Maybe Brandon overslept, hope he makes it in time for the initiation.' Jaune thought as he walked over to an open spot at one of the tables.

 _'She's one of the girl's from last night. I don't think I got her name.'_ He thought as he walked over to the girl.

"Hey." Jaune greeted.

"Oh, hey! You're that one kid from last night!" Nora said.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Jaune said, feeling unexplainably awkward.

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked.

"Sure!" Nora said as she move to the side a bit.

"Thanks, my name's Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." Jaune said as he extended his hand outwards.

"Nora Valkyrie!" She said as she started to violently shake Jaune's hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Jaune said shakily.

"So… where's your friend?" He asked, recovering from Nora shaking his hand violently.

"You mean Ren? He stayed back at the ballroom." Nora said.

"Why? Doesn't he know he'll miss breakfast?" Jaune asked.

"He stayed back with Brandon." Nora explained.

"Oh, I guess he overslept." Jaune said. Suddenly, the doors to the cafeteria opened, revealing Ren dragging Brandon from his hoodie.

"Ugh." Brandon groaned as Ren dragged him across the cafeteria.

"Brandon!" Jaune yelled as he ran over to his friend.

"What happened to him?!" He asked.

"Uh." Ren was about to justify himself, but Nora was already inspecting Brandon.

"Ren." Nora said as she looked at Ren with a disappointed look.

"Yes?" Ren asked.

"Did you give Brandon your secret slime?" Nora asked.

"Secret slime?" Jaune asked.

"Nora! What did I say about calling it that?" Ren asked.

"Well I'm sorry! It's not MY fault that your secret slime looks the way it does!" Nora said.

"What are you two talking about?" Jaune asked.

"Okay, you see, Ren makes this little thing called the secret sli-"

"Nora!"

"Secret ELIXIR. There, you happy?" She asked.

"Very much." Ren said.

"Anyway, this juice is SUPPOSED to help you be healthier." Nora said, putting emphasis on the word supposed.

"Though it just makes you feel like you're having a heart attack, a stroke, and an aneurysm all at the same time." She said.

"It's not that bad." Ren said. Nora pointed at Brandon with one of her eyebrows raised.

"He's fine." He said.

"Ugh." Brandon groaned.

.

"Fair point." Ren sighed.

"How bad is it?" Jaune asked.

"Ren gave me some while I was sick one day." Nora said.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I was bedridden for a week." Nora said. Jaune's jaw promptly hit the floor, his eyes widening like saucers.

"How do we fix him?" Jaune asked.

"He's not broken." Ren said, slightly offended at Jaune's choice of words.

"We need sugar! Lots of it!" Nora said as she cleared the table of all of its contents.

"Put him on the table!" She yelled.

"Okay, I'm gonna need something with some sugar in it!" Nora yelled.

"Sugar, sugar, sugar." Jaune said as he looked around the cafetiere for something with sugar in it.

"Here!" Jaune said as he came back to the table.

"What's that?" Nora asked.

"A sugar pack." Jaune said.

"Too much sugar." She said.

.

"What do you mean it's too much sugar?!" Jaune yelled.

"I mean that's too much sugar!" Nora yelled back.

"Here." Ren said as he came back with a plate full of pancakes.

"Perfect!" Nora said as she grabbed a handful of pancakes and stuffed it into Brandon's mouth.

"Come on! Eat it!" She yelled over the muffled protests of Brandon.

"Nora! Not all at once! Not everyone can eat pancakes as fast as you." Ren said.

"Oh, right. Whoops." Nora said, removing some of the pancakes from Brandon's mouth.

"Alright, what now?" Jaune asked.

"Salt! We need salt!" Nora said.

"Okay, salt, salt, salt." Jaune said, looking for something with salt in it.

"Here! I got something!" He said, walking over to the table.

"What is it?" Nora asked.

"Eggs." He said.

"Not salty enough!" Nora yelled.

"Oh come on!" Jaune yelled in frustration.

"Here you go, Nora." Ren said, calmly handing something over.

"Thank you Ren." Nora said.

"What did you give her?" Jaune asked.

"Salt."

.

.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Jaune yelled.

"There! He should be better in a few hours." Nora said, jumping up in victory.

"What?! We don't have a few hours! The initiation starts in one!" Jaune yelled.

"What is going on here?!" Glynda yelled as she stormed into the cafeteria.

"Professor Goodwitch, if you would sit down for a moment, I can explain the situation in a calm, orderly, mann-" Ren was cut off by the sound of Brandon getting up from the table he was laying on.

"Manner." Ren finished.

"Mr. Kim, do you mind giving me an explanation to why you're taking a nap on our tables?" Glynda asked.

"Wha-?" Brandon asked. Glynda sighed in annoyance and smacked her crop across the table, breaking Brandon out of his daze.

"Nevermind, just get ready for the initiation." Glynda said, walking out of the cafeteria.

"Jesus, what's got her all mad?" Brandon asked as he stretched his arms upwards.

"How?!" Nora yelled, getting right in front of Brandon's face.

"How what?" Brandon asked.

"How did you just shrug Ren's secret slime-"

"Nora!"

"Secret Elixir, like it was just a little cold?" Nora asked.

"I shrug off a lot of poisonous things like they're nothing." Brandon said.

"It's not poison." Ren said.

"My body said otherwise." Brandon said bitterly.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." Jaune said, patting Brandon on the back.

"Thanks." He said.

"Well, I am truly sorry for what my drink did to you." Ren said.

"It's fine." Brandon said.

"No, you could have missed the initiation, ruining your chances of becoming a Huntsman." Ren said.

"You're looking way too deep into it." He said.

"I'll make it up to you, I'll make you another cup of juice with a different set of herbs and vegeta-" Ren was cut off by Brandon placing both his hands on Ren's cheeks.

"No." He said.

"But I-"

"If you truly want to make it up to me, then don't EVER give me that shit again." Brandon said, letting go of Ren.

.

"Now, do they still have any pancakes?" Brandon asked, walking over to the spread they had over on the other side of the cafeteria.

* * *

(My Pov)

After the incident in the back in the cafeteria, the students headed over to the locker rooms, making their own respective preparations for the initiation.

I was standing in front of my locker doing maintenance on my gun and putting various Dust crystals in the pouch around my belt.

Okay, fire, ice, and lightning. I've got my Dust crystals, now all I have to do is go to the cliffs and-.

Though before I could do anything else, the sound of Weiss's voice stopped me from doing anything.

"You're coming with me." Weiss said, grabbing my hood and dragging me away from my locker.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay! Just quit pulling me!" I yelled.

"Oh, so this is the boy you told me about." I heard a familiar voice say. I turned around to see a girl who had her red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet, and had vivid green eyes. She also wore light-green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her eyes. She was tall and quite muscular compared to most of the other girls at Beacon.

Her top consisted of two layers. The top layer was a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns. It is quite stiff, maintaining its shape without support; this layer also has riveting or small, round embroidery on the sides, indicating heavy stitching. The bottom layer is a low bronze V-neck. She wore an elastic, black, A-line miniskirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle-length drapery that wrapped around her skirt.

There was a small circular bronze plate by her right hip opposite two pouches which both connected to a belt. The plate bears her "shield and spear" emblem. She wore a bronze circlet headpiece that could be seen above her ear and under her bangs. A pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds hung from her circlet on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. Even when dressed in her school uniform, she continued to wear her headpiece.

Unlike the rest of the females at Beacon, she wore armor. She had elaborate bronze greaves that start below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees. She also donned a bronze bracer on top of the sleeve on her left arm, which was able to connect and disconnect from her shield easily. Her high-heeled boots are brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves, and reach up to mid-calf.

Aaaaand we can cross her off of the list.

"Pyrrha, I would like you to meet my friend Brandon." Weiss said.

"Wow, I think that's the first time you've ever called me your friend." I said with a grin. Weiss proceeded to step on one of my feet with her heels.

"Ow!" I yelled, gripping my foot in pain.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, though you probably knew that already." She said.

Right, she doesn't like all of the fame she's gotten over the years.

"So Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?" Weiss asked. "I'm sure everyone is eager to unite themselves with a strong, well known individual such as yourself."

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure, I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha said.

"Well, I was thinking maybe the three of us could be on a team together." Weiss said.

"That sounds… grand!" Pyrrha said.

"Great!" Weiss said as comically evil smile formed on her face.

.

"So, I don't believe you've introduced yourself." Pyrrha said.

"Wha-? Oh, sorry, my name is Brandon Kim." I said with my hand extended outwards.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you already know who I am." Pyrrha said.

.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Wait, seriously?! You don't know who I am?!" Pyrrha asked, her eyes widening in shock.

"Should I?" I asked.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. I graduated at the top of my class in Sanctum." She said.

"Isn't that in Mistral?" I asked.

"Yes, yes it is." She said.

"Never heard of you." I said.

"I won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row." She said.

"Good for you." I said, doing my best to hold back my laughter.

.

"I'm on the front of the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box?" She asked.

"Pumpkins and cereal, two of my LEAST favorite things." I growled.

.

"You seriously don't know who I am?" Pyrrha said, a smile forming on her face.

"Is that a problem?" I asked.

"N-no! That's wonderful! Fantastic!" She said with a smile.

"You know what else is fantastic?" Jaune asked as he came up from behind us.

"Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." Jaune said.

"You again?" Weiss said, clearly displeased at Jaune's sudden arrival.

"Nice to meet you Jaune!" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, yeah, so Weiss, couldn't help but hear your fondness of me the other day." Jaune said, flexing his arm.

Seriously?

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Weiss said.

My thought's exactly.

"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed." Jaune said.

Trust me Jaune, she's embarrassed for a whole other reason.

"So, I've been hearing rumors about teams, I was thinking you and me would make a good one. What do you say?" Jaune asked.

"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each." Pyrrha said.

"If they weren't, it would have been called a duo." I said.

"You don't say." Jaune said, walking up to Pyrrha.

"Well hot stuff, maybe play your cards right and you may just end up being on the winning team." Jaune said.

"Jaune, is it?" Weiss asked.

"What is it, snow angel?" Jaune asked.

"Okay, first of all, don't ever call me that again. Secondly, do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asked.

"Not in the slightest, snow angel." Jaune said.

"What did I just-!" Weiss began, only to calm herself down at the last second.

"This is Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss said, pointing at Pyrrha.

"Hello again!" She said, waving to Jaune.

"She graduated at the top of her class in Sanctum." Weiss said.

"Never heard of it." Jaune said blankly.

"Ugh, she's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row; a new record." She said.

"The what?" Jaune asked.

"She's on the cereal you adore so much." I said.

"You're Pumpkin Pete?!" Jaune asked with stars in his eyes.

"Why is THAT the thing you recognize her for?!" Weiss yelled.

"They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" Jaune continued obliviously.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha said.

"Not good for your taste buds either." I said under my breath.

"So after hearing all of that, do you REALLY think that you are in any position to ask HER of all people to be on a team with you?" Weiss asked.

"I guess not." Jaune said, dropping his head downwards.

"I mean I didn't know who she was until now." I said.

"Are you serious?! I would have thought YOU of all people would have known about her." Weiss exclaimed.

"I don't really follow sports." I said.

"That's not the point!" Weiss said, frustrated.

"Actually Jaune, I think you would make a great leader." Pyrrha said.

"Oh, stop it." Jaune said in an embarrassed tone.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss said.

"Sounds like Pyrrha is on board with Team Jaune, how about you, Brandon? You in?" Jaune asked turning to me.

"I'd rather not." I said.

"Your loss." Jaune said, turning back to Weiss.

"Spots are filling up quick, now I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I can pull some strings, find a place for you, what do you say?" Jaune asked, leaning toward her.

"Okay, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help please!" Weiss said. Pyrrha was about to throw her spear at Jaune, but I quickly grab her arm.

"What are you-?" She began, only to be cut off by me.

"Just let this play out." I said.

"She seems uncomfortable." Pyrrha said.

"I know, but this is VERY entertaining to watch." I said with a grin.

"Hey guys!" I heard Ruby say.

"Oh great, now these two are here…. If you'll excuse me, I have an initiation to pass." Weiss growled, walking out of the locker rooms.

"Jeez, what's her problem?" Yang asked.

"I wouldn't take it personal, she was like that to me when we first met." I said.

"How did you two meet anyway?" Ruby asked. Before I could respond, I heard Glynda speaking through one of the speakers.

"Will all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, will all first year students please report to initiation." Glynda announced.

"Story for another time." I said.

"What am I doing wrong, Brandon? My dad said all women look for is confidence. So how come I can't win over snow angel?" Jaune asked.

"Well, here's the thing Jaune, Ice Queen probably isn't the best place to start when it comes to looking for a girlfriend." I said.

"What about you? You know her to some extent. Can you give me any tips?" Jaune asked.

"Give up while you still have a shred of your dignity left." I said, walking out of the locker room.

* * *

We reached the cliffs along with the rest of the students that would participate in the initiation. Ozpin and Glynda were standing in front of the cliffs, making sure that every student was present… well… Ozpin was making sure, Glynda just wanted to make sure I was present. After Ozpin had confirmed that all the students were here, he cleared his throat and began his speech.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, protectors and guardians. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Glynda said.

"Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion."

"Each of you will be given teammates. Today." Glynda said.

"What? Oh..." Ruby groaned.

"These teammates will be your brother or sister-in-arms during your time here at Beacon Academy. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone to whom you can work with." Ozpin said.

"Oh." Ruby groaned again.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner the next four years."

.

"WHAT?!" Ruby cried out in agony.

"See, I told you!" Nora said triumphantly.

'Translation. I'm too lazy to handpick the partners so you all have to do it for me.' I thought.

"Now, due to the odd number of students here at Beacon, one of you will not be passing the initiation." Ozpin said as he took a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Or that would have been the case if you were all to apply last year." He said.

"Hidden within the forest is a special relic that one of you will have to retrieve. If you can retrieve this relic and bring it back to Beacon safely, you will be permitted to stay at Beacon." Glynda said.

'So, there's a special relic hidden within the forest. Knowing Ozpin, it's probably the king piece of the chess board.' I thought to myself.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the Emerald Forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Ozpin said.

"And Brandon, when I say destroy everything in your path, I don't mean destroy the entire forest. Please try to refrain things from getting too out of hand." He said, directly addressing me.

"I make no promises." I told him.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin said.

"Unless Brandon sets the forest on fire. In which case, we will come to escort you all out of the forest." He said.

"It was ONE time!" I yelled.

"You've done this before?!" I heard everyone ask.

"Moving on, you will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics." Ozpin said.

"Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately." Ozpin said.

"Are there any questions?" He asked.

"He's done this before?!" Everyone shouted.

"Yes, Brandon can get a little... carried away, especially with the newest addition to his arsenal." Ozpin said.

"Any other questions?" Ozpin asked once again.

"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune began, only to be cut off by Ozpin.

"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin said.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um, a question." Jaune said as Weiss was launched off into the sky.

'Right, I didn't work on my landing strategy.' I thought to myself.

"So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?" Jaune asked.

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin said.

"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked.

"Woohoooo!" Nora yelled as she was launched into the sky.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin said.

"Uh huh... Yeah." Jaune said.

"Good luck out there, hot stuff." Yang said as she winked at me and put of a pair of sunglasses.

As soon as Yang was launched into the sky, I began to feel the tile below my feet wind up.

"Son of a BI-!" Before I could finish my sentence, I was launched into the sky with the rest of the initiates, my scream fading away the further I flew.

Ozpin, who had just finished explaining to Jaune that there would be no landing strategy except for the ones they came up with, couldn't help but crack a smile as he heard me get launched into the air.

"Oh, how I love the little things in life." Ozpin said.

* * *

"OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!" I panicked as I flew thousands of feet through the air screaming.

Alright! Let's just calm down here! Calm down! You'll figure something out! You always have, and you always will! Just don't think about how you'll die a horrible, horrible death if you don't think of something!

.

I SAID DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!

As I flew closer and closer to the ground, I began to think of the different ways I could not fall to my death.

Wait, can my aura withstand the impact of me falling to the ground?

.

Yeah, I'm NOT going to test that theory right now! Okay, you can use the Barrier enchantment to make sure you land safely onto the ground.

Okay, just activate the Barrier enchantment and brace yourself for-

My thought process was cut off by the arm of the weapon spirit grabbing onto a nearby branch, stopping me in my tracks.

Impact.

Oh son of a biiiIIIIIIIII-

I began to fall towards the ground, hitting various branches as I fell.

"FUCK!" I yelled, hitting a branch.

 **CRUNCH**

"SHIT!" I yelled, hitting another branch.

 **SNAP**

"FUCK SHIT!" I yelled, hitting another br-okay you get the point.

 **CRUNCH**

"FUCKING FUCK SHIT!" I yelled, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Why is it that the one time I DON'T need you, THAT'S the time when you appear on your own?!" I yelled/asked.

Tch, whatever, I guess it's better than falling to my death.

Would have been the second time I died throughout my lifetime.

Huh, never thought I'd ever say that.' I thought as I began to walk further into the forest.

Okay, so if I want to make sure that the canon teams stay the same, my best bet will be to look for that one relic.

Then again, I doubt that I'll be the only one looking for the relic, Ruby will probably be the most likely to want find the special relic. Not only would she be able to stay at Beacon, she would be a one man team...or one girl team.

Then again, the odds of her not running into Weiss are next to none.

My best chance of keeping things canon is try my best to keep my distance from the other initiates.

* * *

(Ruby POV)

.

"BIRDY NO!" I yelled as I hit a bird on my way down to the Emerald Forest.

Okay, Ruby. Just like you practiced with Uncle Qrow.

As I flew through the air, I quickly switched Crescent Rose to its scythe form.

Okay, one!

I reeled my scythe backwards to latch onto the branch.

Two!

Three!

I swung my scythe at the branch, latching onto it.

Yes! I guess all those years of Uncle Qrow throwing me off of a cliff paid off!

Okay, gotta find Yang.

As I landed onto the ground, I started to run deeper into the forest.

Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang!

"Yang!" I called out.

.

"Yang!" I called out again.

Gah! This is bad! This is really really bad!

Oh, what if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first.

Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice, he's funny! I don't think he would be very good in a fight though...

Oh! What about Blake? So mysterious, so calm. Plus she likes books!

Though then again, I'm not sure I would be able to hold a conversation with her.

What about Brandon? He's... a person! That's something! He's got a weird taste when it comes to stories, but everyone has their own unique tastes!

From what Ozpin said, he can hold his own in a fight! Plus Yang told me that he was able to beat her with his... spirit arm thing.

.

Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, there's always that secret relic that Ozpin told us about. Maybe I can get that?

Okay, I have my options, so who else do I know at Beacon? There's Yang, Brandon, Jaune, Blake and then there's-

My thought process was cut off as my eyes found the ONE person I didn't want to see.

Weiss looked at me with a blank expression on her face.

.

.

We stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, neither of us saying anything.

"So, uh. I guess this means you and I are-"

"No." Weiss said, walking away from me.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" I yelled.

"We're supposed to be teammates." I grumbled, kicking the ground half-heartedly.

* * *

(Weiss POV)

No. No, absolutely not. I will not spend the next FOUR years with that bumbling idiot over there!

"I will literally take ANYONE other than that spaz!" I yelled.

"Hey, snow angel!" I heard someone yell.

.

You have got to be kidding me.

"There's still space on the winning team! You know we'll go together like a sword and a shield! What do you say?" Jaune asked as he tried desperately to get down from the tree he was stuck in.

"Come on, don't leave me hanging!" Jaune yelled.

Okay, I can either team up with... whatever he is, I can deal with that idiot over there, or I can continue my search for Brandon or Pyrrha.

.

Well, knowing him, he's probably already found himself a partner. Either that or he's currently burning down the forest.

"No but really, can you get me down from here? I'm scared of heights." Jaune said.

Yeah, I would like to make it through this initiation alive.

I turned my head around and walked away from Jaune.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Jaune asked frantically.

"By no means does this make us friends." I said, grabbing Ruby by her hood and dragging her further into the forest.

"You came back!" Ruby yelled happily.

.

I'm starting to regret my decision.

"Jeez, what's the hurry?" Ruby asked in a chipper voice.

I'm REALLY starting to regret my decision.

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow." I said.

"I swear if I get a bad grade because of you, I'm going to-!" I was cut off by Ruby suddenly appearing in front of me.

"What the-!"

"I'm not slow, see! There's nothing to worry about!" Ruby said.

I strongly doubt that.

"When did you-?"

"Weiss, just because I don't exactly have people skills, doesn't mean I don't have skills when it comes to fighting." Ruby said.

"You're about to see a whole different side of me!" She declared, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"After this whole thing is over, you're gonna be like 'Wow! That Ruby girl is so cool! I can't wait to be her BFF!'" Ruby said.

Is it too late to go back to that blondie?

"Whatever, you may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time." I grumbled. "Let's just go, we've wasted enough time already." I said, walking further into the Emerald Forest.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ruby said playfully.

* * *

(Jaune POV)

Great, first I get launched into the air, then I get stuck in a tree, now I don't even have a partner! Can things get any worse?

All of a sudden, I heard a loud roar coming from below me.

Dang it, Murphy! Why do you hate me?!

"N-now now. Let's not eat the Jaune. Yeah, that's a good Grimm." I said, trying to calm the Grimm down.

Maybe it's working.

All of a sudden, the Grimm roared towards the sky and began to claw at the tree in attempts to get me.

"It didn't work! It didn't work! Someone help me!" I yelled, panicking more than ever. As if on cue, a shield rammed into the Grimm's head. The red haired girl from before jumped on the shield and up towards me, pulling out her spear as she flipped.

"Whoa!" I yelled as I fell towards the ground. The girl landed on the Grimm's head, digging her spear into its head.

.

"Whoa." I said in awe.

"I thought you might be in need of assistance." Pyrrha said, pulling the spear free.

"That. Was. Awesome!" I yelled, getting up off of the ground.

"It was nothing really." Pyrrha said.

"Are you kidding me?! You killed that Grimm like it was nothing!" I yelled.

"Anyone can do that." She said.

"Not me." I said.

.

.

"So." Pyrrha said, grabbing my attention.

"I don't suppose there are any spots left on the winning team?" She asked with a playful smirk.

"Oh ha ha! Very funny!" I said.

.

.

"Oh, alright, I guess you can be the first official member of Team Jaune!" I yelled, punching my fist up towards the air.

"Team Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's a work in progress." I said as we walked further into the Emerald forest.

* * *

(My POV)

God, this forest sure is dark.

It seemed that I ended up in a more dense part of the forest than the other sections, mainly because the treetops were all bunched together, the leaves blocking out the rays of sunlight. It basically looked like night had come FAR earlier than usual.

Yeah, I need to get out of here, and fast. From what Port told me, the more dangerous Grimm make their nests in this part of the forest.

Though the weird thing is, despite this being the most dangerous part of the forest, I haven't run into any Grimm since I landed on the ground. It was quiet, and not the kind of quiet that I like, no. This was the kind of quiet that makes people feel VERY uncomfortable.

After a few minutes of walking around the forest aimlessly, I spotted something quite… unusual. Fortunately, it wasn't a Grimm.

"What the hell is this shit?" I asked myself. Strung up between two trees was a thick white string.

Must be some sort of spider web.

I went to touch the webbing, though as soon as I touched it, I quickly moved my hand away from it in disgust.

"Blegh! What the hell is this shit made of?!" I asked as I tried to shake off the webbing. However, the string was stuck to my fingers like glue.

"Okay! I've had enough! Come off already!" I yelled, shaking my hand violently.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT MADE OF?! CEMENT?!" I yelled.

"Okay tough guy, you wanna do this the hard way?" I asked, manifesting the arm of my weapon spirit.

"We'll do this the hard way!" I yelled, pulling off the string with the arm.

"Gah! God! Note to self, never touch that shit again!" I said, wiping the remaining string off of my hand.

"Well, then I better start moving before I… run… into..." I slowly stopped myself as I began to look at my surroundings. As I looked around, I slowly realized that there wasn't just one giant spider web in the area, as a matter of fact, there were five that were actually visible.

.

.

"Nope." I said, running away from the different spider webs.

"Hell to the nope!" I yelled.

"There's a lot of shit that I'm willing to put up with! Spiders are NOT one of them!" I yelled. After I ran a good distance away from the webs, I finally managed to find my way out of the darker side of the forest.

"Sweet, sweet light!" I yelled as I basked in the sunlight.

"Okay, let's head to temple and-" I was cut off by the various growling sounds that were behind me.

"Seriously?" I asked, turning around to face a pack of twenty Boarbatusk.

"Wow… that's a lot of bull… or, well, boar in this case." I said. It seemed that my yelling had attracted some unwanted attention. While I had no doubt that I could fight off four of five of them, twenty was an entirely different story. I quickly pulled out two fire Dust crystals and created two Dust bombs.

"I was in the mood for some pork." I said.

* * *

(3rd POV)

Jaune looked behind him to the sound of various explosions coming from the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Jaune asked Pyrrha.

"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha said.

'Jeez, I hope they're okay.' He thought to myself.

"Eat shit, asshole!" Jaune heard a familiar voice yell.

'What was that?' Jaune asked himself as he walked towards the rustling.

"Uh, hello? Is anyone there?" He asked. As he moved the leaves aside, he could see that the source of the noise was a Boarbatusk.

"Why do I do things?" Jaune asked myself.

"Jaune, I think I see a cave up ahead." Pyrrha said.

.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out.

.

"Jaune?" She called out once more, only to see Jaune being attacked by a raging Boarbatusk.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out.

"Get it off! Get it off!" Jaune yelled as he desperately tried to shake off the Boarbatusk, but to no avail.

"Hah!" Pyrrha cried as she stabbed the Boarbatusk in the abdomen with her spear.

"Jaune, are you okay?" She asked, checking Jaune to see if he was hurt from the sudden attack.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me, looks like I owe you twice over." Jaune said.

"You don't need to repay me, I'm just glad you're alright. You're lucky that this one was already wounded, otherwise, you might not have been so lucky." Pyrrha said.

'I can't even kill a wounded one? Wow, that's just… sad' Jaune thought. Pyrrha's eyes widened however as she saw a deep cut on Jaune's face.

"You're bleeding!" She exclaimed.

"What? Oh this? It's just a scratch, nothing to worry about." Jaune said.

"Why aren't you using you aura to heal yourself?" Pyrrha asked.

"Huh?" Jaune asked with a confused look.

"Your aura." She said again.

"Come again?"

"Jaune, you do know what aura is, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Tch, of course I do!" Jaune said.

.

"Do you know what aura is?" He asked.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts." She explained.

"Have you ever felt like someone was watching you, without knowing someone was there?" Pyrrha asked.

"Uh, yeah." Jaune said.

"With practice, aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals." She said.

"What about the Grimm?" Jaune asked.

"No. The creatures of Grimm lack the soul to wield aura. They are the manifestation of anonymity" Pyrrha said.

"Anon what now?" Jaune asked.

"Anonymity, lack of outstanding, individual, or unusual features; impersonality." She said.

"Oh." He said.

"So is that why we fight them?" Jaune asked.

"It's not about why, it's about knowing." Pyrrha said.

"You lost me." He said.

"Understanding both dark and light helps us manifest our aura. Everyone has some of both, even you and I." Pyrrha said.

"By baring your soul outwards as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for aura. You project yourself and your soul when fighting." She explained.

"So it's like a force field?" Jaune asked.

"That's one way to look at it." Pyrrha said as she walked up towards Jaune.

"Uh, what are you-?"

"Close your eyes and concentrate." Pyrrha said.

"Uh... okay." Jaune said, following Pyrrha's instructions.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." Pyrrha chanted, unlocking Jaune's aura.

'Wow, I feel... amazing! I feel like I can take on the entire world! I feel like-' Jaune's thought process was cut off as Pyrrha collapsed from exhaustion.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, worried.

"It's alright. I used my aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." Pyrrha said as the cut on Jaune's face healed.

"You have a lot of it." She smiled.

* * *

(Ren's POV)

Hmm, it's quiet, too quiet.

.

.

"Hah, this is a nice change of pace." I sighed in relief.

How long has it been since I had a true state of peace and quiet?

Don't get me wrong, I love Nora as if she were my own family, but sometimes even I need a break from her hyperactive nature.

I wonder what she's doing right now? Well, she's probably doing one of three things at the moment.

One, looking for me and completely ignoring the objective.

Two, riding on a wild Grimm she found in the forest.

Three, all of the above.

.

She's most likely doing three.

I hope she's alright.

Though I doubt that I'll have to worry about her, I'm more worried about what finds her than anything.'

Though as I was getting used to the sense of peace that was taken me, I started to sense a negative and dangerous presence.

"Well, the peace and quiet could only last for so long." I sighed as I turned around to face the King Taijitu.

"Look, I really just want to enjoy this rare moment of peace and quiet that I have at the moment, so how about we just forget we saw each other and-" Before I could finish my sentence, the snake Grimm started to wrap its body around me, trying to trap me.

"So that's a no." I said, pulling out StormFlower. I quickly jumped out of the hole above me and began to shoot at the giant snake's long body. It tried to snap and puncture me with its two large fangs, though I quickly kicked it straight in the face. As it got up off of the ground, I slashed at its head in attempt to kill it, though its scales were much more durable than I thought.

It tried to charge at me once more, though I quickly jump, bringing my blades down on its head as I descended towards it.

Hmm, King Taijitu's are supposed to have two heads. So where is the-?

I was cut off by the sound of a screech coming from behind me. I looked to see that the second head of the snake was charging at me, though I quickly move off of the other head to escape.

There you are.

Both of them screeched and charged towards me. I quickly jump on its body to attempt to disorient it, and as I ran across its body, I began to shoot my two SMGs at its body. Though while I was airborne, the white head knocked me back, causing me to lose StormFlower. The black head of the snake attempted to sink its teeth into my body, but I quickly projected my aura outwards, stopping the fangs with the force of my aura alone. I grab onto its fangs and ripped them off, then hurled one of the fangs into the serpent's eye. Before it could so much as screech in pain, I released my aura outwards, the head exploding from the force.

"Okay, you're next." I said as I ran towards the other head. I quickly picked up StormFlower and started to shoot at the other snake head. As it charged forward, I began to compress my aura into my palms.

Wait for it.

.

.

"Now!" I yelled, increasing my aura, causing it to meet the same fate as the other head.

"Well then, that takes care of-" Suddenly, I could hear a roar coming towards me. As I turned around, I could see Nora riding on the back of the Ursa that had just emerged from the forest.

"Hey Ren! Look what I found!" Nora yelled.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

I dusted myself off and started to follow the Ursa into the forest.

* * *

(Ruby POV)

"Stop treating me like a kid!" I yelled.

"Stop acting like a kid!" Weiss yelled back.

"Stop acting like you're perfect!" I yelled.

"I'm not perfect!" Weiss yelled.

"At least not yet." She said. "But I'm still leagues better than you." Weiss snarled as she walked away from me.

"You don't even know me." I said under my breath.

Stupid Weiss! Look at me, I'm better than you in everything! I'm a better fighter, better at talking to people and I'm rich!

"Come on! I don't want to be late!" Weiss snapped.

"Coming." I said quietly.

.

"Okay, look, I'm... sorry about what I said to you." Weiss sighed.

.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked.

"This has just been a very stressful day." She said. "I shouldn't take it out on you."

"Not without giving you a chance at least." She quickly said. "So I will give ONE chance to redeem yourself." Weiss said, lifting her finger to emphasize.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, I can't just keep giving free chances all of the time, now can I?" She said.

"No! I mean why are you even giving me a chance to begin with?" I asked.

"It's because." She started to say, looking hesitant.

"It's because I treated Brandon the exact same way when I met him." Weiss admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, there was this Dust expedition back in Atlas a year ago, this mine would supply Atlas for years! Maybe even decades!" She said.

"Oh! I heard about that! My dad told me about it when I was doing a project on Dust back at Signal!" I said.

"Huh, I guess you aren't as brain dead as I thought." Weiss said thoughtfully.

"Hey!" I said.

"Right, moving on. When I first met him, I thought he was a nobody, a commoner." She said.

"When I met you, I thought your skills were at least passable to be accepted into Beacon. When I saw him, I didn't think he would survive the first pack of Grimm we encountered." Weiss said.

"Now? Well, now he's the third strongest person I know." She said.

"Who's the first and second?" I asked.

"My sister, and General Ironwood." Weiss said.

"Isn't she the lieutenant of his army?" I asked.

"Wait, how do you know that?!" She asked.

"My uncle talks about her a lot."

And not in a good way, but I think we can leave that part out.

"What's his name?" Weiss asked.

"Qrow Branwen." I said.

"Never heard of him." Weiss said.

"Really?! He's SUPER famous here in Vale, he's the one who taught me how to use my scythe!" I said, cradling Crescent Rose in my arms.

"You do know it's just a weapon, right?" She asked.

"Just a weapon?!" I yelled, horrified.

"They're an extension of our souls! They're a part of us! Without it, we wouldn't be here having this talk!" I yelled.

"I think you're taking it too seriously." Weiss said.

"YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND MY VISION!" I yelled.

"Yeah, yeah." She said, waving her hand around.

"So, any ideas on how to find the temple?" Weiss asked.

.

"What?" She asked upon looking at my shocked face.

.

"Well, I just thought that you would like a chance to prove yourself." Weiss said.

"So you admit it, you don't know where we're going." I said with a sly grin.

"You can't prove that." She said defensively.

"Well, we're getting nowhere on foot. How about we get to higher ground?" I suggested.

"Great idea! Let's get to higher ground! It's not like there are a whole bunch of trees blocking our way." Weiss said sarcastically.

"We just need to get above the trees." I said.

"How do you propose you do that?!" She asked. As if on cue, we came across a sleeping Nevermore.

.

"No." Weiss said.

"Yes." I said, slowly walking towards the Nevermore.

"No!" Weiss said.

"No!" I said.

.

"That only works in cartoons, you dimwit." Weiss sighed.

"Well, can't blame me for trying." I said as I started to climb onto the Nevermore.

"This is insane!"

"Do you have any better ideas?!" I asked.

"Any idea is a better idea!"

"Just grab on before this thing wakes up!"

.

"If I die, I'm haunting you!" She yelled as she climbed on.

"Okay, so what now?" She asked.

"Hold on."

"Hold on? What do you mean 'hold o-!" Weiss was cut off as I stabbed the Nevermore with my scythe. It screamed and took off to the sky.

"Here we gooooOOOOOO!" I yelled as we took off.

* * *

(Blake POV)

After I was launched off of the cliff, I stumbled across the blonde haired girl from last night fighting a pair of Ursa.

Though she did seem upset for some reason, I wonder why?

While we're on the topic of the initiation, what kind of a headmaster just throws his students off of a cliff?!

Sure, the initiation to be accepted as the leader of the White Fang student wasn't easy, but he didn't throw me off of a cliff!

"Jeez, where the hell is this thing?" Yang asked. As if on cue, we came across a cliff, and on the other side of it was a temple of some sort.

"You think this is it?" She asked.

Do you even need to ask?

I rolled my eyes and started to climb down the cliff and towards the temple. As we arrived, we could see that the relics were...

"Chess pieces?" I asked.

"I'm more of a checkers kinda girl." Yang said.

Well then... this was underwhelming.

Here I thought that there would be some sort of ancient artifact representing the history of Beacon itself!

Nope.

Just chess pieces.

"Some of them are missing." Yang pointed out. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well, all there's left is to pick a piece and leave." I said.

.

"How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked.

"Sure." I said, rolling my eyes but betraying a small smile.

"Well, that was easy." She said.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." I pointed out, looking around.

* * *

(My POV)

Why is this place so difficult to find?! Seriously?! The members of Team RWBY found it like it was no problem back in the show! Why am I having so much trouble?!

Though I came to a sudden halt as I came across a cave.

.

If I were Ozpin, then I'd probably hide the secret relic in there.

As I walked in, I could hear a faint clicking noise.

What the hell?

.

.

Meh, it sounds far away, so I don't think I'll have to worry about it.

Ugh! What's that smell?

What is all of this?

The floor around me was filled to the brim with some hard, slimey objects. I took out my sword and activated a random enchantment so that I could see better.

They look like eggs.

All of a sudden, the clicking sound from before started to get louder.

What the hell is tha-!

I stopped myself mid thought as my eyes came into contact with...

You guessed it, the king chess piece.

Well, well, well. Don't mind if I do.

Now I just have to walk to the other… side.

"Fuck." I said as I began to walk across the room, audible crunching and splashing sounds coming from below my feet.

Fuck my life.

Fuck Ozpin.

And fuck this initiation!

Gah! God! Never doing that again!

"Well, hello there little chess piece. Don't mind if I d-" I was cut off as my hand came into contact with the chess piece.

"Aaaaaand it's all slimy and gross!" I said, just about ready to give up on the initiation.

Well, I got what I came here for, now let's just leave and head to the cliffs.

I looked around the cave the best I could with the poor lighting and saw a dark tunnel in one of the walls.

Huh, wonder where this leads to?

As I reached the end, I could see the temple and the cliffs just over the forest.

Well then, isn't that convenient. I thought.

Now, let's just leave and-!

Though before I could jump down, I was cut off by a loud clicking noise.

Leave.

As I looked up, I could see a gigantic spider looming over me with its long, pincer-like legs up against the stone ceiling.

.

.

So, I did what every man would have done put in said situation.

I let out a high pitched scream and ran out of the cave.

Meanwhile, with Yang and Blake.

* * *

(3rd person POV)

"Some girl is in trouble!" Yang yelled.

"Blake, did you hear that?!" She asked, though Blake wasn't paying attention, she was currently looking up at the slowly growing dot in the sky.

Meanwhile, with Jaune and Pyrrha.

* * *

(Jaune POV)

"Pyrrha! Did you hear that?!" I asked as I heard the loud, high pitched scream.

"Yes, I did, it sounded like a very high pitched scream." Pyrrha said. We continued to walk until we came across a cave with some sort of foreign writing on it.

"So." I began.

.

"You think this is it?" I asked.

"I don't know." Pyrrha said cautiously.

"Well, only one way to find out." I said, using a stick on the floor as a torch to light our way through the darkness.

.

"I'm not sure this is it." Pyrrha said.

"Pyrrha, I lit the torch, can you at least humor me for five more feet?" I asked. I guess the universe didn't like that, because I tripped over some conveniently placed rocks, dropping the torch into some CONVENIENTLY placed water.

.

Are you freaking kidding me?!

"Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Soul crushing regret? Yes, yes I do feel that." I said.

"No, it's... warm." She said, even more cautious.

"Warm?" I asked.

"Yeah, almost as if there was someone breathing on us." Pyrrha said.

"Let's just look for a way out, I can't see anything in this darkness." I said as I began to walk in different directions.

Hey, what is that?.

"H-hey! I think I see the way out!" I yelled as I ran towards the light.

Wait, is that-?!

"Jaune, wait up!" Pyrrha yelled.

"I think I see the relic!" I yelled.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah! I see it, that's the relic!" I yelled as I looked at the floating relic. I go in to grab it, only for it to move away.

"Hey! Bad relic!" I said, reaching for it again.

"Come on!" I yelled as I jumped at the relic, latching myself onto it.

"Got it!" I yelled.

"Good job, Jaune! Now all we have to do is go back and-!" Pyrrha stopped herself in her tracks, her eyes widening in fear.

"Uh... Jaune?" She said.

"What is it, Pyrrha?" I asked.

"I don't think that's the relic." She said.

"What are you talking about? Of source it's… the… relic." I slowly began to see what Pyrrha was seeing. There was a Deathstalker right in front of us.

.

.

And I was latched onto its tail. Or more accurately, its stinger.

"Ahaha. Nice Deathstalker?" I said sheepishly. My only response was for the Deathstalker to roar loudly and for it to begin to charge at Pyrrha.

"Gah!" I yelled as we ran out of the cave.

"Oh ho ho, why?" I asked, the Deathstalker's madly swinging tail flinging me around like a ragdoll.

"Pyrrha! It's not the relic! It's not!" I cried out.

"Do something!" I yelled desperately.

"Jaune! Whatever you do don't let-!" I couldn't hear the rest of Pyrrha's sentence as I was flung towards the sky by the Deathstalker.

Back to Blake and Yang.

* * *

(3rd person POV)

"Blake! Did you hear that?!" Yang asked.

"What should we-?" She was cut off by Blake's baffled look.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked. Blake's only response was to point upwards. Yang looked up to see that a small ball of red was falling closer and closer towards them

.

"Wait, is that-?" Yang asked as she squinted her eyes.

.

"Ruby?!" Yang yelled in surprise.

"HEADS UUUUUUUUUP!" Ruby yelled as she came closer and closer to the ground. Just before she hit the ground, Jaune came out of nowhere and hit her, causing both of them to fly towards a nearby tree.

.

.

"What just happened?" Yang asked.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #27**

 **Ooooo, I'm currently being chased by a giant spider.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, my day could be going better.**

 **Well on the plus side, I got the special relic!**

 **Though I do wonder what kind of role Ozpin has for me?**

 **Better not be the stupid cliche of "You're joining Team RWBY"**

 **Next chapter will wrap up the initiation arc.**

 **Would you call it an arc though?**

 **Normally arcs are at least ten or more chapters.**

 **.**

 **Meh, we'll call it an arc I guess.**

 **Here are some of the reviews people left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Responses  
**  
 **Dinosaurchicken: Uh... Yeah! It was a real 'neck' story!**

 **olTran: Well... I won't bring ALL of them to the good side. Cinder, Tyrian, Hazel, and Watts can go fuck themselves.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Meh, I was never really to worried about the names really. It's simple, and it describes just what the enchantment does exactly, it "Enchants" your Semblance so it can reach even greater heights than before.**

 **Le MAO XXIII:**

 **Author: *Refreshes screen five times* Holy shit, this is real. Someone isn't actually fucking with me.**

 **Brandon: Who's this?**

 **Author: This author is 50% of the reason of why this story exists.**

 **Brandon: What about the other 50?**

 **Author: Actual show.**

 **Brandon: So if it weren't for this guy, I wouldn't exist?**

 **Author: Well, this is a self insert so you're technically me.**

 **Brandon: You know what I meant.**

 **Though in all seriousness, I'm glad you decided to stick around for the future! Best of luck with your attempt on stopping Cinder, you'll need it.**

 **RandoReader: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and so does everyone else it seems.**

 **joshua35: How about no? I mean those are all good ships, though only ONE of them will actually happen.**

 **Zistonian Battle Sign: Thank you for your submission! :)**

 **TrueNecromancer: Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would have been too obvious. Though I do have plans for those stories. As well as Beauty and the Beast and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.**

 **I haven't really played Dungeons and Dragons so I'm not familiar with the concept. I might watch Rooster Teeth's Heroes and Half Wits series because that looks like it has the same concepts.**

 **nightmaster000: Nah, you're good, it's not really required. Though it does let me know I'm doing a good job!**

 **The Minion Sekiryuutei: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! My Turn actually had a pretty major role with the making of this fanfic, and I'm glad I can live up so such standards.**

* * *

Omake: Qrow's Bad Day (Non-Canon)

.

"Qrow." Ozpin called.

.

"Qrow!" Ozpin called a bit louder than before.

.

"QROW!" Ozpin yelled.

"Gah!" Qrow yelled, only to immediately clench the side of his rib cage with his free arm.

"Ow." He groaned.

"I'm glad to see you're all right." Ozpin said.

"What happened?" Qrow asked.

"You don't remember?" He asked.

"All I remember was flying over the Emerald Forest, then all of a sudden I was hit by something." Qrow said.

"I see, you might want to take a look at this then." Ozpin said as he pulled out a scroll.

"What's this?" Qrow asked.

"Footage from this year's initiation." Ozpin said.

"Oh yeah, that's today. How did Ruby and Yang do?" Qrow asked.

"They passed with flying colors, they even ended up on the same team together." Ozpin said.

"Heh, well I guess I'm glad Ruby got a partner she's familiar with." He said.

"I never said they were partners." Ozpin said.

"Oh, then who'd they end up with?" Qrow asked.

"Well, Yang ended up with Blake Belladonna." Ozpin said.

"What hell is the daughter of the former leader of the White Fang doing in here?" He asked. Ozpin shrugged.

"Great, what about Ruby?" Qrow asked.

"Weiss Schnee." He said.

.

.

"I'm sorry, run that by me again." Qrow said, his tone dangerously low.

"Your niece has ended up the partner of Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Ozpin repeated.

.

.

"Greeaaaaaaat." Qrow ground, burying his hands in his face.

"What did you want to show me anyway?" He asked. Ozpin handed Qrow his scroll, playing the footage.

"Yeah, there I am. Still not seeing what you wanted to-"

"Birdy no!" He heard Ruby scream.

.

"Was that my niece?" Qrow asked.

"Yes." Ozpin nodded.

.

.

"Where the hell is my flask?" He asked.

* * *

 **Jaune Arc  
**  
 **Height: 6'1'**

 **Weight: 133 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown.**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	27. The Initiation (Part 2)

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Chapter 26: The Initiation (Part 1)**

 **Updated: Polished the last chapter.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Part Two"

Thought: _'Part Two'_

Flashback: _"Part Two"_

(3rd Person POV)

"For the most part, all of the initiates seem to be progressing through their assignment rather smoothly. At this rate, they're bound to reach the temple within a few minutes." Glynda informed Ozpin as he watched the progress of the initiates on his scroll. Ozpin let out a simple hum to let Glynda know he was paying attention before looking back down towards his scroll.

"However..." Glynda began, getting Ozpin's attention.

"There is one student who has yet to partner up with anyone, and I'm sure you already know who that is." Glynda said, looking down towards the headmaster's scroll.

 **"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"** Brandon yelled as he ran away from a tarantula roughly the size of a fully matured Deathstalker.

"So, does he have the special relic?" Glynda asked as she watched Brandon narrowly avoid getting impaled by one of the spider Grimm's pincers.

"Yes, he has retrieved the special relic from the Grimm's nest." Ozpin said.

"So you purposely put the relic there." Glynda stated.

"Well, I didn't want him to get bored." Ozpin said. Glynda could only shake her head before turning her head so that it faced Ozpin.

"Sometimes I think you're trying to kill him, rather than train him." She sighed.

"He's survived my training for more than a year now, a few more shouldn't be an issue." He said.

"Seeing the things you put him through, sometimes I can't help but feel bad for him." Glynda said.

"Oh, it's all fun and games." Ozpin said.

"I'm sure Brandon would say otherwise." She said.

"Well, I had to be more hard on him, even I can have some trouble building a fighter that lives up to Beacon's standards in no more than a year." He said.

"I suppose you do make a compelling argument." Glynda said.

"By the way. What kind of role do you have planned for him?" She asked.

.

.

.

.

"Professor?" Glynda asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ozpin asked, looking up from his scroll.

"Nevermind." She sighed before looking back down at her scroll.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

Seriously, give me a break!

Those were the first words that ran through my mind as I ran out of the darkened part of the Emerald Forest, the Giant Tarantula hot on my trail.

First I get cannon-balled awake, then someone tries to poison me, I get launched ten thousand feet in the air, I almost fell to my death, AND NOW I HAVE TO DEAL THIS STUPID THING?! SERIOUSLY, DID I KILL SOMEONE IN MY PAST LIFE?!

.

.

.

.

Not THAT life! You know what I meant!

I could have spent more time mentally cursing my fate and everyone around me, or a certain silver haired headmaster to be more specific, though I could do that at a later time. Right now, I needed to concentrate on getting this stupid fucking spider off my trail.

Okay Brandon, think. What's the best way to get rid of a spider?

.

.

Well, I can't exactly step on this thing so think of something else!

The Tarantula swiped one of it's massive legs at me in attempt to kill me, though I quickly dodged it.

And think of something fast! Before you become food for its babies!

"H-hey! I'm sorry about stepping on your kids! Can't we just let bygones be bygones and forget about this whole ordeal?" I asked. Its only response was to jab one of its massive pincers at me.

"I'll take that as a no!" I yelled, rolling under the attack.

Okay Brandon, just think. You've fought plenty of spider bosses in the past! How did you deal with them then?

Okay, while it's not exactly a spider, it's close enough. Think back to the fight with the mantis in Metal Gear Rising!

Okay, first I had to dodge the attacks so that it would reveal its legs. After that I would slowly chip away at them before they were fragile enough for my sword to cut through.

Okay, first I'll hide, and as it's looking for me, I'll quickly come from behind and cut off one of its legs. Two if I'm lucky.

I'll repeat this process until all of its legs are gone, then I'll go in for the killing blow!

While I can't exactly rip off its leg and fight a duel with it, I can sure as hell get the general idea of killing it down.

Okay, now all that's left to do is find a place to-!

My thought process was cut off as I barely stopped myself from falling off of the edge of the cliff that I was now standing in front of.

.

.

.

.

Or I can just get cornered and then improvise!

Before I could run back into the forest, the Tarantula was slowly crawling towards me with a hungry look in its eyes.

Great, year's worth of training under THE Professor Ozpin, and look at you now! About to be eaten by a giant spider.

As if one cue, I heard a loud screeching noise coming from behind me. I turned around to see that a Nevermore was flying towards my direction, on it, was Weiss and Ruby.

.

.

Well, I always wanted to ride a Nevermore.

I walked up to the cliff and I prepared to jump.

Okay.

I walked back a few feet in preparation to jump.

One.

Two.

Nevermore was closing in.

Three!

I jumped off of the cliff.

"GERONIMO!" I yelled, reaching for the Nevermore's talons.

Come on!

I went to grab the talons of the Nevermore, only to grab thin air instead.

"DAMN IT!" I shouted, preparing myself to fall to the ground.

.

.

"Huh?" I asked myself as I looked down. From the looks of it, I was indeed flying, even though I didn't grab onto the-

.

.

Wait.

I looked up to see that the weapon spirit's arm had a firm grasp on one of the Nevermore's talons, preventing me from falling.

"HA HA! TAKE THAT YOU OVERGROWN BUG! NEXT TIME WHY DON'T YOU BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY!'" I yelled.

"Ahem!" I heard someone clearing their throat. I looked up to see that Ruby and Weiss were looking at me with shocked expressions, or more specifically, they were looking at the arm of my weapon spirit.

"Uh, hey." I said sheepishly.

.

.

"So… glad to see that you and I had similar ide-" I was interrupted by the sound of Weiss screaming.

"What the hell was that?!" Weiss screamed over the wind.

"Oh my Oum, she wasn't kidding." Ruby said, though Weiss couldn't hear her over the wind.

"It's one of the many new tricks I've learned over the past months!" I yelled.

"Why is it only the arm?! Can't you summon the rest of it?!" Weiss asked.

"It's not that simple! Hell, I can only manifest one arm at a time, and I haven't been able to do the legs!" I yelled.

"But how?! I thought Schnee's were the only ones able to do summoning!" Weiss yelled.

"It's more… complicated than that! I don't even know how I do it sometimes! Like right now for example! It's doing this on it's own!" I yelled.

"Wait, that thing is a sentient being?!" Weiss asked.

"I think so! Would explain why it came out on it's own!" I yelled.

"Okay, so you can only manifest one arm, but what about the spirit itself? Has it taken on other forms on it's own?" Ruby asked.

"Well, it kinda manifested it's entire body by itself." I yelled.

"What do you mean "Kinda"?" She asked.

"Well, it wasn't really clear on what it looked like. It just looked like a humanoid cloud with arms and legs!" I yelled.

"Do you have anything that might be able to get us out of this?!" Weiss asked.

"Well that depends! Do either of you have gravity dust?!" I asked, both of them shaking their heads in response.

"Then no! No I do not!" I yelled. Before either of them could ask any other questions, Ruby's eyes widened as she looked down.

"What's up?!" I yelled.

"I think I see the temple!" Ruby yelled.

"And how do you propose we get down to it?!" Weiss asked.

"We're gonna have to jump!" Ruby yelled.

"What are you, insane?!" Weiss screamed. Her only response was for Ruby to jump off of the Nevermore.

.

.

.

.

"Nice partner!" I yelled.

"What did I do in the past life to deserve this?!" Weiss asked.

Question of the day it seems.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"Blake! Did you hear that?!" Yang asked.

"What should we-?" She was cut off by Blake's baffled look.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked. Blake's only response was to point upwards. Yang looked up to see that a small ball of red was falling closer and closer towards them.

.

.

"Wait, is that-?" Yang asked as she squinted her eyes.

.

.

"Ruby?!" Yang yelled in surprise.

"HEADS UUUUUUUUUP!" Ruby yelled as she came closer and closer to the ground. Just before she could hit the ground, Jaune came out of nowhere and hit her, causing both of them to fly towards a nearby tree.

.

.

"What just happened?" Yang asked.

"I think your sister just fell out of the sky." Blake said.

"Why was she-" Before Yang could finish her sentence they heard a loud roar coming from the other side of the forest.

"YEEHAAAAW!" They heard an orange-haired girl yell as she rolled off of the back of a now dead Ursa.

"Did she just-?" Before Blake could finish her sentence, a black haired teenager with a small pink streak in it came out from behind the Ursa.

"Aww. Ren, I broke another one!" The orange haired girl said in a saddened tone.

"Nora?" The boy, who they assumed was Ren, began. "Please...don't ever do that again." He said, but he soon realized that the girl was already long gone from the spot she originally was in.

"Oooooh!" Blake and Yang spun their heads around to see that the girl, who they assumed was Nora, had mysteriously appeared right behind them without them noticing.

"When did she-?!" Yang began, only for Nora to pick up the rook chess piece and started to sing.

"I'm queen of the castle!~" She sang.

"I'm queen of the castle!~"

"NORA!" Ren yelled over to her.

"Coming Ren!" Nora giggled.

"Did she just-?" Yang was interrupted yet again by the sound of an angry Deathstalker making their way towards them. In front of it was a red haired girl who was doing her best to dodge the Deathstalker's attacks.

"Jaune!" She ylled.

 _'So that's Jaune's partner, huh? Guess he really is a lady killer after all.'_ Yang thought with a grin. She was broken out of her state of thought by the sound of someone landing near her.

"Ruby?" Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she started to run towards her sister.

"Ruby!"

"Yang!"

"Ruby!"

"Yang!"

"Ruby." She said in a dangerously low tone.

"Yang?" Ruby asked sheepishly.

"RUBY!" She yelled, her eyes turning red from anger.

"Oh, sugar honey iced tea!" Ruby yelled, running in the opposite direction. Normally, she would have been able to outrun her sister with ease, though with the state she was in, she could only pray she didn't get close.

"WHAT IN MONTY'S NAME WERE YOU THINKING?!" Yang yelled.

Her prayers were not answered.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea what kind of a heart attack you just gave me?! I'm gonna start growing grey hairs, and I'm only seventeen Ruby! SEVENTEEN!" Yang roared.

"If it helps, maybe Professor Ozpin might let you become a huntress earlier!" Ruby suggested.

"RGHAAA!" Yang yelled, having enough of the shenanigans that were unfolding before her.

"I HAVE HAD IT! CAN EVERYONE JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?! Yang yelled, literally exploding as flames swirled through the air.

"Swear!" Ruby yelled.

"REALLY NOT IN THE MOOD RIGHT NOW, RUBY!" Yang yelled.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, Yang?" Ruby said, pointing up in the direction from which she fell from.

"Gimme a damn break." Yang grumbled.

"Well, it HAS been two seconds." Ruby said.

.

.

"Right, not in the mood." Ruby said after she glimpsed the death glare on Yang's face.

"So...how are they gonna get down?" Nora asked.

"Well, they can just let go, but that would lead to their inevitable death." Ren said.

"I mean WITHOUT dying, silly." Nora said.

"Oh, then I don't know." Ren said.

"Well, they better think of something before the Nevermore decides to make them its next meal." Yang said.

(My Pov)

* * *

"How could she just leave us?!" Weiss asked.

"Well, she did say to jump." I said with a shrug.

.

.

"Brandon." Weiss simply said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I will cut off this Nevermore's talons and put you in a icicle." She said with a glare.

"Just saying." I said.

"So am I." Weiss said.

"So how do we get out of this?" Weiss asked me.

"Hold on, I'm thinking." I said.

.

.

.

.

"Okay, I've got an idea." I said.

"Great! So what is it?" She asked.

"I don't want to tell you." I said.

"Why?"

"Because you won't like it." I said.

"When have I EVER liked your plans?!" She asked.

"Good point." I said as I pulled out my revolver.

"When did you get a-" She didn't have time to finish her sentence as I shot the talon of the Nevermore off, causing Weiss to fall.

"Hey, Jaune!" I yelled.

"Catch!"

(3rd Person POV)

* * *

.

.

.

.

"D-did he just shoot the talon that Weiss was holding on off?!" Ruby yelled.

"Damn, I didn't like the Ice Queen, but that doesn't mean he should shoot the one thing keeping her alive." Yang said.

"Ugh." Jaune groaned as he recovered from the impact of the tree.

"Hey, Jaune!" He heard Brandon call out.

"Huh?" Jaune said.

"Catch!"

"Catch? Catch wha-!" Jaune cut himself off at the sight of Weiss falling towards the ground at an alarmingly fast pace.

 _'W-why did he do that?! Doesn't he know that fall will kill her?! What was he thinki-!'_ Jaune's thought process was cut off as 'realization' struck him.

 _'He's giving me an opportunity to win over Weiss!'_ Jaune thought, a big grin forming on his face.

 _'Thank you, Brandon! You'll definitely be the best man at our wedding!'_ Jaune thought.

 _'Okay Jaune, you have one shot, don't waste it here! Brandon might not be able to help you out like this in the future.'_ He thought as he prepared to jump.

 _'Gotta say something cool when I do it. What about 'Your knight in shining armor is here!'?'_

 _'No, that's not cheesy. What about 'Hey babe, I knew you were falling for me, but this is ridiculous.'?'_

 _'No! I got it!'_ Jaune thought, jumping out of the tree to catch Weiss in his arms.

"Just dropping in." He said with the smoothest smile he could muster.

.

.

"What, too cheesy?" Jaune asked.

"No, I just didn't expect YOU of all people to come to my rescue." Weiss said.

"What can I say? I'm a knight, and as I knight, it is my duty to save the fair maide-" Jaune was cut off as something landed in between the two.

"Sup." Brandon said, causing them to speed towards the ground.

"Oh Oum!" Jaune said before hitting the ground, along with Weiss.

"Ugh!" He groaned as Weiss landed on her back.

"My hero." She said sarcastically.

"A-all in the day's wo-" Jaune was cut off once again, only this time, by Brandon.

"Gah!" Weiss yelped.

"Whyyyyyyyyy?" Jaune groaned.

"Whew! Thought I was a go-!" Brandon was cut off when Weiss grabbed him by his collar and started to shake him violently.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?! I COULD HAVE DIED!" Weiss screamed.

"But you didn't." He said.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" She screamed.

"It's exactly the point." Brandon said with a cheeky grin.

"UGH! YOU ARE JUST AS, IF NOT EVEN MORE INSUFFERABLE THAN LITTLE RED RIGHT THERE!" Weiss screamed as she pointed her finger at Ruby.

"Hey!" Ruby said. While this comical event unfolded in front of them, Pyrrha finally managed to evade the Deathstalker long enough to rejoin the group, although she was more than exhausted after all the running she just did.

"Hey, you okay?" Brandon asked Pyrrha.

"Yeah… I'm… absolutely… fine." Pyrrha said, holding up one of her hands reassuringly.

"Good." He said.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can all die together." Yang said sarcastically.

"Now, now, before we go and throw the towel, how about we chill out and think of a plan to take this thing down?" Brandon asked.

"You got it!" Ruby said as she pulled out Crescent Rose and changed it to it's scythe form.

"Good! See, Ruby's on board. So, here's what I've got so far. First, we-" He was cut off by Ruby brandishing her scythe and rushed towards the Deathstalker, ignoring Brandon completely.

.

.

"Can just rush in with no plan of what to do next!" He yelled.

"Ruby, come back here!" Yang pleaded as she started to run towards her younger sister. Though Ruby simply ignored Brandon's protests and Yang's plea for her to stop.

'One chance, just ONE chance, don't mess this up Ruby.' Ruby thought to herself as she fired a few rounds behind her to increase her speed. However, as she went in to slash at the Deathstalker's head, the creature merely swiped at her when she came into range, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"D-don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby reassured everyone hastily as she got up, though her tone was making everyone think otherwise.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, running over to aid her sister.

 _'Meh, she'll be fine. Weiss will come in and-'_ His thought process was soon cut off by the sound of a familiar roar filling the air around them. As if on cure, the Tarantula Grimm emerged from the forest, roaring loudly.

 _'Okay, that's new, but I'm sure that it's nothing they can't ha-'_ His thought process was cut off once again as Tarantula Grimm about the size of my foot emerged from behind it.

 _'Holy shit! I was kidding when I said bring the entire family!'_ Brandon thought as he activated the Speed enchantment and started to run towards Ruby. Unfortunately, even with the Speed enchantment, he still wasn't nearly as fast as Ruby. The closest he could get to her speed is when he's dodging attacks, even then it's only about 3-5 meters. Just as the Tarantula appeared, the Nevermore shot its gigantic, sharpened feathers in a straight line, blocking Yang and Brandon's path, as well as impaling Ruby's cape.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang yelled.

"I'm trying!" Ruby yelled back, trying desperately to free her cloak, but to no avail. While she was doing this, the Deathstalker reared it's tail backwards, getting ready to impale its helpless prey.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled.

 _'Shit! Even if Weiss saves Ruby like she did in the show, the Tarantula Grimm will have already caught up to the two! I can't kill the big one! The smaller ones will get to them first! I can't kill the smaller one's either, it will take to much time! My best bet right now is to kill the Deathstalker. Even then, I would have to end it's life with a single blow, and even with my enchantments, I can't kill it with one hit!'_ He panicked internally. Weiss sped past Yang and Brandon, rushing to aid Ruby in her time of need.

 _'The only bet I have to kill this thing quick enough so that we have enough time to escape is to summon my weapon spirit like I did with Merlot.'_ Brandon thought.

 _'But even I don't know how I did it back then, and I can only summon one arm!'_ He thought, sweat trailing down his forehead. Weiss appeared in front of Ruby and froze the stinger in place. As he ran by the various feathers, an idea sparked in Brandon's head.

 _'Actually, the arm might be the only thing I need right now.'_ Brandon thought, summoning the arm. The arm grabbed one of the feathers and pulled it out of the ground, holding it like a javelin of sorts.

"You are so childish, and dimwitted, and hyper active, and don't even get me started on your-" Weiss began, only to be cut off by the sound of Brandon shouting.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" He yelled. Weiss was shocked at the sight of the spirit's arm holding the feather, though she nodded quickly, grabbed Ruby, and moved out of the way.

"GOTTA PRESENT FOR YA, YOU OVER GROWN BUG!" Brandon yelled as the arm threw the feather at the Deathstalker, impaling through its abdomen, killing it in the process.

 _'Okay, time to get out of here!'_ He thought, running in the opposite direction of the Tarantula Grimm.

"Oh thank Oum!" Brandon heard Yang shout as she brought Ruby into a bone crushing hug.

"Yang! Choking! Not breathing!" Ruby barely said.

"Serves you right! That's like, TWO heart attacks in one day! I won't get the chance to become a huntress if you keep pulling shit like this!" Yang yelled.

"S-swear!" Ruby choked out.

"I'll pay up when we get back to Beacon." Yang said as she ruffled her sister's hair.

"Good, by the way Weiss, you were saying something back there, but you didn't get the chance to finish." She said to Weiss.

"Wha-?" Weiss asked, before realizing what she meant.

"Oh! Right, well...look, I know I can be a bit...complicated, sometimes." She said.

"That's the understatement of the fucking century." Brandon said. Weiss proceeded to step on his foot with one of her heels.

"OW!" He yelled, gripping his foot with his hands.

"Though if we're going to do this, we need to do it together. So if you quit trying to show off, I suppose I can try to be a little… nicer." Weiss said.

"I'm not trying to show off, I just… you said you would give me one chance to prove myself. I saw a Grimm and just acted on my own." Ruby said.

"Well, you won't be able to show me if you're dead, now will you?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"I-I guess, but-" Ruby was cut off by Weiss's hand.

"No no! None of that. You will get your chance eventually, but you can't do it by rushing into fights you can't win." Weiss said.

"I totally had that in the bag!" Ruby said with her cheeks puffed out.

"Yeah? Tell that to the giant fucking Deathstalker that just tried to kill you!" Brandon yelled.

"Swear!" Ruby yelled, pointing her finger at Brandon.

.

.

"What the fuck are you-?"

"Swear!... Again!" She said.

"What is she-?" He began to ask.

"We sort of have this thing back at home to where if we swear in the house, we have to put lien in Ruby's swear jar." Yang said.

'This concept seems awfully familiar.' Brandon thought. He was broken out of his train of thought by Ruby shoving a jar in front of his face.

.

.

"No." He said.

"You have to!" She said, pushing the jar against my cheek.

"No, I'm not part of your fucking family." Brandon said.

"You just did it again!" Ruby yelled.

"I don't even have money on me!" Brandon yelled.

"Then give it to me when we get back to Beacon!" She said.

"I'm not giving you any of my fu-"

"Twenty lien!" Ruby yelled.

"Twenty! Bull shit! How is that fai-?!"

"Twenty five!"

"Bull shi-" Brandon was silenced by Ruby's glare.

.

.

"I mean bull craaaa-" He tried to say.

"Oh come on, it's not that hard." Weiss said.

"Bull craaaa-"

.

.

"Fine, I'll give you your twenty five lien." Brandon said reluctantly.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" Ruby said, smiling happily.

 _'Making a mental note here: Don't ever swear around Ruby.'_ He thought to himself.

"Uh, guys? That thing's circling back!" Jaune pointed out. "What are we going to do?" He asked. Everyone slowly turned their heads towards Brandon with an expecting look.

.

.

"Why are you looking at me?!" He asked.

"Well, so far, you have been the only one here to actually stop and think things through." Weiss said as she turned to glare at Ruby.

"I said I was sorry." Ruby grumbled.

"So if anyone's gonna have a plan right now, it's you." Weiss said. Brandon closed his eyes and started to think.

 _'Well, I do have one idea.'_ He thought to himself.

"Okay, I have a plan!" Brandon announced.

"Good, I expected as much." Weiss said.

"Yeah, I have a secret weapon for situations such as this." He said. Everyone was looking at Brandon in curiosity, wondering what Brandon's secret weapon could possibly be.

"A secret weapon?! You mean you have another gun?!" Ruby yelled with stars in her eyes.

"Not exactly." Brandon said.

"Aw, phooey." Ruby said.

"Just look at the spiders, more specifically, their legs." He pointed out.

"They're so small that it would take forever for them to get to us in time. That's our ticket out of here." Brandon said.

"Okay, so what do their legs have to do with your weapon?" Blake asked.

"Our legs are in perfect shape!" He said.

"So what are we going to do?" Jaune asked.

.

.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'M going to hightail it out of this forest so... bye!" Brandon said as he ran in the opposite direction of the spiders.

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.

"Well… that was the biggest let down of my life." Ruby said.

"Did he just… after all that... he just… I don't… WHAT?!" Weiss stumbled over her words.

"Well, he does have a good point though." Ruby said.

"What are you-?" Weiss began, only to be stopped by Ruby.

"The objective was to get the artifacts, not kill the Grimm, we got what we came for, so let's move!" Ruby yelled as she ran after Brandon, who was heading to the old temple's ruins.

"Run and live! That sounds like a good idea to me!" Jaune said, grabbing him and Pyrrha a relic from the temple. As Ruby ran after Brandon, Yang was looking at her with a proud smile on her face.

"What's up with you?" Blake asked.

"Wha-? Oh, nothing." Yang said as she ran after her sister.

 _'I knew you had it in ya, sis.'_ Yang thought to herself.

* * *

(My POV)

Nope! Nope! Nope, so much nope!

Merlot, yeah, I can deal with that.

White Fang, sure. I mean, there's a lot of them, but whatever I guess.

Cinder?... well that remains to be seen.

Spider Grimm! Hell to the fuck no! Someone else can fight that thing!

After a few moments of blindly running, I arrived at the area where the fight between Team's RWBY, JNPR, the Nevermore, and the Deathstalker would take place.

.

.

Well, now it was the area where we would fight the Nevermore and the Tarantula Grimm would take place. Considering that spiders could climb walls, both Team's RWBY and JNPR would have a difficult time killing this thing.

"Maybe I shouldn't have left them alone with all of those spi-" I was cut off by a loud screeching noise coming from above me.

"Look alive!" I heard Blake call out, telling me that her and the others had arrived. The Nevermore let out a loud screech, letting loose a barrage of pointed feather towards me. Guess it's still not happy about me shooting off its talon. I dashed towards one of the stone pillars that had been scattered throughout the area.

"Nora! Distract it!" Ren called out to his orange friend, who was more than happy to oblige. Pulling out her pink-colored grenade launcher, Nora began to distract the bird by firing a flurry of pink-colored Dust grenades at it, causing it to be temporarily stunned for a few seconds.

Though while Nora was firing grenades at the Nevermore, she seemed completely and utterly unaware of the Tarantula that was coming up behind her at an alarmingly fast pace.

"HEY! WATCH YOUR BACK!" I called out to the blissfully unaware Nora, who was still firing at the at the stunned Nevermore.

"Shit." I swore under my breath. I quickly took out a lighting Dust crystal and created a Dust bomb. After that, I manifested the arm so that it held the bomb it its hand. The arm winded backwards before launching towards the Tarantula Grimm.

Even if Nora is caught in the blast radius, she won't be affected by it; she'll only be powered up.

Though luckily, the bomb flew past Nora, nailing the Tarantula straight in the face before exploding. As the bomb exploded, Blake and Ren simultaneously came down from opposite directions and sliced at the tarantula in an X formation. The combined force of their attacks together were enough to phase the giant spider.

While the creature was stunned, Weiss quickly came down and picked Nora up before using her Glyph to speed both of them towards the stone bridge leading to the cliffs. With Nora and Weiss out of the Tarantula's range, Blake and Ren quickly followed the others towards the bridge.

Alright, just a little bit further!

I followed the others across the bridge leading towards the cliff. Though as I quickly looked to my left, I could see that the Nevermore was speeding towards us.

"Heads up!" I yelled, but it was already too late. The giant bird crashed into the bridge, forcing Ruby, Weiss, Jaune and Nora on the other side, while Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha stayed at the beginning of the bridge.

As for me, well I was right at the center of the crash so I was sent flying towards the white abyss below.

Shit!

As if the situation couldn't get any worse, a hunk of stone from the broken bridge hit me square in the face, causing me to black out.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

"Oh no! Brandon!" Jaune yelled, horrified at what he had just witnessed. While everyone was crossing the bridge, the Nevermore decided to destroy the stone structure while everyone was still crossing it, separating the group, and sending Jaune's first male friend flying towards the white abyss.

"Oh Oum! Nora! Do you see him?! I can't find him!" Jaune yelled in desperation as he desperately looked for his friend.

"I-I don't know! I don't see him anywhere!" Nora uttered, shocked and disbelief at the concept that the load mouth kid might have actually died.

 _'Oh Oum! This can't be happening! This can't be happening! Why am I always the one being saved, but when it's my turn to save my friends, I let them down in the end?!'_ He thought desperately, hoping that Brandon would start laughing before using something up his sleeve to make it back up here.

"Come on! Where is he?!" Jaune cried desperately as he looked for his fallen friend.

"Oh, calm down already!" Weiss yelled at Jaune.

"W-what?! How can you tell me to calm down?! My friend just di-" He was cut off by Weiss's glare of annoyance.

"Look, I may have not know Brandon all that long, but I've learned that he won't just die that easily." She said.

"W-what are you-!" Before Jaune could finish, he looked up to see that some sort of arm was holding Brandon's unconscious form as he dangled from the side of the Nevermore. It seemed fairly durable as it was able to support Brandon's weight, as well as save him from his potential death.

Then again, Brandon isn't very heavy so this really wasn't much of a challenge for the arm.

 _'Is that his semblance?'_ Jaune asked, however, before the blonde knight could make any further attempts to decipher the arm that had just saved Brandon, the sound of Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha's battle against the Tarantula brought him back to reality.

"N-never mind, I'll worry about that later. Nora, we need to get over there so we can help our friends!" Jaune shouted.

"Let's do this!" Nora said, determined and brandishing her weapon in its grenade launcher form.

"Yeah! But, uh... I can't make that jump..." Jaune said nervously as he looked down towards the White Abyss. As Nora heard this, an evil smile formed on her face, causing her to turn her weapon into a full-length hammer before jumping to the edge of the bridge.

"Wait, what are you-! Wait, no, no, no, no, NOOO!" Ignoring Jaune's protests, Nora swung her hammer down on one end of the bridge like an improvised catapult, breaking it apart and sending the blonde knight flying towards the other side. After she saw Jaune land safely, Nora used her hammer's grenade launcher to propel herself across the bridge as well.

It was around this time that Brandon regained consciousness.

.

.

"Ugh, must have blacked out there for a second... There?! What the hell?!" It took Brandon a second to realize that he was currently dangling off the side of the Nevermore.

"Holy shit! How many times has this thing saved my ass now?!" He asked himself.

"Okay, calm down, you just need to get-!" Brandon was cut off as the arm let go of the bird's side, causing him to fall towards the stone pillars at an alarmingly fast rate.

"Down." He finished.

 _'Fuck!'_ He thought as he fell towards the White Abyss.

 _'Okay, you can think of a way out of this, Brandon. Just think and-'_ Before he could finish, the arm grabbed onto one of the stone pillars before swinging itself over towards the other side of the bridge.

 _'Hmm, I got an idea.'_ He thought as he looked over towards the Tarantula Grimm. Meanwhile, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren were doing their best to defeat the Tarantula, though they were being pushed towards the edge of the bridge by the smaller spiders that had just arrived.

"These things are starting to get on my nerves." Ren growled as he killed off a few more of the tinier spiders; he wasn't doing anything to the Tarantula, so he decided that it was best to focus his fire on the smaller ones.

"Any ideas?" Pyrrha asked, firing a few rounds at the large Tarantula's armor. The Tarantula was VERY durable, though luckily for the group of four, this was a Grimm that wasn't suited for direct combat, mainly hiding in the shadows as it waits for its prey to walk into its trap before pouncing on them. Though for a Grimm that specialized in stealth, it was doing a surprisingly good job at fighting the four.

"Try aiming at its legs! They're bound to be weaker than the rest of the body!" Jaune said, stabbing another spider below its feet.

"You heard the man, let's-" Nora was cut off by the sight of a stone pillar flying towards the Tarantula. Brandon stood on the pillar, holding a wide variety of dust crystals. As he flew over the bridge, he threw the dust crystals at the tinier spiders. As the crystals made contact with the spiders, they proceeded to blow up in explosions of ice, fire, and lightning, causing the spiders to turn into ashes.

"Thought I would lighten your load a bit!" He yelled, jumping off the pillar as it came into contact with the wall, shattering into tiny stones.

"Hey, Nora! Catch!" He yelled, throwing a round, blue object towards her. Nora caught the object in her hand, looking at it curiously.

"What is this th-!" Before she finished, the object exploded in Nora's hands, emanating sparks of electricity as it exploded.

"W-what are you doing?! You're supposed to be helping us!" Jaune yelled.

"No, this is just what we needed!" Ren said.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's Nora's semblance, it lets her produce and channel electrical energy straight to her muscles. It might give her enough strength to punch through its armor." Ren explained.

"That's the ticket, now if you'll excuse me, I need to help our friends over there." Brandon said, walking over to one of the other stone pillars.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Pyrrha called out. "How are you even going to get over th-!" Before Pyrrha could finish, Brandon activated the Buster enchantment, slicing the stone pillar from the bottom. Before it could fall to the ground, Brandon manifested his Spirit's arm so that it held the stone pillar.

"This is how." He managed to groan before throwing the pillar and climbing onto it.

.

.

"What just-?" Pyrrha managed to say, only to be interrupted by the roar of the Tarantula.

"Nora, how do you feel?" Ren asked. Nora crushed the empty ball in her hand, her eyes glowing pink.

"Oh ho ho! That guy is officially my third most favorite person." Nora said, giddy.

"Wait, who's the first and third?" Jaune asked.

"Is now really the time for that?" Ren asked.

"First would have to be Ren, second would have to be Dave from the pancake house." Nora said.

"Nora!" Ren said.

"Whoops, sorry Ren." She said not that apologetic.

"Okay, here's the plan. Ren and I will focus on getting rid of its legs and keeping it still, you two focus on getting a direct blow to this thing." Jaune said.

"Right!" The two females said.

"Ren, let's go!" Jaune said. Ren nodded and followed Jaune as they charged towards the Tarantula. Going in opposite sides of the creature, the two dodged the Tarantula's various attempts to impale and slash at the them as they sprinted past and around it's legs, making sure they were doing lasting damage. Ren was currently using his pistols to take pot-shots at the unguarded parts of the spider's legs.

Jaune following a similar plan to that of Ren, parrying and dodging the attacks of Tarantula with surprising expertise and slashing at its joints whenever there was an opening.

Seeing that they were gradually doing a number the Tarantula, the two boys decided it was time to deliver the killing blow.

"Ren! Let's go for its forelegs!" Jaune commanded, sprinting towards the frontmost limbs of the spider and jumping, readying to deliver the final blow.

"Right!" Ren said, doing the same on his side.

"Rghaaaaa!"

At the same time, the two of them slashed through the joints of the spider's forelegs, sending its front half falling towards the ground. The Tarantula made a few feeble attempts to get up, though with little to no success.

"PYRRHA! NORA! NOW! DO IT!" Jaune yelled.

Taking their cue, Pyrrha readied her shield and allowed Nora to jump onto it like a platform. Wasting no time, Nora slammed the top of her hammer down on Pyrrha's shield, activating her grenade launcher so that she would be sent flying towards the sky. As Nora flew down towards the body of the Tarantula, Nora swung her hammer down upon the skull of the Tarantula, shattering it in the process.

Though for good measure, Nora shot her grenade launcher at the Grimm's skull, which blew up completely, along with the remaining parts of the bridge. The four were sent flying towards the other side of the ruins, landing safety on the ground.

* * *

(My POV)

"Hell yeah!" I yelled as Team JNPR finished off the Tarantula Grimm. As I rode on the stone pillar, I could see Yang firing various rounds at the Nevermore above her, before one of the rounds hit the Nevermore square in the face, angering it even further. It charged towards Yang with its mouth opened wide, though Yang was able to catch the top of its beak with her left arm.

"I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUNGRY!" Yang roared as she unloaded multiple shotgun shells into its mouth. She looked back for a quick moment to see the approaching cliff face and jumped out of its mouth before they crashed. The Nevermore fell to the ground with a strangled cry.

"Okay, now!" Ruby commanded. On cue, Weiss rushed forward towards the Nevermore with her rapier pointed outwards. The Nevermore tried to get away, though Weiss quickly jabbed her rapier into the ground, freezing it in place.

"Blake!" Ruby called.

"Right!" Blake yelled, throwing her chain scythe towards Yang. After Yang caught it, both her and Yang wrapped the string around the two pillars, making a catapult of some sort. Ruby pointed her Scythe at the string, acting like the ammunition to said catapult. Weiss activated her Glyphs as Ruby drew back, making sure she stayed in place.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss scoffed.

"Can you make the shot?" Ruby asked.

"Hmph, can I?" She asked sarcastically, but with a small smile.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, can-"

"Of course I ca-" Weiss was cut off at the sound of the ice that was holding the Nevermore down breaking.

"Quickly!" Ruby said.

"I won't make it in time! I need a clear sho-"

"On it!" I yelled, jumping on the Nevermore's head.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss yelled.

"Buying you time!" I yelled as I manifested the spirit arm to hold it in place. The arm started to punch the Grimm, though the Grimm was slowly starting to ascend into the sky.

Like hell you're getting away!

As if on command, the punches coming from the arm became more rapid and brutal. After a few seconds, I could barely see where the arm was punching anymore. The Nevermore was descending down towards the ground, stumbling across the ground as blood came out of its head after each punch.

"Hurry up!" I yelled towards the two.

"Right, here we go!" Ruby said as Weiss launched her towards the Nevermore. Ruby fired a few shots with Crescent Rose to maintain her speed and caught the Grimm's neck with the blade, smashing it back against the cliff. Weiss quickly summoned an entire line of Glyphs up the cliff wall to prevent Ruby from falling. As Ruby reached the top of the cliff, she fired her scythe's sniper for extra power, cutting the giant Nevermore's head off.

"Nice one, Rubes!" I yelled as I dangled over the edge.

"Do you want some help?" Ruby asked, holding out her hand.

"I would appreciate that, yeah." I said, gripping her hand.

"Thanks for the help at the last second. I guess Yang wasn't crazy when she said you had a spirit arm that punched her through a wall." She said.

"Yeah, it shocks everyone the first time around." I said as the both of us looked over towards the edge of the cliff.

.

.

"So... how do we get them up here?" Ruby asked.

"Hell if I know." I said.

"Oh, by the way." Ruby said, taking out a jar and pushing it up to my face.

"You owe me some money."

.

.

"Fine." I said, pulling out my wallet. While I was paying Ruby my 'swear fee' as she calls it, the rest of the group made their way up the cliff, which was surprisingly easy due to a passage found that lead up the cliff.

* * *

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"God, this is boring as hell." I said, running my hands through my hair. Now I can see why Rooster Teeth cut most of team announcement out of the show, I've been sitting here for an hour and a half listening to Ozpin announce the names of a bunch of teams that I couldn't give less of a fuck about.

"Quit your complaining already, it's almost over." Weiss scolded, my only response was to shrug my shoulders disinterestedly. As I waited to be called up to the stage, I began to think back what happened when the nine of us made it back to Beacon.

When we all made it back, we were told to turn in our artifacts to Glynda so that we had evidence of our success. Team RWBY got the white knight pieces, while the the members of team JNPR got the white rook pieces, so I don't need to worry about the teams being switched up. I myself had collected the special relic that Ozpin told us about, the white king piece. Not really sure what this means for my position in Beacon Academy, though I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin began, referring to the group of imposing armored boys that were standing on stage with their hands behind her back.

Asshole one, Asshole two, Asshole three, and King Asshole.

I of course was referring to the infamous Team CRDL.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester." As the round of applause came out for the newly announced team, they proceeded to make their way off of the stage, while Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren walked up the stage.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin began.

We got the misfit, Mulan, but actually a guy, female Thor and... what can I say about Pyrrha that won't be extremely disrespectful to her 'current' state in the show?

.

.

Yeah, I'll leave her alone for now.

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR, led by... Jaune Arc!" Ozpin said.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"What?!" I heard Weiss ask in shock and confusion.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin said with a small smile. Pyrrha gave Jaune a friendly jab to the shoulder, though because of the state of shock Jaune was in, he fell over onto the stage. After the newly formed team was announced, Team JNPR headed off of the stage, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang taking their place.

"And finally." Ozpin began as Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang walked onto the stage. "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, lead by... Ruby Rose." Amid all the load cheering, I could see the state of shock that Weiss and Ruby were in, and the look of pride on Yang's face.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang said, bringing her sister in for a hug.

.

.

Nope. I got nothing. Nothing that won't be incredibly obvious that is.

"Now, there's still one more thing regarding our final initiate." Ozpin said, gesturing me to come up to the stage.

"Brandon Kim." Ozpin continued as I walked up onto the stage. "You ended up proving to be a special case regarding the team setups this year. The only students you managed to run into during your initiation were the ones that already had their teams assembled, and not only that, you were also the only student to retrieve the special White King piece hidden within the forest." Ozpin explained, getting a slight wave of whispers coming from the audience.

"As a such, you will have a... unique role here in Beacon Academy." He said.

"What is he talking about?" I heard someone ask from the crowd.

"From this day forward, you will be working in a... special team of sorts." Ozpin said.

"I don't like the way you said 'special'." I told him.

"Calm down, what I'm saying is you will be able to have the privileges and freedoms that of a regular team, though you will also be able to recruit team members for your team, eventually creating a team of four." Ozpin said.

"So what, I'm like a recruiter or something?" I asked.

"That's exactly what you are." He said.

.

.

Well it ain't join Team RWBY or JNPR, though I did kinda expect something different.

"Why specifically a recruiter?" I asked.

"Well, you know the saying." Ozpin said.

"A King must collect his loyal followers." He said.

.

.

"Yeah, I don't know anyone who says that." I said.

"Well, I can always kick you out of Beacon if you'd like." Ozpin said.

"No, no, no, no, no! I'm good, recruiter it is!" I frantically yelled.

"Good, now that will be all, you are all dismissed. " Ozpin explained. After the applause died down, everyone began to leave the amphitheater.

"Look at you, Mr. One-man team." Yang said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"Well, I'm more like a recruiter than just a one man team really." I said.

"Still, you do have more options open to you when it comes to team members." Weiss said. As the nine of us walked out of the amphitheater, Ozpin stood on the stage with a smirk on his face.

"It certainly looks like things are shaping up to an... interesting year." Ozpin said.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #28**

 **Aaaand that's a wrap.**

 **So, I officially got my placement in Beacon.**

 **While it wasn't as cliched as joining Team RWBY or JNPR, I still kinda expected something else.**

 **Meh, I'm sure Ozpin has his reasons.**

 **Even if some of his reasons wind up with me getting harmed one way or another.**

 **So we got past the initiation without dying or fucking up the team placement.**

 **Wasn't too hard, but I'd call that a win in my book.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **Qrow: *Pulls out scythe* Buddy, you either give it here, or I'll show you just how brutal my tribe raised me to be.**

 **The Minion Sekiryuutei: Do I seriously need to clarify this? I do NOT intend on making Brandon x Pyrrha a thing. Just because he acted like he didn't know who Pyrrha was, doesn't mean they will get together. Relax.**

 **His luck will only get worse as the story progresses.**

 **DragonLord501st: Neo was never part of Beacon to begin with, and Emerald, Mercury and Cinder were posing as TRANSFER students from Haven, not students from Beacon.**

 **olTran:**

 **Brandon: HEY! YOU TRY GOING FACE TO FACE WITH A GIANT SPIDER!**

 **Author: Sit down.**

 **Brandon: Screw you. *Walks off***

 **Yeah, I just wanted to show a side of Brandon that was more… relatable to some people. Glad you liked the Omake.**

 **Yeah, reason why I gave Jaune C's across the board is because he's basically an average person going into Beacon.**

 **Yeah, it is based off of the JoJo stand stats, wanted to give people an idea of what their Semblances can and can't do. What better way than with the JoJo series.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:**

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 **.**

 **What?**

 **CraazyReader: Fixed that.**

 **Cco16: Here ya go!**

 **Alternivity: Preach. PREAAACH!**

 **Also, it's my birthday! So I decided to make a Birthday special of some sort.**

* * *

Omake: Gift (Non-Canon)

"Well then, that takes care of that." I said, walking back to my dorm room after Ozpin announced the teams to everyone.

"Hah! I'm tired, time to get some z's in." I sighed, opening the door to my room. Though something caught my eye as I walked into my room, there was a box that was neatly wrapped in blue wrapping paper, tied neatly together with a dark blue bow.

"What the hell is this?" I asked. walking up to the box.

"A note?" I picked up the note that was on the box and began to read it aloud to myself.

 **Dear Brandon**

 **Hey, it's me, Neo. So I remembered that your birthday was coming up, so I took the liberty in making you a little gift.**

"Wait, it's my birthday?!" I asked myself.

"How the hell did I forget my birthday?" I asked myself as I continued to read.

 **Before you open it, I just wanted to say thank you. For everything you've done for me over the year. We may have not known each other all that long, though I still consider you my best friend. I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for me, helping me out in the Emerald Forest, not walking out when you heard I was working with Roman Torchwick, and for being the best ice cream buddy I could ask for.**

"This seems… nice… too nice." I said.

 **Even if there were some moments where I wanted to punch my fist through your head.**

Ah, there it is.

 **Well, I won't keep you, go ahead and open your gift. Happy Birthday.**

 **Your friend, Neopolitan.**

Strange there's still more.

 **Uh, hey, Emerald here.**

 **So... damn I'm not good at all this mushy stuff so I'll keep it brief. Thank you for... well being you. You helped me out of a lot of situations that would have gotten me in serious trouble with my boss, so I'm very grateful for that. Thank you for trusting me, even if I didn't deserve it sometimes. So, we left you something in the box that Neo put together, hope you like it. Happy Birthday.**

 **Emerald**

Still more.

 **Sup, Merc here.**

 **Not a lot I can say that I already said before, so I'll keep it short. Thanks for the help back at the tournament, as well as being a pretty damn good sparring partner. Hope ya like the gift I left for ya. Happy B-day.**

 **Mercury.**

There's a lot more but I can't really read Mercury's shitty hand writing.

I placed the note down and opened the box. As I opened the box, I could see custom made black hat with the same knight's helmet that was on the back of my hoodie.

"Who made the hat though?" I asked. I looked at the note to see if I couldn't find who made the hat.

 **I made the hat, just in case you were wondering. Neo wouldn't stop pestering me until I did.**

 **Roman.**

Roman can sew?

.

.

.

.

You know, that actually makes sense if you really think about it. I took the cap out of the box and put it onto my head.

"Huh, a perfect fit." I said, adjusting the cap on my head.

* * *

 **Pyrrha Nikos**

 **Height: 6'0'**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Polarity.**

 **Summary: Pyrrha has the ability of Polarity, which allows her to command the force of magnetism. She can manipulate scores of metallic objects simultaneously and accelerate them to high velocities.**

 **Once she came into contact with a magnetic object, she can remotely move it however she pleases. Her ability is strong enough that it allowed her to manipulate normally non-magnetic metals, such as aluminum.**

 **This can be seen as her spear and shield "levitate" toward her hands and she was seen controlling dozens of soda cans without touching them. She normally preferred to use this ability subtly, deflecting attacks with it in such a way that it creates the illusion of her being untouchable.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	28. Rival's

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: AU(Author's Notes) are now named "Journal Entries".**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Badge and The Burden."

Thought: _'The Badge and The Burden."_

Flashback: _"The Badge and The Burden."_

 _(3rd Person POV)_

The next morning came like any other morning, the morning light shining on Beacon academy, welcoming the very first day for Beacon academy's students. Some of these team were the newly formed team RWBY and JNPR.

Ruby, the leader of Team RWBY, decided to take the opportunity to wake up her fellow teammates, but first, she had to make sure she was prepared for her first steps to becoming a huntress.

"Okay, let's see here, books?" Ruby said, pulling out a book from her bag.

"Check." She said, crossing out one of the check boxes on her list.

"Pencils?"

"Check."

"Drawing book in case you have a very boring teacher?"

"Check."

"Beginners guide to talking to people?"

.

.

"Check." She said quietly.

"And last, but most certainly not the least, Cresce-!" Ruby dropped the long roll of paper and the pencil she was holding in her hands as she looked at the display case where her weapon is.

.

.

Or what is should be.

"Oh no." Ruby mumbled as she began to rapidly pat the empty space where her weapon should have been.

"Where is it?!" Ruby said, looking around the bathroom frantically.

"Where is it?!" She yelled, bursting through the bathroom doors.

"Wha-?" Yang said as she awoke from her slumber.

"Where is it?!" Ruby yelled, looking under her bed.

"Ruby? What are you doing?" Yang asked, rubbing her eyes with her arm.

"Crescent Rose!" She yelled.

"What about it?" Yang asked.

"I can't find it!"

"Don't you normally keep it in the display case?" She asked.

"Of course I do! But for some unknown reason, it's not there!" Ruby yelled, glaring at her sister.

.

.

"Wha-?! Hey! I didn't take your weapon!" Yang yelled.

"Well, you're the only one who know's the pass-code to my weapon case. So either it grew legs and walked away, or you took it." Ruby said.

"Ugh, jeez, can you two keep it down?" Blake asked as she rose from her bed.

"Look, Ruby, why don't you just calm down for a second, I'm sure your weapon is somewhere in this-!" Yang didn't have time to finish her sentence as Ruby grabbed the other side of her bed and flipped it.

"Whoa!" Yang yelled, falling out of her bed.

"Did you hide it here?!" Ruby yelled.

"I just said that I didn't take your weapon!" Yang yelled in anger, rubbing the side of her head.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled.

.

.

"What? Why would I even take your wea-!" Blake was cut off as Ruby grabbed the side of Blake's bed and flipped it.

"It has to be in one of these brief cases." Ruby yelled.

"They're not even big enough to even fit the dang thing!" She yelled, adjusting the bow that lay on her head.

"Maybe it's in this one!" She yelled.

"W-wait! Don't open that briefca-!" Blake didn't have time to finish as a pile of books fell out of the case.

.

.

"Ninja's of love" A recipe for passion." Ruby read aloud with a confused look on her face.

 _'You have got to be kidding me.'_ Blake thought, her face lighting up.

"Wow Blake, I didn't think you were in to those kinds of books." Yang said with a sly grin.

"What kind?" Ruby asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Yang said.

"Well, no matter, if it's not under either of your beds, then it must be under-." Ruby began as she walked over to Weiss's bed.

"Ugh, what are you three doi-!" Weiss didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as Ruby flipped her bed.

"Wah!" Weiss yelled, falling off of her bed.

"How is she able to lift that?" Blake asked.

"Well, constantly swinging a weapon about twice her size does have it's benefits." Yang said.

"Also when she's in a panicked state like this, she get's strength that puts our dad to shame." She said.

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Weiss yelled.

"Weapon! Missing!" Ruby yelled, going through Weiss's things.

"And how is that MY problem?!" She asked.

"How am I supposed to lead you into battle without my weapon?!" Ruby asked.

"I seriously doubt we'll be asked to prove our combat ability immediately after the initiation!" Weiss said.

"You don't know that." She said.

"You're so childish." Weiss groaned.

"What if YOU lost your weapon?! What would you do then?!" Ruby asked.

"I certainly wouldn't throw all of my teammates out of there beds and completely make a mess out of our room." She said bitterly.

"Seriously, look at what you did to our room! It hasn't even been one day and it already looks like a trash can!"

"Come on, let's look for her weapon and clean our room." Yang said, getting up to look around the room. They looked around for a solid ten minutes, though they would have ended earlier if it weren't for Ruby barricading the front door with various shelves and desks.

"Come on! We've been looking for fifteen minutes! We're gonna miss breakfast!" Yang shouted after another five minutes passed.

"Wait!" Ruby yelled, coming from outside of the bathroom.

"What?" Yang asked.

"I know where it is!" She said, rushing towards her bed and crawling under it.

"Here it is!" Ruby said, pulling out Crescent Rose from under her bed.

.

.

"What?" She asked as she looked at the annoyed expression on Yang, Weiss's angered expression, and Blake's deadpanned look.

"You mean to tell me that you hid your weapon in one of the most OBVIOUS places, and yet you couldn't find it?!" Weiss asked.

.

.

"Uh, whoops?" Ruby said sheepishly.

 _'This is the person that Ozpin selected to be our team leader, yet she can't even find her own weapon.'_ Weiss thought.

"Well what are we gonna do now? Our room is all cramped now." Blake said.

"Hmm, well from the looks of it, even if we put all of out stuff up, we won't have enough room." Ruby said.

"So what, do we get rid of some of our stuff?" Weiss asked.

"No, we could just get rid of the beds...and replace them with bunk beds!" Ruby said.

"That seems really dangerous." Weiss said.

"More like super awesome!" Yang said.

"It would solve the space issue." Blake said.

"Ugh, fine. Bunk beds it is." Weiss said reluctantly, but not to reluctantly. They spent the next forty five minutes arranging the room, and making the bunk beds.

"Mission complete!" Ruby said as she looked upon her teams work.

.

.

"Okay, it looked better in my head." She said as she looked at the beds, which looked like they were just barely able to stand up.

"Like I said, this hardly looks safe." Weiss said.

"Any better idea's?" Ruby asked.

.

.

"Let's just go over the schedule." Weiss said.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

As that was going, on team JNPR was sound asleep. Well, all accept for Jaune, who was currently experiencing a similar state of panic to that of Ruby, though for a different reason.

 _'Come on Jaune, I'm sure that Ozpin picked you for a reason, he know's what he's doing.'_ Jaune thought as he stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

.

.

.

 _'Right?'_ Jaune asked himself.

 _'Oh who am I kidding, of course he doesn't know, why would he?! He picked ME of all people to be team leader!'_ Jaune thought.

 _'Ozpin made a HUGE mistake, I just wanted to get into Beacon academy, not be a leader of a whole team!'_

 _'Maybe I should turn myself in, that way my team can get an ACTUAL team leader. Maybe Pyrrha can be the team leader, or they'll have Brandon fill in for me, he seems to always have a plan up his sleeve, even if they are dangerous.'_

.

 _._

 _'No! You were put in this spot for a reason! Do you want to disappoint Ozpin? Don't you want to prove your family wrong?'_ Jaune thought.

 _'Okay, you can do this Jaune! You'll soon be a man worthy of the Arc family name!'_ Jaune thought.

.

.

 _'Yeah, as if that will ever happen. Have you seen the other's in battle?! They're practically huntsmen already!'_ Jaune thought.

"Jaune?" He heard Pyrrha cal from the other side of the door.

"P-Pyrrha!" Jaune said in shock.

"Are you alright? You've been in there for quite awhile." She said in a concerned tone.

.

.

"No I'm okay, I'm just...anxious." He said.

"Can I come in?" Pyrrha asked.

"Sure." He said. Pyrrha opened the door to the bathroom.

"So, what's got you so anxious?" She asked, sitting next Jaune.

"Be honest with me Pyrrha, am I a good team leader?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I think so. You came up with that plan to fight against the Tarantula back in the Emerald Forest." Pyrrha said.

"Well, it only worked because Brandon gave Nora that massive boost in power." He said

"While that is true, we wouldn't have gotten that opportunity if it weren't for your plan to immobilize the Grimm, we wouldn't have gotten that opportunity." She said.

"I'm sure anyone would have thought of that plan." Jaune said.

"What makes you think that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, from what you told me, you were considered a champion back at Mistral." He said. Pyrrha winced a bit before nodding.

"Yes, you are correct." She said.

"Well, I'm sure you would have come up with a plan that would not only kill the spider, but the Nevermore as well." He said.

"I may be a good fighter Jaune, though sometimes I make some reckless decisions when put under pressure." Pyrrha admitted.

"You, reckless!?" Jaune asked, receiving a nod of approval from Pyrrha.

.

.

.

Jaune snorted, only for it to turn into full blown laughter.

"Ha ha ha! You sure got me there. I didn't take you for a comedian Pyrrha." Jaune said.

"Hm, well, I'm glad that I was able to lighten up the mood." Pyrrha said in between chuckles.

.

.

"Hey, Pyrrha." Jaune said, his smile turning into a slight frown.

"Yes?" Pyrrha asked.

"Do you think Ozpin made a mistake?" He asked.

"About?" She asked, gesturing him to go into further detail.

"About making me leader of this team. Was that a mistake?" Jaune asled.

"Well, I don't know. Do you think it was a mistake?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes...No...Oh I don't know!" He said, lowering his head slightly. Pyrrha put one of her hands on his back, patting it lightly.

"Jaune, it's only been ONE day. Now that I think about it, it hasn't even been one day yet! You're being to hard on yourself." She said.

"But I-." Jaune began, only to be cut off by Pyrrha.

"Look, personally, I think you're a fantastic leader. Though I can't really speak for Nora and Ren, They've only seen you in action in the Emerald Forest. It's up to you to change there perspective, as well as the others around you. Whether it be for the better or worse." Pyrrha said.

"So I'm not a good or a bad leader?" He asked.

"Think of it like this, let's think back to the locker rooms yesterday before the initiation. You didn't even know who I was, yet you have been told that I was a very skilled fighter. Though from the looks of it, you wanted to see me in action yourself rather than go off of one person's word. I took it upon myself to prove to you that I was a capable fighter." She explained.

"Now it's up to you to convince them that you're a good leader." Pyrrha said.

.

.

"Maybe you're right." Jaune said.

"Maybe I am, only time will tell." Pyrrha said as she got up off the bathroom stool.

"Now, I'm sure you're hungry." She said. A growl coming from Jaune's stomach confirmed her statement.

"Yeah, I guess all this thinking got me hungry." Jaune said.

"Well then, come on, we still need to get dressed and ready." Pyrrha said.

"Right, I suppose I've had the bathroom long enough." He said.

"Yeah, can't have the bathroom all to yourself." Pyrrha said, giving a light jab to Jaune's shoulder.

"A guy can dream, can he?" Jaune said, walking out of the bathroom.

"About time you came out!" Nora yelled, running up to Jaune in a pink blur.

"What took you so long? Was it something you ate? Did you drink Ren's secret slime?" She asked rapidly.

"Nora!" Ren shouted.

"Secret ELIXIR! My bad!" She said sarcastically.

"Heh, yeah, I'm fine." Jaune said with a grin.

* * *

"Okay, now we have a few classes together today, we have Remnant history at nine through ten thirty, then we have Dust Sciences at ten forty five through twelve, after that we have lunch that lasts a half hour." Ruby explained.

"After that we have Grimm studies at twelve forty five through one fifteen, and finally we have sparring classes that last from one thirty to three thirty." She said.

"Why are sparing classes so long?" Yang asked.

"Probably due to the sheer amount of students." Weiss said.

"Well then team, it's time to head to class! What time is it anyway?" Ruby asked.

"Eight fifty five." Blake responded.

.

.

.

"Uh, t-to class!" Ruby yelled as she rushed out the door, only to accidentally bump into someone on her way out.

"Gah!" She cried out, falling to the floor.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." The woman said.

"No, it's my fault. I'm just in a hurry to get to class." Ruby said.

"Wait.." The woman began. "Why aren't you in class? You aren't thinking about ditching on the first day, now are you?" The woman asked.

"Um.. who are you?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, you must be first years. My name is Professor Peach, I'll be your Dust teacher for the next four years." She said.

"Ruby! How many times do I have to tell you not to just rush o-!" Weiss stopped herself mid sentence as her eye's gazed upon Peach.

"Ms. Peach!" Weiss said before giving a polite bow.

"Oh come now, there's no need for formalities." Peach said.

"Wait, how do you know her?" Ruby asked.

"How?! Why, she's one of, if not THE most successful dust miner in her generation!" Weiss said.

"Oh, I'm not that good." Peach said.

"You just discovered one of the biggest mines in current history!" She said.

"Well, being a dust miner is really only a hobby. I really want to be a doctor, dust just happens to tie into the profession." Peach said.

"How?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I'll tell you when you girls are in my classroom. For now, shouldn't you be off to class?" Peach asked.

"R-right! Come on team RWBY! We're gonna be late!" She shouted.

"Late?!" They heard Jaune shout from the other end of his dorm room. All of a sudden, Jaune burst through his room, frantically trying to get his shirt on.

"C-come on guys! We're gonna be-!" Jaune froze at the sight of Peach.

.

.

.

"A-are you a teacher?" Jaune stuttered. Peach nodded, causing Jaune to rapidly apologize.

"I'm sorry! We weren't keeping track of the time, and we all just got side tracked and I'm really-!" He was cut off by Pyrrha putting her hand on his mouth.

"We're terribly sorry, we'll get going as soon as possible." Pyrrha said.

"Oh, it's fine. Everyone's a little late on the first day." Peach said.

"Wait, if you're a teacher, then why aren't you in your classroom?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I need to go and wake up Brandon." Peach said, walking over to the front of his door.

"Doesn't he have an alarm clock?" Weiss asked.

"If an alarm clock was all it took, then why would I be walking over to his room to wake him up?" Peach asked.

.

.

"She's got a point there." Ruby said.

"Quiet you." Weiss said.

"Brandon? Come on, it's time for class." Peach called out, knocking at the door.

.

.

"Brandon~! Do we need to do this the hard way~?" She asked.

.

.

"Okay, then, hard way it is." Peach said as she pulled out her scroll and slid it through the slot next to the door, unlocking it. As she entered, Weiss, Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha managed to get a good look inside of Brandon's room.

"Wow, this is...surprisingly organized." Weiss said. There was only one bed in the room, so it had a lot of space. In the middle of his room was a round table with two wooden chairs on either side of the table. The book shelf, while unorganized, had a wide variety of books, comics, movies, and video games in it.

There was a dresser next to the bed had a trophy of some sort on it, as well as a hat with a silver knights helmet stitched into the center of it.

His revolver also laid on the top of the dresser, while his sword leaned up against it.

There was a small T.V on the other end of the bed that was plugged into the wall next the the bed.

His desk was covered with various books, comics, and papers, as well as a series of broken pencils.

"Can we customize our room like this?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Why are you asking me? I just got to this academy." Weiss said.

"So, how are you gonna wake him up?" Jaune asked as he stared at a snoring Brandon.

"Like this." Peach said, pulling out a container of electric dust from her pocket. As she undid the lid, she poured the dust on Brandon, causing sparks to come off of him and the bed.

"Gah!" Brandon shouted, falling off his bed.

"Come on now! We have a big day ahead of us, don't want to miss it now do we?" Peach asked.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Brandon roared awake.

"Oh don't be like that, I was going to use a crystal to cause an explosion, but Ozpin told me not to do that anymore after the crystal blew you out of your room last time." Peach said.

"So you pour it on me instead?!" He asked.

"Yes, also, you might want to, uh, cover up." Peach said, pointing towards the four outside. The girls of the group were glowing a bright shade of red as they gazed upon Brandon, who was in nothing more than a tank top and boxers.

.

.

"Off to class with you all!" Peach said, pulling out anther container, causing the four to rush out of Brandon's room.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

 _'Well this is a great way to start off the day.'_ I thought to myself bitterly as I sat in Port's classroom with a bored expression on my face.

 _'Well, I guess it wasn't all bad really. At least she didn't throw a bomb into my room, the last time that happened she had to fix the damage she did to my body.'_ I thought to myself, adjusting the hat that was on my head. Port would have chewed me out for not following the policy of being in the school uniform, though TECHNICALLY, I was in the uniform, just not in the right way.

I wore my hoodie underneath the suit, though I still had to put on the pants and shoes, there was no negotiating on that part.

Well, one out of three isn't that bad, because there was no way in hell that I was getting into that tight of a suit. Some may argue that it isn't that tight, but when WEISS of all people is complaining that it's to tight, you have an issue.

"Grimm come in many names. Monsters, Demons, Spawns of the Darkness, the enemy of humanity, and many other names." Port opened up.

 _'The first three, yeah. The last one, not so much, if anything, HUMANITY is it's own worst enemy, not the Grimm.'_ I thought to myself, trying not to fall asleep.

"But I merely refer to them as prey." Port said with a load laugh.

.

.

"Uh, and you shall to upon graduating from this prestigious academy." Port said.

"As I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens to an otherwise treacherous world. But do not let this feeling of security fool you, the outside world is filled to the brim with creatures that will tear you apart without hesitation." He said, walking down the various rows of seats.

"That's where you all come in. As huntsmen and huntresses, you have dedicated your life to fighting these monsters so that the people who can't can be put at ease." Port said to us.

While Weiss was paying close attention to his words, she glanced to her right to see that Ruby was lying on her side of the desk sound asleep. Weiss shook Ruby, causing her to jolt awake. They were whispering so I couldn't hear what they were saying, but if I had to take a guess based off of Weiss's expression, she's scolding Ruby for falling asleep in the middle of class.

"Now before I get on with the lesson, how about I tell you all a story. A story of a brave, noble, and handsome young warrior. Who is this dashing man you may ask? Why, that would be yours truly! When I was a boy I-." I stopped paying attention to Port's story and focused my attention on the two girls a few rows bellow me.

Ruby was doodling on her notebook, while Weiss was doing her best to ignore her constant giggling. Ruby's giggles became even louder upon finishing the sketch of Professor Port, Yang joining in as soon as she saw the sketch.

"Ahem!" Port said, getting the girl's attention.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Ms. Rose?" Peter asked.

"Uh...I...Um." Ruby stumbled on her words before shoving the paper into her mouth,

.

.

"Uh, okay then, back to the story. In the end the Beowolf was not match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero! " Peter concluded before bowing down to the crowd.

"The moral of the story, a true huntsmen must be honorable." As he said this, Ruby spit the paper out of her mouth, trying her best to get the taste on led out of her system.

"A true huntsmen must be dependable!" Ruby was using her cape to wipe away the flavor.

"A true huntsmen must be strategic, well educated, and wise." Ruby started to chug the bottle of water she had in her backpack.

"Now, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits." Port asked. As soon as he said that, Weiss's hand shot up.

"I do sir!" She said.

"Well then, let's find out. Gather your equipment and come face your opponent." He said, gesturing his hand to the cage next to him. Weiss nodded and began to walk out of the room.

"Now, while we're waiting, how about another story? It all started when I was a small boy." Twenty minutes later, Weiss emerges from the doors in her combat outfit and her rapier at her side.

"Ah, and our huntress in training returns! We'll have to continue our story another time, for now, come and face your opponent." Port said. Weiss nodded and walked over to the front of the class, readying her rapier.

"Gooooo Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" Blake said, waving around a team RWBY flag.

 _'Where did she even get that?'_ I asked myself.

"Yeah! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby yelled.

"Ruby! I'm trying to concentrate!" Weiss said, causing Ruby to lower her head a bit.

"Oh, sorry." She said with a sheepish smile.

"All right! Let the match begin!" Port said, knocking off the lock to the cage, releasing the Boarbatusk.

The Boarbatusk charged at Weiss, though Weiss quickly parried the Grimm as it charged at her.

"Ha ha! Weren't expecting that now were you?" Port asked.

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby called out, causing Weiss to scowl a bit. Weiss charged at the Boarbatusk, but it quickly swung it's tusk at Weiss, causing her rapier to get stuck in between it's tusks.

"A bold new approach! I like it!" Port said.

"Come on Weiss, show it whose boss!" Ruby said, causing Weiss's scowl to deepen. Before she could scold Ruby again, she lost grip on her weapon, causing it to go flying across the room.

"Oh ho! What will you do without your weapon?" Port asked. Weiss quickly rolled out of the way of the Boarbatusk and started to run towards her weapon.

"Weiss! Go for it's belly! There's no armor underne-!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss shouted, interrupting Ruby.

The Boarbatusk started to roll towards Weiss in attempts to get the upper hand. Though as it rolled right in front of her Weiss blocked it with her Glyph, causing it to stumble back a bit. After it rolled onto it's back, Weiss took the opportunity to jump up and impale the Grimm in the stomach.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are in the presence of a true huntress in training!" Port said. Weiss quickly shot a glare at Ruby as she got up from the floor.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today, be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant. Class dismissed." Port said, dismissing the students. Weiss stormed out of the classroom, Ruby following in pursuit.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune asked.

"Meh, just Ice Queen being Ice Queen. I'll go talk to her." I said, jumping out of my seat.

"H-hey! I'll come with you! Maybe I can spark an interest and-." I cut Jaune off by pressing my finger against his lips.

"Trust me, you are the second to last person she wants to see." I said.

"Whose the first?" He asked, causing me to raise one of my eyebrows.

.

.

"Oh! Right." Jaune said.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

 _'Stupid Ruby, stupid headmaster, stupid pig!'_ Weiss thought to herself as she stormed across the halls of Beacon.

"Weiss!" She heard Ruby call out.

 _'Just ignore her.'_ She thought.

"Weiss!" Ruby said even louder.

 _'She's not there, she's not-!'_ Her thought process was cut off as Ruby used her semblance to appear in front of her.

"Weiss!" She yelled.

"Gah!" Weiss yelped, falling towards the ground in shock.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-."

"What do you want?!" Weiss shouted, interrupting Ruby.

"What's with you today?! Why are you being-."

"What's with me? What's with you?!" Weiss asked, getting up off of the ground.

"You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've done is be a complete nuisance!" She yelled.

"What did I even do?" Ruby asked.

"That's just it! What have you done to earn your position?! Nothing! That's what. Back in the forest you acted like a child and you've only continued this unacceptable behavior!" Weiss shouted.

"What about that plan I came up with in the forest?" Ruby asked.

"Beginners. Luck." She said.

"Where is this even coming from?" Ruby asked.

"What happened to 'one more chance' or the whole 'working together' talk? I thought you believed in acting as a team." She said.

"Not a team, led by you." Weiss said.

"I've studied, trained, and have done EVERYTHING to deserve the title of team leader, and yet here I am, forced to follow the likes of you." She said bitterly.

"But I-."

"Ozpin made a mistake." Weiss said, walking further down the hallway.

"Well, that could have gone better." Ruby heard Brandon say from behind her.

"Gah!" Ruby shouted.

"Then again, it's not like I expected anything different from her." He said with a grin.

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop on people!" Ruby shouted.

"Eavesdrop is such a strong word, I prefer the word, people watching." Brandon said.

"What are you even doing here?" She asked.

"I thought I'd give Weiss a little talk." He said.

"I wouldn't, she's not in the best of moods right now." Ruby said.

"Ruby, this is Weiss we're talking about, she's never in a good mood." Brandon said.

"Heh heh, yeah. Though this time it's a bit more than usual." She said in between giggles.

"Don't worry, I'll get to her." He said.

"Wait! I think we should just le-." Brandon cut her off by pressing his finger against her lips.

"Here's the thing Ruby, if you ever want to win an argument with Weiss, you need to match her level of aggression. Something I doubt you can do." Brandon said, walking off in the same direction as Weiss.

"Wait!" She called out, but it was to late, he was already gone.

"He's right you know." Ruby head Ozpin say.

"Gah!" She shouted.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Ozpin said.

"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" She asked.

"That remains to be seen." Ozpin said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I mean it's only been one day." He said.

"Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet." Ozpin said.

"But at this moment I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." He said.

"Do you?" Ozpin asked.

.

.

"I-I don't know." Ruby said.

"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly." Ozpin said.

"If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" He asked.

.

.

"I guess you're right." Ruby said.

"Maybe I am, only time will tell." Ozpin said.

"You been burdened with a daunting responsibility , Ruby. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it." He said, turning away from Ruby.

"Wait! I still have one more question." Ruby said.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Ozpin asked.

"Why didn't you give Brandon a team?" She asked.

"Well, due to the odd number of students this was the best possible outcome." He said.

"Couldn't you have given him a spot on our team?" Ruby asked.

"Oh? Are you saying you would be willing to accept Brandon into your team?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes." She said with a determined look in her eyes.

.

.

"Okay, then, I'll let him join on one condition. You need to answer this question with the correct answer." He said.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Who is Brandon?" Ozpin asked.

.

.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Do you know who he is, what's he's like, or what he's been through?" He asked.

"Well, his name is Brandon Kim, and... he fights with a sword?" Ruby said.

"You want him on your team, yet you know next to nothing about him." Ozpin said.

"Well, I can get to know him better if you let him on our team." She said.

"It's not as simple as you think Ms. Rose." He said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. Ozpin looked hesitant for a moment before turning to face Ruby again.

"It's not in my place say, though I can tell you one thing. Brandon is a troubled soul, he has lost everything, and will only continue to loose things because of his career choice." Ozpin said.

"Why would he loose things?" She asked.

"Ms. Rose, you cannot be a huntsmen and not experience loss at the same time. Everyone huntsmen and huntress in this academy has lost something dear to them, even I have lost things close to me." Ozpin said.

"But, isn't it our job to make the world a better place?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, but sometimes it's not always as simple as some hope it to be. Maybe you loose an ally in battle, a peer, or maybe a village is lost." Ozpin said.

"But...we're huntsman." She said in a saddened tone.

"We are, and it's our job to make sure that the people are protected, though no matter how many villages or people you save, one fact will still remain." He said.

"The world is a cruel, harsh, and unforgiving place." Ozpin said, walking away from Ruby.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

Jesus! How many balcony's does this building have?! I've been walking around this building for twenty damn minutes now!

I finally was able to find her after what seemed like the twentieth try, she was looking over Beacon academy's various buildings and structures.

"Figures I'd find you here, looking over the sunset in a melodramatic matter." I said.

"W-what the?! Don't startle me like that!" Weiss yelled.

"Then don't be so lost in thought." I said.

"Where did you even come from?" She asked.

"Where the hell do you think? Through the door like any normal person would." I deadpanned.

"I knew that!" Weiss snapped.

"I just... Never mind. Look, what do you even want?" She asked.

"Jeez, I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation, no need to be so hostile." I said.

"I'm not being hostile! I'm just frustrated." Weiss said.

"You still haven't answered my question yet." She pointed out. I sighed and shook my head, pinching the tip of my hat as I did.

"Look, I'll just cut to the case. I wanna know what the hell your deal is with Ruby." I said.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss demanded.

Seriously, how dumb does she think I am?

"Why do you think she's unfit to be the leader of your team?" I asked. Weiss's eye's widened in shock before turning into an expression of anger.

"What?! How do you even know about that?!" Weiss asked.

"I was listening to your conversation with Ruby from earlier." I said.

"You eavesdropped on us?!" Weiss shouted angrily.

"Eavesdrop is such a strong word, I prefer the wo-."

"How DARE you! Don't you have any respect for the privacy of other people?!" Weiss shouted, interrupting me mid sentence.

"Look Ice Queen, I didn't come here to talk about me or how much of an asshole I am, I came here to find out why you think Ruby isn't fit to be leader." I said.

"Why are you even asking me? Surely you must have heard my reasoning while you were EAVESDROPPING on us." Weiss said.

I know her attitude get's better over time, but right now it's VERY hard to deal with.

"Yeah, I heard what you said, I want to know WHY you said it." I said.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Well, if the girl can come up with a successful plan to kill a giant bird, than I'd say she's at least qualified to lead your team into battle." I said.

"You weren't the one who was stuck with her since the very beginning of school! Ever since I got here, I have been forced to deal with her childish, reckless, and idiotic behavior." She said.

"One well-thought out plan doesn't take away from the fact that she's been nothing but a childish, irresponsible brat with little to no sense of discipline, and knowing someone like that is leading my team just infuriates me!" Weiss vented.

.

.

.

"Okay." I said.

"What are you-?" Weiss began.

"Different question, why do you think that YOU'RE so qualified to be team leader?" I asked.

"Why? Is that really a question? You've seen my display of skill on multiple occasions, I am MORE than capable to lead a team better than that brat." She said.

"So you can hold your own in a fight, big deal, so can everyone in this academy." I said.

 _'Well, almost everyone.'_ I thought to myself.

"That doesn't mean that you're suddenly capable of leading a team." I said. "Being a leader isn't just a title you use to make people think better of you, it's about setting an example for your teammates to follow." I said.

"That's why Ozpin made Ruby team leader, because she would be able to set an example that would cause others to follow her into battle." I said.

"I was trained my whole life for this role. Where has that training got me now? Nowhere. That's where."

 _'So there is a deeper reason rather than just "she's childish".'_ I

"Okay, so the odds didn't turn out in your favor. You're not always gonna get what you want, sometimes you just need to accept what's given to you and work with that." I said.

"What are you saying?" Weiss asked.

"Be what you were assigned to be, Ruby's partner. Be there for her when she's at her lowest, make sure that when she's falling down, you're right there to pick her up again. Help her grow as a person, and in turn, you will grow as a person as well." I said to her.

.

.

.

Weiss just stood there, seemingly lost in thought.

"Don't think to hard about it. Just something to think about." I said. "Well, we've been here long enough, we're already late for sparing class."

"WHAT?!" Weiss shouted, pulling out her scroll to look at the time.

"Oh Monty! I can't believe I lost track of time! Come on, we need to go!" She yelled as she grabbed my hood and dragged me along with her.

"H-hey, hey hey! Quit it with the pulling already!" I yelled.

* * *

"Come on! The least she'll do is give us a tardy if we hurry!" Weiss yelled.

"Jeez! You're late for one class it's not the end of the world!" I said.

"I am Weiss Schnee! I cannot be late for ANYTHING important, EVER!" She said, pulling me across the campus.

"I see the arena up ahead! Come on, let's go! We're almost there!" Weiss said, bursting through doors of the arena, causing everyone to look towards the two of us.

.

.

"Uh..." Weiss tried to say, though not coming up with a reasonable response.

"Ms. Schnee, would you mind explaining to me why you are late for my class?" Glynda asked.

"I am so sorry Professor Goodwitch, I lost track of time. I swear that it will never happen agai-."

"Calm down, I'll let you off with a warning. Though I expect you to be on time in the near future." She said, adjusting her glasses that were on her face.

"Thank you for understanding." Weiss said, walking down towards her team.

Wow, I'm surprised she let me off with a warning. Here I thought she would give me a detention in a heart be-.

"You are to see me after class when the session is over, Mr. Kim. Do not think you'll be as lucky as Ms. Schnee." Glynda said, interrupting me mid sentence.

There it is.

I shrugged my shoulders and walked over to a random seat.

"Hey." I heard Jaune say, grabbing my attention.

"What?" I asked.

"Why were you so late?" He asked.

"Well, I just wanted to talk some sense into Ice Queen over there." I said.

"Did it work?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Okay, as I was saying, as you all know, the Vytal festival is approaching, as well as the tournament that follows with the events." Glynda said, causing the students to murmur with excitement.

"I will explain how the combat system will work, and two of you will be selected to demonstrate the procedure." She said.

"First thing you will need to know is that the team's selected will be representing the honor of Beacon academy. While this isn't a fight to the death, do not hold back while you are fighting in the tournament." Glynda said.

"As for the combat system, it's actually rather simple. Attack your opponent until his or her's aura has hit the red zone, or has been completely drained all together. Another way to defeat your opponent is to knock them out of the arena, disqualifying them. Keep in mind that you will all be selected a random environmental hazard during the tournament." She said.

"Now, I will select the two fighters that will demonstrate this processes." Glynda said, pushing a few buttons on her scroll. Suddenly, a projection appeared on the screen above the arena.

"Our first fighter will be..." Glynda began as the first slot on the screen went trough all of the students before landing on me.

"Brandon Kim." Glynda said.

"His opponent will be..." The second slot began to go through all of the remaining students.

Let me guess, it's gonna be Cardin. I know it's been done to death but then again, no one would really pass up the opportunity to beat the shit out of-!

My thought process was cut off as I saw who exactly I was fighting.

.

.

Shit.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Glynda announced, causing the students to murmur.

"Ms. Nikos, Mr. Kim. Please head over to the arena floors for your spar." She said, walking to the side of the arena.

Is it to much to ask for a re-roll?

I sighed to myself as I jumped over the railing. As I walked to the center of the arena, I could hear a series of hushed murmurs and hollers of excitement.

"Finally! We get to see the invincible girl in action!" I heard someone say.

"I feel bad for the guy. She's won the Mistral regional tournament four years in a row."

"Mop the floor with him Pyrrha!" With each passing comment, my frustration kept on getting higher and higher.

Tch, I'll show these assholes that Pyrrha ain't as invincible as they think she is.

"Hey!" Pyrrha shouted.

"I just want you to know that whoever wins, no hard feelings, okay?"

"Yeah, that was a given, just-."

"Go easy on you?" She asked, cutting me off.

"No. Don't hold anything back. I want to see the 'Invincible Girl" in all of her glory." I said, pulling out my sword from it's sheath.

"As you wish." Pyrrha said, getting into her position.

.

.

"Begin!" Glynda signaled. I started off by simply walking towards Pyrrha in an uncaring way.

If it were any ordinary opponent, then they would have taken this opportunity to go in for a up close and personal attack. Pyrrha was not like that however, she saw just how deadly I could be at close range.

She quickly back flipped over to the edge of the arena, making sure that the distance between us was far.

She's smart, she doesn't know the full capabilities of my spirit arm. Don't blame her, I don't know to much about it myself.

Pyrrha switched her weapon to it's rifle form, as quickly as she could pull the trigger, three bullets were fired out from the barrel of her rifle. This caused a shock for the crowd, who did not expect Pyrrha to take such a passive approach. In all of her matches within the tournaments in Mistral, she rarely used her rifle.

They were even more surprised when they saw an armored arm come out of my body and punched the bullets away from me. This caused Pyrrha to nod to herself before switching to her javelin.

"It seems my theory was correct." Pyrrha said.

"What theory?" Glynda asked, intrigued at some potential new information on my weapon's spirit.

"That arm of yours, it doesn't just specialize in immense speed and strength. It's also precise enough to punch all three of my bullets out of the air." Pyrrha said, shocking the people in the crowd.

 _'You know, the more I learn about this thing, the more I start to see the similarities between it and Star Platinum.'_ I thought to myself.

"So I'm guessing your passive approach was just your way of seeing if you could get away with ranged combat." I said.

"Was it that obvious?" Pyrrha asked. "I wanted to see if I could exploit any range issues with that arm of yours, considering I only saw you use it in close range." She said.

"Well, it does have some issues with range, but it makes up for that with the positives you just mentioned." I said, tensing my body up. Pyrrha did the same and the both of us started to circle each other. Pyrrha made the first move and charged towards me, her javelin in one hand, and her shied in the other. I activated the speed enchantment and ran towards her.

Wait for it..

.

.

Now!

I used the speed enchantment to blink behind Pyrrha. Before she could react, I started to slash at her back, causing her to stumble back a bit. Though she quickly regained her composure and blocked my sword with her shield. She goes in to jab at me with the blunt end on her sword, but I quickly summon my arm to grab her weapon.

I quickly pulled out my revolver and fired a few shots at Pyrrha. Pyrrha shook free from my spirits grip and blocked the bullets with her shield. After flipping a few times, she threw her shield at me, using her semblance to manipulate it's direction at will. The spirit arm quickly punched away the shield, though Pyrrha was able to move it out of the way of it's attacks, sending it hurdling towards me feet.

"Gah!" I yelled as I was sweeped off of my feet by Pyrrha. Pyrrha took the opportunity to jump up into the air with the intent of digging both of her feet into my abdomen. Though just as she landed on my body, I quickly summoned my spirits arm to block the attack. Before Pyrrha could jump away, the arm grabbed her my one of her legs and thew her across the room.

Alright! I got her in a corner!

I rushed towards Pyrrha, my spirit arm getting ready deliver a barrage of punches to her body. Pyrrha extended her arm outwards and activated her semblance.

Sorry Pyr, this is the day you lose your ti-! My thought process was cut off by a strong weight that was suddenly added to my arm, slamming me to the ground.

"W-what the hell?!" I yelled as I tried to lift my arm off of the ground.

What's going on? Why can't I move my a-?!

My question was answered before it was even asked. The spirit's arm was surrounded by a black aura, the same black aura that surrounds the metal objects when Pyrrha uses her semblance.

 _'Right, you know I really hoped that this feature wouldn't be a thing but hey, screw that I guess.'_ I thought bitterly.

"I see, you and the arm are connected. Whatever happens to it, happens to you as well." Pyrrha said, releasing her grip on my arm.

"W-why did you-?"

"Well, the longer I keep holding the object, the more aura it drains." She said, interrupting me before I could finish.

"So, shall we continue?" My response was to rush towards her, though I retracted my arm so that something like that didn't happen again. I activated the Buster enchantment and swung my sword at her, though she quickly rolls out of the way and trips me with her free leg. She uses her shield to bash me away from her before firing a few rounds from her rifle.

Though as soon as the bullets were fired from the rifle, I quickly used the spirit to punch them out of the way. Pyrrha charged towards me with her weapon and swings it at me, though I quickly parry and fire a few rounds from my own gun into her abdomen. She was hit by the first two shots, but she was able to bring her shield up to parry the other two.

Seeing an opportunity to attack, I use my spirit to grab her shield, though before she could use her semblance to immobilize me, I retract it and use the buster enchanted sword to send her across the arena.

I quickly looked over to my aura to see that it was almost at the red zone, while Pyrrha hasn't even reached to the halfway point.

"I must admit, I haven't felt like this in a long time. You are truly an opponent worthy of honor." Pyrrha said.

"Meh, I was never really much of a guy to worry about my honor. If I did, I wouldn't have set up the trap you walked into." I said. Pyrrha's eye's widened as she started to frantically look around to see if she could spot my trap.

"You know how I can make bombs?" I asked, getting a nod from Pyrrha.

"Well, when they're in the barrier state, they're not exactly...visible." I said as I gripped a fire dust crystal. A bomb flashed under Pyrrha's feet, though before it could explode, Pyrrha put her shield under her feet to shield herself from the explosion.

"Aaaaaand time for part two!" I yelled, gripping a handful of different dust crystals, orange sparks flowing around my hands. Different bombs started to flicker around Pyrrha, and because she was air born, she had nowhere else to go.

"Sorry Pyr, looks like you need to hand over your-!" Before I could finish, Pyrrha used her semblance to send some of the bombs over towards me.

"Title." I finished as the bombs exploded. The people of the arena were silent as they stared at the smoke filled arena. As the smoke settled, people could see that Pyrrha and I were trying our best to stand up, though it was clear that this was taking most of our energy. We both let out a loud sigh before collapsing to the ground.

.

.

"I-it's a tie." Glynda said, causing the crowd to holler.

Ow, ow ow. Is this how people feel after they get blown up by my bombs?

"Do you need a hand?" Pyrrha asked with a smile.

"Yeah." I said, grabbing her hand.

"Wow, I never realized how short you were until I stood right in front of you." Pyrrha said, looking down to see me.

.

.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She apologized as she looked at my deadpanned expression.

"Meh, it's fine, a lot of people make fun of my height." I said.

"Well, I guess I'm not the invincible girl anymore." Pyrrha said in slight relief.

"You sound relieved." I said.

"I am, because now I finally have someone who can match me. I finally have a rival." Pyrrha said.

"Meh, it wasn't anything to special. I just like to think outside the box from time to time." I said.

"Still, not everyone can say they managed to beat the invincible girl." She said.

"All right, all right, settle down." Glynda said.

"I must say, that was an incredible display of skill from both sides, though Brandon's tricky mind is what cased the match to end in a tie. I want you all to reflect on this battle the next time you fight against an opponent. In the mean time, you are all dismissed." She said.

Before I could leave though, Glynda used her semblance to grab my and pull me towards a desk.

"Not you Mr. Kim." She said.

Damn it.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

 _'Wow, I didn't realize how late it was. I should probably get to bed.'_ Weiss thought. As Weiss walked into her dorm, she saw a very unusual sight. She saw Ruby sitting on her bed with a pile of books, though she fell asleep.

 _'Did she spend the entire night on this?'_ Weiss thought.

.

.

Weiss shook Ruby awake, causing her to jolt up from her bed.

"W-Weiss! I'm sorry, I just got so side tracked and I just..I'm really so-."

"That's wrong." Weiss said, pointing at a spot on Ruby's paper.

"Um, what?" Ruby asked.

"Your answer, it's wrong." She said.

"Oh, uh, thanks."

"And that one."

"Thanks."

"And that one."

"Thanks."

"And that o-... you know what, come with me." Weiss said, picking up her books.

"Wha-? Where are we going?" Ruby asked.

"We're going downstairs, I'll help you with this subject." She said.

.

.

"R-really?!" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, come on before I change my mind." Weiss said.

"Right!" She said enthusiastically.

"How do you like your coffee?" Weiss asked.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #29**

 **Did I need to change the interaction with Weiss and Port?**

 **Probably not, though DAMN did it feel good.**

 **So...I fought Pyrrha.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **I didn't loose, though I didn't exactly win either.**

 **And from the looks of it, it won't be the last time I fight Pyrrha.**

 **Well, we got the badge and burden arc out of the way, now we have the Jaundice arc next.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, I have a few things planned for when that happens.**

 **Here are some of the review's you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **rocketmce: I don't know, maybe you guys can come up with a team name?**

 **CrazyLey:** **Maybe.**

 **Raidentensho: I don't plan on making her part of the team, though Alexa will make another appearance in the series. **

**metricsonicjosh:**

 **Yang: Oh, uh...sorry about that, I guess.**

 **Ragnorak16:** **Uh, thanks.**

 **TrueNecromancer:** **Um...What?**

 **All-Do-Lien: Thanks. :)**

 **jeit93:** **Maybe...Maybe.**

 **olTran: I'm what you would call a discount Joseph Joestar.**

 **warpterror: Meh, it's not for everyone. **

**Dinosaurchicken:** **Thanks :)**

 **Le MAO XXIII:** **Thanks, I'll defiantly need it for the future.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:** **Thanks! :D**

 **The Minion Sekiryuutei:** **Well, here ya go.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. **

**DragonLord501st: Well you saw how I handled Weiss, I plan on handling the Jaundice arc in a similar matter. **

**Million Arthur The Yuri King:** **I'll uh.. put it in my note pad.**

 **Cco16: Well, Brandon's not a king so that would be one useless enchantment XD**

 **hirshja:** **Fixed that.**

 **Zhalo Shadowcell: Sure.**

* * *

Omake: Ow (Non-Canon)

 _(Pyrrha POV)_

As Brandon was on the ground, I took the opportunity to jump up into the air with the intent of digging both of my feet into his abdomen.

 _'Sorry Brandon, but they don't call me the invincible girl for no rea-!'_ Though just as I landed on his body, the arm that blocked my attacks from before came and blocked my attack. Before I could jump away, the arm grabbed me by one of her legs and thew me across the room.

 _'Damn! I don't have anywhere else to run!'_ I thought as Brandon rushed towards me.

 _'I need to act fast, or else I'll end up like that Nevermore in the forest.'_ I thought. Out of pure instinct, I used my semblance to see if I could find away out of this, to my surprise, I could see my semblance around the arm that was coming out of Brandon, implying it had some sort of metal around it.

 _'Perfect! I'll just knock the arm a few feet away from me and I'll-.'_

 **CRACK**

.

.

Um, arm aren't supposed to bend like that. Brandon stopped in his tracks, gripping his arm before falling to the floor.

"Um, I'm sorry?" I apologized.

.

.

.

.

"FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!" This continued for three straight hours before Peach got tired of his yelling and knocked him out.

* * *

 **Nora Valkyrie**

 **Height: 5'1"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Electric Channel. **

**Summary: ****Nora's Semblance is the ability to produce and channel electrical energy into her muscles, which lends to her absurd strength. Furthermore, she's practically immune from taking electrical damage as she simply absorbs any electrical current to fuel her strength. Her Semblance seemingly has no limit on how much it can absorb since she is seen taking a full blast of lightning with apparently no damage to her Aura levels.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: D**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	29. Jaundice

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Slightly re-wrote chapters 1-4**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Jaundice"

Thought: 'Jaundice"

Flashback: "Jaundice"

The day went by like any normal day, we went to classes, Weiss did her best to get Ruby to pay attention though wound up missing just as much as her if not more, Yang slept through most of the periods and Blake read while taking notes down in the book next to her.

Jaune was trying his best to keep up while Pyrrha was doing her best to make sure he didn't fall behind, Nora was building a random animal out of the various worksheets she got throughout her classes and Ren was sleeping.

Though now it was time for everyone's favorite part of the day.

Sparring class.

.

Well, everyone but Jaune that is. Now despite what the show had shown us, that actually wasn't the first fight between Cardin and Jaune. In fact, the only person Cardin DID fight was Jaune, and the only time he would go against someone else is when Professor Goodwitch told him he needed to pick a different sparring partner.

Though most of the time he would just pick one of the weaker first year students. Then again, he's not the only one victim of picking the same opponent over and over again. After my little fight with Pyrrha, she's taken almost EVERY opportunity she could get to spar with me in the ring. Now, I don't mind squaring off against Pyrrha, but when that's the only person you fight, it tends to get old after a while.

Here's the difference between the two situations. I don't accept Pyrrha's offer every time she asks to spar against me, much to her disappointment. Jaune however accepts Cardin's challenge every time, even if he knows that there is no plausible way that he could win.

The blonde's tenacious, I'll give him that. But I would think getting your ass handed to you about thirty five different times would send some sort of message. Guess not.

Speaking of Jaune and Cardin's fights...

Tch, no wonder they didn't show the fight between Jaune and Cardin. Would have been obvious that he didn't get into Beacon by any normal means.

While Jaune couldn't exactly beat Cardin, he at least knows how to dodge attacks, and considering how much armor Cardin had, it was bound to slow him down.

"Stop dodging and let me hit you!" Cardin shouted in frustration as he took another swing at Jaune, to which Jaune jumped back to dodge the strike.

"Why would I want to stop the one thing that is literally keeping me in the fight?" Jaune asked rhetorically, only making Cardin even more angry.

'Well, he does have a point.' I thought to myself.

"Hey, Jaune's gotten better!" Nora said.

"I don't think dodging counts as an improvement." I pointed out.

"Well, he has gotten better at dodging. That must count for something, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Sure, it's useful for survival and escape. Though it won't help him win the fight." Yang said.

"No, I see what he's doing." I said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"He's trying to tire him out before going in for finishing blow. It's not exactly what you would call 'honorable', but hey, Grimm don't exactly care about honor now do they?" I explained.

Jaune ducked under another swing before rolling out of the way of an overhead swing following afterwards, which left a small crater due to the impact of the attack. Jaune was lightly panting with exhaustion due to all of the maneuvers, while Cardin was desperately trying to catch his breath.

"Though evasion will only work if you have the stamina for it." I said.

Seeing Cardin struggling to recover, Jaune takes the opportunity to strike back at him.

Though as Jaune approached him, Cardin smirked and grabbed a handful of dust from the crater below him and flung it at Jaune's face, temporarily blinding him in the process.

Cardin took the opportunity to strike and swung his mace at Jaune's side, causing him to go tumbling across the ground. Though Cardin didn't let up, he ran up the blonde knight and grabbed him by his ankle before swinging him above his head, slamming him to the stone floor beneath them.

"Let's just face the facts, Jauney Boy. You will NEVER be able to beat me." Cardin mocked.

"Shut up." Jaune said from under his breathe.

"What was that? You're gonna have to speak up." Cardin mocked.

"I said, shut u-!" Jaune didn't have time to finish as Cardin punched him straight in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground in defeat. I looked over to my right to see that Pyrrha looking a bit tense.

Can't really blame her.

"Hey, don't take it too hard, that asshole only won because he played dirty." Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby said, bringing out her swear jar.

"Right, sorry." Yang said as she pulled out five lien and placed it into the jar.

"Still, as dirty as Cardin's tactics were, our enemies will do the exact same thing if not worse. If this were an actual fight, then Jaune would have had to exploit every opening he could, and if you can't find one, then make one." I said, though my little comment on Cardin's tactics didn't go unnoticed by him as he was glaring daggers at me. Seeing this, I smirked and stuck up my middle finger when I knew Ruby wasn't looking.

This only caused his glare to deepen, though before he could call me out, Glynda started to talk to the class.

"As harsh as it, he's is right, many of the criminals that you will confront during your career will do whatever they can to get the upper hand. I suggest you all keep this in mind. As for you, I can see that you are slowly improving, though please be sure to refer to your scroll for your aura levels to asses the situation you are in." Glynda said to the class, aiming the last part at Jaune.

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." Jaune sighed as he gathered his belongings from the arena.

"Remember students, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms will be arriving in Vale, so keep practicing!" Glynda announced.

"Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be defending the honor of Vale itself, so don't slack off." She said as she walked off of the stage.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called as she jumped over the railing of the arena and ran towards Jaune.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha." He said in a saddened tone.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Well, other than getting beaten like a walking, talking punching bag, yeah, I'm fine I guess." Jaune sighed.

"Come on, let's go get lunch." Pyrrha said as she walked him out of the arena.

"Yeah, I could go for some food right about now." He said.

"Well, you better hurry, you know how quickly Nora goes through the food in the cafeteria." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, it's a wonder how she hasn't put on at least a few pounds." Jaune said as they walked out of the room.

* * *

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora began.

"It was day." Ren pointed out.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..." Nore said, continuing her story.

"They were Beowolves." Ren stated.

"DOZENS of them!" She shouted.

"Two of them." Ren corrected.

"But in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boat-load of lien selling Ursa skin rugs." Nora concluded.

"Wait, wouldn't the Ursai just evaporate before you had a chance to get their fur?" I asked.

.

Nora picked up one of Ren's apples and flung it at my face.

"I've been telling you that your dream is physically impossible for about a month now." Ren said.

"I'll find away, I just need to rip it off without killing them." Nora said with a fire in her eyes.

"Did you really have to throw an apple of all things at me?!" I asked as I rubbed the area on my forehead where she hit me.

"I didn't throw it that hard." She said.

"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm doing great guys! What made any of you think otherwise?" Jaune asked.

"It's just that you seem a little...not okay." Ruby said.

"Guys, I'm as fine as can be." Jaune said, trying to reassure his team.

"Seriously!" He said.

"Look!" Jaune said, holding his thumb up while giving off a fake smile.

"Hey, don't let today's loss get to your head, Cardin's just a bully." Ruby said.

"Yeah, you came really close to kicking Cardin in the-" I was cut off by the glare that Ruby was sending towards my direction.

"Butt." I said, causing Ruby to nod and turn to face Jaune.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school. Why haven't you informed any of the teachers about this?" Pyrrha asked in a concerned tone.

"You mean Cardin Winchester? He's just messing around, practical jokes!" Jaune said.

"Like I said, he's a bully." Ruby said.

"That's not true. Brandon always jokes around with me and I don't see any of you calling him a bully." Jaune said.

"Okay, first of all, I don't knock your books out of your hands every time I see you walk by me in the halls, if anything, I gave you the bag to put them in. I don't get your shield stuck in a door, making it near impossible to get it out. I'm the one who has to use my arm to get it out of the walls, and I sure as hell don't shove you in your locker and send you flying towards the Emerald Forest!" I yelled.

"I didn't land too far from the school." Jaune tried.

"You landed in the deepest parts of the Emerald Forest." I deadpanned.

"They sent people to get me." He said.

"No, they sent ME, and we wound up getting even more lost than we already were!" I said.

"It was a bonding experience! You know, a bro thing!" Jaune said.

"How is that a-!" I was cut off my Pyrrha placing her hand above my mouth.

"What he's TRYING to say is that if you need help, all you have to do is ask." Pyrrha said.

"Right?" Pyrrha asked with her eyes narrowed.

"Uh, sure. Also, the difference between MY jokes and HIS jokes is that none of our friends get mad at my jokes." I said, causing Weiss to slowly turn her head towards me with her eyes narrowed.

.

"Okay, MOST of our friends don't get mad at my jokes." I corrected.

"Come on guys, he's a jerk to everyone." Jaune said.

"Jaune, you can't just let him do what he wants, it will only get worse if you just let it happen." I said.

"He'll get bored eventually." He said.

"No, he'll see you as an easy target. If he knows that you're not going to do anything about his actions, it'll get worse and worse." I said.

"Like I said, he's a jerk to everyon-" Jaune was cut off by the sound of Velvet crying out in pain.

"Ow! That hurts!" I heard Velvet cry.

"See! I told you they were real!" Cardin said in between laughs.

"What a freak!" One of the members of his team said.

.

"Excuse me." I said, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Uh, yeah?" Jaune asked.

"I'll be back in a bit." I said as I started to walk over to the table where Velvet was.

"W-wait a minute!" Jaune said hastily as I walked over to the unaware members of Team CRDL.

"W-what are you going to do, Brandon?" Jaune asked.

"Picking up a friend." I said, continuing my march over towards Team CRDL's table, despite the protests of Jaune.

"Well~! This should be good, who brought the popcorn?" Yang asked.

"Ow! Stop it! That really hurts!" Velvet cried out as Cardin pulled even harder.

"Oh really? Then let's just rip em off, maybe people will finally treat you better than trash." Cardin mocked as he pulled harder.

"Hey." I said, placing my hand on Cardin's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh well look who it is, it's the freak possessed with the extra arm! How about you join your freak of a friend over here?" Cardin mocked.

"Wasn't talking to you." I said as I used the spirit's arm to push Cardin out of the way, sending him flying across the cafeteria table.

"Cardin!" His team shouted as they rushed towards their fallen leader.

"Where's the rest of the team?" I asked her.

"D-different lunch periods." Velvet said.

"Damn, that sucks." I said, causing her to nod in agreement.

"Why are you letting him do this? You know you can kick his ass with little to no effort." I asked.

"It's against the rules for us to fight against other students unless it's a spar." She said.

"So you would break one little rule, so what?" I asked.

"I don't want cause any trouble for anyone." Velvet said.

"Y-you're gonna regret that, jacka-!" Cardin was cut off as the spirit's arm came out and threw Cardin over to the other side of the table.

"Besides, I don't have anywhere else to sit." She said.

"Stop using your stupid demon arm and fight me like a ma-!" Cardin was cut off once more as the arm picked up Cardin and started to spin him around.

"Then come on over to my table, I've got some friends I want to introduce you to." I said as the arm threw Cardin into the air.

"Y-yeah, I would like that." Velvet said.

"Come on, they're just over here." I said, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Heh, thanks." She said as she got up to follow me over to my table.

"Who said you were going anywhere?!" Carding growled.

"Watch this." I whispered to Velvet.

"You're probably about to say-" I began, pointing my finger at Cardin while keeping my other hand on the tip of my hat.

"Do you really think I'm just gonna let you walk away?" Cardin and I said in perfect unison.

"W-what the-?!" Cardin gasped, shocked at how I knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Next you'll say-" I began, keeping the same pose as before.

"How the hell did you do that you little shit?" We said in perfect unison.

"What?! How are you-?" Cardin yelled, baffled at how I knew exactly what he was going to say.

"It's simple really, I can read idiots like you like an open book." I said with a grin.

.

"What did you just call me?!" Cardin yelled.

"Sorry, did I stutter, or am I using too big of words for your tiny brain to comprehend?" I asked.

"Allow me to rephrase that. Dumb ass, all talk but no bite, is any of this sinking in?"

"You cocky son of a bitch!" Cardin yelled as he lunged towards me with his fist reeled backwards.

"I'll take that as a yes." I said as the spirit's arm came to grab Cardin by his neck.

"Now, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna leave my friend Velvet here alone, if you don't, I'll show you why Pyrrha was afraid of getting to close to this arm." I threatened.

"W-why are you defending a freak like he-" Cardin was cut off as the spirit's grip got even tighter than before.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear that, say that again. Though I'll warn you, if I don't like what I hear, I'll-"

"Both of you! That's enough!" I heard Glynda shout from the other side of the room, interrupting me before I could finish.

"Damn it, looks like the party's over." I said, releasing Cardin from the spirit's grasp.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind either of you young men that the both of you are attending Beacon academy, a school very few are given the honor of attending. Since it didn't escalate that much, I'll let you both off with a warning." Glynda said.

"WHAT?! Are you kidding me?! He just used his stupid arm to throw me around the-"

"Yes, and during all of the ruckus, I was told that you were bothering one of our fine students beforehand. Don't try to play innocent with me, Mr. Winchester." Glynda retorted, glaring at Cardin who sunk down to the floor as he looked at the blonde instructor's gaze.

"Heh." I laughed, jabbing Cardin with one of my fingers.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it mother fu-"

"Don't think that Mr. Winchester is the only one to blame here, Mr. Kim." Glynda interrupted.

"As I said before, this is a school that very few have the pleasure of going to, and starting fights like this is certainly not giving it a good name!" Glynda said before using her Semblance to pull me towards her.

"You are also the one Ozpin chose to wield Caliber, I seriously doubt he gave it to you with the intention of you starting fights like this." She whispered into my ear.

"Alright! Alright! I get it! Can you let me go now? This is really uncomfortable." I whispered back. Glynda nodded and released her grip on me, causing me to fall towards the ground.

"I don't want to hear about something like this happening again." Glynda said, walking out of the cafeteria. Cardin and I exchanged glares and proceeded to walk over to our respective tables.

"Dang, I really wanted to see Cardin get what was coming to him." Yang said.

"Yeah, and that would have resulted in him getting in even more trouble." Weiss said.

"So...who is this?" Ruby asked, referring to Velvet, who was sitting across from her.

"Oh, right. This is Velvet Scarlatina." I said.

"Hello." Velvet shyly said.

"Now, why don't you all introduce yourselves. I need to get some food." I said, walking over to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Hi, I'm Ruby!"

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"The name's Yang."

"Nora, and this is Ren!"

"Hello."

"I'm Pyrrha."

"Jaune Arc."

"It's nice to meet you all." Velvet said.

"So, how long have you known Brandon?" Yang asked.

"As of today? Probably a year and a half." She said.

"A year and a half? Wow, that's a long time." Ruby said.

"Yeah, long time." Velvet said.

.

"What?" She asked as she looked at the sly look on Yang's face.

"So, have you ever considered him more than just a friend?" Yang asked.

"W-w-what?! N-no! W-were just friends!" Velvet stammered.

"I'm just pulling your leg, Velv. I just thought you might have thought differently after that little stunt he pulled." She said in between laughs.

"It was sweet, though we're just friends. I'm just glad it didn't get too out of hand." She said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

.

 _'Do they not know about his weapon spirit?'_ Velvet thought.

"Well, this isn't the first time I saw his spirit arm." She said.

"Is that what he calls it?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, though when I saw it, it wasn't just the arm, it was the entire body." Velvet said, grabbing the attention of everyone at the table.

"What happened?" Blake asked.

"Well, we were fighting this man, and during the fight his spirit came out and..." Velvet hesitated to tell them what actually happened during there fight with Merlot.

'Should I really tell them that he beat a man to death?' Velver asked herself.

.

"Well? What happened?" Weiss asked.

 _'No, that's something Brandon needs to tell them, not me.'_ She thought.

"The spirit put the man in the hospital." Velvet said, shocking everyone at the table.

"Holy shit." Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby said, bringing out her swear jar.

"Sorry." She said, putting lien into the jar.

"Though, I really can't be too surprised. One punch from the spirit sent me flying through a stone wall." Yang said.

"Wait, you've fought him before?!" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I fought him in a tournament a few months back." She said.

"Wow, I can't imagine what multiple punches from the arm could feel like." Jaune shuddered.

 _'Brandon...I really do hope you open up to someone soon.'_ Velvet thought as she bit into a carrot.

* * *

Jesus, I know that I've been listening to Oobleck for about a year and a half now, but I still find it hard to keep up with how fast he speaks.

I was currently walking down the various halls of Beacon in attempts to find Jaune.

Now all that's left to do is find Jaune and help him dig himself out of the grave he more than likely dug himself into.

Is this in need of changing? No, but I feel like it could have been resolved much quicker than the show did. Pyrrha just needs someone who's just as stubborn as Jaune.

The only problem? I can't seem to find the two anywhere.

Seriously! Why is this place so damn big?!

As I turned the corner, I saw that Pyrrha was walking towards me with a saddened look on her face.

'It's about time.' I thought as I walked towards her.

"Hm? Oh, hey Brandon. Listen, I-"

"You're coming with me." I said, grabbing the back of her uniform.

"W-what are you-?"

"You noticed it too, right?" I asked.

"Noticed what?" Pyrrha asked in fake ignorance.

"Come on, Pyrrha, I'm not that stupid." I said.

.

"I already tried talking to Jaune, he doesn't want help from anyone." She said.

"I never said anything about offering help." I said.

"Then what are you-?"

"Jaune's gonna get help, whether he wants to or not." I said, pulling Pyrrha towards the balcony where her and Jaune had just talked.

"Look, if Jaune wants our help, then he can-"

"Shh." I said, putting my hand on Pyrrha's mouth.

"Why are we whispering?" Pyrrha whispered.

"Look who it is?" I said, pointing at the person standing next to Jaune.

"C-Cardin?!" She silently shouted.

"SHH!" I shushed her, causing her to put both of her hands on her mouth.

"P-Please don't tell anyone." Jaune begged, causing Pyrrha's eyes to widen in panic.

"Jaune, come on. Why would I rat out a friend like that?" Cardin asked.

"A friend?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Of course, we're friends now Jauney boy, and the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." Cardin said.

"That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Doctor Oobleck gave us today." He said as he leaned to face Jaune.

"Think you can take care of that for me, buddy?" Cardin asked. Jaune slowly nodded his head. "Don't worry Jaune, your secret's safe with me." He said.

"I've heard all I needed to hear." I said, walking out towards the balcony.

"Brandon, wait!" Pyrrha said, though despite her protests, I walked out to face Cardin and Jaune.

"B-Brandon?!" Jaune shouted in shock and fear.

"What? Oh, well if it isn't the possessed freak." Cardin mocked as I walked closer towards the two boys.

"Now, it would be in your best interest to keep quiet about what you just heard. Otherwise I'll have to inform Professor Goodwitch about Jaune here and he'll be out of here in the matter of da-!" Cardin didn't have time to finish his sentence as I used my right arm to push him off of the building, orange sparks radiating off of my hand as I pushed him.

.

"Well, that's taken care of." I said in an uncaring tone.

"B-BRANDON! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HIM!" Jaune shouted in anger, gripping me by my collar.

"Whoa, whoa! Chill out, I didn't kill him! Look down!" I said, pointing towards the ground. Jaune looked towards the ground to see that Cardin was fine, but unconscious.

"B-but how? How did he survive a fall from this height?" Jaune asked.

"Part of my semblance, I created a barrier around him so that he survived the fall." I said, orange sparks still coming off of my hand.

"Oh, um, sorry for shouting." Jaune said.

"It's fine, but now let's talk about the elephant in the room." I said, causing Jaune to gulp.

"Pyrrha, I need you out here as well." I said, causing Jaune to turn his head back towards Pyrrha.

"Sorry Jaune." She apologized.

"So Jaune, what exactly why was Cardin trying to blackmail you?" I asked, faking ignorance for the situation at hand.

"Um..." Jaune hesitated for a moment.

"Come on Jaune, do I look like a snitch to you?" I asked.

.

"I cheated Beacon." Jaune said.

"Can you be a bit more specific?" I asked.

"I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied my way into Beacon." Jaune admitted.

.

"Okay." I said in an uncaring tone.

"Wait, what?!" Both Jaune and Pyrrha yelled in shock.

"Let me ask you a question though." I said.

"Um, okay." Jaune said, still in shock that I responded in such an uncaring matter.

"Why?" I asked.

.

"Uh, why what?" He asked.

"Why did you cheat your way into Beacon?" I asked.

"Why? Because this is what I always wanted to do! All of the fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers of my family's generations were heroes, and I want to be one too." Jaune said.

"So you go into a school with little to no experience?" I asked.

"What else was I supposed to do?" He asked.

"Ever heard of combat school?" I asked.

"My family didn't have enough money." Jaune said.

Ah money, even here it's one of society's biggest problems.

"Okay then, we'll help you out, give you a few pointers." I said.

"And by we, I mean you." I said, pointing at Pyrrha.

.

"W-what?! Why me?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because you and Jaune have similar fighting styles, you would be more suited to train him." I explained.

"I don't need any help." Jaune said.

"Your performance in sparring classes say otherwise." I said, causing Jaune's fist to curl.

"I want to do this on my own." He said.

"You have been for the past month or so, it's not working. Time for a different approach." I said.

"No! Okay, no! I am tired of watching my friends fight for their lives and almost die trying to save me!" Jaune yelled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Back in the forest, Pyrrha saved my not once, not twice, but THREE times, and when you fell unconscious what could I do? Nothing! I could only watch as you plummeted to your death!" He yelled.

"I'm right here!" I said.

"Yeah, that's because that...spirit arm thing saved you." Jaune said.

"Look, I can understand why you want to do this on your own. But this isn't about you anymore, it's about your team, and if you get brought down then they'll be brought down with you." I said.

"You need to put this whole doing-this-on-your-own thing aside and focus on being there for your teammates, and in turn, they will help you through this." I said.

"It's not that easy!" Jaune shouted.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I need to show people that I don't need to rely on everyone around me for help! If I can't do this on my own, then what reason do I give others to follow me?" He asked.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha began.

"Look, I understand where you're coming from, I really do. But you can't just keep pushing us away. It's like Brandon said, we're a team, and we all need to help each other. How are any of us supposed to help you if you just keep pushing us away?! " She asked.

.

Jaune stood there in silence for a couple of seconds in deep thought, though I could still see the seed of doubt in his eyes.

"Okay." I said, walking towards the balcony exit.

"W-what are you-?" Jaune began, only for me to cut him off.

"You think you can do this on your own? Then meet me in the arena, let's if you can handle it on your own." I said.

"Pyrrha, you're coming with me." I said. She nodded and followed me out of the door.

"What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked.

"We'll never get to him through words alone." I said.

"What do you propose we do?" Pyrrha asked.

"Did you notice how angry Jaune got when I pushed Cardin off of the balcony?" I asked.

"Um, yeah, but what does that have to do with helping Jaune?" She asked.

"Would the normal Jaune EVER grab me by the collar and shout in my face?" I asked.

"No." She said.

"Exactly, somewhere in there is the confidence that Jaune needs. It came out for a few seconds, but when he saw that Cardin wasn't hurt, it faded away." I said.

"Do you really think that this is what Jaune needs?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, and I have a plan to make it come out again." I said.

"I don't like the sound of that." Pyrrha said in an unsure tone.

"Just trust me." I said as I pulled out my scroll.

"What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm messaging the group." I said.

"Everyone meet us at the arena now. I'll explain the situation when you get there." I typed.

"Why everyone?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because everyone needs to see this." I said.

* * *

(3rd person POV)

 _'Why does Brandon want me to go the arena? Especially this late at night.'_ Jaune panicked as he made his way to the arena.

 _'He said he wants to see if I can do this on my own. That I can handle this by myself.'_ He thought.

 _'Maybe it's a test, yeah, that has to be it. A friendly spar. I'll show him I can do this on my own.'_ Jaune thought as he walked into the arena, only to be met by his team's faces.

"G-guys?!" Jaune shouted.

"Hey Jaune!" Nora said with a cheerful smile.

"W-what are you all doing here?!" He asked in a panicked tone.

"Brandon called us here. Said something about helping you out with your problems." Ren said.

 _'No! If they're here, they'll want to know why I'm sparring with him! Oh, can this day get any worse?'_ Jaune asked himself.

"W-where is he?" Jaune asked.

"He's in the arena." Nora said, pointing her thumb towards him. Jaune gulped when he saw the expectant look on Brandon's face.

"Come on, Jaune! You can do it!" She said as she pushed Jaune towards the arena.

"So, why can't we tell him about Brandon's plan?" Nora whispered towards Weiss.

"If he finds out, he'll lose all motivation to win, he's supposed to think there's an actual consequence to losing the match." Ren whispered back.

"Oh, right. I just feel bad for keeping Jaune in the dark like this. He IS our leader after all." She said as she saw Jaune walk towards Brandon.

"Then why did he keep his transcripts a secret from us?" He asked.

"I don't know, but Brandon did say that he had good intentions." Nora said.

"We'll see about that." Ren said.

"Uh, h-hey." Jaune said meekly.

.

"So, why did you call me here?" He asked.

"One fight." Brandon said, holding up one of his fingers.

"What?"

"If you can beat me in a fight, then I'll assume that you're capable of handling your own problems." He said.

"Oh, okay, I think I understand." Jaune said as he pulled out his sword from his sheath.

"No, I don't think you do. This isn't a spar, this is a fight, that means that the fight won't be over until one of us can't stand up." Brandon said.

"T-that seems a bit extreme." Jaune said.

"Well, okay, if you don't want to fight, then go ahead, leave." He said. "But here's the thing." Brandon said, pointing his index finger at Jaune.

"If you leave, it will count as a loss, and if you lose this fight..." Brandon began.

"You have to tell Ozpin about your forged transcripts." He said, causing Jaune to freeze in place.

.

"WHAT?!" Everyone but Pyrrha and Brandon yelled in shock.

"B-Brandon! I-I can't do that! I'll be kicked out!" Jaune yelled.

"Then stand up and fight." He said, getting into a combat position.

"B-Brandon, please don't do this to me." Jaune begged.

"Then fight me, here, I'll even make it easier for you." Brandon said as he pulled out his sword and revolver, throwing them across the room.

"I won't use ANY of my weapons during this fight, though I really can't promise that THIS guy won't do anything." He said, manifesting his spirit's arm.

.

"S-so if I win, you'll leave me alone?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah."

"Y-you won't tell anyone about this?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Even the part about my transcripts?"

"Yeah." Brandon nodded.

"Okay then, I'll fight you." Jaune said.

"All right then, no one interfere." Brandon said as he began to walk towards Jaune in an uncaring matter.

 _'Okay, Jaune. You just have to knock him out, after that you're free to do what you want!'_ Jaune thought as he ran towards Brandon. Jaune swung his sword at Brandon, only for Brandon to sidestep out of the way before bringing his right leg up, kicking Jaune in the stomach.

Jaune did his best to get up after the blow, but Brandon quickly used his other leg to kick him across the room.

 _'H-he's actually serious!'_ Jaune inwardly panicked.

"Like I said, this isn't just a friendly spar." Brandon said, charging towards Jaune.

 _'Okay Jaune, don't panic. You just need to utilize the handicap he gave himself.'_ He thought to himself as he raised his shield to block Brandon's attack. Brandon chuckled a bit before jumping onto the shield and flipping over it, kicking Jaune in the jaw.

Jaune was dazed for a bit, though as he regained his composure, he rushed towards Brandon and started to slash rapidly at him. Though due to the size comparison between the two, Brandon was easily able to dodge every attack he threw at him.

Brandon grabbed Jaune by his arm, and before Jaune could react, Brandon sent him tumbling across the arena with a swift kick to the face.

Brandon went in to kick Jaune with a guillotine-like kick, but Jaune quickly rolled out of the way of the attack before getting up and swinging his sword at Brandon. Brandon easily caught Jaune's arm, punching him in the face with his free hand before kicking him away from him.

 _'Come on! You can do this Jaune!'_ Jaune mentally cheered himself on before running towards Brandon again, reeling his sword backwards as he did.

Brandon quickly moved out of the way before grabbing one of Jaune legs, sweeping him off of his feet, though before he could hit the ground, the arm of the spirit came out of his shoulder and punched him towards the wall.

"Gah!" Jaune gasped as he hit the wall. He struggled for a bit before shaking his head and continuing his assault. Jaune tried to bash Brandon with his shield, only for him to flip sideways and kick him in the back of his legs, causing him to fall to his knees. Brandon took the opportunity to grab Jaune by his waist before bringing him back over his head, slamming him to the ground.

Jaune quickly looked at his aura to see that he was dangerously close to hitting zero, but he shook his head before running towards Brandon again.

 _'Time to use that trick Neo taught me.'_ Brandon thought as he charged towards Jaune.

Jaune didn't have time to react as Brandon jumped over him, grabbing his arm as he flew over his head.

 _'W-what is he-!'_ Jaune didn't have time to finish as Brandon threw him towards the ceiling, making a loud thud as he hit the iron roof before falling towards the stone ground, shattering his aura.

"Jeez, this seems like a bit much." Nora said worriedly.

"Yeah, it's not even fair for him." Ren said.

Jaune breathed heavily, trying to regain his footing, but failing miserably.

"This has gone on long enough." Pyrrha said, jumping over the railing.

"P-Pyrrha! Wait!" Nora said, calling out to the red headed spartan.

"Brandon!" Pyrrha called out to him.

"P-Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Brandon asked.

"You're taking this too far, let's think of another way!" Pyrrha said, walking in front of Brandon to block his path towards Jaune. What Brandon did next shocked everyone in the room. He summoned his spirit's arm and punched Pyrrha towards the stone wall.

.

.

The room was silent, no one said anything. The remaining members of Team JNPR were shocked, though the shocked expressions on their faces quickly turned into ones of anger.

"Sorry Pyr, no hard feelings. Though I DID say not to interfere." Brandon said, looking towards the area where he punched her.

"H-how..." Jaune said as he stood up.

"H-how dare you." He hissed in anger, a white aura surrounding his body.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Jaune shouted in rage, his aura flaring, causing Brandon to get pushed backwards.

 _'Okay, this was unexpected.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

"RGHAAAA!" Jaune shouted as he rushed towards Brandon, reeling his sword backwards. All of a sudden, the spirit's arm came out to block the attack, but Jaune was easily able to push through it's grip, sending Brandon flying towards the wall.

 _'W-what the hell?!'_ Brandon thought. Though Jaune wasn't done yet, he rushed forward and delivered a flurry of slashes before bashing his shield into Brandon's body, causing him to fly towards the wall.

 _'Where the hell did this come from-!'_ Brandon's thought process was cut off by a strong force hitting his back, sending him flying towards the ceiling.

"N-Nora?!" Jaune shouted in surprise.

"Ren!" Nora yelled. All of a sudden, Ren appeared above Brandon before jamming both of his palms into his chest, sending him flying towards the wall.

"Why did you-?" Jaune asked.

"You're our leader, and Pyrrha's our teammate." Nora said with a determined, yet angry look in her eyes.

"We won't sit by and watch you two be beaten down like animals." Ren said. Jaune's eyes widened before nodding to his teammates.

"Thanks guys." He said before turning towards the spot to where Brandon was.

"Listen up Brandon! You can hurt me any way you want! You can hit me, insult me, or even both at the same time!" Jaune said.

"But the second you hurt my friends is when I will make you know the name, Jaune Arc!" He said to him with a determined look in his eyes.

.

"Heh, heh, heh." Brandon started to chuckle as he got up from the rubble he was buried in.

"W-wha-?" Jaune asked.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes! That's what I'm looking for!" Brandon said in between laughs.

"Do you think that this is funny?! You just punched my partner through a wall!" Jaune shouted.

"Jaune, I'm fine." Pyrrha said, walking up to her teammates.

"W-what?! But I saw you...he...WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Jaune asked.

"Look over to where I hit her." Brandon said, pointing to his left. Jaune looked to his left and sure enough, his sword and revolver were right where Pyrrha landed.

"I used my semblance to pull myself towards his weapons to make it look like I was hit." She said.

"So you didn't actually-?"

"No I did, I just didn't hit her as hard as you thought." Brandon said.

"Then why didn't you-?"

"I wanted to prove to you that you didn't need to prove yourself to your teammates." I said.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"What?" Nora and Ren asked.

"When they saw you charge in, they wanted to aid you to get payback for what you thought I did to Pyrrha." Brandon said.

"You don't need to prove yourself to them, they already believe in you, you just need to believe in them." He said.

"Jaune?" Nora said, causing Jaune to turn around to face her.

"Why did you cheat Beacon?" She asked.

"H-how did you-?!"

"I told them." Brandon said.

"Oh."

.

"I couldn't go to combat school, my family didn't have enough money to pay for the classes and lectures. My dad isn't the warrior he used to be so he couldn't even teach me how to be a better warrior. So when I found these transcripts, I saw an opportunity to accomplish my dreams!" Jaune said.

"I wanted to be a hero. I didn't want to cause any of you trouble, I'll go tell Ozpin about my transcripts." He said.

.

"Nope." Nora said.

"Nope?" Jaune asked.

"Nope, you don't need to." She said.

"W-why?" Jaune asked.

"Well, one, you technically won." Nora said.

"And two, if you turned yourself in, who would be our leader then?" Ren asked.

"W-what?" Jaune asked, baffled at the fact they weren't angry at him.

"Who came up with the plan to kill the tarantula?" Nora asked.

"Well..."

"You did." She said.

"Who was rushed to my rescue when Brandon hit me?" Pyrrha asked.

"You let me hit you!" Brandon said.

"I did." Jaune said.

"Who was there to help me cook pancakes?" Ren asked.

"I was."

"You see, a leader isn't just about being a good fighter, it's about being there for your teammates." Ren said.

"We wouldn't want anyone else as a leader." Nora said.

"You've helped us, now let us help you." Pyrrha said.

.

"Okay, I may need a little bit of help." Jaune admitted. Pyrrha nodded and pushed Jaune to the ground.

"H-hey!" Jaune said.

"Your stance is all wrong. Your feet need to be wider and lower to the ground." Pyrrha said.

"You also need to control your breathing, you'll have more stamina that way." Ren said.

"And you better be ready for a killer workout! We're gonna get these noodle arms in shape!" Nora said, appearing in her workout attire.

 _'When did she change?'_ Pyrrha, Jaune, and Brandon asked themselves.

"Thanks guys, though there's still two thing I need to do." Jaune said.

"First." He turned towards Brandon and punched him in the nose.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" He shouted in anger.

"For hitting Pyrrha." He said.

"Alright! I'm sorry! Jesus, you hit hard."

"What about the second thing?" Pyrrha asked.

"I need to visit a little 'friend' of mine." Jaune said as he walked out of the arena.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Pyrrha asked as they stood in front of the door to Cardin's room.

"Yeah, I need to stick up for myself, as well as you guys." Jaune said as he knocked on the door.

"What the hell do you...oh, well if it isn't Jauney boy." Cardin said.

"So Jauney Boy, did you do the extra readings Oobleck gave us?" Cardin asked, staring down at the boy.

"Sorry Cardin. I'll only be able to do the one for myself because I'm not accepting your deal." Jaune told him, feeling very nervous on the inside. He knows that his team was right down the hallway, but it still made him feel like a nervous wreck.

"Jaune, I don't think you understand the situation you're in." Cardin warned with a frown.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You can tell anyone you want, but I won't drag my team down because of it. They come first, while I come last. There's no point in my dream if I lose my friends in the end." Jaune said with determination, filling Cardin with anger.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go. I have a paper to finish." Jaune said, walking away from his door.

"Yeah, go on, finish your damn papers. If you'll excuse me, I need to have a little chat with-" Cardin was cut off by Brandon appearing from the corner of his door.

"Going somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to make sure that your friend is out of here on the first Bullhead out of Be-" He was cut off by the spirit's iron grip wrapping itself around his throat.

"Really? Because that would be a damn shame. Beacon would be short two leaders." He said.

"W-what are you talking a-!" The spirit's grip got even tighter.

"Now I may be wrong, but I think that blackmailing a student is actually against the rules here in Beacon." Brandon said.

"I-is that a threat?" Cardin choked.

"No, it's just something to think about." He said as the spirit threw Cardin across his room.

"Hopefully that tiny brain of yours put the pieces together." Brandon said as he walked out of his room.

"Hey Cardin, we're baAAAAAA holy crap! What happened?!" Russel asked as he rushed to his leader's side.

"Russel, I'm gonna need you to do me a little favor." Cardin said with a dark look in his eyes.

* * *

Later, Team RWBY's Dorm

"And that's what happened." Jaune concluded as he finished telling the members of Team RWBY of what had just transpired that night.

.

Ruby walked up to Jaune and flicked him in the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Jaune asked.

"For being a dummy." Ruby said before walking over to Pyrrha and flicking her over the head.

"Why?!" She asked.

"For letting him be a dummy." She said.

"I don't understand, you're not mad?" He asked.

"What?! No, we're infuriated! How dare you dishonor the honor of Beacon Acade-!" Weiss was cut off by Yang putting her hand over Weiss's mouth.

"MOST of us aren't mad." Yang said.

"But why?" Jaune asked.

"We understand where you're coming from. Most of us would hate feeling the way you're feeling. Helpless and reliant on others." Ruby said.

"Well jeez, when you put it that way." Jaune grumbled.

"But this isn't about you anymore Jaune. Sure, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid. Maybe you were a failure on the first day we met, and maybe you were a-"

.

"I'm not helping, aren't I?" Ruby asked, causing everyone in the room to nod.

"What I'm trying to say is that you can't be a failure now. You have a team that hopes and expects great things from you now! We both do, and so will Brandon when he get's his own team." Ruby said.

"But if we fail, then we'll just be dragging our teammates down with us. We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second." Ruby said.

.

"Uh, yeah. I know that now. Brandon already told me." Jaune said.

"W-what! Oh come on! I had this great speech planned and everything!" Ruby pouted.

"Heh, heh, so you won't tell anyone?" Jaune asked.

"Nope." Ruby said.

"Nope." Yang said.

"You're secret is safe with me." Blake said.

.

"Well… if I gave THIS bozo a chance, I suppose I can give you one." Weiss said reluctantly.

"Thanks Weiss." Jaune said.

.

.

"What?" He asked as he looked on the shocked faces of his teammates and friends.

"Y-you called me Weiss." Weiss said.

"Huh, so I did." Jaune said.

.

"Something wrong with that?" Jaune asked.

"N-no! No, it's fine." Weiss said.

'I'll take what I can get.' She thought.

Two days later, Forever Fall

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed a sight to behold, but need I remind you that we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from deep within this forest, and I'm here to make sure that all of you carry out your assignment safely and smoothly." Glynda said.

"Wow, look at all of the trees Ren! I wonder if the syrup is good?" Nora asked.

"Nora, please don't drink all of the sap we collect." Ren said.

"She's right though. I've only seen paintings of this place, I never thought I'd see it up close." Jaune marveled.

"How's your situation with Cardin?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, it's been great! I actually haven't been bothered by him ever since I stood up to him." He said.

"That's wonderful news!" Pyrrha said.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him ever since then." Jaune said.

"Maybe he got scared and ran away, serves him right for picking on one of our friends." Yang said.

"I wouldn't be so sure, we don't know what he's planning, it be wise to keep our guard up." Pyrrha said.

"Hey, where's Brandon?" Ruby asked.

"I-I'm coming!" He yelled, trying his best to keep all of the jars from falling out of the container.

"Come on, slow poke!" Nora yelled.

"Remind me why I'M the one carrying the jars?!" He asked.

"We pulled straws, you got the smallest one. You know the rules." Yang said.

"Okay students, we have arrived at our designated location." Glynda said.

"Now, each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. Remember to keep a look out for the creatures of Grimm, and we will all meet back here at four o'clock. You are all dismissed." Glynda instructed.

"Come on, guys, let's go." Jaune said as he grabbed four jars from the box that Brandon was holding.

"Yeah! Let's go drink..I mean get some sap!" Nora said as she rushed ahead.

"Nora!" Ren shouted before running after her. Jaune was about to run after the two only for something to catch his attention.

"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune said, grabbing Pyrrha's attention.

"What is it, Jaune?" She asked.

"Isn't that Cardin?" He asked, pointing in the direction in front of him.

.

"Yes, I do believe it is." Pyrrha said.

"What is he doing here? Why all of a sudden?" Jaune asked.

"Let's follow him. There's no telling what he's up to." Jaune nodded and ran towards the area where Team CRDL was.

* * *

"So why do we need a box full of rapier wasps again?" Sky asked.

"If you would just wait, you would find out, Sky!" Cardin shouted. Before Cardin could walk further into the forest, he heard a rustling sound in the bushes.

"What was that?" Cardin asked, turning his head towards the direction of the noise.

"Sky, go check it out." He said. Lark nodded and walked over to the bush and looked through it's various leaves.

"Nothing." He said.

"Tch, must have been a rat or something." Cardin said as he continued his walk through the forest.

.

"Is he gone?" Jaune asked as he looked over the tree he was hiding behind.

"I think so." Pyrrha said, appearing out from one of the bushes.

"We need to be more quiet! We almost got caught there!" He said.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.

"Well, it looks like we don't have to go too much further." Jaune said as he saw Team CRDL sitting down on a hill in a clearing.

"I think they're talking about something." Pyrrha said.

"Let's move closer, maybe we can get a better read on what they're doing all the way out here." He said. Pyrrha nodded and moved closer to the group with Jaune following close behind her.

"So why are we all the way out here again?" Dove asked.

"See that guy?" Cardin said, pointing over the hill.

"Who is he pointing at?" Jaune asked, only to get a shrug from Pyrrha.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who beat Pyrrha?" Dove asked.

"What?! Brandon?!" Jaune silently shouted.

"Yeah, it's the freak with the demon." Cardin sneered.

"So why were we looking for him anyway?" Sky asked.

"Well, if I learned one thing from Oobleck's lectures is that these rapier wasps that I got last night are really attracted to the sap that comes out of these trees." Cardin said.

"Okay, so what?" Russel asked.

"Well, I think that this freak deserves a little 'special treatment' for what he did to me in the cafeteria." Cardin said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" Sky asked.

"What does it look like? I'm gonna sick these rapier wasps on our little friend over there." He said with a dark look in his eyes.

"D-don't you think this is going to far?" Russel asked.

"Are you questioning your leader?" Cardin asked.

"N-no." He said.

"Good, now where were we?" He asked.

"We need to do something, Pyrrha!" Jaune said.

"Won't the spirit punch away the wasps? I mean it punched bullets out of the air with ease." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, those were three bullets, there's no telling how many wasps are in that box!" He said, running out from the bushes.

"Jaune, wait!" She tried to call out.

"Cardin!" Jaune shouted, causing him and his team to turn to face Jaune.

"Well, well, look who it is. Jauney boy is here, and he's brought his little babysitter as well." Cardin said as he walked towards Jaune and Pyrrha, who had just come out from behind the bushes.

"You know Jaune, it REALLY wasn't smart to cross me, now I'll have to make sure that they send you home in teeny, tiny, pieces." He said, pulling out his mace as he closed the gap between them.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore." Jaune said with a determined look in his eyes.

"You think talk like that makes you tough?! You think you're some big strong man now?!" Cardin asked.

"Maybe not a strong one, but I'm still more of a man then you'll ever be." He said with a smirk.

"Alright, then let's see just how much of a man you REALLY are, huh Jauney boy?!" Cardin yelled as he charged towards Jaune. Cardin swung his mace up into the air and brought it down towards Jaune, though Jaune quickly blocked it with his shield. Jaune quickly pushed Cardin away with his shield before swinging furiously at his armor.

"Tch, looks like you're not all talk after all." Cardin said as he swung his mace at Jaune again, only for Jaune to parry it with his shield before swinging his foot under Cardin's legs, tripping him. Jaune brought his sword down onto Cardin's armor, denting it slightly as it hit. Cardin growled before grabbing Jaune by the neck and throwing him towards a nearby tree.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, getting ready to start her assault of Cardin.

"No!" Jaune shouted.

"Don't get involved! This is something I need to do alone!" He yelled. Pyrrha's eyes widened before nodding, putting her weapons away. Cardin wasted no time to charge towards Jaune with his mace held high above his head. As he brought it down however, Jaune quickly sidestepped and bashed him with his shield, sending his weapon flying out of his hands.

"What th-?!" Cardin didn't have time to finish as Jaune slashed at his armor, leaving a visible cut in the chest plate.

"It's over Cardin. You may have been better than me before, but now I'M the one who's got the advantage." Jaune said.

"Shut up." Cardin said as he grabbed one of the jars before throwing it at Jaune.

"Gah!" He yelped, trying to wipe the sap off of his armor.

"Here. A little present." Cardin said, grabbing the box of rapier wasps and throwing it at Jaune.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha screamed.

'How has that bastard not heard any of this?' Cardin thought to himself. Though before he could move towards the hill, he heard Jaune let out a loud cry, the wasps all of a sudden flew off of Jaune, evaporating as they flew.

"W-what the hell?!" Cardin asked as he saw Jaune who was covered from head to toe with a gold aura that faded out to white.

"His semblance." Pyrrha said in awe.

"Well looks like Jauney boy still has some fi-" Cardin didn't have time to finish as Jaune rushed towards Cardin with his fist reeled backwards.

"RGHA!" He cried out, punching Cardin across the jaw, shattering his aura and sending him flying towards the trees.

.

"Whoa, when did Jaune get so...badass?" Sky asked as he stared in awe at the figure in front of him.

"W-what the he-?" Cardin didn't have time to finish as Jaune stood in front of him with a determined look in his eyes.

"H-hey! I-I was just kidding around! I promise I won't mess with anyone else ever again, just please-!" Cardin didn't have time to finish as Jaune reeled his fist backwards and swung it at Cardin's face.

.

Only to unfurl it at the last second.

"W-what are you-?!" Cardin was once again cut off as he saw that the mark that Jaune left on his face had healed.

"Why did you-?"

"Don't EVER mess with me, or my friends, ever again!" Jaune said.

.

"Why did you heal me?" Cardin asked.

"To be honest, I wasn't trying to. It just felt right to do it, can't really explain it." Jaune said as he walked away from Cardin.

"That was amazing Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled, running up to her partner and bringing him into a hug.

"Thanks Pyrrha, though I really couldn't have done HALF of the things I did without your help." Jaune said.

.

"Uh, Pyrrha. You can let go now." Jaune said in an embarrassed tone.

"Oh, uh, sorry." She said.

"It's fine, though I do have to ask, how did Brandon not hear ANY on this?" He asked as he walked over the hill to see Brandon sitting against a tree, fast asleep.

.

"HE'S SLEEPING?!" Both Jaune and Pyrrha asked.

"Wow, he must be one heavy sleeper if he was able to sleep through all of that." Jaune said.

"Indeed. You did a great job today Jaune, I'm proud of you." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Thanks! Now, let's wake up sleepy head over there, it's almost four o'clock." Jaune said.

"Yes, by the way, did we get any sap at all?"She asked.

"Don't worry, we'll just take some of the jars that Cardin-" Jaune cut himself off as he saw that all of the jars were empty.

"Got."

.

"Aw, fart knockers." Jaune said.

Journal Entries.

So, Jaune got over his problems in a more… mature way if I say so myself.

Also unlocked his semblance so that's a cool bonus.

.

Not really a lot to say, I'm just glad Jaune got over his self doubt issue.

Even if he would have gotten over it EVEN without my help.

I just thought it be nice to see how it COULD have been, ya know?

Well, that's a wrap, next chapter should be...interesting to say the least.

* * *

 **Review Response:  
**  
 **rocketmce: Well, I'm fine physically… mentally is a completely different story.**

 **olTran: Meh, I wouldn't think about it too hard.**

 **Ragnorak16: Good luck… what the hell do I do with a pet kaiju?**

 **Fiction Fan 369: I mean, I sorta helped Jaune… just not in the ladies department. Also I haven't watched the anime so I would have to do that first.**

 **CraazyReader: Thanks :)**

 **Raidentensho: Wow, that's the first time I was EVER compared to Jotaro… feels kinda good. I also like the idea of science in the little fights between Brandon and Pyrrha.**

 **fanficcyberman: Well, I don't really intend on adding main protagonists to the list of potential partners so they won't have to worry about that.**

 **Random Reader #326: What about Coco and Velvet?**

 **I said MAIN protagonists.**

 **DragonLord501st: You'll see that with this Omake that I've officially removed the boundaries to what I want to do.**

 **Aadidoestfp: Should be more, as well as some other artists.**

 **bwburke94: He's still used to calling lien dollars.**

 **Guest: Fixed.**

 **bwburke94: 1. "Please no." Along with a series of grunts and gasps.**

 **bwburke94: Well, something like that.**

 **Vader: ENCHANTED! NOT LEGENDARY!**

* * *

Omake- Playing Dirty (Non Canon)

This had to be one of the worst days of Jaune's life.

First Cardin finds out about his transcripts.

He got into a fight with his own partner.

Now he has to fight BRANDON of all people?!

 _'Seriously, he even beat Pyrrha! How am I supposed to beat that?'_ Jaune thought to himself as he got up from the ground after another one of Brandon's assaults.

 _'Think Jaune, how can you win against-!'_ Jaune's thought process was cut of as an idea sparked into his head.

 _'If this is a real fight, then I'll just have to make my own opening!'_ He thought as he ran up to Brandon.

 _'Bold approach, but he'll never win like tha-!'_ Brandon was cut off as Jaune hit him straight in the family jewels

.

.

"I-I won?" Jaune asked himself as Brandon fell to the ground.

"I-I WON! HA HA HA! I ACTUALLY WON! WOO HOO!" Jaune yelled.

"Jaune." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah?"

"We wouldn't have told Ozpin even if you won. This was just a way to bring up your confidence." She said.

.

.

"Aw, fart knockers." Jaune said as he looked down on Brandon.

* * *

 **Character Bio Update!**

 **Jaune Arc  
  
Height: 6'1'**

 **Weight: 133 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Summary: While the full extent of the ability is unknown, Jaune has shown to increase his attack power by a massive amount, as well as a gaining a healing ability of some sort.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	30. Infestation

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Jaune's Semblance name has been changed.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Infestation"

Thought: 'Infestation'

Flashback: "Infestation"

A couple of days have passed since Jaune's confidence boost, and to be frank, it's MUCH more noticeable than it was in the show. His combat skills have only improved since he started training with his team, and even Glynda was noticing his improvement in combat. Though even I had to admit his improvement is really...sudden.

For some reason, Jaune wasn't always using his sword; most of the time he punches or kicks his opponents before switching to his sword. Might be because of his Semblance, but I seriously doubt that there is ANY Semblance in the world that would give that kind of sudden improvement.

Right now, we were sitting in Glynda's sparring class, watching the various fights that were taking place. After the last match ended, Glynda walked up to the middle of the stage with her scroll in her hands.

"Okay students, it looks like we have time for one more match. Are there any volunteers willing to take one of the spots?" Glynda asked.

"I'll do it." Jaune said, causing everyone, except his team to look at him in shock.

.

.

"W-well then, I'm glad to see that you are participating more in the class, Mr. Arc. Now, let's see if we can find you an opponent." She said, flipping through her scroll.

"Actually, I want to fight Brandon." Jaune said, pointing towards me.

.

.

Okay, it's weird enough that he's volunteering, but now he wants to fight ME?!

"Are you certain, Mr. Arc? You do know that Mr. Kim is on par with that of your partner when it comes to combat skills." Glynda warned.

"I'm sure. Besides, I want to test out a new trick I learned." Jaune said confidently.

"Alright then. Mr. Kim? Do you accept Mr. Arc's challenge?" She asked.

New trick, huh? Well I've yet to see his Semblance in action yet, so why not?

"Sure, why not." I said, walking up to the railing of the arena before jumping down to the right of the stage.

"Very well, I do hope you know what you're doing, Mr. Arc." Glynda said.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He said, walking to the right of the stage.

"What's with Vomit Boy here?" Yang asked.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, it's only been a few days since he started his training with you guys. I doubt that he's gotten good enough to go toe to toe with Brandon." She said.

"Well, when it comes to combat, Jaune still has a long way to go. But his Semblance might be just what he needs to win this fight." She said.

"Wait, he unlocked his Semblance?!" Weiss asked.

"Yes, he awakened it when he fought Cardin in the Emerald Forest." Pyrrha said.

"What does it do?" Ruby asked.

"Just watch." She said.

"Are both sides ready?" Glynda asked, receiving a nod of approval from Jaune and I.

"Very well, then you may begin." She said, signaling for the both of us to start. Jaune and I began to circle each other, waiting for the other to make their move. Jaune reached into one of his pockets to pull something out.

New weapon? Maybe he finally decided to go and make himself a-.

Though before I could guess what weapon he was about to pull out of his pocket, Jaune pulls out a handful of seeds from his pocket.

.

.

Seeds.

.

.

Just seeds. Like the one's you plant in your garden.

Well, that was underwhelming.

"Mr. Arc, are you sure you know what you're do-." Glynda was cut off as Jaune threw the seeds to the center of the arena.

"Yeah, I'm just setting up." Jaune said.

The hell is he up to?

"Alright Brandon, I think it's about time we started the fight." Jaune said as he clapped his hands together. All of a sudden, a gold light started to emanate from the seeds on the ground.

I don't like the lo-.

I didn't have time to finish my thought as various wood trunks came out of the ground.

"W-what the he-?!" I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence as one of the wood trunks wrapped itself around me before throwing me towards Jaune. As I flew towards Jaune, he reeled his fist back and punched me across the jaw.

"Well...that was a thing." Yang said in surprise.

"Pretty cool huh?" Jaune said.

"Y-yeah. Not b-bad." I said, trying my best to recover from the blow.

"What's up with him? It was only one punch." Blake asked.

"I suppose I should explain how Jaune's Semblance works now." Pyrrha said.

"You see, Okay, well Jaune's Semblance sounds incredibly simple, but it's actually a very versatile Semblance." She started to explain. After I recovered from the blow, I started to run towards Jaune, dodging various wood trunks as I started to close the gap between us.

"Jaune is able to manipulate or project Aura from his body due to how much of it he has." Pyrrha said.

"So what? He just has very high aura control?" Weiss asked, not sounding impressed in the slightest. I started to swing my sword at Jaune's body, but he was able to block the attacks with his shield. Jaune used his Semblance to summon more wooden trunks to hit me away from him, though before the wooden trunks could hit me, I quickly sliced them to pieces with my sword.

"Now this sounds simple, but when I say anything, I literally mean ANYTHING." She said.

"What do you mean, EVERYTHING?" Blake asked.

"For example, he can project his aura onto grass to speed up it's growing process, creating plants that can aid him in battle, like trees and any other plant in the area." Pyrrha said. Jaune was doing his best to wither me down with the wooden trunks, but I was able to destroy the trunks with my sword, revolver, or the arm of my spirit. I quickly reeled the fist of the spirit backwards before slamming it into Jaune's shield, causing him to stumble backward.

"So like what he's doing now?" Ruby asked.

"Precisely." Pyrrha said. I was about to deliver one of my punching barrages to Jaune's shield, but before I could, the wooden trucks grabbed the arm of the spirit and threw me towards the wall.

"Jaune also has full control over these plants. He can also heal the wounds of himself or his allies in the matter of seconds. Even we don't know what the extent of his healing ability is." Ren explained. As I recovered from the attack, I quickly fired a few rounds at Jaune, though the wooden trunks were able to block the bullets with relative ease.

"Now here's the interesting part. This can also be used for Offensive capabilities as well, when Jaune attacks an opponent, their thought process will start to accelerate, causing the opponent to lose control over their body and not being able to catch up physically with their mind." He said. Jaune summoned his wooden trunks in attempts to throw me towards the wall, but I quickly ran across them in attempts to close the gap between us. As I ran across the trunks, I made a few Dust bombs in my hand.

"He's basically giving aura to an already existing organism, giving the opponent more aura, causing their mind to accelerate. This increases their senses as well, so the pain felt by Jaune's attacks is increased." Ren said. As I jumped towards Jaune, I threw the bombs behind me, freezing them in place.

"Gah!" Jaune yelled as he brought up his shield, but I was able to jump over him. I summoned my spirit's arm and began my onslaught of punches. Jaune was slammed to the ground, leaving a visible crater as he fell.

"The winner is Brandon Kim." Glynda said.

"Hah, hah, hah. Jeez Jaune, gotta admit, you've gotten a hell of a lot stronger." I said in between breaths.

"Thanks. That means alot coming from you." Jaune said with a grin.

"Well, it looks like that's all the time we have for today. Class dismi-." Glynda was cut off as the scroll in her hands began to vibrate.

"Uh, class dismissed." She finished. Before I could walk out of the arena, Glynda put one of her hands on my shoulders.

"Not you, Mr. Kim." She said.

"Professor Ozpin has called you up to his office. I suggest you don't keep him waiting." Glynda said.

"Uh, okay." I said, walking out of the arena.

'What does Ozpin want with me at a time like this?' I thought to myself.

Aaaaand wouldn't you know it, the elevator just so HAPPENS to be out of order the second I walk into the tower! Why wouldn't it?!

Whatever, can't really do anything about it now.

As I climbed the last set of stairs leading to Ozpin's office, I said a silent prayer in hopes that this wasn't another one of Ozpin's coffee runs I finished, I opened the door to his office.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. Thank you for coming." Ozpin said as he poured coffee into his mug.

"This better be good. I don't wanna find out that I just climbed one hundred flights of stairs just so you can tell me to get your stupid coffee." I said dryly.

"Why would I do that?" Ozpin asked.

.

.

"Well...that's only part of the reason why I called you here." He said.

Of course it is. Why would I expect anything different from him?

"What's the other part?" I asked. Ozpin motioned me to come and sit in the chair that was in front of his desk. As I sat down, I could see a copy of Vale's recent newspaper.

"Uh, so what am I looking at exactly?" I asked as I read through the article.

"Look at the back." Ozpin said, flipping the paper over to the back side.

"Oh." I said.

 **Grimm Threat.**

 **Reports of Grimm sightings near Vale's docks.**

 **Threat level: B**

 **Grimm Species: Unknown**

 **Reward: Ten thousand lien.**

"T-ten thousand?!" I asked in shock.

"This is the other part of why I called you here." Ozpin said.

"You want me to take care of this?" I asked.

"Yes. The longer the Grimm are there, the stronger fear in the people of Vale's hearts will become." He said.

"Fear brings the Grimm." I said.

"Precisely." Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Why me though?" I asked. Though before Ozpin could say anything, I quickly cut him off.

"No, wait. Don't tell me. All of the available Huntsmen are currently in action." I said.

"No, it's because you're the only one who know's the brand of coffee I like. I just thought you could take care of this problem while you're out." Ozpin said.

.

.

"What?" Ozpin asked.

"Nothing. I'll go get your stupid coffee brand." I said.

"Good, now take this." He said as he handed me the earpiece that I used on my hunt for Merlot.

"Why do I need this again?" I asked.

"Well, I doubt that the Grimm were able to get past our borders without our patrol team noticing." Ozpin said.

"So what? You think someone put them there?" I asked.

"Maybe. It would explain how they got passed the borders unnoticed." He said.

"That's why I want you to use this earpiece. If you spot any clues that could lead to the person behind this, then I want you contact me and let me know of your findings." Ozpin explained.

"Alright." I said, putting the earpiece into my pocket.

"So which dock am I going to?" I asked.

"The one near the industrial district." He said.

"Isn't that where the cargo ships drop off their supplies?" I asked.

"Yes, due to the sheer amount of warehouses and crates in the area, it should be easy to hide a Grimm there." Ozpin said.

Well, I know where Black and White is taking place.

Well… where it takes place specifically.

"Before I go, I do have a couple of questions I want to ask you." I said.

"Alright." He said.

"Can I keep the reward money?" I asked.

"I don't see why not. I mean, you would be the one who would kill the Grimm." Ozpin said.

"Alright. Can I bring any back up?" I asked.

"Why? Do you not think you can do it by yourself?" He asked.

"No, I just want the extra back up just in case things go south." I said.

"Well, Team CFVY is currently on a mission, so you wouldn't be able to call them." Ozpin said.

"What about Team's RWBY or JNPR?" I asked.

"Well, the members of Team RWBY are currently in the upper class district of Vale, and the members of Team JNPR are in the residential district of Vale." Ozpin said.

So no one is available, great. Just what I needed.

"Aren't there any other people you know that would be qualified for a mission like this?" He asked.

Well...there's always Neo, Mercury, or Emerald.

Then again, I doubt they're gonna be available now of all times. Cinder's probably got them working nonstop, so I should scratch those three off of the list.

"Well, there are a few, but I doubt that they'll be available at the moment." I said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine, even without back up. Good luck to you, Brandon." He said.

"Thanks, won't need it." I said.

"Don't forget to get my coffee, though do that last. I don't want any Grimm ashes to get into the beans." Ozpin said with a shudder.

.

.

Huh. Never thought I'd see Ozpin shudder.

I picked up the paper and walked out of the door.

Now I have to go...back...down.

.

.

Well, it's not as bad as walking up but hey, whatever.

* * *

"Alright, so I just need to make a right here and.." I said under my breath as I made my way towards the coordinates that Ozpin gave me.

Wonder what type of Grimm it is anyway?

Well, it would have to be small enough for a person to sneak into Vale with it.

It would also have to small enough to fit in a small cage that isn't really noticeable to the naked eye.

Maybe it's some sort of bug Grimm.

Well, if it's only ONE Grimm, then killing it should be no problem.

Then again, if it's only one Grimm, then finding it is gonna be one hell of a challenge.

It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Okay, let's see if we can't narrow down a few possible culprits.

Well, Cinder would probably be the most likely. She's had her record for fucking with Vale and all that.

Though I doubt she was the one to plant them in the docks. She isn't really the type of person to involve herself in that sort of thing.

She's more of a "Kill them from the inside, rather than the outside" kind of person.

What about Roman? He's already assumed to be the culprit to this problem.

No, he's more of the 'heist' guy of this operation.

What about Neo, Mercury, or Emerald? I mean I HOPE it's not them but hey, you never know.

Actually, that's unlikely as well. Cinder wants Mercury and Emerald to keep their hands clean, and I doubt Roman would let Neo handle something so dangerous.

Maybe one of the White Fang members?

It is a possibility, though if they REALLY wanted to strike fear into people's hearts, then a public attack would have had a better effect.

.

.

Then again, I can't really complain that they're not making a public attack... at least not yet.

Maybe Junior's men did it.

.

.

Yeah, those guys can't even screw in a light bulb, let alone handle something like that without getting themselves killed in the process.

All of a sudden, I felt something tap my back, but I wasn't really paying to much attention to it.

Well, maybe not Junior, he seems a LITTLE competent at the least. Though I seriously doubt that he would agree to do something that would affect his business to that level.

I felt it again, this time it was a little harder.

Well, that's about all of the CURRENT possible suspects.

"I don't think I'm going the right wa-!"I was cut off mid sentence by a load honking noise coming from behind me.

"Gah!" I yelled as I fell towards the ground.

.

.

"Ugh." I groaned as I got up off of the ground.

"Okay, who the hell-?" I began, only for the sight of a familiar laughing pink and brown girl to cut me off.

"Ya ever heard of walking up to someone and saying hi like a normal person?" I asked Neo.

 **"Where's the fun in that?"** Neo asked.

"What do you want?" I asked, dusting myself off.

 **"Can't a girl just say hi to her friend?"** She asked.

"Well, you can, but you're not. Now answer the question." I said.

 **"Well, you looked like you were so deep in thought while you were staring at that map in your hands. I just wanted to know what's so interesting about that map of yours."** Neo grinned.

"Well, if you must know, I'm trying to make my way towards the industrial district of Vale." I said. Neo stood there for a couple of seconds before laughing silently.

"What?" I asked.

 **"The industrial district is that way, you have the map upside down."** Neo said.

.

.

I turned the map over and sure enough, I was in the upper class district of Vale.

"I knew this place looked to good to be the industrial part of Vale." I said.

 **"Why do you need to go to the industrial district anyway?"** She asked.

"I'm going hunting." I said, though as I finished my sentence, Neo got a surprised look in her eyes.

 **"Hold on, did you say you were going hunting?"** Neo asked.

"Uh, yeah?" I said in confusion.

"Well, look at you, soon enough people will start calling you Brandon the Lady Killer." She said.

.

.

"Wait, what?! No, I'm not hunting for girls! I'm hunting for Grimm!" I yelled.

 **"Why would you be hunting Grimm in the industrial district?"** Neo asked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the newspaper that Ozpin had.

 **"Grimm in the industrial district. Interesting."** Neo said.

Well, I guess I can cross her off of the list of potential suspects.

"Yeah, and I'm going to go and take care of the problem." I said.

 **"I'm coming with you."** She said.

"Give me ONE good reason why." I said.

 **"Extra backup."** Neo said.

.

.

"Alright, fair enough." I said.

 **"I also live in that area, so I know the layout of the district like the back of my hand."** Neo said.

"Okay, I get i-"

 **"I'll also know where to look so that you aren't walking around like an idiot."** She said.

"Gee, thanks." I said bitterly.

 **"I also want half of the reward money."** Neo said.

"Okay, let's ju-"

 **"I also have nothing better to do."**

"Alright, alright, let's get going." I sighed.

 **"Glad to see you got our gift, looks good on you."** She said, flicking the tip of my hat.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah, thanks by the way." I said as I started to walk forward. Though before I could continue, I felt Neo grip one of my shoulders.

 **"It's that way."** Neo said.

"I knew that." I said, walking the other direction

 **"Sure you did."** She said, rolling her eyes before following me to industrial district of Vale.

* * *

After two hours of walking through the other districts, we've finally arrived at the docks in industrial district. The place was completely barren, there weren't any workers, supply boats, hell, there weren't even a lot of crates.

Then again, can't really blame them. If I were just an average citizen, then I would want to stay away from an area that's supposedly infested with Grimm.

 **"So… where do we start?"** Neo asked.

"I suppose we just look around until we find the Grimm." I said. Neo nodded and jumped down to the docks.

 **"I'll message you on my scroll if I find anything."** She said.

"Alright, try not to die." I said.

 **"You think that an average Grimm could kill me?! I'm hurt!"** Neo said in fake offense.

"Just start looking." I said, jumping down to the docks.

 **"Alright, alright."** She said, walking away from me.

Alright, let's see if we can find us a bug...or just a small Grimm. I started to walk towards the other side of the docks, though as I continued to walk, I noticed something on the floors and on the walls of the different crates.

I started walking towards the crates to investigate.

I rubbed the blood in between my fingers to see if I could identify it.

Blood. A bit dried up and old, but it's still blood.

I looked down to see claw marks on the concrete ground. I started making circles around the marks on the floor to see if I could identify them.

They don't look like rodent claw marks. So they have to be a bug of some sort. Make a mental note of this new found fact and let's move on before the source comes back.

Though now this brings up another question. Who's blood is this, and where are the bodies? Before I could progress any further, I suddenly felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket.

 **"Hey, have you found anything?"** Neo asked.

"Yeah, I found a few claw marks and some blood stains, how about you?" I asked.

 **"Same here. I'll keep you updated on any further findings."** She said.

"Got it." I said.

So Neo found something similar. That either means that the Grimm has been in multiple locations, or that there's more than one Grimm in the area.

.

.

Really hope it's the first option.

I looked down to see some kind of trap laid down on the ground. Looked like some sort bug trapper, you know the ones you hang by your house and the bugs come near it? Yeah, those kinds of traps.

Looks like I'm not the only one who decided to go hunting.

As I continued my walk across the docks, I started to smell some kind of odor.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" I asked myself, holding my hand above my nose to block out the smell. Though the further I walked towards the odor, the more I began to notice how familiar it was.

Flies, odor, trail of blood. Why don't you just put up a sign that says, dead bodies ahead? I started to walk towards the source of the odor, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Though as I turned the corner, I was met with a very shocking and...disturbing sight.

"W-what the hell?!" I said to myself. What I saw was indeed a dead body...or multiple dead bodies. They looked like they were mutilated or something, almost as if someone ripped them apart with a machete or something. I frantically pulled out my scroll to contact Neo.

"Hey, I found something. Get over here now." I said.

 **"Now, that's no way to talk to a lady. ;)"** Neo replied.

"Neo, now is not the time! I need you over here now!" I said.

 **"Alright, alright. I'm coming."** She said.

So, I'm gonna assume that the Grimm I'm looking for did this.

Question is, where is the Grimm? Before I could do anything else, I could hear footsteps coming from around the corner.

 **"Okay, I'm here. What did you find?"** Neo asked.

"Come and see for yourself." I said. As Neo turned the corner, she could see just what I saw, only she took it a lot better than I did. Mainly due to her profession giving her experience around dead bodies and all that. Though even she looked a little grossed out.

 **"Damn, this is brutal."** Neo said as she walked towards the bodies.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Her only response was to unsheathe her weapon and stab the pile of corpses.

"W-WHY ARE YOU POKING IT?!" I yelled. Neo's only response was to drag her fingers in the blood before rubbing it in between her fingers.

 **"Hmm, it's still new. That means that whatever did this has to be close by."** She said.

"Did you really need to probe the body?" I asked, trying my best not to throw up my breakfast from this morning.

 **"Don't be such a baby."** Neo said, looking to the right of the corpses.

"What are you looking at?" I asked. Neo pointed to the direction to where she was looking. I turned my head to see a trail of blood that lead to a warehouse on the edge of the docks.

"Soooo... you think it's in there?" I asked. Neo looked at me with one of her eyebrows raised, giving me a "what do you think" kind of look.

"Right... so how about I wait out here while YOU go in and-" Neo cut me off mid sentence by grabbing me by my hood and dragging me towards the warehouse.

"Alright! Alright! I'm going! God, what is it with you people and the pulling?" I asked, following Neo into the warehouse.

"Hello~. Anyone home?" I asked, knocking on the door to the warehouse.

.

.

"Nope, alright, let's go." I said as I walked into the warehouse.

"The Grimm shouldn't be able to run away if we corner it in this warehouse." I said.

 **"Alright, so you look over there. I'll check the top floor."** Neo said, making her way towards the top floor.

Okay, so if I were a highly poisonous Grimm, where would I hide?

I walked the warehouse to see if the Grimm were here, or have already been here. Though as I walked further into the warehouse, I could hear a clanging noise of some sort coming from the other room.

So, if there's anything scary movies taught me is that the person who goes and investigates the suspicious noise first normally dies.

.

.

Then again, this might be my only opportunity I'll get to actually kill this thing.

Well, at least the money will be good. Even IF I'm not getting all of it.

I walked up to the door and turned to the corner to enter the room where the source of the noise was coming from, though I really couldn't see anything due to the room being so dark.

Alright, so where's the light switch?

Being filled in a room with nothing but pitch black darkness isn't exactly the best way to fight.

Come on, come on...aha! Jackpot.

I turned on the light switch, though as the room lit up, I could see that a giant beetle-like Grimm was hovering over my hand.

.

.

"HOLY FUCK!" I yelled, backing away from the giant beetle. As I got a clearer view on the appearance of the beetle, it had a forked horn, a smaller thoracic horn, which is also forked. Its eyes were blood red, the body was black with red and white markings on it, the ventral part of the body was black, though the front legs were unusually long.

W-what kind of steroid infused beetle is this?! Jeez, I knew that Grimm are at least double the size of their animal counterpart, but even this is a bit much!

Yeah, there is no way in hell that I'm dealing with this alone! Time to call Neo!

.

.

Aaaaaand my scroll is almost dead. Why wouldn't it be?

Though before I could call out for Neo, I could see that the beetle's eyes were directed towards me.

Uh...why is he looking at me like tha-

I didn't have time to finish my thought as the beetle rushed towards me, its giant horn sticking out like a javelin. I quickly rolled out of the way to dodge the attack. When I turned to face the beetle, I could see that the beetle was able to pierce through the wall that was behind me.

.

.

Okay, note to self. Don't try to block its attacks, just dodge them.

The beetle quickly emerged from the hole in the wall and began to charge up another attack. I pulled out my revolver and shot a round at the beetle, though it dodged the attack with relative ease.

Oh wonderful! It can dodge bullets! How the hell am I supposed to kill something that I can't even touch?!

No, keep it cool Brandon. You were able to kill a giant spider before...or at least assist in killing it, but hey, details are overrated anyway. You can kill a little beetle with you eyes closed.

I slowly walked over to the beetle Grimm with my revolver in my hand.

Okay, just need to get a clear shot.

Though as I started to approach the beetle, it looked like it slowly started to raise its gourd.

Looks like this one's not as dumb as the rest of the Grimm I fought.

I quickly raised my gun to take my shot.

"Just hold still, little guy, this will only take a-." I began, pulling the trigger to my revolver.

"SECOND!" I thought. The beetle tried to fly away, but it didn't make it in time as the bullet went straight through its abdomen.

"Ha ha! Score one for team Brandon!" I cheered, only for the beetle land on the ground, seemingly unfazed from the attack.

Aaand it did jack shit! Great, the only thing I've managed to do is make it angry now!

"Next one will be fatal, assho-." I didn't have time to finish my statement as the beetle flew off into one of the cabinets.

Great! Now I can't even get a clear shot.

"Neo! I found what we were looking for!" I shouted.

.

.

"SO NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO-." I was once again cut off by the beetle emerging from one of the cabinet doors, it's massive horn spinning at an alarmingly fast pace. I activated the Barrier enchantment to block the attack. After a few seconds, the beetle was able to punch through the barrier.

Are you kidding me?! Isn't there anything I can do that will stop this thing?

Though as the beetle was right about to hit me, the arm of my weapon's spirit emerged from my body, punching the beetle away from me.

So my Barrier enchantment is useless here, good to know. Wish I knew that sooner but hey, better than learning it the hard way. Before I could do anything else, the beetle flew out of one of the cabinets with it's pincers spread wide.

Aaand it's STILL alive!

Though as it drew closer, it descended further and further to the ground until it evaporated into nothingness.

I-I won?! I-I WON!

As I started to celebrate my victory, Neo kicked down the door leading to the room I was in.

"Well YOU took you sweet time getting here! You just missed the intense fight, I thought I was gonna end up like that dude outside. But don't worry, you're handsome and dashing hero Brandon was able to come through with a clean victory." I said.

 **"Congrats, you finally got over your fear of bugs."** Neo said with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh ha ha! You're hilarious!" I said sarcastically.

 **"I try, so where do we cash in our reward?"** She asked.

"Our? Who was the one who killed the beetle?" I asked.

 **"Who's the one who found it's location?"** Neo asked.

.

.

"Well I-"

 **"There was also a second beetle upstairs."** She said.

Of course there was.

 **"I also found the beetle's hive and destroyed it."** Neo said with a smug look on her face.

Oh that is bullshit!

 **"Though there were a few things I found weird about the hive."** She said.

"What do you mean weird?" I asked.

 **"Well, for one, I didn't see any signs of the alpha anywhere."** Neo said.

Well that can either be a very good thing, or a REALLY really bad thing.

 **"Two, the hive wasn't made there, it's like someone put it there."** She said.

"Who the hell would do that?" I asked. Neo simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

 **"Well, it doesn't really matter now."** Neo asked.

"Yeah, let's just go and-" Though before I could finish, I heard a loud screech from across the docks.

.

.

"Hey, Neo?" I asked.

 **"Yeah?"** She asked.

"I think we just found our alpha." I said.

 **"Great, saves us the trouble of looking for it."** Neo said.

Great, one little beetle gave us enough trouble… well it gave me trouble, I don't really know about Neo.

There's no telling what an alpha is capable of. Neo broke me out of my daze by tapping me on the shoulder with her free hand.

 **"Hey! Let's go!** " Neo said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." I said.

.

.

"Also I am not afraid of bugs, and I don't know what YOU are talking about!" I yelled, following Neo outside.

* * *

"Jeez, you'd think something so loud would be fairly easy to find." I said, standing back to back with Neo so that the beetle wouldn't catch us off guard.

 **"Well, Grimm who turn into alphas have been know to develop new abilities and strengths."** Neo said.

Because you know, our job wasn't hard enough already.

"What kind of powers are we talking about here?" I asked.

 **"I don't know."** She said.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" I asked.

 **"I mean that it's not something I can exactly predict!"** Neo said.

"Well, what's the general concept around the power?" I asked.

 **"They normally get a power that would ensure their dominance over all other minor Grimm."** She said.

Something that ensures their dominance, huh?

"Well, we should-." I was interrupted by the sound of a clicking noise coming towards us.

.

.

"Y-you heard that too, right?" I asked. Neo nodded and unsheathed her blade from her parasol.

Question is, where is it?

We looked around to see if we could spot the beetle anywhere.

Where is it? I looked up to see if I couldn't see it up in the air somewhere.

.

.

Seriously, where the FUCK is it?!

"Hey, Neo. Any luck finding the-!" I didn't have time to finish my question as Neo tackled me to the ground.

"Gah! Jesus Neo! What the hell is wrong...with...you." I looked up to see a beetle that was about twice the size of the beetles we fought in the warehouse.

"Oh...that's why you tackled me." I said. I pulled out my revolver and fired a few rounds at the beetle. Before the hit, the beetle seemingly disappeared in thin air, the bullets bouncing off of one of the crates.

"Where did it-?" I asked, frantically looking for the beetle.

 **"It looks like it can turn invisible."** Neo said.

"Great! How the hell are we supposed to fight a Grimm that's twice as fast as the original, AND can turn invisible?" I asked. Neo pinched her chin, seemingly lost in thought. Neo tapped me on the shoulder with one of her free hands.

"What's up?" I asked.

 **"I have a plan."** She said.

"Good. Because I'm drawing blanks here." I said.

 **"You see that crane over there?"** Neo asked, pointing towards the crane in the distance.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

 **"I want you to go up there, you're gonna be my eyes."** She said.

.

.

"Okay, you lost me." I said.

 **"The Grimm can't attack what's not there."** Neo said.

.

.

"What?" I asked. Neo dug her face into one of hands, shaking her head in bafflement.

"What?!" I asked, throwing my arms up.

 **"I'm going to use my Semblance to lure out the Grimm. Once it's appeared, I'll go in for the kill."** She said.

"Your Semblance works on Grimm?" I asked.

 **"Why wouldn't it work on Grimm?"** Neo asked.

"Alright, fair enough. Then why do I need to go up there?" I asked.

 **"Well, my illusions only last a few seconds, so I need to time it perfectly. The beetle needs to be lower to the ground due to all of the crates in the area, so it will leave a little dust cloud before it charges. That's what you're going to be looking for."** She said.

"Oh, okay. Though how am I supposed to warn you when it's about to attack?" I asked. Neo took my scroll from out of my pocket and dialed her number into the scroll.

 **"We'll use our scrolls to communicate. Use your camera as binoculars so you can see where I am, and where the Grimm is."** Neo said.

"Okay, got it. Try not to die." I said as I ran towards the crane.

Okay, just make a left right here and a right over there aaaaaand bingo… wow… this thing is REALLY tall.

.

.

"Let's just get this over with." I said as began to climb the crane.

Don't look down.

.

.

Don't look down!

.

.

What the hell did you just tell yourself NOT to do?!

You're almost there. Just a few more feet.

Twenty seconds later, I finally arrived at the edge of the crane.

"Alright, gotta find Neo, gotta find Neo." I said to myself as I pulled out my scroll and started to look around for Neo.

"Come on, come on… Bingo!" I said as Neo appeared on my scroll.

"Alright, I got you." I said into the microphone. Neo nodded from the distance and continued to slowly move around the different corners of the crates. Suddenly, I noticed something creeping behind Neo, the dust clouds that Neo had mentioned was forming just behind Neo.

"Behind you!" I yelled. Neo's reaction was almost instant, she backflipped off of one of the crates and pulled her blade out. The beetle lunged at the fake Neo, the illusion shattering upon impact.

Neo dug her blade into the eye of the Grimm, the Grimm screeching in pain as she dug the blade deeper and deeper. Unfortunately, the beetle eventually shook Neo off, causing her to hit the ground with a thud. The Grimm charged at Neo, though she shattered into glass as the Grimm made contact.

"Damn, close call." I said as I tried locate Neo again. A couple of seconds past until I eventually found Neo again who was currently running away from last known location of the Grimm.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, receiving a nod of confirmation from Neo.

"Good, looks like this thing is more durable than the othe-" I stopped myself when I noticed the dust cloud forming again.

"Already?! To your right!" I yelled. Neo flipped off of the wall that was directly behind her before landing on the Grimm. Neo began to repeatedly stab the Grimm in the head with her blade, the irises of her eyes turning black. The Grimm screeched in pain after each successful stab.

What Neo and I didn't expect was for the Grimm to take off into the air, causing Neo's eyes to turn white. Eventually, the beetle shook Neo off of it's head before charging at Neo.

"Shit!" I swore under my breathe.

"Open your damn parasol!" I yelled. Neo nodded and pressed the button to open her parasol, launching herself into the air and out of the beetle's reach.

"Just one more shot should do it!" I said. Neo pulled out her blade and pointed it at the beetle's head.

"What the hell is she do-?!"My question was answered before it was even asked. Neo pressed a button on the handle of the parasol, the blade shot out of the handle and hit the Grimm straight in the head, silencing it.

Huh, that's a cool feature.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked through the microphone. Neo nodded, dusting herself off as she landed on one of the crates.

"Cool, I don't want Roman coming for my head." I said.

"Alright, so let's just-"

.

.

"Do you hear that creaking noise?" I asked. I looked down to see that the crane was slowly descending towards the ground.

"Oh son of a-!" I didn't have time to finish my swear as I fell to the ground, along with the rest of the crane.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

 _'4,997. 4,998. 4,999, aaaaaand 5000.'_ Neo thought to herself as she flipped through the different lien in her hands.

 _'Well, today was definitely an interesting day to say the least.'_ Neo thought.

'Though I could have gone without that stupid alpha.' She thought bitterly.

 _'Jeez, I didn't realize how dark it got. Hope they didn't start the meeting without me. I always hate Uncle Roman's rundown of the plans, they're always so boring.'_ Neo thought to herself as she walked towards the warehouse where the meeting would be held.

Neo knocked on the door to the warehouse, trying to gain entry. A little door slid open on the center of the door, and after a few seconds of silence, the voice of her uncle came from the other side of the door.

"We don't want what you're selling." Roman said. Neo rolled her eyes before taking his lighter out from her pocket and throwing it into the slot.

"N-Neo! How many times do I need to tell you to stop doing this?!" He asked, opening the door to the warehouse.

"Where's the fun in that though?" She asked with a smirk.

"Tch, just get in. The meeting's about to start." Roman said.

"It's just starting? What took so long?" Neo asked.

"Well, the boss has had a last minute thing she needed to do." He said.

 _'Last minute thing?'_ She thought to herself as she walked towards the table in the center of the room. Emerald was sitting on a chair reading a book, while Mercury was fast asleep in his chair.

"Where have you been?" Emerald asked, not taking her eyes off of her book.

"Little old me? I was just taking care of some 'business'." Neo said with a cocky smirk, causing Emerald's expressionless face to turn into a glare.

"What do you mean by tha-" Emerald stopped herself at the sound of someone walking towards them.

"I see that everyone is present this time. Now we can start the meeting." Cinder said.

"Hey, peg legs! Rise and shine!" Emerald said, throwing the book in her hands at Mercury.

"Gah! Wha-what's happening?" He asked groggily.

"Meeting's starting." She said.

"Oh, joy." Mercury said sarcastically.

"Now, now. Don't be like that." Cinder said, stroking her hand across Mercury's cheek.

"I'm sure that you'll find this meeting quite… interesting." She said.

"Whatever you say, boss." He said.

"First order of business, the White Fang have successfully set up the train that would lead to the center of Vale. All we need is the required Dust." Cinder said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get your Dust." Roman said.

"Excellent. You three." She said, grabbing the attention of Emerald and Mercury.

"We will be infiltrating Beacon Academy in a few months time. I expect that you all are prepared." Cinder said.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Mercury said.

"I won't fail this time." Emerald said.

"Good, now I trust that you have your disguise ready?" Cinder asked Neo. Neo nodded and proceeded to change into her disguise. Her hair was black, with lighter streaks where her white streaks would normally be, and her default eye color turned green.

Her hair was done up in a twin tail hairstyle with white bows, and her bangs are still in the same usual style from her original appearance.

She wore an outfit with a black and white color scheme. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar and a black ribbon bow hanging from front of the collar.

The blouse exposed her midriff, and she wore medium-length black armbands on both of her wrists. Along with the blouse, she wears a knee-length skirt fastened with a white belt. She wears black shoes with a triple tomoe emblem on the soles, with white legwarmers.

"What's with all of the skin?" Roman asked. Neo's only response was to slam her foot on Roman's foot.

"Ow! Okay, it's fine! Jeez." He said.

"Perfect." Cinder said.

"So is that it?" Mercury asked.

"No. Unfortunately, I bring some... less than satisfactory news." She said, causing everyone to turn their heads towards her boss in shock.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

"Well, the Grimm nest that I had one of the squadrons from the White Fang plant in the docks of the industrial district of Vale has been destroyed." Cinder said.

.

.

 _'Fuck.'_ Neo thought to herself.

"Do you know who did it?" Mercury asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Though I intend to find out." She said.

"Hey, Neo. You okay?" Roman whispered.

'Great! I already put Brandon on Cinder's potential hit list! Good job, Neo!' She thought internally.

"Neo." Roman whispered again, breaking Neo out of her daze.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Neo said.

"Alright. Just making sure." He said.

"Well, that will be all. You are dismissed." Cinder said, walking away from the group.

 _'Brandon, I hope you're ready. You don't want to know what Cinder does to those who cross her.'_ Neo thought.

* * *

J **ournal Entry #31**

 **So yeah, just killed the Grimm equivalent of a Heracross from Pokemon.**

 **Never thought I'd say that… ever.**

 **Now was this chapter a COMPLETE filler chapter?**

 **No.**

 **It was mainly written so that I could "accidentally" get the attention of Cinder motherfucking Fall.**

 **So it wasn't all pointless.**

 **The next two chapters will focus on my own little creations to the RWBY universe.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **rocketmce: I'm not really sure what you're asking. Are you asking me if any other people from Earth will appear in the fic? If so, then it's very unlikely. Glad you like the Semblance.**

 **TrueNecromancer: Well... you got your wish, hope it was what you expected. Also it wasn't really an intentional reference, sort of just happened.**

 **DragonLord501st: Thanks! I do try to aim for more of a comedic approach in the story. Also wasn't intentional so… don't really know what to say. About Ozpin, I really can't put him in without if feeling pretty forced, mainly due to him not having that much screen time in Vol 1.**

 **Ragnorak16: N-no, I'm good. All you.**

 **olTran: Well it's mainly there for comedic reasons rather than emotional ones. Also kinda hard to simulate engrish when that's the language I speak.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Well, it does have a lot of potential to develop.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **Qrow: Too late, already got a new one.**

 **Cco16: Thanks.**

 **fanficcyberman: Jaundice ship? What the he… OH! Do you mean Arkos? Well if I didn't make it canon in this story I'm pretty sure I would get an angry mob out my window.**

 **hhhhhhhhhh: Uh...thanks?**

* * *

Omake- JNPR protective services. (Non-Canon)

.

.

.

"So what happened?" Jaune asked as Peach just finished explaining why Brandon was in a wheelchair and was covered in badges from head to toe in… very descriptive detail.

"Well, he was out to do a job and he fell down some stairs." Peach said.

"Mmmph mph mmph mph mmph (That's not what I said)"

"Oh, um… okay. So why did you bring him here?" He asked.

"Well, Team's RWBY and CFVY are currently in Vale, so you four are the only ones available right now." Peach said.

"Oh, okay." Jaune said.

"We promise to look after him until he makes a full recovery." Pyrrha said.

"Thanks, now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean up all of the blood SOMEONE left on my floor." Peach said.

"Mmph mph. (Fuck you)"

"Now that's not very nice." Peach said.

"Mph mph MMPH mph mph mmmph mph mmphmph?! (Why is THAT the one thing you understand?!)"

"Yes, pancakes are great, Brandon." She said as she walked out of the door.

.

.

"So… who's first?" Jaune asked his team.

* * *

"So, Brandon, how high do you think my chances are at scoring with Weiss are?" Jaune asked as he pushed Brandon through town.

"Mmph mph mmph (Next to none)"

"Really?! You think I have a shot with her?!" Jaune asked in glee.

"Mph mph mph mph mph! (No no no no no!)"

"You're saying I should just go to her right now and confess my love to her?" Jaune asked.

"Mmph mmphmph mmph mph mph mmmph! (Stop putting words in my mouth!)"

"You're right! I should just follow my heart! You're the best, Brandon!" Jaune said, running off to find Weiss.

.

.

.

As he left, the wheelchair that was holding Brandon started to slide down a hill.

"Mmmph? (Jaune?)"

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"Mmmph! (Jaune!)"

.

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"MMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHH! (JAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUNEEEE!)"

* * *

"Alright Brandon! We're gonna get you in shape! Just because every bone in your body is shattered doesn't mean you can start slacking off!" Nora shouted.

.

.

.

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"Mph mph mmph? (Are you high?)"

"Okay, so take this weight and firmly grasp it in your hand!" Nora said, putting the weight on Brandon's hand, only for it to fall off soon afterwards.

.

.

"Firmly grasp it."

.

.

"Firmly. Grasp it."

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"FIRMLY GRASP IT!" She yelled, shoving the weight in my hand.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPHHH! (NOOOOOOOOORRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!)

* * *

"Okay, so what do you want to do first Brandon?" Pyrrha asked.

.

.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." She said,

.

.

"Gonna have to speak u-!"

"Hey Pyrrha!" Nora yelled, causing Pyrrha to yelp in shock and push Brandon off of a cliff with her Semblance.

"Mph! (Ow!)"

"Mph! (Ow!)"

"Mph! (Ow!)"

"Mph! (God!)"

"Mmph mph! (Damn it!)"

"Mmmmph!" (Pyrrha!)"

"I'm sorry!" She shouted.

* * *

.

.

.

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"Mph. (Ren.)"

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"Mph. (Ren.)"

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.

"Mph mmph mph mmph. (I have an itch.)"

"Where is it?" Ren asked.

.

.

"Mmph, MMPH?! (Wait, what?!)"

"What?" Ren asked.

"Mph mph mmmph mmmph mph?! (You can understand me?!)"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be able to?" He asked.

.

.

"Mmph mmph... (Nevermind)"

* * *

 **Semblance Update**

 **User: Jaune**

 **Semblance: Aura Manipulation**

 **Summary: Jaune's Semblance sounds incredibly simple, but it's one of those very versatile Semblances.**

 **Jaune is able to manipulate or project Aura from his body due to how much of it he has.**

 **He can project it onto grass to speed up its process, creating plants that can aid him in battle, like trees and any other plant in the area. Jaune also has full control over these plants. He can replenish his wounds in the matter of seconds. Wounds can range from anything to cuts to even fatal wounds.**

 **This can also be used for offensive capabilities as well, when Jaune attacks an opponent, their thought process will start to accelerate, causing the opponent to lose control over their body and not being able to catch up physically with their mind.**

 **He's basically giving aura to an already existing organism, giving the opponent more aura, causing their mind to accelerate. This increases their senses as well so the pain felt by Jaune's attacks is increased.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	31. The Search

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Search"

Thought: _'Search'_

Flashback: _"Search"_

A few days have passed since the whole infestation at the docks of Beacon's industrial district. Things were passing around like normal, we were going to classes, Ruby and Yang were sleeping during the more boring ones, Weiss was trying her best to keep Ruby awake, Jaune was growing with his team and all that cheesy stuff. Pyrrha was learning more from Jaune than Jaune was learning from her, Ren was...Ren, and Nora was...well, Nora.

Though there was ONE little thing that was itching at the back of my mind for the past few days.

Blake has been gone for the past FOUR days.

Now this wouldn't really bother me as much, considering this is supposed to happen in this timeline, though Blake wasn't supposed to be gone for four days. She was supposed to be gone for the weekend and be back again.

Though it's been four days, and I haven't even seen Team RWBY go out and look for her yet.

What the hell is going on?

Once more is that I haven't heard of the robbery that happened in the docks of Vale yet. It was SUPPOSED to happen over the weekend. What's taking so long for everything to get started?

Okay, let's list a few possibilities.

I already changed a few things from the canon timeline, Weiss wasn't supposed to talk to me she was supposed to talk to Port. Jaune wasn't supposed to stand up to Cardin...well not as early as he did but still, it happened.

Jaune unlocked his Semblance which definitely never happened in the show, even after Vol 3. Team RWBY found out about Jaune's transcripts, though I'm sure that happened off screen at some point during Vol 2 or 3.

That's about it for changes, nothing too major.

.

Okay, Jaune's Semblance MIGHT qualify as a major change to the timeline but whatever.

I don't think that I've changed the story THAT much to the point we're gonna go into a completely different series of events.

Then again, the butterfly effect does state that even the SMALLEST changes can affect the timeline down the run so who knows? It might have changed the timeline.

If so, has Blake met Sun yet?

No, she had to have met him, if she hadn't, then Team RWBY wouldn't have ran off after him, eventually bumping into Penny, Weiss would have been called out on being a racist towards the Faunus race, eventually turning into a full blown argument in between Weiss and Blake.

Weiss would have told her team about her hard childhood, Blake would have accidentally let her previous affiliations with the White Fang slip, causing her to storm out of the room, and eventually meet Sun outside of Beacon.

So I don't think anything changed there. Then why aren't the remaining members of Team RWBY looking for her?

I seriously doubt that the changes that I've made could have had that much of an impact on the canon timeline.

I also seriously doubt that my presence in the timeline alone is making this much of an impact.

.

Then again, the Enchanted Weapons didn't exist in the timeline until I got here, so maybe it is a possibility.

I shouldn't really think to hard on it, it will only make me more paranoid.

Maybe I should ask one of the remaining members of Team RWBY what happened during their time in Vale.

I mean I'm sure that nothing different happened but it doesn't hurt to check.

.

What?! I'm not paranoid! I'm just taking a little more caution.

"Hey, Brandon?" Though before I could do anything else, I heard Ruby call my name from behind me.

"Wha-? Oh, hey Ruby, what's up?" I asked her. Ruby shuffled her feet around, a concerned look evident in both of her eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Depends?" I said, uncertain by the tone of her voice.

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed that Blake hasn't been around all that much recently." Ruby said.

Well then… this saves me the trouble of trying to come up with a reason for asking what they were doing.

"Yeah, I've noticed that. What's going on?" I asked.

"Well, Weiss and Blake got into a little… argument." She said.

"Jeez, Weiss got into an argument, what else is new?" I asked sarcastically.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious." Ruby said, equally as sarcastic.

"I try. Though with Blake? I didn't even know she talked to you guys." I said.

"W-what?! O-of course she talks to us!" She defended.

"I'm just messing with you Rubes, calm down." I said in between chuckles.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Well, Weiss and Blake got into an argument."

.

"About?" I said, motioning for her to give me more context.

"Okay, well you see, Weiss called us up to Vale a few days ago so that she can check on the preparations for the Vytal Festival." Ruby said.

"Okay, go on." I said.

"Well, as a good leader, I saw this as a good opportunity to bond as a team." She said, puffing out her chest with pride.

"Alright, what next?" I asked.

"Well, Weiss wanted to go to the docks so she can greet the other students from the other kingdoms." She explained.

"So she wanted to spy on the competition." I said.

"Basically." Ruby said with a chuckle.

"Okay, so who did you see? I still need to recruit some people." I said.

"Right, Ozpin gave you that weird role. Have anyone in mind?" She asked.

"Well, no one's really available, everyone either already has teammates or has other career options in mind." I said.

"Dang, that's unfortunate." Ruby said.

"Welp, whatever. Back on topic, what happened next?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Well we went to the docks to see some of the competition, but the only one we really got to see was this monkey kid." She said.

Okay, so they kinda met Sun, so far nothing has changed.

"Okay, what next?" I asked.

"Well, the kid was some stowaway, so as future huntress's and bringers of peace and justice, we ran after the Faunus." Ruby said with pride.

"Okay, did you catch him?" I asked.

.

"No." Ruby said with her head hung low.

"Okay, anything else?" I asked.

Maybe you met a certain android perhaps?

"Well, during our chase we bumped into this… girl." She said.

"What's with the pause?" I asked.

"She was just so… weird. I don't really know how to explain it, she was just… unusual. The weirdest thing about her was that she was apparently supposed to be taking part in the tournament." Ruby said.

"Really now? What kingdom is she representing?"" I asked.

"Not really sure. I'm still kinda certain that she was just pulling my leg." She said.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since that day." Ruby said.

"What about a name?" I asked.

"I think her name was Penny or something." She said.

"Well, I'll just have to have a little talk with your new friend, Penny… or whatever her name is." I said.

"Whatever you say, anyway, Weiss said some pretty… mean things about the Faunus race." Ruby continued.

"Like?" I asked.

"Well, she called them an awful bunch of degenerates." She said.

.

"Well… is that it?" I asked.

"Rapscallions. Murderers, thieves, and a bunch of awful things in general." Ruby said.

"Well, her family and her have had a history with the Faunus race. None of it was good." I said.

"Yeah, I've decided to do some research about the Schnee family and all that. What I found was less than settling." She said.

"Yeah, her family isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows when it comes to their history." I said.

"Yeah, well when Weiss started saying all these things, Blake got defensive and started defending the Faunus." Ruby said.

"After that, her and Weiss got into this big argument about the Faunus rights and the White Fang's placement in the world." She said.

"Wait, how did the White Fang get involved in that conversation?" I asked.

"While we were walking around Vale, we saw that another Dust shop had been robbed." Ruby said.

"And she thinks that the White Fang did it?" I asked.

"Yeah, she does." She said.

"Alright, back to the argument. What happened after that?" I asked.

"Well, they actually continued to argue all the way back to Beacon. One thing led to another and we found out that..." Ruby was hesitant for a moment.

"That?" I motioned her to go on, even though I knew fully what she was about to say.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise two things." She said.

"One, you have to promise not to freak out."

"Two, you cannot tell ANYONE." Ruby said.

"Okay, lay it on me." I said. Ruby nodded and took a long and deep breath before exhaling outward.

"We found out that Blake was part of the White Fang." She said.

.

"Okay." I said.

.

"That's it?!" Ruby yelled.

Ah, how I enjoy moments like these.

"You DID tell me not to freak out." I said.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it!" She yelled.

"Then why did you tell me not to?!" I asked.

"I just-I didn't… NEVER MIND!" Ruby said.

"Okay, so Blake was part of the White Fang, key word being WAS, implying that she's not anymore." I said.

"I know that! Convincing Weiss that she's not is another story!" She said.

"Well, what do you want me to do? You ARE her partner." I said.

"I know, I just… she just… I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Ruby screamed.

.

"I'm the leader of this team… and yet I can't prevent it from completely falling apart." Ruby said in a saddened tone.

"Don't you have Yang?" I asked. Ruby looked up at me with a deadpanned look on her face.

Okay, you're not helping.

"Look, I'm not a leader, so I don't really know what you're going through, though I do know one thing. Blake's gonna need you all now more than ever." I said.

"But how? I don't even know where she is." She said.

"Then go out and look for her! If she hasn't come back on her own then I seriously doubt she's just gonna walk through the door of your room." I said.

"Do you really think that I can convince Weiss of all people to come along?" Ruby asked.

"You need to know what to say. Instead of bringing Blake back, tell her that you're looking for her for answers. It's not much, but it's enough to get Weiss to entertain the idea for a day or two." I said.

"So, instead of looking for Blake for the sake of looking for her, we should look for her to get some answers?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying." I said.

"Alright, I-I'll see what I can do. I'll keep what you said in mind." Ruby said, walking away. As soon as she turned the corner, I took my hat off of my head and dug my fingers into my hair.

Jeez, what the hell is happening?

First the remaining members of Team RWBY have JUST started to look for Blake, and now all of a sudden Ruby is having these new found self confidence issues.

Maybe changes are already starting and I'm just not realizing it.

Don't really know whether or not I should happy or not.

I mean on one hand, changes are happening so that means that changes for the good are all the more common.

Though on the other hand, that can also work the other way and bad changes could happen.

What if they don't find Blake?

If they do, what if they're not convinced with her reasoning?

.

Hah, maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Though before I could do anything else, I could hear footsteps coming towards me.

"Hmm?" I looked over to my right to see that Coco was walking towards me.

"Oh, hey Coco." I said, standing up from the ground I was laying on.

"Hey, hot shot. Been looking for you." She said.

"Let me guess, you need me to carry your stuff around again?" I asked with my right eyebrow raised.

"Ha ha, you're a real comedian." Coco said sarcastically.

"I try, though seriously, what do you want? You're interrupting my afternoon nap." I said.

"Ozpin called us up." She said.

Ugh, Ozpin.

"Tell him I'll be there in thirteen o'clock after the thirty first of September." I said.

"September doesn't have a thirty first." Coco said.

"Exactly." I said, rolling to my side. Coco sighed, grabbed the hood of my jacket and started to pull.

"Again with the pulling!" I yelled.

"Let's go." She said.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" I asked Coco as we rode the elevator up towards Ozpin's office.

"No." She said.

.

.

"How about now?"

"No!" She said in a more stern voice.

.

.

"How abou-"

"Brandon! I swear to Monty Oum himself I will throw you out of the window that Ozpin just had repaired!" Coco yelled, cutting me off.

.

.

"Good, we're almost there anyway." She said. A couple more seconds passed until the bell to the elevator went off, signaling that we have arrived at our destination.

"Ah, Ms. Adel. Mr. Kim. I'm glad to see you've arrived on time." Ozpin greeted.

"Thank you for having us, headmaster." Coco said.

"Please, drop the formalities already." He said with a chuckle.

"Now, I'm sure you've all wondered why I called the two of you here." Ozpin said.

Probably to send us to clean one of your problems.

Again.

"Yeah. That's ONE of the questions that I've asked myself during the ride up here." Coco said, shooting a look at me.

"Yeah, yeah, just tell us where to go and what coffee you need." I said.

"What makes you think this is another coffee run?" Ozpin asked.

"Because that's the ONLY reason you ever call me anymore." I said.

"What about that incident from last week?" He asked.

"You STILL had me get your stupid coffee."

"True, true." He said.

"Well, I'm here, so it has to be for a different reason." Coco said.

.

She's got you there.

Shut up brain! Now is not the time!

"Yes, there is a reason why I called the both of you here, and it's NOT to get coffee for me." Ozpin said.

"Well, lay it on us." She said.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the important scientists of Vale being kidnapped, and the important authority figures of Vale being assassinated." He said.

Coco clenched her gloved fist, her teeth gritting against each other.

"Yeah. We've heard things." Coco growled.

"Yes, well the team we have in Vale's police department has tried to narrow down a few potential targets. Here's what they've come up with." Ozpin said as he pulled out a file from under his desk.

"So, why are you showing these to us?" She asked, flipping through the different files.

"I would like you to investigate these targets, see what there professions are and why they could be possible victims for the assassin to kill or apprehend." He said.

"Okay, but why Coco?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, want to take all the glory for yourself?" Coco asked.

"No, it's just that you normally just send me off when it comes to important stuff like this. Why the sudden backup?" I asked.

"Well, Coco IS available at the time, so I see no reason why she shouldn't." He said.

"Okay, but why COCO specifically?" I asked.

"Well, I thought that Coco would want to come along on this investigation." Ozpin said.

"Why would she want to-" Though before I could say anything else, I could see that Coco was clenching the files in her hand.

"Hey, what's up with you?" I asked.

.

.

"Oh, OH!" I said.

Jesus how dense can you be?

"You think that the person who killed and kidnapped these people is the same person who killed your sister." I said.

Coco's only response was to nod slowly.

"So." She began, ending her silence.

"What do we do if we find the killer?" Coco asked.

"Do what you can to apprehend the killer." He said. Coco visibly scowled as the word 'apprehend' left Ozpin's mouth.

"What if they put up a fight?" She asked.

.

.

"Then do what you must. They must be brought in alive." Ozpin said.

"Hey." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. We should probably get going, I have an idea on which one they'll go for." Coco said, walking towards the elevator doors.

"Uh...yeah." I looked towards Ozpin who motioned me to talk to her about the situation. I nodded and walked into the elevator with Coco.

"Hey." I said, grabbing Coco's attention.

"What?" She asked.

"Let me ask you a question." I said, turning towards Coco.

"Do you want to kill them?" I asked. "If we find them that is."

.

.

"No." She said. Though before I could say anything, Coco put her hand up towards me, silencing me.

"Don't get me wrong, I would like nothing more than to put that bastard ten feet under." Coco said.

"But Mocha would want to bring the Faunus who killed all of those people to justice, catching him and putting them behind bars for the rest of their stupid, miserable lives." She said.

"So I'm going to do what Mocha would do, hunt down this killer and put the souls of their victims to rest." She said with a determined look in her eyes.

"Right." I said.

"Also, Ozpin said that we had to bring them in alive. He never said that we couldn't rough them up a bit." Coco said.

"So basically, if we DO come across the killer during our investigation, then don't be afraid bring out your little friend there." She said, referring to my spirit.

.

"Uh, it's not something I can just 'bring out', you know." I said.

"You know what I mean." Coco said, smacking me upside the head before walking out of the elevator.

* * *

"Okay, so do I make a left or right turn here?" Coco asked as she had her hands on the wheel of her car.

"Right, after that just keep going straight until you see a facility ahead." I said, holding up the map to Vale.

"I still can't believe that you were able to beat a man to death with a spirit that resides in the blade of your sword, yet you can't even drive a car." She said.

"Well, TECHNICALLY, I'm not a legal citizen of the kingdom of Vale so I can't really get a driver's licence here… or anywhere else for that matter." I grumbled.

Yeah, one of the downsides of just randomly appearing in the kingdom of Vale is that you can't do a lot of the things most other 'legal' citizens could do.

Like drive a car, fly a plane, and in some cases, get a job.

I was lucky enough to find Tukson when I did because he was the ONLY one in a hurry so he didn't really bother looking at my legal records.

I still have the job but Tukson was less than happy to find out that I was TECHNICALLY an illegal citizen of Vale.

"Yeah, I'm surprised Ozpin hasn't done anything about that." Coco said.

"He's probably doing it to spite me. Like everything he does is just to spite me." I said.

"What if you're deported?" She asked jokingly.

"I seriously doubt that. If I haven't been deported after a year and a half of being here, I seriously doubt that it's gonna happen now." I said.

"You never know." Coco said with a grin.

"Just shut up and drive." I said.

"Alright, it's just up here, right?" Coco asked as she pulled up to the facility.

"That's what the map says." I said.

Coco pulled up to what looks like a Dust research facility.

"Yeah, this looks like the place." She said.

"So where are we gonna park?" I asked.

"Somewhere around here." Coco said, driving up around the corner of the facility.

"Okay, so let's go over the plan ONE more time." She said, parking the car next to the sidewalk.

"First we're going to go around the facility and look for this man." Coco said, holding up the photo of a man in front of me.

"Okay, what do we do if we find him?" I asked.

"We're going to ask him questions about his research, see just why the assassin wants him, dead or alive." She said.

"What if he's not here?" I asked.

"Then we ask his co-workers where he is. After we find out, we go to his current location and ask him the questions from there." Coco said.

"Okay, but you and I are just a couple of teenagers. We don't exactly have the power or authority that Mocha had." I said.

Coco's only response was to pull out a couple of papers and a badge of sorts.

"What are these?" I asked as I flipped through the papers.

.

"Coco Adel, junior detective." I read in shock.

"Yeah, I decided to take up detective work." Coco said.

"What happened to becoming a huntress?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I haven't given up on my dream in becoming a huntress. Though I've decided to take up Mocha's legacy as a detective." She said.

"Besides, the privileges and experience I'll get as a huntress will help me with this line of work." Coco said.

"Now I'll be right back, I need to change." She said, walking out of the car.

Change? Why? We're just investigating potential suspects.

.

Wait, this is Coco we're talking about, why wouldn't she change for something like this?

I sat on the car for a couple of minutes until I heard footsteps coming towards me.

I looked to my right to see Coco in her new outfit.

She wore a brown collared shirt with a brown tie. She wore a black coat with shorter sleeves with her usual cross-hair emblem stitched onto the back of it, the sleeves also had golden lines on each side, and there were golden buttons on each collar of the jacket.

The detective's badge that she showed me a few minutes ago was firmly placed on the lower part of her jacket.

She wore short black pants with her usual belt, though the belt was black with a golden riming and there was a black pouch with golden zippers on the back of it. Coco also wore brown leggings with long black boots with golden stringing on the back of it.

Though the most noticeable part of her new outfit was the glasses that laid on her face.

"Those aren't your usual glasses." I said.

"No, they're Mocha's." Coco said.

.

"Come on, let's go." She said, walking into the building.

"Yeah." I nodded and followed her into the building.

Coco walked up to the receptionist at the counter.

"We're here to see Doctor Jerel." Coco said to the lady.

"Of course, you'll just have to wait till the next tour until you can." The lady said.

"No, we need to speak with him, right now." Coco insisted.

"I'm sorry young lady, you'll just have to wa-!" The lady at the counter was cut off as Coco showed her the badge that was on her jacket.

"No, I need to see him now. I have a few 'questions' for the dear doctor." She said, lowering her sunglasses.

"R-right away. I'm terribly sorry Ms...?"

"Coco Adel." Coco said.

"Ms. Adel. If you'll follow me, I will lead you to the doctor." The lady said, getting up from the desk and walking towards the elevator.

"Well, we got in, let's go." She said, following the lady.

Well… that was easier than I expected.

We followed the lady up through the facility, eventually leading us to a laboratory at the very top floor.

"He's right in here, Ms. Adel." The lady said.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Coco said.

"If you don't mind me asking, who is this?" The lady asked, pointing towards me.

Before I could respond Coco stepped in and responded for me.

"He's the newest recruit in the department, I'm here showing him the ropes and all that." She said.

"Oh, okay." The lady said, walking away from us and towards the elevator.

"Well, come on recruit, let's go." Coco said jokingly.

"Whatever you say." I said.

"Now, is that a way to speak to your superior?" She asked.

"Let's go, Coco!" I said, opening the door.

"Hmm, so if we combine this Dust with this chemical, then what will happen?" The man in the center of the room asked.

"Um, speaking from experience, probably an explosion." I said, causing the doctor to spin his head towards the door.

"Really? You have experience with Dust?" The doctor asked.

Suddenly, various scenes flashed in my mind. Scenes of explosions, trips to the emergency room, and explosions in the emergency room.

"Something like that, yeah." I shuddered.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" The doctor asked.

Though before I could answer, Coco rushed into the room with her badge held high.

"His name is Brandon Kim, and my name is Coco Adel, junior detective. I have a few questions I would like to ask you." Coco said.

"D-detectives?! W-why are you here?! I-I haven't done anything illegal! All research has been approved by the Vale police department!" The doctor said.

"Calm down, there's nothing wrong with your research." She said, reassuring the doctor.

"Good, so what do you want to ask me?" The doctor asked.

"Well, the questions DO concern you and your research." Coco said.

"Okay, if you don't mind me asking, why?" The doctor asked.

"As I'm sure you've heard, there have been various kidnappings and murders within the walls of Vale." She said.

"Yes, it's truly a tragedy. All I can hope for is that the families get the closure they need." The doctor said.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you've noticed the pattern between the kidnappings and murders." Coco said.

Judging by the look on his face, he's starting to realize why exactly we're here.

"Y-yes, they've all been scientists and important authority figures within Vale." He said quietly.

"That's why we're here. We think that you are one of the potential victims when it comes to the murders and kidnappings." She said.

"I-is that so?" The doctor asked.

"Don't worry, we're going to do whatever we can to ensure your safety, I may be a detective, but I'm also a huntress in training, and as a huntress, it is my sworn duty to ensure your safety." Coco said.

"A-alright, what do you need to know?" The doctor asked.

"We need to know what kind of research you're doing. If we can get an idea on what the assassin is going for, we can prevent any other incidents like this in the past." She said.

"Of course, right this way, I can tell you all you need to know." The doctor said.

"Good, we need to know what kind of research you're undergoing. If we can narrow down the type of research then we can know just who the assassin is going to target." Coco said, walking with the doctor.

.

That of course left me in the lab, alone with all of these different chemicals and Dust crystals. Though before I could do anything, Coco came out from the door.

"Brandon, if you touch anything, I'll make sure that this assassin is the least of your problems." She said before walking back into the door.

Jeez, she can have a little more faith in me than that.

It's not like I'm just gonna touch everything in sight, I'm not a five year old.

.

Put the bottle down and just look out the window over there.

I walked over to the window and looked down on the city of Vale.

Now that I look at it, it's actually a lot bigger than the show makes it out to be, the various buildings and facilities make it larger than it actually is.

The trees also make it look a lot more lifelike than it is in the show.

I never really had the chance to take in the scenery.

It's quite beautiful when you take it in.

"Gotta admit, it's quite the si-!" I didn't have time to finish my sentence as the arm of my spirit came out and punched someone in the face.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, turning around to face the attacker. Only when I turned around to face the attacker, there was no one there.

Okay, there's no way my spirit arm would have acted on it's own unless someone attacked me.

Question is, who the hell would be in… the… room.

.

I think I just found out assassin.

I quickly ran towards the door to where Coco and the scientist were and grabbed a chair to make sure that the intruder couldn't get in without me noticing them.

Okay, step one, make sure Coco and the scientist are safe.

Now time for step two, find the assassin and beat the living hell out of him.

"Brandon! What's going on?! Why did you block the door?!" Coco asked from the other side of the door.

Though before I could respond, I saw someone rush at me with there claws outward. The spirit arm tried to punch the man away, but they quickly ducked before going in for the kill.

Though before the claws of the assassin could make contact with my chest, the arm came out and formed the spirit being that appeared when I was fighting Merlot with Team CFVY. The spirit punched the assassin away, bottles smashing as the body of the assassin made contact with the various containers.

"Gah!" The assassin yelled.

"What was that?!" Coco asked.

Though before I could say anything, the assassin quickly went in for another attack. The spirit threw a barrage of punches towards the assassin, causing him to back off with his attack.

Jesus! How much pain tolerance does the guy have to the point where he can just get up after a punch from my spirit?!

"Brandon! What's going on?!" Coco asked as she tried to kick down the door.

Though once again! The assassin went in for another attack, to which the spirit punched him away before attempting to dig its foot into his abdomen, though the assassin quickly got up and disappeared from sight.

"If I can get a chance to respond that would be wonderful." I mumbled under my breath.

"J-just don't let the scientist come out!" I yelled.

Suddenly, I heard a low growl come from inside the room.

Why do I open my mouth?

The assassin pounced towards me with its claws extended outwards.

Okay, time for a different approach.

The spirit quickly grabbed the assassin with its arms, holding them tightly so that they couldn't escape.

"Okay, time to see who you-" But before I could finish my sentence, another Faunus ran towards me with their claws out.

Aaaaaand there's two of them. Great. Just great. Not only is there one assassin, but now we have TWO to deal with!

The assassin swiped at me with one of its claws at my body, and as in a matter of self preservation, the spirit punched the assassin in its hands and quickly kicked the other one away.

As I looked at the two assassins, I could see that their masks were completely shattered on the ground.

"Brandon! I'm busting down this door!" Coco yelled. As she said that, the two assassins looked at each other before nodding to themselves.

The assassin pointed his gun at the ceiling before firing a few shots at the window above. The other assassin jumped out of the building before quickly grabbing the other one, pulling him out of the building with them. As they did this, Coco kicked down the door to the office her and the scientist were in.

"What the hell is going on?!" She asked.

"I found the assassins, turns out that there's more than one, and I'm going after them!" I yelled using the legs of the spirit to propel me up towards the window.

"Wait! Hang on!" Coco shouted, but it was already too late, I was already out of the building. Though from the looks of it, I might have propelled myself too high.

.

"Welp, this is gonna hurt." I said as I fell towards the ground.

* * *

"Ugh, okay, note to self. Put a little less pressure in the legs the next time you decide to jump out of a building." I said to myself as I got up off of the ground. Though before I could do anything else, I saw the two assassins run over my head.

"H-hey!" I yelled before running out of the alleyway I fell into.

Where did they go? Where did they go?

I looked to my right to see that the two Faunus were jumping from building to building.

"Hey! You get the hell back here!" I yelled, giving chase.

"Jeez, how fast are these two?" I asked as I tried my best to keep them in my line of sight.

"Just need to corner them and-!" Before I could finish my sentence, I pumped into something hard and cold.

"Gah!" I yelled.

"Oh! I am terribly sorry sir! I was not paying attention to the environment around me." The girl said.

"It's fine! I'm just in a real hurry." I said, getting up from the ground. Though as I got a good look at the girl I pumped into, my eyes widened in surprise.

Well… didn't expect to meet her.

The girl had short, rather curly orange hair that came down to her chin, and she wore a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin and freckles. She wore an old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. A layer of skin concealed her metallic structure and spherical joints, and her irises bore similarity to the shutter of a camera.

"Are you injured? Should I call a medical team to assist you?" The girl asked.

"Uh, no. I'm fine." I said.

"Sensational! Glad to see you are alive and well, sir!" She said.

"Yeah, I-I'm Brandon by the way." I said.

"A fantastic name! My name is Penny! It is a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said, holding out her metallic hand.

"Thanks, it's uh..nice to meet you." I said, gripping her hand. Penny started to shake my hand violently with a smile on her face.

"If you don't mind me asking, what has got you in such a hurry? Are you late for a meeting perhaps?" She asked.

.

Oh no.

"Shit! I lost track of those two!" I yelled as I desperately tried to find the two Faunus, though it was no use, they were long gone.

"What is the matter? Were you looking for someone?" Penny asked.

"Something like that. Though it's no use now. I already lost them." I said in a low tone.

"Oh, how unfortunate." She said.

"Yeah. Well, it was nice to meet you, see you around, pal." I said before walking away.

.

Wait, shit!

"Hold on!" Penny shouted, appearing right in front of me.

Well, no turning back now.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Well, it was nice to meet you?"

"No, after that." She said.

"I called you, pal?"

"Do you really mean that?" Penny asked, her eyes filled with wonder.

"Uh, sure why not?" I asked.

"This. Is. GREAT!" Penny said, pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

"Penny! Choking! Not breathing!" I managed to say.

"This is wonderful! I have made not one, but TWO friends within the span of one week! This is such a wonderful turn of events!" Penny said.

"Cool! Now can I… breathe now?" I barely managed to ask.

"Right, sorry, I got carried away." Penny said sheepishly.

"It's fine." I said.

"Now that we're pals, as your pal, I will do what I can to help you find these two!" Penny said.

"Wait, you saw them?!" I asked.

"Yes, I even have an exact location!" She said proudly.

"T-that's great! Then let's go!" I said.

"Alright, let us go! Oh, I'm already excited for all of the friendship activities we will take part in!" Penny said.

"Yeah, cool. Let's just go." I said.

"We'll go to the fair!" She said.

"Great, now lead the way!" I said.

"We'll watch the games!" Penny said.

"Well, I was never really into sports but okay sure, why not?" I said as I started to follow Penny.

"We can engage in coitus." Penny said, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.

.

I am SO glad I watched the big bang theory.

"I-I'm sorry, what?!" I asked.

"Well, from my research about friendly activities, this is the one activity that two friends of the opposite sex can do to show their affections to one another." Penny said with an innocent smile.

Well… you're half right.

"H-how about we hold off on that one activity. I'll be more than happy to do ANYTHING else...just not that one." I said.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. If you don't mind me asking, why are we chasing these two?" Penny asked.

"Well, these two are very dangerous criminals, and we need to bring them in." I said.

"Oh! So it's like we're bringers of justice! Fantastic!" She said.

"Uh, sure. Let's go with that." I said.

"So, what should I say when we confront the villains?" Penny asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well some of the shows that I have watched, the main character gives the villain a little line to intimidate them." She said.

"Wait, do you mean a one liner?" I asked.

"Is that what they call them? If so, yes, what should I say?" Penny asked.

"Um, I don't know, just say what you think sounds cool." I said.

"What sounds cool, okay! I'll think about it as we give chase!" She said.

"Alright, so where are they now?" I asked Penny.

"From the looks of it, they are heading to a dock of some sort." Penny said.

.

Well, if it's the dock that I'm thinking of then that's a real issue.

"Okay, can you pin down where they are EXACTLY? Like which dock they're in, there are quite a few of them in Vale." I said.

"Hmm, well from the looks of it, it looks like the dock in Vale's upper class district." She said.

Well, I was at the industrial districts dock, and it didn't look anything like the dock in the show so this might be an issue.

"Okay, let's look for something else." I said.

"Something else?" Penny asked.

"Are there any other people in the dock?" I asked.

Besides Sun and Blake that is.

"Hmm, I can't really tell for sure, I would need a visual on said person if I were to locate them." She said.

Damn, that would have been TOO easy.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't fulfill your wish, friend." Penny said in a saddened tone.

"No, it's fine. For now we just need to know where they're heading. We can deal with any extra problems later." I said.

I think now would be a good time to get the elephant of the room out of the way, my spirit just appeared in the labs!

While it wasn't fully manifested, it was still there.

How did it appear, and why?

.

Well, let's think about the setting to which it appeared in, I was just minding my own business, admiring the scenery, until one of the assassins attacked me. The arm was the only one that came out at first, but soon after, the whole thing came out.

Let's see..Well, what would have happened if the spirit didn't do anything?

Well considering that the force of their attacks were enough to kill Mocha, I probably could have...died.

.

Okay, so the spirit will only manifest fully if my life is in serious danger, okay, good to know.

"Excuse me." I heard Penny call out.

"Wha-? Oh, what's up?" I asked.

"Are you alright? You have been staring out at space for quite some time now." Penny asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Are we almost there yet?" I asked.

"Just about, if we keep this pace up we will arrive at their current location in about ten minutes." She said.

"Good." I said.

Time to get some answers.

We arrived at the docks ten minutes later. So far, it looked like we were the only ones here, so the fight between Roman, Sun and Blake hasn't happened yet.

Maybe we can wrap this up quickly enough so that we don't have to deal with Roman, and possibly Neo.

"Hey, they're right around this corner, are you ready?" Penny asked.

"Anything I should know beforehand?" I asked.

"I am combat ready." She said confidentially.

"I mean about the situation." I said.

Penny nodded and closed her eyes. She stood there for a couple of minutes before opening them.

"It appears that they are the only ones here, though from the looks of it, they are waiting for some friends." Penny said.

"Okay, so let's try to wrap this up quick enough so that their friends aren't an issue." I said.

"Hold on." She said.

"What now?" I asked.

"It appears that there is one more person in the room." Penny said.

Great, so it's not going to be as easy as I thought.

"Okay, can you identify who it is?" I asked.

"No, I can't really identify them." She said.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do, I'm going to go in and scatter them, you are going to go after the two and make sure they don't get away." I said.

"But I can fight! I am combat ready!" Penny said.

"I know! I just..." I cut myself off as I went into sudden deep thought.

Now that I think about it, Penny would most likely be the best person for this job. As much as I hate to admit it, she's stronger than me when it comes to base power.

"Okay, YOU go in and scatter them apart. I'll go after the two assassins." I said.

"Right. I won't let you down." Penny said before walking up to the doors and putting her hands on the doors to the warehouse.

"W-wait, NOW?!" I asked.

"Yes, from what I have learned in combat training, it is best to initiate a plan as soon as possible." She said, bursting open the doors.

"What the hell?!" I heard a woman ask from within the warehouse.

"You're evil deeds come to an end!" Penny said, summoning her blades from her backpack.

"Who the hell are-!" The woman was about to ask, though she stopped herself as she saw me standing behind Penny.

"You!" She yelled, getting ready to make a break for it.

"Hey." I said as I got ready to give chase.

"Listen, this place isn't a place for kids, so why don't you just go back to your mommy and-" The White Fang member was cut off as Penny shot a few lasers at the man, knocking him back.

"Target, neutralized." Penny said.

"Brother!" The woman said.

"Right!" The man said, shooting the window and running out.

"Stop!" Penny said, though a horde of White Fang members came out of the facility with their guns held high.

"Ready!" One of the men said.

"Go! I'll take care of them." Penny said.

"Right!" I said, running after the two.

"Fire!" The man said, causing everyone to open fire on Penny.

"So." Penny began, unfurling the blades on her back.

"Who's first?" Penny asked.

* * *

Damn, I know that they don't stand a chance, but I still feel bad leaving Penny behind like that.

"Persistent little bastard, aren't ya!" The woman asked.

"Why?! Why did you kill Mocha?!" I yelled.

"Who?" The man asked.

"Detective! Brown hair, sunglasses! You shoved your claws right through her chest!" I yelled.

"Tch, you must be talking about Osvaldo." She said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Look, we just kidnap our targets, we don't go out of our way to kill them. That's Osvaldo's job." The woman said.

Okay, so not there are not just one, not just two, but THREE assassins?! Just keep adding to the pile why don't ya.

.

I was kidding, please don't send more assassins at me. Though before I could do anything else, I could hear a Bullhead descending towards us. I had to shield my eyes due to the massive wind that the Bullhead was producing.

"How about instead of annoying us with your stupid actions, you annoy these guys instead?" The woman said, pointing to a group of White Fang member coming from the Bullhead.

"We'll give Osvaldo your regards." The man said before ascending to the air.

"Hey! You get the hell ba-!" Though before I could give chase, one of the men quickly slashed at my abdomen, though I quickly move out of the way of the blade and went to go and unsheathe my sword.

.

Only for me to grip the air where my sword should be.

Great, not only do I have to deal with five armed men, I don't even have my weapons with me to defend myself!

Come on Brandon, think! You've always managed to find a way out of sticky situations, you can figure something out here!

.

Wait, you still have the spirit. Though even then you can't fully manifest it! You need to just rely on the arms and legs.

"Go!" The man commanded, causing the White Fang members to charge at me with their weapons out.

Alright! Spirit limbs it is!

I quickly manifested the arm of my spirit to punch a few of the grunts out of the way. Though as soon as I punched the grunts out of the way, two more took their place. They slashed and jabbed at my abdomen. Though I was quickly able to dodge and move out of the way of their attacks. I summoned my spirit's legs to kick myself away from the men and towards the ones on the ground.

I reeled my fist back and punched the two men out of the way before landing safely on the ground.

The other two men wasted no time in charging towards me with their weapons out.

I backflipped away from the two men and summoned my spirit's arm to grab their weapons.

"Yeah, I'll be taking these." I said before kicking them away from me.

The other two men recovered and ran up towards me. I smirked and threw the weapons at them, causing them to move backwards a bit in a daze. I took the opportunity to quickly punch the two towards the other men.

"Come on, is that all you got?" I asked.

"W-what are you?!" One of the men asked.

"Me? I'm just an average kid who just so happens to have a spirit living inside of him." I said, flexing the spirit's arm. The leader of the group wasted no time rushing towards me with his blade held high.

He tried to swing the blade at me, but the spirit's arm quickly grabbed the blade that he was carrying.

"Hey, can I borrow this?" I asked, grabbing the gun from his holster.

"W-what are you going to do? Kill me?! It won't stop the will of the White Fa-" I shut him up by putting my hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, cool, don't care. I just want to test something out." I said, holding the gun up to my head.

"W-what are you-?!" Though before he could finish, I pulled the trigger, causing the spirit to appear and catch the bullet.

.

"OW! Why did I fire a gun directly next to my ear?!" I asked, gripping the ear where I fired the gun.

"Gah, what the hell is wrong with me?!" I asked.

"W-what the hell is that?!" The man asked, pointing at the spirit.

"Oh this? This big guy right here is sort my 'guardian angel' in a sense." I said.

"Specializes in speed, strength, and as you've already seen, precision." I said, pointing to the bullet it held in between its fingers.

"You, sir, are actually going to be my little test subject." I said.

"W-what are you talking about?" He asked.

"Well, I don't really get a chance to see the whole body all that often, so I sort of want to see what it's capable of." I said as the spirit reeled it's fist back.

"W-what do you mean, what it's capable of?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I already said that I wouldn't kill ya...though I never said anything about roughing you up a bit." I said. The spirit threw the man up in the air and began its assault. Though something was different this time, it wasn't like the beat down I gave Merlot.

This one was different...specifically, the spirit didn't say anything when it was punching Merlot into oblivion.

Though as it reeled it's fist backwards to deliver the final blow, it shouted a very familiar war cry.

 **"ORA "** It yelled before punching the man towards the wall of one of the crates.

.

D-did I just hear what I think I just heard?

Did my spirit just shout ORA as it beat that man down?

.

"Y-you heard that too, right?" I asked, pointing at one of the White Fang members.

"Y-yeah, I think so." The man said.

.

Holy shit! This is awesome! Though before I could do anything else, I could see a Bullhead carry the White Fang members away.

"Aaaand they're gone… great, fantastic." I said, though as I looked over, I could see that there was another Bullhead flying away, with none other than Roman Torchwick, who didn't notice me even if I was shouting.

"Damn, looks like I missed the action." I said, walking away from the area.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #32**

 **Aaand that's a wrap.**

 **So I learned that there are not just one, or two, but THREE assassins that I have to worry about!**

 **Jeez, Coco isn't gonna be happy about this.**

 **I also met Penny, so that was cool, I guess.**

 **Still, THREE! FUCKING! ASSASSINS!**

 **.**

 **Well, at least we know the name of the person who killed Mocha, that's something I guess.**

 **Also Coco is a detective now, didn't expect that.**

 **Wonder if Ozpin will let me look into this more.**

 **Probably.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:  
**  
 **Fiction Fan 369: Hmm, well if I did have to give him a theme song, it would probably have to be the Stardust Crusaders theme from the Jojo series.**

 **.**

 **Yes I know that's the theme that plays when Jotaro beats the shit out of people but I don't care!**

 **rocketmce: Yeaaaaah… that's not going to be very fun.**

 **DragonLord501st:**

 **Brandon: Yeah, what did you do to me?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Neo: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Brandon: WHAT?!**

 **olTran: Yeah, most of the inspiration from Jaune's Semblance came from Giorno's Gold Experience.**

 **SpectreFanchin10**

 **Lopez and Brandon: Mmph, mph mmmph mmph./Si, es realmente una mierda. (Yeah, it really sucks.)**

 **Lord Adhes: There's always time for a JoJo's reference.**

 **TheRealCactoos: Sorry, I'll fix that.**

 **Ragnorak16: Uh… good luck with that.**

 **fanficcyberman: Meh, I'm sure I'll be fine.**

 **CraazyReader: Here you go, first chapter with the new writing style.**

 **dragoncraftertex: ALMOST. ALMOST DEAD.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: It's more like Gold Experience than Hamon.**

 **Danoxis: Well, there will be a few more noticeable changes in the future.**

 **Danoxis: I based it more off stands, not the susanoo.**

 **TheMinionSekiryuteiV2: Thanks :)**

 **Danoxis: You should...it's a fantastic series.**

 **jeit93: You're welcome :)**

* * *

Omake, Little Red Riding Hood-(Non-canon)

"So why are we all out here again?" I asked as I walked through the fields of Beacon with Team JNPR.

"Ruby said that she wanted to show us something." Jaune said.

"Did she say exactly what?" I asked.

"She said that she wanted to present a play to us." Pyrrha said.

"A play? What kind of play?" I asked.

"Let's find out." Ren said.

"Shh, it's about to start." Nora said.

"And now, Team RWBY presents an original stage play entitled, Little Red Riding Hood." I heard Ozpin say.

"Ozpin? Where the hell are you?" I asked.

"Over here." He said as he sat in a chair on the side of the stage.

Huh, so that's where he was.

"Let us begin. Once upon a time, there was an adorable girl who went by the name of Little Red Riding Hood." All of a sudden, Ruby appeared in an outfit similar to that of Little Red Riding Hood.

"What is good in the hood?" She asked.

"Loved by many, and known for her colorful hood, Little Red was on a very important mission. To deliver goods to her dear sweet grandmother." Ozpin said.

"Boring!" Nora shouted.

"Nora, be patient." Ren said.

"I think it's lovely." Pyrrha said. All of a sudden, Yang appeared from the stage wearing a nightgown and glasses.

"Hey Red, make sure to bring Grandma some produce this time! These old legs can't run on chocolate chips alone!" She said.

"Yang! This isn't your scene!" Ruby said.

"And these aren't even real glasses. Heyo!" Yang said, walking off of the stage.

.

"Moving on, as she made her way through the woods to her grandmother's cottage, she came across a creature with more, sinister intentions." Ozpin said.

"A big bad wolf!"

.

"A big bad wolf!"

.

"Blake! That's your cue!" Ruby said.

"I am NOT going out there! I look ridiculous." Blake said.

"Oh come on! This part was made for you!" She said.

.

"Ugh, fine." Blake said, walking out from behind the stage in a wolf costume.

"Can I continue?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, go for it." Ruby said.

"Okay, well the big bad wolf wanted to gobble up the little girl and her treats. But she had made one terrible mistake. Little Red was a trained warrior with a deadly mechanical scythe!" He said.

"It's also a gun!" Ruby said cheerfully, cocking the gun.

"T-that's a prop, right?" Blake asked nervously.

"Step off, wolfy!" Was her only answer.

"And so, the big bad wolf decided to retreat."

"Uh, yeah… bye!" Blake said, walking off of the stage.

"But the wolf wouldn't give up that easily. SHE had a plan." Ozpin said.

"SCENE CHANGE!" Ruby yelled, kicking the screen behind her. A few minutes past before she moved a bed to the middle of the stage.

"Okay, you can go now!" She yelled.

"Okay, so the wolf took a shortcut to Little Red's grandmother's house. She found the old women sleeping soundly in her bed." Ozpin said.

.

"Sleeping soundly in her bed."

.

"Sleeping soundly-"

"Did somebody say Grandma?" Yang asked.

"You're looking good for your age." Blake said.

"I work out." She said with a shrug.

"Uh, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" She asked.

"Who's got time for sleep when I've prepared this awesome song and dance number?" Yang asked.

"And a one, and a two and a-"

"Stop upstaging everyone and get in the bed!" Ruby yelled, cutting Yang off.

"This is my ONE scene! Get off my back!" Yang yelled.

"Just… get in the bed, Grandma." Blake said.

.

Sit down shippers.

"Easy there wolfy, you haven't even bought me dinner yet." She said.

I said sit down!

"Okay, I'm just gonna move this along and eat you now." Blake said.

"And just like that, the big bad wolf gobbled the grandmother up." Ozpin said.

"There, you're dead." She said.

"Oh, woe is me! I was too young to die! Despite what many thought, seeing as I was a grandmother." Yang said, walking off of the stage.

Blake put on the extra nightgown that was under the bed while keeping the wolf suit on.

"The wolf disguised herself as Little Red's grandmother then laid in bed, waiting to ambush the unsuspecting child." Ozpin said.

"Hi Grandma!" Ruby said.

"Thanks for the birthday cards! Dad told me to bring you food!" She said.

"Now, the wolf only needed to draw little red closer." Ozpin said.

"Hey, come closer." Blake said.

"But as the young girl drew near, she noticed something was wrong." He said.

"Wow Grandma! What big eyes you have." Ruby said.

"Wow, what an insensitive thing to say about your loved ones." Blake said.

"Wow Grandma! What big ears you have!" She said.

"You know I'm really self conscious about them, thanks for bringing it up." She said.

"Wow Grandma! What big teeth you have!" Ruby said.

"Okay, you're just a rude little brat, I'm going to kill you now." Blake said with a glare.

"Whoa! Looks like someone's got some big bad breath!" Yang said, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"Yang! This is a SAD scene! The audience can't be sad if they're laughing." Ruby yelled.

"Um… then the... woodsmen appeared?" Ozpin said.

"Okay, why am I the woodsmen again?" Weiss asked as she walked out on stage wearing a woodsmen outfit.

"And why does this weapon have two axe blades? You can't even aim." She asked.

"Personal preference!" Port said from a distance.

"Because we're best friends! And best friends have each other's backs!" Ruby said.

"Wait, I thought Little Red had a scythe, why does she need a woodsmen?" Blake asked.

"You guys are ruining my vision!" She yelled.

"Who wrote the stupid script anyways?" Weiss asked.

"I did! Thank you very little!" Ruby yelled.

"Ugh, no wonder. Red Riding Hood is a total Mary Sue character." Yang said.

.

"WHAT?!" Ruby yelled.

"Loved by many and known for her hood? You totally based her off yourself." She said.

"Yeah, who would make a story based off themselves?" I asked.

.

"Uhh." Jaune began, only to be interrupted by me pulling out my revolver and pointing it at Jaune.

"Ssssssshhhhhhhh." I shushed him.

"Wait, it looks like there is more!" Ozpin said.

"There is?" Team RWBY asked.

"Wait, why are YOU surprised?" Weiss asked Ruby.

"From deep within the woods appeared a squirrel!" He said.

.

"Who's the squirrel?" Yang asked.

"The big bad wolf wanted to gobble up the squirrel." Ozpin said.

"Who's the squirrel?" Blake asked.

"The squirrel looked doomed, its back was against the wall." He said.

"WHO'S THE SQUIRREL!" Team RWBY asked.

"But little did the wolf know, the squirrel had a deadly spirit inside of him!" Ozpin said.

.

"Okay, I know that I'm smaller than all of the guys, but seriously?!" I yelled.

.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, go on, bring out your spirit." Ozpin said.

"What are you talking about? What spirit?" Weiss asked.

"Uh. You know it's not something I can just make appear. My life has to be in danger." I said.

"If you don't bring it out, then your life really WILL be in danger." Ozpin said. All of a sudden, the spirit came out of my body.

"There it is, what now?" I asked.

"W-what the hell is that?!" Weiss asked.

"And with his spirit, he pummeled the wolf to a pulp." Ozpin said.

.

"Wait what?!" Blake asked.

"Do I have to?" I asked, receiving a nod from Ozpin.

"Sorry Blake, it's for the script." I said, causing the spirit to charge towards Blake.

"Wait, hang on!" Blake said. Though it was too late, the spirit began its assault.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** The spirit shouted as it punched Blake through the wall.

.

"And they all lived happily ever after." Ozpin said.

"Hey Blake, you okay?" I asked.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Blake wheezed.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: No Blake's were harmed during the making of this Omake.**

 **Penny Polendina  
**  
 **Height: 5'5"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown.**

 **That's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	32. Trust

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer; I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Trust"

Thought: _'Trust'_

Flashback: _"Trust"_

After I found the two assassins that tried to take out the scientist from the lab, as well as learning the identity of the person who killed Mocha… or well Faunus who killed Mocha, and my little brawl with those White Fang grunts, I quickly went to the docks where Team RWBY was. To my surprise, I saw Coco there with the police force of Vale.

"Coco?" I asked as I walked towards Coco and the rest of the police force.

"Brandon!" She yelled, running towards me.

"Is the scientist okay?" I asked, hoping that there wasn't a FOURTH assassin.

"What? Yeah, he's fine. I'm more concerned about you! Why did you just run out like that?!" Coco asked.

"Well, technically, I jumped out of the window." I said.

.

.

"Not in the mood?" I asked, causing Coco to nod.

"Right." I said.

"You still haven't answered my-" But before Coco could continue, I heard footsteps coming towards me.

"Friend!" I heard a familiar voice say.

"Who the hell?" Coco asked. I turned to my right to see that Penny was running towards me with her arms extended outward.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"Friendship hug!" She yelled as she tackled me to the ground.

"Why?" I groaned out as I laid there on the ground.

"Glad to see that you are unharmed! Did you catch the villains that you were chasing?" Penny asked, getting off of me.

"Wait, villains?" Coco asked.

"Ugh… Penny." I groaned as I got up off of the ground.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Please don't do that again." I said.

"But I was told that-"

"EVER." I said slowly, interrupting Penny mid-sentence.

"Can someone fill me in on what's happening?" Coco asked.

"Very well. I will make a note of that." Penny said, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, you do that." I said.

"Hey!" Coco yelled, grabbing both of our attention.

"Oh? Who is this?" Penny asked.

"Oh, right. Coco, this is Penny. Penny, Coco." I said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Coco. Considering you are a friend of Brandon, would you mind if I were one of the people on your list of friends?" She said, extending her hand outward.

"Uh, yeah sure, why not." Coco said, gripping her hand.

"Sensational! I have made not one, not two, but THREE friends this week!" Penny cheered, pumping both of her fists up in the air.

"Yeah, cool. Now can you-" Though before Coco could finish her sentence, Penny began to closely inspect Coco.

"Uh, personal space mean anything to you?" She asked, slightly unnerved about the whole situation.

"Hmm, I must say, you have wonderful skin." Penny said.

.

.

"Uh… thanks?" Coco said, unsure on how to take the compliment.

"I have a question of the utmost importance, Coco." She said.

"S-sure, go for it." She said.

"Are you and Brandon engaging in coitus?" Penny asked.

.

.

Oh, come on already.

"I'm sorry could you repeat that?" Coco asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not know what that means? How about intercourse, or maybe-"

"No! We are not engaging in coitus!" I said, covering Penny's mouth before she can finish.

"Why are you asking this anyways?" I asked, removing my hand from her mouth.

"Well, you two are of the opposite gender, right? So I thought that the possibility of you two engaging in coitus would be more likely." She said.

Note to self, NEVER introduce Penny to Neo… that would be a nightmare.

"You don't get out much, do you?" Coco asked.

"No, I never really have much of a chance to leave the lab." Penny said.

"Wait, lab?" Coco asked.

"Yes, you see, my father is a scientist, and as such, he often takes me to work with him." She said.

"What, do you live there or something?" Coco asked.

"Well… I used to, though now that I am visiting Vale, I have the chance to make friends like you and Brandon!" Penny said.

"And where does your father live?" Coco asked, pulling out her notepad that she had in her pocket.

Oh, now I see why she's asking.

"He lives in Atlas, why do you ask?" Penny asked.

"Well, I'm part of an investigation team here in Vale." Coco said.

"Oh, so you go around fighting crime?" She asked.

"Something like that, yeah." Coco said.

"Sensational! Though what does my father have to do with your investigation?" Penny asked.

"Well, you see, scientist from all across the different districts of Vale have been going missing lately." Coco said.

"Oh no! That's terrible!" Penny said.

"Yeah, not only that but many of Vale's authority figures have been assassinated." She said.

"Wait, doesn't that make you a target then?" Penny asked.

.

.

Wait a minute… does it?

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Hell if I know." Coco said.

"Well fear not, friend! I, Penny Polendina, will do everything I can to ensure your safety!" Penny said with a salute.

"No, let them come." She said, cracking her neck a bit.

"But why?" Penny asked.

"One of these assassins took someone precious to me, and I won't rest until I find the assassin responsible for her death." Coco said, transforming her briefcase into a mini-gun.

"Are you sure? I can-" Though before Penny could finish, she was interrupted by a loud, high pitched squeal coming from our right.

"Gah!" Coco said as a red blur ran right in front of her.

"Oh my Oum! Is that a 7.62 mm round mini-gun that's also a brief case?!" Ruby asked rapidly.

"Uh… yeah, why?" Coco asked, slightly taken back by the sudden question.

"Oh my Oum! That's amazing! How do you fit it all in this tiny bag?" She asked.

"It's my Semblance, it allows me to shrink or enlarge any non-organic object I want." She explained.

"Wow! Just think of all the possibilities when it comes to weapons! You can have a rocket launcher, or maybe even a blade, or even a-!" Though before Ruby could finish, Yang quickly came behind her and stopped her.

"Calm down, Ruby. Sure, it's a cool weapon, but let's calm down." Yang said.

"Oh! I did it again, I'm really sorry! I just get all excited when I see a really cool weapon." Ruby said, scratching the back of her neck.

"Heh, yeah, she's a real beauty, isn't she?" Coco said.

"What did you call her?" Ruby asked.

"Caffeine." She said.

.

.

Yeah… I got nothing.

"Oh! I haven't even introduced myself yet! My name is Ruby, it's nice to meet you!" She said.

"The names Yang, the white one over there is Weiss, and the one in the bow is Blake." Yang said, pointing her thumb towards the two.

"Name's Coco. So, what are a couple of kids like you doing in a place like this?" Coco asked.

"Well, we just got finished kicking some butt, nothing special." Yang boasted.

"We? I don't recall you being there to help." I heard Blake say from behind Yang.

"I was here in spirit." She said.

"Sure." Blake said with a chuckle.

"Ruby!" Penny said.

"Penny! You were SO cool! The way you were like, WAAAAH!" Ruby said, doing various kung fu poses.

"I am so glad that you enjoyed my battle." Penny said with a smile.

"So, who is this?" Weiss asked, walking up the group.

"This is Coco, she's a… " Ruby began, only to realize that she didn't know what Coco did exactly.

"Junior Detective and huntress in training. Leader of the proud and stylish Team CFVY." Coco said with pride.

"Wait, you're a detective, AND a huntress?!" Ruby asked with stars in her eyes.

"Well, I'm just training to become both, but eventually." Coco said.

"Wouldn't that just make you twice as busy though?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, though being a huntress and a detective do have their benefits." Coco said.

"Though that's enough about me, how about we talk about you four?" She said.

"Sup guys." A blonde-haired faunus said from behind Team RWBY. The figure was a tan-skinned boy with short spiky light-blonde hair and dark-gray eyes. He wore two red wrist bracers over black finger-less gloves and an open loose collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, displaying his muscular physique. He also wore blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He wore white bandages on his legs and has a chain hanging from the belt loop on the right side of his pants.

He sported black and yellow sneakers and wore a twisted golden necklace around his neck, replaced by a black cord in Volume 2, with a round pendant bearing his monkey emblem. He also has a long prehensile monkey tail the same color as his hair.

Well, I was wondering when I'd meet him.

"Oh, hey Sun. Didn't think you'd still be here." Ruby said.

"Meh, I got time." He said.

"Who's the chick?" Sun asked.

"Coco Adel, Junior Detective." Coco said.

"Huh, Junior Detective… I like the sound of that, has a nice ring to it." He said.

"It has its perks." She said.

"So, what do you want to know?" Blake asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've all heard of the kidnappings and assassinations that have been happening in Vale, right?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, it's been happening so suddenly. It's only been a year, fifteen have died, and and over thirty have been kidnapped." Yang said.

"That's why we're here." Coco said.

"Wait, you think the White Fang are behind all of this?" Sun asked.

"We have our suspicious." She said. Though before I could confirm that the White Fang were behind the recent kidnappings and murders, Coco started her questioning with Team RWBY and Sun.

"Okay, so let me ask you a few questions." Coco said.

"Okay, lay them on us." Yang said. I quickly glanced over at Blake expecting a uncomfortable look, with her past affiliations with the White Fang, she must not like these kinds of topics. Though to my surprise, rather than a look of discomfort, she had a look of deep thought.

Weird, from what we saw in the show, she was more distressed that the White Fang were behind all of the robberies and all that. What's with the sudden change?

"Did you notice anyone suspicious?" She asked.

"It's the White Fang, everyone was suspicious." Sun said.

"Okay, let me rephrase that, did you notice anyone who was… assassin like?" Coco asked.

"Not really, the only one's we fought were Roman Torchwick and a few grunts." Sun said.

"Well, I did see a few suspicious individuals." Penny said, causing everyone to turn towards her… well, everyone except for me.

"Can you describe them?" Coco asked.

"Not really, though one did refer to the other as brother. The one talking appeared to be female." Penny said.

"Siblings, huh?" Coco asked, writing down this new information in her notebook.

Maybe that got a reaction out of Blake.

I glanced over to Blake, though as I looked, I was met with the same expression she wore before.

Guess not.

Either that, or she's just REALLY good at masking her surprise.

"I do believe that they were the ones that Brandon was chasing." Penny said, causing everyone, including Blake, to turn their heads towards me.

"Wait, so THAT'S who messed up the lab?!" Coco asked in shock.

"Uh, yeah. I was chasing these two siblings, brother and sister, they broke into the lab. I think they wanted to take the scientist that you were talking to." I said.

.

.

"Well then, that confirms that they are behind the kidnappings." Coco said.

"But why? They've never needed these people before." Sun asked.

"Hell if I know, but that's what we intend to find out." She said.

"Did they say anything else? Anything worth mentioning?" Coco asked me. I stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, contemplating whether or not to bring up… what was his name? Hmm… Osvaldo! Yeah, that was his name.

.

.

No, she deserves to know right now. Besides, I doubt she would be happy if I withheld this from her.

"Yeah, they mentioned an assassin, his name was Osvaldo." I said, I quickly glanced at Blake who still had the same look of deep thought on her face.

Seriously?! Does ANYTHING shock her?!

"Osvaldo? Doesn't ring a bell." Sun said.

"How about you Weiss? Your family has had it's history with the White Fang. You hear of anyone named Osvaldo?" Yang said.

Weiss shook her head before responding.

"No, my father never said anything about an assassin by that name." Weiss said.

I looked over at Coco to see that she was clenching the notebook in her hands.

Looks like she suspects what I suspects.

"Hey, Blake, you okay?" Sun asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm just… thinking." Blake said.

"About what? Did something happen?" Yang asked in a concerned tone.

"No, it's just… while I was fighting Roman with Sun, I heard something… weird." She said.

"Something weird?" Coco asked, looking interested.

"It was like someone was shouting. Kind of like a battle cry in a way." Blake said.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"A battle cry? Did you hear what it was exactly?" Coco asked.

"Barely, though it did help that the person shouted the same thing over and over again." Blake said.

"What did they say?" Yang asked.

"It was weird. It kinda sounded like they were shouting "Ora Ora Ora" over and over again." She said.

.

.

Wait, she heard that?! How could she hear… that… wait, right! She's a cat Faunus! That probably means that she has the enhanced hearing of a cat.

"Ora? What kind of a battle cry is that?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, it's what I heard though." Blake said.

Though unfortunately for me, she glanced over at me so that she can see the nervous look on my face. Her eyes narrowed before she shook her head, looking back at the rest of her team, Coco, and Sun.

"Weird, do you think it's another White Fang member?" Sun asked.

"Might be. Wouldn't be surprised." Coco said.

"Hey, where did your friend go Ruby?" Yang asked.

"You mean Penny? She's right… here." Ruby said, only to be met with the empty space where Penny SHOULD have been.

Must have left already.

"How does she do that?" Yang asked.

"I don't know." Ruby said.

"Well, this has certainly been a very… eventful evening, but I think we should-" Weiss was interrupted by a group of doctors rushing towards a truck, murmurs could be heard from the investigation team and the security team.

"What's going on?" Sun asked.

"I'll take a look." Coco said as she started to walk towards the crowd.

"Maybe we should take a look." Yang said. Everyone nodded and started to walk towards the crowd… well, almost everyone. I stood there with only one question on my mind.

Did they take that one guy I beat up?

I quickly ran ahead of the group to get my answer.

Sure enough, there he was, beaten and bloodied on the stretcher. He seemed to be unconscious, though the doctors were desperately trying to wake him up for the investigation team.

"Brandon, why did you just… rush… ahead." Coco said slowly as she laid eyes on the body.

"Hey, what's up with you guuuuuuUUUUUOH MY OUM!" Yang yelled as she saw the body.

"Yang? What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby! Don't come over here!" Yang shouted.

"But I-"

"Ruby! Just… trust me. You don't want to see this." Yang said. Weiss, Sun and Blake walked up to the body, though as they saw the body, each of them had a different reaction. Weiss turned away, trying her best not to vomit up today's lunch, Blake stood there with her eyes wide, and Sun looked just a nauseous as Weiss was.

"What happened?" Coco asked one of the officers.

"We don't know, this man was like this when he found him. Looks like one of the elites of the White Fang." He said.

"How did he get beat up THIS badly? He's an elite." Coco said.

"We don't know, but the doctors did recently finish his medical record. Most of his ribs are broken, his jaw is completely shattered, and his right arm is completely shattered.

Compared to most of the beat downs in JoJo, this guy got it easy.

"Jeez, can he survive?" Sun asked.

"Maybe, the doctors are doing whatever they can. Hopefully we can get some answers out of him." The officer said.

Yeah, I don't want to be around for when he wakes up so I'm just gonna go over-

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Coco asked as she put her hand on my shoulder.

Aaaawww shit.

"Uh… now?" I asked.

"Yes. Now." She said as she started to pull the hood of my jacket.

"Alright, I'll be back guys!" I said, earning confused looks from most of the group… most of them. Blake looked at me with a suspicious look in her eyes.

Damn, I knew she was sharp, but not THIS sharp.

"Okay, so what happened?" Coco asked.

"What do you mean what happened?" I asked, faking ignorance.

"Look, I know that you were the one who beat that guy up. You're the only one I know who can beat a man like that." Coco said.

.

.

"Okay, I MIGHT have gone a little over board." I said.

"Look, I'm not mad, if anything you've helped us with the investigation." Coco said.

"Then why did you-?"

"I didn't pull you away so I can talk about you punching the crap out of someone, I wanted to talk about this Osvaldo guy." She said.

"Oh, well what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Everything." She said.

"Well, then you might wanna ask that guy over there. The only thing I know is he's part of the White Fang, and that he's an assassin." I said.

"Damn, here I thought I might have gotten an actual lead." Coco said.

"Let me guess, you think he's the one who killed your sister." I said.

"I don't want to get my hopes up, but so far, my gut has been telling me that it's him." She said.

"Hey! Ms. Adel! Come on! He's awake, we're heading back to base to interrogate him!" One of the officers said.

"Well, duty calls." Coco said.

"Though before I go, I do have to ask you something." She said.

"When did your spirit start shouting Ora Ora Ora?"

"It was a recent thing." I said.

"Why?" Coco asked.

"Why not?" I asked with a shrug.

.

.

"Fair enough." She said.

"You want me to tell your team when you'll be back?" I asked.

"No need, they should be over at the facility. Gonna give them a 'grand tour' of the place." She said.

"Why can't I get a grand tour?" I asked.

"Sorry, teammates only." Coco said with a chuckle as she walked over to her car.

"Teammates only, it's not like I'm the reason you have your stupid lead in the first place." I said sarcastically as I started to make my way towards Beacon.

Though unknowing to me, Blake was looking at me with a suspicious look as I walked away from the docks.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Sun asked.

"Nothing, just… thinking." She said.

"Man, you've been doing a lot of that recently, haven't ya?" He asked.

"Yeah, well I have a lot to think about." Blake said.

* * *

 _(Blake Pov)_

Okay, he's hiding something.

I don't really know what, but I do have a good idea.

It was brief, but when I started to talk about the strange battle cry that I heard during my battle, Brandon looked a little tense.

I originally shrugged it off, though that all changed when they brought out the body of the White Fang commander.

Brandon didn't look shocked or disgusted like all of the others. No, he looked like he wanted to leave as soon as humanly possible, once more is that Coco took Brandon away for a 'private' conversation.

So whatever Brandon is hiding, Coco clearly already knows about it.

I could confront Coco about it, though with all of the security that is bound to be put on her, it would be kinda hard.

So the only thing I can think of doing is confronting Brandon about it.

Does it have to do with that arm that keeps coming out of him?

If so, then what exactly is it, and what is it capable of?

Okay, so let's analyze what we know it CAN do.

It's fast and precise enough to punch a bullet out of the air, not only that it's also very physically strong.

If what Yang told me was correct, then it has enough force to punch a person through a stone wall, so it already exceeds any of our weapons.

.

.

Well maybe not Nora's, but you know what I mean.

Once more is that I've NEVER seen a Semblance quite like his.

I can let Jaune's Semblance pass, but having a Semblance that's practically your own personal guardian?!

And if what Weiss said is true, then the arm also has a body as well.

While she may not have seen it, she heard Brandon talking about it during the initiation.

Looks like the White Fang might not be the only thing I need to worry about.

Speaking of the White Fang, why were they working with ROMAN of all people?!

They would never work for a human, let alone someone like him.

.

.

Okay, sure our methods may not be what you would call 'legal', but at least we have a better cause than HE does.

.

.

Okay, HAD.

Once more is that the twins are now in Vale, which will only make it harder to hide from the White Fang.

One of them is bad enough, but the both of them could give Adam a run for his money.

Oh, and did I mention that Osvaldo of all Faunus is possibly in Vale?

No?

Well he is, great, just make my life even harder than it was, why don't ya?

For those of you who don't know, Osvaldo is one of the White Fang's most deadliest assassins, body count of over sixty I think.

Though the most unsettling thing about him is his personality.

He's absolutely insane.

It's not like the 'burst out into evil laughter for no reason' kind of insane.

No, he's the thing about his personality is that he has… multiple personalities.

One of them is the silent killer who goes in for a clean assassination. He's probably the most polite Faunus within the White Fang, though that's not really saying much.

The other personality is… brutal. This one will only come out if he activates his semblance. This personality is brutal, uncaring for his life, or the life of his allies. He will stop at nothing to completely brutalize his opponents, making the incident back there look like a child's tantrum.

The most terrifying thing is the switch between the two personalities.

I don't care what you say, but anyone who has a split personality disorder so severe, that there actual physical body changes from the clean and polite assassin to the merciless and brutal murderer is absolutely terrifying.

Hell, even the twins and Adam get unnerved around him.

Now he's here in Vale, why is this happening to me?

I left the White Fang with the intention to completely cut off all of my ties with them.

Why now though?

Of all the times to strike, why did they start now?

Well, I can worry about them later, for now I have something else that I need to look into.

I'll have to investigate Brandon's room just in case there are any clues that might point to the answer I'm looking for.

Just if I can actually-

"Hey." I heard Yang call out, breaking me out of my daze.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We're almost at Beacon Academy, the team and I were wondering if you maybe wanted to… I don't know… tell Team JNPR about your-" Yang began, pointing towards my bow.

"Ears." She finished.

.

.

"I don't know. Do you think I should?" I asked.

"Personally? Yes, I think it would be a step in the right direction. Though it's entirely up to you, we won't force it on you." Yang said.

Hmm, should I? I mean they might not be as open-minded as my team was when I told them about my heritage.

"Do I have to tell them about my affiliations with the White Fang?" I asked.

"Former affiliations, Blake." She said.

"Right, though do I have to tell them or not?" I asked.

"Not if you don't want to… though I wouldn't recommend you tell them about your previous job." Yang said.

"Right… if you think it will help, then sure, why not." I said.

"Great! I call them over and-" Yang began as she pulled out her scroll.

Wait, this might be exactly what I've been looking for!

"Wait." I said.

"What, having second thoughts?" She asked.

"No, I just have a small request to make." I said.

"Okay, you name it, and I'll try to make it happen."

"Tell them to meet us all in the arena." I said.

This way I'll have time to investigate and possibly confront Brandon about what happened at the docks tonight.

"Uh… why?" She asked.

Because I think we all deserve to know what he's hiding from us.

"Well, I want to invite Sun as well, and he doesn't know where Team JNPR's dorm is so I thought this would be the best alternative, considering the arena is easier to find." I said.

"Oh, well okay then. Man, you REALLY like that Sun guy, don't ya?" Yang asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"It's not like that, I just thought he would want to be there is all." I said.

"Suuuuuure it is." She said with a wide grin.

"Attention passengers. We will be arriving at Beacon Academy shortly, please prepare to depart." The pilot said through the speaker in the airship.

"Well, that's our cue. So do you come with us to the arena or...?" Yang asked.

"No, I'll meet you there. I have something I need to take care of first." I said as I got up and walked towards the exit of the airship.

I want to trust you Brandon, I really do.

While you might not be the nicest person I've ever met, you certainly aren't the worst kind of person I've met.

So please, tell me what's going on.

Tell me so I can cast away all of this doubt and focus on the bigger issue.

Alright, room 700.

700.

700.

Jeez, how hard can it be to find one single room?

.

.

Ah! Here we go, room 700!

Which just so happens to be right next to our room.

I feel like I'm being mocked somehow.

I grabbed the door handle and turn it, but sure enough, it was locked.

Which is why lock picking is and always will be a useful skill to have.

Alright just turn this here aaaaand… got it!

I turned the knob once again and opened the door to Brandon's room.

As I entered, I was expecting to see nothing but a complete mess in the room, though to my surprise, it was actually pretty well organized.

There was only one bed in the room, so it had a lot of space. In the middle of his room was a round table with two wooden chairs on either side of the table. The book shelf, while unorganized, had a wide variety of books, comics, movies, and video games in it.

There was a dresser next to the bed had a trophy of some sort on it, as well as a hat with a silver knights helmet stitched into the center of it.

His revolver also laid on the top of the dresser, while his sword leaned up against it.

Though the most noticeable thing in the room was a strange device on the night table next to his bed.

Well then, maybe this could be a clue to what Brandon is hiding.

It was a strange box of sort with various buttons on the side and top of it. There were also two gear like objects in the center of it.

Hmm, weird, I've never seen something like this before.

I pressed one of the buttons and the gears started to turn to the right.

Suddenly, I started to hear music come out of the headset that was in the box.

Oh, so it's a music player. Well, I guess everyone has their way of killing time, guess I should keep lo-

Though before I could do anything else, I heard a small bit of the song with my enhanced hearing.

Wait, I don't think I've ever heard this song before, not even on Vale radio, and they play everything.

I grabbed the headset and began to listen to the song.

 **(AN: Play September by Earth, Wind and Fire.)**

 _Do you remember the_

 _21st night of September?_

 _Love was changing the minds of pretenders_

 _While chasing the clouds away_

 _Our hearts were ringing_

 _In the key that our souls were singing._

 _As we danced in the night,_

 _Remember how the stars stole the night away_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember_

 _Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day_

 _Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu_

 _Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu_

 _Ba duda, badu, ba duda_

 _My thoughts are with you_

 _Holding hands with your heart to see you_

 _Only blue talk and love,_

 _Remember how we knew love was here to stay_

 _Now December found the love we shared in September._

 _Only blue talk and love,_

 _Remember the true love we share today_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember_

 _Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day_

 _There was a_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember_

 _Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days_

 _The bell was ringing, aha_

 _Our souls were singing_

 _Do you remember_

 _Never a cloudy day_

 _There was a_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember_

 _Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day_

 _There was a_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember_

 _Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days_

 _Ba de ya de ya de ya_

 _Ba de ya de ya de ya_

 _ba de ya de ya de ya_

 _De ya_

 _Ba de ya de ya de ya_

 _Ba de ya de ya de ya_

 _ba de ya de ya de ya_

 **(AN: End Song)**

What song is this? I've never heard anything like this in… okay, I've never heard anything like this period.

Wait, what does this button do?

I pushed the button that was atop of the box and all of a sudden, a lid opened up.

What is this?

I took out the strange looking cartridge from the box and began to inspect it.

It looks like some sort of tape.

"You know, it's considered rude to walk into someone's room uninvited." I heard someone say.

I quickly spin my head to see that Brandon was standing there with his hands in his jacket pocket.

"Then again, you're definitely not the first one to do it." He said.

"B-Brandon!" I said, taking off the headphones that were on my head.

"Why do you have my tape player? Brandon asked.

Okay, so it is a tape player, alright, nothing too special there.

Though that song.

"What is this song?" I asked.

"What song? There's a lot of them on that tape." He asked.

I can't believe I'm about to do this.

"You know, Do you remember? The twenty first night of September?" I sung.

"Oh! September!" He asked.

Seriously? Who names a song after a month?

"Yeah, that one." I said, putting down the tape player.

"You still haven't answered my question." Brandon said.

Okay Blake, you'll probably not get another chance like this for a long time. Don't waste it.

"I was looking for you." I said, getting up off of the floor.

"So you take my tape player?" He asked.

"What? No! I went looking for you in your room and I just so happen to find this." I said.

"Oh, well… here I am… do you need something?" Brandon asked.

Here goes nothing.

"Yeah, I would like to talk to you about tonight." I said.

Brandon visibly tensed up.

"What about it?" He asked.

"I want to ask you a few things." I asked.

"A few things?"

"Yeah, just a few things." I said.

.

.

"Alright, lay it on me." He said.

"Okay, well first I want to know what you know about that battle cry." I said.

"Battle cry?" He asked, clearly faking ignorance.

"No use hiding it, I saw how you reacted when I brought it up. I want to know why you reacted that way." I said, narrowing my eyes as I said what I wanted.

"Well..." He seemed hesitant to answer.

"Not only that, a White Fang lieutenant just so happened to be defeated around the time I heard the battle cry." I pressed forward.

He stood there in silence.

"And Coco just so happened to pull you away when we saw the condition of the body."

.

.

"Once more is that the condition of the man just so happened to have injuries that you would most likely be able to inflict with in seconds… well… at least when you're using your Semblance." I said.

"So I'll ask you this, what were you doing at the time of the incident?" I asked.

"I was chasing the two siblings." He said.

"Where did the siblings lead you?"

"To the edge of the docks."

"And where was the body found?" I asked.

.

.

"At the edge of the docks." I said.

"So now I ask you this. Did you do that? Did you beat that man?" I asked.

.

.

"I didn't mean to go as far as I did." I said.

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"How? I know you can summon these weird limbs, but even you would have some trouble with a White Fang commander." I said.

.

"Look, I'm not angry. I just… I just want to know how you did it."

.

.

"Look, if there is anything I learned today, is that you need to be honest with your friends. Because in the end, they're just trying to help you." I said.

.

"How about this. A secret for a secret." He said.

Okay, fair enough.

I grabbed the edge of my bow and began to undo it.

"I'm a Faunus." I said.

Brandon stood there in silence for a couple of moments.

"Uh… Brandon?" I asked.

.

.

I knew it, he doesn't accept them. Great, good job Blake, you just lost a friend because you couldn't stay hidden for even ONE year. Good freaking-!

"Okay." He simply said.

.

.

"Wait, what?!" I yelled.

"Ow! Jeez, I'm right here." Brandon said, cringing a bit at the sudden noise.

"That's all you have to say?!" I asked.

"Yeah! You have a pair of cat ears on your head, so what?! Now can you stop shouting!" He yelled back.

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Fine, just… I told you my secret, now you tell me yours." I said.

"Okay, but first, I have a question for you." He said.

"Stop dodging it." I said.

"I'm not-!… Just answer the question!" He said.

"Alright, what do you want?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Okay, so have you heard of the legend of the Enchanted Weapons?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah… it's an old myth that's known all across Remnant." I said.

"And you know of the weapon spirits, right?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I said, slightly confused where he was going with this.

"Well, what would you do if I told you that I had one of those weapons?" He asked.

.

.

"Really?" I asked.

"What?"

"I tell you one of my deepest secrets, and you tell me a fairy tale?!" I asked.

"It's true though! How do you explain how my weapon does multiple things and how I have these limbs coming out of me?!" He asked.

.

.

I sighed once again and pinched the edge of my nose.

"Okay, let's say you DO have a spirit in you. I want you to prove it." I said.

"Prove it? How?" He asked.

"Well, I'm about to head to the arena to tell everyone about my Faunus heritage, you'll be coming with me and showing me your 'spirit' in an up close and personal demonstration." I said.

"Wait, you want me to fight you?!" He asked.

"No, I want your 'spirit' to fight me." She said.

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"I'll be fine, I'm not like the White Fang commander." I said.

.

.

"Look, I just… today has been very stressful. I would like to get as much stress off of me as possible, and it doesn't really help that I don't even know if I can trust one of my friends." I said.

"So please, give me a reason to trust you." I said before walking out of his room and towards the arena.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

Great, fucking great. I get a little careless with the spirit of my weapon and what happens?

I get found out, that's what happens!

Well, I guess I shouldn't be to surprised that BLAKE of all people would be the first to find out without me telling her.

It's okay, all I have to do is show her the truth, and she'll be willing to trust me.

It's not like we're going to a place that's completely filled with our group of friends.

.

.

Right?

"So… you're sure that you want to fight my spirit?" I asked.

I mean she saw what it can do to people.

"Yes, I'm sure that I will be able to hold my own against your 'Semblance'." She said.

"Alright, just don't say I didn't warn you." I said.

While I won't be TRYING to hurt Blake as bad as I did the commander, my spirit might have other plans.

.

.

Yeah, I still don't have full control over how much it beats the shit out of a man.

"Can I ask you something?" Blake asked.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah, sure go for it." I said.

"Well, we already know that your Semblance." She began.

"Spirit."

"Whatever. As I was saying, we know that it specializes in speed, strength and precision. Does it have any other abilities?" She asked.

"Not that I know of." I said.

"Hmm, so not even you know the full potential of your Semblance." Blake said.

"Why are you asking?" I asked.

"Well, I've never seen a Semblance quite like yours. It's rare to see one that's practically like a guardian angel, so there's no telling what it might be capable of." She said.

"Huh, I never thought about that." I said.

"You mean you never tried to push your Semblance any further?" Blake asked.

"Well, here's the thing. My spirit isn't like most Semblances, it's not exactly something I can just activate." I said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, I can only manifest the arms and legs, though the full body won't come out unless the spirit feels that my life is at a risk." I explained.

"I see." Blake said.

"Anything else you want to know?" I asked.

"Besides whether or not you're telling the truth? No, nothing comes to mind at the moment." She said.

Now that I think about it, giving Blake what she wants might be harder than I thought.

I can't exactly just put a gun up to my head and pull the trigger without someone having a mini heart attack.

I seriously doubt that Blake is going into this fight with the intention to kill me so that's out of the question.

So how the hell am I going to bring it out when the only way to do it is to try and shoot myself?

Though before I could try and come up with another solution to my problem, Blake pulled me back into reality.

"We're here." She said as we stood in front of the arena.

"Okay, so how do you want to do this? Until one of our aura's hit the red zone or...?" I asked.

"We fight until one of us can't stand." Blake said.

Yeah, be careful what you wish for, kittycat.

"Well, are you coming or not?" She asked as she walked into the arena.

"Alright, I'm coming, no need to rush me." I grumbled.

Though as I walked into the room, I was shocked to see the rest of the members of Team RWBY, the members of Team JNPR, and Sun sitting in the spectator area of the arena.

"G-guys?!" I yelled out in surprise.

"Oh! Hey Brandon! Glad to see you could make it." Ruby greeted.

"W-what are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Well, Blake here wants to make a special announcement to her friends and all that. She wanted us all to be here for her, so here we are." Yang said.

Wonderful! Now they can all think I'm crazy!

"Hey, over here Brandon! We saved you a spot." Jaune said as she scooted to his right.

"No." Blake said as she walked to the center of the arena.

"No?" Jaune asked.

"Brandon, let's go." She said, motioning me to follow her to the center of the arena.

"Blake? What's up with you? What happened to… you know." Yang asked, pointing towards her bow.

"I'm still going to show everyone, though there's something I want to find out as well." Blake said.

"What is she talking about?" Weiss asked me.

"You'll find out soon enough." I said, walking towards the arena.

"So." Sun began as he scooted towards the remaining members of Team RWBY.

"Who's this guy again?" He asked.

"Oh! Right, we never introduced you to Brandon!" Ruby said.

"He's the guy that's in the arena with Blake, right?" Sun asked.

"No, he's the unknown third party we invited, of course he's the one in the arena!" Weiss said sarcastically.

"Jeez, I was just asking. So what does Blake want with him anyway?" He asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Yang said.

"Why, you jealous?" She asked with a mischievous smirk.

"W-what?! No! Of course not! Why would I be jealous?!" Sun asked, flustered.

"Calm down monkey boy, I'm just pulling your tail." Yang laughed.

"So, Ruby… who's this?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, hey Jaune. This is Sun." Ruby said.

"Sup dude." Sun greeted, pulling Jaune into a classic bro hug.

"Heya, nice to meet ya. I'm Jaune Arc, this here is Pyrrha." Jaune said.

"Hello." Pyrrha greeted.

"The guy with the pink streak in hair is Ren." Ren simply waved at Sun.

"And this is Nora." Jaune said, pointing to Nora who was currently chowing down on a box of popcorn.

.

.

"Uh, Nora?" Jaune asked, getting Nora's attention.

"Hmm?" She asked with a mouthful of popcorn.

"Where did you get the popcorn?" Jaune asked.

"What are you talking about? I've had it the entire time." Nora said.

"What? No you haven't, you-" Though Jaune was cut off as Ren placed his hand on Jaune's mouth.

"Jaune, if you don't want to go completely insane then listen here, and listen well." Ren said.

"Do not. Question. Nora." He said.

"But I-"

"Trust me Jaune, it will save you a lot of confusion and frustration." Ren said.

"Same goes for you." He said as he looked directly at Sun.

"Okay, but why do you have popcorn?" Jaune asked.

"For the fight." She said.

.

.

"Wait, fight?!" Everyone except Ren asked in surprise.

"Come on, it's obvious. Why else would Blake call Brandon to the arena?" Nora asked.

"But why would she pick now of all times to challenge him to a fight?!" Yang asked.

"We already explained why, scroll back up and re-read it if you have to." She said.

.

.

"What the hell are you-?!" Though before Yang could finish her question, Blake and I made it to the center of the arena.

"You know the rules right?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, fight until one of us can't stand." I said.

Blake nodded and turned her head towards her team.

"Don't step in. This is something I need to do." Blake said.

"What's going on Blake?! Why are you doing this?" Ruby asked.

"That's what I intend to find out." She said as she removed the bow from her head, revealing the cat ears that laid on her head.

"Wait, Blake is a Faunus?!" Jaune asked, bewildered.

"Surprise." Ruby said meekly, still confused why Blake is fighting me.

"A few rules Brandon." She called out.

"Okay, lay it on me." I said.

"You can't use your sword, or your gun. You can only use your Semblance." Blake said.

"What?! Blake, that's not fair!" Ruby yelled.

"No, it's fine." I said as I placed my sword and revolver down onto the bench on the side of the arena.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No, that'll be it." Blake said as she unsheathed her blade.

"Well, then." I began as I got into a martial arts stance.

"Let's go." I finished, running towards Blake.

I made the first move and swung my fist at Blake, though she quickly used her Semblance to jump over me. As she moved over me, she reeled her blade back and prepared to swing it at me, though as the blade was right about to hit me, I quickly turned around and manifested the arm of my spirit to block the attack.

"Wait, wait, wait, did a arm just come out of Brandon?!" Sun asked in a shocked tone.

"Yeah, his Semblance is a rather… unique one." Pyrrha said.

Blake back flipped away from me and switched her blade to its scythe mode before throwing it at me. I quickly go to grab the weapon, though as I reached my hand outward, Blake jerked the weapon backwards, causing it to wrap itself around my wrist.

Blake moved towards the ground and wrapped the string around one of her legs. Before I could even begin to attempt to break free from Blake's grasp, Blake began to spin her body, and as her body spun on the ground, I was lifted off of the ground. I spun around the room at an alarmingly fast pace with no sign of slowing down.

As I reached a certain velocity, Blake used her Semblance to propel herself off of the ground. As she did this, she grabbed the string with both of her hands and threw me towards the ground with a load thud.

"Ow." I groaned out as I got up off of the ground.

Blake switched her scythe back to its blade form and prepared for another attack.

Looks like I'm not getting anywhere with what I'm doing now.

Time for a different approach.

I manifested the legs of the spirit and propelled myself upwards. Blake saw this and took the opportunity to switch to her gun and fire a few rounds at me. As the bullets came speeding towards me, the spirit's arm came out and punched them away from me.

Blake grunted, seemingly frustrated with herself that she forgot that my spirit could block bullets with relative ease.

As I got closer and closer towards the ceiling, I manifested the legs of the spirit and prepared to launch myself off of the ceiling. I pushed myself off of the ceiling as I came into contact with it and came speeding towards Blake who was getting ready to use her Semblance to move away.

I manifested the arm of the spirit and punched the ground where Blake should have been, though Blake used her Semblance to dodge the attack. I smirked and used the dust cloud that I created to my advantage, that is to say that I quickly rushed out of the cloud and grabbed Blake by one of her legs.

She gasped as the spirit's fist came into contact with her arm, causing her to go tumbling towards the wall.

As Blake got up, she looked at me with an impatient look in her eyes.

Guess she's starting to think I've been lying to her about the whole Enchanted Weapons secret.

But can you blame me? I can't exactly summon the spirit without putting my life at risk, and she made me get rid of the two things that I needed to fully manifest it.

How the hell can I do what she wants if I don't have the means… to… do it

.

.

Well, she said that I couldn't use my weapons. Never said anything about not being allowed to use her weapon.

I dashed towards her with the intent of taking her weapon away from the grip of her hands. Luckily, Blake switched to her scythe and threw it at me, though as I went to grab it, I manifested the arm of the spirit and had it firmly grasp Blake's weapon.

Blake desperately tried to break the grasp of the spirit, though to little to no success.

I smirked and yanked Blake's weapon away from her grasp. As the weapon flew across the room, my spirit grabbed it and threw it towards me.

"Hey! What did I say at the beginning of the fight?!" Blake asked.

"You said that I couldn't use my weapon. Never said anything about not using my own weapon." I said.

"Besides, I only need it for a moment." I said.

"What are you-!" Though before Blake could finish, she was quickly silenced at the sight of me putting her gun up to my head.

"Just gonna grab the spirit out for you." I said.

"Wait! Don't do it!" Blake yelled as she reached out to stop me.

"Are you insane?! Put the gun down right this instant!" Weiss screeched, horrified at the sight of me putting a gun up to my head.

"Wait! Sto-!" Blake tried to stop me, but it was already too late, I pulled the trigger and fired the gun.

.

.

The room was silent, no one said a word.

Though not because of the fact that I just fired a gun at my head, that was only the icing on the cake.

No, what they were really baffled about, especially Blake, was the large humanoid silver smoke figure that caught the bullet.

"Ah, here we go." I said as I pulled the gun away from my head.

"Here, you can have this back." I said, throwing the gun towards her.

As I did this, the spirit of the weapon threw the bullet shell at Blake, the shell landing perfectly on Blake's nose.

"W-what is that?" She asked as she picked up her gun.

"What do you think it is?" I asked with one of my eyebrows raised.

Blake's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what exactly I was talking about.

"Oh my Oum you weren't lying." She said.

"What do you mean?! What is that thing?!" Weiss demanded.

"Everyone, allow me to introduce you to a person who has saved my life more times than I can count." I said, pointing towards the spirit, though before I could give the big reveal, Nora shot up from her seat and began to shout.

"That's Caliber! It's a spirit that lays within one of the twelve Enchanted Weapons that are all scattered across Remnant!" Nora said.

.

.

"How?!" I yelled.

"I have my ways." Nora said as she looked off into the air, gazing at something in a far off direction.

"What are you even staring at?" I asked.

"Brandon, just don't question it. It will save you a lot of headache." Ren said.

"What?! How can I just… you know what? Fine. Whatever." I gave in and turned towards Blake.

"Well, Blake. Here you go." I said.

"I-I don't believe it. The legend is actually true." Blake said, bewildered at this current revelation.

"Yeah, it shocks everyone the first time around." I said.

"How? How did you get your hands on a weapon like that?" She asked.

"It was given to me by some guy. Don't really know where he got it." I said.

"So." I began.

"You still want to fight it?" I asked.

"Well, it's not every day that you come across one of the wielders of the Enchanted Weapons." Blake said with a smirk.

"Why not? It might be fun." She said as she switched her weapon to its blade form.

"All right. But I'll warn ya." As I said this, the spirit of the weapon charged towards Blake.

"It's not exactly a pushover." I said.

The spirit reeled it's fist backwards and swung its fist at Blake, though Blake used her Semblance to dodge out of the way of the attack. As the dust settled, everyone could see the small crater that the spirit left in the ground.

"Whoa! That thing packs a punch!" Sun yelled.

Boy, you don't even know the half of it.

The spirit wasted no time swinging at Blake again, though Blake used her Semblance again to dodge the attack.

Looks like the spirit is struggling a bit, then again, it's not going NEARLY as fast as it could.

How about we test just how fast Blake can use her Semblance.

"Hey Blake, how fast can you make shadows?" I asked.

"Uh, I'd say that I could do it fairly fast." She said.

"Well, let's test that theory, shall we?" I asked as I pointed my index finger towards her. As I did this, the spirit charged towards her, delivering a flurry of punches as it started to close the gap between it and Blake.

"Holy-! Can you even see the punches being thrown?!" Sun asked in a surprised and wondered tone.

Blake did her best to stay out of range of the barrage, though even her Semblance had its limits and just as she reached her limit, she fell into the range of the spirit. The spirit punched Blake across the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

As Blake fell to the ground, the spirit began its assault on the dazed Faunus.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted before delivering the final punch, leaving a fairly large crater in the ground.

.

.

"Holy shit." Sun said.

"Swear!" Ruby said as she pulled out her swear jar.

"What?" He asked.

"We'll tell you later, for now, I think we should focus on this fight. It's just starting to get good." Yang said.

"So it was YOU I heard during my fight with Roman." Blake said as she slowly got up from where she laid.

"Yep, that was me. I gotta admit, not many people can get up after a punching barrage from my spirit." I said.

"I've had experience with pain tolerance." She said as she charged towards me. Though as she was about to reach me, my spirit was there to meet her. It tried to deliver another punching barrage to her, but she quickly dodged out of the way, as she jumped over my spirit, she used her Semblance to propel herself in various directions, slashing at my spirit as she moved by.

Each slash that she delivered to the spirit was also directly affecting me. Blake eventually moved backwards due to her expending the limits of her Semblance, as she did this, the spirit started to punch at her rapidly.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as the spirit attempted to punch Blake, though she wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice, she moved back flipped away from the spirit and threw her scythe at the spirit, completely wrapping its arms together.

And because this thing is like a fucking stand, my arms started to feel very restricted.

Blake started to swing the spirit around the room before slamming it to the ground, causing it to fade away into nothingness.

"Aw, where did it go?" Nora asked.

"Guess even it has its limits." Blake said.

"Well then, shall we, Brandon?" She asked.

.

.

"Brandon?" She asked once more.

Suddenly, I collapsed to the ground in a completely exhausted state.

"Hey… you okay?" Blake asked.

"Well, the spirit does take a lot out of you." I said as I laid on the ground.

"Guess that means I win." She said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Gloat while you can." I said.

"That… was… amazing!" Ruby shouted as she sped towards Blake and I.

"Oh my gosh! The Enchanted Weapons are real?! I can't believe this! I always thought they were nothing more than a myth! This is amazing!" Ruby shouted.

"Jeez, what's got you so excited?" Blake asked.

"The legend of the Enchanted Weapons was kinda my favorite fairy tale when I was a kid." Ruby said.

How fitting.

"So… is anyone hungry?" I asked as I got up off of the ground.

As I said this, Blake's stomach began to let out a loud growl.

"I guess I could go for some food." She said.

"Well, I know this great place we can all-" Though as I turned around, I could see a VERY angry Glynda looking at me.

"Would someone care to explain why there are two large holes in my arena?!" She yelled.

.

.

Shit.

* * *

 **Journal Entry #33**

 **So yeah… everyone knows about the weapons now.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Honestly took it a lot better than I thought.**

 **Also kinda surprised that Blake of all people was able to defeat my spirit.**

 **Hopefully she's not too mad that the spirit punched her hard that it left a hole in the ground.**

 **Glynda sure as hell is.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Ragnorak16: Cool… just keep them away from me, don't want to repeat the incident from the last Vol.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **olTran: Fine by me, this entire fic is written off of JoJo's references.**

 **CraazyReader:**

 **Neo: Yes.**

 **Emerald: Yes.**

 **Velvet: Possibly.**

 **Coco: Likely.**

 **Weiss: Unlikely.**

 **Nora: I would like to keep Renora fans from coming for my head.**

 **Ren:… Why?**

 **Peach: She's in her mid twenties.**

 **Team NDGO: That would be fun to write.**

 **Salem: Hell to the no no no.**

 **Pyrrha ashes:… Jesus man.**

 **Author:**

 **.**

 **.**

 **That sounds like an Omake.**

 **Spirit: Nope.**

 **Female Grimm: Nope nope nope nope nope nope.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: *Clears Throat***

 **MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!**

 **Raidentensho: Was thinking of keeping it as Caliber.**

 **fanficcyberman: Yep, just another day for Brandon Kim. :D**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Kill me now.**

 **Cmndr: Depends, is she as old as Ironwood? If so, then hell to the fuck no. If not, I might consider it.**

 **Cco16: Nope, it's based off of the stand idea from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: I just have a lot of really strange shorts that come into my head.**

 **TigerVolcano5000:**

 **Wow… this is by far in my top 5 when it comes to reviews.**

 **Thank you, I'm glad you like the fic so far.**

 **Let's answer your questions in order.**

 **1\. I do plan on changing the timeline to the point where the main character doesn't know what is happening. Where's the fun in him knowing everything?**

 **2\. Glad you liked that little joke I did with Penny.**

 **3\. Well, so far the current potential pairings are Neo, Emerald, Coco, and possible Velvet.**

 **4\. Glad you liked the Enchanted Weapons, I put a lot of thought into each weapon's power. The other eight do have wielders if that's what you're wondering. Each one is scattered all across Remnant.**

 **5\. Gathering the weapons isn't as easy as it sounds. Mainly because of all of the weapons looking like ordinary weapons (or what qualifies as normal in the RWBY universe.). The only way to identify a user is to bring out their spirit.**

 **6\. Let's not make Cinder into an OP unbeatable villain, shall we?**

 **7\. Yeah, while they are villains, they are just teens, so they more easily swayed, though Emerald is gonna be harder due to her seeing Cinder as more that just her boss.**

 **8\. I'll consider that when I meet him eventually, though it's easier said than done.**

 **9\. It's gonna be hard to gather them all, it's not as easy as just asking them "Hey! Wanna fight in a war where you have a REALLY high chance of dying?"**

 **TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin: Glad you're liking it. :)**

 **Angeldoesmc: Not exactly, but yeah.**

* * *

 **Omake - Ironic (Canon)**

After the fight between Blake and Brandon, everyone went their separate ways. Though Pyrrha decided to stay back and have a little chat with Brandon, she also wanted a shot at the spirit.

 _'Where could he be?'_ Pyrrha thought as she stood outside the arena.

Though as she finished that thought, she saw Brandon walk out of the arena with a tired expression.

 _'Ah! There he is.'_ She thought as she started to walk towards him.

"Brandon! I would like to talk to you about the events that have transpired today." Pyrrha called out.

.

.

"Uh, Brandon?" She called out again when she didn't get a response.

.

.

"Brandon?"

.

.

"BRANDON!" She shouted, causing Brandon to jump from where he was walking.

"Gah! Jesus Pyrrha! What do you want?!" He asked, annoyed at her actions.

"Finally, I've called you three times and you weren't answering. Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, I was just listening to my tunes, sorry. So what do you want?" Brandon asked.

"Oh! Right, I want you and I to fight tomorrow, but this time I want you to use your spirit!" Pyrrha said eagerly.

"You sure? You saw what it could have done to Blake." He said.

"That's why I want to do it! I haven't seen something that could potentially push me to my limits in a long time now! This is the opportunity I was always looking for!" She said.

"Alright, just don't say I didn't warn you." Brandon said.

"So… what are you listening to?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, it's a song I grew up with, though it's not something you would be familiar with." He said.

"Ooooh, something of a different culture! I love exploring different cultures." She said.

"Well okay then, here you go." He said, handing her his tape player.

"What does this button do?" Pyrrha asked.

"It randomizes the songs, give it a try." Brandon said.

Pyrrha nodded, pushed the button, and put on the headphones before hitting the play button.

 **(AN:… Yeah, you'll know what to play when you read the lyrics.)**

 _Shot through the heart_

 _And you're to blame_

 _Darlin', you give love a bad name_

 _An angel's smile is what you sell_

 _You promise me heaven, then put me through Hell_

 _Chains of love got a hold on me_

 _When passion's a prison, you can't break free_

 _Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah_

 _Oh, there's nowhere to run_

 _No one can save me_

 _The damage is done_

 _Shot through the heart_

 _And you're to blame_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _I play my part and you play your game_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _You give love, a bad name_

 _Paint your smile on your lips_

 _Blood red nails on your fingertips_

 _A school boy's dream, you act so shy_

 _Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye_

 _Oh, you're a loaded gun_

 _Oh, there's nowhere to run_

 _No one can save me_

 _The damage is done_

 _Shot through the heart_

 _And you're to blame_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _I play my part and you play your game_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _You give love, oh!_

 _Oh, shot through the heart_

 _And you're to blame_

 _You give love a bad name_

 _I play my part and you play your game_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _Shot through the heart_

 _And you're to blame_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _I play my part and you play your game_

 _You give love a bad name (bad name)_

 _You give love_

 _You give love (bad name)_

 _You give love_

 _You give love (bad name)_

 _You give love_

 _You give love (bad name)_

 _You give love_

 _You give love_

 **(AN: End song)**

"Wow, this is such an interesting song. I feel really connected to it somehow." She said.

"What are some of the lyrics?" He asked.

"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame. You give love, a bad name." She sang.

"I must say, you have some interesting songs." Pyrrha said.

.

.

.

.

Brandon said nothing. He simply took his tape player and walked away in silence.

"Was it something I said?" She asked.

* * *

 **Sun Wukong**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 136 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Via Sun**

 **Summary: Sun's Semblance is named Via Sun, the ability to create clones of himself. While similar to Blake's Semblance, the key difference is that rather than leaving clones behind to take the hit, his clones are able to fight for him. While his Semblance is activated, his hair and tail glow yellow. His clones also have the ability to detonate on contact.**

 **It would also seem as if his Semblance rapidly depletes his Aura, for he can not maintain it for longer periods of time without experiencing fatigue.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: D**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: B**

 **Range: B**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	33. The Contract

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Omake from the last chapter was changed.**

 **Disclaimer; I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Contract"

Thought: _'Contract'_

Flashback: _"Contract"_

A week has passed since my big reveal to the rest of my friends… okay Nora was the one who broke the news to everyone but you know what I mean.

Still wondering how she even knew I had it, and I know Ren told me not to think about it but I can't really help it. It's not everyday one of your friends just shouts one of your secrets to the rest of your friends.

Every time I ask her, she just says that she has her ways and gazes off into the air above her.

Now that I think about it, Ozpin does the same thing sometimes.

Is it a joke those two made up to mess with me, or is it just one big coincidence?

Meh, my head's starting to hurt, let's move on before my head explodes from confusion.

Things were passing around like normal, we were going to classes, Ruby and Yang were pulling pranks on Professors Port and Oobleck whenever they saw they had an opportunity, Weiss was scolding the two of them while they were setting up said pranks, while secretly trying her best to not burst out laughing when the pranks are successful. Though they were smart enough not to try and prank Glynda or Peach.

Those two were scary when they were mad.

Especially Peach, considering she knows the perfect way to kill a man and how to make it look like an accident.

How she knows this is beyond me.

Blake has been more open around her team and all that, and Team JNPR was well… Team JNPR.

Though Pyrrha has been more persistent when it came to our sparring matches, specifically when I decide not to use my spirit in battle.

Now, as much as I would love to get more experience with using my spirit, and possibly get more than a cloud of silver smoke and a red eye, there are quite a few reasons why I don't want to do that in our regular sparring classes.

One, Glynda would DEFINITELY kill me if she saw how fast and strong the spirit's punches were.

Speaking of Glynda, I'm sure you all are wondering what Glynda did to me after she saw what we did to the arena.

Well, she didn't do anything to me, I said Yang did it and she bought it instantly. She let us off with a warning and told Yang to make sure something like this never happens again.

Though Yang wasn't exactly happy with me when I threw her under the bus like that. She made me pay for a new paint job for her motorcycle, Bumblebee, as well as a detachable side car for her motorcycle.

She said that we were even… for now.

.

.

Anyways, let's move on.

Two, I still don't have a lot of control on how much the spirit beats the target, so a few people might wind up in the infirmary, giving Glynda another reason to kill me.

Three, I don't want Glynda to kill me.

.

.

Most of my reasons involve my fear of Glynda… okay all of them involve my fear of her but you know what I mean.

Besides, I don't really like the idea of potentially beating my friends so badly that they have to go the E.R.

So yeah, she understands WHY I don't always use my spirit every time we fight, though that doesn't mean she won't try to get me to use it.

Anyways, while the end of Vol 1 did happen later than I expected, that doesn't mean that Vol 2 will happen immediately after it.

From my knowledge, Vol 2 started when the new semester for the year started.

So that would mean that Vol 2 starts in about two weeks from now.

That gives me some time to plan ahead for the next Vol just in case something catches me off guard.

It's been happening now, no reason for it to stop now.

Though I've also just interfered with another White Fang operation, so if they weren't out to get me now, they sure as hell are now.

Not to mention Coco has yet to get anything out of that White Fang commander they captured a week ago.

Guy's pretty stubborn. Then again, most of the members of the White Fang are pretty stubborn, hell even Blake is stubborn in her own regard.

Now, planning for Vol 2 isn't the only thing I plan on doing over the next two weeks.

I also plan on doing my own little investigation on this whole kidnappings and assassination situation.

I want to see if I can't catch those two siblings and attempt to bring them in for questioning.

I also need to be on the lookout for this Osvaldo guy, there's no telling where or when he's going to strike again.

Not only that, but I should probably be on the lookout for any potential assassins that might come after me.

.

.

What?! It could happen! I just beat one of the commanders to near death! They're bound to see me as a threat now!

It doesn't help that I can't ask Blake for help when she doesn't know that I know she used to be apart of the White Fang.

I almost just lost her trust, let's not almost lose it again.

I can't tell Coco about what I plan on doing because she's BOUND to object to it.

Yeah, she's not really a fan of me putting my life in danger on multiple occasions.

Said that it's making her grow some grey hairs.

Meh, I'm sure she's just over-exaggerating.

I mean, if that were true, then Glynda would have a full set of gray hair.

Anyways, before I can actually do anything, I have to sit through another sparring sessions in which Pyrrha was dominating her opponents as usual.

Pyrrha ducked under the girl she was fighting before sweeping her leg under her and kicking her towards the ceiling, causing her aura to hit the red zone.

"The winner is Pyrrha Nikos." Glynda said, causing the crowd to applaud her victory.

"That was a great match, I hope you will get stronger in the future." Pyrrha said as she bowed politely.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just can't believe I got the honor of fighting THE Pyrrha Nikos!" The girl said.

"Yeah… honor." She said, her gaze dropping a bit.

"Well, it looks like we have time for one more match." Glynda said, causing Pyrrha's head to shoot up, her eyes having a visible fire in them.

"No, you are done for the day, Ms. Nikos. Go and sit with your teammates." She said sternly.

Pyrrha's head lowered as she walked towards the spot where her team was sitting at.

"Now, let's see who will be fighting today." Glynda said as she hit a button on her scroll, causing the slot machine to move on the screen.

It span for a couple of seconds before stopping on my picture.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. Now let's see who you will be fighting today." She said as the other slot continued to spin.

Though after a few seconds, it came to a halt, landing on the face of Ruby Rose herself.

"Alright!" Ruby yelled, pumping one of her fists up into the air.

"Ms. Rose. Would you two please make your way to your respective sides of the arena?" Glynda said.

So, Ruby and I are fighting. Can't say I'm surprised, though it will be challenging to deal with her immense speed and her experience in both ranged and close combat.

Then again, her Semblance isn't as versatile as Pyrrha's, so it's not like I will have to quickly adapt on the fly.

Still, her weapon is definitely the main thing I have to worry about.

Even Ozpin recognizes how dangerous this weapon is.

Not to mention that her mobility is even further expanded upon with the power of the gun in the scythe.

"Mr. Kim." Glynda said, breaking me out of my daze.

I blinked a couple of times before looking around the room.

I could see that everyone was looking at me with an expectant look on their faces, while Ruby was tapping on of her feet on the ground impatiently.

"Would you please come to the center of the arena?" She asked.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah, sure." I said as I jumped over the railing and towards the other side of the arena.

Though as I started to walk to the other side, Ruby was giving me a weird look… not the bad kind, just the kind that I can't really figure out what she's trying to say.

Though before I could go down the list of possible messages she could be sending me, Ruby started to punch both of her fists out at a very rapid pace.

Oh, she's asking me if I can use my spirit during my fight.

.

.

Yeah, I would rather not be murdered by Yang for beating her sister to a pulp so...yeah sorry.

I shook my head in response, causing her to look at me with a confused look.

I point at Yang before making the motion for me slitting my throat.

Her eyes widened in realization and nodded quickly, pulling her weapon out from her belt.

"Are both sides ready?" Glynda asked as she looked at Ruby and I.

We both nodded and got into our combat positions.

"Then, begin!" She said, and with that, Ruby shot her scythe from behind her and launched herself towards me.

Well, might as well counteract speed with speed.

I pulled out my sword and activated the Speed enchantment. As Ruby was about swing her scythe at me, I quickly jumped up into the air at the last second, leaving a trail of blue aura behind me.

"Wha-! Hey! Speed is my thing! Stop copying me!" She yelled as she waved an accusing finger at me.

"What?! How can I copy something as simple as speed?!" I yelled back.

"You leave a trail of blue aura behind you. Just like me, only I leave a trail of roses behind me." Ruby said.

"Are they really doing this right now?" Weiss asked Blake.

"Just because I leave a trail behind me, doesn't mean I'm copying you, and my trail is just a bunch of straight lines with aura in between, your's is a bunch of scattered roses." I countered.

"Yep, they are." Blake said.

"Besides, mine is more of a instant jump to an area that's in a five meter range!" I said.

"Okay, thanks for telling me about your ability." Ruby said with a smile.

.

.

Oh, god damnit!

Ruby rushed towards me at blinding speeds, though before she could I used my Semblance to move to my right. As I did this, Ruby made a quick turn to the right with her scythe and kicked me right across the jaw, sending me tumbling across the arena floor.

Why did I tell her about my enchantment? What is wrong with me?

I got up off of the floor and dusted myself off.

Time for a different approach.

I pulled out my revolver and activated the Buster enchantment, preparing to fire one of my charged shots at Ruby.

Okay, I just need to stall her for about five to ten seconds. There's no way I can get away with fifteen so we'll just stick with five, ten if I'm lucky.

Ruby reloaded her sniper rifle and shot herself towards me again. I quickly pulled out my sword and blocked the attack that Ruby was trying to dish out onto me. Though as I lowered the blade, I noticed that my blade wasn't extended, even though the Buster enchantment was active.

Guess I can only power up one object at a time.

That would have been nice to know before I got into this fight but whatever I guess.

Ruby quickly propelled herself into the air before shooting a few rounds from her scythe at me.

Okay, just gotta block them with the spirit and-!

Though I was cut off as the spirit missed each individual shot, all three of them sending me flying backwards.

Okay, so sniper bullets is where my spirit draws the line.

Good to know.

Like I said, would have been nice to know before.

Ruby launched herself towards me, reeling her scythe back as she did.

It's been about five seconds, so as she sped towards me, I pulled out my revolver and pulled the trigger, making a very loud bang as the enchanted bullet flew out of the barrel of the gun.

Ruby was sent flying towards the ceiling, making a loud thud as she hit the top of it before falling to the ground.

"Ow." Ruby groaned as she got up from off of the ground.

"You okay, Rubes? I used one of my weaker charged shots on ya." I said as I twirled my gun around with my finger.

"That was a weaker version?!" Ruby asked, bewildered.

"Yep." I said as I activated the Speed enchantment and appeared in front of Ruby.

Ruby was shocked for a moment, but the shock quickly passed and she swung her scythe at my abdomen. Though as she did, I quickly ducked under it and placed my sword under the handle of the scythe, preventing her from moving it down to ground level.

I moved her scythe out of the way and started to swing my sword at her body, causing her to stumble back a bit after each individual slash.

Ruby was dazed for a bit, but she quickly regained her composure and shot her body up towards the ceiling.

She fired a few shots at me, though she was more rapid and aggressive with her shots compared to the previous time she did this.

Guess she was testing what my spirit could and couldn't block.

I activated the Barrier enchantment to block the bullets that came from her sniper, though after each bullet hit, a visible crack could be seen in the areas where the bullets made contact with the barrier.

Ruby saw this and launched herself towards the area where the barrier was cracked. As she made contact, the barrier shattered into tiny bits of glass before fading away into nothingness. I smirked and quickly moved around Ruby, causing her to jump back away from me.

I started to chuckle as I pulled out a fire Dust crystal. Ruby's eyes widened as she realized what I was trying to do. She frantically searched around her body to see where I hid the bomb that I placed on her body, though it was already too late, I crushed the crystal in my hand, causing it to detonate.

Though before I could do anything else, I saw the silhouette of Ruby stand up from the cloud of dust. She moved towards the ground and got into a position that racers get into when they are right about to start the race.

Ruby rushed towards me in a blur of red and roses, though as I braced myself for impact, she moved past me. I had a confused look on my face as I saw her moving around the arena at a very fast pace. Though as I tried to piece together what she was trying to do, I began to felt the wind pick up around me.

Suddenly, I was lifted off of the ground and started to spin around the room at a very fast pace.

It was only until Ruby stopped when I was finally put down… I mean I hit the side of the wall in the process, causing my aura to hit the red but hey, I'm just glad that stopped.

"The winner is Ms. Rose." Glynda said, causing the other students to applaud.

"Yeah! That's my sister!" Yang said from the crowd. Though to my surprise, as well as her team's, Yang jumped down to the arena and pulled me up, dusting me off as she did.

"You okay there?" She asked.

"Uh, apart from the world spinning around me, yeah, I'm fine." I said, my pupils moving in circles as I said this.

"Good, can't have you injured quite yet. Your little 'friend' still owes me a rematch." Yang said with a wink.

.

.

"You mean my spirit, right?" I asked, causing Yang to nod in approval.

"Well, that's all the time we have today. Remember students, midterms will be starting soon, so I suggest you study hard. Class dismissed." Glynda said as she started to walk off of the stage.

Though something was off, Ruby hasn't moved from the spot she was standing in since the match ended.

"Uh, what's up with Ruby?" I asked.

"Oh, right. You see, her Semblance has a drawback." Yang said.

"Which is...?" I said, motioning her to go into further detail.

"Well, when she moves that fast for a long period of time, she gets really really-"

"YAHOOOOOO!" Ruby screamed as she jolted up towards the air.

"Hyper." She finished.

"Oh my gosh did you see me Yang?! I was like all, waaaaaah, and Brandon was all like, bang bang! Was I cool?! Huh, huh huh?!" She asked in a very fast pace.

"Calm down Ruby." Yang said.

"Calm?! I am calm! If anyone's not calm it's you! Why would you say that to your own sister?! I thought you loved me?!" Ruby asked in an even faster pace.

"I do love you, but you really need to calm down." Yang said.

"I am calm! How many times do I have to tell you! I'm calm, I'm calm, I'm calm, I'm calm! Why is it so hot in here?" She asked.

"Yang, what is happening?" Weiss asked.

"Well, this is one of the drawbacks to Ruby's Semblance, she gets all hyper and can't think straight." She said.

"Well when will she stop?" Weiss asked.

"Stop?! Why would I stop?! I thought we were BFF's! How could you betray me like this Weiss!" Ruby asked.

"Eventually, though for now, she's just-"

"I can smell the clouds!" She screamed to the sky.

"Off." Yang finished.

"Yeah, that's one way to describe her right now." Blake said.

"When will she stop?" Weiss asked again.

"Oh wow! I wanna do so many things right now! Like I want to go… and… see… the..." But before Ruby could finish, she collapsed onto the floor, snoring loudly as she did.

"Right about now." Yang said.

.

.

"Well… this was certainly interesting, but I need to go see Coco about something. I'll see you guys later." I said as I got up and walked away.

"Bye." They all said as they walked towards Ruby.

* * *

 **Vale**

Alright, so where do I start?

I walked through the various streets of Vale, thinking on the various possible victims for the assassinations or kidnappings.

Well, I can't just go and walk into a research lab without any form of warrant or proof of high power.

So we'll be sticking with looking for potential victims for assassinations.

I get to look for a potential killer who would probably try to kill me if they saw that I saw them kill their target.

Wonderful.

Okay, so let's look at the files and see who's gonna be at death's door next.

I pulled out my scroll and loaded up the files of the potential suspects that Coco gave me last week.

Okay, so let's see who we got here.

We got former soldier Geoff Ramsey… right, still have to get used to the fact that there are universe parallels of the staff of Rooster Teeth in this universe.

Though from what I saw, him and the rest of the Achievement Hunters work fairly close to the academy, so I'd imagine it would be pretty hard to kill a man without being caught by his workers, or by the staff of Beacon.

So we'll just assume he's safe for now.

Okay, how about this guy?

Okay, so next we have former Lance Corporal and explosives expert in the Atlas Army, Daniel Gruchy...wait, isn't that Dan from the Slow Mo Guys?

Huh, never knew he was in the military.

Guess you learn something new everyday… even if you have to learn it from a different universe.

Though from the looks of it, this guy is supposed to leave Vale on December 9th, which is about… today… it's today.

Well, I can scratch him off of the list of potential suspects.

Okay, how about this guy?... Wait, this guy is my tailor!

.

.

What? I sometimes I need to get my hoodie sewed and stitched back together after a fight, it's not like this fabric is made out of invincible material.

Well, I need to go there anyway so why not ask him a few questions while I'm there?

Might get a good idea on what exactly these people are looking for in their targets.

I walked around the corner of the street to walk towards my tailor's shop.

Though before I was about to enter, I made sure that no one was around the corners of the shop, or in the distance of the shop.

After I saw nothing after five minutes of looking, I walked into the shop.

"Hey, old man! You here?" I asked as I walked into the shop.

"What did I tell you about calling me that!" He yelled as he walked out from behind the counter.

"Well, you always call me a little shithead so I thought this would even it out." I said.

"Whatever, what do you want?" He asked.

"Well, I came here for two reasons. One, to pick up my jacket." I said as I pulled out a handful of lien.

"Ah, right. I'll be back in a moment." He said, walking to the room behind the counter.

I looked around the room as if I was looking for a potential spot for a killer to hide.

Though why would they want to kill an old man like him? Seems pretty unnecessary if you ask me.

Well, I did come here for answers, so I'll find out soon enough.

"Okay, here it is. Now hand it over, ya little shithead." He said.

"Yeah, here ya go." I said as I handed him the money.

"Thanks, now what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked.

"Well, I was wondering what you did when you were part of the military." I said.

"Why the sudden interest?" He asked me.

"Well, I was just curious and all. I mean you've told me about your time in the military, but you never told me what you did exactly." I said.

"Well, if you must know, I was one of Vale's finest tacticians. Still am." He said.

Well I guess that explains why they would target him. The tactician is one of, if not THE most important person when it comes to winning a battle.

"What kind of battles did you plan for?" I asked.

"Well, it was mostly during the during the whole Faunus revolution shindig. But I was mostly en-charge with coming up with plans for Vale's White Fang, when they turned all terrorist like, you know." He explained.

Even more reason to get rid of him. Okay, I got what I came for, now time to warn him.

"Okay, so now that you've told me this, I want to show you something." I said as I pulled out my scroll.

"Eh? Is this one of those fancy apps you teenagers use? I never understood those things." He said.

"No, this is a list of all of the former and current high authority figures, scientists, and former soldiers." I said.

"Why do you have something like that?" He asked.

"Well, a friend and I have been investigating the recent kidnappings and murders in Vale, and these are all of the potential suspects." I said.

"Okay… wait, hold on a minute." He said as he scrolled through the names.

"If this list is correct, then I'm one of the-!" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as a tiny explosion was seen coming from his hand, destroying three of his fingers and half of his hand.

.

.

"H-hey. W-w-what the hell is th-?!" He was cut off once again by the sound of a machine gun coming from behind him, bullets flying through his body.

I quickly used one of the tables that was in the room to shield myself from the bullets.

As the gunfire died down, I poked my head out from behind the table to see what happened. I could see the body of the tailor standing there with various bullet holes all across his body. A few seconds passed until his lifeless body fell to the floor, a pool of blood spilling onto the wooden floor.

"W-what the hell just-?!" Though before I could finish, I saw a camera with a propeller attached to the top of it come out from the room behind the now deceased old man.

What is that thing? It doesn't look like it was the thing that killed the old man, but still, there's something off about this thing.

It began to scan the body of the old man, seeing if it had eliminated the former soldier.

I slowly began to get up off of the ground, though as my foot put pressure on the wooden floor, it let out a very audible creek.

The camera quickly turned towards me and zoomed in on my figure.

"Uh, look, I like an interview just as much as the next guy. But I would rather talk to an actual person, rather than a flying camera." I said.

The camera moved around me, scanning me for identification.

.

.

"O-okay, so I'm just gonna go outside and probably throw up my lunch." I said as I walked out of the store.

Okay, now let's just walk away slowly. With any chance, it didn't see me as a threat, but as regular civilian.

As much as the White Fang's methods may be brutal, they don't go out of their way to kill civilians.

.

.

At least not until Vol 3.

Okay, let's just call Coco and tell her about what I just-!

Though before I could do anything else, I was stopped by the sound of glass breaking from behind me.

I quickly turned my head to see not a floating camera, but a tiny fighter jet with the symbol of the White Fang on the side of it flying through the air.

.

.

Yeah, A FREAKING FIGHTER JET!

Is there anything this world doesn't have?!

Okay, so maybe it might be flying off back to base, with any luck, I might be able to follow the jet there and find the person controlling-

I was cut off once again by the sound of two guns cocking, and a red dot being pointed at my head.

Okay, so it's already noticed me, no matter, I'll just use my revolver to shoot down the-

Though instead of gripping the handle to my gun, I gripped the empty space where my gun should have been.

So now it's time to initiate plan B. Run away and try to shake it off my tail.

I began to run in the opposite direction of the fighter jet, which was hot on my trail, firing the two machine guns that were mounted on the front of the plane.

Okay! So I have no weapon! No way of fighting this thing, and I'm running through a highly populated area with a tiny fighter jet on my trail.

I mean it's not the worst thing that happened to me, but still.

Okay, so let's see if we can piece together a plan.

I can't use my spirit, it's range isn't long enough to even get close to the jet.

So beating the absolute shit out of it is out of the question.

I can't exactly out run it on foot, so that's also out the question.

From the looks of it, it's being manually controlled because a computer program wouldn't open fire on a random civilian.

So the questions of the day are: A, how do you fight an enemy you can't even touch.

As well as, B, how do you fight a person you don't even know the location of?

I'm still trying to figure out both.

Though I could worry about both of those questions when I had the chance to breathe.

For now I had to avoid being blown up, shot down, or worst case scenario, both.

I quickly tuned the corner in attempts to avoid the barrage of bullets and missiles from the jet that was behind me.

"Okay, okay, okay. Just think Brandon, what can you do to shake this thing off of your tail?" I asked myself as I ran towards a crowd.

Shit! The jet will only kill a hell of a lot more people than it originally intended to if I go through-!" Though before I could finish, I turned around to see that the fighter jet stopped firing at me.

Okay, so that means that they don't want to open fire on a random crowd of civilians, good to know. Now all I need to do to avoid it is go into a large crowd.

I quickly pulled my hoodie over my head and walked into the crowd of people.

The little camera zoomed around the crowd in attempts to find me once again so it can open fire on me.

So it can't see me if there are too many people, also good to know.

Okay, you probably won't get another opportunity like this again, so think fast!

Now the question is, what do I do now? This thing isn't going to stop until it finds me.

I closed my eyes, going into sudden deep thought.

Okay, how about we call up one of our friends to track this dude down, because right now I've been having no such luck.

So I need someone who is really good at hiding, can easily get away if they were caught, is willing to potentially kill the guy who's trying to kill me, and has a ranged weapon.

.

And I know just the person for the job.

I pulled out my scroll and began to dial a number into the scroll.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

 _'If there is a god out there, please just take me now.'_ Emerald thought bitterly as she listened to another one of Mercury's stupid 'original gags'.

"Okay, so how about this, you know how the skirts that nurses wear at hospitals are really short?" Mercury asked.

 _'Please!'_ She begged.

"Well, back in the day, my old man told me how nurse's skirts used reach up to their ankles." Mercury said as he put his finger at his ankle.

"Was he in Mistral? Because I think those are kimonos." Emerald said.

"Anyways! Now the skirts are all the way up here!" He barreled on as he pointed at his knee.

 _'Headache! The headaches are back again.'_ Emerald inwardly said to herself.

"Just wait Emerald, soon enough their skirts will reach all the way up here." Mercury said as he pointed to the middle of his thigh.

 _'It's getting worse!'_ Emerald said internally as she pinched the middle of her nose.

"Give it ten years and eventually they'll be wearing nothing at all!" He ended.

"So, what do you think? Another one of 'Mercury's original gags'." Mercury asked.

.

.

"Oh my Oum! I never thought of it like that! I mean, just, wow!" She said sarcastically as she smacked her hand against her forehead in fake realization.

"I know right!" Mercury said, missing Emerald's obvious sarcasm.

"This is blowing my mind right now! It's like a freaking revelation!" Emerald said sarcastically.

"I know right! But don't worry, there's more where that came from." Mercury said.

 _'Joy.'_ Emerald thought dryly.

"Pretty soon all of Remnant will know of the genius of Mercury Black." Mercury said smugly.

 _'I want to kill a man!'_ She screamed internally.

All of a sudden, Emerald's ringtone began to go off, startling both her and Mercury.

Emerald pulled out her phone to see who it was, and to her pleasure, it was her friend Brandon.

"Excuse me, I need to take this." Emerald said.

"Who is it?" Mercury asked.

"It's Brandon." She said.

"Tell him I said hi." He said.

"Suuuuure." She said in a sarcastic tone.

She walked outside of the warehouse that she and Mercury were staying in and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, what's up?" Emerald asked Brandon through her scroll.

 **"Hey, do you want to kill a man?"** He asked through her scroll.

.

.

 _'Okay, fate is just mocking me now.'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"Who did you piss of this time?" She asked.

 **"Hey, I didn't piss off anyone!"** He cried out indignantly.

.

.

 **"Okay, I MIGHT have accidentally seen an assassin kill one of his targets and now said assassin doesn't exactly want any witnesses so now he or she is now looking for me so they can kill me."** Brandon admitted.

"So a man is trying to kill you… seems like this happens to you quite often. Why do you need my help anyway?" Emerald asked.

 **"Well, the attacker isn't exactly visible so I can't exactly kill what I can't see.** " Brandon said through her scroll.

"Alright, where are you right now?" She asked.

 **"Hold on, give me a sec. I can't see anything through all of these people."** He said.

A few seconds passed before Brandon spoke again.

 **"Okay, I'm by highway near the industrial district. I'll try stay in the same spot, though I'm not sure how long I can hide from this guy."** Brandon said.

"Okay, I'll make my way there. Though while I'm making my way there, how exactly are they trying to kill you? Might give me time to plan ahead while I'm making my way there." She asked.

 **"Well, they aren't directly trying to kill me, though he is using his stupid miniature fighter jet to shoot me down from above."** He said.

"Can't you shoot it down with your revolver?" Emerald asked.

 **"I don't have my revolver with me."** Brandon said.

 _'Of course he doesn't. That would have been too easy.'_ She thought to herself.

"Okay, I'll try to get there as fast as I can, for now just try not to get caught and let me know if you find out anything else about her weapon." Emerald said.

 **"Easier said than done but whatever."** He said.

"Try not to die as well." She said.

"I make no promises." Brandon said as he hung up the phone.

Emerald put her scroll into her pocket and started to look a way to get there as fast as humanly possible.

 _'All right, Brandon would probably be dead if I walked all the way to where he is, so how about we just...borrow a vehicle.'_ Emerald thought.

As if on cue, Emerald saw two boys standing in front of the 'From Dust Till Dawn' shop, holding an unnatural amount of umbrellas.

Though the thing that caught her attention the most was the motorcycle that was right in front of them.

 _'Well hello there.'_ Emerald thought as she ran towards the motorcycle.

"Dude, I'm telling you, we don't need that many umbrellas!" The blonde boy said.

"I'm just trying to make sure that my wonderful figure doesn't get damaged!" The blue-haired boy said.

"It's! Water! It's not like it's gonna rain acid!" The blonde boy yelled.

"You don't know that!" The blue-haired boy shouted.

Though before the blonde could argue back, Emerald quickly snatched the keys from the blue-haired boy, started up the motorcycle and started to drive towards the place where Brandon was.

"Uh, shouldn't we go after her?" The blue-haired boy asked.

"It was a rental, people lose those all the time." The blonde said.

"Yeah, you're right." The blue haired boy said as he started to walk down the sidewalk.

* * *

 **My Pov**

 **"Okay, I'll try to get there as fast as I can, for now just try not to get caught and let me know if you find out anything else about her weapon."** Emerald said through my scroll.

"Easier said than done but whatever." I said.

 **"Try not to die as well."** She said.

"I make no promises." I said as he hung up the phone.

Yeah, I might want to leave the fact that the assassin is from the White Fang hidden, at least until she actually starts fighting the assassin.

I mean she'll almost definitely chew me out for not telling her about the assassin's occupation but hey, it's better than dying.

I looked behind me to see that the flying camera was zooming around the crowd, catching the attention of the various people in the crowd.

From the looks of it, it hasn't noticed me yet.

Let's make sure that it doesn't notice me until either Emerald has come up with a plan to track down the user, or Emerald has already killed the user.

Though if I stay in the same spot, it's bound to notice me eventually.

Hmm, well from the looks of it, it won't go into it's airplane mode in highly populated areas, and it might have some trouble identifying me indoors.

.

.

Well, I was beginning to get hungry.

I walked into a diner that was one the corner street of Vale to hide from the camera.

"Good afternoon sir." The attendant said from behind the counter.

"Hey, table for one." I said as I held up my index finger.

"Right this way sir." The waiter said as he grabbed a menu and lead me to a table at the corner of the room.

"Can we start you off with a drink?" He asked.

"You have any herbal tea?" I asked.

"Right away, sir." He said as he walked away from the table.

I looked out of the window to see that the camera was flying right on the other side of the window on the other side of the room.

I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to hide myself from the enemy.

.

.

Wait, there's something right in front of me.

I grabbed the menu and put it across my face so that no one could see me.

Suddenly, I felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket. I grabbed my scroll to see that the message I had received was from Emerald.

 **"Hey, I'm at the lower area of the highway. Where are you?"** She asked.

"That was fast. What'd you steal?" I asked.

 **"Can't I just take the bus like any upstanding citizen?"** Emerald asked.

"No, you can't. So what did you steal?" I asked once more.

 **"Some motorcycle that these two idiots left unguarded. Stealing it from them was pretty easy."** She said.

"Alright, to answer your question, I'm in a diner that's on the corner side that leads to the entrance of the highway." I said.

A few seconds passed before Emerald responded.

 **"Okay, I see it. I'll meet you inside."** Emerald said.

I put my scroll into my pocket and looked outside. The camera didn't look like it was about to give up anytime soon, so from the looks of it, I'm not going anywhere.

"Excuse me sir. You have a guest." The waiter said as he placed the herbal tea onto the table. I looked up to see that Emerald was standing behind the waiter with a pair of keys in her right hand.

"Yeah, she's with me." I said.

"Are you ready to order, sir?" He asked.

"No, not yet." I said.

"Very well, do take your time." The waiter said as he walked away from the table.

.

.

"So… tiny airplane huh?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah, not the weirdest but it's definitely up there." I said.

"Okay, so I have a plan." She said.

"Really? Normally I'm the one who comes up with the plans." I said as I went to reach for the cup. Though before I could grasp it, Emerald quickly took it away from my grasp.

"Well, I thought it would be fun if I were the one who figured this out, rather than follow a plan that would put you in a situation that would most likely get you killed." Emerald said.

"Okay, so what's the plan involve?" I asked.

"It involves you getting put into a situation that would most likely get you killed." She said as she sipped my herbal tea from the cup.

"Of course it does." I said dryly.

"So what do I need to do?" I asked.

Emerald's only response was to drop the keys in front of me and push them under my menu.

"Well, you can't exactly escape a fighter jet on foot. So you'll need something a little faster if you ever want to have any hope of not being mowed down completely." Emerald said.

"So is this why you took the motorcycle? So that I can escape on it?" I asked.

"I never said you would be escaping. No, you're just gonna use the motorcycle to keep your distance from it while I try and figure out who's trying to kill you." She said.

"But I don't even know how to drive a motorcycle!" I said.

"Meh, you'll figure it out. Now come on, the jet is bound to notice us sooner or later." Emerald said as she chugged the last remaining liquids that were in the cup.

"Fine." I said dryly as I put a couple of lien on the table.

As Emerald and I walked out of the dinner, the camera zoomed in on the two of us, a red dot being aimed at my head.

"Looks like they caught you. The bike is over there, go that way so I can try and figure out who exactly the pilot is." Emerald whispered.

"Right." I said as I ran towards the bike.

Okay, so I think that the keys go in here.

As I placed the keys into the starter and turned, I could hear the engine start up from below me.

Wow, never thought I would be riding a motorcycle.

Especially when I have no idea how to.

"Okay, so I just need to turn this and-!" I was cut off mid-sentence as I flew off of the motorcycle as it sped forward.

As I laid there on the ground, I could see Emerald laughing from atop the roof of the diner.

I quickly held up my middle finger in her direction and climbed onto the bike again.

"Okay, let's try this again." I said as I turned the handle once again.

Fortunately, I wasn't flung off of the bike this time and I slowly but steadily made my way onto the road.

As I did this, I could hear the camera transform into its fighter jet mode, its propellers turning as it prepared to give chase.

I quickly turned the handle and the bike shot forward, as I did this the fighter jet flew after me.

As I struggled to get the bike on a straight forward path, I could feel my scroll vibrate in my pocket.

"Come on." I said as I eventually got it to go in a straight line.

I quickly grabbed my scroll, answered Emerald's call, and put the scroll in between my ear and my right shoulder.

"Why are you calling me again?" I asked.

 **"Well, this is the only way I could think of when it came to communication. If you have a better idea, I'm all ears."** She said.

.

.

 **"No? Good, so right now I'm following you on the rooftops, so far I don't see anything that could lead us to the killer."** Emerald said.

"Well, so far I've haven't been having any trouble with driving this th-!"

 **"EYES ON THE ROAD!"** Emerald screamed. I looked up to see that I was dangerously close to hitting the car in front of me, though I quickly made a turn right to avoid the collision.

"Sorry!" I yelled as the car honked behind me.

 **"Jeez, I know you can't drive a motorcycle but at least TRY not to die to a fucking car!"** She said.

"Alright! I'm sorry! Jeez." I said as I regained control over the motorcycle.

 **"Okay, so just keep doing what you're doing. If we're lucky, the killer will show us a flaw that could lead us to their location."** Emerald said.

"Okay, so I'm gonna get onto the highway, with any luck I can-"

 **"Don't get on the highway!"** She said through my scroll.

"Why not?" I asked.

 **"Well, it's not exactly easy to follow and track a person when they're in a place where fast vehicles go!"** Emerald said.

Shit. Okay, new plan, try to shake it off and give Emerald more time to research what it can do.

All of a sudden, the fighter jet began to fire its two machine guns at the back of my motorcycle, barely missing the tires to the bike.

"Jesus! This thing doesn't give up, does it?!" I asked.

"Any luck?!" I asked as I drove away from the attacker.

 **"No, nothing yet. This guy is doing a really good job in covering his tracks."** Emerald said.

Though before I could turn onto the next street, I saw the fighter jet fire a missile in that direction, seemingly trying to cut me off.

"Shit! Sorry Em, I have to go on the highway!" I said as I turned onto the highway.

 **"Wait! Don't!"** She protested, but it was too late, we were both on the highway.

Alright, just gotta shake this thing off and-!

Though before I could even attempt to do so, the plane turned around and headed towards one of the buildings.

.

.

"Uh...what just happened?" I asked.

 **"Hold on, I'm thinking."** Emerald said.

A few moments passed by until Emerald started to speak again through her scroll.

 **"Okay, I've got a theory."** She said.

"Mind telling me what it is?" I asked.

 **"I think that the user to the weapon needs to be at a certain range to pilot the jet, and they can't exactly stay hidden in a place as open as a highway."** Emerald said.

"Alright, but how do we find them? We still don't know where they are?" I asked.

A few minutes passed until Emerald began to speak again.

 **"Okay, here's what you're going to do. Head to the docks."** She said.

"Why am I going there?" I asked.

 **"Well, what's the most open place in all of Vale?"** Emerald asked.

.

.

"The ocean!" I said in realization.

 **"Bingo. If you can head out to the docks, than maybe I can find the killer. I can't find them here because they can still follow you even when you're on the highway. They just can't attack you."** Emerald said.

"Alright, time to head to the docks." I said as I drove off of the highway.

As I did this, I could hear the sound of the jet plane coming on from behind me.

Okay, just need to make a left turn here.

Make a right here.

Aaaaaaaand there we go!

I could see the docks from the distance.

Though the question was, how was I gonna get out into the sea fast enough to outrun the plane?

Seemingly on cue, I could see a pair of sailors drop a jet ski into the water, with the keys still in the slot.

Well… that answers my question.

Though I couldn't stop the bike for anything right now.

I needed to keep moving.

"Well, here goes nothing." I said as I sped towards the bars that kept people from falling into the sea.

As I hit the bars, I flew off of the bike and towards the jet ski.

Though before I could land in the water, I summoned the arm of the spirit to pull the jet ski towards me.

"I'm gonna borrow this for a bit!" I said as I started up the jet ski and made my way towards the salty sea.

.

.

"What just happened?" One of the sailors asked.

As I rode further and further from Vale, the fighter jet started to descend downwards. Eventually, it turned around and headed into a warehouse that was on the docks.

Why is it always a warehouse?

"Hey Emerald, I got away." I said.

 **"Did you see where the jet went?"** Emerald asked.

"It went into some warehouse across the docks." I said.

 **"Can you be a bit more specific?"** She asked.

"It went into the one on the far left." I said.

 **"Alright, I'll go deal with the rest. You just stay put."** Emerald said as she cut off the connection.

So... I just need to stay here… on the high seas… all alone.

.

.

Aaaand I'm already bored.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

"Tch, clever bastard. Was able to figure out that D.S.M.N has a limited range, though I didn't think he would hijack a jet ski." The assassin muttered in the warehouse as she made adjustments to her weapon, D.S.M.N.

"Still, who gave him the bike? Wasn't there before." She said.

"Was it that girl? Why do I feel like I've seen her before?" The assassin asked.

As she tried to piece together what just happened, Emerald was currently watching from above her, contemplating whether or not killing this one was a good idea.

"It just HAD to be the White Fang!" Emerald silently whispered.

"Cinder's not gonna be happy about this one." She said.

.

.

"Wait, she can't say anything if I make it look like it she was the one who got caught." She said.

"Win win for me." Emerald said as she pulled out her scroll and dialed a number she never thought she would dial.

 **"Hello, Vale Police Department."** The woman on the other side of the scroll said.

"Yes, I would like to report that I have found one of the White Fang's assassins. I'm at docks in the industrial district in the warehouse to the far left." Emerald said.

 **"Thank you, we will send a police squad right away."** The woman said as she cut off the connection.

As Emerald put her scroll in her pocket, it was taking every ounce of her inner strength just to not throw up from disgust.

"Ugh, never calling them again." She said as she jumped down the floor.

"I mean seriously! Who the hell has that much green in their outfit?!" The assassin asked herself.

"I do." She said as she pressed her gun up to the assassin's head.

The assassin quickly swung one of her claws at Emerald, but Emerald was quick to dodge the oncoming attack.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm just making sure you never see the light of day ever again." Emerald said as she activated the blades in her guns.

"Tch, I recognize you. You're with that fire bitch." The assassin said.

Emerald scowled and began to fire her weapons at the assassin, though the assassin was quick to dodge the bullets.

"Well, consider THAT nerve struck!" She taunted.

"I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should." Emerald said.

"Tch, I should have known you would betray us. Typical of you humans." The assassin said.

"Well, it's not a betrayal if no one finds out." She said.

"Well, how about I formerly introduce myself, the names Veronica Lambert!" The newly named Veronica said as she fired up D.S.M.N.

"Don't care. Let's dance." Emerald said, firing off a few round from her twin pistols.

Though as the rounds flew by Veronica, D.S.M.N quickly swooped down and fired its two machine guns at Emerald.

Emerald quickly flipped to her left and began to run around Veronica, firing rounds from her pistols all the while.

Veronica did the same, though she pulled out a machine pistol out of her back and fired it at Emerald, all while commanding D.S.M.N.

Emerald slid under D.S.M.N, bullet barrage and fired her chain at Veronica's feet, knocking her over.

Veronica fell onto the floor with a thud and Emerald brought both of her feet onto her stomach before jumping onto the top floor.

As Veronica stood back up, Emerald was nowhere to be seen.

 _'Heh, sorry, but no one has been able to see through my-!'_

"D.S.M.N! Find her!" Veronica commanded.

D.S.M.N let out little beeping noises and scanned the area.

Though what surprised Emerald the most, was when D.S.M.N fired a missile at the area where she was, causing her illusion to break.

 _'How?! There's no way in hell she can be that perceptive!'_ Emerald thought to herself as she ran towards Veronica with her bladed extended outward.

Emerald slashed at Veronica, though she was cut off as D.S.M.N fired a barrage of bullets at Emerald.

Emerald quickly jumped back, but Veronica was able to kick her in the abdomen. Though as Emerald got up, she activated her Semblance and tried to do her sneak attack again.

"Again?" Veronica asked.

 _'Let's see if I can't piece together this little puzzle.'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"D.S.M.N!" She commanded.

Just like before, D.S.M.N started to attack Emerald, breaking her illusion.

 _'Looks like she's using her weapon's scanner to find me. How annoying.'_ Emerald thought bitterly.

Though as she moved back, she noticed a certain part in the cockpit of the plane was glowing.

 _'Well, that looks important. Let's break it.'_ Emerald thought as she started to run around Veronica.

Veronica was quick to respond by shooting her machine pistol at her, while commanding D.S.M.N from above.

Emerald activated her illusion again, causing her to disappear from Veronica's eyesight.

 _'This again?'_ Veronica thought as she commanded D.S.M.N to find her.

Though as the plane closed in on Emerald, she fired her gun at the cockpit, causing the plane to come crashing down onto the ground.

"D.S.M.N!" She yelled as she ran towards her weapon.

"Respond!" She yelled.

But it was no use, the damage would temporarily put her weapon out of use.

Veronica whipped her head behind her and pointed her gun at nothing.

Veronica looked in all directions, a cold sweat forming behind her.

"Hey." Emerald said, causing Veronica to turn around, only to be met by Emerald's fist.

"Well, that was… annoying." Emerald said.

Though before she could do anything else, the sound of police sirens coming out from behind the door told her to get out of the warehouse.

"Welp, time to leave. Have fun eating shit for the rest of your life." She said as she jumped out of a window.

Emerald waited at the docks for Brandon to arrive after the police have left the area.

 _'Where the hell is he?'_ Emerald asked herself.

As if on cue, Brandon came from around the corner of the shop that was on the docks, looking exhausted.

"Where were you?" She asked.

"Filling out papers, explaining to the store manager why I jacked one of his skis, and paying for the fine." He said.

"Well, on a high note, the assassin won't be bothering you anymore." Emerald said.

"Did you...?" He asked, making the motion of silting a person's throat with his finger.

"I wish. That bitch was annoying. Though she will be spending the rest of her life in a prison cell." She said.

"Good, I already had enough problems on my plate." I said.

"Now, as a reward for saving your sorry ass, how about you cough up a little money?" Emerald asked.

"Didn't I give you tea?" He asked.

"No, I took it. So reward. Now." She said as she held her hand out.

"Ugh, fine." Brandon said as he pulled out his wallet and gave Emerald a handful of lien.

"A pleasure doing business with you." Emerald said.

"Yeah, yeah." He said.

Though before he could say anything further, Emerald wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders.

"Glad you're okay." She said as she patted Brandon on the head.

"Thanks, I guess." He said.

"Now, how about some dinner? Your treat?" She asked.

"Didn't I just pay you money?" He asked.

"Didn't I just save your life?" Emerald asked.

.

.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked.

* * *

 **Aaaand let's make that FOUR assassins!**

 **Jeez do the White Fang just have assassins ready to go or something?**

 **Well, it's not all bad.**

 **One of them IS behind bars.**

 **Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go ask Tukson for a raise.**

 **I'm low on money for some 'unknown' reason.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Yeah, I have the pairing names, though I won't reveal them until I start the poll.**

 **rocketmce: Trust me, the fic is practically written off of JoJo references.**

 **Ragnorak16: Uh… hey, how's it going?**

 **TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin: It wasn't intentional but yeah.**

 **Cmndr . SWAG: Don't worry, you're not the first. That also sounds like a fun idea.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks, I'll need it.**

 **V1DEOGAMER: Glad you like the ship.**

 **DragonLord501st: Glad you liked the chapter. :)**

 **As for the other weapon users, he will eventually meet some in the future, though there are a few of them that he would like to avoid at his best interest.**

 **I've considered it and I'm trying to think of things that can fit in the context of the story.**

 **Keiser: They have them, they haven't used them all yet.**

 **Keiser: Not really.**

 **olTran: Don't worry, you-**

 **KING CRIMSON!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **What was I doing again?**

 **Raidentensho: I think I'm either gonna keep it as Caliber, or name it after a song like the author of JoJo does this his stands.**

* * *

Omake - Mother's Day (Non-Canon)

It was a peaceful morning in Beacon Academy, everyone was going to classes and it was a relatively stress-free day for everyone.

.

.

Well, almost everyone.

Brandon Kim was less than happy, and not like he is normally.

Why?

Well, today was Mother's Day.

While this may be a joyous day for most, this was a reminder for him that he can't ever see his family again.

So Nora decided that it was time to cheer him up.

"Hey, Brandon. Can I ask you a question?" Nora asked.

"Sure, what is it?" He asked.

"Do you have any parents?" She asked.

.

.

"That's a really sensitive subject." He said.

"Just wanna know." Nora said.

"Well, if you MUST know, I don't really know where my parents are at the moment. So as of right now? No, I don't have any parents, why are you asking anyway?" Brandon asked.

"Well you do now! REN WE HAVE A SON!" Nora shouted.

.

.

 _'What?!'_ Brandon asked himself mentally.

"Okay." Ren said as he wore a pink sweater that said 'World's Best Dad'.

"W-wait, what is-?"

"COME HERE YOU LITTLE RASCAL AND GIVE YOUR BIG OL' MAMA A HUG!" Nora said as she brought Brandon into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hold it right there!" They heard from the distance.

Nora, Ren, and Brandon turned to see that Peach was walking towards Nora with a scowl on her face.

"What's up teach?" She asked.

"I'm sorry Ms. Valkyrie, but you can't adopt Brandon." Peach said.

"WHAT?!" Nora asked.

 _'Thank you!'_ Brandon thought to himself.

"Because he's already my son!" Peach said.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Brandon asked.

"I WANNA SEE THE PAPERS!" Nora said.

"Here you are! Signed and everything." Peach said as she held out the adoption papers.

"What?! When did this happen?! And aren't you supposed to have the signature of the kid you're going to adopt?!" I asked.

"I got your signature from Ozpin." Peach said.

"Oh, of course he did!" I said.

"YOU CAN'T BE HIS MOM! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A HUSBAND!" Nora said.

"Neither do you." I said.

"Let's be real here, Ren and I are practically married already." She said.

"That won't be a problem." Peach said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"I will be both your mother, and your father." She said.

.

.

"What?" He asked.

"From now on, you can call me daddy." She said.

"I need an adult." Brandon said.

"I am an adult." Peach countered.

* * *

 **Veronica Lambert**

 **Age: 25**

 **Height: 5'10**

 **Weight: 137 lbs.**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Lock-On**

 **Summary: Veronica is able to transfer her aura to her weapon, D.S.M.N and manually control the little plane at will.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: B**

 **D.S.M.N (Don't Stop Me Now)**

 **Namesake: Don't stop me now by Queens.**

 **Weapon type: Manual-control fighter jet.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	34. Killer

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Killer"

Thought: _'Killer'_

Flashback: _"Killer"_

So a week has passed since my run in with the assassin from the White Fang, and so far I haven't come up with any leads leading to Osvaldo's location.

This guy must be REALLY good at hiding his identity from the public if not even the local news center has picked anything on him up yet.

Seriously! The only real lead I have here is his name, his occupation, and that he MIGHT be in Vale. So yeah, I don't really have a lot to work with here.

What's more is that I can't even ask Blake for help, because if I do, she'll want to know how I knew she was in the White Fang to begin with, and I would REALLY not like repeat what happened two weeks ago.

Coco hasn't found anything out about his location either, even after all of the questioning they did with Veronica.

Didn't really matter what they did to her, water boarding, shock torture, sleep deprivation, etc, nothing was making that woman crack.

Guess they had a lot of practice with those forms of torture just in case they got captured like she did.

I can't ask Neo, Emerald, or Mercury about it either, because they don't know that I know that they're in cahoots with the White Fang.

Even if I told them I knew, there's still no guarantee that they would know anything about it either.

I've been trying the lower class clubs in the downtown area of Vale, but so far, I've been coming out being even more confused than I was.

I'm going to try Juniors Club today, though my last visit there was...less than appealing.

Well, maybe he'll be thankful that I prevented Yang from trashing his bar.

Then again, I did almost blow up his bar while trying, though the bomb wouldn't have gone off if it weren't for his brain dead men.

Even if the bomb was a dud.

Maybe he'll know something about this Osvaldo guy.

Though I'll definitely need a lot of money if I want the information.

Which will ALSO be an issue because SOMEONE decided that she wanted to go to a restaurant in the upper class part of Vale.

So now I don't have the money to pay for information like that.

I only have a week before the official start of vol 2, so I'll need to act fast or I may have to find the killer the hard way, which is something I would REALLY like to avoid in the long run.

From what I've gathered with the slight interactions I've had with the twins, this Osvaldo guy is EXTREMELY dangerous, and would most likely be someone whom I would want to avoid direct combat with.

From what I can assume, he's the guy who most likely killed Coco's sister.

So he's bound to have some immense physical strength if he can punch a hoe through a living person.

Hell, not even my weapons spirit can do that.

.

.

Okay, well I never really tested that but I would rather not find out.

So yeah, we'll definitely want to try and avoid direct combat with him if he can possibly rival if not surpass the already immense strength of my spirit.

Then there's also the issue of finding out what his semblance can do and what his weapon is.

From what I've seen, the White Fang have had some pretty diverse set of ways when it came to killing there targets.

We got the twins, who have these weird camouflage semblances, either that or one of them has a weird support semblance and the other one has...something that I might not know of.

Dealing with those two was a challenge by itself, and that was when there main goal was capturing that scientist, who is now in the security of the Vale police department. So if I were to fight them in a life or death battle, there's no telling what they would be like.

They've got, or well HAD, Veronica, who could probably kill multiple targets at once with D.S.M.N, as she called it.

From what the researchers told Coco, the plane had multiple machine guns on the front of the plane, and on the wings of it.

It also had a small bomb in the bottom part of the plane, making it good for taking out vehicles of some sort.

.

.

Okay, now that I think about it, I'm REALLY glad that I was able to get out of it's range.

If I didn't, then my ass would have been blown all the way to kingdom come.

And while I don't like saying this, but Blake may have been one of those assassins during her time in the White Fang.

Her semblance does seem like it could be used for stealth purposes, and while it may be towards people like Roman, she still has that killing intent she had during her time in the White Fang.

Might not be the best thing to think about but hey, just goes to show how dangerous the White Fang can actually be, given they have the people to do the job.

Then there's Osvaldo, who I still no next to nothing about.

He's most likely the brawn of the group, making him the prime decision for killing hard to kill targets.

Then, last but certainly not the least, Adam, mother fucking, Taurus.

So what do I say about Adam that hasn't been said a million time on the news, by most of the officers at the police station, or sometimes, in Beacon itself.

Well, there's not a lot there can be said about him that hasn't been said in a thousand ways on a thousand news networks so I'll try to keep it brief.

He's an asshole.

Okay, now that that's taken care of, let's move on.

Mid terms are just about over, and if you thought that just because we don't have to learn about algebra, geometry, or any of that other crap, the test would be a breeze, boy you were wrong.

You see, there are two types of intellectual mind sets when it comes to being a huntsmen, the tactical one, and the actual intellectual one.

.

.

I'm really good at being the first one.

The other one, not so much.

I've always had trouble keeping my attention focused on the teacher of the class even before I was trained at Beacon.

So when you have a teacher who talks in a thousand mile's per hour, a teacher who just wants to boast about his exploits as a huntsmen, while giving vague hints about strengths and weaknesses of Grimm we could have gotten from a text book, a teacher who's probably growing grey hairs in her late twenties, and a teacher who is constantly using you as a test subject for the class, you could imagine that paying attention in class would prove to be quite the challenge.

But unlike most of the first years in my class, I've had experience with these people.

.

.

Okay, dealing with Peach is STILL a challenge even to this day but hey, what are you gonna do?

So if you can piece together what all of these teachers are trying to tell you, then you might have a SLIGHT chance of passing these exams.

"Mr. Kim" Glynda called out to me.

Either that or Ozpin will rig your test.

"Mr. Kim!" She said a bit louder than before.

Would explain why everyone did so much better than I did.

"MR. KIM!" Glynda yelled, causing me to jump out from my seat and onto the floor.

"Ugh." I grounded as I got back up.

"Well, glad to see that you are finally with us again." She said dryly.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Well, Ms. Xiao Long has requested a match with you." Glynda said as I looked at an impatient looking Yang from behind her.

"Oh, sure, why not?" I asked, jumping over the railing and into the arena.

As I walked past Glynda, Yang started to make similar hand signs to that of Ruby's from the match that happened a week ago.

Of course she would want to fight my spirit, especially since it was the reason she lost the tournament last year.

I try to tell her that it's not as simple as that. I showed her, along with the rest of her team, team JNPR, and Sun that my life needs to be in danger in order for me to bring it out.

Yang grinned and gave me the thumbs up.

.

.

Suddenly I'm staring to have second thoughts on fighting Yang now.

"Are both sides ready?" Glynda asked.

"Let's get this party moving." Yang said before loading a clip into her gauntlets.

"Yeah, I'm all good." I said.

For now at least.

"Then. Begin!" As she gave us the signal to start.

Yang wasted no time to quickly charge at me, using both of her gauntlets to propel herself forward. I quickly activate the Barrier enchantment, causing Yang bounce off of the barrier and land on the ground with a thud. I quickly go on the offensive, but Yang fires her gauntlets at the ground, propelling herself upward.

As she moved up, she brought her fist to the bottom of my chin, causing me to go sailing upwards. Though she wasn't done yet, as I started to fall, she shot herself foward, delivering a flurry of punches to my abdomen before punching me towards the wall.

"Glad to see you haven't changed at all." I said as I got up off of the ground.

"Meh, I've had a year to practice." She said, steam coming out of her gauntlets.

I quickly charge at the area where she would land, activating the Buster enchantment as I ran. Yang smirks and fires her gauntlets at the ground, flying upward again. Though before I could react, Yang bounces off of the wall and towards me.

Though before she could attack me, I summon the arm of the weapon spirit to block the punch, creating a slight shock wave that came from the ground.

Before Yang could get away, I used the arm of the spirit to throw her away from me and towards the wall.

"Heh, heh, heh." Yang laughs as she punches her fists together, causing her semblance to activate. She starts to grin and charges towards me.

"Here we go." I said under my breath. I quickly block one of Yang's attacks with my Buster enchantment, sparks coming off of the two weapons as they clashed together.

"Wait, why is she using it so early?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yang's semblance only shines when she's in a real pinch. So why is she using it so early in the fight?" She asked.

"She's trying to bring out his weapon spirit." Blake said.

"Why though?" Ruby asked.

"I think she see's what I see, an opportunity to truly test you limits" Pyrrha said.

"Especially with her, considering that the spirit's and her's fighting style's are pretty much the same." Weiss said.

Ruby nodded and continued to observe the fight.

"Ah ha ha! This is what I call a fight!" Yang said with a laugh.

"But we both know it can get better." She said with a determined look.

Yang wasted no time charging towards me, reeling her fist backwards, getting ready to strike me down, but I quickly activate the Buster enchantment to shield myself from the punch. I flew across the room, but before I could hit the wall, I dug my sword deep into the ground, stopping myself.

"Well, if that's how you want to play, then-!" Yang stopped herself mid sentence, looking at me with an ominous blood red bleeding into her eyes.

"Oh no." Ruby said.

"What do you mean 'oh no'?" Weiss asked.

"Look at Brandon's hand." She said as she pointed to his hand.

.

.

"Well, it was nice knowing him." Jaune said as he saw the strand of blond hair that was in his hand.

"You..." She began as the arena began to rumble.

"W-wait, hold on! I didn't mean to-!" I began, but it was too late, the damage was done.

"You little shit!" Yang yelled. All of a sudden, fire surrounded her entire body. She charged at me using Ember Celica's recoil. I try to use the Barrier enchantment to block the attack but it was no use, she broke through the barrier with ease and punched me across the room, shattering my aura.

"Ow." I said as I got up. But Yang wasn't done yet, she began to charge at me again, reeling her fist backwards.

"Ms. Xiao Long! That is enou-!" Though before Glynda could finish, the spirit of the weapon appeared and blocked the attack.

.

.

"Oh my Oum." Glynda said as she stared at the spirit in shock.

"Heh, about time." Yang said with a dark and raspy voice.

The spirit and Yang charged towards each other with there fist's reeled backwards, as Yang got into the spirit's range, it began it's assault.

The two exchanged blows for a good while, each fist making a small shock wave of air.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as it made contact with Yang's fists.

Though while Yang could increase her own strength with each strike she took from the spirit, there was one thing that Yang just couldn't increase with her semblance.

Speed.

That would prove to be her undoing as the spirit punched her across the face before bringing it's fist to her side.

 **"ORAAAAAH!"** It shouted before punching Yang across the room.

The whole room went silent, no one was saying a word. They were to shocked an fixated on the silver figure that floated above me.

.

.

"W-well, this was certainly a interesting turn of events." Glynda said as she regained her composure.

Yeah, it shocks everyone the first time aro-.

"But even so, Mr. Kim's aura was the first to shatter, making Ms. Xiao Long the winner." She said.

"Yaaaaay." Yang said meekly as she laid in the ruble of the wall that she was punched through.

Great, so even when I win I still loose.

"That will be all students. You are dismissed." Glynda said, though before I could walk out of the room, she used her semblance to hold me in place, preventing me from walking any further.

"Not you Mr. Kim. I do believe you have something to show the headmaster." She said sternly.

Just keeps getting better.

* * *

"I can't believe it! The spirit finally came out again, this is truly a remarkable discovery!" Oobleck said as he, Professor Port, Peach, and Glynda stood in Ozpin's office.

"Ah yes, this is truly a day that will be remembered throughout the years to come." Port said.

"What was it like?! How did you bring it out?! Did you even bring it out?! Is it sentient?! Do you think we could run some tests?!" Peach asked at a thousand miles per hour.

"While I do agree with you all when you say that this is an exciting day, that still doesn't excuse the fact that the spirit nearly beat one of our students to a utter pulp!" Glynda said.

"Yes, it's truly intriguing. While it lacks range, it makes up for it with sheer strength and speed." Oobleck said.

"Though I am interested to know why the spirit doesn't use a sword. I mean it is a spirit inside of a sword, why not use one?" Peach asked.

"Well, from what Gylnda told us, the spirit was just a cloud of smoke with arms and legs, that must mean that the spirit hasn't fully manifested yet." Oobleck said.

"Maybe." She said.

"What's even more intriguing was the sound it made as it attacked Ms. Xiao Long." Glynda said.

"Sound? You mean like a war cry?" Port asked.

"Something like that." She said.

"What was it?" Peach asked.

.

.

"Glynda?"

"I am NOT repeating what it said." She said.

"Uh, okay, let's move on." Oobleck said.

"Though how did it trigger? It's almost as if it just came out on it's own." Glynda asked.

"Well, how about instead of just asking questions about the spirit, why don't we see if the user knows?" Ozpin asked as he looked at me with an expecting look.

"Ah, yes. That does seem like the best course of action." Port said.

"Well, how does it come out Mr. Kim?" Oobleck asked.

"Okay, well, I really don't have full control over what the spirit does yet, or when it comes out. It sort just does it's own thing." I said.

"Well when DOES it come out then?" Peach asked.

"It only comes out if or when I might take a serious hit." I said.

"Oh? So it doesn't act out command, but rather self preservation." Ozpin said.

"Interesting, though if we were to get a closer inspection on it, it would be a great deal of help with our future research. Who knows? It might even help Brandon learn more about controlling his spirit." Peach said with a hopeful look in her eye's.

"You just want to experiment with it." I said.

"You can't prove that." She said.

"So, it only appears if you are in danger of injury?" Ozpin asked with a smirk.

"Uh...yeah?" I said, unsure on how to take the look on his face.

"Glynda, what is Brandon's aura gauge currently at?" He asked.

"Let's see." She said, pulling out her scroll and scanning my body.

"It is currently at thirty seven percent. Strange, his aura should have gone above fifty by now." Glynda said.

"Why do you as-!" Though before Glynda could finish, Ozpin pulled out what looked like my revolver from under his desk.

"W-wait! When the hell did you-?!" I didn't have time to finish as Ozpin fired the weapon at me, causing the spirit to emerge and catch the bullet in mid air.

"Well, you wanted to see the spirit for yourself, here you are." He said, placing my gun back onto his desk.

Each teacher had a different expression on their face.

Ooblecks was one of discovery and revelation.

Port's was one of pride and accomplishment.

Peach had a...very terrifying look on her face.

Glynda...well.

"Why would you fire a gun at one of your own students?!" Glynda demanded.

"Well, I wanted to see if Brandon's statement was true, and sure enough, it was. The spirit acted on it's own, without any need of a command from Brandon." He said.

"You could have seriously injured him!" She said.

"Nothing the good doctor couldn't fix." Ozpin said, referring to Peach.

"Amazing! The spirit caught the bullet in mid air! It must have some incredible speed and accuracy if it was able to catch it like that!" Oobleck said as he examined the spirit.

"Yes, a fine vessel for combat indeed." Port said as he examined the spirit along side Oobleck.

"This. Is. AMAZING! I can't believe I'm seeing the actual spirit of the weapon! Even if it's unfinished." She said as she pulled out the needle keeping her hair together and poked the arm on the spirit.

"Ow!" I yelped, rubbing the area where Peach poked the spirit.

Peach looked at me with a confused look before doing it again.

"Ow!" Seeing how I was reacting to her poking the spirit, she poked it again, though with a little extra pressure.

"Will you quit it already!" I yelled as a little blood started to come out of my arm.

All of a sudden, the red eye on the right of the spirit's head widened and it quickly grabbed Peach by the head.

"P-Peach!" Glynda yelled as the spirit threw her up into the air before grabbing her by the head and neck.

O-okay, this has gone on for long enough, time to go back inside.

.

.

Back inside.

.

.

Why isn't it going back into the weapon?!

"Ah!" Peach gasped as she struggled to breathe under the spirit's iron grip.

Damn it! Why isn't it stopping! She's not the enemy, you don't need to hurt her!

Acting on instinct, Glynda used her semblance to slam the spirit to the ground, causing me to slam to the ground as well.

"Ha, ha, ha." Peach gasped as she regained her breathe.

"Are you alright?" Port asked.

"Alright? I'm more than alright!" She said as she got up and walked towards the spirit that was on the ground.

"Peach! Stand back! We don't know what this thing might do next." Glynda said. She had seen first hand what the spirit could do to people, and she would hate for anyone of her students to be on the receiving end of it.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a twist." Peach said.

"W-wha-?! I just prevented this spirit from attacking you!" She said.

"Aw, will you look at this, the wicked witch of the west DOES have a heart." Peach said.

"Stop it." Glynda said.

"You truly inspire me with you compassion great witch." She said.

"Quiet you." Glynda said.

"Back to the subject at hand, why were you repeatedly poking the spirit with your weapon?" Oobleck asked.

"I was testing a theory. From the looks of it, my theory was correct." Peach said.

"Would you care to explain to us what you theory was?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, I'm sure you're wondering why Brandon is on the ground." Peach asked.

"Yes, I have been wondering that, you know, there are better places to lie down you know." Port said.

"Well, here's the thing, he can't get up." She said.

"Why not?" Port asked.

Suddenly, Ooblecks eye's widened in realization.

"Well, if we remove the hold on his weapon's spirit." Peach said as she moved Glynda's arm away from the spirit, causing her to release the grip she had on it.

At the same time, Brandon stood up from off of the ground.

"Now look at his arm." Peach said.

"He's bleeding!" Port said as he saw the blood dribble down my arm.

"Now look where I poked the spirit." She said.

Everyone looked at the arm of the spirit to see that there was some sort of white mist coming off of the hole Peach poked in the spirit.

"Wait, that looks like-." Port began.

"I see, so anything that happens to the spirit, happens to Brandon as well." Ozpin said.

"Precisely." Peach said.

"Interesting, I guess even the enchanted weapons have there flaws." Oobleck said.

"Moving on, how was it in combat? I'm sure it fought like a valiant warrior!" Port said.

"Well, if your definition of valiant is punching everything until it's gone, then sure." I said.

"Yes, the way Mr. Kim's spirit acts is...less that honorable." She said.

"What do you mean?" Port asked.

"How about explaining it to you, I just show you." Glynda said as she put her scroll into the USB port on Ozpin's desk.

As she did, a holographic image of my previous fight with Yang began to play, showing the spirit's immense speed and power.

"My word! I don't think I've seen something punch that fast!" Port said, his eye's showing from bellow his eyebrows.

"Yes, it is truly a sight to be hold." Oobleck said.

"Wow! Immense strength, speed, AND precision?! Just think of all the scientific possibilities that could be in store for the-!"

"You are not to use Brandon's spirit for your own personal experiments, Peach." Ozpin said.

"What?! How is that fair?! I'm sure that most of the experiments won't be harmful towards Brandon." She asked.

Most of?!

"It's not that I'm worried about his safety, I'm more concerned about the call I might get from Glynda telling me that our doctor is in the emergency room." Ozpin said.

"...Fine." Peach said with a pout.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful day, though I believe you all have duties you must attend to. You are all dismissed. " Ozpin said. The professor's nodded and walked towards the elevator on the other side of the room.

"It wouldn't have been THAT dangerous." Peach mumbled as the doors to the elevator closed.

Okay, just gonna take the one right next to the other one .

* * *

After walking down the various stairs that went down Beacon tower, I made my way towards Vale with the intent of going to Juniors bar for some answers.

"Okay, so if my memory is correct, then Juniors club should be right around this corner." I said as I walked along the streets of Vale.

Hopefully I'm able to get SOME answers out of him, he's probably my best bet when it comes to finding out his location.

If not, then I really can't do anything but sit on my ass and wait for something to happen, and I'm not really a fan of that idea for various reasons.

So I HOPE that he has something, even if it's just the tiniest lead then I'll take it.

Hate the feeling of being a sitting duck waiting for something to happen.

The police are to busy trying to get info out of Veronica, as well as trying to protect the scientists and soldiers to try and go look for the killer.

So if no one else is going to do it, I might as well try.

Even if most of my encounters winds up with me almost getting killed in one way or another.

Then again, everyone has almost tried to kill me at least once in there life times.

.

.

Okay, almost everyone.

Well, it's better than doing nothing, so let's just see if we can't solve this problem before it becomes something that we can't solve.

"Hey! I recognize you!" I heard someone say.

Speaking of problems.

"Yeah! He's the one who left us hanging in the front of the club! We were there for most of the night you know!" One of the guards said.

Seriously? It was supposed to last for at least thirty seconds but alright.

"Who are you guy's again?" I asked.

"Don't you remember us?" The one on the right said.

"If I did, then why would I be asking if I knew you?" I asked.

"He does have a point." The one on the left said.

"You're not helping!" He said.

"So can I come in or what?" I asked.

"You expect me to let you in after the little stunt you pulled on us the last time you were here?!" He asked.

"I can always do it again you know." I said with a raised eyebrow.

.

.

"R-right! Well, the doors are open so just walk on in! We're supposed to having a DJ play at our club today so expect it to be crowded." The man on the right said.

"Thanks." I said before walking into the club.

"Ugh, this is so not worth minimum wage." The man on the rights said.

"Well, look at the bright side, we'll at least get a lot of money with the DJ that's coming in today." The man on the left said.

"Yeah, that is if we do a good job keeping the club under wraps, and so far we haven't been doing a good job." The man on the right said.

"Yeah, I guess there's that, but hey! The boss might let this one slide!" The man on the left said.

"Considering that was the kid who almost blew up the bar, I don't think it would really slide with the big man." The man on the right said.

"Yeah, I guess your right." The man on the left said in a somber tone.

"Hey." They heard someone say, causing them to look away from each other and towards the boy.

"Uh, hey kid. Aren't you a bit young to be at a club like this?" The man of the left asked.

The boy rolled his eye's and pulled out some sort of card from his pocket.

"Look, we're not in the mood to buy anything. So why don't you take whatever it is your selling and get the-." Though before he could finish, the boy shoved the card in front of the mans face.

As the man read the card, his eye's widened.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't expect you to be here so early. The boss said that you didn't have to be here till five thirty." The man on the right said.

"It's eleven o five though." The man on the left said.

"With the amount of time I take to set up, it will be five thirty." The boy said.

"Well, the boss in at the bar on the other side of the club. Talk to him about your payment." The man on the right said.

The boy nodded and walked into the club.

"Was that the DJ?" The man on the left asked.

"Yeah, said his name was Sync or something." The man on the right said.

* * *

Well, I can hear that the music is just as loud as ever, seriously who the hell likes to listen to music at a volume like this?

As I walked down the hallway, I spotted what looked like to be an employee standing by one of the tables.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for your-." Though before I could say anything, the man had a terrified look on his face and ran to the other side of the door.

.

.

Was it something I said?

Whatever, from the looks of it, the doors are-.

Though as I tried to open the door leading to the dance floor, I could feel some sort of force holding it back.

"Door." I finished.

I walked backwards, cracking my neck and my knuckles as I walked backwards.

"Alright, you wanna be that way?" I asked as I manifested the arm of the spirit.

"Sure, I'll bite." I said before using the arm to force open the door, some sort scream coming from the other side as I opened the door.

Though as I waled to the other side, I could see various men in black and red clothing pointing there guns at me.

"Wow, you sure know how to welcome someone." I said as I pushed one of the gun barrels down towards the ground.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" I could hear Junior say as he made his way through the crowd.

"What are you even...oh, hey. You're here...why?" He asked.

"I need to talk to you for a second...and if your men would put there guns down I could actually talk to you." I said.

.

.

"If your men would put down there guns I could-!" I began, though Junior signaled his men to lower there weapons before I could finish.

"Thank you! Now, let's talk." I said as I walked to the other side of the small crowd.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Well, first off I would like to know what the deal your men have with me." I said.

"You placed a live bomb in my bar." He said.

"Okay, first of all, it was a dud, and secondly, it was YOUR men who decided that it was a good idea to hit the bomb with a weapon." I said.

"Yeah, though as you can see, most of the staff here has an IQ lower than ten." Junior said.

As he said that, we heard two audible coughs coming from behind us.

We turned around to see that the Malachite looking at us with angered expressions on there faces.

"I said most of the staff." Junior said.

"Whatever." They said before turning around to head towards the bar.

"Why do you keep them around if all they're gonna do is give you a constant headache?" I asked.

"They look intimidating to the average person, so that keeps people in here in check." Junior said.

"Didn't stop me." I said.

"I said the AVERAGE person." He said, putting more emphasis on the word average.

"You still haven't answered my question yet." Junior said.

"I'm looking for someone, someone dangerous. So right now, you're my best bet at finding them." I said.

"Well, you came to the right place, I know pretty much everyone in Vale's underworld." Junior said.

"Great, so how are you with the White Fang?" I asked him.

As the word's White Fang left my mouth, Junior stopped in his tracks.

.

.

"Kid, I don't know what you want with the White Fang, but here's a bit of advice. Stay out of whatever those psychos do." Junior said.

"Do you know a guy named Osvaldo?" I asked.

"What did I just-?!"

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. Though I have a tendency not to listen to people. So do you know him or not?" I said.

"Ugh, to answer your question, no, I've never even heard of the guy before." Junior said, much to my dismay.

Great, now my only shot at getting a solid lead was gone!

"What do you even want with the White Fang anyway?" He asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the various assassinations and kidnappings in Vale." I said.

"Yeah, from what we saw in the news, they caught one of the assassins in the Industrial District. Kinda surprised they were able to catch one of them." Junior said.

"Well, from what I have gathered with my slight interactions with there organization, there are a total of four possible assassins with in the walls of Vale." I said.

"Hold on, how the hell does a kid like you know something like this?" He asked.

"Well, I've been doing an investigation on this one death that happened last year. The death of Mocha Adel." I said.

"Right, I've heard about that. Damn shame what happened, she was a good customer." Junior said.

"Well, I'm working with her younger sister, Coco Adel to find her killer." I said.

"Coco? Hmm...yeah, I've heard her talk about someone with that name from time to time." He said.

"Yeah, and I also seem to attract trouble like a freaking magnet, so I seem like the perfect guy for this job" I said.

"Well, sorry kid, can't help you even if I wanted to. These assassins aren't exactly easy to find, it's why the White Fang calls them there best." Junior said.

And yet I've managed to have at least ONE encounter with the ones that I know of, because they apparently can pull assassins out of there assess for some reason.

"Well, shit. Was worth a shot though, I guess I should thank you for not kicking me out." I said with a disappointed tone.

"Meh, least I could do for stopping Blondie from destroying my bar." He said.

"Hey, while I'm here, do you have any-."

"Ahem." I heard someone cough from behind me.

I turned around to see that a tall boy with short black hair with some bits of orange streaks here and there, though it was covered up with a black and orange baseball cap. He had orange eyes, he also had a pair of orange headphones with black accents on them.

He wore some regular rubber shoes, black pants, a white hoodie with orange accents, and a black watch on his left hand, as well as two wrist bands on both of his wrists.

He wore a leather belt around his waster, various hard drives attacked to the slots, as well as a scroll that was connected to the headphones on his side.

"Oh, hey...why are you here so early?" Junior asked.

"Need time to set up." The boy said.

"Alright, our equipment is in the storage closet in there." He said.

He nodded and started to walk towards the closet.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That guy? He's a DJ called Sync." Junior said.

"Sync?" I asked.

"Why do they call them that?" I asked.

"Because he can dance in perfect sync with his music." He said.

"His concerts aren't half bad either. Does em all around Vale, not a single corner of this city he doesn't know of." Junior said.

.

.

All of a sudden, a huge grin began to form onto my face.

"Uh, what are you-?"

"I'll be right back." I said as I walked up to the storage closet.

Well, hello Sync, you and I are gonna have a little talk.

I opened the storage to see that Sync was hard at work, putting together various equipment for his show together.

"Hey." I said, though I wasn't getting a response.

"Uh, hey." I said, a little louder this time.

.

.

Still nothing.

"Hey!" I yelled, causing him to jump and take off his headphones.

"Jeez! What the hell do you want?!" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"About time, I was trying to call you for a couple a seconds now." I said.

His only response was to point to the headphones that laid on his head.

"Okay, so how about you take them off, I want to talk to you." I said.

"I'm busy. If you want an auto graph then you'll have to come back never." He said dryly.

"Well here's the thing, you know your way around this town right?" I asked.

"What the hell did I just say?" Sync asked.

"Answer the damn question." I said.

"Ugh, yeah, I know my way around here, so what?" He asked.

"Good, so that means you've met a lot of people." I said.

"Suuure I have, though I've never met someone quite like you. How about I answer your questions later?" He said.

.

.

"Like after the show later." He said more slowly.

"Yeah, well I don't have that kind of time. So let's get this over with, shall we?" I asked.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Brandon, Brandon Kim." I said.

"Good, now I know who to ban from any future shows." He mumbled.

"Ever hear of a guy name Osvaldo?" I asked.

"I've met a lot of people, do you really expect me to remember one little face?" Sync asked.

"No, though I want to know if you've met anyone...suspicious." I said.

"What kind of suspicious are we talking here?" He asked.

"You know, seems like the average Joe, but is secretly a killer." I said, causing Sync to stop in his tracks.

.

.

"K-killer?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a killer. I'm sure you know the reason why if you are so familiar with Vale like people say you are..or are they just full of shit?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've heard of them." He said.

"So. have you ever met anyone like that in one of your shows?" I asked.

"No." He simply replied.

"What about in your daily life?" I asked.

"No."

"How about-!"

"Okay, I'm trying to be nice here, but I have a show to set up for, and I cannot afford mess up now. So I am sorry for being so direct, but please leave." He said.

"I can't." I said.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because you may be exactly what I've been looking for, someone who is familiar with the area, with it's people, and what goes on in said kingdom." I said.

"I need you to tell me if there was anyone, even if it was for a second, if there was anyone who made you feel as if you weren't safe in the environment you were in." I said.

.

.

"Well...I do know of this one place that I thought was peculiar." He said.

"Great! Can you show me?" I asked.

"Does it look like I have the time to do that?! I need to get all of this equipment set up for the show!" He said.

Damn it! Come on Brandon, you just need to convince him to lead you to the area he was talking about.

"Let me help you!" I said.

"You, help me? No offense, but do you even know what half of this stuff is?" He asked.

"I can carry all this out with to the stage!" I said as I went to go and grab the box.

"Yeah, that's a stand set that DJ's use to stand on, it's not exactly li-!" Though before he could say anything, I summoned the arms of the spirits to lift the box up.

"Light." He finished.

"Well, what are you waiting for! Let's go!" I said as I ran outside.

"Not there!" He said.

"Oh, over here?" I asked.

"Yeah, put it down over there. I'll get everything set up, you get the boxes." He said.

"Got it!" I said, placing the box onto the ground.

We continued the cycle of me bringing out boxes and him putting together the equipment for about a good hour until eventually, we got the entire place set up.

"Wow, gotta admit, for someone so small, you sure are strong." Sync said.

"Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Looks like we got time to spare as well." He said as he slowly turned towards me.

.

.

"Alright, I guess I'll show you where it is." He said.

"Okay, thank you, Sync." I said.

"Sync is my stage name. The name's Danza Kahel." He said.

"Mind if I just call you Dan?" I asked.

"Most people do. Come on, I'll drive you there." He said as we exited the bar.

* * *

"So, if I remember correctly, it should be right around this corner." Dan said as he turned the corner.

From the looks of we were in the upper-class district of Vale.

Seems like that this has been the place where most of Vale's problems originate from.

"What do you want with a killer anyway? Shouldn't you want to stay as far away from them as possible?" He asked.

"Well, if I just sit like a duck and do nothing, then more people are going to die, and that is something I would like to prevent at any cost." I said.

"Alright, but why not let the police or a huntsmen take care of it?" Dan asked.

"Well, right now the police have there hands full with the other assassin that they captured, and the huntsmen are busy doing stuff outside the kingdoms." I said.

"Yeah, but still." He said.

"Can't just sit around and do nothing." I said.

"Yeah, I guess so, I was never really the one to get into the spotlight." Dan said.

"You're a DJ." I said.

"That's different! I can just go in and leave without saying a word to anyone. It's not like this, police would be asking questions, reporters would come, and-."

"Alright! I get it, you don't like getting involved." I said.

"Are we there yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, I can see it in the distance." Dan said.

I looked over to where Dan was looking to see a...Diner?

Okay, not what I was expecting but hey, whatever works I guess.

Actually, now that I get a closer look at it, this is the same dinner I hid in when I was being chased by Veronica.

"Alright, thanks for the ride." I said.

.

.

"I'm coming with you." He said.

"Weren't you the one who said that you didn't like being in the spotlight?" I asked with one of my eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, but I asked myself, what if you find the killer, and they prove to be to much for you to handle?" He asked.

"Maybe you won't find them, but if you do, then you're gonna need a little back up." Dan said as he got out of his car.

"Besides, if I just left you to fight a killer knowing I could have helped you survive would leave a bad taste in my mouth." He said.

"Hey! Are you coming or what?!" I asked as I stood in front of diner.

"Yeah, hold on!" He said as he locked the door to his car.

"So, what's so special about this place to begin with?" I asked as we walked into the restaurant.

"Well, it only opened up last year, and already it's one of the best places to get food in Vale." He said.

"How the hell did it become so popular in a short amount of time?" I asked.

"I don' really know why, though it might have to do with the meat here, it's to die for." Dan said as he licked his lips.

Hmm, so it was opened around the time of the murders, that can't be a coincidence.

"Hey." I heard Dan say, causing me to break out of my thought process.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing, just thinking." I said.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." The waiter said as he stood in front of us.

Looks like the same guy that served me a week ago.

"Hello sir." Dan said with a polite bow.

"Right this way." He said.

"Oh, we're not here to eat, we just-." Though before Dan could finish, I quickly put my hand up against his mouth.

"Actually, we would be more than happy to dine here." I said.

"Excellent. Follow me and I'll lead you to your table." He said.

"What are you doing?" He whispered to me.

"This might be the only chance we'll get if we want to find out what's up with this place. It would also be quite suspicious if we just came here to look around and not eat anything." I whispered back.

"Fair point." He said as we arrived at the table.

"Would you care to start off with a drink?" He asked.

"Herbal tea." I said.

"Water is fine." Dan said.

"Very good, sir's." He said before walking away from the table.

"So, you notice anything yet?" He asked.

There has to be some sort of connection.

.

.

"Hey." He said, causing me to break out of my train of thought.

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing yet." I said.

Dan nodded and continued to look over the menu.

"Here you are gentlemen." The waiter said as he came back with our drinks.

"Thanks." I said as I started to sip the tea.

"Are you ready to order?" He asked.

"No, not yet." Dan said.

"Okay, take your time." The waiter said.

"Hold up." I said.

"Yes, what is it sir?" He asked.

"When was the restaurants first opening?" I asked.

"Last year sir." The waiter said.

"When specifically." I said.

"Hmm." The waiter hummed to himself.

"Does it matter when it was?" Dan asked.

"More than you think." I said.

"It was February thirteenth." He said.

"Thanks." I said.

"Not a problem sir." He said as he walked away.

"What's so important about that date?" Dan asked.

.

.

"Hello?" He said, moving closer towards me.

"That's what I intend to find out." I said, pulling out my scroll from my pocket before messaging Coco.

 **"Hey."** I said.

 **"I'm busy, so this better be good."** She said.

 **"I want to ask you a few questions about the time the kidnappings and murders started."** I said.

I spent the next ten minutes messaging someone, trying to see if I couldn't get more info on this situation.

Though as I was about to message her once again, the waiter that was serving us walked by us.

As he passed me though, I smelled a very...familiar aroma.

 **"I'll be right back."** I said.

 **"Wait, what do you mean? What's going on?"** She asked.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dan asked as I stood up from the chair I was sitting in.

"Follow me." I said.

"We didn't pay though!" He said.

My only response was to pull out my wallet and put a handful of lien on the table.

"There, now let's go." I said as I followed the waiter outside.

"Why are we following this guy?" Dan asked.

"That's what I intend to find out." I said.

The waiter went walked around the corner of the diner, picking up some trash bags along the way.

"See, he's just taking out the trash, nothing out of the ordinary." He said.

Hmm, maybe I was just being paranoid.

"Let's go back in and-." Though before he could say anything else, the waiter drove off with the trash bags in his car.

"Wait." I said.

"What now?" He asked.

"Where the hell would be be going with trash bags?" I asked.

"Gee, I wonder where? It's totally not the dumpster, that would be to obvious." Dan said sarcastically.

"Okay, let me ask you a question, when your taking you garbage cans out the the curve, who picks it up?" I asked.

"The garbage men?" He said, slightly confused.

"So why would you do it yourself when somebody else does it for you?" I asked.

.

.

"I think you're being paranoid." Dan said.

"Maybe, but we won't know for sure unless we follow him." I said as I walked towards Dan's car.

"You know, this isn't really how I envisioned my day going." He said.

"Shut up and drive." I said.

Dan sighed and began to follow the waiter down the road.

"Okay, so what's this killer like anyway?" Dan asked.

"Hmm, well I don't really know all that much about him. All I know is that the guy is strong enough to punch a hole through someone." I said.

"Oh, joy." He said dryly.

"Is there any other reason you're going after the killer beside's the fact that this guy will kill a lot of people if we don't do anything?" Dan asked.

"Well...it's more for my friend than anything." I said.

"What happened?" Dan asked.

"We think one of these assassins was the killer of her sister, Mocha Adel." I said.

"I've heard about that, a lot of people at my shows were talking about it." He said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm hunting these fuckers down." I said.

"Is that who you were talking to in the restaurant?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, she's been training as a detective since the year begun." I said.

We sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before Dan broke the silence.

"Look, I understand why you're doing this, but do you really think one kid-."

"Two."

"Fine, TWO kids can capture some of the White Fang's elite assassins?" He asked.

"Maybe, never know until we try." I said.

As we continued to follow the waiter, he made a turn into the junk yard that was in Vale's commercial district.

"See, he's just taking his trash to the junkyard. Come on, let's just go, I seriously doubt that a WAITER to a restaurant is capable of punching a hole through someone." He said.

"Just pull in the damn junkyard." I said.

He sighed before pulling into the junkyard that the waiter was in.

"There's his car." He said as he stopped the car.

"Let's see if we can't find anything." I said as I walked out of the car.

We walked over to the car to see if we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Dan tried to pull the door to the car, but had no such luck when it came to getting it open.

"Locked, looks like we're gonna-." Though before Dan could finish his sentence, I summoned the arm of my spirit to grab the handle and yank to door to the car off.

"Come back later." He finished as the car alarm went off.

Though before it could attract any attention, I quickly had the spirit remove the wires from the car, stopping the alarm.

"There we go, now let's see just what's hiding in here." I said as I looked through the car.

Dan just stood there with a baffled look on his face.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

"W-what's up with me?! You just broke into someone's car without a second thought! What's up with you?!" He asked.

"A lot of things. Some are more problematic than others." I said.

Though as I looked at the back seat of the car, I noticed that the familiar aroma from before was in here.

As I felt the back seat with my hand, I noticed that some parts of the leather were wet.

"Hmm." I hummed to myself.

"Anything?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go. We need to find this guy now." I said.

"Alright." Dan said as he followed me further into the junkyard.

We walked around the yard for a few minutes until we saw smoke coming from the distance.

"Smoke? But it's Wednesday, there isn't supposed to be anyone here, they should be busy picking up the trash bins." Dan said.

My eye's narrowed and I proceeded to walk up the pile of garbage to get a closer look.

"H-hey! Wait up!" He said as he climbed up after me.

As we looked over the top of the pile, we could see the waiter shoveling coal into a furnace that was in the center of the field.

"Why is he trying to burn his own trash? That's the garbage men's jobs." Dan said.

"Why else would you want to burn something yourself?" I asked.

.

.

"In case you don't want anyone finding it!" Dan said.

"Exactly, so how about we see just what our dear waiter is hiding?" I asked as I hopped over the edge of the pile.

Dan nodded and did the same, pressing some sort of button on his wrist bands.

"Hey." I said, causing the man to turn towards us.

"Oh! Well then..I didn't expect to see you gentlemen here." The waiter said.

"We could say the same." Dan said.

"What ya got there?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm simply taking out the trash that the good people left." He said.

"Isn't that the garbage men's jobs?" Dan asked.

"Well, I thought I would lighten there load a bit." He said.

"February thirteenth." I said, causing Dan and the waiter to look at me with confused looks.

"That's when you opened up shop, right?" I asked.

"Yes, you are correct sir." The waiter said.

"Well, it just so happens that the first report of assassination in Vale happened." I said.

"Yes, a tragedy, though they were good men and fought for the safety of our Kingdom." He said.

"Though there was something that struck me as odd during these murders. No matter how hard the police looked, no one could find the bodies." I said.

"Then how were the police able to determine if they were dead or not?" Dan asked.

"The police keep a monitor on each citizen in Vale's aura, if they're dead, then the connection is cut off." I said.

"Then on April twelfth, Detective Mocha Adel died to one of these assassins." I said.

"Yes, it was a tragedy what happened to Ms. Adel, she didn't deserve what she got, I can only hope that her sister can get the closure she needs." He said, causing Dan to freeze and for my glare to deepen.

"Was it something I said?" The waiter said.

"Here's the thing, I never said anything about her having a sister." I said.

.

.

"So, how did you know about Coco's identity when it was never mentioned on the news or on social networking?" I asked.

"..." The man stood there in silence.

"There's also something else I've noticed, the smell that's coming off of your body." I said.

"While I may not have been around it all that much, it's one smell you just don't forget. The smell of blood." I said as I slowly walked towards the man.

"That was also the same smell that was in your car." I said.

"So, I have one last question for you, but you better be careful, because if I hear or see something I don't like, then I'm gonna beat your ass." I said.

The man stood there, gripping the bag tightly.

"I-I do believe it is time for you to pay your bill." He said.

"Wrong answer." I said as I manifested the arm of the spirit to grab a piece of glass that was in the pile. The waiter had no time to react as the arm threw the glass at the bag, cutting it open and letting out all of it's contents.

"W-what the hell?!" Dan asked as he saw the various hands, feet, and heads coming out of the bag.

The waiter just stood there in silence.

"Well then, that explains the bodies...now this is a little theory of mine, so how about you enlighten me." I said.

"What have you been feeding your customers?" I asked.

.

.

"Do you really need to ask?" He asked as he pointed at the various body parts on the ground.

"Oh my Oum!" Dan said as he covered his mouth with one of his fists.

"I must admit, you are more cunning than you look." He said as he proceeded to pick up the contents of the bag.

"Why?!" Dan asked.

"I am a simple Faunus, I just want to live in a world with out humans." He said.

"You sure got a sick way of going about it." I said.

"Well, you humans eat animals, yet you fail to realize that you are the real animals here. So what difference does it make if you eat animal or human?" He asked.

"Alright, so one last question." I said.

"Quite the curious one, aren't you?" He asked.

"Were you the one who killed Mocha?" I asked.

"Ah, Mocha, I must admit, not my cleanest kill." He said.

I just stood there in silence, my knuckles going white with anger.

"Now, I do believe that we've had enough talk for now." He said as his body began to emanate a red aura.

"Don't take this personally, I can't have either of you walking around town with the knowledge you hold, Mr. Taurus would be very upset." He said as his body began to increase in size.

"Now allow me to introduce myself." He said in a deep voice.

"My name is Osvaldo Gervinho." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

* * *

 **So...I finally found him.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **So much for avoiding direct contact with him.**

 **Then again, it's like I said, I attract trouble like a magnet.**

 **I mean look at my first year in this world.**

 **The very first friends I've made were all killers, thieves, or both.**

 **Though I finally found him.**

 **Now this bastards gonna pay for what he did to Coco.**

 **Also, Danza was one of the original characters that...well Danza Kahel submitted.**

 **Now this DOESN'T mean yours won't be picked, I've decided to put them in the mini story lines that I'll put in between volumes, or possibly during the volumes.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you guy's left in the last chapter.**

 **Cco16: Gee, thanks, just make my life harder why don't ya?**

 **olTran:** **Shit, looks like its getting old.** **Welp...on the bright side, Bites the Dust is now active sooooo...bye!**

 **Fiction Fan 369: I try to be, and hopefully a certain person doesn't find out about my other world origins. **

**Ragnorak16:** **Oh, well then...whatever floats your boat.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:** **Did you really have to stop time just to ask me some questions?**

 **1\. Thanks.**

 **2\. It can be if you want it to.**

 **3\. I plan on making more musical references later on.**

 **fanficcyberman: Peach, Nora, and Ren?! Wow, that is gonna be one awkward parent teacher conference.**

 **DragonLord501st: Not really a fascination, just how I envisioned the fight. **

**Also it's not that he's useless without his spirit, it's just that Ruby knows the exploits she can take advantage of.**

 **bwburke94: Fixed it. **

**Mastertimewar: Sure, go for it.**

 **Mastertimewar: No problem.**

* * *

Omake-Philosophy (Non-canon)

Today was a relatively quite day, so Mercury and I decided to take this day to hang out.

Though there was something I've been thinking about ever since my encounter with Veronica.

"Hey, Mercury." I said grabbing Mercury's attention.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I've been thinking about mortality recently." I said.

.

.

"W-wow. That's..pretty deep. Mind if I ask what sparked this sudden thought?" He asked.

"Well think about it, I've been shot, beaten and nearly killed multiple times now." I said.

"Guess that would make someone think a bit." Mercury said.

"So I've crafted a new philosophy that requires myself to grab as much titty as possible in my inevitably short life." I said.

Mercury sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before responding.

"Look, you hormonally driven philosophy fails to answer the ontological questions of exorbitance that drive us all as human beings, Brandon." Mercury said.

"Only by examining all aspects of one's life, and not the one's pertaining to the pursuit of prurient pleasures you so greatly desire, can on achieve to happiness." Mercury said as he opened up a box of steaming hot roast beef sandwiches.

"Like the joy's of roast beef sandwiches!" He said.

.

.

Wait, what?

"Come on Brandon! Roast Beefy O'Weefy is calling for us! He can tell us the true meaning of life!" Mercury said.

"When the beef is absorbed into our bodies, do we become the beef as the beef becomes us?" He asked.

"There's a veritable oxford graduate studies courses on metaphysics to be found between these buns." He said.

.

.

"How do you know half of those words?" I asked.

"I read it in a comic." He said.

"Well, you just go back to whatever wood shack you came from with your roast beefy. I have some business to attend to." I said as I got up from out of my seat.

"Hey Emerald! Come here!" I yelled as I walked towards Emerald.

.

.

"Hey, do you still have the number of the guy who gave you prosthetic's?" I asked.

"I should, why?" He asked.

"I need a new hand." I said.

* * *

 **Don't eat Roast Beefy O'Weefy kids.**

 **Osvaldo Gervinho.**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 136 lbs**

 **Age: 35**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Eye Of The Tiger. (Namesake: Survivor-Eye Of The Tiger)**

 **Summary: When activated, Osvaldo is able to enhance his muscle strength and mass, as well as how hard his muscles and bones become. This transformation also triggers his personality switch.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: C**

 **Osvaldo Gervinho (Semblance)**

 **Height: 7'5"**

 **Weight: 276 lbs**

 **Age: 35**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	35. Caught

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Caught"

Thought: _'Caught'_

Flashback: _"Caught"_

"Now, I do believe that we've had enough talk for now." Osvaldo said as his body began to emanate a red aura.

"Don't take this personally, I can't have either of you walking around town with the knowledge you hold, Mr. Taurus would be very upset." He said as his body began to increase in size.

"Now allow me to introduce myself." Osvaldo said in a deep voice.

"My name is Osvaldo Gervinho." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"S-so you're the one who's been killing all of these people in Vale, huh?" Dan asked.

"Killing is such a strong word. I like to use the term, carrying out the justice of the White Fang." Osvaldo said.

So here he was, the man who's killed so many people was standing right in front of me.

"Well, even despite your size, there's two of us and only one of you." Dan said as he pulled out some shades from his pocket.

"Two? From what I can see, I only see one warrior in front of me. You are just a mere-" Though before Osvaldo could finish, Dan pressed a button on the side of his glasses, causing them to light up. As the light completely surrounded the sunglasses, the wristbands on his wrist began to form into gauntlets that covered his entire hand.

As soon as Dan's gauntlets were activated, his headphones began to glow, along with the wire connecting his headphones to his scroll.

The transformation happened in what seemed like a blink of an eye, one second he looked like the average Joe, and the next thing I know, he looked like he was ready to kick some ass.

"I may not be a huntsman, but trust me, I know my way around a fight." He said, sparks coming off of his hands.

"Hmm, very well then, at least you'll die with some honor intact." Osvaldo said as he began to walk towards us, cracking his shoulders as he further closed the gap between us.

"Here he comes." Dan said as he pressed a button on his scroll.

"Ready to go, Brandon?" He asked.

.

"Brandon?" Dan asked once more.

This was the man who robbed so many people of their families.

"Brandon!" He shouted as Osvaldo came even closer.

The man who shattered so many lives.

"Brandon! Chill out!" He said as he saw my knuckles turn white.

This was the man who caused Coco so much pain!

If you couldn't already tell, I was angry. No, anger didn't begin to describe the feeling in my body now, what I was feeling was hatred.

All of a sudden, my body began to let off a platinum aura, causing Osvaldo to look at me with a curious look.

"Brandon?" Dan asked, curious at what was happening to me.

This fucker was gonna pay for what he did!

I said the only thing that came to my mind as I stared at man in front of me.

"LET HIM HAVE IT CALIBER!" I yelled.

All of a sudden, the spirit appeared from out of my body and rushed towards Osvaldo with it's fist reeled backwards.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Dan yelled as the spirit came out of my body.

Though I couldn't answer him, for now, another question was eating at my brain

How did Caliber come out if my life wasn't in danger?

It's never done that before, even during my fight with Merlot.

So why now of all times?

.

No, I can worry about that later, for now, this is exactly what I need.

"That 'thing' is Osvaldo's one way ticket to jail." I said as I pointed at the spirit.

"So THIS is what the twins were talking about. I must say, I thought they were crazy, but now that I've seen it in person, I must apologize to the twins." Osvaldo said.

Yeah, implying that you're gonna make it back to them.

As Osvaldo got into the spirit's range, it began its assault on him.

 **"ORA!"** It finally yelled before punching Osvaldo towards the pile of trash behind him.

"Eat." I began, gripping the tip of my hat.

"Shit asshole." I finished, dragging my fingers along the rim of my hat.

Dan and I stood there in silence, Dan being shocked about what just happened in front of him.

"Holy... how did you do that?" He asked.

"I'll explain it later. For now, let's take this guy in and-" Though before I could finish, I could see a figure coming towards us from the dust cloud that the spirit created.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" I said, disbelief clear in my eyes.

"When the twins told me that a boy with a phantom of some sort was able to hold their own against them, I was expecting more of a challenge. It's not everyday that the twins would admit to failure." Osvaldo said as he walked from the dust, seemingly unscathed.

No! There's no way he can just shrug off something like that! I'm certain that all of the spirit's punches connected, my hands are still tingling from the force of the punches.

"But now I see that they were too focused on the mission to deal with you." He said.

"Holy crap! He just- he just shrugged it off like you just tapped him or something." Dan said.

Though before I could say anything else, Osvaldo quickly grabbed the spirit by the neck.

"I must admit, your spirit has incredible power, speed, and precision." He said, his grip on the spirit's neck getting tighter.

"Judging by the speed of those punches, it's most likely able to throw them just as fast, if not faster than a full automated machine gun." Osvaldo said.

"It's most likely able to punch through solid stone with ease, the areas where it punched are still tingling from the attack." He said.

"Also, it must be very precise if it can punch in the same area's multiple times with that speed." Osvaldo said.

"Shit, this guy's really strong. We need to be more careful, Brandon!" Dan said.

.

"Brandon?" He asked as he didn't get a response out of me.

Why didn't I respond when he was talking to me? Well, maybe it has to do with the fact that I CAN'T BREATHE!

"Judging my your reaction, I see that you and the spirit have some sort of connection." He said as he punched the spirit across the face, causing me to go flying backwards.

"Brandon!" Dan called out in concern.

I got up slowly, trying my best to regain my breath, but with minimal effort.

"I see, so whatever I do to this spirit-" Osvaldo said as he punched the spirit in the gut, causing me to reel back in pain.

"That damage carries over to you." He concluded.

He was able to find all that out in that short amount of time?!

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

"If you were any normal human, I would have crushed your skull with my bare hands." He said as he loosened his grip on the spirit's neck.

"Oh, but as we can see, you are beyond the boundaries of normality." He said, letting the spirit go.

As the spirit fell to the ground, the smoke disappeared, causing it to go back into my body.

I was bent over on the ground, trying my best to regain my breath.

"You okay?" Dan asked.

I said nothing, I only looked at him with an expression that screamed 'what do you think?!'.

"Right, stupid question." He said.

I nodded and quickly wiped the blood away from my mouth and cheek.

"So what do we do? Your... spirit thing didn't do that much to him. Only grazed him really." He said.

"Yeah, I can see that. Though it still did something to him." I said as I manifested the spirit again.

"Wait, you can't seriously be thinking about going for an assault like that again!" Dan said.

"You got any better ideas?!" I asked.

"Any idea is a better idea!" He shot back.

"Look, this guy may have a strong Semblance, but it's bound to have some sort of exploit we can use." I whispered to him.

"Well punching the crap out of him isn't gonna help all that much!" Dan said.

"Maybe, though it might tell us something about his Semblance that we don't know of." I said.

"Do you really think that'll work?" Dan asked.

"You have any better ideas?" I asked.

.

"Don't answer that." I said as I got up from off of the ground.

"Right, though before we start can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Make it quick, I don't know how long Osvaldo is gonna wait for us to finish." I said.

"Why do you call your spirit thing, 'the spirit'? Why not call it Caliber like you did before?" Dan asked.

.

Huh, I guess he does have a point there, seems fitting enough.

"I don't know, just never came to mind." I said.

"Okay, so I'm gonna try to see if I can use Caliber to exploit a weakness in this guy's Semblance. After I do that, try to see if you can go in for an attack. You DO know how to fight, right?" I asked.

"No, I just have gauntlets on my wrist so that I can look good, of course I know how to fight." He said sarcastically.

"Just checking." I said as I rushed towards Osvaldo.

Osvaldo rolled his eyes and brought his fist up to meet Caliber.

As I got into range of Osvaldo, I had the spirit throw a punch at one of his temples, though surprisingly, he didn't seem to attempt to dodge the attack, he just stood there and took it.

You'd think he'd want to protect one of his vital areas.

Though as soon as the punch made contact with his head, he quickly shrugged it off and went for another punch to Caliber's abdomen.

Caliber quickly moved out of the way and punched Osvaldo in his liver, though with seemingly no effect.

Osvaldo quickly brought his fist down onto the spirit, causing me to fall to the ground as well.

As soon as I hit the ground, he brought both of his fists up into the air in attempts to crush me, though I quickly move in between his legs to dodge the attack.

Guess that's one of the few perks you get when it comes to being small.

Osvaldo grunted before turning around to punch me again, though I was quick to react and quickly moved out of the way of the oncoming attack.

I moved under his arm and had half of Caliber's body come out of the top of my body.

I quickly closed in on his body and had the spirit rapidly punch him in the liver.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as it continued its assault.

Though before Caliber could continue its attack on Osvaldo, he quickly grabbed it by the neck and threw it, causing me to go flying with it.

Ow, Jesus, this guy hits harder than Yang.

Though before I could do anything else, Osvaldo started to run towards me with a dark look in his eyes.

"Ha, ha, crap, I still haven't-!" Though before I could finish my sentence, Dan quickly appeared in front of Osvaldo with his hands extended outwards.

Before Osvaldo could get any closer, Dan let loose a shock wave of electrical energy, causing Osvaldo to stumble back a bit.

"Gah!" Osvaldo yelled as he orange sparks started to form around him.

"You okay?" Dan asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright." I said as I struggled to get up.

"Well, I have some good news and I have some bad news." I said.

"What's the bad news?" Dan asked.

"Bad news is I won't be able to do anything to this guy as long as he has his Semblance activated. That means YOU are gonna have to do most of the damage here." I said.

"Me?! Why me?!" He asked.

"Look at him." I said as I pointed towards Osvaldo who was still trying to recover from the electrical attack.

"He's still recovering from the attack you dished out, that means that you're the only one who's gonna be able to do any damage to him." I said.

"Great." He said sarcastically.

"Good news?" Dan asked.

"I found the exploit I was looking for." I said.

"You gonna tell me?" He asked.

"Well, he might have immense physical strength that surpasses that of Caliber, but it comes at a cost. While we definitely can't beat him when it comes to physical strength, we make up for it with access to mobility." I said.

"Right! Because of his sheer size, he can't keep up with us, all that strength is useless if he can't even hit us!" Dan said with a confident smirk.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna assume your Semblance has something to do with speed." I said.

"Well, yes and no." He said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Well it all depends on the type of music I listen to." Dan said.

.

"I'm sorry could you run that by me again?" I asked.

"Okay, so my Semblance can have varying effects depending on the type of music I'm listening to." He said.

"For example, if I'm listening to hard rock, I'm able to hit harder, if I'm listening to pop, I hit faster." Dan said.

"This also ties into my ability to conduct the electrical currents within my body. The electrical currents flow within my body as I listen to the music, these orange lights are the electrical currents flowing through parts of my body, as well as some of my clothes." He said.

"Hitting harder or faster isn't the only thing I can do, I can also restore aura to others around me if they can hear music like jazz or blues." He said.

"Then what are you waiting for? Fix me up and let's take this guy down!" I said.

"I can't." He said.

"Why the hell not?!" I asked.

"Well, I'm sure that this Osvaldo guy isn't deaf, so if he heard the music then his aura would regenerate as well." Dan said.

Damn, that would have been too easy I guess.

"Only thing is that I have to attack to the rhythm of my song to get the full effect." He said.

Though before we could continue our little team meeting, Osvaldo recovered from the attack and looked at us with a deadly glare.

"So what's the plan here?" Dan asked.

"Hmm." I hummed as I tried to quickly think of a plan.

.

"Okay, I'll try to hold him in place with Caliber, you go in and try to hit him as hard as you can with your electrical attack." I said.

"You sure? Because the other times you went up close and personal with him didn't exactly turn out well." Dan said.

"Only thing I can think of at the moment, so let's just go." I said as I ran towards Osvaldo.

Dan nodded and pressed a button on his scroll.

 **(AN: Play Pray: Red vs Blue season 10 ost.)**

I ran towards Osvaldo with Caliber and Dan following close behind me.

Osvaldo swung his fist at Dan and I, but we quickly moved in opposite directions to dodge the attack.

Caliber rushed towards Osvaldo and prepared it's assault, causing Osvaldo to bring his arms up to defend himself.

 **"ORA!"** It yelled as it continued its assault on Osvaldo.

Dan quickly ran behind Osvaldo with his fist reeled backwards, sparks coming off of his hand.

As he closed the gap between them, Dan quickly hit Osvaldo in the back five times.

Osvaldo grunted and swung one of his arms at Dan, though due to the fast paced nature to the song, he was able to dodge with ease, even landing a few more hits in on him.

Osvaldo grunted as the electrical sparks surrounded his entire body.

Caliber quickly punched Osvaldo across the cheek, causing him to move backwards a bit.

Before Osvaldo could react, Dan went up to his back and kicked him four times in the back.

Osvaldo growled before punching Caliber in the abdomen, causing me to go flying towards the pile of trash.

Dan quickly moved to the right and hit Osvaldo four more times.

"Tch, little shit." Osvaldo said as he swung his arms at Dan, though he was able to dodge due to the slowness of Osvaldo's form.

Dan jumped up and started to kick Osvaldo in the head a total of six times.

Osvaldo moved backwards a bit, sparks emanating off of his body.

Dan smirked and went in for another assault.

Osvaldo frowned and slammed his fists onto the ground, causing it to break under Dan's feet.

Though Dan was quick to react as he jumped off of the stones before bringing his foot down onto Osvaldo's skull.

Osvaldo gripped his head a bit, slightly dazed due to the electricity.

As Dan continued his assault, I could see what he meant by he had to attack in a rhythm of some sort.

His attacks looked like they were following the lyrics of a song, as well as his movements were following the beat.

Osvaldo went in to crush Dan with both of his arms, but was quickly cut off as Dan kicked him across the chin.

Though as he moved backwards he stopped going in for the attack.

"What are you doing?!" I asked.

"It's the instrumental, I need to wait for the lyrics before I can go in again!" Dan said.

Wonderful, alright let's buy him some time.

"Ugh." Osvaldo groaned as he got up from off of the ground.

I quickly manifested Caliber and began to throw a barrage of punches at Osvaldo.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as its fist made contact with Osvaldo's body.

Osvaldo roared and swatted away the spirit, though before I could go flying, I noticed something weird about one of Osvaldo's eyes, specifically that his left eye was glowing green.

Though what also caught my attention was the gray rough skin that were forming around the area's Caliber hit with its fists.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Dan said as he ran towards Osvaldo again.

What was that? Is it a new enchantment, if so, what did it do to him?

Dan quickly ran up to Osvaldo, sparks emanating from both of his hands.

But as his palms made contact with osvaldo's body, the armor on his body started coming off, along with the skin that held them together.

"GAH!" He yelled as he gripped his arm in pain, trying to stop the bleeding.

Okay, there is NO way that we were even close to bringing his aura to the red zone, let alone shattering it.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I saw it shatter in the first place.

From the looks of it, Dan and Osvaldo were both equally as shocked and confused as I am.

Though the moment of shock passed as Dan jumped up to Osvaldo and punched him across the face, blood coming out of his mouth as the fist made contact with his lower jaw.

Dan had a victorious smirk on his face as he saw Osvaldo fall to the ground, though as he was about to fall, he quickly grabbed Dan's left arm.

Osvaldo roared as he punched Dan across the face, shattering his aura, as well as completely removing his left arm from his body.

"Dan!" I shouted as he flew towards the pile of garbage behind him.

Osvaldo took a few deep breaths before turning towards me with a glare on his face.

"Dan." I said softly as I stared at Dan's unconscious body.

I turned towards Osvaldo with a scowl on my face, my knuckles going white from anger.

Dan, I'm really sorry that you got dragged into this, but you helped me a great deal.

You just told me what the enchantment does, even if you didn't do it intentionally.

From what I've gathered, it seems to be sort of an off-switch for aura, though it only seems to work on one target, considering you weren't affected by the enchantment.

You're truly a reliable guy Dan, and that's why I'm gonna beat the ever loving shit out of this asshole for you.

I quickly got up and charged towards Osvaldo with a hard glare on my face.

Osvaldo swung his right fist at me, though I was quick to dodge the attack.

After that, I rolled under his legs and manifested the arm of the spirit.

I swung the fist at Osvaldo's liver, causing scales to form around the area where I punched Osvaldo in.

He grunted a bit, cringing at the sudden pain that he felt in his abdomen.

Looks like it's working, just need to hit a few more vital areas and he'll be completely open.

I quickly used the legs of the spirit to propel me upwards before summoning the arm to punch him in the right temple.

He groans a bit, clenching his teeth from the pain.

I move towards his liver again and give him a swift punch to his side.

Before he could recover, I manifested Caliber and had it punch Osvaldo across the jaw.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" It shouted as it delivered a barrage of punches towards Osvaldo, blood flying off of his body as the punches connected with various parts of his body.

Though before my spirit could deliver the final blow, Osvaldo swept his leg under my feet, causing me to lose my balance.

Before I could go to counter, Osvaldo brings his fist to Caliber's arms, causing both of us to fly towards the pile of trash that was behind me.

As I landed on the pile of garbage, I could feel sharp bits of glass dig into my legs.

"W-what the hell?!" I whispered to myself as I looked at the glass that was in the back part of my leg.

Why the hell did it go through?! My aura didn't feel like it was close to shattering, so why the hell did it-!

.

Wait a minute.

I quickly grabbed a piece of glass that was laying on the ground and brought it up to my face.

My eyes widened as I saw that my right eye was glowing the same color as Osvaldo's left eye.

"Oh, wonderful." I said sarcastically.

Okay, so I can turn off someone's aura with this enchantment, though the cost apparently is that I turn my own aura off.

Great, that would have been nice to know before I went in all guns blazing.

Osvaldo began to walk towards me, cracking his knuckles as he began to close the gap.

Crap.

I started to attempt to move, but the glass that was in my leg only made the pain worse.

Crap.

I tried to summon Caliber in attempts to protect myself, though from the looks of it, I was having no such luck.

Aaaaand shit.

Osvaldo raised his eyebrow as he looked at my right eye before looking at the glass which showed the state of his left eye.

"Hmm, I don't know what you did to me, though I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. Once I kill you this little curse you put me under will disappear." He said as he moved his hand closer to my head.

Shit! No, not yet. I need to buy time!

"W-wait!" I managed to say.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Why? Why did you kill Mocha?" I asked.

"What do you mean? All of my kills were all for the will of the White Fang." He said.

"No, when you came into the warehouse, you were intent on killing the scientist, not Mocha. Hell, if she hadn't moved fast enough you would have killed Coco." I said.

"Hmm, you're a perceptive little shit, you know that?" He asked.

Seriously, is little shit the only nickname I have?

"You're right, my intent wasn't to kill her sister, my only mission was to kill the scientist." Osvaldo said.

"Then why did you-?!" I began only to cut myself off at the last second as I stared behind Osvaldo.

"Why? There really isn't a particular reason, she was just at the wrong place in the wrong time. I'm sure that I would have eventually killed her, though she died trying to protect not one, but TWO humans." He said.

"She died as she lived, protecting nothing, so she deserved a death that meant nothing to me." Osvaldo said.

"W-what?" I asked.

Osvaldo sighed and pinched the brim of his nose.

"Think of it like this, let's say that you were sitting in your room reading a book, and all of a sudden you see a spider on your chair. You don't really think about it, you just take the book in your hand and kill the spider." He said.

"To be blunt, her death was as insignificant to me as killing a spider." He said.

.

Silence filled the air, it was a deathly quiet silence, no wind blew and no one made a sound.

"Now I believe you've stalled your death long enough." He said as he went to grab my head.

"You may be clever, but you you lack intelligence. If you and your friend would have ran, your deaths would have been quick and painless, though now you suffer the fates you do today." Osvaldo said.

"Well, at least I'm not stupid enough to A: Admit to the murder of Mocha Adel, and B: Show the entire world what I looked like." I said in between chuckles.

"What are you-!" Though before he could finish, the sound of a clicking noise cut him off, causing him to spin his head towards the source of the noise.

His eyes widened as he saw four figures standing there, one with identical glasses of that of Mocha Adel, one having a set of gauntlets on both of his hands, one having a pair of bunny ears and a camera in her right hand, the final one having a significantly large sword, and all of them had the same nasty scowl on their faces.

Though the one with sunglasses looked significantly more pissed.

"I would also be careful about who's around when you start talking shit about Mocha." I said as I stared at Team CFVY.

"B-but how?!" He asked, cold sweat forming on his face.

I chuckled and pulled out my scroll.

"Technology, it's such a useful tool. Did you really think that I would go after possibly one of the most dangerous killers out there with nothing but the help of a DJ?" I asked.

* * *

 **Earlier. (3rd Person POV)**

 _'Hmm, Brandon has been busy lately. Shame, I wanted to see if he wanted to go to Uncle Bob's with Coco and I.' Velvet thought to herself._

 _'Now that I think about it, Coco has also been fairly busy lately, though I can't blame her. I would want to do whatever I can to catch these killers, especially if one of those said killers killed my sister.' She thought to herself._

 _'Though still, I wonder what I should do today. It's almost time for the next semester to start, maybe I could put together a list of things that my team and I could do together. Start this semester off with a bang!' Velvet thought._

 _Though before Velvet could do anything else, she heard her ringtone go off in her pocket._

 _"Hmm?" She hummed as she pulled out her scroll to see who was calling her._

 _'Brandon? Wonder what he wants.' She thought as she answered the call._

 _"Hello?" She asked._

 _"Good, for a second there I thought that I might not have been able to get a hold of you." Velvet heard Brandon say from the other side of the scroll._

 _"Brandon! Glad to hear from you! How are you?" She asked, happy to see hear Brandon's voice._

 _"Look, I don't have a lot of time so I'll keep this brief, you need to get Coco and the others to the junkyard A.S.A.P." He said through the scroll._

 _"Why would we go there? Especially on garbage day." She asked._

 _"Remember how Coco is looking for the assassin who killed Mocha?" Brandon asked through the scroll._

 _"Kinda hard to forget something like that but yeah, I remember." Velvet said._

 _"Yeah, I think I just found him." He said, causing Velvet to stop in her tracks._

 _._

 _"WHAT?!" She shouted._

 _"OW! I'm right here!" Brandon shouted._

 _"How?! When?! Who?! Where?!" Velvet asked._

 _"In that order, I went to some nightclub, today, if you're asking me who it probably is, some waiter, how I found him, some DJ, and like I said, the junkyard." He said._

 _"I just- I don't... nevermind, I'll get everyone together, send me the address so Coco can drive us there." She said._

 _"Right, just get here as fast as you can, I might have to get ugly with the guy and I don't know how long I can hold him off." Brandon said._

 _"Please try not to get into a fight with what's likely a highly trained assassin." Velvet said._

 _"I make no promises." He said._

 _"Brandon!" Velvet said with her voice raised._

 _"Alright! Alright! Though you know me, a magnet for trouble." He said as he cut off the connection._

 _As soon as he did, Velvet went to her contacts list and scrolled through her list of contacts until she found Yatsuhashi, Coco and Fox._

 _"Guys, meet me at the front of Uncle Bob's, we have a problem." Velvet said._

 _"Did they run out of your favorite carrot spiced coffee again?" Coco asked._

 _"Velvet, we all love you, but you can't keep calling us over for such things." Yatsuhashi said._

 _"It's not that! I just need you all to get over here as fast as possible!" Velvet said._

 _"What's wrong?" Fox asked._

 _"I'll explain when you all get here." Velvet said._

 _"What's with you today? You're not normally this jittery." Coco asked._

 _"I promise that I'll explain everything once you all get here." Velvet said._

 _"Alright, we trust you Velvet, we'll be there as soon as we can." Yatsuhashi said._

 _"Yeah, just stay put." Coco said._

 _Velvet stood in front of the coffee shop, waiting for the rest of her team to arrive._

 _As she stood in front of the shop for a good twenty minutes, she started to wonder how Coco was going to react._

 _Not to Brandon finding the killer of her sister, more she was afraid how she would react at the potential possibility of Brandon losing his life._

 _'Please don't do something STUPID Brandon.' Velvet begged._

 _"Hey!" She heard her Coco call out to her._

 _Well, now I'm gonna find out._

 _"Are you alright Velvet?" Yatsuhashi asked._

 _"Yeah, I'm alright. It's more of Brandon that's in trouble." She said._

 _"What else is new? That boy's in trouble most of the time anyways." Coco said._

 _"I-It's different this time." Velvet stammered._

 _"Velvet?" Yatsuhashi?_

 _"What makes this time so different about the last five hundred times?" Coco asked._

 _"It's about one of the assassins, Coco, he... " Velvet stumbled on her words._

 _"Wait, the assassins? Jeez, it's like this guy's a magnet for the-"_

 _"He thinks he's found the one who killed your sister." Velvet managed to say, causing Coco to freeze._

 _._

 _"Coco?" Velvet called out._

 _"Hey, Coco!" Fox called out again._

 _"Get in the car." Coco said._

 _"What?" Velvet asked._

 _"I said get in the car!" Coco commanded, causing Velvet to nod and jump into the car._

 _"Where is he?! Did he say where?!" Coco asked frantically._

 _"Yeah, he sent me the address, I can send it to you if you-!" Though before Velvet could finish, Coco quickly grabbed her scroll out of her hands._

 _"No time, Fillis! Fastest route, now!" Coco demanded._

 _"Certainly!" She said._

 _Coco nodded, put Velvet's scroll onto the dashboard and hit the gas pedal._

 _"Whoa!" Velvet yelled as Coco sped off across the street._

 _"Wait, hold on a minute. Do you really know if this is the assassin that killed your sister?" Fox asked._

 _"I don't know, but I'm not exactly gonna take that chance!" Coco said as she sped up the car._

 _"Coco, please calm down, driving while you are in a panicked state is not the best ide-!" Though before Yatsuhashi could finish, Coco slammed on the breaks, causing him to go flying forward a bit._

 _"Coco, what the hell?!" Fox asked._

 _Though his answer was soon answered as he saw the giant line of cars in front of them._

 _"Fillis! What the hell is this?!" Coco demanded._

 _"What do you mean? I only selected the fastest legal route I could." She said._

 _"Ugh! We don't have time for this, everyone hang on!" Coco said as she drove off of the road and onto the dirt._

 _They drove past various trees, tree branches and bushes hitting the window of her car._

 _"You will arrive at your destination soon." Fillis said through the mic of the scroll._

 _"Everyone get ready!" Coco yelled._

 _Everyone nodded and pulled out their scrolls, typing in the codes for their lockers at Beacon to go to the junkyard._

 _The car sped off of the hill and back onto the road, the junkyard right in front of them._

 _As Coco parked her car in front of the yard, their lockers hit the dirt ground in front of the gates._

 _"Okay, everyone grab your weapons." She said._

 _Everyone nodded and went to their lockers to retrieve their weapons._

 _After they all suited up, they sent their lockers back to Beacon Academy._

 _"Alright, let's go." She said as she ran into the junkyard._

 _Everyone nodded and followed her in pursuit._

 _"Velvet, try calling him again!" Coco said._

 _"Right!" She said as she pulled out her scroll, though only for her ears to droop down._

 _"No signal." Velvet said, putting her scroll away in her pocket._

 _"Great! Now how are we supposed to find him if we-!" Though before she could finish, Velvet stopped her._

 _"What's up Velv?" Coco asked. Velvet closed her eyes and concentrated. It was faint, but she could vaguely hear the sound of someone shouting in the distance._

 _"I hear someone in the distance, it sounds like it's coming from over there!" Velvet said as she pointed in the direction of the noise._

 _Coco wasted no time running towards the direction to where Velvet was pointing._

 _"Come on team, pick up the pace! For all we know the killer could already be-" Though before Coco could finish, Velvet sped past her, making little foot taps as she did._

 _"Gone... sometimes I wish I had your speed Velv." Coco said._

 _Velvet currently had her eyes closed, relying only on her advanced hearing to locate Brandon and the possible killer._

 _She stopped at the sound of someone, or something shouting._

 _It didn't sound natural, almost like it was a primal war cry._

 _'Is it a Grimm? No, that's impossible, there's no way Grimm would be all the way out here.' She thought to herself._

 _"Velvet! Did you find them yet?!" Coco asked._

 _"I think they're over there!" She said._

 _"Alright, let us assist Brandon." Yatsuhashi said._

 _Everyone started to run to the direction where Velvet told them, drawing their weapons as they did._

 _As they approached however, the war cry that Velvet heard before was much more clearer now._

 _"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" They heard someone, or rather something shout from behind the pile of trash._

 _"W-what the hell?!" Coco asked as she hid behind the pile of trash._

 _"What's happening?" Velvet asked, though her question was quickly answered as they heard the pained cry of Brandon._

 _Coco's eyes widened before she started to run towards the source of the noise, though only to be stopped by Fox._

 _"W-what are you doing?!" Coco asked._

 _"Listen." He said._

 _"W-wait!" They heard Brandon cry out._

 _"Hmm?" He asked._

 _"W-what is he doing?" Velvet asked._

 _"Look at him, specifically where his eyes are directed towards." Yatsuhashi said._

 _._

 _"He's looking at us!" Velvet said._

 _"Correct, I believe that our dear friend over there is telling us to wait, I believe that he has a plan." He said._

 _"You sure he knows what he's doing?" Coco asked._

 _"No, though Brandon has trusted us more times than one, let's see where he takes this." Yatsuhashi said._

 _Coco looked reluctant, but eventually gave in._

 _"Why? Why did you kill Mocha?" He asked._

 _Coco's eyes narrowed as she gripped the handle where the button that activated the mini-gun was._

 _"What do you mean? All of my kills were all for the will of the White Fang." Osvaldo said._

 _"No, when you came into the warehouse, you were intent on killing the scientist, not Mocha. Hell, if she hadn't moved fast enough you would have killed Coco." Brandon said._

 _"Wait, what?!" Coco whispered._

 _"Hmm, you're a perceptive little shit, you know that?" He asked._

 _"You're right, my intent wasn't to kill her sister, my only mission was to kill the scientist." Osvaldo said._

 _"Then why did you-?!" He began only to stop himself mid-sentence._

 _"Why did he stop?" Velvet asked._

 _"Velvet, get your camera ready." Coco said as she pulled out her scroll and prepared to hit the record button._

 _"Oh!" Velvet nodded and pulled out her camera._

 _"Why? There really isn't a particular reason, she was just at the wrong place in the wrong time. I'm sure that I would have eventually killed her, though she died trying to protect not one, but TWO humans." He said._

 _Velvet looked over to Coco to see that she had one of the most nastiest scowls on her face, even worse than the time they fought Merlot._

 _"She died as she lived, protecting nothing, so she deserved a death that meant nothing to me." Osvaldo said._

 _Coco's team could practically hear her grinding her teeth together._

 _"W-what?" Brandon asked._

 _Osvaldo sighed and pinched the brim of his nose._

 _"Think of it like this, let's say that you were sitting in your room reading a book, and all of a sudden you see a spider on your chair. You don't really think about it, you just take the book in your hand and kill the spider." He said._

 _"To be blunt, her death was as insignificant to me as killing a spider." He said._

 _At this point, every member of Team CFVY had at least some form of scowl on their face._

 _"Now I believe you've stalled your death long enough." He said as he went to grab Brandon's head._

 _Coco looked towards her team and motioned them to move up._

* * *

Present (My POV)

Osvaldo just stood there in silence, a cold sweat forming on his head.

"Congrats, you're officially the first criminal who gave their entire confession and identity on camera." I said with a chuckle.

"W-when did you-?!" Osvaldo asked, only to be cut off by Team CFVY walking towards him.

"I made the call before I went inside of the junkyard. Now, you were having trouble fighting the two of us, so what are the chances of you winning now that there four, severely pissed off people in front of you?" I asked.

Osvaldo began to breathe heavily, steam coming off of the muscles on his body.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for your sorry ass?" Coco asked slowly.

"A year, I've went through a year's worth of training just for this specific moment." She said with a scowl.

"I've had time to ask myself why I was doing it, was it for revenge? Was it to finish what Mocha started, or was it for another reason?" Coco said.

"Now, I finally know." She said.

"I wanted to find you so I could truly see why Mocha was looking for your sorry asses." Coco sneered.

"You have the BALLS to say that my sister's death is equivalent to that of a fucking bug!" She said.

Jesus, never seen her so pissed before.

Osvaldo began to frantically look for an escape route, seemingly paying no attention to the words coming out of Coco's mouth.

He know's that Coco is a detective, so he's probably suspecting there to be some form of backup that she called.

Osvaldo quickly pressed a button on his belt before attempting to run away from the area.

"You're not getting away!" Coco said as she activated her mini-gun and open fired on Osvaldo's body.

As she did, Yatsuhashi and Fox rushed towards Osvaldo with their weapons drawn.

Though before they could get even get close enough to strike at him, his body let loose a powerful gust of steam, creating a smoke screen of some sort.

"Gah!" Fox yelled as the hot steam made contact with his bare body, leaving slight burns on it. Osvaldo quickly appeared from the smoke, seemingly reverted to his original form.

I was struggling a bit, but I managed to get up off of the ground so I could manifest the spirit.

"Calib-!" Though before I could finish, I felt something pierce my other leg, causing me to fall to the ground.

At the same time I was pierced, a man with a golden aura surrounding him swooped Osvaldo off of the ground.

"What now?!" I yelled as I looked at my other leg.

I was expecting some sort of dagger, though instead, there was a glowing purple feather in the back of my leg.

Before Yatsuhashi and Fox could react, a purple figure fired five feathers at the two, causing them to back away from Osvaldo.

"I got em sis!" The male of the two said.

"Great, now let's leave, we've already drawn to much attention to ourselves." The female said.

Great, these two are here.

"Oh, no you don't!" Coco shouted as she revved up her mini-gun.

Though before Coco could open fire, the female Faunus threw one of her feathers in between the barrels, stopping Coco from firing her gun.

The two jumped over the pile and began their escape.

"Hey! You get the hell-!" Though before I could do anything, I felt the feather behind me shake a bit.

Before any of us could react, the feather's went back to the female Faunus, releasing Coco's gun, as well as going right through my lower chest.

"Brandon!" Velvet shouted as blood started to come out of my chest.

"Fox! Yatsu! Take care of these two! Velvet, you're with me! We're going after them!" Coco said as she reverted her gun back to into the briefcase and began to give chase.

Velvet looked hesitant, not wanting to abandon her friend.

"Velvet, there lives are in our hands. Go and catch the criminals, we'll take it from here." Yatsuhashi said.

Velvet nodded and followed Coco.

"Yatsu! Call an ambulance! This guy needs surgery, fast!" Fox said as he picked up Dan's body.

"G-get back here." I said shakily.

"Don't waste your energy, you need to rest." Yatsuhashi said.

"G-get... back." I didn't have time to finish as my entire world went black.

* * *

3rd Person POV

"Yo, what happened man? You were doing so well laying low. How did a group of kids manage to find you?" The brother asked.

Osvaldo said nothing, he just stared at nothing with a blank look on his face.

"Brother." The sister warned her brother.

"Right, he's having one of THOSE moments. Gotcha." He said.

Though as they were running, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming towards us.

"Aw come on, who the hell is foooooooooh! Well hello there!" The brother said as he caught sight of Velvet.

"Hi there, little bun bun! How about you and me hit the town? The name's-" Though before he could finish, his sister jabbed him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!" The brother asked.

"She's still in her teens." The sister said with a deadpanned look on her face.

"Aaaaaaaaaand I'm out." The brother said as he picked up the pace.

"Get back here!" They heard the detective yell.

"Tch, detectives, I hate those guys." The sister said.

"I don't know, this one doesn't look half bad, wouldn't mind her arresting me and taking me for-" The brother began.

"Also in her teens." The sister said.

"Oh, come on!" The brother yelled.

"What are they talking about?" Velvet asked.

"Don't know, don't care." Coco said.

"They don't give up, do they? Sis! Shake em off!" The brother said.

"What?! Why me?!" She asked.

"Well, I'm the one carrying Osy here, so unless you want me to stop, you do it." He said.

"Ugh, fine." The sister said as she threw a flurry of feathers at Coco and Velvet.

"Watch it!" Coco yelled as she dodged the feathers.

"They just don't know when to quit, do they?" She asked as she scattered feathers all around them.

Coco activated her mini-gun and prepared to open fire on the two siblings.

Though just as Coco and Velvet stopped, the sister of the two siblings clapped her hands together, causing to feathers to glow with a bright purple light.

"Coco! Get down!" Velvet shouted as she tackled Coco into a nearby building.

As she did this, the feathers exploded, shattering the glass of the building.

"Over here!" The brother shouted from a nearby alleyway.

The sister nodded and ran towards the alleyway.

"What's his condition?" She asked.

"Well, the physical damage is nothing I can't fix, though the mental damage is an entirely different story." The brother of the group said.

Osvaldo just sat there with a vacant look in his eyes.

The sister sighed and walked over to Osvaldo.

"It wasn't your fault, it was supposed to be a clean run, it was that human who stuck his nose in business that doesn't concern him." She said softly.

He said nothing, he just had the same vacant look in his eyes.

"Do you think we can create a new identity for him?" The sister asked.

"Maybe, though because he got his picture taken, Naomi will have to create a new face for him, as well as a new form for his semblance." The brother said.

"Damn, I've heard about how painful Naomi's surgery's are." The sister said.

"I know, don't worry big guy, you'll still be the same old lug we grew to love." The brother said with a smile.

"Enough." Osvaldo said said, causing the twins to freeze in place.

"Eep!" Alerio cried out.

"We're done here, let's go." He said.

"Y-yes sir!" Alerio said.

"Ugh, Jeez, grow a pair." Aleria said as she walked with her brother and Osvaldo.

* * *

 **My Pov**

.

Ugh. What happened?

All I remember is seeing the twins take Osvaldo away and then I suddenly felt a pain in my chest.

Jeez, it always seems that those two come when I really don't want them to.

I was so close, we had him in a corner, I mean sure two of us were down for the count but he wasn't doing so hot either.

That will most likely be the first thing I ask Coco when I come around.

You know, after I get chewed out for engaging an assassin with nothing but the help of my spirit and the help of a DJ.

Though I have to say, for a man with a spirit in his body and a DJ, we did pretty good against a White Fang assassin.

So most likely I was either taken to Vale's hospital, or the medical district in Beacon Academy.

I would really like it if it were just a hospital, but hey, knowing my luck I was not only in Beacon's hospital, I was currently under the care of Peach.

Because I totally needed two people chewing me out for the day.

Now that I think about it, Velvet was also there and she DID tell me not to get into a fight with a highly trained assassin.

So great, I've got THREE women who want to chew me out.

Well, might as well get this over with, I think I can open my eyes now.

"Ugh." I groaned as I rubbed my eyes.

As I slowly got up, I felt a sharp pain in the upper part of my chest.

"Ow." I said as I gripped my chest.

I looked around to see that I was in Beacon's medical district, some sort of tube connected to my arm.

I grabbed the tube and pulled it out of my arm.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking around the room for a clock of some sort.

"Wow, eleven fifty five PM, I was asleep for a while." I said, rubbing my eyes again.

Though before I could do anything else, I heard the hospital door open.

I turned around to see that Peach was carrying her clipboard in between her arms.

Though as she saw me up and about, she gasped, dropping her clipboard.

Well, let's get this over with.

"Look, I already know what you're gonna say, but I wasn't about to sit down and-" Though before I could finish, Peach ran towards me and wrapped her arms around me.

.

Okay, not what I was expecting but I'll take it.

"Thank Oum." Peach whispered.

"So... what's new?" I asked.

"You're okay, you're really okay." She said in a soft tone.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

"What's up with me?! What's up with you?! What were you thinking engaging a highly trained assassin like that?!" Peach yelled.

Ah, there we go.

"Well, it wasn't really supposed to go as far as it did. I was just buying time for Coco to get there." I said.

"What if she hadn't made it in time?!" She asked, sniffling a bit as she finished.

"Why?! Why do you just throw your life on the line without even thinking about the consequences?!" Peach yelled, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"What's with you? You've never acted like this when I did it before." I said.

"Brandon, you almost died!" She yelled.

Again?

"You're just a child. You're not supposed to live like this, you're supposed to enjoy your youth while you still have it." Peach said.

"Wait, what do you mean I almost died?" I asked.

Peach wiped her eyes with her free arm before responding.

"When the ambulance brought you in, you were suffering from internal bleeding, the bits of glass and the remains of the feathers were still in your body, there wasn't a lot I could do. Even if I removed all of the pieces, it wouldn't have mattered. You would have lost too much blood by then." She said.

"What stopped it then?" I asked.

"I don't know! One second I go to get some medical equipment and the next thing I know, the bits of glass and the remains of the feather were gone." She said.

"What the hell?" I asked myself.

"After that I treated your wounds and the next thing I know you're up and about." Peach said.

Weird, how does glass just randomly disappear?

"I'm just relieved you're alright." She said.

Yeah, I'm alright.

.

Wait, hold up a minute!

"What about Dan?!" I asked.

"You mean Danza? He's in the other room, we were able to stop the bleeding and treat the wound before it got infected. We even gave him a new arm!" She said.

"Good, that's good." I said, relief washing over me.

"Would you mind if I go see him?" I asked.

"If you can get up, sure. He's in the room at the end of the hall." She said.

I nodded and tried to walk.

While it was a struggle at first, I managed to get a slow pace that I was comfortable with.

"You should be alright to go, just need to fill out some papers and there we go." She said.

"Alright... by the way, did you inject me with anything?" I asked as I put my cap onto my head.

"Of course not! I didn't inject you with anything... nothing lethal at least." She said.

"Why am I not surprised... hey, sorry about this morning. I didn't mean for it to go as far as it did." I said.

"Meh, I've had worse." She said.

I nodded and walked out of the room to see how Dan was holding up.

As I walked through the hallway, I tried to see if I could find a mirror.

It's unlikely but I wanted to see if the enchantment I placed on Osvaldo was still active.

I eventually settled for looking at the window.

As I looked at my reflection, I could see that my right eye was back to normal.

Eventually, I reached the door in the end of the hallway, the room where Peach told me Dan was staying in.

I sighed before knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard him ask.

"It's the pizza man. It's me, mind if I come in?" I asked.

"Kinda." He said.

"Okay." I said as I opened the door to the room.

As I got a good look at Dan, I could see that his left arm was replaced with a prosthetic, looking similar to that of Mercury's legs.

"What did I just say?" He asked.

"How's the arm?" I asked.

"Hmm, it's gonna get some getting used to, though so far it's not half bad." He said as he moved his prosthetic around a bit.

"Maybe I can outfit it with some technology I've got back home. Might help with future concerts." He said. "I could also make it work with my semblance, maybe I could make it into a gauntlet too." He said.

He started to ramble on and on about the potential possibilities that were available to him now that he had a prosthetic.

I eventually decided that it was best if I were to leave him, just wanted to make sure he was holding up okay. Last person who lost their arm in the RWBY universe didn't take it too well afterwards.

Though before I could open the door, Dan put one of his hands on shoulders to stop me.

"Hey." He began.

I turned towards him with a look of curiosity on my face.

"What's up?" I asked.

"It wasn't your fault." He said.

.

I said nothing, I just stared at him with the same expression I had when I walked in.

"I got cocky, as soon as I saw blood come off of his arm, I thought that victory was mine." He said.

I stood there in silence, still not saying a single word.

"Look, I may have only known you for a day, but I'm sure as hell glad that I met you when I did, even if it involved me losing my arm." He said.

I chuckled a bit before nodding.

"Yeah, same here. You're a pretty reliable guy. If you were a student or something I would have asked you to join my team." I said.

"Wait, you don't have a team?" Dan asked.

"It's complicated, let's just say the headmaster is a huge dick and leave it at that." I said.

"Whatever you say. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to explain to Junior why I seemingly bailed on him on the last second." He said.

I nodded and walked out of the door to his room.

Only to be met with the faces of Coco and Velvet.

"Um... sup?" I said, not sure of what to say.

"Do you have any idea how long we were waiting?" Coco asked.

"... an hour?" I asked.

"We've been waiting for-" Though before Coco could finish, Velvet went up to me, grabbed me by my collar and pulled me up into the air.

"We have been waiting for ten hours to find out if you were okay or not! I went through at least five packets of carrots worrying about you!" She yelled.

Before I could even ask about that, Coco was quick to respond.

"She eats carrots REALLY fast when she's stressed out." She said.

"I tell you not to engage a highly trained killer, and what do I find when we finally get to the location where the killer is?! I find you bleeding on the ground, unable to walk!" She practically screamed.

"What's more is that you even tried to go back in to fight, and what happens?! You get shot through the chest and almost bleed to death! AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO US IS "SUP"?!" Velvet screamed as she shook me violently.

"Alright! I'm sorry!" I said as she continued to shake me.

"Hey! Velvet, chill out! You might reopen his wounds." Coco said, causing Velvet to put me back onto the ground.

"I just... I just want to know why." She said.

"What exactly was going through your mind when you engaged him in combat? We would have had a better chance at beating him, even capturing him if you would have waited." Velvet asked in a soft tone.

"I... " I didn't really know what to say.

.

It's been a long day! Cut me some slack.

"I've already lost so many friends in my life. I don't want to lose someone like you." Velvet said softly.

"Velvet." Coco said as she went to put her hand on her shoulder.

"I wasn't thinking. I just did what my body told me to do, and that was to beat the ever loving shit out of man in front of me." I said.

"After I saw that Caliber wasn't doing anything to this guy, I just started to attack out of desperation." I said.

"To be blunt, I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to punch his sorry ass into the ground." I said.

Velvet and Coco just stood there in shock, not expecting me of all people to act out of desperation.

"I'm... I'm sorry Velvet." I finally said.

.

A couple of seconds past before Velvet nodded and slapped me across the face.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I asked as I rubbed the area where she hit me.

"That was for being selfish." She said.

"Jeez, I said I was-!" Though I was interrupted once again as Velvet leaned down to peck me on the cheek.

"That was for apologizing." She said.

.

Well then, that was a pleasant surprise.

* * *

Meanwhile (3rd Person POV)

"Where the hell are they?!" A man asked the woman who was sitting in the table.

"I don't know, I lost contact with the twins after they took the scientist, and I haven't talked to Osvaldo ever since you shipped him off to Vale." The woman said.

The man in question was a tall man with red and brown hair that spiked backwards in a windswept way. While most of his hair is red, a portion of it in the back and several streaks are brown.

A noticeable trait of his appearance was the mask he wore, which obscured his eyes and upper face.

His Faunus heritage appears to be that of a bull, as two horns can be seen on either side of his head.

His mask is whitish-tan with red, flame-like symbols decorating the front, and two slits on each side, presumably to allow for vision. This may be a redesigned version of the Grimm masks typically worn by most members of the White Fang.

Adam wore a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves and more red designs and a white symbol on the left side.

His trench coat is red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and a large emblem on the back, with a white tulip design covered by a red rose design.

His trench coat is half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it.

He wore long black pants, black shoes with red soles, and black gloves with more red emblems on their forehand.

He also wore a black belt with white domino marks on it.

The woman in question was a young woman and a chameleon Faunus. In her normal appearance, her skin has somewhat darker spots on her arms, legs, and face.

Her brown hair is tied back in a ponytail that curls at the end like a chameleon's tail, and her eyes are a light gray with a faintly bluish tint.

Her Faunus trait grants her the ability to change the color of her skin, hair and eyes, allowing her to blend in with her environment.

As a White Fang member, she wears a Grimm Mask with chameleon horns on it to hide her identity.

Her mask also points upward at the top and extends past her hairline.

She wore a black, plum, and navy sleeveless stealth suit with short legs.

The suit has two parts to the bottom section: a navy blue front panel that matches her belts and the rest is plum-colored.

The color divide is at the center of her thighs. The stealth suit's zipper is gold, and over it, she wears navy blue belts with gold buckles. She wore simple black boots with a cuff and a black glove on her right hand.

"This isn't like him, Osvaldo has never been caught in a mission before." The chameleon Faunus said.

"I know that! That's why I want to know why his face is all over the news!" The bull Faunus shouted.

Before the two could continue their conversation, they heard a loud thud coming from outside of their room.

They walked out to see Alerio and Aleria walking towards there tent with Osvaldo close behind him.

"Guys!" The chameleon Faunus shouted.

"Ilia! How's my favorite little cha-" Though Alerio stopped himself mid sentence as the newly named Ilia ran past him and towards Aleria.

"Hey Ilia." Aleria said with a smirk.

"I lost contact with you guys after you guys went after the scientist! What happened?!" Ilia asked.

"Well, it was all going smoothly, until this little human brat showed up and ruined everything." Aleria said bitterly.

"What did he do?" She asked.

"It wasn't so much him, more that his little spirit gave us some trouble." Aleria said.

"Spirit?" Ilia asked.

"It was crazy! Aleria was right about to kill the kid, though just as she got close to him, some spirit punched her away!" Alerio said.

"What?! It sensed you coming?!" Ilia asked, bewildered at the fact that someone could detect Aleria.

Aleria simple looked towards the ground and curled up into a ball.

"Uh...?" Ilia began.

"She doesn't like to talk about it." Alerio whispered.

"That doesn't matter, how about we talk about more... pressing matters." The bull Faunus said.

"Great, time for another one of old man Adam's lectures." Aleria said.

"Quiet." Adam said sternly as he walked towards Osvaldo.

"Would you care to explain why your current face is all over the news now?" Adam asked.

.

Osvaldo said nothing, he just stood there in silence, his eyes twitching rapidly.

"I think I'll be in more of a position to explain than he is." Aleria said.

"All right, explain." He said.

"Well, it turns out that the same brat with the spirit was the same brat who managed to catch Osvaldo here." Aleria said.

"Him again?" Ilia asked, causing Aleria to nod.

"Hmm, this one particular human has been causing us more trouble than any of Vale's law enforcement." Adam said.

"What do we do?" Aleria asked.

"Well, I want you to take Osvaldo to Naomi. She's already prepared the surgery." Adam said.

"After that I want you to go after that human." He said.

"Gonna be harder than you think." Alerio said.

"Why is that?" Adam asked.

"It's reaction time is unnatural, we would never be able to get close to him." Aleria said.

"Not only that but it can deflect bullets, making our feathers useless." Alerio said.

Adam sighed heavily, digging his hands into his face.

"Is there any weaknesses you were managed to exploit?" Adam asked.

Before either of them could answer, Osvaldo walked over to the group.

"It does have one." He said.

"Osvaldo, I want a full report on what the spirit is capable of." Adam said.

"Able to throw punches faster than a machine gun, strong enough to punch through solid stone, and precise enough to possibly catch a bullet with it's fingers." He said.

As he listed each individual strength, the eyes of the siblings and Ilia grew wider and wider.

"It also has a sense of self preservation, being able to act without the user commanding it." Osvaldo said.

"Weaknesses?" Adam asked.

"They are connected, damage the spirit, you damage the user. It doesn't have a lot of range either." He said.

"Well then, glad to know it has SOME weakness. Neither of us can do anything to it so what now?!" Alerio said.

Adam hummed for a bit before looking at Ilia.

"You two, get Osvaldo to Naomi." Adam said.

They nodded and walked towards the medical tent, Osvaldo following close behind.

Ilia was about to follow suit, only for Adam to stop her in her tracks.

"Not you Ilia, I need to have a word with you." He said.

* * *

 **Well then... that could have gone better.**

 **Well, I at least have a general idea of the abilities of the assassins that I know of.**

 **Osvaldo's is muscle expansion.**

 **That girl's has something to do with her feathers.**

 **And that guy's... does something.**

 **I said I knew most of their abilities.**

 **Well this concludes Vol 1 of Remnants of Another World.**

 **Hopefully Vol 2 will be easier for me.**

 **.**

 **Why are you looking at me like that?**

 **Also, I have a special announcement to make.**

 **By the time you are reading this, the poll for the canon pairing will officially be open.**

 **Here are the pairings I've decided to go with.**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Brandon/Neo)**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Brandon/Emerald)**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Brandon/Coco)**

 **Magic Bunny-(Brandon/Velvet)**

 **Keep in mind that this gives me a general idea on what you guys want, in the end, the decision is mine.**

 **Also don't ask me to make harem an option because I will NEVER even consider making it an option.**

 **Now onto the review responses.**

 **Review Responses  
**  
 **OfficerPickles: Because it's fun. :)**

 **Ragnorak16: I don't like where this is going.**

 **rocketmce: Believe me, I didn't and it looks like it's all downhill from here.**

 **Trust me, this will be the easiest thing to prevent out of all of the events in the show.**

 **OfficerPickles: Because it's fun. :)**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Here, I'll give you a JoJo-**

 **KING CRIMSON!**

 **.**

 **What was I doing again?**

 **Fiction Fan 369:**

 **A. Because it's fun. :)**

 **B. Well this will most likely be the tone from here on out so be prepared.**

 **Question: Everyone deals with grief differently, some people fuck at funerals, I smash in skulls.**

 **olTran: Pretty Boring.**

 **Betoran: I have no idea what movie you're talking about. XD**

 **CraazyReader: Maybe, maybe.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Merry Christmas mother fucker.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks, I'm glad you liked the darker tone, plan on using it more often throughout to story.**

 **DragonLord501st: Don't. Eat. Roast Beefy O'Weefy.**

 **Raidentensho: While there are a lot of elements in the story that are inspired by the JoJo series, it's not going to be a complete copy.**

 **grabblers: I didn't add her due to how overdone it is, nothing against her or the rest of the members of Team RWBY.**

* * *

Omake - Ruby Abuses Caliber (Non-Canon)

"BRANDOOOOOOOON!" Ruby yelled as she entered my room.

"Gah! Jesus Ruby, what do you want?!" I asked in a frustrated tone.

"I need your help!" She said.

"Okay, what do you need?" I asked.

"Well, I need your spirit more than I need you." She said.

I don't like where this is going.

"Okay." I said slowly.

"Come with me!" She said as she left my room.

I nodded and followed her down the hallway.

Eventually, we arrived at the area where Ruby needed help.

We were in a… kitchen.

"Okay, not what I was expe-!" Though before I could react, Ruby activated Crescent Rose and fired it at me.

Though before the bullet could hit me, Caliber punched the bullet away.

"There we go!" Ruby said.

"J-Jesus Ruby! Could have warned me first before you go and shoot me!" I shouted.

"Okay, now you can help me!" Ruby said.

"This better be good!" I said in a frustrated tone.

"Oh it is! It's a task only you can do!" She said.

Alright, I like the sound of this.

"I need you to have Caliber open this jar." She said as she handed Caliber the jar.

.

.

"I'm leaving." I said as I started to walk away.

"W-wait! Who's gonna open my jar?!" The only response Ruby got was a loud popping noise.

Before Ruby could react, Caliber threw the jar at Ruby, knocking her out.

* * *

 **Danza Kahel:**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 135 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Lost In The Rhythm (Namesake: JMC & Eric-Lost In The Rhythm )**

 **Summary: When activated, Danza can get certain buffs depending on the songs that he listens to. These buffs can also affect his allies to a certain degree, though to get the full affect, he'll have to move to the rhythm of the song.**

 **Destructive Power: E-A**

 **Speed: E-A**

 **Endurance: E-A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	36. The Best Day Ever

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update.**

 **Velvet and Brandon's ship name has been changed to Scarlatina's Magic.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Best Day Ever"

Thought: _'The Best Day Ever'_

Flashback: _"The Best Day Ever"_

"Ugh, why is this place so BORING?!" Mercury complained as he and Emerald walked down the streets of Vale.

"Hah, I don't know, maybe if you got up and did something productive instead of sitting on your ass all day, you would have something to do." Emerald said bitterly.

"Do you even know where you're going?" He asked.

"Of course I know, I've been to this store more times than you've been outside." She said.

"Really? Because from the looks of it, we're just walking around in circles. I swear I've seen the same old man run that shop." Mercury said.

"You're just seeing things." She said.

.

"Okay, I KNOW I've seen that same dude run that SAME shop three times now!" Mercury said.

Emerald pinched the edge of her nose, sighing out of frustration.

"Look, just stay here for a second." Emerald said.

"Why? Gonna ask for directions?" Mercury asked as he leaned on the wall.

"No, I'm... going to use the bathroom." She said as she walked towards the old man on the ladder.

As Emerald started to close the gap in between her and the old man, she slowly moved her hand towards the old man's back pocket.

Though as Emerald removed the wallet from the old man, he lost his footing on the ladder and fell towards the ground.

"Oh! Excuse me!" Emerald said as she quickly hid the wallet in her back pocket.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." She said.

"Oh really?!" Emerald heard Mercury shout from behind her.

"Don't mind him, he's an idiot." Emerald said, rolling her eyes.

"Here, let me help you." She said as she extended her hand outwards.

The old man nodded and grabbed Emerald's hand.

"Um." Emerald said before grabbing a piece of paper out of her pocket.

"Hey, I'm not really from around here so would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" She asked, holding out the piece of paper.

The old man nodded and pointed his finger behind her.

"Thanks! I really appreciate it." She said as she walked off.

"See ya around!" Emerald yelled as she waved to the shopkeeper.

"So we are lost." Mercury said with a smirk.

"Mercury." She began as she pulled out the wallet she stole from the shopkeeper.

"I will seriously pay you to shut up." Emerald said as she waved the wallet in front of Mercury.

"That's not your money." He said.

"When is it ever?" She asked.

"Well, from what you've told me, it's yours when you steal it from Brandon." Mercury said.

"That's different." Emerald said.

"How so?" He asked.

"He let's me steal it." She said.

"Sure he does." Mercury said.

"Anyways, all of this money could be YOURS for five minutes of silence." Emerald said with a hopeful look in her eye.

.

"No deal." Mercury said, much to the disappointment of Emerald.

"Fine, I didn't want you to have the stupid money anyways." She said as she threw the wallet on the ground.

"Whatever, you want me." He said.

"Tch, yeah right. Like I would ever want someone as idiotic as you." Emerald said.

"Oh, right! You have your eyes on someone else." Mercury began.

"Mercury." Emerald warned.

"His name starts with a B." He said.

"Mercury!" Emerald said a bit louder this time, her face starting to heat up.

"Ends with N." Mercury said slowly.

"I'm warning you!" She said.

"He's pretty short." He said.

Emerald's face was as red as a tomato now.

"I think I've seen you write something about you and him-!" Though before Mercury could finish, Emerald pushed him in a nearby trashcan.

"Gah! What the hell?!" He asked as his legs hung out of the trash can.

Emerald chuckled and started to walk in the direction of the shop.

"Come on, we have a job to do." She said.

"Ugh, whatever, not my fault you're a closet smut writer." He said.

"It's not smut!" She yelled.

"Sure it's not." He said as he wiped off the remaining garbage off of his body.

They continued to walk down the various streets of Vale, getting closer and closer to their target.

"So how much farther?" Mercury asked.

"Just a few more blocks." She said.

"Ugh, this place is so dull." He complained.

"I kinda like it." Emerald said as she looked around the city.

"Tall buildings, diverse culture." She said.

"Cute short boys." Mercury said with a smirk.

"I wonder if there are trashcans around here." Emerald said as she looked around the streets of Vale.

.

"That's what I thought." She said.

"Yeah, not to mention nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket." Mercury said.

"That's EVERY city." Emerald said.

"Ooh Emerald! Master thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by." Mercury teased.

Emerald glared at Mercury before walking off.

"Tch, you're no fun today." He said, following close behind her.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." She said.

"Is Brandon working today? If so then this is gonna get REALLY awkward." Mercury said.

"Well... if that happens, I'll put him under one of my illusions and you knock him out." She said.

"He won't like that." He said.

"I know, but at least we'll get the job done." Emerald said as she stood in front of the store.

"Ready?" She asked.

Mercury's only response was to cock the guns on his boots.

"What do you think?" He asked with a smirk.

Emerald nodded and walked into the store.

.

"Well then, this is gonna be awkward." He said as he looked at the person who was behind the counter.

"Greeaaaat." Emerald said as she dug her hands into her face.

Brandon was currently sitting behind the counter with a book in his face, whistling some unfamiliar tune.

"So, you want to put him under the illusion while I get ready to knock him out?" He asked.

"No, not yet." She said as she walked over to Brandon.

"Brandon." She called out to him

.

"Brandon." She said a bit louder, but still not getting a response.

"Brandon!" Emerald yelled, though he was not responding.

"What the hell are you-!" She began, only for her eyes to widen at the sight of what he was reading.

.

Or looking at.

A few seconds of silence passed before Emerald's face turned completely red.

"W-what the hell are you looking a-!" Though before she could finish, Brandon threw the magazine on the floor, took out a fire dust crystal, and threw it at the magazine which caused it to light on fire.

"What were you-?!" Emerald began.

"Nothing!" He said as he pulled off his headphones.

"W-were you just-?!" She began once again.

"Cash or credit?!" He asked with a nervous smile.

A few seconds passed before Mercury broke the silence.

"Where do you keep the comic books?" He asked.

"Over there." Brandon said as he pointed to his right.

"Thanks." Mercury said as he walked over to the right.

"So... what's up?" He asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could go and grab your boss for us." Emerald said.

"Why?" Brandon asked.

As he said this, Mercury slammed one of the books shut.

"Can you not slam the books? It's bad for the ink." Brandon said.

"Oh... uh, my bad." Mercury said as he put the book back onto the shelf.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to him about a shipment I was expecting. It's yet to arrive, and it was supposed to arrive yesterday. I just want to know what's up." She said.

"Yeah, all shipments were cancelled. We're closing up shop today so Tukson decided to just give all the books away." He said.

"Wait, wait, wait. So all of these are free?" Mercury asked.

"Basically." Brandon said.

Mercury quickly grabbed a bag from the counter and started to pile up each comic book that was on the shelf.

"If you tell me what book you ordered I can get it for you now." He said.

"Oh, never mind that. I just... where is your boss now?" Emerald asked.

"You seem to be pretty eager to meet my boss." Brandon said.

"Oh, I just want to talk to him about something... business and all, you know how it is." She said.

"Well, you just missed him." He said, trying to hold back a smirk.

.

"I'm sorry what?" Emerald asked.

"He just left last night. Said something about leaving for Vacuo." He said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"What?!" She asked.

"Now that I think about it, he should be leaving for Vacuo right about-" Though before he could finish, the sound of an airship flying above them cut him off.

"Now." He finished.

Emerald said nothing, she just stood there in silence for a couple of seconds.

"Well then... guess we walked around Vale for thirty minutes for nothing." Mercury said.

Emerald just stood there in complete shock.

"So… do you want anything before we close up shop?" Brandon asked.

"Ugh... do you have the Third Crusade?" She asked.

"Paperback or hardcover?" He asked.

"Hardcover, I need something hard to hit myself in the head with." Emerald said.

"Uh, sure. Let me get it for ya." Brandon said as he opened the door that lead to the storage.

As soon as she knew that Brandon was gone, Emerald leaned up against the counter and started to slide down.

"This is just great." Emerald said sarcastically.

"Hey, look on the bright side, at least we won't be chewed out for getting our hands dirty." Mercury said.

"That's not the point, Cinder will be upset by the fact that we even considered trying to kill this guy." She said.

"Well it's not as bad as actually killing him." He said.

"Still, she isn't gonna like that he's still alive, he got away, and that we went to kill him, even though we were SPECIFICALLY told not to." She said.

"Well, excuse me for looking at the bright side." Mercury said.

Emerald was about to say something, but the smell of smoke cut her off.

"What's cooking?" Mercury asked.

Though before Emerald could respond, the smoke detector alarms went off, causing the sprinklers on the ceiling to go off.

"Okay, I got all the books for ya, do you want it in a... bag?" Brandon asked as he saw the waterfall from the ceiling, completely drenching the thief and the assassin.

.

"Yeah... I probably should have put out that fire." He said as he slowly left the books on the counter and walked back into the storage.

"Damn, and I just got these things cleaned." Mercury complained as he moved his leg around.

"Let's just go." Emerald said.

Though before she could leave, the giant smirk on Mercury's face stopped her.

"What's with that look?" She asked slowly.

"Man, I knew Brandon got you wet, but this is ri-!" Though before Mercury could finish, Emerald started to throw books at Mercury.

"Ow! Ow! It was a joke!" He yelled as he ran out of the store.

"Get back here so I can shove this book up your ass!" Emerald screamed as she ran after Mercury.

Though as they left the store, Brandon was currently holding a book that Tukson gave him before he left.

Brandon closed his eyes and recalled the events that happened last night.

* * *

Last Night

 _Tukson was currently hanging up the sign that would signify the closing down sale._

 _"Wow, can't believe it's finally time to close up shop. Feels like it was only yesterday when I opened up this little shop." Tukson said._

 _'Though I can't stay here anymore. It was already hard enough to hide my identity from the law enforcement, I won't be able to hide for much longer now that the White Fang are on my tail.' Tukson thought._

 _'Still, it was nice while it lasted, kinda disappointed that I won't be seeing that kid anymore. Was one of the few humans that I actually liked around here.' He thought to himself._

 _'Meh, it's for the best really.' He thought as he nailed in the last nail that held up the sign._

 _"There we go, now all that's left to do is-!" Tukson began, only for the sound of someone's voice to cut him off._

 _"Hey." He heard someone call out to him._

 _"Gah!" He yelled as he fell off of the ladder that he was standing on._

 _._

 _"Hey, you okay?" The boy asked._

 _"Ugh, hey Brandon." Tukson said as he rubbed his eyes._

 _"What's this?" He asked._

 _"Right, I was right about to send you the message saying that we're closing down." Tukson said, getting up from the ground._

 _"Why?" Brandon asked._

 _"Well... it's complicated." He said._

 _"I've got time." Brandon said._

 _As Tukson got a good look at Brandon, he could see that he had various bandages on his body, as well as one across his cheek._

 _"What happened?" He asked._

 _"I got into a fight." Brandon said._

 _"Must have been one hell of a fight." Tukson said._

 _"You don't know the half of it." He said._

 _"Well... alright, I'll tell you. But not out here, let's go inside." Tukson said._

 _Brandon nodded and followed Tukson inside._

 _"Alright, you'll want to sit down for this one, it's pretty big." He said._

 _"Alright." Brandon said as he sat in a chair that Tukson gave him._

 _"Okay, let's get ONE thing straight, what I tell does NOT leave this building." Tukson said._

 _Brandon nodded, though Tukson shook his head._

 _"No, I need to hear it from your own mouth. I need to KNOW that you understand what I'm saying." He said._

 _"Alright, I won't tell a single soul about what happened here tonight." Brandon said._

 _"Okay... wow, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Tukson said._

 _"I've got all night." He said._

 _"Alright... I was originally a member of the White Fang." Tukson said._

 _"Okay, hey, do you need me to organize the books again?" Brandon asked._

 _"Yeah, I haven't had the chance to organize them. Been too busy hanging up... the... " Tukson said, slowly processing Brandon's response._

 _._

 _"Wait, what?!" Tukson yelled._

 _"So do you want them here or-?" Brandon began._

 _"Hold up! We're not just gonna pretend like that didn't just happen!" Tukson said._

 _"Hmm?" He hummed._

 _"Don't 'Hmm' me! I tell you that I'm part of one of the biggest revolutionary groups in all of Remnant, and all you have to say is 'hmm'?!" Tukson asked._

 _"Is that an issue?" Brandon asked._

 _"Yes!... W-well no, but-" Tukson began._

 _"Then don't worry about it. Trust me, weirder shit has happened to me in my lifetime." He said._

 _"I just… I don't... just like that?" He asked._

 _"Pretty much. Besides, you said that you USED to be part of them, implying that you've cut ties with them, so why would I shit on you for something you did in the past?" Brandon asked._

 _Tukson just stood there in silence, shocked at such a normal response._

 _"Though I am curious. Why are you closing shop so suddenly?" He asked._

 _Tukson kept standing in silence, though as he contemplated the events that have just transpired, an idea sparked in his mind._

 _"Look, you're half right about what you just said." Tukson said._

 _"What do you mean 'half right'?" Brandon asked._

 _"You're right about me not being part of them anymore, though you're wrong about me cutting ties with them." He said._

 _"What does that mean?" He asked._

 _"Well, my brothers and sisters back in the White Fang weren't particularly happy with my decision to leave the White Fang." Tukson said._

 _"Brothers and sisters? Jeez, you make it sound like a cult." Brandon said._

 _"Heh, it was kinda like a cult the more I think about it." He said._

 _"So what, are they gonna come and kill you or something?" He asked._

 _"Most likely. That's where you come in." Tukson said._

 _"Hmm?" Brandon hummed._

 _"Look, I was going to wait until tomorrow night to go to my flight, but now that I know I can trust you, I need a favor." He said._

 _"I'm listening." He said._

 _"I'm going to go and hide in a motel until tomorrow. After that I'm going to head to the airship flying to Vacuo." Tukson said._

 _"Okay, then what are you waiting for?" Brandon asked._

 _"It would be suspicious if a bookstore that went into a closing sale suddenly didn't have any workers." He said._

 _"Good point." He said._

 _"I want you to stay here and watch the sale while I make my escape." Tukson said._

 _"So you want me to cover for ya?" Brandon asked._

 _"That's the gist of it, yeah." He said._

 _"What do I do when they come? They're not exactly gonna be happy that their target is already half way across the world." He said._

 _"Don't worry, they may hate humans but they're not savages. They won't just go killing humans out of the blue for the hell of it." Tukson said._

 _"Alright, fair enough." Brandon said._

 _"So you'll do it?" He asked._

 _"Yeah, I'll hold down the fort until you're in the clear." He said._

 _"Thank you, this means a lot to me." Tukson said._

 _"So... this is the last time I'll be seeing you, huh." Brandon said._

 _"I wouldn't say the LAST time, never know what might happen." He said._

 _"Yeah, unpredictable things tend to come my way." He said._

 _"Actually, I do have ONE more thing to ask of you." Tukson said._

 _"Jeez, do I have to start charging you?" Brandon asked._

 _"Heh, I'm gonna miss that sense of humor you have. It's just a simple thing I want you to do." He said as he grabbed a book from behind the counter._

 _"I want you to deliver this to a friend of mine." He said as he handed Brandon the book._

 _"Hmm... Around the Kingdoms in 80 days." Brandon read out loud._

 _'Didn't think there was a Remnant equivalent to the book 'Around the World in 80 days' here.' Brandon thought to himself as he put the book in his bag._

 _"I'm trusting you to deliver that to my friend if you're in the area." Tukson said._

 _"Yeah, yeah, I'll deliver it." Brandon said._

 _"Good... I'm gonna miss ya kid. Not a lot of people like you out there." He said._

 _"Oh? And just what kind of person do you think I am?" He asked._

 _"You're one of a kind, yet you're still common. You're a paradox in every way. You're just... Bizarre." Tukson said._

 _'Can't really tell if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.' Brandon thought to himself._

 _"Well… I guess I better get packing." Tukson said._

 _"Yeah, good luck in...?" Brandon began._

 _"Vacuo." He finished._

 _"Yeah, good luck." He said before extending his hand outwards._

 _Tukson nodded and gripped his hand, shaking it._

 _"And good luck to you. If you're in Vacuo, come by and visit." Tukson said as he walked out of the store._

* * *

Present

Brandon sighed as he looked down at the book that Tukson gave to him before he left.

"So, I'm supposed to deliver this to his friend, huh?" He asked.

"Would kind of help if he told me where he or she was." Brandon said as he flipped through the pages to see if there wasn't some sort of address in the book.

"Seriously! Does he expect me to just find the guy?!" He asked as he shook the book.

All of a sudden, a slip of paper flew out of the book and landed on the floor.

"Hmm? What's this?" Brandon asked as he looked at the slip of paper.

"Some sort of letter." He said as he began to read.

 _ **"Hey, been awhile..yeah, been what, ten years?"**_

 _ **"Well, I'm writing this letter to tell you... you were right."**_

 _ **"I didn't want to believe you, but you were right, you always were."**_

 _ **"Guess that's why they made you leader."**_

 _ **"Here, I'm giving you this book. You always loved reading this, and they don't really have a lot of bookstores in Menagerie."**_

 _ **"Sorry that I couldn't come to your baby shower party. Been busy and all."**_

 _ **"I'll try to come to the graduation."**_

 _ **"Maybe after a few years of laying low."**_

 _ **"Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. You were right, and I would like to make it up."**_

 _ **As Brandon came to the end of the letter, he saw two unfamiliar names on the bottom.**_

 _ **"Say hi to Kali for me. I really hope we can make amends, Ghira."**_

 _ **"Your friend, Tukson."**_

As Brandon finished the letter, there was only one question that was going through his mind right now.

"Who the hell is Kali and Ghira?" He asked as he put the paper back into the book.

* * *

Roman's Warehouse.

"Did you seriously throw me into the ocean?!" Mercury asked as he kicked away a crab that was clinging onto his pants.

"I don't know, do you have to keep making stupid comments about Brandon and I?" Emerald asked.

"Okay, I do not make snarky comments about Brandon, I make snarky comments based off your undying love and lust for-!" He was cut off as Emerald pointed one of her pistols at Mercury.

"It's. Not. Lust." She said.

"But you don't deny that it's love." Mercury said with a smirk.

Emerald just stared at him for a good few seconds before putting her gun back into its holster.

"Shut up." She said.

"You're only adding fuel to the fire." He said.

"Let's just go and see the Pumpkin Man and the Ice Cream Girl again." Emerald said.

"I thought you two were on better terms." Mercury said.

"Who? Roman and I?" She asked.

"Oh, yes because CLEARLY you two talk SO much. Who do you think I'm talking about?" Mercury asked.

"We're talking aren't we?" Emerald asked.

"If that's what you want to call it. Most of the time you two just glare at each other. I can literally feel the sparks coming off of you two." He said.

"You have your ways of communication. We have ours. Besides, she can't even talk so it's kinda hard to hold a conversation with her." Emerald said.

"Brandon does it all the time." Mercury said.

"That's because he knows sign language. No thanks to her." She said.

Mercury stopped dead in his tracks and gave Emerald his famous shit-eating grins.

"What now?" Emerald asked.

"You're jealous, aren't ya?" He asked.

"W-what?! No! I'm not jealous!" She defended.

"Then why are you being so defensive about it?" Mercury asked.

"I-I'm not being defensive!" She yelled.

"Look, I won't judge, you can go for whoever you want in life. Though you better make a move before she does." Mercury said.

"It's not like that!" Emerald shouted.

"Then why are you being so touchy about it? Too much protest is suspicious ya know." He said.

"Then stop-!" Emerald began.

"Ugh, what's with all this racket?! Soon enough I'm gonna be just like my old man's old man, shouting 'keep it down you stupid brats!' all day long." They heard Roman say.

Mercury and Emerald's conversation was cut short as Roman, along with Neo started to walk towards them.

"Oh look, she sent the kids again." Roman said.

Roman walked up to Mercury and Emerald and wrapped his arms around the two.

"This is turning out just like the divorce." He said.

"Ugh, spare us the thought procreating." Emerald said.

"It was a joke, learn to lighten up dear." Roman said as he pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket.

"And this, just might tell me where you two have been all day." He said.

"Hey, when did you-?!" Mercury began.

"I'm a professional kid, how about you and your street rat friend over here pay attention. You might learn a thing or two." He said as he looked at the slip of paper.

"Why do you have this address?" Roman asked.

.

"Uh, excuse me?" Roman said as he waved his hand in front of Emerald.

"Helloooo! Anyone home?!" He asked.

"Just give her a minute. She and Neo are having a 'conversation'." Mercury said.

Roman looked over to his niece to see that she was glaring intensely at Emerald.

"They're just... glaring at each other." He said.

"They have their ways." Mercury said.

A few seconds passed before Neo stuck her tongue out at Emerald, causing her to roll her eyes.

"I'm sorry, what were you asking?" Emerald asked.

"Why. Do you have. This address?" Roman asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said.

"Yeah, I would. Now how about you tell me where you and peg legs have been all day." Roman said.

"We were 'attempting' to clean up your problems. One of them at least." Mercury said.

"I had that under con... wait, what do you mean by 'attempting'?" Roman asked.

"Well, when we went to go and kill the rat, he was already out of Vale." Emerald said.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Roman asked.

"He was already gone. All we did was waste our precious time." Mercury said.

Roman just stood there in silence before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Oh! Oh this is rich! Mercury Black, son of Marcus Black, and Emerald Sustrai 'Master Thief', Cinder's right hand men, and you can't even kill a simple Faunus!" He said.

"Not like you could have done any better." Emerald said.

"Aw, don't be like that Emerald, I thought we were good friends. We are friends, right?" Roman asked.

"Because if we weren't, then I would take you and peg legs here and-!" He began.

"Do what Roman?" A woman's voice asked, interrupting him.

As he was cut off, the woman known as Cinder Fall walked up to the platform and started to descend down to the ground.

"Aha ha ha. I'd uh... not kill them?" Roman asked, hoping that was the correct response.

"Cinder!" Emerald said happily.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder said.

"I was going to but-" Roman began.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo, so Mercury and I decided that we would take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald said.

"From what I heard he was some sort of cat." Mercury.

"What, like a puma?" She asked.

"Yeah, there ya go." He said.

"But you didn't." Cinder said with a look of disappointment in her eye.

"N-no. We didn't." She said.

"Not only did you deliberately go against my orders, but you failed to kill the runaway." Cinder said.

Emerald just stood there in silence, her eyes dropping a bit.

"I'm sorry." She said as she bowed.

Cinder said nothing, the only thing she did was slap Emerald across the face, making an audible cracking noise.

"Do NOT disappoint me again." She said.

"I just thought-" Emerald began,

"Don't think. Obey." Cinder said.

"Y-yes ma'am. It won't happen again." She said.

"And you." Cinder said as she turned to Roman.

"Heh heh. Me?" Roman asked.

"Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Cinder asked.

"Uh." Roman said as he slowly turned to the pile of crates that were behind him.

"Eh?" He said as he motioned to his right.

"Eh?!" He said as he motioned to his left.

"EEEEEEHH?!" He said, motioning to the rest of the crates.

"Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the kingdom!" Roman yelled.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury said.

"Look around kid, I've got this town running scared." He said.

"Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty in a old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with!" Roman said.

"And you will continue to do so. You remember our little deal, right?" Cinder asked.

"Yes, I know." Roman said.

"Good, now let's move on to phase two of the plan." She said.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother! All I know is that by the time we're done, Vale will be in ruins!" He said.

"Oh, Roman. Have a little faith. You'll know what you need to know when you need to know it, and besides, you may be causing chaos from the outside, but the inside is a whole different story." She said.

"Then who's causing panic on the inside?" Mercury asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Everyone, I would like to introduce you to your new co-workers." Cinder said.

.

"I said, I would like to introduce you to your new co-workers!" She said a little louder.

.

"I said-!" Cinder began.

Though before she could finish, a loud popping noise could be heard from above them.

"Ow! Okay, I'm going! I'm going!" They heard a male's voice say.

As he said that, five figures appeared from the top of the lift.

One was wearing a traditional White Fang uniform, though the hoodie he wore had various golden patterns on them.

The one beside him was wearing a similar uniform to that of the male, but instead of golden patterns, she had magenta patterns.

Each of them had a feathered cape with their respective color.

One was wearing a labcoat and glasses, a pair of gills on her neck.

The other was wearing a skin tight jumpsuit with various spots on her skin.

Though the last one was completely wrapped in a cloak, their identity hidden.

"There we are. Everyone, I would like you to meet the Phantoms of the White Fang." Cinder said.

"This is Ilia Amitola." Cinder said as she motioned to the chameleon Faunus.

Ilia just nodded, clearly less than happy with their current situation.

"This is Aleria Aquila." Cinder said, motioning to the bird in magenta.

"Hey." She simply said.

"This is Naomi Oceanus." Cinder said as she motioned to the fish Faunus.

"Greetings." She said.

"Hey, how are you able to breathe without water?" Mercury asked.

"I have developed a breathing technique that allows me to remain overseas." Naomi said.

"Oh." He simply said.

"This is Aleria's brother, A-" Cinder began.

"Alerio Aquila! At your services! Now I know what you're thinking, there's no WAY that a Faunus like this could be so handsome! Well, let me tell you girls, I-!" Alerio began.

"Their all in their teens." Aleria said.

.

"Carry on then." Alerio said as he rushed towards the spot he was originally in.

"I do hope that you'll-" Cinder began.

"Hold up, who's the big guy?" Roman asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you've seen him already. His face was all over the news last week... well, his original face." Cinder said.

Roman looked confused for a second before his eyes widened.

"Hold up! This is Osvaldo?!" Roman asked.

"Correct." She said.

"I-I can't believe this, you're making me... wait, what do you mean 'original face'?" He asked.

"Well, we can't have him walking around Vale with the same old face now can we?" Cinder asked.

"So what? You gonna give him a new face or something?" Roman asked.

.

"Wait, you can't be serious." He said.

"My semblance allows me to change a person's identity, voice, blood type, hand prints, Faunus race, and even semblance to a certain degree." Naomi said.

"What do you mean 'to a certain degree'?" Mercury asked.

"I can change what your semblance does, though when all is said and done, your semblance will be the same, it just works a bit differently." She said.

"For example, Osvaldo's original semblance was muscle expansion but now we are working on making it muscle absorption." Naomi said.

"Wow, that's... something." Mercury said.

"Is that a compliment?" She asked.

"Uh… I guess?" Mercury said, unsure.

"Excellent." She said.

"Uh." Mercury began.

"She may be one of the smartest Faunus we know, but she doesn't exactly have what you call... common sense." Alerio said.

"What are you talking about? My senses are honed to their peak. They are beyond common." Naomi said.

"See what we mean?" Aleria said.

"Anyways, now that introductions are out of the way, we can start phase two of the pl-" Though before Cinder could finish, Aleria cut her off.

"Hold up, how about we hear more about this 'plan' of yours." She said.

"Oh, Aleria… you'll know what you need to-" Cinder started.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. Though we've got problems of our own. Specifically that our group is short one member." Aleria said.

.

 _'Wait a minute.'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"Oh? Who might this be?" Cinder asked.

"Her name is Veronica Lambert." She said.

 _'Shit.'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"Could she be of use?" Cinder asked.

"She wouldn't be called one of the phantoms if she wasn't." Aleria said.

"Hmm... very well, I'll see what I can do about freeing your friend." Cinder said.

"There is one more issue we've yet to take care of." Aleria said.

"My, we have quite the number of problems, hmm?" She said.

"There's this BRAT that we've yet to take care of. He's been causing us trouble for a while now." Aleria said.

"Oh? And what troubles has this boy caused you?" Cinder asked.

"Ugh, lots of bullshit." Alerio said.

"He's the reason why we're short on scientists. He's the reason why Veronica is in jail, and-" Aleria said as she leaned in to whisper into Cinder's ear.

"He's also the reason why Osvaldo was caught." She whispered.

"I take it's a sensitive subject." Cinder said quietly.

"You know that incident where the Vale police department found a man brutally beaten next to the corpse of his dog?" Aleria asked.

"Yes, I assume that was his doing?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's just say that Osvaldo might not be... 'ready' to go into combat." She said.

"Very well." Cinder said as she nodded.

"We will take care of these problems, and in exchange you will give us your services." She said.

"Good, though getting close to the brat might be difficult." Aleria said.

"Oh, well I'm sure that these two will do the trick." Cinder said, turning to Emerald and Mercury.

"Hmm." Aleria said as she examined the two.

"What can they do?" She asked.

"Mercury here is the son of the infamous Marcus Black, and Emerald here has an illusion semblance." Cinder said.

"They won't even get close." Aleria said.

"Um, says you! Tell me where he is, I'll bring back the head." Mercury said.

"Oh really? Can you kick faster than a machine gun?" Aleria asked.

.

"No?" Mercury said.

"Can you sneak past something that's able to catch a bullet in between its fingers?" Aleria asked Emerald.

"I can sneak past a lot of things, but if it's able to catch a bullet as soon as it's fired then no, I don't think so." Emerald said.

"Can EITHER of you punch through stone with your own brute strength?" Aleria asked.

"Why are you asking all these ridiculous questions?" Cinder asked.

"There's something about this kid that isn't right." Alerio said.

"It's like he's... possessed or something." Aleria said.

"Possessed?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, every time you try to get close to him, this... spirit will come out and punch you away." She said.

"And I'm assuming that this 'spirit' can do everything you just mentioned." Cinder said.

"Yep." Alerio said.

"Hmm, this is most... troublesome." Cinder said.

"Luckily, we have already have someone taking care of that." Aleria said as she looked at Ilia.

"Oh? And what can our little chameleon do?" Cinder asked.

Ilia's only response was to crack her whip, electrical sparks flying off of it as it cracked.

"How will this help?" She asked.

"The spirit and the user are connected. Damage the spirit, and you damage the user as well." Aleria said.

"I see... Very well, if you have this under control, then we'll focus on getting your friend out of jail." Cinder said.

"Good. Now if we're done, we'll be leaving." Aleria said as she walked away.

"Call me." Alerio said as he pointed at Cinder.

"So... what now?" Roman asked.

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." Cinder said.

"Coordinates?" He asked.

"We're proceeding to phase two." She said.

"What about her little friend? I thought you were going to free her." Roman said.

"And I will. Just not right now." Cinder said as she walked away.

"You." She said as she pointed to Neo.

"You'll be coming with us." Cinder said.

Neo nodded and walked towards Cinder.

Roman sighed before reaching into his pocket to grab his lighter, only to grab empty space.

"What the-?!" Roman began, though cut himself off as he saw Emerald holding his lighter.

"I'm gonna borrow this." She said as she walked away.

As Cinder walked out of the warehouse, she couldn't help but feel as if she's heard about this 'spirit' before.

 _'I know that this spirit is connected to something. But what?'_ Cinder asked herself.

 _'Perhaps this will be more... entertaining than I thought.'_ She thought.

* * *

Beacon

The first semester of Beacon Academy went by faster than it came. Team's RWBY and JNPR already were all eager to start their next semester and take another step closer to becoming huntresses and huntsmen.

Though not everyone was eager to start their second semester.

Some were more focused on recent events, as well as events of the past.

Blake Belladonna, former member of the White Fang, as well as a former member of the Phantoms of The White Fang, a group of some of the White Fang's best members.

Blake was looking at the journal she kept during her time with the Phantoms, her former family.

Sure, most of them were killers and thieves, but in the end they fought for the rights and equality of every Faunus in Remnant.

It's just that some of these methods were... less than agreeable.

Still, they were like her brothers and sisters, it wasn't easy for her to leave them.

Now they're in Vale, not only that but they're working for Roman Torchwick.

Why though? What possible reason could they have to work with a human like him?

Those were the questions running through Blake's mind as she sat in Beacon's cafeteria.

"Hey." Yang said, breaking Blake out of her daze.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked.

"Uh... " Blake tried to say as she closed her journal.

"Nothing, just looking at notes from last semester." Blake said.

"Lame." Yang said as she caught another grape that Nora threw in her mouth.

"So, where were you yesterday?" She asked with her mouth still full.

"I was just... visiting an old friend." Blake said.

"Really? Who?" Yang asked, swallowing the food that was in her mouth.

"... I'll tell you later. Just not in a place that's so... public." She said.

"Oh! Gotcha." Yang said.

Though before they could continue their conversation, a loud thud cut them off.

"Ahem." Ruby cleared her throat out before speaking.

"Sister! Friends! Weiss." Ruby began.

"Hey!" Weiss said.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream." She said.

"This ought be good. " Yang said as she caught another grape with her mouth.

"Do you even know what a score is?" Weiss asked.

"Not a clue, but I saw it in a speech so it must mean something good!" Ruby said.

"A dream that one day, the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, ever!" She said.

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.

"I am not a crook." Ruby said.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, her mind wandering elsewhere.

"I'm talking about kicking this semester off with a bang!" She said.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang joked.

.

"Eh?" She asked.

.

"Guys?

.

"Am I right? Or am I-?" Yang didn't have time to finish as Nora threw an apple at her face.

"Boo!" She yelled.

"Ignoring my sister's poor sense of humor-" Ruby began.

"Hey!" Yang said.

"It's been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great!" She said.

"But classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I have taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events events for us today." Ruby said as she opened the binder.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss said.

"Well, then allow me to read to you 'Ruby's wonderful day of wonderful events! Vol 1'." Ruby said.

.

"The name's a work in progress." She said.

"Wonderful event number one! Start the series of wonderful events!" Ruby said.

"Wonderful event number two! Convince Weiss that these are all a wonderful series of events!" She said.

"Wonderful event number three! Tell Jaune that-" At this point, Blake has completely tuned out Ruby.

Right now, she was more focused on the meeting she had last night at Vale's police station.

* * *

Last Night

 _After Blake saw the capture of Veronica on the news, she had been debating whether or not to go and visit her old friend to possibly see if she, as well as the other members of the Phantoms resented her for leaving._

 _Though what eventually drove her to go and talk to her was the night at the harbor where she fought Roman Torchwick, as well as her former brothers and sisters._

 _The capture of Osvaldo was also part of the reason why she went to go and see Veronica._

 _So here she was, standing in front of her cell with Coco by her side._

 _"You sure about this?" She asked._

 _"Yeah. There's something I need to know, and she's my best bet when it comes to finding it out." Blake said._

 _"Do you really think she'll talk to you? Even after you left?" Coco asked, causing Blake to freeze in place._

 _"H-how did you-?" Blake began to ask._

 _"I'm a detective, kitty-cat. I tend to find these things out on my own." She said._

 _Blake just stood there, her face looking towards the ground._

 _"Don't worry, I don't hold it against ya. Besides, you left didn't ya?" Coco said._

 _"Yeah but-" Blake began._

 _"Then don't worry about it. If we all judged each other on our past actions then how would we move forward as people?" She asked._

 _She couldn't argue with that, I mean just look at her and Weiss. She treated her like a friend, despite being part of the family that was famous for it's racism against Faunus. Even after the incident with the White Fang she still accepted her, despite being apart of said organization._

 _"Do you resent me?" Blake asked._

 _"Why would I?" Coco asked._

 _Blake just stood there in silence before speaking up._

 _"I was one of the Phantoms. I was part of the group of elites that killed your sister." She said._

 _"Let me guess, Velvet told you about it." Coco said._

 _Blake nodded slowly, probably expecting her to start resenting her._

 _"Not really a surprise. If there's one thing that girl can't do is keep a secret from her friends." She said._

 _Blake just stood there in silence, not daring to say a word._

 _"Look, I don't resent you for what happened to my sister, nor do I resent the Phantoms." Coco said._

 _"The only one I have a personal vendetta against is Osvaldo." She said._

 _Blake nodded, seemingly relieved at her response._

 _"Though I do have to ask, being part of the group that killed my sister, can you give me any info on where he might be now?" Coco asked._

 _Blake shook her head before responding._

 _"No, Osvaldo has always remained hidden, even from us. No one ever knows where he is, not even Adam." She said._

 _"That's the leader of the White Fang, right?" Coco asked._

 _"Second leader, yeah." Blake said._

 _"Right, old one stepped down." She said._

 _"Yeah." She said, keeping the fact that the old leader of the White Fang was her father hidden._

 _"Well, if she'll talk to anyone, it'll be you. What do you want to ask her anyways?" Coco asked._

 _"Well, there's a lot of things I want to know. How has everyone been doing? Do you guys hate me for leaving, etc." Blake said._

 _"So it's just to catch up?" She asked._

 _"Basically." She said._

 _"Well, can't argue with that, I'll open the door for you." Coco said as she unlocked the door._

 _"If she starts anything, holler for me." She said._

 _"Don't worry, I know she won't try anything." Blake said with a smirk._

 _"How do you know that?" She asked._

 _"Because when it comes to hand to hand combat, I'm better than her in every way." She said._

 _"Alright then, though I'll stay out here just in case." Coco said as she pulled up a chair and leaned it against the wall of the cell._

 _Blake nodded and gripped the handle of the cell._

 _She sighed heavily before opening the door._

 _As she entered the room, she could see Veronica sitting at the end of the room with her back turned from the door._

 _"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" She asked._

 _"I don't care how many of your kind you bring, I'm not talking. Just drop dead and eat shit." Veronica said._

 _"You know, I know someone who says that a lot." Blake said, causing Veronica to turn her head towards Blake._

 _"Blake?!" Veronica said._

 _"Hey Veronica." Blake said sheepishly._

 _._

 _The room was filled with an awkward silence, neither of them said anything._

 _"So... I brought tea." Blake said._

 _"Is it raspberry?" Veronica asked._

 _"With blueberry as well." She said._

 _"... I missed you." She said._

 _"Yeah, I've missed you too." Blake said as she wrapped her arms around her sister._

 _Blake started to pour tea into one of the tea cups she brought into the station._

 _"Are you even allowed to do this?" She said._

 _"I have a friend who works here. She pulled a few strings." Blake said._

 _"Well, you can tell your friend I said thanks." Veronica said._

 _._

 _"She's the detective outside, isn't she?" She asked, causing Blake to nod._

 _"Still want me to say thanks?" Blake asked._

 _Veronica said nothing, she just started at the tea cup, licking her lips._

 _"Can you... uh, tip the cup against my mouth? I can't exactly drink with my hands tied like this." She said._

 _"Sure." Blake said as she lifted the cup to Veronica's lips._

 _"Mmm, that's good." She said._

 _"This kinda reminds me of all those times I would have to feed you because you pulled the muscles in your hands due to all your tinkering." Blake said._

 _"I always feel like a baby when you do this." Veronica said._

 _"Say aaah." Blake teased._

 _"You're an Aaaaaaasshole." She said._

 _"Glad to see that you haven't changed at all." Blake said._

 _._

 _"Hey, can I ask you something?" She asked._

 _"Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere so sure, ask away." Veronica said._

 _"Do you resent me?... For leaving and all." Blake asked._

 _Veronica sighed heavily before responding._

 _"Do I resent you? No. Do I agree with you? No." She said. "Though I can see why you would leave, ever since Adam was put into power, our methods have become more savage-like and brutal. It's like we're becoming what the humans think we are." Veronica said._

 _"Yeah, that's why I left. It feels like he treats us more as tools and robots rather than living creatures." Blake said._

 _"You're telling me." She said._

 _"What about the others?" She asked._

 _"Well, Alerio really misses you, said that he was sad that he lost our little kitty-cat." Veronica said with a smirk._

 _"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Blake asked._

 _"Aleria was... less than happy with your decision, though Alerio cooled her off before she could go after you." She said._

 _"She wanted to come after me?" She asked._

 _"Yeah, she was pretty pissed at you." Veronica said._

 _"Naomi was, and I quote, highly unsatisfied with your decision." She said._

 _"What about Ilia?" Blake asked._

 _Veronica sighed before responding._

 _"She... she was the most impacted by your decision to leave. She was the newest member and you were the one she bonded with the most so she was bound to be impacted by it the most." She said._

 _"Ilia..." Blake said._

 _"Well, what's done is done. Though judging by that look in your eyes, there's more you want to know." She said._

 _"What about Osvaldo?" She asked._

 _"He's... the same old same old. Didn't particularly care for your leave. If he did, he's not showing it." Veronica said._

 _"I saw what happened on the news." Blake said._

 _"Yeah, I heard about it to. Can't believe that he got caught. That's a rarity for sure." She said._

 _"Rarity? This is the first time it's happened." Blake said._

 _"Right, still, who could have outsmarted Osvaldo?" Veronica asked._

 _"I don't know, I'll try asking around." She said._

 _"Right… what else do you want?" She asked._

 _"Well... I want to know why you guys are working for Roman Torchwick." Blake said._

 _Veronica nodded before responding._

 _"Can't really say myself. Adam just came to us and told us that we were working with new people. Didn't go into any further detail." She said._

 _"So not even anyone in the Phantoms know?" Blake asked._

 _"Nope. Not even Osvaldo." Veronica said._

 _"Do you agree with his decision?" She asked._

 _"Hell no. I don't think anyone in the Phantoms do. Not really a lot we can do about it though." She said. "Man, I miss the old days where your old man was in charge. He would treat us like actually Faunus and not like machines." Veronica said._

 _Blake clenched her fist before standing up._

 _"What?" Veronica asked._

 _"Come with me." Blake said._

 _._

 _"Sorry, run that by me again?" She asked._

 _"Come with me to Beacon! You don't have to fight for a cause that even you are questioning!" Blake said._

 _"Hold up kid. I may not agree with the methods, but that doesn't mean I've given up on our cause." Veronica said._

 _"But-!" Blake began._

 _"I'm not like you, Blake. I don't have parents to fall back on, the Phantoms are my only family that I have!" She said._

 _"Besides, with my background, I seriously doubt they would let someone like me in."Veronica said._

 _Before Blake could say anything else, Veronica spoke up._

 _"Look, I know why you left, hell, in a way you might be in the right to leave. But I can't abandon my family, I told you what happened to them when you left. What do you think would happen if I left?" She asked._

 _"... " Blake said nothing, she just stood there not really sure what to say._

 _"I appreciate you coming to talk, but if you just came to convince me to go to your side then you might as well save your breath." Veronica said._

 _Blake just stood there, not really sure how to respond._

 _"Hey! You okay in there?" Coco asked._

 _"You should probably go. She's getting antsy." She said._

 _Blake nodded and walked out of the cell._

 _"So... how'd it go?" Coco asked._

 _"It was... alright." Blake said._

 _"You sure?" She asked._

 _Blake nodded and walked through the hallway that lead to the exit._

* * *

Present

 _'Well, that certainly didn't help. If anything I'm even more confused than I was.'_ Blake thought.

"Blake." Weiss called out.

'Why would Adam not tell the Phantoms anything?' She thought

"Blake." She called out again.

 _'What caused Adam to work with someone like Roman?'_ Blake thought to herself.

"Blake!" Weiss called out, a little louder this time.

'And who caught Osvaldo? Was it a student? Was it a Huntsmen? Who could have-?' Blake was cut off by the sound of a loud clap.

"Remnant to Blake!" Weiss said.

"Hmm? Sorry, I spaced out." She said.

"Well, I wanted to know what you thought about Ruby's 'best day ever'." Weiss said.

"Oh. Uh, I think I might sit this one out." She said.

"Aw." Ruby said.

"Sorry, I just... have a lot on my mind right now." Blake said.

"Well, whatever we do, I think we should do it as a team." Weiss said as she stood up.

"I believe that-!" Weiss didn't have time to finish as a pie landed directly on her face.

.

"Ren did it." Nora said.

"Nora, please, let's all try to be mature and-!" Though before Ren could finish, Weiss accidentally threw the remains of her soup at Ren.

"Oh my-! I'm so sorry, Ren! I wasn't aiming for you!" She defended.

"Come on Weiss, I don't think the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company should be-" Blake was cut off as Ren threw the remains of his tea at Blake.

"Sorry." He said.

"Ren, come now, you'll only be pro-" Pyrrha was cut off as Blake threw her clam chowder at Pyrrha.

"Heh, n-" Yang didn't even get a chance to begin her sentence as Pyrrha threw the remains of her meal at Yang.

"G-" Jaune didn't get the chance to start his as Nora threw her pancakes at Jaune.

"Nora!" He yelled.

"What? I thought we were doing it to everyone!" She defended.

.

"You gonna eat that?" She asked.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Beacon Runway

'Where the hell are they? Their bullhead should have been here an hour ago!' Sun thought as he stood in front of Beacon's runway.

Sun was currently waiting for the rest of his team to arrive at Beacon, though for some reason their flight was being delayed by a whole hour.

Originally he was just gonna introduce his teammate Neptune to his new friends but if there was anything he took from what happened a few weeks ago is that he should involve ALL of his friends with what happens in his life.

But still...

"Why is their flight so delayed?! Seriously, everyone already got here, what's taking them so-?!" Though before Sun could finish he could see a bullhead coming towards the runway at an alarmingly fast pace.

"What is... oh hit the deck!" Sun yelled as he jumped off of the runway.

Though before the bullhead could crash, it quickly regained its motion and landed safely on the runway.

.

"What just-" Though before Sun could finish, two tall boys walked out of the bullhead, one holding twenty lien in his hand while 'attempting' to dance. The other was mumbling something to himself in a British accent.

The boy who was attempting to dance was a teenager with tan skin, dark blue eyes and messy light blue hair that is shaved on the sides and in the back, aka, an undercut.

He wore a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides. The back of his jacket displays a silver reticle.

He wore black shoes that are fastened with straps, rather than laces. Notable accessories include black finger less gloves and a pair of yellow-tinted goggles worn on his forehead.

The second one was a boy who had red hair that came down over his right eye, with a complete undercut. There were several red markings around his left eye.

He wore a green, mulberry, navy color feather earring on his left ear, and has a red military pelisse-like jacket draped over the left side. He also wore a gray bandanna around his neck.

On his right hand, he wore a fingerless glove, and on his right bicep, he had a gray band. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and light gray pants. He also wore a pair of long, brown, laced boots. Around his waist, he wore a brown belt and a slightly slanted gray belt that his weapon holster is attached to.

"Guess who's twenty lien richer! This guy!" The boy in blue said.

"How?! How did you do that?!" The boy in red asked in a frustrated tone.

"What can I say? I'm good with vehicles, maybe you shouldn't make stupid bets in the first place." The blue boy said.

"Neptune! Scarlet!" A deep voice said to the newly named boys.

The person who came out was a teenage boy with dark skin and yellow eyes. His hair is sage green, and he appeared to have tattoos of wings on his chest and tattoos of Roman numerals around his neck.

He wore a white long coat with asymmetrical sleeves, a green wing design similar to his tattoos and no shirt underneath, displaying his tattooed chest. His jacket also has a golden pauldron on his right shoulder and a golden cuff around his left wrist. He also wore a pair of dark pants fastened by a white belt with a yellow buckle.

"Oh, hey Sage." Neptune said.

"Don't. Ever. Do that. Again." He said in between breaths.

"Guys!" Sun said as he ran up to his teammates.

"Sun! There you are!" Neptune said as he walked up to greet Sun.

"About time you guys got here! What took you so long?!" He asked.

"Well not everyone here wants to break the law without a second thought." Neptune said.

"You just didn't want to get on a boat. Besides, it's not breaking the law if you don't get caught." He said.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If you want to know why we took so long to get here, Scarlet bet me twenty lien that I couldn't do a three sixty barrel roll in the air. Well guess who's twenty lien richer?" Neptune said.

"Why were you flying the bullhead?" Sun asked.

"Well all of the pilots were gone by the time we were done eating. So we had to get here somehow." Neptune said.

"They just let you take a bullhead?" Sun asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised to." He said.

"But why would you do a barrel roll in the air?" Sun asked.

"Finally, someone else it the voice of-" Though before Sage could finish, Sun to him off.

"Why would you do it without me?! Come on, I thought we were friends!" He said.

"Aaaaand there it goes." Sage mumbled.

"So what have you been doing for the past few weeks?" Scarlet asked.

"Oh! Right, you're not gonna believe what happened! Seriously! Everyday here is like a new adventure!" Sun said.

"Well, we're starving. Where do they keep the cafeteria here?" Neptune asked.

"That reminds me, there's a few people I want you to meet." Sun said.

"Well, why don't you tell us this story of yours while we're walking." Sage said.

"Okay, so it all started when I arrived at Vale a few weeks back." He said.

"Wait, so did it happen in the same day you arrived or as SOON as you arrived?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, it started as soon as I got there, but it got REALLY good during the night I arrived." Sun said.

"So what happened?" Neptune asked.

"Okay, so first I was on the run from the cops, but then I saw this cute girl on the docks. So being the gentlemen that I am, I winked at her as I passed by." He said.

"Nice, you did the thumbs up right?" Neptune asked.

"Just like you said." Sun said as he connected fists with Neptune.

"Though I noticed that something was off about her, so during the night, I tailed her as she was running across Beacon's fields." He said.

"That seems... creepy." Scarlet said.

"It was for a good cause! So after I met her, I decided to buy her a drink." Sun said.

.

"Not that kind!" He said.

"So what happened next?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, we were looking around Vale, because apparently this city has a lot more crime problems than we thought." Sun said.

"So you were like a junior detective?" Neptune asked.

"Exactly." He said.

"So what exactly is going on here?" Sage asked.

"Well, you know how Vale's part of the White Fang just went rogue from all other branches of the White Fang?" Sun asked.

"Yeah?" Scarlet said.

"Well, it turns out that they were working for Roman Torchwick!" Sun said, causing his team to look at him with widened eyes.

"I know! It's crazy, I mean why would they be working with a human?... No offense." He said.

"None taken." The rest of his team said in unison.

"So my friend, who's name is Blake by the way, decided to stake out this harbor which was supposed to get a HUGE shipment of dust." Sun said.

"So what did you find?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, turns out that the person behind the robberies was none other than the White Fang, with the help of Roman Torchwick." He said.

"So what did you two do?" Sage asked.

"Well, instead of just waiting around, she decided to go and get stuff done! It was so cool! She was all like, tell me what you're doing here or I'll put a little end to your operation!" He said.

"But then he totally pulled a fast one on her and shot her away." Sun said.

"Wow, that's harsh." Neptune said.

"So then we were fighting side by side and she was super fast and I threw a banana at a guy which sound gross but it was awesome!" He said.

"Nice." Neptune said.

"Ew." Scarlet said.

"Right! Then this girl came in and just started to body all of the White Fang members that were there, it's like she was already there to kick some serious butt!" Sun said.

"Did you catch him?" Scarlet asked.

"Well... no, they got away. But it was still so cool! There were guns, swords and lasers! It was just like out of a action movie!" Sun said.

"Nice!" Neptune said.

"But the best part about it, is that my friend's a Faunus!" Sun said, only for him to cover his mouth with one of his hands.

"But that's a secret, okay?" Sun said.

"Got it." Neptune said.

"And not a "I'm gonna tell the whole school the second Sun turns his back" kind of secret, I'm talking a Secret Secret." He said.

"Whoa, chill out, okay? We got it, we got it." Neptune said.

.

"Right?" He said as he turned his head towards Scarlet.

"Yeah." He said.

"You better." Sun warned.

"I just... I just don't want to screw this up, ya know? The people here are the coolest!... No offense." He said.

"None taken." The rest of his team said.

"But that wasn't even the craziest thing that happened!" Sun said.

"Before I decided to turn in for the night, Blake called us up for a little reveal." He said.

"So she stopped hiding herself. Good, the first step to making a change." Sage said.

"Well, you're half right." Sun said. "When she came to the arena, there was this dude there and all of a sudden Blake just challenged him." He said.

"What's wrong with that?" Neptune asked.

"Well, it wasn't your average spar. The guy couldn't even use his weapons." He said.

"Really?! That doesn't seem fair." Scarlet said.

"But it was crazy! The guy just started to sprout limbs off of his own, but they didn't look natural. Almost as if they were the limbs of a spirit." Sun said.

"Spirit?" Sage asked.

"Yeah, but halfway through the fight, the guy took Blake's gun and shot himself." He said.

"Whoa! That seems like a bit much." Neptune said.

"But right as the bullet was fired, some sort of spirit came out and caught it with its fingers!" Sun said.

"What?" Sage asked, moving towards Sun.

"What's up dude?" Neptune asked.

"Sun, the way you're describing this 'spirit'. Now I may be wrong but could it be the-" He began.

"Yeah, that dude that Blake was fighting wields the enchanted sword, Caliber." Sun said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought that was just a fairy tale." Neptune said.

"So did I! But there it was, and it was strong, fast, the punches it threw were too fast for my eyes to see." He said.

"Wow, that's just... wow!" Scarlet said.

"I know, right?!" Sun said as they arrived at the cafeteria.

"Okay, they're just in here, I'm REALLY excited for you all to meet them, so be cool okay?" Sun requested.

.

"You're gonna be cool, right?" Sun asked.

"Dude." Neptune said as he stared at Sun with his usual grin. Sage just stood there and Scarlet just gave him a thumbs up.

"Okay, good point." He said as he opened the doors.

Though as he did, a watermelon flew over the group's heads.

"What the-?!" Scarlet began, only to be interrupted by the sound of laughter.

"AH HA HA HA! I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE! I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!" Nora yelled as she stood atop a pile of tables.

"What's going on?!" Scarlet asked.

Though before Sun could respond, Ruby slammed her foot on the table with a milk carton in her hand.

"Justice will swift! Justice will be painful! It! Will! Be!" She began as she crushed the milk carton in her hands.

"Delicious!" She yelled.

"Off with their heads!" Nora yelled.

As she said this, Ren kicked a tray with watermelons on them and kicked said watermelons at Team RWBY.

Jaune picked up a watermelon of his own and threw it at Team RWBY.

Pyrrha did the same.

Nora simply flipped a table full of watermelons at Team RWBY.

"Yang! Turkey!" Ruby said.

Yang nodded and ran towards two turkeys before digging her fists into them as if they were a pair of gauntlets.

As the watermelons closed in, Yang started to punch each melon with her new... 'weapon', causing them to break upon impact.

Blake jumped over Yang and grabbed two baguettes before slashing at a pair of melons.

Yang kicked a melon and launched her turkey gauntlets at Team JNPR.

Pyrrha dodged but Jaune was hit by the pair of turkey's.

Blake attempted to stab Pyrrha with the baguette but Pyrrha blocked her with her own baguette.

"What is happening?" Neptune asked.

"I don't know, but I want in!" Sun said as he ran towards the carnage.

"Should we...?" Scarlet began.

"No, let's sit this one out. We are grown men, we should not-" Though before Sage could finish, a watermelon hit him directly in the face.

.

"You know what?" Sage began as he grabbed a piece of bread off of the floor.

"Let's show them how we fight in Mistral." He said as he charged towards the chaos.

"Yeah!" Neptune and Scarlet said as they ran after Sage.

"My, you would think that they would have bread that was a little less stale." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, I mean this seems really unappeti-" Though before Blake could finish, Sage whacked her away with his bread stick.

"Blake!" Pyrrha shouted.

"Rgha!" Sage shouted as he brought his piece of bread down onto Pyrrha, though she was quick to block.

"And who might you be?" She asked.

"Sage Ayana of Mistral." He said as he put more pressure on his weapon.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked as she used one of the trays as a board of some sort.

"That's my teammate!" Sun said as he spun around a piece of bamboo.

"Hey Sun!" She said as she picked up her tray and blocked Sun's attack.

"Sup!" He said.

Ren and Nora rushed towards Weiss, though Weiss used a sprayed a bottle of ketchup onto the ground, causing Ren to slip into the tables, sending the table's flying into the air.

Nora gripped onto an iron bar and stabbed a watermelon, making a hammer of some sort.

Though as she was about to hit Weiss, she quickly moved sideways.

Who Nora hit instead was Sun's British teammate, Scarlet.

Weiss looked confused for a second but shrugged and grabbed a swordfish.

Though before she could dash at Nora, she felt something wrap around her leg.

"Wha-!" She tried to say, though she was quickly lifted up into the air by Scarlet.

Scarlet twirled her around for a bit before throwing her towards a stone pillar.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out as she pushed Sun away.

Before Weiss could hit the ground, Ruby caught her in her arms.

"Weiss, no, don't leave me!" She said.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She called out as she held the unconscious body of Weiss.

Yang ran towards Team JNPR with two turkeys wrapped around her hands.

As she ran, Ren grabbed two leeks and ran to intercept Yang.

Yang went into kick Ren, though he blocked it with the two leeks in his hands.

Ren attempted to counter, but Yang was able to overwhelm Ren and punch him away, though as she did, Nora came in and whacked Yang up into the air, causing her to go through roof.

Though before Nora could do anything, another swordfish came down and impaled the ground.

Before Nora could react, Neptune swung an iron bar with a watermelon attached to it, causing Nora to go flying towards the soda machines.

Blake grabbed a string of sausage and swung it at Neptune.

"Not the face!" He yelled as he went flying back.

Nora recovered and started to throw soda cans at Blake as if they were grenades.

As Blake dodged the soda cans, Pyrrha noticed that there were a significantly large amount of cans around her.

She smirked and pushed Sage away before clapping her hands together and moving the cans in the air.

"What in the-?!" Though before Sage could finish, he was hit by various soda cans.

Blake was sent flying towards the wall due to the blast.

Ruby looked around at her fallen teammates and glared at Teams JNPR and SSSN. She crouched into a running position, then took off at the speed of light, dragging around various soda cans as she closed the gap between her and the two teams.

They didn't have time to react as the gust of wind that Ruby was creating picked them up and slammed them against the wall, causing the various soda cans, watermelons, and other foods made contact with their bodies.

There was a long silence as the bodies of Team's JNPR and SSSN fell to the ground.

Though Ruby noticed that two people were missing.

Sun and Jaune.

"That. Was. Awesome! Man this place keeps getting better and better!" Sun said.

"Yeah! That was amazing..." Jaune said.

"Jaune/Sun!" The members of Team JNPR and SSSN shouted.

"Well, it looks like it's a battle of leaders." Ruby said.

"Yeah." Sun said as he clapped his hands together.

All of a sudden, two clones of Suns appeared beside him, each in their own individual pose.

"Let's dance." He said as he picked up a bamboo stick.

"Well, you see Ruby, these fruits right here... well." Jaune began as he picked up various fruits with his arms.

"They still have seeds in them." He said with a smirk.

.

"Oh crap." She said.

"What?" Sun said.

Before Ruby could answer, Jaune clapped his hands together, causing the fruits to burst open with wooden trunks, each holding their respective fruit on its branches.

"What the sh-?!" Though before Sun could answer, the wooden trunks grabbed Sun and his clones and threw them towards the wall.

Ruby tried to use her speed semblance to move around the wooden trunks, though they were in an open space, so Jaune didn't have to hold back in the slightest.

The trunks wrapped themselves around Ruby and threw her into a pile of fruits.

.

"I-I won?" Jaune said in disbelief.

.

"I-I WON! I REALLY WON! YAHOO!" He yelled as he pumped his fists into the air.

Though before he could continue his celebration, the doors to the cafeteria flew open, revealing Glynda Goodwitch.

And boy, was she mad.

"Would someone care to explain why we have a forest in our cafeteria?!" She asked.

"Jaune did it." Ruby shakily said.

"Ah, fart knockers." He said.

All of a sudden, the wooden trunks began to retract into their respective seeds and the tables began to move back into place.

"Children, please." Glynda said as she pushed her glasses upwards.

"Do not play with your food." She said.

As she said this, Yang fell down towards the ground with a loud thud, accompanied by several roof tiles.

"Uh, is she-?" Neptune began.

Though he was quickly interrupted by Yang getting up off of the ground.

Glynda was about to scold them even further, but Ozpin quickly stepped in.

"Let it go." He said.

"But... they're supposed to be the protectors of the world." She said.

"And they will be, but right now they're still children." He said. "So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin asked.

"After all." He began.

"It isn't a role they'll have forever." He said as he opened the door.

Though as he did, he was met with the face of Brandon.

"Ah, Mr. Kim, glad to see that-" Though before he could finish, a watermelon that went flying into the air landed on Brandon, knocking him out.

.

"Found it." Nora said.

* * *

 **And so Vol 2 officially begins.**

 **Well, I did it, I actually did it.**

 **I saved Tukson.**

 **.**

 **Was a lot easier than I thought it would be.**

 **If I'm lucky then changing the bigger events will be easier.**

 **.**

 **Well luck has never been a big thing for me so... moving on.**

 **Now before you go and say 'how can you not know who Ghira and Kali are?' I would just like to say that Brandon's knowledge of canon only extends to episode one of vol 4.**

 **Now, time for the review responses.**

 **Review Response**

 **Ragnorak16: Look, I like my fans, I really do, so I'm gonna say this in the nicest way possible.**

 **Ahem**

 **NEVER. GONNA. HAPPEN... EVER.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Clean up on row thirty six.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Well, I wouldn't say the TRUE ending, just this universe's equivalent of Vol 1. Glad you like the way I've written the interactions with the OC's and villains.**

 **olTran: It's more of, his identity was found out.**

 **The Minion Sekiryuutei: It's cool, you can take your time. :)**

 **RandoReader: Well it removes any drama and possible character development so that's why I'm not doing it.**

 **DragonLord501st: Thanks! I'm glad that you liked it!**

 **Reason why he didn't give him any Earth songs was due to the fact that he didn't have any with him at the moment.**

 **Really glad you like the twins! I really thought hard on their characters and how they could play off of each other.**

 **I might consider that idea, mainly because they seem to have similar personalities.**

 **Glad you liked how I introduced Ilia.**

 **Also the whole, please support the official release was something I've been doing since the first chapter.**

 **Not meant to be a TFS reference.**

 **CraazyReader: Well, Monty was the creator of this series, only natural the fandom would make it Remnant's term of 'oh my god'.**

 **Mastertimewar: It has nothing to due with his blood.**

 **Guest: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. :)**

 **Guest: Glad you like it. :)**

 **Cco16: Well this is a SI so technically I would have the enchantments.**

 **hard boiled eggs: Cool. :)**

 **Guest: Well here ya go, there she is.**

 **guest: Good to hear. :)**

 **thesonicjackson: Nice.**

 **olTran: Faith man, faith.**

 **NCR Ranger1999: Go to my profile.**

 **sephchipmunk: The poll will close when the arc where the ship becomes canon starts.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: I don't really know, haven't thought about it.**

 **Ragnorak16: I think you're overreacting.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Nice. :)**

 **SMV Aria2: Well it's not Easter without eggs. Velvet! Bend over!**

 **Velvet: What?!**

 **SMV Aria2: There's the best I came up with so... deal with it.**

 **guest:... I'll put a pin in it.**

 **bwburke94: Why not?**

 **eldnargnagol: Yes... I don't play the game anymore but I still like the lore.**

* * *

Omake - Weiss abuses Caliber (Non-Canon)

'Jeez, use Caliber to open a stupid jar why don't ya? Only you can do it!' Brandon thought bitterly.

"Brandon! Just the person I wanted to see." He heard Weiss say.

Brandon turned around to face Weiss, still having the same bitter look on his face.

"What happened to you?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said.

Weiss looked confused for a second before shaking her head.

"Whatever, I need your help." She said.

"With what?" Brandon asked.

"Come with me." Weiss said.

Brandon looked confused before shrugging and following Weiss.

They arrived outside at Beacon's ice sculpture contest.

"What is this place?" He asked.

"Here." Weiss said as she handed Brandon a hammer and a nail.

.

.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work." She said.

"Wait, what?!" Brandon yelled.

"Do I have to spell it out? Make me a sculpture that will win the contest." She said.

"Don't you have a semblance that allows you use dust in a lot of different ways?!" He asked.

"I do, but I missed my manicure yesterday so I need to do that." She said as she sat in a pull out chair under an umbrella.

"Why do you need me then?! I can't use dust!" Brandon yelled.

"Well, Caliber is precise enough to catch a bullet, so making a ice sculpture shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you." She said.

Brandon grumbled before a very sinister grin was planted on his face.

Ten minutes passed, Weiss was sitting under the sun with a pair of sunglasses on her eyes.

"Done!" Brandon said.

"Good, now I'm sure that-!" Weiss stopped herself as she saw just what Brandon made.

.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" She screamed as she looked at the sculpture.

"A work of art." He said.

"WORK OF ART?! I'LL SHOW YOU A WORK OF ART YOU P-!" Though before she could finish, the judges stopped at the sculpture, nodded, and placed the first place ribbon on it.

.

"You were saying?" Brandon asked.

"Shut it." She said.

* * *

 **Aleria Aquila**

 **Height: 5'7"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 20**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Hey Brother (Namesake: Hey Brother-Avicii)**

 **Summary: If Aleria is near her brother, Alerio, her semblance will have various different effects based on what feathers she uses.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: B**

 **Alerio Aquila**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 146 lbs**

 **Age: 20**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Hey Sister (Namesake: Hey Brother-Avicii)**

 **Summary: If Alerio is near his sister, Aleria, his semblance will have various different effects based on what feathers he uses.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: C**

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 35**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 31**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 21**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 13**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	37. Two Fairly Tales

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Two Fairy Tale's"

Thought: _'Two Fairy Tale's'_

Flashback: _"Two Fairy Tale's"_

After that one incident in the cafeteria, Ozpin and Glynda made their way back to the top of Beacon Tower where they were to meet General Ironwood in person. Though what they didn't expect to see when they got to the top were various military ships and units moving around Beacon and Vale.

When Ozpin said that he could bring a few reinforcements, he was expecting someone like Winter or maybe Ironwood could try and reconnect with the Skaal tribe, lord knows that he has the technology to do so.

But the entire Atlas army in one kingdom?! He was trying to make the people feel safe after all of these recent robberies and assassinations, this was going to do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

When people look up at those ships, it would be a constant reminder that they needed this kind of protection from a threat that not even he knows the full extent of. Ozpin saw Ironwood as a friend and a brother in arms, but even he would admit that subtly wasn't his strong suit.

Once more is that Ironwood has been having his info gatherers doing non-stop research on the origin of his personal student, Brandon Kim. Even after a year and a half of gathering info, they still haven't come up with anything leading to the place of his origin, adding more water to his story about being from another world.

Ironwood would be suspicious about him, then again he can't really blame him. A boy just pops out of nowhere in the middle of Beacon's fields wielding one of the twelve most dangerous weapons out there.

He had no doubt in his mind that Ironwood would believe him if he told him about the story Brandon told him, as well as pointing to all of the various pieces of evidence pointing to his otherworldly origin.

Having an immune system strong enough to fight off radiation, something that could only be the result of a genetic mutation, the fact that the village Ozpin and him made up never even existed to begin with, him seemingly not existing within Remnant until that one afternoon, there was a lot to work with.

But the more he thought about it, the more that one question lingered in his mind.

To be honest, Ozpin wished that Brandon was from a village that was outside of Vale, it would explain how he got the enchanted sword to begin with.

But that wasn't the case, it didn't really help that not even Brandon knew where he got the sword, he just woke up with it next to him.

So how did he get one of the twelve enchanted weapons the second he arrived in Remnant?

"Well, Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels." Glynda said bitterly.

.

"Professor?" She called out, causing Ozpin to snap back into reality.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Is something the matter?" Glynda asked.

"No, I was just... thinking." Ozpin said.

"About?" She asked, motioning him to go into further detail.

"The future, the past, the present, etc." He said, causing Glynda to look at him with confusion.

Though before she could say anything else, the sound of an alarm going off on Ozpin's desk cut her off.

 _'Well, looks like the good general is here.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

"Come in." He said, causing General James Ironwood to step out of the elevator.

"Ozpin!" Ironwood greeted his old friend.

"General." Ozpin said formerly.

The General laughed before walking towards his desk.

"Please, drop the formalities." He said as he extended his hand outwards.

"Hmm." Ozpin chuckled as he gripped the general's hand.

"It's been too long." He said, before looking over his shoulders to look at Glynda.

"And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met." Ironwood said.

"Oh James! It's a real honor!" Glynda said sarcastically.

"I'll be outside." She said as she walked towards the door leading out of Ozpin's office.

"Well then... glad to see that she hasn't changed a bit." Ironwood said.

Ozpin sighed before walking over to his desk to grab his coffee pot and mug.

"So, General." He said as he poured him a hot cup of coffee.

"What in the world has brought you all the way across the world? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival." He said, handing him his mug.

"Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year." He said.

"And besides, with you hosting this year's festival, I thought that this would be a great time for the two of us to... catch up." He said.

"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends, however the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned." Ozpin said.

"Well... concern is what brought me here." Ironwood said.

"I understand that travel between kingdoms has been becoming increasingly difficult-" Ozpin began, only to be cut off my the general.

"Oz... you and I both know why I brought those men here." He said in a serious tone.

.

"We are in a time of peace, James. Shows of power like this, is just going to give the people of Vale the wrong idea." Ozpin said.

"But if what Qrow said was true then-" Ironwood began.

"If what Qrow said was true then we will handle it tactically." He said.

"It's the Vytal Festival, a time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you that you do not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the world."Ozpin said.

"I'm just being cautious." Ironwood defended.

"As am I. Why do you think I've been personally training a boy with one of Remnant's twelve most powerful weapons?" He countered.

"Fairy Tale to fight a Fairy Tale. That's what you told me." He said.

"Precisely." Ozpin said.

"But do you honestly believe that your personal student can beat a Fall Maiden?" Ironwood asked.

"I don't know, we don't even know who this Fall Maiden is. How do you expect a child to fight someone that even Qrow warned us about?" He asked.

"That boy is far from what you would call a 'child'." Ozpin said.

"He is one of the twelve wielders of the enchanted weapons, he's formed a total of five enchantments, and has already manifested his spirit... sort of." He said.

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Ironwood asked.

"It doesn't look complete yet, though it's getting close, I can tell." Ozpin said.

"Do you really think that he would still fight for our cause even after he's completed his training?" He asked.

"I have no doubt in my mind." He said.

"That's what you said about her... look where she is now." Ironwood said.

"She's different." Ozpin said.

"What's his spirit like?" He asked.

"Is it important?" He asked.

"Oz." Ironwood said.

.

"If you want to know, yes it's similar to hers." Ozpin said.

"How similar?" Ironwood asked.

"Okay, they're practically identical." He said.

"So, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Speed, and Enhanced Precision then." Ironwood said.

"Yes." He said.

"Ozpin." Ironwood said in a stern tone.

"He's not like her." Ozpin said.

"Well it can't be a coincidence. You said it yourself, spirit's don't share similar features unless there users have very similar mindsets." He said.

"... " Ozpin just sat there in complete silence.

"Look, I'm not going to say that he'll turn into her, I'm just saying that the possibility is out there." He said.

"I know, though while their mindsets may be similar to a certain degree, their situations are entirely different." He said.

"Well, I'll just have to see it for myself." Ironwood said.

"Which brings me to my next subject." He said.

 _'Here we go.'_ Ozpin thought.

"A year and a half. I've had my info gatherers search for any more info on your student for a year and a half. Nothing. There's no records on your personal student existing before you found him." He said.

"Hmm, this is most concerning." Ozpin said.

"People don't just hide from all of Remnant for sixteen years, randomly appear in front of a huntsman school, and have one of the twelve enchanted weapons in their possession." He said.

"Then what do you suggest happened?" He asked.

.

"I don't know, that's why I came to you. You've never let me down before Ozpin. Do you have any idea's or clues on what this boy's origins are?" Ironwood asked.

Ozpin sat there in silence for a moment, contemplating on whether or not he should tell Ironwood of Brandon's origins.

 _._

 _'No, Brandon trusted me with this information. The least I can do is honor his desire to keep it hidden.'_ Ozpin said.

"I'm sorry General, but not even I know where he might have come from, but I don't see him as a threat. Do you?" He asked.

"Of course not. It's like I said, I'm just being cautious." Ironwood said.

"There's a very big difference between caution, and paranoia, General." Ozpin said.

"Maybe, though someone has to take precautions." He said.

"That's not to say that you aren't taking precautions of your own. You're ensuring the safety of Amber, as well as training someone who may be able to counteract the false maiden." Ironwood reassured.

"Though someone has to ensure the safety and security of the people, and my army will do just that Ozpin." He said.

"I hope you're right James." Ozpin said.

"Trust me Oz, this is for the better." Ironwood said.

 _'Only time will tell James. Only time will tell.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

"Where is your student now?" Ironwood asked.

"I do not know at the moment, last I saw of him was when Peach was dragging him towards her office." Ozpin said.

"Hmm, well if I do run into him on campus, I'll have to have another chat with him. It's been quite awhile since we last talked." Ironwood said.

"Yes, quite a lot has happened over the year." He said.

"Oh?" He asked, intrigued at what Ozpin had to say.

"Well, I could tell you, but I think that Brandon would be able to give you a better explanation, he was actually there." Ozpin said.

"True, true. All the more reason to find him." Ironwood said.

"Before you go general, I have a question to ask of you." He said.

"Hmm?" The general asked.

"How goes the search for locating the Skaal?" Ozpin asked.

Ironwood sighed and shook his head.

"Still, nothing. After Jacques broke off their deal, they just disappeared into the mountains. It doesn't help that we can't go into the mountains that they were last seen, we don't have the dust or the technology to make that trip." He said.

"What will you do if you find them?" Ozpin asked.

"I'll ask them to fight for our cause, we need as many enchanted weapon users as possible if we want to have any hope of winning." Ironwood said.

"Yes, while there are only four maidens, there are twelve possible users. We'll have the advantage in numbers and in power." Ozpin said.

"Precisely. Though so far we only know of three of the weapon users whereabouts." He said.

"Five." Ozpin corrected.

"You found more of them?" Ironwood asked.

"Well, found is a strong word. Know of is a more proper term at the moment." Ozpin said.

"So we know of Caliber, Sharur, and... ?" He began.

"Cronus, and Flamberge." He said.

"Good, so we have four possible allies, we've already matched the number of the maidens." Ironwood said.

"Not all of the maidens are against us." Ozpin said.

"I know, I'm just preparing for the worst." He said.

"You also forgot to mention one weapon. We know of five, yet you mentioned four possible allies. May I ask why?" He asked.

"Oz." Ironwood began.

"You and I both know that she won't fight for us, no matter what we offer her. Some people just can't see a good cause." He said.

"I suppose you have a point there." Ozpin said.

"Look, I understand that you wish better for her and that you blame yourself for the path she took, but you need to focus on what's happening right now." Ironwood said.

"I do, everyday I think about what she could have become, but you're right. I do need to put all of my attention towards the development of my students, ensuring that they become the best huntsmen and huntresses they can be." Ozpin said.

"Believe me, I know, but ask yourself this." Ironwood began as he walked away from his desk.

"Do you honestly believe your children, can win a war?" He asked as he walked towards the elevator.

"I hope they never have to." He said as the elevator doors closed.

Ozpin sighed and stared out of the window of Beacon tower, staring down at his various students.

 _'You're right about one thing Ironwood. Brandon and her are similar when it comes to personality and combat, but when it comes to drives, they are completely different from one another.'_ Ozpin thought to himself.

* * *

Library

Team's RWBY and JNPR were currently sitting in the library reading various books to prepare for the semester to come.

.

Well, some of them were reading books, Team RWBY was currently playing a game called 'Remnant: The Game'.

Yeah turns out that most of Ruby's wonderful day of wonderful idea's couldn't be done in just ONE day, so they just decided to play a game as a team rather than a travel attempt to travel all around Remnant in a single day.

It was an intense game to see who could conquer Remnant, not one side was letting up, one wrong move could lead to the disaster of your entire team.

.

Well, mostly everyone wasn't letting up at least. Ruby and Yang were pretty into the game, though Weiss just looked confused about what was going on to begin with, constantly making the wrong moves and attacking her own fleet. Blake just looked uninterested and wasn't even paying attention to her surroundings.

"Yang Xiao Long! Prepare your kingdom for battle!" Ruby announced, causing Weiss to jump.

"Bring it on!" Yang challenged.

"This is a library! Can we not shout at the top of lungs?!" Weiss asked.

"But this makes it more intense." Ruby said.

"Yes, well there will even more tension in the air once the librarian kicks us out so keep it down!" She said.

"Party pooper." Ruby said with a pout.

"Anyways, bring it on Ruby." Yang said.

"Okay, I deploy, the Atlesian Air Fleet!" Ruby said.

Though before Yang could respond, the librarian let out a loud shushing noise from below them.

"Eh heh heh. Sorry." Ruby said sheepishly before shaking her head.

"Well, looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly." She said.

"You fiend!" Yang said.

"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time only lasts one turn." Ruby said.

Though before Ruby could do anything else, Yang began to chuckle.

"Pretty sneaky sis, but you just activated my trap card!" She said.

"Whaaa?!" Ruby cried out.

"Giant Nevermore!" Yang shouted.

Though before Yang could continue, the librarian once again told them to keep it down.

"Uh, sorry." She said sheepishly.

"If I roll a seven of higher Fatal Feathers will slice your fleet in two." Yang said.

"But, if you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces." Ruby warned.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take." She said.

.

"NOOOOOOO, MY FEARLESS SOLDIERS!" Ruby silently yelled.

"Jaune." Pyrrha called out.

"What?" He asked.

Pyrrha simply pointed at the clock.

"Wha-?! Oh come on, just one more chapter!" Jaune said.

Pyrrha's only response was to take the comic out of Jaune's hands and place a book in front of him.

"Come now Jaune, we need to focus more on our studies rather than our entertainment." Pyrrha said as she opened the comic.

"Besides, I want to know what happens with X-Ray and Vav during there fight with the mad king!" She said as she started to read.

"Noooo... " Ruby groaned.

"Well Weiss, it's your turn." Yang said.

"I have... Absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss said.

"Look, it's easy!" Yang said as she looked at the hand Weiss had.

"You're playing as Vacuo which means all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus!" Yang explained.

"That sounds dumb." Weiss said.

"See... You've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge - Oh! Oh! Resourceful Raider!" Yang said.

"See now you can take Ruby's discarded air fleet-" She began.

"Noooo... " Ruby groaned.

"-and put it in your hand!" Yang finished.

"Okay...?" Weiss said, still confused as to what that meant.

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance boost against natural hazards, you could use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom." Yang said.

"Just know that I will NOT forget this declaration of war." She warned.

"And that means?" Weiss asked.

"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby cried.

Weiss took a moment to process what Ruby said before bursting out into evil laughter.

"YES! FEAR THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF MY FORCES! COWER AS THEY PILLAGE YOUR HOMES AND WEEP AS THEY TAKE YOUR CHILDREN FROM YOUR VERY ARMS-!" Though before Weiss could finish, she heard someone clear their throat from behind them.

.

"Uh, sorry?" Weiss said sheepishly as she stared at the librarian.

The librarian sighed before walking away from the group.

"Trap card." Yang said.

"Wha-?" Weiss asked.

"Your armies have been destroyed." Yang said.

"I hate this game of emotions we play!" Weiss cried.

"Stay strong Weiss. We'll make it through this together!" Ruby said.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss said.

"Alright Blake, you're up!" Yang said.

.

"Blake?" She called out once more.

"Oh! Umm… Sorry what am I doing?" She asked.

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant." Yang said.

"Uh, right." Blake said.

"Uh, hey! Can I play?" Jaune asked.

"Sorry Jaune, we've already got four players." Ruby said.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess." Weiss said.

"Say's the girl who attacked their town naval fleet two turns ago." Yang said.

"We don't talk about that." She said.

"Bring it, Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I've been told that I'm a natural born leader!" Jaune said.

"By who? Your mother?" Weiss asked.

"And Pyrrha!" Jaune said.

"Hello again!" She said.

"Come on, let me play your hand for a turn." Jaune requested.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" Weiss said.

"Why not?! You've trusted me with way more important stuff before! I mean just take a few weeks back as an example! You all told us that Blake here was a-" But before Jaune could finish, Pyrrha quickly covered his mouth.

"Fun loving person whom we all admire and respect and would NEVER reveal her secrets!" Pyrrha said.

.

Blake just looked at the two of them with a deadpanned glare.

"Right... that. Ladies... Enjoy your battle." Jaune said with a bow.

"Okay, now let's get onto the next bat-!" Ruby was cut off as a familiar figure began to walk over towards them with an ice pack on his head.

"Hey Brandon." Ruby said sheepishly.

"I want to know who threw the melon, and I want to know now." He said.

"Nora did it." Everyone said as they pointed at Nora.

"Pancakes!" She yelled as she jolted awake.

Brandon sighed before pulling up a chair.

"So where were you?" Weiss asked.

"Working. Closing sale and all that, why do you think Blake wasn't in the dorm rooms last night?" Brandon asked.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang slowly turned their heads towards Blake, who had a sheepish grin on her face.

"Is that why half of our dorm is covered with books?" Yang asked.

"Maybe?" Blake said with a shrug.

"So can you explain to us why you were in the ER last week?" Weiss asked.

"I got into a fight." Brandon said.

"Must have been one hell of an opponent to put you in the ER." Yang said.

"Yeah, he was." He said.

"Who was it?" Weiss asked.

.

"Brandon?" She called out once again.

"It's not important." He said.

"Not important? This man could be a serious threat to the public if he put you in the ER." Weiss said.

"Yeah! We could go after him and bring him to justice!" Ruby said determinedly.

"That depends, do you want to fight one of the White Fang's elite assassins?" Brandon asked, causing Blake and the rest of her team to freeze.

.

"No? What I thought." He said.

"Which one was it?" Blake asked.

"You should should know already, he was all over the news last week." Brandon said.

"Osvaldo?!" Blake asked.

"The one and only." Brandon said before looking towards Blake.

"Though how do you know who he is? His name hasn't even been mentioned on the news yet." He asked.

Blake looked hesitant for a moment before sighing.

"I've heard things when I was visiting the police station." Blake said.

"Really? Because I would have thought one of the members of the White Fang should have at least known about one of their elites." Brandon said, causing Team RWBY to look at him in shock.

"How did you-?!" Yang began.

"Having a detective as a friend does have it's perks." He said.

Blake sighed before beginning to tell her team another piece of her past she kept hidden.

"While I was in the White Fang, there were these special group of members called the 'Phantoms of the White Fang'. Only the best of the best were selected to be part of this group, they were all hand chosen by the former leader of the White Fang... well, most of them at least." Blake said.

"Most of them?" Weiss asked.

"Osvaldo was the only one member who was chosen by our current leader, Adam Taurus." She explained.

"So, how do you know so much about them?" Ruby asked.

"Because I was one of them, I was one of the Phantoms." Blake said.

"Honestly, the White Fang is so dark, they wear Grimm masks and now they have a group called the 'Phantoms of the White Fang'? Seriously who came up with such a stupid name?" Weiss asked.

"I did." Blake grumbled.

.

"Oh... well I'm sure it was a cool name for the members." Weiss said sheepishly.

"I thought it was cool." She said.

"Moving on, what can you tell us about the Phantoms?" Weiss said.

"Well, two of the first members of the groups were the twin's, Aleria Aquila and Alerio Aquila." Blake said.

"Aleria specialized in stealth assassination, while Alerio was there just in case things had to go to a more direct approach." Blake said.

"So those were the assholes who shot me through the chest." Brandon muttered.

"What was that?" Weiss asked me.

"Nothing, who else was in the group?" He asked.

"Well, there's the technical expert Veronica Lambert, she designs most of our equipment. She even made Gamble Shroud for me." Blake said.

"Wow! She made Gamble Shroud?! What other weapons has she made?!" Ruby asked.

"Well, she made a custom mini fighter jet that has a heat radar, explosive missile launcher, various machine guns, a hidden camera, and a hidden rifle in it." She said, causing Ruby's eyes to have even more stars in them.

 _'So SHE was the one who tried to kill me on the highway that day.'_ Brandon thought.

"She's also the one who I was talking to in jail." Blake said.

"Then there was Naomi Oceanus, she was the medic of the group, she's also the reason why Osvaldo was able to remain hidden for so long." Blake said.

"Oceanus? What, was she a fish Faunus?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, she was able to breathe underwater with her gills." She said.

"Did you try to... you know?" She asked with a big grin on her face.

.

"W-what?! No! I didn't try to eat her!... often." She said.

"Blake!" Weiss said.

"Let's move on please!" Blake said.

"Then there was Ilia Amitola. She was the closest thing I had to a sister in the White Fang, her specialty was infiltration." Blake said.

"And what about Osvaldo?" Weiss asked.

"Honestly? I don't know a lot about Osvaldo really, he never really told us about his past and all that, he just sort of comes and goes without saying a word." She said.

"Were you all close?" Ruby asked.

"With the exception of Osvaldo? We were like family, it was hard to leave the White Fang knowing I would be leaving them behind." Blake said.

Yang placed her hand on Blake's shoulder and patted it.

"Well we're glad you left, if not then who would be our little kitty cat?" Yang asked.

Blake began to chuckle at Yang's attempt of a joke.

.

"It's emotional support, calm down." Brandon said as he started off into the air.

"Who are you talking to?" Weiss asked.

"Not really one person in particular." He said with a shrug.

"What do you-" Weiss began, only to be cut off once again.

"Sup losers." Sun greeted them with his team in tow.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen." Sun greeted.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!" Weiss asked.

"Well maybe if you wore something other than white maybe people would call you something different." Brandon said.

"Oh be quiet you." She said.

"Well, moving on, I never got the chance to formally introduce you to my team." Sun said.

"Aren't library's supposed to be for reading?" Neptune asked.

"Thank you!" Ren shouted.

"Shut up don't be a nerd." Sun said.

"Intellectual! Okay? Thank you." Neptune said.

"I'm Neptune." He said.

"Name's Scarlet!" Scarlet said.

"Sage." Sage simply said.

"So... Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Haven... And I don't believe I've caught your name yet, snow angel." Neptune said.

"Um... I'm Weiss." Weiss said with a slight blush on her face.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jaune asked.

"Pleasure to meet you." Neptune said.

"Jeez, is EVERYONE on your team just a big hunk of muscle?" Yang asked with sparks in her eyes.

"Well, Scarlet and Neptune could use some work." Sun said as he pointed at his teammates.

"Hey!" Scarlet and Neptune yelled.

"I'll have you know that I have made great progress since last time!" Scarlet said.

"Oh really? How many pounds can you lift?" Sun asked.

"Fifty!" Scarlet said proudly.

"And what was it last time?" Sun asked.

.

"Forty six." Scarlet said somberly.

"Don't worry Scarlet! I think it's a HUGE improvement! I mean look at Weiss, she can barely lift twenty!" Ruby said.

"Hey!" Weiss said.

"Aww, thanks Garnet." Scarlet said.

"It's Ruby." Ruby said.

"So, what're you guy's playing?" Sun asked.

"Remnant, the Game." Blake said.

"Really? I never took you for the board playing type." Sun said.

"Right, well I think I'm done playing actually." Blake said as she got up and walked away from the group.

"Women." Nora said.

"Soooooo... can I play?" Brandon asked.

"Sure, you seem to have at least a decent amount of tactical cunning." Weiss said.

"Hey!" Jaune said.

"Well, there's a very big difference between cunning and luck. Here, let me shuffle the cards." Brandon said as he gathered the cards and began to shuffle them.

"So where are you from Scarlet?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm from Haven like the rest of my team." He said.

"What's it like there? I've only heard a few things from my dad and uncle." She said.

"Well, it's pretty nice there actually. Lot's of wildlife, lots of nice plants, good culture." He said.

"Oooh! What about the weapons?" Ruby asked.

"What about them?" He asked.

"Well, what are they like? What parts to you guys use, what ammunition, what do you use to fight?" Ruby asked.

"Well, we do like to protect and preserve the environment, so we don't do anything fancy if that's what you're wondering." Scarlet said.

"Aww." Ruby said with a pout.

"Come on Rubes, not everyone has to have an over the top weapon." Brandon said.

"Says the kid with a living punching ghost in his body." Yang said.

"That doesn't count." He said.

"What about you Sage? What's a big guy like you have for a weapon?" Yang purred.

"Uh... ?" Sage wasn't really sure what to say.

"Don't mind her, she's an idiot." Weiss said.

"Hey!" Yang protested.

"Well, if you must know, it's nothing really special, just a sword." He said.

"Yeah, a sword the size of his body." Neptune said.

"Oooooh, that big? You compensating for something?" She asked, causing Sage's face to turn a shade of red.

"W-what?! No of course not!" He said.

"Come on now! A guy as big as you is packing SOME heat." Yang said.

"P-please, there's no need for this." Sage said, clearly flustered.

"Hey, Brandon?" Sun said as he looked at the... weird expression on his face.

"Why did you stop shuffling?" He asked.

"I don't know. I just have a very... uncomfortable feeling on my back." He said.

"Like what?" Sun asked.

"Like thousands of people are screaming at me in anger, yet I can't really hear them." Brandon.

.

"What?" Sun asked.

"I'm probably imagining things." He said as he stared off into space.

"They're just talking, it's not like they're asking their hands in marriage." Brandon deadpanned.

"What are you-?" Ruby began.

"All right! Let's play!" He said.

"Hold on! I want to check the deck." Weiss said.

"Why?" Brandon asked.

"Don't 'why' me! I know that you'll take the first opportunity you'll get to cheat!" She said.

"Name one time I've cheated." He said.

"Using Caliber to win the dart throwing contest." Ruby said.

"It's not cheating if it's apart of you." He said.

"Using Caliber to re-arrange the chess pieces in your favor." Weiss said.

"It just has a mind of it's own." Brandon said.

"When you cheated in strip poker." Yang said.

.

"Wait what?!" The members of team SSSN shouted.

"First of all, that was YOUR idea, and secondly, you never said that I COULDN'T use Caliber." He said.

"Who's Caliber?" Scarlet asked.

Though before anyone could respond, Caliber's arm reached over to Scarlet's pistol and placed it in Brandon' hand.

"W-what in the-!" Though Scarlet was once again interrupted as Brandon shot the gun right next to his head.

Before the bullet could reach Brandon's head, Caliber quickly grabbed caught it in between it's fingers.

"This is Caliber." Brandon said as Caliber raised one of it's hands as a form of greeting.

"Okay, it looks alright." Weiss confirmed as she handed out the cards.

"Okay, let's see here." Weiss said as she looked at her deck.

"So... how much did you see?" Sun asked.

"Well, Yang was the one who kept losing the most, though they kicked me out when Ruby lost." He said.

"Oh." Sun said.

"Hmm." Ruby hummed to herself.

"Hey." Scarlet whispered.

"What?" She asked.

"Use the Naval Fleet on Mistral." Scarlet said.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Well, if you attack Vacuo, you'll also be attacking Vale as well, if you attack Mistral you'll only have to worry about ONE army! Not to mention most of Mistral's resources come from Atlas." Scarlet said.

Ruby thought about it for a second before nodding.

"You're right! If I get rid of Mistral, that means that I'll have more resources! Thanks Scarlet!" Ruby said as she pulled out the Naval Fleet card.

"No problem, Beryl." Scarlet said.

"It's Ruby." She said.

"Hmm." Weiss hummed.

"Hey." Neptune whispered.

"N-Neptune!" Weiss said.

"Shh! Keep it down! I'm trying to help you." He said.

"Help me?" She asked.

"Okay, so knowing Scarlet, he'll most likely want go for Mistral first, you need to take this opportunity to cut him off. Not only will you be able to loot Atlas's resources, you'll be able to take out Mistral as well." Neptune said.

"Right!" Weiss said as she pulled out her Naval fleet card.

"Hey." Sage said.

"What?" Yang said.

"I have an idea." He said.

"So do I, knowing Ruby and Weiss, they're gonna take advice from your team. That most likely means they'll go for me, but I have this to cut em off." She said as she pulled out a card.

"Right, with this you'll be able to take out BOTH armies at once!" Sage said.

"Yep." Yang said.

"Okay Yang Xiao Long, prepare your armies for battle!" Ruby said.

"Bring it on." Yang said.

"I deploy the Atlesian Naval Fleet!" She said.

"Not so fast Ruby Rose! I deploy the Vacuo Air Fleet!" Weiss said.

"Oh please you two, you'll never be able to-" Yang began.

"Trap card." Brandon said.

"What?" Ruby, Weiss, and Yang said.

"Your armies have been destroyed and I win." Brandon said.

.

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"How did you-?" Weiss began.

"There's a little saying that my friend told me about." Brandon said as he revealed his deck.

"Cheat at every opportunity." He said as he showed that his entire deck was trap cards.

"But I checked the deck!" Weiss said.

"Yeah, that's why I had Caliber arrange the deck in a way that wouldn't be obvious to the naked eye." He said.

"B-b-but." Yang began, tears filling up in her eyes.

"I HATE THIS STUPID GAME OF EMOTIONS!" Yang yelled.

"Don't worry Yang Xiao Long, we'll make it through this together." Weiss said.

"Yeah! We don't need a cheater in our lives!" Ruby said.

"I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Yang said as she brought the two into a hug.

"Yang! Choking! Not breathing!" Ruby said.

"Was that really necessary?" Sage asked Brandon.

"Probably not." He said as he got up.

"Where are you going?" Neptune asked.

"Anywhere but here." Brandon said as he walked off.

.

"I love these guys." Sun said.

"Ahem." They heard someone clear their throat from behind them.

The remaining members of Team RWBY stopped crying and looked to see that the librarian was looking at them with a deadpanned expression.

"We're so-?" They began, only for the librarian to point towards the exit.

"Right." They all said.

* * *

My Pov

Well then, that was a thing, who knew that Caliber could be so good at shuffling cards to your favor.

Didn't expect all of team SSSN to show up, it's a minor change that probably won't have that much of an impact in the long run but still, it was surprising to say the least.

I mean those two were probably the most underused characters in the entire series, only appearing during the Vytal festival.

Even then Sage and Scarlet were only there for comic relief really, Sage getting knocked out in the first few minutes of the fight and Scarlet going down to a coconut.

So maybe this might be a good change for the story... maybe it's just for comic relief I don't really know, things are changing around here and I really can't tell if they're for the better of for the worst to be honest.

A lot has changed in this timeline, Jaune got his Semblance, Blake's absence took longer than expected, unfamiliar characters and concepts I've never heard of, the kidnappings and the assassinations are a new one, Blake being part of a group of elites that we've never heard of, Peach makes even more appearances than before, Tukson is still alive, and now all of Team SSSN are involved.

Most of these changes I didn't even have a direct involvement in, these were things that just happened on their own!

Maybe I'm being paranoid or something, it's not like most of these things will have a negative impact of the timeline in the future.

So we're in Vol 2 now, shame that I missed the food fight, Caliber could have bodied Team RWBY, JNPR, and apparently Team SSSN.

Guess I can't be there for everything, even if I would like to.

So if we're in Vol 2, then that means that Mercury and Emerald should be here now.

That's good for me, gives me more opportunities to show them just what Cinder REALLY wants to do with them.

Speaking of Cinder, while I would want nothing more than to just drill Caliber's fist into her skull, I still don't have evidence to point to Cinder being the one who attacked Amber, and I seriously doubt that Emerald and Mercury would just up and tell Ozpin about her involvement.

Though that means that the first major event is just around the corner, the breach.

Now, I know that there's not a lot I can particularly do to stop the breach, but from what we saw in the show, not a lot of people died in the process so I guess there's not really a lot that NEEDS to be changed.

That's what I WOULD have thought if it weren't for SIX elite members of the White Fang that weren't in the show before.

No doubt that they'll be involved with the breach, so that means a LOT more people are gonna die that day.

So not only do I need to find a way to get into Mountain Glenn without looking too suspicious, I also need to figure out where Osvaldo is now.

There's no doubt in my mind that he's still hiding somewhere in Vale and the longer he stays there, the more danger the people are in.

Though if this if Vol 2 then that means that Penny is in town again, maybe I can try and do... something I guess.

Nothing particularly bad happened to her in Vol 2, though maybe I can do something so we can avoid what happened in Vol 3.

Though before I could plan any further, I could hear footsteps coming towards me.

I turned around to see that General Ironwood was walking towards me.

"Ah, there you are, I've been looking for you, Mr. Kim." Ironwood said with a smile.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"It's been quite awhile since we last me, remember the expedition in Atlas?" Ironwood said.

"... wait, I know you! You're... General Redwood, right?" I asked.

"N-no. I'm General-" Ironwood began.

"Wait, you're General Roddenberry!" I said.

"No, it's-" He began.

"Ironwood!" I said.

"No it's... wait, no, I mean yes! That's it, Ironwood." He said.

"Cool, so what do you want?" I asked.

"I was hoping we could catch up." Ironwood said.

"Wasn't aware we were old friends." I said.

"Well, we're not. But I was hoping you could tell me more about these enchanted weapons." He said.

"Didn't I already tell you about it the last time we met?" I asked.

"You did, but you were just scraping the surface of what you could possibly do." He said as he walked up to me.

"A lot can happen in a year, and Ozpin has told me that a lot has happened." Ironwood said.

"Bit of an understatement but yeah, a lot has happened in the past year." I said.

"Care to enlighten me?" He asked.

"Not like I've got anywhere else to be so sure, why not. What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Well, how many enchantments do you have?" Ironwood asked.

"Hmm... six at the moment." I said.

"I see, quite fascinating." He said.

"Not gonna ask what they do?" I asked.

"Well I've gathered a grasp of what you can do, you can give sort of an overload of power to any non-organic object." Ironwood said.

"How the hell-?!" I began.

"I've looked at your arsenal, you have a very unique revolver, it packs more of a punch but due to it's powerful frames and parts it increases the kickback." He said.

"Normally for someone as small as you, this would put you at a disadvantage." He said.

.

"Gee, thanks-" I began.

"But you need a revolver with such a powerful frame, otherwise the revolver would shatter under the pressure of the shots." He said.

"Huh, I never really-" I began.

"Which is why your sword is the perfect conductor for that enchantment, it's metal is almost indestructible." He said.

Never really thought about that, guess that would explain why my wrist always hurts every time I fire my gun.

"I've also heard that you have a power that increases the power of other semblances from Ms. Schnee." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell." I said.

"And I've heard that you've manifested your weapons spirit. A spirit you have dubbed 'Caliber'." He said.

"Don't want to know what the other enchantments do?" I asked.

"I'm sure that I'll find out soon enough." He said. "Right now I'm more interested in Caliber, it's not everyday that you see one of the twelve weapon spirits." He said.

"You have a gun?" I asked.

"Yes, of course I do, but what does-" Ironwood didn't have time to finish as the arm of Caliber grabbed his revolver out of his pocket.

"W-what are you-!" Ironwood yelled.

"Now before you go and get your panties in a twist, this is CURRENTLY the only way the spirit can appear." I said as I held the gun.

"But it's right behind you." He said.

"What?!" I asked as my head whipped backwards.

Just like Ironwood said, the spirit was just floating there with one of it's hands extended upwards as a form of greeting.

"Hello." Ironwood said.

"When the hell could you come out on your own?!" I asked.

.

Right, I forgot that your vocabulary is limited to ORA, ORA, and ORA. All in that order.

Ironwood was closely examining Caliber, it following him with its singular eye.

Now that I think about it, why does it have ONE eye? I mean I have both my eyes, why doesn't it?

"Hmm, strange." Ironwood said.

"What?" I asked.

"I was expecting something more... different." He said.

"What do you mean, different?" I asked.

"It doesn't look like a weapon spirit, it just looks like a regular spirit." Ironwood said.

"Well, it isn't complete yet, the voice is sort of muffled and-" I cut myself off as I processed just what Ironwood said.

"Wait, you've seen another weapon spirit?!" I asked.

Ironwood nodded and walked away from the spirit.

"Not really seen, rather heard things about them." He said.

"Who?! Who told you about it?!" I asked.

Ironwood closed his eyes before reopening them to face me.

"A... friend of mine." He said sternly.

"I'm assuming it's a touchy subject." I said.

"Something like that." Ironwood said. "But enough about your spirit, what have you been up to the past year?" He asked.

"Well to keep a long story short, I know of two of the enchanted weapon users, I've met one of them, I stopped a crazy ass scientist, I met some of the White Fang's most dangerous assassins, and I've faced off against one of them." I said.

"Hmm, so what was this enchanted weapon user like?" Ironwood asked.

So we're just gonna ignore the part about the White Fang I guess.

"Well, that's the thing, she just appeared and reappeared in a flash. It was almost as if she was never there in the first place. The only reason how I was able to identify her gender was by the appearance of the spirit." I said.

"And which weapon was this woman wielding?" Ironwood asked.

"Hmm... Cronus, it was Cronus the Enchanted Scythe." I said.

"Were there any features about this woman that stood out? Clothing, walking patterns, anything?" He said.

"It's really fuzzy but I'll try to remember." I said.

All right, try and remember that one night, was there anything about that woman that stood out?

.

Well, there was one thing.

"She wore a white cloak of some sort." I said.

As soon as the words white cloak came out of my mouth, Ironwood froze, his eyes widening.

"You okay?" I asked.

Ironwood shook his head before regaining his composure.

"Yes, everything is alright." He said.

Hmm, something's up with him, and I have a feeling that it has something to do with Ozpin.

"Let's move on, what about the second enchanted weapon user?" Ironwood asked.

Well from the looks of it, he wants to move on from this subject.

Guess it won't really do me any good to press him about it.

"Well I don't really know much about this one to be honest. I've only heard of her existence really." I said.

"Where did you hear about this one?" Ironwood asked.

"In some tournament I took part of." I said.

"And what weapon did this woman wield?" He asked.

"Hmm... I'm pretty sure that it was Flamberge."

Though before we could continue our conversation, Ironwood's scroll began to rumble from within his pocket.

"Hello?" He said.

.

"Yes, I'll be right there." He said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm supposed to meet some of my 'special' students for a briefing." Ironwood said.

Penny most likely, and probably that one chick she was with in Vol 3, don't really remember her name. Was her name even mentioned in the series?

I'm starting to forget some of the minor things about the series.

Hopefully that won't come to bite me back in the ass later on in the series.

Then again, if they are minor things then I seriously doubt that they'll have huge impact on the future.

Though if there's anything I've learned is that fate just LOVES to give me the middle finger.

"What do you mean 'special' students?" I asked.

"It's just that these students are rather... special." Ironwood said.

Bit of an understatement but okay.

"It's been a pleasure to talk to you Mr. Kim, but I need to go." He said.

"Alright, see ya." I said as I raised my hand.

"Yes, goodbye." He said as he walked off with his scroll against his ear.

Well then... that was a thing... kinda feel like he wanted to more about the enchanted weapons but whatever I guess.

Though before I could walk any further, I was met face to face with some girl.

The girl's was hair was black, with lighter streaks in between them. She had green eyes, her hair was done up in a twin tail hairstyle with white bows.

She wore an outfit with a black and white color scheme. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless black blouse with white frills on the chest and collar and a black ribbon bow hanging in front of the collar. Her blouse exposed her midriff, and she wore a medium-length black armbands on both of her wrists.

Along with the blouse, she wore a knee-length skirt fastened with a white belt. She wore black shoes with a triple tomoe emblem on the soles, with white legwarmers.

I know her from somewhere... but where?

The girl gave me a mischievous grin that was similar to a certain ice cream themed girl.

"Do I... know you?" I asked.

The girl raised one of her eyebrows before nodding.

"You wanna tell me where? Because I swear I would have remembered meeting someone as goth as you are." I said.

The girl's only response was to slam her boot down onto my foot.

"Ow! What the hell is your deal lady?!" I yelled, though before I could continue to shout, the sight of two familiar pink and brown eyes.

"Neo?!" I yelled.

Neo nodded, still holding her glare towards me.

"When did you… why are you... what?!" I asked.

No, this isn't supposed to happen, she shouldn't be here in Beacon... at least not yet.

So why is she here now?!

"Why are you here?" I asked.

Neo's only response was to simply tap me on the tip of my nose.

"That doesn't answer my question." I said.

Neo simply placed her hand onto her face and shook her head.

"What?! How am I supposed to know why you came here if you don't tell me?! I can't read minds!" I said.

"Wow, yelling at a girl? I thought you were above that, Brandon." I heard Mercury say cheekily.

"Hey, Emerald. Mercury." I said as I held up my hand as a form of greeting.

"Sup." Mercury said.

.

"Uh, Emerald?" I said as I saw the look on Emerald's face.

"What is she-?" I began.

"Hold up, Emerald and Neo here are 'talking'." Mercury said.

I looked back and forward between Neo and Emerald to see that they were just glaring at each other.

"But they're just... glaring at each other." I said.

"Give em a minute." He said.

.

Eventually the glares faded from their faces and they turned their heads towards me.

"So what are a couple of assholes like you doing in a high class school like this?" I asked.

"Gee, thanks." Emerald and Mercury said.

"No problem." I said.

"Well if you must know, we're visiting from Haven." She said.

"Yeah... 'Haven'." I said as I made the quotation sign with my fingers.

"Shut it." Emerald said.

Mercury and Neo turned their heads towards Emerald with a deadpanned looks.

"So... he knows that we're technically here ILLEGALLY?" Mercury said.

"It was an honest mistake?" She said.

"Yeah... 'mistake'." I said.

Emerald's only response was to whack me over the head with a book.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"Where did you even pull that out from?" Mercury asked.

"That's not important." Emerald said.

"That was a hardcover too!" I said as I rubbed my head.

"Why do you have an ice pack in your hand?" Neo asked.

"A watermelon fell on my head." I said.

.

You know, that sounded better in my head.

"... I don't even want to know how you managed that." Emerald said.

Neo was letting out silent giggles while Mercury was letting out chuckles.

"Wow, the great Brandon was beat by a watermelon? Never thought I'd see the day." He said.

"Keep talkin' and I'll drop a watermelon on you." I warned.

"Oh please Brandon, have mercy on my poor soul." Mercury teased.

Where the hell's Yang when ya need her? I'll have her break one of your legs early.

"So why are you guys here, really?" I asked.

"Business." Emerald said.

"What kind of business?" I asked.

"That's not important." She said.

"Hmm... " I hummed.

Who was I kidding, I knew what they were going to do, it's only a matter of getting them to STOP what they're doing.

Neo? Probably the easiest out of the three. Mercury? Bit more challenging but not down right impossible. Emerald? That was where the challenge lied.

She was the most loyal to Cinder, that by itself is gonna make turning her over harder.

Not only that but I'm pretty sure that she see's her as more than a friend.

.

Not that way, calm down, damn first Team's RWBY and SSSN now this?

"Alright, it's business, I get it." I said.

"So... you participating in the Vytal Tournament?." Mercury said.

"I... actually don't know." I said.

"Why not?" Emerald asked.

"Well... I don't have a team." I said.

.

"What?" Emerald asked.

"Well due to the odd number of students this year, one student would have to recruit their own team of four... and guess who was that one student?" I asked as I pointed towards me.

Now that I think about it, will Ozpin let me participate?

I mean sure one on four may seem unfair to the naked eye but when you have what's the equivalent of a punching ghost inside of you, I'd say the odds are pretty even.

Shit! What if he doesn't let me participate?! That would REALLY make it hard to prevent a certain series of events.

Then again how would I prevent them? The only way I could actually do that is to prevent Emerald from doing her illusions, and I SERIOUSLY doubt Cinder would let Emerald failing slip TWICE in a row.

Shit, this is gonna be a bit harder than I thought.

I was broken out of my train of thought by the touch of Neo.

"Hey. What's up with you? You look... conflicted." She said.

"Wha-? Oh, I'm fine. Just... thinking." I said.

Neo looked confused before shrugging.

"Hey, where's the boss anyways?" Mercury asked.

"Right here." I heard someone say.

I slowly looked over Emerald's shoulder to see the one person I've been dreading the most.

Cinder.

Mother fucking.

Fall.

"Cinder!" Emerald said happily.

"I see you've decided to... socialize with the other students." Cinder said as she looked directly into my eyes.

"Right… sorry, Neo just ran off and-" Emerald was cut off by Cinder placing her fingertip on her lips.

"No, this is a good thing. It'll be good to analyze the students of Beacon, we never know who we'll be up against in the tournament." She said.

"It is?" Mercury asked, only for Emerald to lightly jab him in his sided.

"Yes it is!" Emerald said.

"Yes." Cinder said, her gaze still not leaving mine.

"And who do we have here?" She asked as she walked past Emerald and towards me.

"Right, you haven't met him yet. Cinder, this is my good friend, Brandon Kim." Emerald said.

"Hmm... Mr. Kim. A pleasure." She said.

.

"Brandon?" Emerald called out to me.

Do you know what it feels like when the person who's gonna cause so many people grief and harm is right in front of you, and you can't do a DAMN thing to her?

It sucks, it REALLY fucking sucks.

She isn't even at her full power yet, she only has HALF of what she has in Vol 4.

I mean sure, I'm not exactly ready to fight her one on one yet, but this might be the only chance that I have to ram Caliber's fist into her skull.

But I can't, wanna know why?

I don't have ANY form of evidence pointing to her being the one who almost, and eventually killed Amber.

I don't have any evidence for her involvement with the White Fang.

And I sure as hell don't have any evidence that points to her planning for the Fall of Beacon.

Emerald, Neo, and Mercury coming clean this early on in the series is already unlikely as it is so that options out of the window.

So to make a short story shorter, I. Can't. Do. Shit to her until the actual fall happens.

At this point fate is just giving me two middle fingers.

Though the worst part about this?

As soon as I heard Cinder's voice, everything started to come back.

Everything.

What Cinder did to Pyrrha, Penny, Amber, Ozpin, and everyone in Vale.

Everything was coming back all at once, and to be honest, it fucking sucked.

I quickly glanced down to see that the pinkie of Caliber was starting to manifest.

"Brandon?" Emerald called out.

I was broken out of my daze and quickly shoved my left hand into my coat pocket.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah. Heya." I said.

Cinder narrowed her eyes at me and slowly moved them to my coat pocket.

Shit, did she see it?

If she saw it then trying to act like you're not a threat to her plan when you really are will be ten times more difficult.

"Excuse me, Brandon, was it?" Cinder asked.

"Y-yeah?" I said.

Yep, she found out. Good job Brandon, you had one fucking job, to hide your spirit from the ONE person who will most likely kill you for it, and what do you do? You-

"Is there any particular reason why your coat is wet?" She asked.

.

Right, my left hand had the ice pack in it... the melting ice pack that is.

"Oh... I guess that hand had the ice pack in it." I said.

Cinder just stared at me with a deadpanned look in her eyes.

"You two have very... peculiar taste in men." Cinder said to Emerald.

Wait what?

"Wait what?!" Emerald shouted.

"No, no, no, no we don't have that kind of relationship! We're just... friends." She said as she pulled out her gun and pointed it at Mercury.

"Right?" She asked.

"Whatever." He said with a smirk.

Cinder glanced over towards me with her eyes still narrowed.

I quickly looked at my arm to see that the spirit's arm was starting to manifest.

Aaaand that's my cue to get the hell out of here.

"Well, this has been just grand. But I really need to be somewhere that isn't here. Okay? Thanks, bye!" I yelled as I ran away from the group.

.

"Well that was... weird." Emerald said.

"Guess he wanted to change into something that doesn't look like he just wet himself." Mercury said with a chuckle.

While Emerald and Mercury were exchanging jabs to one another, Cinder just stood their deep in thought.

 _'Was I... imagining it? I could have sworn that some sort of arm was starting to form around him. Could he have one of them?'_ Cinder asked herself.

.

 _'No, impossible. A mere child having one of the enchanted weapons?'_ Cinder chuckled as she started to walk away from Beacon Tower.

After I was certain that I couldn't be seen by anyone, I allowed Caliber to form its arm.

"Can you NOT almost screw me over?!" I asked.

Jesus, that was REALLY close, that would have been one awkward explanation.

I think that I need to take a little nap, this was an... eventful day to say the least.

I shook my head and started to walk towards my dorm.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

 _'Brother's of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?'_ That was the question that was going through Blake's mind.

She wanted to know more than anything. Why would the White Fang, her former brothers, ally themselves with someone like that, a human no less?!

 _'The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together.'_ Blake remembered Roman saying.

What business could the White Fang possibly want with a human like him?!

They never allied themselves with humans before, so why now of all times?

She could still remember the conversation she had with Ozpin.

 _"Well... this has certainly been an eventful evening." Ozpin said._

 _"The White Fang have been revealed to be behind the robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations." He said as he walked towards the table where Blake sat._

 _"Roman Torchwick has been revealed to be in alliance with White Fang." Ozpin said._

 _"One of the White Fang's most skilled assassins has been caught." He said as he sat down._

 _"And one of my best students is in the hospital." Ozpin said._

 _Blake just sat there in complete and utter silence._

 _"Now I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery you probably just want to go home and take a nap." He said._

 _"But... it's not everyday you get to talk with the daughter of the former leader of the White Fang." Ozpin said, causing Blake to freeze._

 _"The name 'Belladonna' is not unfamiliar to me. Ghira Belladonna, the former leader of the White Fang, and Kali Belladonna, former leader of the Phantoms." He said, causing Blake to visibly shake._

 _"I was hoping we could have a little chat." Ozpin said._

 _._

 _"Don't worry, I'm not here to turn you in." He said._

 _Blake still just sat there in utter silence, not uttering a word._

 _"I just want to ask you a few questions, whatever we talk about will not leave this room. Not without your consent, that is." Ozpin said._

 _"A-alright." She said._

 _"Excellent. As you know, in order to enroll in my academy students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation, training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few who did not." Ozpin said._

 _"There are more like me?" Blake asked._

 _"Yes, Brandon didn't go to a combat school, in fact he started his training here in Beacon Academy." He said._

 _"He started his training here?" She asked._

 _"Yes, and the both of you passed the exam with flying colors." Ozpin said._

 _Blake just raised one of her eyebrow when the word's 'flying colors' and 'Brandon' was said in the same sentence._

 _"Alright, the written part was a... challenge for him. But he barely passed that part of the exam." He admitted._

 _"Well, I was raised outside the kingdoms, if you couldn't fight then you couldn't survive." She said._

 _"Well you have most certainly survived, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin said._

 _"I admire your drive, it reminds me of an old student of mine. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, human... Faunus." He said._

 _"Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you really are?" He asked._

 _"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not." Blake said bitterly._

 _"True... but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide." Ozpin said._

 _"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides... until then I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am... and not what I am." She said._

 _"Would your parents agree with that?" He asked._

 _"You don't know them." Blake said._

 _"No... but I have lived for a long time, and I've had my fair share of... families in my life." He said._

 _"What are you talking about?" She asked._

 _"It's not important. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin said._

 _"If you ever need to talk to me... please don't hesitate to ask." He said._

 _._

 _"Why?" She asked._

 _"Hmm?" Ozpin hummed._

 _"Why would you let someone like me, one of the Phantoms, into your school? It just... doesn't make sense." Blake said._

 _"Ms. Belladonna, when you have lived for as long as I, you stop worrying about things making sense." He chuckled. "But to answer your question, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance, even one of the Phantoms." Ozpin said._

 _"But... " Blake began._

 _"You left them, didn't you?" He asked._

 _"Yes, but-" Blake tried to say._

 _"Then it doesn't matter anymore. Who you were in the past doesn't mean that is who you are today." He said._

 _"We all change Ms. Belladonna, we're all different people all through our lives, and that's okay. So long as you remember who you used to be." Ozpin said. "I have and will not forget any of my lives, and I will not forget when the headmaster was me." He said._

 _"I-I don't understand." Blake said._

 _"You will... in time." Ozpin said as he walked out of the room._

Blake was broken out of her daze by the sound of a door opening.

"Ugh, we should have NEVER let him play!" Yang said.

"I know! He's such a little weasel cheater!" Ruby said.

"I know, I'm never letting him play a card game with us again!" She said.

Blake was about to leave the room, though was quickly cut off by Weiss.

"Stop." She said.

.

"Lately you've been quiet, anti-social and moody." Weiss said.

"Uh... have you met Blake?" Yang asked.

"Which I get, is kind of your 'thing'." She said.

"But you've been doing it more than usual, which quite frankly is unacceptable." Weiss said.

"You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong." She said.

"So Blake Belladonna! What! is! Wrong!?" Weiss asked as she stood atop of a chair.

.

"I just... I don't understand how everyone can be so calm." Blake said.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, the Phantoms, all of it!" She said.

"Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" Blake said.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsman, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang said.

"Well I'm not!" Blake shouted.

"They don't know the White Fang like I do." She said.

"Okay, between blowing up night clubs, stopping thieves, catching assassins, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells." Weiss said.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason... we're students. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation." Weiss said.

"But Brandon-" Ruby began.

"He. Has. A punching ghost." Weiss said.

.

"Okay, fair point." She said.

"We're not ready!" Weiss said.

"And we may never BE ready! Our enemies aren't just gonna sit around and wait for graduation day! They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming!" Blake said.

"Whether we're ready or not." She finished.

"Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale... say 'aye'!" Ruby said.

"Yes! I love it when you're feisty." Yang said.

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss said.

"None of you said 'aye'." Ruby said sadly.

"Alright then... We're in this together." Blake said.

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby said.

"Yeah!" Yang said.

"Ahh! I left my board game in the library." Ruby said as she rushed out of the door.

"We're doomed." Weiss said.

"I'll be right ba-!" Ruby began, only to be cut off mid sentence.

"Oh! Sorry Brandon!" Ruby said as she got up off of the ground.

.

"Brandon?" Ruby asked.

"Wha-?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He said as he walked away from Ruby.

 _'He seems... stressed.'_ Ruby thought in concern.

"Don't mind him, he's just... being weird." She heard someone say.

"Oh! Do you know him?" Ruby asked.

"Something like that." The girl said.

"Oh... I'm Ruby by the way. Are you new here?" She asked.

"Visiting from Haven actually." She heard someone say.

"Ooooooh! You're here for the festival!" Ruby said.

"Oh! But exchange students have their own dormitory." She remembered.

"Guess we just got turned around." The boy said.

"Don't worry, happens all the time!" Ruby said.

"Your building is just east of here." She said.

"Thanks, maybe we'll see you around." The woman said.

"Yeah, maybe!" Ruby said.

"Oh! And welcome to Beacon!" Ruby said as they walked away.

Though before Ruby could walk towards the library, she looked back to the direction of Brandon's dorm.

 _'... I can't just shake this feeling away.'_ She said as she walked towards his dorm.

She shuffled around a bit, slightly nervous.

They never really talked all that much before, really the only time they did was slight small talk and all that.

Though she still saw him as one of her friends, and as her friend, she can't just sit back and watch him be sad.

She inhaled and exhaled before knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" She heard Brandon ask from the other side.

"I-it's me." Ruby said.

"Oh, hey." He said.

"C-can I come in?" She asked.

"Sure." Brandon said.

She nodded and opened the door.

"Want a drink?" He asked.

"Sure." She said.

Brandon nodded and manifested Caliber's arm to reach over and grab a bottle of tea.

"Here." He said.

"That doesn't seem like a good use for Caliber." Ruby chuckled.

"Meh, probably not." He said as he laid on his bed.

"So what do you want?" Brandon asked.

Ruby took a deep breath before exhaling.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Didn't I already answer this question?" He asked.

"You did, but I don't believe you." Ruby said.

"Well, trust me Rubes, I'm fine." Brandon said as he turned over.

"That's what my Uncle Qrow say's during one of his drinking sprees." She said.

"Why do you even care? We don't even talk all that much." He said.

"It's because you're my friend!" Ruby said.

"I don't like seeing my friends like this, no matter who they are." She said.

"My mother taught me to always help someone in need, even if they're a bit stubborn to take the help." Ruby said.

"Well your mother sounds... she sounds like a good person." He said.

"Yeah, she was." Ruby said.

"Was?" Brandon asked.

"She's... not here anymore." She said somberly.

.

"Oh... sorry." He said.

"Not really good at this sort of thing, aren't ya?" Ruby asked.

"I'm trying okay?" Brandon said.

"Yeah, she died ten years ago." She said, trying her best to hold back the tears.

"What was she like?" He asked.

"She was the best! She was like a super mom! Slayer of monsters and baker of cookies!" Ruby said.

"She was always the best, though she did have a... temper of some sort." She admitted.

"Guess no one's perfect." He said.

"No, she wasn't. But she was to me." Ruby said with stars in her eyes.

"What about you?" She asked.

"What about me?" Brandon asked.

"What was your mom like?" Ruby asked.

.

"Okay, look at me." He said.

"Um... okay?" She said.

"Imagine me with longer hair, less muscular, better outlook on the world and... a better attitude." He said.

"Okay." Ruby said.

"That's my mom." Brandon said.

"Wow, I would like to meet her one day." She said.

Though she was silenced by the sight of Brandon's eyes narrowing.

.

"Oh!... You too?" She asked.

Brandon nodded.

"I-I'm sorry." Ruby said.

"Why are you apologizing? Ain't your fault." He said.

"Why did you apologize?" She asked.

"Fair point." He said.

"Though it's not all bad! I have my sister, my dad, and my uncle Qrow!" She said.

"Nice." Brandon said.

"What about you? What's your dad like?" Ruby asked.

"What about him?" He asked.

"Falling out?" She asked.

"Falling out? I never knew the bastard." He said.

Ruby was about to reach for her swear jar, though she decided against it in the end.

"Oh... did you ever want to?" She asked.

"Not particularly. The guy left, so why should I give a single crap about his problems when he can't even give a crap to be with me and my family?" He asked.

The scowl on Brandon's face grew even deeper, signaling Ruby to move onto a different subject.

"W-what about your other family?" She asked.

"Well... I was an only child, the only thing I had close to a father figure was my gramps." He said.

"Then there was my grandma, she was always making sure I stayed out of trouble, it's where I got this from." Brandon said as he pulled out his locket.

"Wow! It's so shiny." Ruby said.

"Yeah, it's all I have to remember them by." He said, causing Ruby to freeze.

"W-what?!" She asked.

"Look Rubes, cherish the time you have with your family. You never know when it's all gonna be taken away." He said as he gripped the locket tightly.

"W-what happened?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm." He simply said.

.

"You're right Rubes, I've been... stressed recently." Brandon admitted.

"Why?" She asked.

Brandon sighed before sitting up.

"Let me ask you something Rubes." He said.

"How do you go around stopping a criminal when you don't have the evidence to stop said criminal?" Brandon asked.

"What?" She asked.

"How do you stop a threat that nobody but you knows about?" He repeated.

"You can't just go and arrest them without solid proof of their crime, and said criminal can easily say they're innocent or shift the blame." Brandon said.

.

"I-I don't know." She said.

"That's what I-" Brandon began.

"But if you can't find any evidence, then go and find it! You're not gonna get it if you just keep standing around." Ruby said.

"It's not that simple." He said.

"Maybe not, but if we just sit and do nothing-" She began as she got up from the bed.

"Then we're really no better than the villains we fight." Ruby said.

Brandon just sat there in silence, not really showing any expressions of surprise or anything.

"You know that if you ever need to talk, then all you need to do is ask." Ruby said as she walked out of the door.

 _'Something to think about, eh?'_ Brandon thought to himself.

* * *

 **Now before you go into the review box and type 'Kali is such a nice woman! How could she be one of the Phantoms?' here me out.**

 **I NEVER said that the Phantoms were all assassins, it just so happens that most of them were.**

 **Naomi is a medic, Veronica is an engineer, Ilia is an infiltrator, as well as Blake.**

 **So don't worry, she's not a killer like some of the others.**

 **So I officially met Cinder... it could have gone worse.**

 **Neo is here for some reason, and Ironwood might know who the wielder of Cronus is, as well as a few others.**

 **Well, this was certainly an interesting start to Vol 2.**

 **Let's move onto the review responses, shall we?**

 **Review Response  
**  
 **Guest: Why would I want to get involved in a fight that involves food being thrown at me? Also I haven't really played Blazblue all that much, I only know tidbits and all that.**

 **Cco16: Action isn't really something I can just do, there has to be a reason to it.**

 **rocketmce: Yeah... REAL hard.**

 **Baron Bolt: Thanks. :)**

 **darkifiedluis: Thanks! Glad you like them. :)**

 **Aadidoestfp: Use your imagination.**

 **DragonLord501st: Like he said, he's an assassin with standards.**

 **fanficcyberman: Yaaaaaaay -_-**

 **Guest: Use your imagination.**

 **TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin: It's cool, vote for whoever you want to.**

 **bwburke94: It was in third person so Sun wasn't the one talking. -_-**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Take your time, you left quite the mess.**

 **Guest: And another one. (No this isn't a DJ Khaled reference)**

 **Guest : Nice.**

 **darkifiedluis: Well their not being mind-controlled by a vampire, but it's possible.**

 **darkifiedluis: Soon young one, soon. It will be glorious when it comes... hopefully.**

 **Guest: Well it was kinda hard to change anything in Vol 2 because there wasn't really a lot that negatively affected the other Vol's.**

 **Galahad: Thanks.**

 **SMV Aria2: I think you're taking it a bit too seriously.**

 **SMV Aria2: Nope. No harems here.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Hot, sure. Illegal though.**

 **Also a little special announcement:**

 **For those of you who have Steam on your PC, I officially started my own Steam Group.**

 **The name of the group is "Dusk's Group of Pretty Swell Dud's".**

 **Why Dud's and not Dude's?**

 **Because Dude's wouldn't fit and I didn't realize it before it was too late.**

 **Here, I can easily communicate with you guys, as well as get your thoughts on idea's for the future.**

 **I can also do fan game's where we do stupid shit in TF2 (Or other games).**

 **So go join the group!**

 **Be one of the Swell Dud's.**

* * *

Omake - Caliber abuses Blake (Non-Canon)

"Our first match will be Brandon against Blake." Glynda said as the combatant's stood on their respective side of the arena.

"Ready?" Glynda asked.

"You bet." Brandon said.

Blake nodded and took out Gamble Shroud.

"Then begin!" Glynda shouted.

Both warriors charged towards each other with their weapons unsheathed.

"Go Blake!" Ruby yelled.

"Fight well." Weiss shouted.

"Go get 'em, kitty cat!" Yang shouted.

"Yang!" Blake shouted.

"Oh... sorry." She said sheepishly.

"Fight fair you two!" Jaune shouted.

"Good luck, Blake!" Pyrrha said.

"Beat em up, Caliber!" Nora shouted.

"Nora, please." Ren sighed.

Blake smirked as she charged towards Brandon.

"Kick his butt Blake!" Sun shouted.

"Right!" Blake shouted as she jumped over Brandon.

"Blake! Give him a-" Yang began, though she was cut off as Caliber's fist made contact with Blake's face.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as it began its assault.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** It shouted as punched Blake through the wall.

.

"Uh, the winner is Brandon!" Glynda said.

"Sorry Blake! Caliber doesn't like ninja's." He said, causing Caliber to nod.

"What about Ren?" Nora asked.

"He's more of a monk really." Brandon said.

"O-okay, I guess I'll just walk a-" Blake tried to say, only to be cut off by another one of Caliber's assaults.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** It shouted as it punched Blake through another wall.

.

"What did she-?!" Sun began.

"He doesn't like it when his opponents walk away from him." He said.

"O-okay, I guess I'll just limp-" She began, only to be once again, cut off by yet another one of Caliber's assaults.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** It shouted as it punched Blake through another wall.

.

"Limping technically counts as walking away." Brandon said.

"Here, let me help-" Sun began as he picked up Blake, only for Caliber to... okay you get the point.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** It shouted as it punched Blake through the wall.

.

"Also counts as walking away." He said.

 **"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"** It shouted as it punched Blake through the building.

"WHAT DID I DO THAT TIME?!" Blake asked.

"I don't know, I guess he just doesn't like you." Brandon said.

* * *

 **James Ironwood**

 **Height: 6'6"**

 **Weight: 166 lbs**

 **Age: 45**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown.**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 44**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 36**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 29**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 15**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	38. Painting The Town Red

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Painting the Town Red"

Thought: _'Painting the Town Red'_

Flashback: _"Painting the Town Red"_

The day after was just another normal day for the members of Team RWBY, and JNPR. Going to classes, planning for the Vytal Festival, training for the tournament, making sure their team got picked, etc.

Team SSSN had slightly different classes due to them being exchange students, though they still had the same old classes they had when they were studying in Haven, though the teachers here were... less than normal... some being a little less normal than others. Even so, it was still manageable, for Sun it was a welcome change in his life.

Though there was one particular student who had a lot on his mind when it came to the Vytal Festival... well there were two people who had a lot on their mind. Those two people were none other than Cinder Fall and Brandon Kim. Ever since their meeting yesterday, they had a lot to think about when it came to the plans for the future.

For Cinder, she couldn't get the image of that strange arm that she caught a glimpse of during their brief meeting yesterday. She wanted to brush it off as a coincidence, and that a mere child couldn't dream of getting their hands on such a weapon of power.

Though for some reason, she couldn't. Every time she tried to reason with herself, something in her mind was telling her that it was a possibility. It was small, very small, hell she was ninety nine percent sure that it was impossible, though as long as there was that one percent of doubt in her mind, she wouldn't just dismiss this as some sort of coincidence.

Was he the one who was causing her subordinates so much trouble? If that were true, then he would be the one who had been causing the Phantoms so much trouble, which was a major problem for them in the long run. Normally she wouldn't give a single damn about the problems of Roman, the White Fang, or the Phantoms, but in their case it was different. They refused to work with her until this problem of theirs was taken care of... well, THESE problems to be more specific.

They wanted to capture this little runt that had caused them so much trouble, as well as free their imprisoned friend from captivity. Now you may be thinking 'why not threaten them with death to make them cooperate?'. Well, threatening the leader of the White Fang was already a bit of stretch to begin with, threatening its elite members wouldn't really have the same result as before.

As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't nearly powerful enough to take on the entire Vale branch of the White Fang, she needed the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers if she had any hope of taking them on.

The only reason that Adam agreed to help her was due to their goal's being fairly similar to one another. He would be able to show the true power and will of the White Fang to everyone across the world, and Cinder would finally be able to complete her power.

So for now, she would have to deal with this little problem that they have before she could carry on with her plans. They had already agreed to go to Mountain Glenn for the breach that was supposed to happen sometime in the next month or so, though they agreed that they wouldn't help with the invasion unless their friend was freed from captivity.

While she didn't particularly like the fact that she had more on her plate than she already did, she understood that it was necessary if she wanted to increase her chances of success.

And while she was ninety nine percent sure she would succeed, even without their help, if there was one thing that her master taught her, it was that you must never overestimate your powers.

So she needed to take care of this problem as soon as humanly possible.

As for the other side of the coin, Brandon also had a lot on his mind. Specifically regarding the meeting he had with Cinder yesterday... well he was thinking about yesterday in general but the meeting took up most of his mind.

To start off, a few things have already changed from Vol 2, though since it would be pretty repetitive to repeat the same thing that happened yesterday, we'll keep it brief. Scarlet and Sage aren't just thrown to the side like trash, new enchanted weapons have confirmed users, though their identity is still unknown.

Neo is here for some reason, don't really know what that will mean for the future.

These are only minor changes though, so it probably won't have a particularly large impact on the future of Vol 2.

Though a lot of minor things have been happening recently, and a lot of minor changes can turn into one major change.

But there isn't really a lot you can change from this Vol that won't directly change the other Vol's... well Brandon only saw Vol's 1-3 and the beginning of Vol 4 so that's not really a lot when you really think about it.

Though the main event was gonna happen in the next Vol, that's where shit's really gonna hit the fan.

But for now, let's just focus on the current Vol at hand.

The only real major event that happened in Vol 2 was the breach at the end of the Vol, though knowing Brandon's luck, that was gonna change REAL soon.

The breach might be the best and only chance that Brandon will have to bring Neo over to his side in the entire series.

So yeah, there was quite a lot of pressure riding on his shoulders at the moment, he can't afford to mess up now, Not when he's so close to reaching his goal.

Though now another question is raised.

How can he bring her over to begin with?

There's no way in hell that she'll leave Roman behind, he's like a father to her... well adoptive father, her actual dad bit the dust a long time ago.

And Roman coming over to his side was already out of the question to begin with.

So right now, his options were very few and unlikely to begin with.

As you can see, neither side was exactly happy about this new development.

Though we can worry about that in a later time, let's move on for now.

Team's JNPR, RWBY, and Brandon were all sitting in Professor Port's listening to another one of his lectures... well, lectures was a very strong word, storytelling was a better word for what Port was doing.

No one was really paying attention, they had heard stories like this a thousand times from their parents or former instructors. It was nothing they hadn't heard before, but hey, if they had to sit through it then they might as well deal with it. They'll have to do it for another three years.

 _'Honestly, can this man talk about ANYTHING other than his supposed 'adventures'?'_ Weiss thought to herself.

Weiss quickly glanced to her right to see that Ruby and Yang were sound asleep in their seats.

 _'How did we go from stopping criminals to this? It's a miracle that those two passed the mid-terms last semester. Especially Yang, how did SHE get the highest score out of all of us when she didn't even study?!'_ She asked herself.

Honestly at this point she was just waiting for the bell to ring so that she and her team can go out and search for these criminals.

There was one minute on the clock, though it felt like an eternity for her.

"Hey, Weiss." Jaune called out to her as he moved towards her.

 _'Oh please no.'_ She thought to herself.

"So I was thinking that after this we can go grab a bite to eat?" Jaune suggested.

 _'I'd rather not.'_ She said to herself.

"So I got two tickets to that new Spruce Wills movie if you wanna make the trip to Vale, I heard it's awesome." He said.

 _'Who?'_ Weiss asked herself.

"... and maybe after that we can… study together?" He suggested.

 _'... what?'_ She thought to herself as she slowly turned her head towards Jaune with a deadpanned look on her face.

.

"N-not that kind of studying! I just thought that maybe I could get some help from you since you're so smart and all!" Jaune said with a blush on his face.

 _'Well glad to see that he has SOME decency.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

Though before Jaune could suggest anything else, the clock in front of her turned to four a clock, causing the bell to ring and signaling the end of the lecture.

"And then I-!" Port tried to say, but was quickly cut of by the bell.

"Oh! Uh, timed that one wrong I guess. Well the stunning conclusion to the story will have to wait. Until next time." Port said as the students walked out of his class room.

"Weiss? Did you hear me?" Jaune asked.

"No, no, no, yes." Weiss said as she answered each of Jaune's questions in order.

"Aw." He grounded as his head hit the table.

"One day." Yang said as she rubbed Jaune's head.

"You know Jaune, I can help you study if you want." Pyrrha suggested.

"No thanks, I'll just go to back to our dorm rooms for the day." He said as he walked away.

"Oh… okay." Pyrrha said as she banged her head on the table.

"Soon." Brandon said as he rubbed Pyrrha's head.

"I just don't get it! What am I doing wro-!" Though Pyrrha was cut off as she caught a glimpse of Brandon's face.

"Well, maybe if you just told him how you felt instead of just giving these stupid and vague hints maybe he might consider it." He said.

.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked.

"I just... when did you... what?" She asked.

"I think you should call it a day too Pyr, you probably need it." Brandon said as he walked away.

"Y-yeah." She said as she walked away.

'The hell's up with her?' Brandon asked himself as he walked out of the classroom.

"Ugh, I thought that class would never end." Blake groaned.

"Tell me about it." Yang said.

"You're one to talk, you slept through most of it!" Weiss said.

"And sleeping takes a lot of energy." She said with a grin.

"So, are we ready to go and become the world's youngest huntresses to single handedly bring down a group of criminals?" Ruby asked.

"Hell yeah!" Yang said as she punched her fist upwards.

"Yang!" Ruby said as she held out her jar.

"Right... my bad." She said, putting lien into the jar.

"Of course we're ready, I even bought us outfits for the occasion." Weiss said.

"Do we really need to change clothing?" Yang asked.

"Do we need to?! Of course we do! How could you ask such a thing?!" She asked.

"Yeah! Everyone knows that you need to change clothing when you're doing something important!" Ruby said.

"We do?" Blake asked.

"Yes!" Ruby and Weiss said in unison.

"Hey guys." Brandon said as he walked past them.

"Hey Brandon! Are you feeling better?" Ruby asked.

"Better? What is he sick?" Weiss asked.

"Sick, if I were sick then a little theory of mine will go down the drain." Brandon said as he turned to face the team.

.

"What's with the looks?" He asked.

"What. Is. That?!" Weiss asked as she pointed to Brandon's face.

"What is what?" Brandon asked.

"This!" She said as she began to rub Brandon's hairy chin.

"Hey! Personal space mean anything to you?!" He asked.

"When did THIS happen?!" Weiss asked.

"I thought I saw something weird on you last night." Ruby said.

"What are you talking about?!" Brandon asked.

"Why do you have a BEARD?!" Weiss asked, clearly horrified at what she was seeing.

"What?" He asked, clearly confused at what she was saying.

Weiss quickly grabbed a mirror from back pocket and shoved it in front of Brandon's face.

"Oh… was wondering why I felt so itchy today." He said as he rubbed his chin.

"Well I wouldn't really call it a beard, from the looks of it you have one that's similar to the ones that my uncle and dad have." Yang said.

"I don't care, you're coming with me." Weiss said as she dragged Brandon away.

"Hey! Quit pulling!" He yelled.

"Not until we get this stupid hedgehog off of your face!" She said.

"Wait! What about today?!" Ruby asked.

"I'll meet you in the dorm rooms! I'll be right back." Weiss said as she dragged Brandon away.

.

"Well you heard her, let's move." Yang said.

After that little encounter, the rest of Team RWBY returned to their dorm rooms to prepare for the night ahead of them.

Each of the members of Team RWBY wore their respective outfits that Weiss had gotten for them, even if some of them didn't see why they needed them.

The outfit that Ruby wore consisted of a long-sleeve, light gray shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves.

Over top of the gray shirt is a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching that resemble the lacing on a corset.

She wore a red skirt with a large print of her emblem on the side of it in black and black tulle underneath.

Her stockings and shoes remained the same as her original outfit, except the boots no longer have red trim around the top.

A few pieces of metal arranged in an abstract shape are attached to her sleeve on her left shoulder, and her hooded cloak has been wrapped around her neck similar to a scarf before hanging down her back.

"Jeez, how long does it take to shave ONE face?" Ruby asked herself as she sat on her bed.

"Especially one like that? You'd think it would take a couple of seconds to do but noooooo! Seriously it's been thirty minutes!" Yang said.

Yang's outfit consisted of a deep-collared cream vest over a low cut black shirt and covered by a dark gray shrug with a raised collar, three quarter sleeves with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve, and gold cuffs.

A black miniskirt was worn under the cream vest.

A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents are slung around her hip, with a purple piece of fabric attached to the left-rear of the lower belt.

She wore thigh high stockings attached to her miniskirt by garter-belts on the front and back of each thigh and decorated with four golden studs above her knee and her emblem on the outside of each thigh in gold.

She also wore black ankle boots with multiple buckles and white ribbons on the back tied in a bow.

Around her neck sat a purple pendant set in silver.

"Well she does still have to change as well, and you know how long she'll take when it comes to dress up." Blake said.

Blake's outfit consisted of a white, v-neck, zip-up crop shirt with a black hem and three quarter sleeves.

Her emblem was printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt.

She wore black pants that had a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg and a black belt.

Attached to the rear of the belt was a black piece of fabric that covered her from hip to hip.

Underneath this is a longer, translucent, purple piece of fabric.

She also wore black high-heel boots with two straps and buckles and purple undersoles, reaching to mid-calf. She retained the black ribbons on her forearms and her black bow.

As she finished saying that, the door to their room opened and Weiss walked in with her outfit on and a razor blade in one of their hands.

Her outfit consisted of a white, double breasted jacket with black piping, cuffs and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. She also wore a pair of white, thigh high boots with black heels and lace-topped black stockings.

"Okay, now that I finally got rid of that stupid hedgehog on his face, let's move on." Weiss said.

"Alright guys, today's the day! The investigation, begins!" Ruby said as she jumped off of her bed.

"Glad to see that you're taking this so seriously." Weiss said sarcastically.

"Hey! We've got a plan!" Yang said.

"That's... moderately serious." She said.

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked.

"You and I will head to the C.C.T to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to handle orders and recruit new members. If I can get in we can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake said.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard." Yang said.

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Ruby said.

"Let's do this!" Ruby shouted as she pumped her fist up into the air.

"Yeah!" They heard a familiar voice say from outside their window.

"Sun?!" Blake called out.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"It's easy. I do it all the time." He said.

"You what?!" Weiss yelled.

"I climb trees all the time! What did you think I meant?" He asked.

.

"Nothing. Just know that I've got my eye on you." She said with her eyes narrowed.

"So are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" Sun asked.

"WE, are going to investigate the situation." Blake said, putting emphasis on we.

.

"As a TEAM." She said, hoping he would get the hint.

"Sorry Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said.

"Psh, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved." Sun said.

"That's why I brought those guys." He said as he pointed outside the window.

"What?!" Everyone shouted as they looked out the window.

Just as Sun said, Neptune was standing on the railing of the building, Scarlet was using his grappling hook to hang off of the tree, and Sage was just sitting on the tree making sure that Scarlet didn't fall.

"How did you guys get up here?" Ruby asked.

"We have our ways." Neptune said.

"I used my grappling hook to climb up here." Scarlet said.

"I jumped." Sage said.

.

"That's it?" Yang asked.

Sage nodded to confirm Yang's question.

"Wow, must have some pretty strong legs." She said with a whistle.

"Seriously though can we come in? We're REALLY high up right now." Neptune said nervously.

"Fine, come on in." Blake said, causing Sage to throw Scarlet inside and Neptune to climb through the window.

"Alright! I'll go with Weiss, Sun can go with Blake, and Neptune can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner." Ruby said.

"What about us?!" Scarlet asked.

"Oh!... well... do you know anyone who may be able to help us out?" Ruby asked.

"We just got here!" He said.

"Fair point." She said.

"How about Scarlet and Neptune come with us?" Weiss asked.

"Then who would go with Yang?" Ruby asked.

"I'll go." Sage said.

"Aw, if you want to take me out on a date, all you need to do is ask." Yang teased.

"W-what?! N-no! I didn't mean to-" Sage began, only to be interrupted by Yang slapping him on the back.

"I'm just pulling your leg. It's actually a good thing that you're here, if I have a tough looking guy like you with me then getting information will be even easier than I thought!" She said.

"Please, you flatter me." Sage said with a grin.

"Okay, so we have our groups. NOW can we go?!" Ruby asked.

"Hey! I have an idea! How about we grab Brandon, if things go south then he'll be a huge help!" Sun said.

"True, having one of the enchanted weapon spirits may put the odds in our favor." Blake said.

"No, that's not a good idea." Ruby said.

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

"Well… he's just-" Ruby began as she remembered what happened last night.

"He just needs to relax for a bit." She said.

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"He's got a lot on his mind now." Ruby said.

"Then let's just-" Yang began, only to be cut off by Blake.

"No, I think Ruby's right, we should leave him alone." She said.

"But why?" Neptune asked.

"Right, you weren't there for the conversation. Well, a few weeks ago, Osvaldo, one of the White Fang's elite assassins was caught." Blake said.

"Yeah! I've heard about that, I heard that he owned a restaurant that-" Neptune began, only to stop himself at the sight of Yang covering Ruby's ears.

"What? What did he say?" Ruby asked.

"Oh... okay, I get it." Neptune said as he nodded.

Yang nodded and released Ruby.

"He owned a restaurant that did what?" Ruby asked.

Before anyone could respond, Neptune quickly spoke up.

"That sold a KILLER cake, it was to die for." Neptune said causing everyone in the room to look at him with a deadpanned look.

.

"What?" He asked.

"Really?! Aw I wish I could have tasted the cake, even if it was cooked by a killer." She said.

"Yeah, I bet it was a real good cake." Neptune said.

"It would also put us at a disadvantage." Blake said.

"How?" Sun asked.

"Well, Brandon was the reason why Osvaldo's identity was revealed, Osvaldo was part of the Phantoms, so I'd imagine that the rest of the Phantoms are... less than happy with what he did." She said.

"So if word got out that Brandon was in the area, then they'd come running." Yang said.

"Yeah, and while I don't doubt the strength of everyone here, there's no way we would be able to fight all of the Phantoms at once." Blake said.

"Guess you have a point there." Sun said.

"Okay, so we have our groups, our roles, and who's not coming. Now can we go?!" Ruby asked.

"I don't see why not. Come on big guy, you and I have a bar to go to!" Yang said as she dragged Sage out of the room.

"Wait, what?!" He asked as the two walked out of the room.

"Alright BFF, let's go!" Ruby said as she dragged Weiss out of the room.

"What did I say about calling me that?!" She asked.

"Guess we should follow them." Scarlet said as he and Neptune walked out of the room.

.

"So... lead the way?" Sun said.

Blake nodded and walked out of the room, Sun following her in pursuit.

* * *

So the group split up, each member going in their separate directions.

Weiss, Ruby, Scarlet and Neptune were on their way to the C.C.T.

Blake and Sun were on their way to the next White Fang recruitment meeting.

Finally, Yang and Sage were going to Junior's night club.

The first group had already made their way to the C.C.T and were marveling of the sheer size of it.

"Wow! I forget how big the Transmit Tower looks so close!" Ruby marveled.

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss said.

"That was the first one, right?" She asked.

"Correct." She said.

"Atlas developed the Cross-Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was the gift to the world after the Great War." Weiss continued.

"Ooo, look at me, my name is Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich!" Ruby said as she started to giggle.

"Don't be a pest." Weiss scowled.

"What about your's Scarlet? What's the tower like in Mistral?" Ruby asked.

"Well, it may not look very big, but Mistral was built on a mountain so we built the tower into the mountain. With the help of Atlas that is." He said.

"Wow! Mistral sounds so cool! I wish I could go there." She said.

"Yeah, it's a real nice place to live and train." Scarlet said.

"Maybe I'll have my dad take us out there for the next summer." Ruby said.

"Yeah! I can give ya a tour of the tower!" He said.

"Really?! Oh thank you so much, Scarlet!" She said.

"You really like the towers, don't ya?" Scarlet asked.

"Tell me about it, the only reason we're there is because you like the tower so much." Weiss said.

"We could've just as easily made a call from the library!" She said.

"I know but it's so cool! Oh! I'm going to take a picture." Ruby said as she pulled out her scroll, only to accidentally throw it.

The scroll rolled on the ground for a bit before it stopped in its tracks by the leg of a girl.

"Oh." She said in a monotone voice.

"You dropped this." She said.

"Penny?!" Ruby asked.

"Who?" Scarlet asked.

"Uhh..." Penny stumbled on her words.

"Where have you been?! We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Friend of yours?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah, we met a couple weeks back but I haven't seen you since!" Ruby said.

"S-sorry. I think you're confused." Penny said as she hiccuped, causing Ruby's scroll to go flying into her hands.

"Uh, I've got to go." She said as she walked off.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out!" Ruby said as she gave chase.

"You go make your call, I'll meet up with you guys later!" She said.

"Wait!" Weiss called out, but it was too late, she was long gone.

"Ugh, she does this all the time." She said.

"Scarlet, go after her." Neptune said.

"What?! Why me?!" He asked.

"Well, we're searching for criminals on the loose, so it wouldn't be a good idea to let her go on her own." He said.

"... Alright, fine." He said as he ran after her.

"Thank you Neptune." Weiss said.

"It's no trouble." He said.

"No, not for that, for back in the dorms." She said.

"Wait, what did I do?" Neptune asked.

"You kept your mouth shut about what Osvaldo did." Weiss said.

"Oh, it was nothing really, though if you don't mind me asking, why did you have me do what I did?" He asked.

"Well, Ruby's a very... innocent person, she believes that the world is like a fairy tale and that a knight in shining armor will come and save the day." She said.

"Nothing wrong that." Neptune said.

"No, but it's not how the world works." Weiss said.

"Then why not tell her?" He asked.

"She's still young." She said.

"Isn't she the same age as all of us?" Neptune asked.

"No, she's a very... special girl." Weiss said.

"What do you mean, special?" He asked.

"She's only fifteen." She said, causing Neptune's eyes to widen.

"What?! How did she get in when she should be a second year in one of the minor combat schools?" He asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Weiss said.

"I'll admit, I was... jealous. What did SHE have that I didn't?" She asked herself.

"I was so confused. Why did Ozpin pick her over me, I was a Schnee!" Weiss said.

"Well, not everyone gets picked because of their last name." Neptune said.

"I know that now. Though it's still something I ask myself. What is so special about her?" She asked.

"I don't know, she looks pretty normal to the naked eye." He said.

"Yeah, but apparently she got bumped up a whole two years!" Weiss said.

"Well, I wouldn't think too much about it really. It's done and over with, no use fretting about stuff you can't change." Neptune said.

"True, though it's still concerning." She said.

"I'm sure that your headmaster has his reasons." He said.

"Yeah. Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Weiss asked.

"Sure." Neptune said.

"Why did you decide to stay with me? It's not like I can't handle a simple means of communication on my own." She asked.

"Well, I just thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for us to have a little chat." Neptune said.

.

Weiss said nothing, she just stood there with her face turning completely red.

"W-well, I guess you got what you wanted." She said.

"Guess so." He said with a wink.

Penny was currently trying her best to escape the red-hooded girl the best she could, but it's kinda hard to escape from someone who has a Semblance that makes you go faster than the eye can see.

"Penny!" Ruby called out to her.

 _'Just don't acknowledge her.'_ Penny thought.

"Penny, wait!" She called out once again.

 _'Please stop.'_ She thought.

"I just want to talk!" Ruby said.

 _'Believe me my friend, I would want nothing more than to talk as well. But right now I am in a situation that requires me to avoid your presence as much as possible.'_ Penny thought to herself.

"Penny! Where have you been! It's been weeks!" Ruby said.

"There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding." Penny said.

"What?!" Ruby asked as Penny walked away from her.

"Penny, is everything okay?" She asked.

.

"Penny! Please stop!" Ruby said as she grabbed Penny by her left arm.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks we think they're up to something big. Something bad, I need you to tell me what happened to you that night." She said.

"Please? As a friend." Ruby said.

"That depends, are you talking about what I did BEFORE or AFTER the docks?" Penny asked.

"Why not both?" She asked.

"Well, I guess it's safe to tell you what I did before." She said.

"Safe? Why wouldn't it be-?" Ruby began, only to be interrupted by Scarlet calling her name... well, calling the name of another gemstone.

"Jasper!" Scarlet called out.

"Who?" Penny asked.

"Scarlet?! What are you doing here?! And it's Ruby! Not Jasper!" Ruby yelled.

"Who is this, Ruby?" Penny asked.

"That's Scarlet, he's helping with... a little task I'm doing." She said, decided to keep their investigation hidden for now.

"Oh?" Penny said as she turned towards Scarlet.

"Whew! You sure know how to run, Sapphire." Scarlet said.

"Oh come on! That's not even the same color!" Ruby said as she threw her hands up in the air.

"Who's this?" He asked.

"This is-" Ruby began.

"Greeting, friend of friends! I am Penny Polendina!" She greeted as she extended her hand outwards.

 _'Well that was a sudden mood swing.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"Uh... hello, name's Scarlet David." He said as she grabbed her hand.

"Greetings Scarlet! A pleasure to meet you!" She said before shaking Scarlet's hand violently.

"Nice to meet you!" He said shakily.

"Sensational! I made a new friend!" Penny said as she pumped her fist up into the air.

"My hand." Scarlet said as he gripped his swollen hand.

"So, you wish to know what happened before I arrived at the docks?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, it might help us." Ruby said.

"Well, it was my first time out of the laboratory, so you can probably imagine my excitement to see all the different cultures and people of Vale!" Penny said.

"What do you mean by lab?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, my father was a scientist so naturally he was a VERY busy man. So instead of leaving me alone, he decided to take me with him to the lab! Eventually we moved into the lab." Penny said.

"Wow, really?... Wait, you mean to tell me that you've NEVER been outside of the lab?!" Ruby asked.

"Nope." She said.

"Where is the lab?" Ruby asked.

"In Atlas." Penny said.

.

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!" Ruby and Scarlet shouted.

"Is something the matter?" Penny asked.

"All the way in Atlas?! Then what are you doing here?!" Scarlet asked.

"I'm here for the tournament." She said.

"The tournament? You mean you can fight?" He asked.

"Of course! I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a salute.

"But don't you need to go to a combat school to take part in the tournament?" Scarlet asked.

"Of course! I am a proud member of Atlas Academy!" She said.

"But you said that you've never been outside of the lab!" He said.

"Yes! The lab in Atlas Academy that is." Penny said.

"Oh... guess that makes sense." Scarlet said.

"Yes, moving on. So I went out into the city of Vale in pursuit of making friends!" She said.

"I'm assuming that's when you met me." Ruby said.

"Correct, though a week later, I run into another friend of friends!" Penny said.

"Really? Though that would mean that you made this friend of yours the day of the attempted robbery." Ruby said.

"Your are correct, it was such an exciting day! I got to chase down assassins!" She said.

"Wait, did you say assassins?!" She asked.

"Oh! Yes, but don't tell anyone I said that. My mentor wants it to be kept a secret from the public." Penny said.

"Who was chasing these assassins?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, I believe the name of the woman who was with the police was Coco Adel." She said.

"Not really a surprise, her sister died last year and it's suspected that one of the Phantoms are responsible." Ruby said.

"Phantoms? If my data is correct then those are a group of some of the White Fang's elite members." Penny said.

"Yeah, what did the assassins you were chasing look like?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I wasn't able to clearly see them, the way they addressed each other leads me to believe that they are siblings." She said.

 _'Hmm, if I remember correctly then that would be Alerio and Aleria.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"What about the other person, the one who was chasing the assassins with ya?" Scarlet asked.

"Oh! His name was Brandon Kim." Penny said.

'So that's why he was at the docks. Looks like Osvaldo wasn't the only time he had an encounter with the Phantoms.' Ruby thought.

"Brandon… I've heard that name somewhere before, though I can't remember where." Scarlet said as he scratched his head.

"You met him yesterday. He was the guy who cheated in our board game." She said.

"Right! I remember him, little cheater he was." He said.

"Does Brandon go here? I did not know that, I'll have to stop by when I have the chance." Penny said.

"So is that all you did that night?" Ruby asked.

"Well... that's what I did before the incident." Penny said.

"What about after?" Scarlet asked.

"That's a bit of a... touchy subject." She said.

"Come on Penny... we're your friends." Ruby said.

.

"Right?" Ruby said as she looked at Scarlet.

"Yeah... I guess." He said, slightly unsure if he would call some girl who almost crushed his hand a friend.

"Okay, though we can't talk here. Let's go somewhere more... private." Penny said.

* * *

So after Weiss and Neptune left Ruby and Scarlet, they headed inside of the C.C.T so that they could look at the Schnee Dust records.

"Wow, it's pretty amazing in here! All this technology and craftsmanship. You can tell that a lot of work was put into the design of this place." Neptune said.

"You seem like quite the artist enthusiast." Weiss said.

"Growing up in Mistral does that to ya." He said.

"Hmm, yes I've heard of Mistral's artistic culture, though I have yet to see if for myself." Weiss said.

"It's a pretty amazing sight." Neptune said. "So what's the deal with this whole White Fang robberies? Sun told me some of it but he tends to lean more towards the action parts rather than the reason why the action is happening." He said.

"Well that's the whole point to this investigation. We're trying to find out why they would need so much Dust in the first place." Weiss said.

"Ah, gotcha... so why are we going to the C.C.T?" He asked.

"Well, being a Schnee I have access to all of the Dust transported by the Schnee Dust Company. Since the crates from the harbor just so happen to be from the Schnee Dust Company, I'm going to see if any other robberies like this have been happening under our nose." She explained.

"Nice." Neptune said.

.

"Let me ask you something, Neptune." Weiss said in a serious tone.

"Ask me whatever you want snow angel." Neptune said.

"Why do you do that?" She asked.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Constantly flirt with me. Every time we interact you're always pulling some new pick-up line out of your pocket." She said.

"Does it bother you? I can stop if you want, I've always wanted to please the ladies... in a romantic way of course." He said.

"Well it depends on why you're doing it." Weiss said.

"I don't follow." He said.

"Do you flirt with me in hopes to get close to my family?" She asked.

"What? No, why would I want to get close to a bunch of people I don't know?" He asked.

"Why else would anyone want to get close to my family? For their money." Weiss said bitterly.

"Weiss, do I seem like that kind of guy?" Neptune asked.

"I don't know, are you? I only met you a day ago and you're already flirting with me. So I don't know, are you like the thousands of men who attempted to court me?" She asked with a cold look in her eyes.

Neptune was slightly taken back before he shook his head and responded.

"I'll be honest, it's not that I did it because of your name, your money, or your status." He said.

"Then why?" She asked.

"Well, I've heard stories from Sun about you and while they were brief little details, I've heard a little about you. To be honest, I did it because you seemed like my type." Neptune said.

"Your type?" She asked.

"Yeah, you know, an independent woman who doesn't take any crap from anyone, no matter who they are." He said.

 _'Oh, you have no idea how wrong you are, Neptune.'_ Weiss thought.

"But I guess my flirting gave you the wrong message, huh?" Neptune asked.

Weiss simply nodded her head.

"Well then, how about we start over? Just as... friends?" He said.

"What's up with that tone?" Weiss asked.

"I'm just not used to doing this with the girls in Mistral." Neptune said.

Weiss rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit.

"Whatever you say, though you'll find out pretty soon that I'm not like the girls in Mistral." She said.

"What do you mean by that?" Neptune asked.

"Let's just say that I've heard a few things about Mistral." Weiss said as she walked towards the elevator.

Neptune looked confused for a second before shrugging and following Weiss inside.

"Hello, welcome to the C.C.T. How may I help you?" They heard someone ask.

"I'd like to go the Communications room please." Weiss said.

"Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll in the terminal to verify your identity?" The lady requested.

Weiss pulled out her scroll from her pocket and placed it in the terminal.

"Perfect! Thank you, Ms. Schnee." The lady said.

They waited for a few minutes before arriving at the Communications floor.

As Neptune and Weiss walked up to the counter, a hologram of a woman appeared.

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Center. How may I help you?" She asked.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas." Weiss said.

"Absolutely. If you could please head over to terminal three I can patch you through." The lady said.

"Thank you." Weiss said as she walked over to terminal three.

"What about you sir? Do you need to use the terminals?" The lady asked Neptune.

"Nah, just waiting for her." He said.

Weiss eventually made her way over to the terminal and waited patiently.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas-" The woman in the screen said, only to quickly cut herself off at the sight of Weiss.

"Oh! Ms. Schnee! Good afternoon!" The woman said.

"Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well." The lady said.

"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me." Weiss said as she pulled out her scroll.

"I've compiled a short list." She said as she put her scroll into the terminal.

"I see. If you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?" The woman asked.

"School project." She said.

"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list ma'am." The woman warned.

"Well I'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss said.

"Right, very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now." She said.

"Wonderful, that will be all then." She said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want me to patch you through to your father before you go? I'm sure he-" The woman began.

"Yes. I'm sure." Weiss said.

.

"Alright, have a nice day." The woman said as the connection was cut off.

Weiss sighed before she saw the reflection of Neptune from the screen in front of her.

"So… falling out?" He asked.

"Something like that." She admitted.

"Wanna talk about it?" Neptune asked.

"Not now. Let's just focus on the task at hand." Weiss said as she walked towards the elevator.

Neptune nodded and followed her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby, Penny and Scarlet headed towards the city of Vale where they knew no one would bother them.

Penny waited in front of a cafe for Ruby and Scarlet, though she was starting to get antsy when neither Ruby or Scarlet were coming.

'Maybe they left. Perhaps I was wrong to put my trust in there ha-' Penny began, only to be startled by the sudden touch on her shoulder.

"Hey!" Ruby said with a smile.

"Ruby!" Penny said happily.

"Sorry, we were supposed to get here sooner but Scarlet just HAD to go into that clothing store." She said as she slowly turned her head towards Scarlet.

"What?! I've never seen Vale clothing, when am I going to get another opportunity like that?!" He asked.

"How about any other time you were in Vale? Seriously you didn't even buy anything!" Ruby said.

"If I knew we were going to this part of Vale, I would have brought my wallet." Scarlet said.

"Thank Monty for that." She mumbled. "Anyways, now that we're here can you please tell us about the men from last night?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not really sure what to tell you. This is my first time in Vale so I don't really know anything about it's evildoers." She said.

"Really?! Not even a single clue?!" Ruby asked.

"I'm sorry Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men we fought in the harbor." Penny said.

"What about what happened to you that night? We were all together and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?" She asked.

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" Penny said.

"Well then where DID you go?" Ruby asked.

"It's like I said before, I've never been outside of Atlas Academy, so going to another kingdom was a real adventure for me! Though my father asked me not to venture out too far but... you know." Penny said.

"You have to understand that my father loves me VERY much. He just... worries a lot." She said.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby said.

"But why not let us know that you were okay?" She asked.

"I was asked not to talk to you… or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang… ANYBODY really." Penny said.

"Was your dad THAT upset?" Ruby asked.

"No, it wasn't my father who told me not to talk to you." She said.

Though before Penny could continue, the sound of a familiar voice broke her out of her attention.

 **"The AK130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years."** They heard someone say.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked.

 **"And they have done a fine job wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?"** He asked.

"I think that's General Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy." Scarlet said.

 _'How come you can remember his name but not mine?'_ Ruby asked herself.

 **"But the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation. And fine, well that's just not good enough is it?" H** e asked.

As he said this, the door behind the security bots opened and revealed a newer and better set of security bots.

 **"Presenting, the Atlesian Knights!"** Ironwood said.

 **"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary. These models will become active later this year but they won't be alone."** He said.

 **"Now the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require, a human touch."** He said.

"Ruby." Penny said warningly.

 **"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company are proud to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin!"** Ironwood said as his image faded from the crowd and was replaced with a giant robot.

"Whoa!" Scarlet marveled.

 **"Now we couldn't have them here for you today. But these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdoms within the year!"** Ironwood said.

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I was fine with the old model, but an upgrade can't be all bad." He said.

"What?! No, not the stupid security bots I mean Penny!" She said.

"What about her?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, what do you think happened to her that night?" Ruby asked.

"Not really a lot to go off of, though she has to be pretty important if her this person is that concerned for her." He said.

"Yeah." She said.

"Ruby, Scarlet, maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny said.

"Why? It's just getting good!" Scarlet said.

Though Ruby noticed that a few of the guards were looking over at their direction.

Before she could ask what was going on, Penny ran away into a nearby alley way.

"Penny?! Wait, where are you going?!" She asked as she ran after Penny.

"Hey! Wait up!" Scarlet said.

 _'What's with her? Why did she just run off like that?'_ Ruby asked herself as continued her chase.

"Over here! She went this way!" One of the guards said.

 _'And why are they after Penny?'_ She asked herself as she and Scarlet ran across the street.

"Penny! Hold up!" She called out, though Penny showed no signs of stopping.

Ruby looked behind her to see that the guards were gaining on her and Scarlet.

 _'I need to cut them off somehow.'_ She thought.

She looked around to see if there was anything she could use as a roadblock.

Her eyes eventually settled on a pile of crates being held up by a wooden stand.

"Scarlet! Cut it!" She yelled.

"Alright." Scarlet said, slightly unsure if they should be running away from the authorities.

Scarlet cut the wooden board with his sword, causing the crates to fall to the ground.

Ruby jumped onto the wall and used her speed semblance to grab Penny.

"This way!" She yelled as she sped down the alleyway.

"Wait!" Scarlet called out, but it was too late.

Ruby was able to hold this momentum for a good few seconds before tiring out and falling to the ground and rolling onto the road.

 _'Okay, not my best idea but hey at least we got aw-'_ Ruby was cut off by the sound a truck horn closing in from behind her.

She tried to use her semblance to move out of the way, but her legs wouldn't move from the ground.

"Ruby!" She heard Penny cry out.

Penny quickly pushed Ruby out of the way and held her hands out in front of her, causing the truck to stop in its tracks.

.

"Are you okay?!" She asked the driver.

The driver simply nodded, marveled on how a mere child could stop a truck in its path with just her bare hands.

"Ruby! Are you o-" Scarlet began, only to stop himself at the sight that was in front of him.

"Whoa." He said.

Penny didn't say anything, she just continued to run down the alleyway.

"Penny! Wait!" Ruby called out.

"You go on ahead, I'll see if the driver is okay!" Scarlet said as he moved towards the truck.

 _Ruby nodded and ran after Penny._

 _'W-what's going on?! How did Penny just stop the truck like that?! There's no way a normal human being can just stop something like that!'_ Ruby asked herself.

"Penny!" She called out to her friend.

"Please, what is going on?! Why are you running?! How did you do that?!" Ruby asked.

"I-I can't! Everything is fine!" Penny said, only to hiccup immediately after.

"I-I don't want to talk about it!" She said, only to let out another hiccup.

 _'I get it. Every time she lies, she hiccups.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong I can help you!" She said.

"No! No, you wouldn't understand!" She said.

"Let me try! You can trust me!" Ruby said.

.

"You're my friend right! You promise you're my friend?!" She asked.

"I promise!" She said.

"Ruby-" Penny began as she opened her palms to reveal metal.

"I'm not a real girl." Penny admitted.

"Oh." She said.

.

"Well?" Penny asked.

"Penny, I-I don't understand." Ruby asked, clearly confused.

"Most girls are born, Ruby. I wasn't... I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person who is capable of generating an aura." She said.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm what you call humans call an android." Penny said.

"Oh! That makes sense." Ruby said.

"Yeah... I'm not a real human, aren't I?" She asked.

"Of course you are!" She said as she grabbed Penny by the shoulders.

"What?" She asked.

"You think that just because you have nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?" Ruby asked.

.

"You're taking this extraordinarily well." Penny realized.

"You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul I can feel it." Ruby said.

"Oh! Ruby! You're the best friend anyone could have!" Penny yelled as she brought Ruby into a literal bone-crushing hug.

"Penny! Choking! Not breathing!" Ruby barely squeaked out.

"Sorry, I guess I just don't know my own strength." She said.

"So who... you know?" Ruby asked.

"Oh! Who built me? Well, that would be my father of course. You two should really meet, you would just love each other." Penny said.

"Really?! He built you all by himself?" Ruby asked.

"Well, almost. He had some help from Mr. Ironwood." Penny said.

"The general?" Ruby asked.

"Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?" She asked.

"They like to protect me too." Penny said.

"They don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby asked with a smirk.

"Their not sure if I'm ready yet." She said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"One day, it will be my job to save the world. But I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what the rest of the world is like and test myself in the tournament." Penny said.

"What are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said..." Penny said.

Though before Ruby could ask any further questions, they were cut off by the sound of the soldiers coming their way.

"She's over here!" They heard them say.

"You have to hide!" Penny said as she picked Ruby up.

"What are you-! Penny wait! You don't have to go with them I can help you!" Ruby said as Penny threw her in a dumpster.

"It's okay Ruby, they're not bad people. I just don't want you to get in trouble." Penny said.

"Just promise me you won't tell anyone about my secret! Not even Scarlet." She said.

"Okay, I promise." Ruby said.

"Good, other wise I would have to eliminate you." Penny said.

.

"W-what?!" Ruby asked.

"That was a joke, according to Brandon, playing with people's emotions and mind qualifies as comedy." Penny giggled.

"Yeah that does sound like Brandon." Ruby grumbled as she hid in the dumpster.

"There you are!" Ruby heard one of the officers say.

"Salutations, officer!" Penny said.

"Why were you running? What happened to the other girl?!" They asked.

"What other girl? I've been by myself this whole time!" Penny said, hiccuping once.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene." The officer said.

"Are you okay?" The other one asked.

"Just a scratch." She said, showing her scratched palms.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this." The officer said.

"Please, just come with us." The other one said.

Ruby was about to climb out of the dumpster, only for the sight of a bird to startle her.

"Gah!" She yelled.

"Topaz!" She heard Scarlet call out.

 _'Oh come on!'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"Topaz!" He called out again.

Eventually, Scarlet opened the door the the dumpster.

"There you are. Didn't take you for the dumpster diving type." He said.

"Just help me out." She said.

Scarlet nodded and grabbed Ruby's hand.

"And it's Ruby!" She yelled.

* * *

 _(My Pov)_

Jeez, I grow a slight beard and everyone loses their shit.

I mean come on, I think that I would look absolutely awesome with a beard, if I could handle a lifetime's worth of itchiness that is.

Though that feeling of stress still hasn't gone away yet.

I looked at my watch to see what time it was.

Hmm, from the looks of it, Team RWBY, Sun, and Neptune should be out by now.

Shame that I couldn't go, though I'd probably put them in more danger.

Doesn't particularly help that I basically have a bounty on my head for the Phantoms.

So if they found out I was there then HOOO boy would that be one hell of a rumble.

Though now I have nothing to do right now, nothing is wrong... that is until Murphy decides to rear his ugly head.

No one has any issues that needs to be solved... well no one that isn't already getting help that is.

Maybe I could go talk with Penny, haven't seen her in a good while.

.

Nah, then I would have to go into Vale and we all know why I can't do that, at least not right now.

I know! I can go to Tukson's! He always has new books for me to read... wait, no can't do that. He's all the way in Vacuo and the shop is all closed up.

Maybe I can read some of the books that Blake owns! I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I borrowed any book that wasn't the Ninja's of Love series.

Then again if any of the members of Team RWBY found out I was in their room then I would be dying for the second time in my life.

.

I know! Team JNPR's probably doing nothing today! Why not ask them to do something that doesn't require me to go to Vale.

And would you look at that, I just so happen to right next to JNPR's dorm room.

"Heyo JNPR! Guess who's-!" I began, only to see that the room was completely empty.

"Not doing anything with me because they aren't here. You guys are." I grumbled as I closed the door.

So we can cross JNPR off of the list of things I can do today.

Seriously! You would think a campus this big would have at least a few things to do!

Hell, not even Ozpin has anything for me to do!

Normally he at least has SOMETHING, even if it is just a colossal waste of time.

What about Neo? Now that she's in Beacon she might be more open for options.

Wait, no, she's with Roman... probably... most likely.

I shook my head and sat on the couch in the lounging area.

Damn it, why is it that whenever I don't need her, she always appears, but when I do, she's nowhere to be found?

What about Emerald... though now that she's in Beacon, she'll most likely be sticking Cinder like glue.

And I REALLY want to avoid her as much as possible so... no.

Though before I could think of anyone else, I felt someone sit next to me.

"So... bored with nothing to do?" Mercury asked me.

"Yep." I said.

"Honestly, when I came here I thought that I would have some decent fun, but all I've been since I got here is bored." He said.

"Meh, give it time." I said.

"Whatever... hey you wanna grab a bite?" Mercury asked.

"What kind of food?" I asked.

"Meat, man, gotta get meat in these bones." He said as he lifted one of my arms up.

"Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Here, I'll call em up." Mercury said.

"I don't think they allow delivery in Beacon." I said.

"Trust me, these guys will deliver ANYWHERE." He said.

"What kind of meat do ya like?" Mercury asked.

"Pork I guess." I said.

"Alright." He said as he started to mumble into the phone.

.

"Yeah." Mercury said.

"Two. Okay, thanks." He said as he hung up.

"So what now?" I asked.

"We wait." Mercury said.

"Don't we have to meet them somewhere?" I asked.

"When I say anywhere, I literally mean, ANYWHERE." Mercury said.

"Whatever." I said.

"Hey, mind if I take off my boots?" He asked.

"That depends, do you have athlete's foot?" I asked.

Mercury just slowly turned his head towards me with a deadpanned expression.

.

Wait a minute.

"My foot is made of metal." He said.

"Right... sure go for it." I said.

Mercury nodded and kicked off his boots.

"You know, I never did ask you this, but what was your life like back before Beacon?" He asked.

"Do you want the long and dramatic answer or the short and simple answer?" I asked.

"Short and simple, my boss is dramatic enough as it is." Mercury said.

"Okay, lived outside of Vale, pretty average life, dad wasn't around, don't ask about it, then shit hit the fan, everyone died except for me and here I am." I said.

"Damn." Mercury said.

"Yep... what about you?" I asked.

"Didn't I already tell you about my life?" He asked.

"You told me about your old man, how about your mom?" I asked.

Mercury sighed before answering.

"Well, back then my mom was the only one I had, all my dad did when he was still around was drink. Sometimes he'd beat me or my mom." He said.

"Guess we both have shitty old mans." I said with a chuckle.

"Weird thing to bond over but whatever." He said.

"So you left your hometown and I'm guessing that you're living here now, huh?" Mercury asked.

"That's the gist of it yeah." I said.

"Guess we might be more alike than I thought." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, both of us have at least one shitty parent, we both left our homes because we had nothing else better to do, and we're both treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us." Mercury said.

"Yeah, though it ain't so bad, at least they stick around." I said.

"Guess that's true." He said.

"Here's your food sir." A woman said with two bowls of food.

.

"W-what the-?!" I began.

"Thanks, here." Mercury said as he placed some lien into the palm of the waitress.

"How the hell-?!" I asked.

"Like I said, literally anywhere." He said as he began to eat his food.

"... WHAT?!" I asked.

"Enjoy your meal." The woman said as she walked away.

How the hell did she... you know what? I don't care, let's just... wait a minute.

This chapter has been nothing but ships, so that means that.

.

Nope.

"Like I said, they deliver anywhere and anyti-" Mercury began, only to stop himself mid sentence.

"Um... why are you all the way over there... and why are you looking at nothing?" Mercury asked.

"No reason." I said with my eyes narrowed.

* * *

3rd Person POV

As the day drew to a close to welcome the night, Yang and Sage had finally arrived at Junior's club.

Yang parked her bike in the center of the club and took of her helmet.

"Come on! My friend's right in here." Yang said.

Sage just sat there with his eyes widened and his hair in a tangled mess.

"Sorry, I didn't have any extra helmets. Normally it's just me who drives this bike." She said.

"It's fine." Sage said as he fixed his hair up.

"You took it better than my sister. After she had me drive her around Vale with my bike she wouldn't go in our dad's car for weeks." Yang said.

"Well, you learn to have a high tolerance level when you're part of Team SSSN." He said as he got off of the bike.

"So what is this place?" Sage asked.

"It's a night club." Yang said.

"Oh. So you were serious about taking me to a bar." He said.

"Yeah but this is just for information, maybe if you play your cards right we can come back here for... other reasons." Yang said.

"We'll see." Sage said as he walked into the bar.

"Oh, I love it when they play hard to get." Yang said.

Sage and Yang walked up to the front doors where the same two guards from the last time she was here were standing.

"Excuse me." Sage said.

"Yeah? What the hell... do… you... want." The guard began to threaten, but quickly stopped himself at the sheer size of Sage.

"Can we come in?" He asked.

"Uh... s-sure, right this way." He said as he opened the doors.

"Thank you." Sage said as he started to walk in.

"H-hey, we got a problem!" The other guard said.

"What is it now?!" He asked.

"Problem?" Yang asked, causing the guard on the right to freeze.

"Oh come now, let's not be rude." She said.

The guards dropped their weapons and ran inside.

"Mind explaining what that was?" Sage asked.

"I'm pretty well known here." Yang said as she entered the bar.

"That can go both ways." He said.

They walked further into the bar, though were stopped by the next set of doors.

Sage tried to pry them open, though it had little effect.

"Here, let me handle it." Yang said as she activated her gauntlets.

Yang reeled her fist backwards and fired, causing the doors to go flying open.

"Guess who's back?" Yang asked with a grin.

The only response she got was for multiple guns to be pointed at her face.

"Is this some form of welcoming?" Sage asked as he walked through the doors, causing the men to step back a bit.

"Stop! Stop! Nobody shoot!" Junior said as he walked towards Yang.

"Blondie! You're here... why?" He asked.

"You still owe me a drink." She said as she dragged Junior away.

"Excuse me." Sage said as he walked past the different men.

"So... what do you want?" He asked.

"Oh, I know you know what I want." Yang said.

Junior sighed before preparing a strawberry sunrise.

"So how do you know him?" Sage asked.

"We talked awhile back." She said.

"Define talk." He said.

"Just let me do the talking, if he starts playing hard to get, then you can step in." Yang said.

Sage nodded and stood back to let Yang talk with Junior.

"So Junior, I'll get straight to the point. Where's Roman?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Oh Junior, let's not play dumb, shall we, I know you made a little deal with him a while back." Yang said.

"What do you even want with him?" Junior asked.

"We have a little score to settle with him." She said.

"A lot of people have a score to settle with him, what makes you so different?" He asked.

"Because we're actually gonna get even, so I'll ask again. Where is he?" Yang asked.

"I don't know." Junior said.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" She asked.

"I haven't talked to him since the night he first came in here. I haven't even seen him since that night." He said.

"He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back." Junior said.

"Okay, here's a different question. Why did he want them in the first place?" Sage asked.

"... who is this guy?" Junior asked.

"Sage. Sage Ayana, now would you be so polite as to tell us why Torchwick was so eager for forces that night?" He said in a low tone.

"Look, buddy. I don't know who you are or what club Blondie here picked you up from, but you better drop the attitude or I'll-!" Junior was cut off by Sage sitting up from the chair he was sitting on, towering over him.

"Do what? Please go on, but I'll warn you. These tattoo's aren't just for show." He said, causing Junior's eyes to widen.

"O-okay, just calm down. I'll tell you what you need to know." Junior said.

 _'Wow. Normally I would have had to have a little brawl to get the information I wanted, but Sage here did it by just mentioning his tattoos_.' Yang thought to herself, clearly impressed by Sage.

"He didn't say much, he only said that he'll need all the men he can get so that his client would be satisfied with his results. Though I don't know why he would pick a group of people who would ATTACK A LIVE BOMB INDOORS!" Junior roared at his men.

"I said I was sorry!" One of the attendants said.

"His client? Didn't know Torchwick worked for anyone other than himself." Yang said.

"Neither did I. Look, I've told you what you wanted, now can you please leave before one of my men does something they'll regret!" Junior said.

"Come on, Sage. Let's go meet up with the others." Yang said.

"Did we get what we needed?" Sage asked.

"Well we got something. That's a start." She said.

"Good." He said.

"So what's up with the tattoo's? Do they have some super crazy power in them or something?" Yang asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He said with a smirk.

* * *

Soon after Yang and Sage arrived at the nightclub, Blake and Sun were almost to the designated area where the recruitment would take place.

"Jeez, who do all these recruitment have to take place in such a shady part of a town?" Sun asked.

"I mean, I get it that this sort of stuff is illegal but seriously! This is just creepy." He said.

"What do you think Blake?" Sun asked.

.

"Blake?" He called out again.

When he heard that he wasn't getting a response, he turned towards his feline partner.

Blake was just walking with her eyes closed, humming some sort of tune with a pair of earphones in her ears.

"When did she start doing that?" Sun asked.

Blake looked weird, she looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself. A look he hadn't seen on her face... ever.

"What kind of music does she even listen to?" He asked as he walked towards Blake.

"Hey!" Sun called out, breaking Blake out of her daze.

"Yes?" She asked.

"What are you listening to?" He asked.

"I don't know." Blake said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sun asked.

"It's not a song I'm familiar with." She said as she pulled out Brandon's music player.

"What's that?" He asked.

"I'm not really sure, Brandon had it in his room." Blake said.

"You... raided Brandon's room?" Sun asked.

"N-no! I'm just borrowing this. I really like the songs on here." She said.

"Does Brandon know about it?" He asked.

"That's not important." Blake said.

"Does it say what the song is called?" Sun asked.

Blake looked at the music player and sure enough, it had the name of the song and the artist.

"Hmm, Here I Go Again by Whitesnake." Blake read aloud.

"Whitesnake? Never heard of em." Sun said.

"Me neither, wonder why." She said.

"So are we close?" He asked.

"Yeah, I remember this place when I had to do recruiting." Blake said.

"And you're SURE that this is the right place?" Sun asked.

.

"You know what? I'm just gonna take your word for it." He said.

Blake nodded and handed Sun a mask, all while taking off her bow.

"I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right then why hide who you are?" Sun asked.

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." Blake said.

"Grimm masks. That's kinda dark." Sun said.

"So was the guy who started it." She snarled, walking off.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." He said as he put on the mask.

They proceeded to make their way through the crowd after they managed to get in.

"Thank you all for coming!" The White Fang member said.

"For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours." He said.

"I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long." The White Fang member said as Roman Torchwick walked onto the stage.

Everyone started to yell and scream at this unusual and slightly hypocritical ally.

"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause." Roman said.

"What's a human doing here?" A girl from within the crowd asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Deerie!" Roman said.

"Now I'll be the first to admit, humans are the WORST." He said.

"Case in point. So I understand why you would love to see us all locked away, or better yet: killed!" Roman said.

"So is he going somewhere with this or... ?" Sun asked.

"You and I all have a common enemy. The ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty rotten humans that run our kingdoms." He said.

"Government. Military. Even the schools, they're all to blame for your lot in life!" Roman said.

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with." He said.

"Fortunately for you, I'm the best exterminator there is. No offense to any rodents in the room." Roman said as the curtain was pulled, and a giant robot was revealed.

"Uh, that's a big robot." Sun said.

"How did he get it?" Blake asked.

"Now as some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest line of defense against the scary things in the world." Roman said.

"And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, hit the shelves." He said.

"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the south east." Roman said.

"If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you." He said.

"Any questions?" Roman asked.

"We should get out of here." Blake said.

"Will all new recruits please come forward!" They heard someone say.

"Welp!" Sun said as everyone moved past them.

"What are we going to do?" He asked.

"I'm thinking." Blake said.

Roman quickly glanced over to his right and glared at the duo.

"He sees us!" Sun said.

Blake's eyes eventually laid on the power box behind him.

"He can't see in the dark." She said as she pulled out Gamble Shroud and shot the power box, causing the lights to go out.

"Don't let them get away! Urgh!" Roman grunted as me made his way inside of the Paladin.

"Sun! The window!" Blake called.

"Stop 'em!" Roman yelled.

Blake and Sun ran outside of the window and onto the streets, the Paladin tailing them.

They jumped onto a series of buildings in attempts to lose the massive machine, though from the looks of it, they were having no such luck.

"So you wouldn't happen to have, oh I don't know, some form of backup?" Sun asked.

"On it!" Blake said as she pulled her scroll.

"Everyone! If you can hear me we need back up!" Blake said.

"They got a robot, and it's big, really big!" Sun panicked.

"The Torchwick guy's in it! But not like, it didn't eat him he's like, controlling it or something!" He said.

 **"Where are you guys?!"** They heard Yang ask.

"Help us!" Sun yelled.

Eventually, the duo made their way onto the highway in attempts to lose the criminal, though this would also prove to be pointless as Roman jumped onto the highway.

Blake and Sun jumped on and off of some cars, though Roman was able to quickly close the gap.

"Alright ya little brats, time to-" Roman began, for him to feel some sort of strong force land on the top of the suit.

"What the hell?!" He asked as he looked at the scouter.

To his surprise, Sage was atop of the suit with his sword unsheathed.

"How did he just get onto this thing without it noticing?" Roman asked.

"Hey! Try to slow it down!" Yang yelled.

"Got it!" Sage said as he started to repeatedly stab the top of the suit.

"Grr." Roman growled as he attempted to shake Sage off of the suit, causing multiple cars to go flying above them and towards Yang.

Yang did her best to dodge the attacks and get into position for their attack.

"Shouldn't we help him?!" Blake asked.

"Trust me, he's not gonna shake Sage off." Sun said.

To her surprise, Sage was still holding on despite the suit doing it's best to shake him off.

Though what caught her attention the most was the various glowing marks on his body.

"What's wrong with him?!" Blake asked.

"Don't worry! It's his Semblance!" Sun yelled.

"Blake! We're in position!" She heard Weiss say through her scroll.

"Don't worry, we got ya covered!" Neptune said.

Sure enough, Weiss and Neptune were standing right behind them, ready for combat.

Weiss froze the ground beneath them, causing the suit to go flying towards the ground below them.

Ruby and Scarlet were there to meet Roman with the weapons ready.

Soon after, Yang, Sage, Weiss, Neptune, Sun, and Blake were all there to meet Roman.

Roman chuckled and started to walk towards them.

"Freezerburn!" Ruby called out.

"Freezer what?" Sun asked.

"Just get out of the way!" Weiss yelled as she impaled the ground, causing it to freeze.

Yang smirked and punched the ground with a fire Dust bullet, creating a smoke screen of some sort.

Roman began to scan the area for any signs of the teens, though they were moving too fast for the scanners to pick up.

As soon as he saw any signs of life, he open fired.

Though just as he was about to continue, Ruby flew up towards the center of the tank and slashed it with Crescent Rose.

Soon after, Scarlet wrapped his rope around the legs of the suit, causing it fall to the ground.

"Neptune! Sea Monkeys!" Sun said.

Neptune nodded and prepared his trident for battle.

Sun clapped his hands together and summoned three clones of himself, to which Neptune impaled with his trident.

Instead of disappearing or shattering, the clones absorbed the electricity and turned blue.

Sun smirked and pointed at the suit to which the clones ran towards and exploded with a blue light, electric sparks emanating off of the clouds.

"Checkmate!" Ruby yelled, causing Weiss and Blake to run towards the suit and slash at its various sensors.

Roman eventually regained control and fired missiles at the two.

Weiss and Blake dodged the missiles with relative ease but Roman fired an electrical shot at Weiss.

Before Weiss could hit the ground, she summoned a time dilation glyph around Blake.

Everything around Blake started to move slower, the missiles becoming as slow as snails.

Blake started to slash at each individual missile until there was nothing left of them.

"Neptune, Scarlet! King of the Sea's!" Sun said.

Scarlet nodded and summoned a pair of bubbles with his Semblance engraved onto the bubble.

"His Semblance is a... bubble? That's kinda under-" Though before Ruby could finish, Scarlet's bubbles popped on the ground below Roman and Neptune.

Suddenly, the suit slipped onto the ground as if it slipped on ice.

"W-what?!" Ruby asked herself.

At the same time, Neptune was seen sliding on the ground as if he were ice-skating.

Neptune started to slash, stab and shoot at the suit with his trident.

Eventually, Neptune started to walk on the ground normally and the suit started to move normally.

"Ladybug!" Ruby shouted as her and Blake charged at Roman.

They started to repeatedly slash at its legs until jumping into the air and slashing one of it's guns off.

Yang jumped onto the suit and started to rapidly punch it.

Roman started to ran through the stone pillars of the highway and punched Yang through them.

"Yang!" Blake shouted.

"Don't worry, this is a good thing." Ruby said.

"She takes the damage she takes from her opponents and turns it into her own." She said.

"Yeah, but there's still a limit to what she can take." Sage said as he got into a meditation stance.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss asked.

"So you're finally going to use em, eh?" Sun asked.

"Just give me time." He said as he began to concentrate.

Suddenly, the tattoo's around him began to glow.

"We need to buy Sage some time." Sun said.

"Don't worry." Ruby said.

Roman reeled the suits fist backwards and threw it at Yang, though Yang caught it with minimal effort.

Yang reeled her fist backwards punched the suit in it's arm, causing it to shatter into pieces.

Roman kicked Yang away, though Blake quickly threw Gamble Shroud at her.

Yang caught the weapon and was thrown towards Roman.

Though before Yang could get any closer, Roman summoned a barrier to guard against the attack.

Before Yang could react, she was quickly punched away by the free arm of the suit.

"Yang!" Blake called out.

"Ow. That hurt. That REALLY freaking hurt." Yang said.

"How it going Sun?" Neptune asked.

Sun looked at Sage to see that he was still meditating.

"Not yet, Scarlet, trap him." Sun said.

"But I've never been able to make a bubble that big!" He said.

Ruby walked up to Scarlet and place a hand on his shoulder.

"You can do it!" Ruby said.

Scarlet nodded and started to run towards Roman, all while creating a bubble that grew larger and larger.

"We need to buy him some time." Ruby said.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Weiss asked.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby called.

Weiss nodded and summoned a pair of ice glyphs in front of Ruby's sniper.

Ruby began to fire a series of ice empowered rounds at the suit, causing it to slow down.

Eventually, Scarlet created the bubble and forced the suit into it.

Roman tried his best to pop the bubble, though the bubble was like a rubber surface.

"You did it!" Ruby said.

"Yeah." Scarlet said heavily.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"To create the bubbles, I need to put some of my aura in em, so creating a bubble like that REALLY drained me." He said.

"Sun?" Neptune asked.

Sun looked at Sage to see that he was looking at him with a confident look in his eyes.

"He's ready." He said.

Sage got up and started to slowly walk towards the suit, the tattoos on his body were glowing.

"What is he doing?" Weiss asked.

"Just watch." Neptune said.

As Sage stood in-front of the bubble, he removed his coat and got into some sort of stance.

"Okay, Scarlet! Release him!" Sage said.

Scarlet nodded and released Roman from the bubble.

Roman stumbled a bit before looking down onto Sage.

Sage smirked and motioned him to come towards him.

The suit reeled it's fist upwards and slammed it down onto Sage.

Though instead of seeing a crushed Sage, he just took the attack as if Roman's mech had no impact at all. As he smirked, a smirk appeared on his face, the tattoo's on his arms glowing red..

 **"Zodiac Sign: Ox."** Sage said.

Roman stumbled back a bit before regaining his balance.

 **"Zodiac Sighn: Tiger."** Sage said.

All of a sudden, the tattoos on his body began to glow orange.

He charged towards Roman and started to attack his with the ferocity of an actual tiger.

Sage roared and charged at Roman, slashing at it's legs and body bits of metal flying off.

 **"Zodiac Sign: Monkey!"** Sage said, causing his body to glow brown.

Sage rammed his fist against the front of the suit, causing it to shatter.

Roman went flying backwards, his suit getting various dirt marks on it.

"I just got this thing cleaned too." Roman grumbled.

 **"Zodiac Sign: Rooster!"** Sage said, causing the tattoo's on his body to glow red.

Sage reeled his arms backward as if they were wings and clapped them together.

As he did this, a massive wave of fire made it's way towards Roman.

Though before the fire could make contact with his body, Neo appeared and blocked the attack.

"Ladies! Men! Ice Queen." Roman said.

"Hey!" Weiss said.

"Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would." He said, causing Neo to bow.

Sage roared and sent another wave of fire towards the duo, though as the fire cleared, he could see that the two shattered into bits of glass.

Everyone looked around to see where the two went.

Though before they could continue, the sound of a Bullhead taking off interrupted them.

Roman and Neo could be seen flying away in the Bullhead.

"So I guess he got a new henchmen." Yang said.

"I guess she really made our plans... fall apart." Weiss joked.

.

"No... just no." Yang said.

Though before Weiss could argue any further, the sound of Sage roaring interrupted them.

"Uh, Sage! They're gone!" Sun said.

Sage blinked twice before the glow disappeared from his body.

"Oh… Ahem… excuse me then." He said, slightly embarrassed.

* * *

 **Aaand that's a wrap.**

 **Now before you go and grab your pitchforks and torches to complain about the whole, shipping Team SSSN with RWBY, hear me out.**

 **I wanted to give Scarlet and Sage an actual role in this story instead for them being there for comic relief.**

 **So this was one of the ways that I could have done that.**

 **I'm not flat out saying they'll get together.**

 **So calm down, put down your pitchforks.**

 **Now let's move onto the responses.**

 **Review Response  
**  
 **Fiction Fan 369: Yes, yes I did have to bring back the sea bear gag.**

 **olTran: It's an exaggeration.**

 **Bulletproof Vanguard: Cool.**

 **HaremLover: No, only one.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **Brandon: We're paying her?**

 **Author: I don't know, she just came here to clean up after the messes she made.**

 **CraazyReader: Trust me, they'll be some changes in the near future.**

 **Ragnorak16: ... *Slowly slides into a bush***

 **DragonLord501st : I NEVER said that it was time manipulation. Also just because she has a White Cloak doesn't mean that it's Summer. There could be a lot of people in Remnant with White Cloaks.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Like I said, don't go assuming that it's Summer because of ONE feature.**

 **Guest: K.**

 **Marethyu: Yes.**

 **fanficcyberman: Yeah, I sure will... sit down Jinx.**

 **TigerVolcano5000:**

 **1\. Not ONE specific person needs to wear a White Cloak!**

 **2\. You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **3\. Yeah, I'll sure 'deal' with her.**

 **4\. Nope... I never said that... EVER... probably.**

 **bwburke94: Thanks.**

* * *

Omake - Yang abuses Caliber (Non-Canon)

"Look, I already said I was sorry for what happened the other day!" Brandon said.

"And I already said that you were fine!" Yang said.

"Then why did you call me here?" He asked.

"I want to test a little something out." She said.

"Define, test." Brandon said.

"It'll be fine." Yang said.

'Wait for it.' He thought to himself.

"I just need to use Caliber for it." She said.

'There it is!' Brandon thought to himself.

"Okay, so what do you need?" He asked.

"Well, you know how my Semblance absorbs energy from the attacks I get hit by?" Yang asked.

"Yeah?" Brandon said.

"Well, who's the hardest hitting guy in the room?" She asked.

"You?" He said.

"Do I look like a guy to you?" Yang deadpanned.

"Fair point. So what do you need Caliber for?" Brandon asked.

"I want you to hit me." She said.

.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"Hit me, hit me with all you got! I want to truly test the limits of my Semblance!" Yang said.

"This seems really unsafe." Brandon said.

"Unsafe, but effective!" She said.

"I really don't think I should-" He began.

"HURT ME!" Yang yelled.

All of a sudden, Caliber appeared from Brandon's body and began its assault on Yang.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" It yelled as it punched Yang repeatedly.

"MORE! HARDER!" She yelled.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" It yelled again.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT! GIVE ME MORE!" She yelled.

"I need an adult." Brandon said.

"I AM AN ADU-" Yang began.

"No... No you are not." He said.

* * *

 **Scarlet David  
**  
 **Height: 5'11"**

 **Weight: 120 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Soft & Wet (Soft & Wet by Prince)**

 **Summary: This Semblance's primary ability is to "steal something from [an object] and take it for itself". Usually Scarlet's bubbles must make contact with his target to do this.**

 **Scarlet can steal aspects or properties of inanimate and living things. Said properties seem to also be smaller objects that comes from a bigger object. The bubbles burst also seems to create some kind of momentum.**

 **He has dubbed the stealing process as "Plundering".**

 **Ex. of what he can steal: Eyesight, friction from the ground, sound from a space, small objects**

 **Ex. of what he can't steal: Life, Aura, Semblances, blood, internal organs, limbs**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: B**

 **Sage Ayana**

 **Height: 7'1"**

 **Weight: 210 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Earth, Wind & Fire (Earth, Wind & Fire - Band)**

 **Summary: Due to intense years of mediation and a deep connection with nature, Sage has developed various zodiac spirits that give him animal-like powers. The amount of spirit's he can withhold is unknown at this moment. Though to make up for it's sheer versatility, Sage must meditate for thirty seconds without interruptions.**

 **Destructive Power: E-A**

 **Speed: E-A**

 **Endurance: E-A**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: E-B**

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **Silent Enchantment - (Neo/Brandon): 53**

 **Enchanted Jewel - (Emerald/Brandon): 42**

 **Scarlatina's Magic - (Velvet/Brandon): 31**

 **Fashionable Enchantment - (Coco/Brandon) 18**

 **Also don't forget that I have a steam group called 'Dusk's Group of Pretty Swell Dud's' (Because Dude's wouldn't fit).**

 **There I will post various idea's that could make it into the story.**

 **I can also communicate with you guys in a much easier way.**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**

 **Have a good one!**


	39. The Power of PLSM

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Sage's semblance was changed.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Power of PLSM"

Thought: _'The Power of PLSM'_

Flashback: _"The Power of PLSM"_

The days following the highway incident were quite the eventful ones, security was doubled, Ironwood called more of his elite soldiers to Vale, even stationing them in Beacon, the Atlesian knights were deployed much earlier than planned, and the Paladins were moved to the main Atlas airships where they would be put under maintenance, as well as further upgrades for the future.

Team's SSSN and RWBY didn't go unpunished though, they still caused thousands upon thousands of lien of damage to Vale's streets, as well as put many of the good citizens lives in danger. Though because of their actions, the search for Roman Torchwick was the first priority of Vale's police department and Atlas's military.

They also were able to prove that the White Fang were working with Roman Torchwick, this caused the Atlas military to search for the Vale branch of the White Fang so that they could bring them in for questioning.

Though they still had to make up for the damage they caused and the lives they put at risk. Team RWBY was in charge of planning the dance that was to happen next week, as well as clean up the mess that was made afterwards.

Team SSSN was in charge of rebuilding the damaged highway with the repair crew that was stationed there, considering they were the strongest set of men that were available in Beacon at the moment, this would benefit them greatly.

Though Team's RWBY and SSSN weren't the only one's who had their own set of problems at the moment, Brandon was dealing with a very common enemy that he had been dealing with throughout the event of Vol 2.

Boredom.

Every problem he could have thought of that happened in Vol 2 was already going to be taken care of by Team's RWBY, SSSN, and even Team JNPR to an extent. He had already asked if he could help with the dance but the members of Team RWBY already said that they had it taken care of, they even had a DJ ready on the spot.

He would ask the members of Team SSSN if they wanted help with repairing the highway, but physical labor wasn't exactly something he was a fan of so he scratched that off of the list.

Not to mention he couldn't probably couldn't go into Vale without running into one of the various assassins that were stationed all across Vale, so even if he had helped, he most likely would have caused more damage than repairing the damage that was already done.

Looking for clues of Osvaldo's whereabouts was out of the question as well, Team CFVY just HAD to go on a mission that week and if it followed the canon events, they wouldn't be back for another week.

So he had to take matters in his own hands and look for the assassin himself, without getting caught by the other assassins of course. It was in his best interest to avoid them at all costs, not to say that he couldn't handle them if he happened to run into them, he just didn't want to raise the already large bounty he had on his head.

So he had quite the eventful week ahead of him because knowing his luck he would run into one of them, and if the universe REALLY wanted to fuck with him, then he'd run into all of them.

.

That was a joke, please don't actually do that.

Though before he could, an afternoon nap in the park in the commercial district of Vale was in order. Though he wasn't the only one who was trying to fight their boredom, a group of teenagers were heading towards the park in hopes to catch the famous river monster that laid in the lake of the park.

"Are you sure this thing is even real?" Two boys with sandy hair asked as they carried various boxes, chairs, and other equipment.

The boys in question were 6'4 foot tall teenager's with yellow hair, their eyes being the same color as their hair, and slightly tanned skin. They wore a orange scarf around their necks, a cream colored shirt with a black undershirt, as well as a pair of brown shorts.

They wore a silver shoulder pad on their left shoulder, a pair of wrist guards that lead to their elbows and stopped at their wrists. They also wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of armored boots similar to the color of the rest of their armor. They also wore a brown belt that had two pouches on the back of it.

The names of these boys were Linen Elzaphane and Linen Elzaphane.

.

Though to avoid confusion they call the original Linen Prime, and the clone Linen Copy.

"Of course it's real Linen! I've lived in Vale for as long as I could remember and fished in its various lakes! If anyone's gonna catch this thing, it's me!" The girl with blue hair replied confidently.

The girl in question was a 5'8 foot tall teenager with long blue hair that was wrapped into a pony tail with a red hair band. Her eyes were light green and her skin was slightly more tanned than Linen.

She wore a blue and white vest with a gray dress shirt that had a black undershirt under it. She wore a fingerless glove on her left arm that reached all the way to her upper arm.

She had a blue skirt with a red and white sash attached to black belt that helped keep her skirt up, she had black leggings and a pair of blue lace less shoes.

This ocean-themed girl was Perseis Corsair.

"Honestly I don't understand why you would want to catch something called a river monster. I mean I know it's our job to hunt and kill monsters but still, we shouldn't go out of our way to look for them." The boy with orange hair said.

The boy in question was a 6'0 foot tall teenager with orange hair and red eyes with skin similar to that of Perseis. He wore a red short-sleeved dress jacket with orange collars on the end of the sleeves. Underneath his jacket was a orange collared shirt and a black neck wrap with a red dot in the middle.

On his right wrist was a black wrist guard which was held by an orange strap, and his left wrist was wrapped in bandages.

He wore black jeans which were held up by an red belt, he also wore a pair of gray laceless shoes.

This well dressed teenager was Marco Ardente.

"I just want to know why Marco isn't carrying some of our cargo. I mean he isn't really doing anything." The green-haired deer Faunus asked as she carried the various boxes.

The last member of the group was a 4'9 foot tall muscular girl with a pair of antlers atop her short green hair. The short Faunus girl had purple eyes and pale skin with various freckles on her arms and face.

She wore a black shirt that was tied around her neck as well as a green waist cincher with black lacing up front, a armored chest pad, and a green waist cape that had various patterns on it.

She wore black jeans, armored leg pads that reached up to her knees, and brown slip-on shoes.

This deer Faunus was named Willow Sciathe.

"Well if it's too much for your little muscles to handle then I can loosen your load." Marco said, putting emphasis on little.

"Okay." Willow said as she dumped all of the supplies into Marco's arms.

"I was kidding!" He said.

"Sorry, I can't hear you. You're just so tall." She said said with a mischievous grin.

Marco grumbled as he struggled to walk on the sidewalk that lead to the river.

"Here, let me help you." Linen said as he picked up some of cargo he had in his arms.

"Thanks Linen... wait, which one are you?" Marco asked.

"Come on Marco, can't you tell the difference yet? I'm Linen copy, the one up ahead is Linen Prime." Linen Copy said.

"How can anyone tell the difference?! You both look and sound identical!" He said.

"We do?" Linen Copy asked.

"Yes! You sound exactly the same! Also how am I supposed to notice the difference in the two smallest things on you body?!" Marco asked.

"Come on you two! The river monster only appears during this time of the year when the temperature of the water is just right! If we don't hurry we're going to miss it!" Perseis said enthusiastically.

"Coming!" Linen Copy said before running towards the lake.

"So what's so special about this Grimm anyway?" Willow asked.

"It's not a Grimm, it's just a regular fish. Though if you really want to know, it's supposed to be the biggest fish in all of Remnant, the only fish who can survive in the oceans that divide the kingdoms!" Perseis said.

"Aren't Vacuo and Vale on the same continent?" Marco asked.

"That's not the point. The point is that this fish has been the dream and goal of all known fishers in Remnant! It's one of the most oldest and most exotic fishes out there!" She said.

"Good, I bet it'll taste wonderfully with tartar sauce." Willow said as she began to sharpen a pair of kitchen knifes.

"You do know that we're not eating it, right?" Perseis asked.

.

"Yeah!" Everyone said nervously.

"Then what's with the barbecue?... and the spices... and the plates?" She asked.

Willow, Linen, and Marco looked at each other trying to come up with an explanation.

"Afternoon team barbecue?" Linen said.

"Oh! Okay! What'cha making?" Perseis asked.

"Hamburgers." Willow began.

"Willow, how many times to I have to tell you? You can't eat your anger away." Perseis said.

"Watch me." She said.

"Well, make mine with extra cheese and leave it next to me. I'll be busy for a while." She said as she pulled out her fishing rod, wrapped her special bait around the hook and threw it into the water.

 _'This is it. This will be the day I finally catch the river monster! I can see it now, I'll be crowned the Fishing Queen and be awarded the Golden Rod!'_ Perseis thought to herself.

"Hey, Perseis." Marco called.

"Hmm?" She hummed, her eyes not leaving the water.

"How big is this fish anyway?" He asked.

"Hmm... hey, L.C, stand on top L.P." Perseis said.

"Who?" Marco asked.

"Linen Copy, L.C, Linen Prime, L.P?" Perseis said.

"Oh... guess that makes sense." He said.

"Okay, got it." Linen called.

"So... what was the point of all this?" Marco asked.

"I could have told you what it's actual size was, but I thought it would be best to show you." She said.

.

"Wait, THAT'S how big it is?" Marco asked, pointing to the Linen tower that was struggling to keep together.

"I think it's bigger." Perseis said.

"Bigger?!" He said, startling Linen Copy, causing him to lose his balance and fall towards the ground, landing on Linen Prime.

"Gah!" Both Linens yelled as they hit the ground, Linen Copy shattering upon impact.

"Ow." Linen said.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. I'm sure Willow can carry it all the way towards the harbor." Perseis said.

"I can do what now?!" Willow asked.

"Can't talk, fishing." She said as she threw the line into the water.

"Hey Lin, you okay?" Willow asked.

"I think so." Linen said as he dusted himself off.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger barbecue." Marco said.

"Yeah." Linen said.

"We have burgers?" Marco asked.

"I thought you said we were making them!" Willow said.

"That was just an excuse we made up! We don't actually have them!" He said.

"Well if we don't get them, then Perseis is gonna think we were gonna cook one of the most exotic fish on the planet!" She said.

"What do you want me to do about it?! Do you see any cows here?!" Marco asked.

"Trust me, if there were they would have already been hamburgers." Willow said darkly.

"Guys! Guys! Calm down! We can just as easily get some hamburger patties from the convenience store across the street." Linen said.

"Alright, but who's gonna pay for it?" Marco asked.

.

"Not it!" Both Marco and Linen said in unison.

"I hate you both." Willow said as she walked across the street.

Perseis on the other hand was still waiting patiently for her prize to arrive, this was the moment she had been waiting for all her life.

 _'Wonder what's taking so long?'_ Perseis wondered as she was curious why she wasn't smelling or hearing the sound or smell of cooking beef.

"What's taken you guys so long?" She asked.

"Oh! Well you know, Willow, always forgetting the important things. She forgot to get the- uh... " Marco began with a nervous grin.

"Buns!" Linen said.

"But they're right there." She said as she pointed towards the buns.

"Doesn't hurt to have more." Marco said.

As Perseis nodded she could feel a tug on her fishing rod, signaling her that a fish was biting on the bait.

"I got a bite!" She said enthusiastically.

She slowly started to reel in her supposed prize, making sure not to startle the fish as it slowly made it's way to the surface.

When she knew she could reel it in, she jerked the fishing rod upwards causing the fish to be pulled to the surface.

"I got... a bass." Perseis said in a tone of disappointment.

"Throw it here! We'll cook it." Marco said.

"What?! No! I will not let you cook a perfectly harmless fish!" Perseis said.

"Your loss." He said.

"It's okay, they don't understand your kind like I do." She said as she threw the bass back into the lake.

As Marco and Linen fired up the grill, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming towards us.

"Hey, Willow! Did you get the-" Marco didn't have time to finish as Willow threw one of the patties at his face.

"Yes, now get grilling." She said as she walked over to Perseis.

"So how goes the fishing?" Willow asked.

"Terrible. All I've caught is a simple sea bass." She said.

"Oh, okay then." Willow said.

"So where were you?" Perseis asked.

"I was uh... " Willow began as she turned her head around to see that Linen was shaking a bag of buns.

"Picking stuff up for the barbecue." She said.

"Hmm." Perseis hummed.

"So what's so special about this fish again?" Willow asked.

"Well, it's one of the only fishes in the world to have completely golden scales that shine in the sun!" Perseis said.

"Suddenly that fish doesn't sound too appetizing." She said as she thought about biting into solid gold.

"That's why I didn't want to cook it! There's a reason why no restaurant owners want to serve this thing in their restaurants, it would break the customer's teeth." Perseis said.

"So what's the reward for catching this thing?" Willow asked.

"Well, the person to catch this fish first is awarded the title of Fishing Queen, or King depending on the gender, as well as the Golden Rod!" She said.

"So you get a title and a fishing rod you can't even use?" Willow asked.

"It's more of a trophy really." Perseis said.

"Still, you'd think they'd give you something you can actually use." She said.

"Did I mention that the reward for catching this fish is ten million lien?" Perseis said, causing everyone to freeze in place.

.

"Ten. Million. Lien?" Willow asked slowly.

"Peaked your interest now?" She asked.

"Wow, that's a lot of zeros." Linen said.

Though before she could respond any further, Perseis felt a bite coming from the other end of the line.

"I got another bite!" She yelled.

"Is it the river monster?!" Marco asked.

"I don't know?! But it's putting up a fight!" Perseis said as she struggled to reel the massive beast in.

"I gotcha!" Willow said as she grabbed Perseis' fishing rod.

Though the fish wasn't about to give up yet, it started to drag both Perseis and Willow into the river.

"A little help?!" Perseis requested.

Marco nodded and grabbed the fishing rod as well.

Linen summoned Linen Copy and both of them grabbed the fishing rod.

Though despite their combined efforts, they were still being dragged into the river.

"How strong is this thing?!" Willow asked.

"Just pull!" Perseis said.

They doubled their efforts and began to pull harder.

"I think I can see the fish!" Linen Prime said.

"It looks weird." Willow said, seeing as the fish started to look very human like.

"You sure this is the fish?" Marco asked.

"Well I've never seen it so we'll know based off of it's golden scales!" Perseis said.

The fish began to reach the surface, a golden mark was visible in the water.

"Gold! I see gold!" She said.

"Let's reel it in boys... and Willow!" Perseis said.

Everyone put all of their strength into pulling the fish to the surface and sure enough, the fish emerged from the surface and they all fell back towards the ground.

 _'I did it! I finally did it! My life goal is finally complete! Golden Rod! Here I c-'_ Perseis began, only to be cut off by Willow.

"Uh, Willow? I don't think this is the fish." She said as she looked down at the fish.

"What?! But I saw gold, how could it not be the fish?!" She said.

"Well for one, only one part of his body is gold... and it's not really apart of his body." Marco said.

"And he's not a fish." Willow said.

.

"Say what?!" Perseis asked as she ran over to see what exactly she reeled in.

Or to be more specific, who exactly she reeled in.

"Uh, hey... you okay?" Linen asked.

The boy opened his eyes and looked at each individual person that stood atop of him.

"I want to know what dragged me halfway across the river, and I want to know now." He said.

Willow, Marco, Linen Prime, and Linen Copy all pointed at Perseis.

"What the-?! Thanks guys!" Perseis said sarcastically.

The boy stood up and looked at Perseis with a very angry look in his eyes.

"Eh heh heh. You're not angry, are you?" She asked.

"I don't know! Would you be angry at the person who hooked you by the hood while you were taking a perfectly peaceful nap, dragged them all the way across the river, and then threw them to the ground?!" He yelled.

"Uh..." Perseis began.

"The answer is yes!" He yelled.

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were a fish!" She said.

"Oh, then that makes it all okay!" He said sarcastically.

"Really?! I'm so happy! Here I thought you would be super mad at me but you're actually quite understanding and-" Perseis began, only to stop at the sight of the boy's deadpanned look.

"You were being sarcastic, weren't you?" She asked.

He slowly nodded and ringed out his hoodie.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a shower... and clean out my clothes." He said as he threw a fish that was in his pocket into the water.

"I promise I'll make it up to you!" Perseis said.

"And he's gone." She said.

All of a sudden, a loud beeping noise came from within Perseis pocket.

"What's with the alarm?" Marco asked.

"That's the alarm that tells me that the fish has made it's way back to the ocean." She said.

.

Marco just pinched the brim of his nose and sighed.

"Well... we caught SOMETHING." He said.

"Aw man." Linen said.

"Dang, and I was hoping to get some new upgrades." Willow said.

"Let's just head back to Beacon and-" Marco began, though he cut himself off as he saw Perseis start to walk in the direction of the boy they had reeled in.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Marco asked.

"Where do you think?! I'm going to make it up to him!" She said as she continued to walk.

"Well, I guess it's just the three of us, right guys?" Marco asked.

.

"Guys?" He asked.

He turned around to see that Linen and Willow were already running towards Perseis.

"One normal day. Why can't Team PLSM just have ONE normal day?!" Marco asked as he ran after his teammates.

* * *

 **(My POV)**

Well then, so much for my afternoon nap. Seriously, how do you accidentally fish up a person from all across the lake?! You'd think after you saw that it didn't exactly look like a person you would stop reeling the damn fish in!

Now that I think about it, she would have had to throw that line all across the lake. Damn, either that girl's got one hell of an arm, or that was one big fishing line.

Well, so much for relaxing a bit before I go and search for a killer who almost killed my friend and I a month back.

Though, if what Blake said was true, than that Naomi chick probably already changed the way he looks, as well as how his semblance works.

So I'll basically be fighting a completely different person, so more than likely I can't use the same strategies as before.

My life is just one giant middle finger, isn't it?

Though were would I even start? The restaurant that Osvaldo opened up had already been shut down, and the workers were taken in for questioning.

I can't do anything overly flashy without drawing attention to myself, and right now that's the last thing I want to do.

Though if I don't draw attention to myself then I won't be able to locate the other members of the Phantoms.

So it's either run around in circles trying to find one of them, or draw so much attention to myself that they all come for my head.

.

I'll go with the first option, considering that I really like living at the moment. I already died once, let's not make it a second time. I don't really want to be the first known person to die twice in their lifetime.

"Excuse me! Number 785?" I heard my number get called, signalling that my jacket was out from the dry cleaners.

"That's me." I said as I slammed a handful of lien on the ground.

"Thank you for the time sir. I must admit, this is quite the unusual fabric. I've never seen anything like it in my time in dry cleaning." The dry cleaner said.

"Well I'm not exactly from around here, and this fabric is pretty common from where I come from." I said.

"Really now? Would you mind telling where you come from then? I would love to put this fabric in some of my designs." She said.

Yeah, if I tell you where I come from then I won't be allowed to come back here because you'll all think I'm crazy.

I reached into my pocket and played my ringtone to make it seem like I had an important call.

"Oh, I'm sorry I need to take this, but I promise to tell you later. Hello? Ma? Ma, I'm sorry I was at the dry cleaners, I'll be there in a few minutes!" I said as I walked out of the building.

When I knew for sure that she couldn't see me, I put my scroll into my pocket and began to walk down the streets of Vale.

Well then, time to look for a band of potential killers.

So if I were a member of the White Fang then where would I hide?

Well more than likely, they would be in their main base of operation but I'm not exactly too keen on storming the base without my sword or gun so... let's not do that.

So Osvaldo seemed like an ordinary person to the naked eye, hell you couldn't even tell if he was a Faunus or not.

More than likely they'll appear like ordinary civilians to the public, so finding them is gonna be even harder than I thought.

Maybe I could lure them out somehow.

No, that's not gonna work, their not stupid enough to make a public attack like that, at least not all of them at once.

So... any ideas, brain?

Though before I could think of anything else that might help me with my little investigation, I spotted a large crowd in front of a CD store.

People still use CD's here? Huh, guess you learn something new every day.

I walked up to a woman in the crowd and cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Hmm? Yes, what is it?" She asked.

"Well, I was wondering what all the commotion is about." I said.

"You haven't heard?" She asked as she looked at me as if I had two heads.

"If I did then why would I be asking?" I asked.

"Fair point. The famous music artist Jeff Williams had just come out with a new album! Everyone has been waiting for it for months." She said.

Huh, so Jeff Williams is a person here to. Guess it's fitting, seeing that he's wrote more than half of the songs in the series.

"Oh! I think the doors are opening!" The girl said as she ran inside of the store.

Huh, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go in and browse around the store for a little while.

The store was packed to the brim with various people and Faunus, all of which were at the counter purchasing CDs, downloads, or tapes.

Though the tapes and disks were much smaller than the one's back on earth, some of them you could fit in between your fingers.

"Jeez, why couldn't they have these back on Earth? Would actually encourage people to get off of their asses and purchase these things." I said as I picked up the various C.D's and tapes.

There were some familiar songs on the shelves. This Will Be The Day, Red Like Roses, Gold, etc. Though there were a couple of songs that I didn't really seem to recognize.

"Hmm, these must be from the Vol four soundtrack... well don't mind if I do." I said as I picked up the CDs.

If there's one thing I like more than a good story, it's a good soundtrack.

"Hmm, Let's Just Live. I think that was the opening that played at the end of episode one, though I could be wrong." I said as I picked up another C.D.

"Like Morning Follows Night... Well that's totally not gonna piss of a group of people who take a certain part of the show a bit too seriously." I said as I looked up into space.

"Yes, I'm talking to you." I said.

The woman next to me looked at me with a weird look and walked away from me.

"Okay, let's see what's next. Bad Luck Charm... I don't get it." I said.

Bad Luck Charm? I can't really think of anyone who would fit that description.

"This Life is Mine... Is this just Mirror Mirror part 3? Jeez, sooner or later there's gonna be at least ten parts to that song." I said.

"Home... is this another song like Cold? If so then I can already see the waterworks coming." I said.

"Armed and Ready... Okay, now that's just fucked up." I said in between laughs.

"Lusus Naturae... wait, wasn't that already out?" I asked.

"Boop (Acoustic)... well I know what I'm requesting at the dance." I said.

"Then we just got a couple of remixes." I said in an uninterested tone.

"Hmm, what's this one?" I asked as I picked up the C.D.

.

"Okay, now they're taunting us at this point. I mean, Bmblb? Jeez sooner or later there's gonna be a song called Ice Flower. I know they'll purposely not use Whiterose because they just love pissing off shippers with their songs." I said as I pulled out my music player to see if I could download the songs.

When I placed it in the terminal, the words 'Declined' were displayed on the screen.

Nope, didn't think so.

Though before I could continue to browse the collection, I felt someone tap my shoulder.

"Um, excuse me?" I heard a female voice ask.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning around to face her.

The girl in question wore a leather jacket with various music related pins attached to it, a shirt with a guitar attached to it, a pair of blue jeans with a pouch attached to the side of the brown belt she was wearing.

She had pale skin and grey eyes, though I couldn't really make out what her hair color was due to the bandanna wrapped around her head. She also wore a pair of brown boots and knee pads.

"What is that device you have there?" She asked.

"It's a music player." I said.

"Really? I've never seen a music player like that one? It's so small." She said.

Trust me, not a lot of people use 'em back home either.

"Can I see it?" She asked.

"Sure?" I said, slightly confused as to why.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm trying to become a music artist myself, and I'm looking for as much inspiration as possible." She said.

"Yeah, but I'll have to warn ya. The songs I own aren't really songs you would call common." I said.

She looked at me with a confused look before shrugging and hitting the play button.

I turned back to the shelves and continued to browse the shelves.

Over time, I could hear the girl behind me starting to hum the tune to the songs.

From the way she was humming, it sounds like she's listening to Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"Wow! These are such unique songs! I've never heard anything like them!" She said.

"Yeah, it's songs that my ma grew up with. So I got attached to the songs." I said.

"Hey! What's your name?" She asked.

"Brandon. Brandon Kim." I said as I held out my hand.

The girl smiled and gripped my hand.

"The names Aria Symphonia." She said.

Aria, kinda fitting for a musician.

"Hey, would you mind if I showed you some of my songs? I've been working really hard on them." She said.

"Well... " I began.

She began to look at me with a plea of hope in her eyes.

Gah, I can't say no to a look like that.

"Alright, but make it quick. I'm a busy man you know." I said.

"Thank you so much! I promise it will only take a second." She said as she started to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked.

"To the roof! It's where my set is." Aria said.

"Why is your set on the roof?" I asked.

"Well it would be weird if I had my set somewhere that wasn't my house." She said.

.

"Wait, you LIVE here?!" I asked.

"Well I'm the owner so it only makes sense, right?" Aria asked.

"What owner lives in their own store?!" I asked.

"I do! Now hurry up." She said as she started to pull me towards a door in the back.

"Alright! Quit pulling!" I said.

We continued to walk up various flights of stairs until we eventually reached the top of the building.

Various sets of instruments, stands, and microphones were set all across the roof. It sort looked like a band stadium.

Aria went up to her guitar and put the strap around her.

"I just want you to thank you for taking time out of your day to listen to my song." She said.

"Yeah... so you gonna play or what?" I asked.

Aria nodded and began to play.

 _"My essentials are about to be robbed"_

 _"The devil slipping in and out through our days"_

 _"My peaceful times already crumbling"_

 _"Feeling detached and unconcerned"_

 _"Stolen from my grasp before I noticed"_

 _"If you want it back go get it now's your chance"_

 _"Just as sharp as the arrow piercing through your soul"_

 _"As our heart start to collide it's dazzling"_

 _"No matter where I'll chase you"_

 _"I'll always CHASE You"_

 _"I know I'll chase you there's no escape now"_

 _"So try to run I'll chase you"_

 _"Tomorrow chase you"_

 _"I'm gonna run into you hastily!"_

 _"What's between defeat and victory"_

 _"Determination,is why "_

 _"I'll chase you!"_

 _"Just as sharp as the arrow piercing through your soul"_

 _"As our hearts start to collide it's dazzling"_

 _"No matter where I'll chase you"_

 _"I'll always CHASE You"_

 _"I know I'll chase you there's no escape now"_

 _"So try to run I'll chase you"_

 _"Tomorrow chase you"_

 _"I'm gonna run into you hastily!"_

 _"Cha- cha- chase you x3"_

 _"I can see it in my dreams"_

 _"Cha- cha- chase you x2"_

 _"And I won't wake up, not just yet"_

 _"What's between defeat and victory"_

 _"Determination, is why"_

 _"I'll chase you!"_

Aria breathed heavily as she finished her song.

"Wow... that was pretty good." I said.

"Thank you, it's about two people I know." She said.

"Really? Who?" I asked.

"It's about a song of chase on both sides, both having their lives ripped from their grasps. Each side has their reason to give chase to the other." She said. "One side wants to seal the wound on their wounded pride, while the other wants to finish what someone could not." Aria said.

"But what's the real reason? It's clouded by their own desires of revenge and justice." She said.

Wait, this sounds familiar.

"Though they never knew that the people they were looking for were right under their noses the whole time." She said as she put down her guitar.

"But that's enough for our little lesson. How about I tell you the real reason why I've brought you here?" Aria said.

"We don't exactly appreciate everything you've done to our friends. To our family." She said.

"So... White Fang I'm assuming?" I asked.

"If it wasn't obvious enough, I am... wait what?" She asked, slightly taken back.

"Come on, who else wants my head on a platter besides you?" I asked.

.

"I thought the build-up would have been cool." She said with a pout.

"Meh, six out of ten." I said.

"Whatever, I think that's enough chit-chat." She said as she pulled out a disk from her pouch.

All of a sudden, she dug the disk into her skull, though instead of blood pouring out, the disk slid inside of her head and the hole in her head closed.

"Okay, that's just creepy." I said.

"Let the music play." She said with a snap.

All of a sudden, the bandanna on Aria's head began to glow a dark blue and her shoes began to glow with the same blue patterns.

Aria charged towards me... well slid towards me as if she were sliding on ice.

I summoned Caliber in preparation to intercept.

"So that's Caliber, eh?" She asked.

Caliber charged towards Aria with its fist reeled backwards.

It threw its fist towards Aria's body, but she was able to move out of the way at the last second.

Before Caliber could continue however, Aria dived into the ground and disappeared from sight.

"W-what the hell?!" I yelled as I frantically looked around.

Before I could react though, Aria appeared from below the ground, one of her hands were glowing with a white aura, though the aura was emanating a pixel-like aura.

Though before she could make contact with me, Caliber appeared in front of her and began to throw various punches at her.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as it punched Aria.

Though what I wasn't expecting was Caliber's fist to go right through her.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted, though it's fists kept going through Aria.

She grunted as she moved backwards and hit the ground with an audible thud.

Okay, so how do you fight a girl you can't even touch?

I looked around frantically for anything that might put me at the advantage.

Though first things first, let's try to see if we can figure out what she can do exactly.

The disk in her head did something to her, and from the looks of it she was able to make herself seem ghost-like.

So if I had to take a wild guess then I'd assume that she's able to go through solid matter.

Great, so Caliber punching her to an absolute pulp is put of the question.

Though as I continued to dodge Aria's attacks, I noticed that there were various speakers around the area.

I smirked and ran right through Aria and slid towards the guitar.

"Hey! You let go of that!" She yelled as she started to run towards me.

I may not be able touch her, but she's still able to hear me.

And if she's a Faunus than that means she's pretty sensitive to loud pitched noises.

I turned the Volume on the speaker and had Caliber grab the guitar.

"What the hell is he-?" She didn't have time to finish as Caliber began to rapidly play the guitar, the sound echoing through the air.

Aria gasped and gripped her ears, the sound echoing through her sensitive ears.

Caliber rushed towards Aria and gripped the guitar like a weapon of some sort.

 **"ORA!"** It shouted as it hit Aria over the head with the guitar before hitting her away.

"Jeez, what's that guitar made of?" I asked myself.

Aria struggled to get up, the disk in her head sliding out of her head and landing on the ground.

She growled and grabbed another disk from her pouch and dug it into her head.

What the hell is up with those disks?

Aria slowly got up and charged towards me with a confident look in her eyes.

I chuckled and had Caliber throw another punching barrage at her.

Though she quickly removed the headband from her head and held it up like a shield.

All of a sudden, sparks started to emanate from the piece of cloth and as Caliber touched it, sparks flew up it's body.

As soon as the cloth made contact with Caliber's fist, I could feel a strong pain in my arm.

Aria ran towards me with both of her hands glowing with the same white pixel like aura as before.

Caliber tried to move towards me, but the piece of electric cloth was was stopping him from even moving.

Seriously?! You're able to fight a giant ass assassin, a scientist, a ninja, and even a girl that's may as well be a super saiyan, and THIS is what you can't handle?!

Aria grabbed me by the head and her eyes turned white.

Suddenly, Caliber started to move towards me as if it was being sucked back.

Though instead going back into me, it went inside of a disk that Aria had in her hand.

.

Oh, so she can steal other people's semblances... oh that's not good. That's really not good if the White Fang now have one of the twelve weapon spirits.

Though before I could grab the disk, I could feel my consciousness slowly fade away.

"This is Aria. I got the spirit." She said.

As she said that, I hit the ground with an audible thud, my vision going black.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

"You sure you saw him go in here?" Linen asked as the rest of Team PLSM walked around the store.

"Yeah! I saw him come in here when he came out of the dry cleaners." She said.

"A lot of people came in here! How can you tell if ONE person came into the building?" Marco asked.

"I'm a fisher! I have to look in muddy waters for fish all the time!" Perseis said.

"I don't understand why this is so important to you." Willow said.

"Well, were YOU happy when I accidentally reeled you in?" She asked.

"Not particularly." She said.

"And what did I do to make it up to you?" Perseis asked.

"I don't know, you've yet to do it." Willow said.

"That's not the point. The point is that I want to know what I CAN do to make it up to him." She said.

"I can name a few things you can do." Marco said.

Willow walked up to Marco and elbowed him in the gut.

"Ow! Hey! She wanted suggestions!" He said.

"Not from your unholy mind." She said.

"What are you two talking about?" Perseis asked.

"How we're gonna cleanse Marco's scroll with holy water when we get home." Willow said.

.

"Oh!... Ew." She said.

"You wanted suggestions!" Marco said.

"Not suggestions like those." Perseis said.

"How about an I'm sorry card?" Linen asked.

"Anyone can do that, I want him to know that I'm truly sorry." She said.

"Two I'm sorry cards?" He suggested.

"No." Perseis said.

"Food?" Willow asked.

"That's what YOU want, Willow." She said.

"A date?" Marco asked.

"After what I just did? I doubt he would want to." Perseis said.

"Well it's better than what these two suggested." Marco said.

"Hey!" Willow and Linen said.

"Maybe, I mean with my good looks, who knows? He might find me irresistible." She said as she flipped her hair.

 _'Glad to see she's just as humble as ever.'_ Marco thought to himself.

"Though first things first, we need to find him." Perseis said as she began to look around the store.

"Jeff Williams just HAD to release his newest album today." Marco said.

They kept searching for a good few minutes, though the members of Team PLSM weren't finding anything that lead to the location of Brandon.

"Any luck?" Marco asked.

"No. It's like he just disappeared off of the face of the planet." Willow said.

"No, people don't just disappear. He's somewhere, and he couldn't have gone too far without any of us noticing him." He said.

"Then where did he go?" Linen asked.

"Hmm..." Marco closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Let's look for any alternative routes or exits. With any luck he would have taken one of those." He said.

"Okay team! Search the area for-" Though before she could finish, a ear splitting noise filled the room, shattering the windows of the building.

"Ow! Jeez, now I know how my grandpa felt when I had my music too loud!" Perseis said.

"Hey, you okay Willow?" Linen asked.

"What?" She asked.

.

"I said! Are you alright!" He said in a louder tone.

"Okay, the ringing stopped. Yeah, I'm fine now." She said.

"So... you think he's up there?" Linen asked.

"It's worth a try I guess." Marco said as he looked around to find the entrance to the stairs.

"Okay, I found the stairs. Let's go so Perseis can get her stupid date." He said.

"Hey! It was YOUR suggestion." She said as she and the rest of Team PLSM followed Marco up the flights of stairs.

Though as they made their way up, the could hear what the faint sound of metal being thrown around on the roof.

"Jeez, maybe someone already beat you to the punch Perseis." Marco said.

"I wonder how many times I'll have to push you down these stairs before your aura shatters?" Perseis asked herself, causing Marco to go silent.

"Shame, I really wanted to find out." She said.

"Jeez, wonder what all the ruckus is about?" Linen asked.

"Well, only one way to find o-" Marco began as he opened the door to the roof.

Though what they saw only had them in mixtures of shock, horror, and anger.

Aria was dragging around a very limp Brandon who had two disk like holes in his head, his eyes not blinking and the color faded.

When Aria heard the door open, she spun her head towards it in preparation for a fight.

Though she quickly stopped as she saw just how many people there were.

"What the fu-?!" Marco began.

"What? You have your hobbies, and I have mine." She said.

"Killing people?!" Linen asked.

"Yeah... bye!" She said as she threw the body over the edge and jumped off.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Willow asked as she ran over to Aria.

Though as she looked over the edge, she could see that Aria plopped Brandon on the back of her motorcycle and drove away from her store.

"Hey! Get back here, you bitch!" Marco yelled.

"Language!" Perseis said.

"Really?! NOW you want to start this?!" He asked.

"What?! Swearing is rude!" She said.

"G-guys... he just died." Linen said.

As Linen said those words, the reality of their situation settled into their minds.

"W-wow... you're right." Perseis said.

"Damn." Willow said.

"Hold on guys, let's not jump the gun here." Marcio said.

"He had two holes in his head! How can you draw any other conclusion?!" She asked.

"If you would listen I would explain it." Marco said.

Eventually he was able to calm everyone down. He took a deep breath and proceeded to explain his reasoning for thinking Brandon wasn't dead.

"Okay so hear me out. I don't think that kid was dead, I've seen stunts like this pulled a lot from where I'm from. The capture just needs to make it look like they killed their target was dead, that way no one would try and follow them." He said.

"But the holes-" Linen began.

"There are a lot of semblances in our world, all of them having various effects on their target. There's a possibility that those disks that bi-" Marco began, only to be stopped by Perseis glare.

"Woman was holding had something to do with the holes. Another thing, why exactly would she take the body?" He asked.

"So that she couldn't get caught." Willow said.

"No, if you don't want to get caught you either A: destroy the body, or B: Hide the body somewhere." Marco said.

"You don't just take bodies... not unless you have THOSE kinds of needs. But that's not the point, my point is, she wanted that guy for one reason or another and from what we heard, that guy was able to put up one hell of a fight." He said.

"So he's still alive?" Perseis asked.

"I'm pulling straws really, though it's the best bet we got right now." Marco said.

Perseis shook her head and slapped her hands against her cheeks.

"Okay Team PLSM! Let's go save that kid and repay my debut! If he's dead then we'll make sure that criminal is brought to justice!" Perseis said.

"Finally! We get to fight bad guys!" Willow said as she slammed her knuckle into her palm.

"Don't worry, random person we met at the lake, we're gonna bring that jackass to justice." Linen said.

"Language!" Perseis said.

"Oh!... Sorry." He said.

"Not exactly the normal life I was looking for in Vale but hey, whatever works." Marco said.

"Alright! Mission one! Stop the murderer while potentially saving the life of a not-so-innocent civilian go!" Perseis yelled as she ran out of the door.

.

Only to run back in with a sheepish grin.

"Where am I going again?" She asked.

"He's doomed." Willow said with a groan.

"Hmm, well, people like her normally work in groups so either she has an evac team ready for her, or she's heading to a hideout." Marco said.

"So where would that be?" Linen asked.

"Well considering the closest point of evac is the harbor, let's head there." He said.

"Okay! Team PLSM! Move out!" Perseis said as she and the rest of Team PLSM ran out of the door.

As they ran out of the building, various cops were swarming the area, leading the civilians to safety.

"Which way is the harbor?" Linen asked.

"This way! It's one of the fastest routes to the harbor!" She said.

"No! We'll never make it on foot! We need to take a car!" Marco said.

"You mean rent one?" Willow asked.

"Do you see a car rental here? I'm going to find a car and hot wire it." He said.

"Isn't that, oh I don't know, illegal?!" She asked.

"Well it's either that or let the guy die so take your pick!" Marco said.

Willow grumbled and followed Marco.

"Car, car, car, car." Marco said as he looked for a car.

Though before he could say anything else, the sound of a motorcycle cut them off.

They turned around to see that Perseis and Linen were moving towards them on a blue, red, and white motorcycle with various patterns and a sidecar on it.

"Need a lift?" Perseis asked.

"W-when did you get that?!" Marco asked.

"What, this? I've always had this." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" He asked.

"Because I knew you would want to drive it and I don't want getting my precious baby damaged." She said as she caressed the bike.

"Willow! Hop on behind Linen! Marco! Get in the sidecar!" Perseis said.

"Wait, why do I get the sidecar?!" He asked.

"Willow's small enough to fit on the back, you're not. Now get on!" She said as she pulled down her goggles and put on her helmet.

Marco grumbled and got in reluctantly.

Perseis revved up her bike and shot down the road while Marco screamed.

"Jeez! A little warning next time!" He yelled.

"No time! We got criminals to apprehend!" She said.

She sped up her bike, moving past various people and cars.

"How's everyone doing?" Perseis asked.

"How do you think I'm doing?! There's no seat belt here!" Marco yelled.

"Well I'm not used to having other people here so I didn't think to get one until now!" She said.

"How much further?" Marco asked.

"Halfway!" She said.

"How can you tell?" He asked.

"I can smell the ocean from here!" Perseis said as she sped up the bike.

"How can you make out the smell through all this smoke?!" He asked as he coughed a little.

"How can you not?" She asked.

Perseis inhaled through her nose to see which direction she had to go in.

She quickly turned to the right, causing Marco to hit the side of the car.

"Can you NOT just turn to the right suddenly without warning?!" He asked.

Perseis only response was to move to the left suddenly, causing Marco to hit the other side of the car.

"Nope!" She said.

"We're almost there!" She said as she sped up her bike.

She made one more quick turn and sure enough, they had arrived at the harbor.

Perseis drove onto the concrete of the road and slowly came to a stop.

"So we're here. Now where is she?" Perseis asked.

"Hmm, I can't really say for certain." Marco said.

"How about we split up. Perseis and I will check over there, you guys check over near the water." Willow said.

Linen nodded and started to follow Marco, while Perseis and Willow started to walk towards the warehouse.

"So where is she, Marco?" Linen asked.

Marco looked around to see if he couldn't find the location of the kidnapper.

"Hmm, I think I have a theory, but I can't really confirm it. Not without a pair of binoculars. You got some on you?" He said.

Linen shook his head.

"Damn, wonder if Perseis or Willow has a pair." Marco said.

"Hey! You guys have any luck?" Perseis asked.

Linen shrugged his shoulders, not really sure what Marco was trying to prove.

"Hey, Persy! You have any binoculars?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, why?" She asked as she reached into one of her bags and pulled out a pair of binoculars.

Marco took the binoculars out of her hands and put them up to his eyes.

Sure enough, he could see Aria driving a boat with Brandon laying down on the edge.

"He's over there." Marco said as he pointed towards the ocean.

Perseis squinted her eyes before gasping.

"I see them! Their over there!... But what's with that airship over there?" She asked.

"That must be the evac team she called in. We need to get there before they fly away." Marco said.

Perseis looked around to see if there were any extra boats they could take. Sure enough, there was one extra boat on the harbor.

"Okay, we'll just take the boat an-" She began, only to be stopped by the look of pure anger on Willow's face.

"Oh, right... motion sickness. Scratch that, Linen and I will go after them. Marco, you stay here with Willow just in case she comes back." Perseis said as she got into the boat.

"What?! Why do I have to stay here?!" He asked.

"Because if Linen comes, we'll have access to Linen Copy. That way we might have a greater chance to capture the criminal and save that kid." She said.

"Okay... fair enough." Marco grumbled.

"Willow, keep a close eye on Marco." Perseis said.

"I always do." Willow said.

"Linen! You're with me." She said.

Linen nodded, summoned Linen Copy, and jumped into the boat.

"Do you know how to drive a boat?" He asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" She asked as she turned on the motor.

"I want you guys to watch us from a distance. We'll keep contact with our scrolls." Perseis said.

Marco and Willow nodded before pulling out their scrolls from their pocket.

Perseis started up the boat and started to drive towards the boat where Aria was.

Meanwhile, Aria had stopped the boat to prepare for her evac team to pick her up.

Suddenly, her scroll began to rumble.

"Aria here." She said.

"Do you have him?" She heard a male voice say.

"Yeah, he's not going anywhere." Aria said.

"Good, and I presume you have the spirit in your possession?" He asked.

"Yep, I got it right here." She said.

"Excellent. Your brothers in the White Fang will be pleased with this accomplishment." The White Fang member said as the connection cut off.

Though as Aria stared at the unconscious boy, she took the disk holding the spirit out of her bag.

This was one of the legendary spirits that turned ordinary heroes into living monsters, and that power was right in her palm.

.

 _'Well, I don't think they would mind if I gave it a little test drive.'_ She thought to herself as she tried to insert the disk into her skull.

Though when the disk came into contact with her skull, a little fist came out and punched her away.

"Gah!" She yelled, not expecting the sudden pain.

She looked into the disk to see that the spirit was pressing its body up against the disk, cracks starting to form in the disk.

 _'What the hell?! How is it still able to fight?!'_ Aria asked herself.

'Shit, this is really going to be problem for the future.' She thought to herself.

The spirit just looked at her with its vacant expression, staring at her with its single red eye.

"What the hell are you?" She asked the spirit.

The spirit just continued to look at her with its vacant expression.

"You can understand me, right?" Aria asked.

She got no response out of the spirit, it simply turned its head away from Aria and faded into the disk.

"Tch, fine. Be that way." She said as she threw the disk onto the floor of the boat.

She looked up above her to see that the bullhead was coming closer and closer to the water.

"Bout time they came. Been waiting for-" Though before Aria could finish, the sound of a boat coming towards her cut her off.

"What now?" She asked as she turned her head around to see Perseis and Linen coming towards her.

"Aaaand now they're here." Aria groaned.

Though upon closer inspection, she could see that there were two of the same guy on that boat.

"Heh, cloning semblance eh? Well don't mind if I do." She said as a white aura surrounded her hand.

Though before she could begin her attack, a fishing line made it's way towards Brandon and grabbed him by the hood.

Perseis jerked her fishing rod backwards and pulled Brandon into their boat.

Aria growled and jumped over to grab Brandon's legs.

"Hey! This is my catch! Get your own!" Perseis yelled.

Linen took out his gun and started to open fire at Aria.

She grunted and let go of Brandon's legs, landing onto the boat.

Aria pulled out her SMG and started to fire holes into the boat, causing water to flow in.

"Hey! Not fair!" Perseis said as she turned her fishing rod into a sword and swung it at Aria.

Aria ducked under her attack and picked up Brandon.

She threw him over to her boat and began to fire even more holes into the boat.

"Hey! L.C, stay here and try to plug up the holes. Persy and I will go after the woman!" Linen Prime said.

"Got it, go get her, mate!" Linen Copy said.

Perseis and Linen Prime jumped over to the other boat.

Aria grunted in displeasure, she couldn't use her SMG on the two when they were still in the boat, it would cause the boat to sink and the body of Brandon was still unconscious so he would drown if he fell into the water.

"Nowhere to run!" Perseis said.

"Not yet at least." Aria said as she picked up the disk containing Caliber.

"Now listen here, you little shit, we're going to try this again and you're going to-" Though before she could finish, a very audible snap cut her off.

.

"Um, I'm not doctor, but I'm pretty sure fingers aren't supposed to bend like that." Perseis said as Aria held her hand in pain.

Caliber had completely broken two of Aria's fingers, blood coming out of the wounds.

"Wow, it's strong for something the size of my hand." Linen said.

Aria's aura started to close the wounds, but it still wouldn't heal the broken bones.

Aria glared at the disk that held Caliber and tried to crush the disk under her foot, though Caliber was able to block the attack and pushed her into the water.

"Damn, wonder what kind of power is in that disk. What do you think Persy?" Linen asked.

Though Perseis wasn't responding, she was still looking down at the disk that held Caliber, specifically, she was looking at the smoke figure that laid inside of it.

"Persy?" Linen asked.

"Check this out, Linen." She said, causing Linen to walk over and bend down to see what Perseis was looking at.

"Is that a... person?" He asked.

"I don't know? It doesn't look like any person I've seen." She said.

Caliber didn't bother to look at Linen, his gaze was kept on Perseis. Caliber put his hand up against the surface of the disk as if it were glass. Perseis pressed her thumb up against it's hand subconsciously.

"What do you think it is?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said as she looked at the limp body of Brandon.

"Is this what she was after?" Perseis asked herself.

Though before she could continue, Aria appeared from the water with her left hand glowing white.

Before Linen or Perseis could react, Aria swiped her left hand across Perseis' head.

.

Though nothing happened, no disks were coming out of her head.

"What the he-?!" Aria began, swiping her hand over her head again.

"Ow!" Perseis yelled.

Aria swiped her hand across Perseis head once again.

"Quit hitting me!" She yelled.

 _'W-why?! Why isn't my semblance working?!'_ She thought.

'The only way it wouldn't work is if... she didn't have a semblance.' Aria thought.

"You okay Sheila?" Linen asked.

"Once SOMEONE stops hitting me then yeah, I'll be fine!" Perseis said.

"Give that back!" Aria yelled.

"What this? Well if you want it then come get it." She said with a cocky smirk.

Caliber looked at Perseis with the same vacant expression and dove down into the disk.

All of a sudden, the disk in Perseis hand began to rumble.

"Hmm?" Perseis hummed as she looked at the disk.

All of a sudden, the disk shot out of her hand and dug into her neck.

Perseis gasped suddenly, all of the oxygen coming from her throat was cut off.

"P-Persy!" Linen yelled as he went over to his partner to assist her.

Aria was equally as shocked, from the looks of it the spirit was drawn to Perseis.

"Come on!" Linen yelled as he desperately pulled on the disk.

Though no matter how hard he pulled, the disk kept going deeper and deeper into Perseus' neck until he lost his grip on the disk.

Once the disk was all the way in her throat, the hole that it created closed and Perseus' eyes rolled backwards, causing her to collapse onto the floor of the boat.

"Perseis! Perseis! Wake up!" Linen yelled as he shook her violently.

Though from the looks of it, Perseis wasn't showing any signs of waking up.

As Linen shook her, a strange mist began to form around her body.

"W-what the hell?" Aria asked herself.

Though before either of them could react any further, the airship arrived and the doors opened.

Aria was quick to react and kicked Linen across the face, causing him to fly back into the water.

Though Linen Copy quickly grabbed Aria and held her in place.

As Linen rose from the water, Aria kicked Linen Copy off of her and pushed him into the water.

 _'Damn, this is gonna be one awkward meeting when I get back.'_ Aria thought as threw both Perseis and Brandon onto the airship.

"What's with this one?!" One of the pilots asked as he pointed at Perseis.

"I'll explain it later! Just fly!" She yelled as the doors closed and the bullhead took off.

"Wait! Come back here!" Linen yelled as he climbed back into the boat.

Though it was too late, the airship had already taken off.

Linen just sat there in shock and disbelief at the fact that his partner was just taken away.

His scroll began to rumble in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the scroll to see that Marco was calling him.

 **"Linen! What's happening over there?! Where's Perseis?!"** He asked.

"I-I don't know." Linen said.

 **"Did you stop the criminal?"** He heard Willow ask.

"N-no... guys, they took Perseis." Linen said.

The call went silent, neither Marco or Willow spoke a word.

 **"Come back to the harbor."** Marco said.

"But Marco-" Linen began.

 **"Just. Come back. We'll figure something out."** He said.

Linen nodded and started to move the boat in the direction of the harbor.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh." Perseis groaned as her eyes fluttered open.

She looked around to see that she was laying on a hard floor of the airship she had been put on with Brandon.

"W-what happened?" She asked herself, slowly sitting up from the spot she laid in.

She closed her eyes and began to think back on the recent events that had transpired.

 _'Right! I was holding that disk when suddenly that lady came out of the water. Then she started to hit me for some reason. Seriously! Why would someone want to hit this face! It's adorable!'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Then the disk in my hand started to shake and suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck, then I blacked out and now I'm here.'_ She thought to herself.

As she got up, she could feel something holding her down on her right side.

She looked to her right to see that there were a pair of handcuffs attached to her wrist.

 _'Handcuffs, it just had to be handcuffs.'_ She thought to herself.

She looked to her left to see that Brandon was laying down on the floor, the color from his eyes still faded.

 _'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really hope that Marco is right.'_ She thought to herself as she tried to break free of the cuffs.

 _'Drat. Guess that cuff trick that Marco showed me really was just a joke.'_ Perseis thought to herself.

She looked around to see if she could find anything that could break the chains on these cuffs.

 _'Oh! I know! I might still have my fishing knife in my pocket!'_ She thought to herself as she scrambled to get her knife.

Though as expected, the woman had taken away her fishing knife, as well as her scroll.

 _'Double drat! Come on! Don't they know that it's rude to take a woman's stuff?'_ She thought to herself.

With seemingly no other option, she tried to lightly tap the limp body of Brandon to see if he would wake up.

"Hey!" She whispered.

.

.

"Hey! Wake up!" She tried once again.

"I'm sorry I dragged you across the lake! But can you please help me?" She asked.

Though it was no use, no matter what she tried, he wasn't showing any signs of waking up.

She sighed, seemingly running out of options.

 _'Well, maybe I can at least check if he's still alive.'_ She thought as she kicked off her shoe so it directly hit Brandon in the face.

"Oh my-! I'm so sorry! That was an accident!" Perseis said before moving her foot towards his chest area.

Though as her foot started to move closer and closer to his chest, she just realized the position she was in.

"If you wake up right now I'm going to kick you!" She said with a blush on her face.

Finally, her foot made contact with his chest, now all she had to do was check for a heartbeat.

"Oh thank goodness." She sighed in relief as she felt his heart beating in his chest.

 _'Though if he's alive, then why wasn't he waking up?'_ Perseis thought to herself.

She tried to think of all the possible reasons as to why he wouldn't be waking up, until she eventually connected the dots.

 _'Well if that little friend in the disk was able to get trapped in the disk, then maybe he's also trapped in one of the disks!'_ Perseis thought to herself.

 _'All I need to do is get my hands on those disks and we're out of here!'_ She thought to herself.

 _'One problem? I need to get out of these cuffs, I mean it's not like I can just slip-'_ Perseis began, only to stop herself as she slipped out of the cuffs with ease.

 _'Out.'_ She finished.

 _'Well, that was easier than I thought.'_ She thought to herself.

She walked over to Brandon and tried to pull him free of his cuffs, though for some reason, he wasn't budging.

 _'Okay, how come I was able to slip out but he's not able to?'_ She asked herself.

Though as she rubbed her wrist, she noticed something strange. It was very moist and slippery.

"What in the world?" She asked herself.

 _'I was dry when I woke up, when did this happen?'_ She asked herself.

Though before she could question it any further, the sound of snoring cut her off.

She slowly made her way towards the door and opened it slowly.

"Well hello there." Perseis whispered as she saw Aria sleeping in front of the door.

She looked to see that her pouch was on the a table so she might be able to steal it without anyone noticing.

Perseis slowly reached her hand towards the bag.

"Come on, just a little bit-" Though before she could grab it, she heard the door open from the other side of the room.

She jerked her hand away with a cold sweat on her face.

"Hmm, thought I heard something." She heard someone say.

 _'Nope! Nothing to see here! So now just go away and let me grab that bag!'_ Perseis thought to herself.

Suddenly, the voice let out an audible gasp as if he were choking on something.

He continued to make this noise until he eventually left the room.

 _'Hmm, thanks, I guess.'_ She thought to herself.

She slowly reached for the bag once again, though as it was just within her grasp, she missed it by just an inch.

 _'Drat! Just grab the bag already!'_ Perseis thought to herself.

As if on cue, a light blue arm came out of her own arm and grabbed the bag and placed it in her hands.

.

Perseis quickly moved inside, breathing rapidly at what she just saw come out of her.

'Okay, w-what in the world was that?!' Perseis thought to herself.

She tried to make the arm appear again, but she was having no such luck yet.

Perseis shook her hand and reached into the bag to see if she couldn't find the disk that held Brandon.

"Nope." She said.

"Nope." Perseis said.

"Nada." She said once again.

She continued this process until she eventually found the disk that had Brandon in it.

"Got it!" She said, startling Brandon.

"Oh, sorry." Perseis said sheepishly.

He looked confused for a moment before shaking his head and pointing towards his body.

"Oh! Right, I'll put you back." She said.

She went up to Brandon's body and put the disk back into his head.

Brandon gasped suddenly and shot up into the air.

"Ah! Holy-!... God!... That felt... ugh!" He said as he shook his body violently.

"Thank goodness, here I thought you would never wake up." She said.

"Eh, trust me. There's a lot of people who wouldn't mind that." Brandon said.

"Hmm?" Perseis hummed.

"Never mind. So where are we? I couldn't see anything through all of those disks." He asked.

"I think we're on an airship." She said.

"Hmm, airship. Okay, kinda wish we were closer to the ground but whatever, I've always wanted to fly a plane." Brandon said.

Though before he could move on, he slowly squinted his eyes at Perseis.

"Uh... hi?" She said.

"Wait a sec... I know you! You're that girl who dragged me all the way across the river!" He said.

"Was kind of hoping you would forget about that." Perseis said.

"How could I forget about it?!" Brandon asked.

"I don't know? But can you really be mad at a face like this?" She asked.

"Yes! Yes I can!" He said.

"Aw. I promise to make it up to you!" Perseis said.

"You can do that AFTER we get out of here!" Brandon said.

"Now I want to know two things, one, how do we get out of here, and two, where that little weasel is!" He said.

"She's outside." She said.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a few things I need to do." Brandon said as smacked his fist against his palm.

A couple seconds of silence went by before he did it again.

"Come on." He said before doing it again.

"Any day now!" Brandon said before doing it rapidly.

"Why isn't it manifesting?!" He asked.

"Why isn't what manifesting?" Perseis asked.

He gripped his head and began to trace his head along the extra hole in his head.

"Why do I have another one?" Brandon asked.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him once again.

"Okay, I know this might be hard to believe, but hear me out. I have this spirit in my body and it sort of protects me when I'm in danger, though recently I've been able to manifest it on my own." He said.

"Wait, did you say... spirit?" Perseis asked.

"Yeah? Not the first question I thought you'd ask." Brandon said.

"Well, that's funny because I think I have your spirit." She said sheepishly.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked.

"Well I saw this smoke figure in one of the disks and I think it sorta... merged with me." She said.

Brandon just stood there in silence before gripping his head and groaning.

"Are you kidding me?! Not only do I not have my one ticket out of here, but it's in the hands of some fisher." He said.

"Hey!" She said.

He shook his head and got up close to Perseis.

"Okay, listen up. I don't really know what exactly you have in you, or what it's capable of. But I do know one thing, they haven't killed you yet for a reason and that reason is that the spirit is subconsciously protecting you from harm." He said.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what it's doing, but I intend to find out." Brandon said as he walked over to the door.

"What are you doing?!" Perseis asked.

"You see that sword?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She said.

"I want you to get it for me." Brandon said.

"Why?" Perseis asked.

"I want to test something out." He said.

She looked confused before shrugging and moving towards Aria.

"So how do I do this again?" She asked.

"Just... do it. You need to will it." He said.

Perseis was still confused as to what that meant but tried it out anyways.

She closed her eyes and tried to envision grabbing the sword in her mind. Sure enough, the arm came out and grabbed the sword, putting it in Perseis' hands.

"Got it!" She whispered.

"Okay, now give it here." He said.

"Why?" Perseis asked.

"Okay, so whatever you do. Do. NOT. Freak out." Brandon said.

"Got it! I'll be as calm as can be." She said.

Brandon nodded and raised the sword above his head.

"W-what are you-" Perseis began, though she was cut off as Brandon swung the sword downwards.

Sure enough, the same arm came out to block the attack, though the strangest thing was that sparks started to emanate off of the arm, causing Brandon to drop the gun.

"Okay, so we know it's doing it's job." He said.

Brandon shook his head and walked towards the door.

"What now?" She asked.

"We're leaving." He said.

"What?! How?! You can't use your spirit thingy." Perseis said.

"I'm not fighting." Brandon said before walking up to Perseis and poking her nose.

"You are." He said.

"What?!" She said.

"You may be a fisher, but you have a spirit that has the capabilities to body various low life goons." Brandon said.

"I do?" Perseis asked.

"Yeah." He said as he kicked down the door.

"And now we're putting it to the test." Brandon said.

"Wha-?!" Aria yelled, though was quickly cut off by Brandon punching her across the jaw, knocking her out cold.

"That's for a few hours ago." He said, walking further into the airship.

Perseis walked out to see if she couldn't find her weapon. Sure enough, her sword and her scroll were right next to Aria.

She picked up her scroll and dialed the number of Marco.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Marco! It's me, Perseis!" She said.

"Persy?! Where are you?! What's happening?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just about to bust out of this airship. And good news! The guy is alright." She said.

"Guy?" Marco asked.

Perseis realized that she hadn't asked him for his name yet.

"Hey, what's your name?" She asked.

"Brandon." He simply said.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Perseis." Perseis said.

"Yeah." Brandon said as he looked out the door.

"So yeah, we're gonna try to get out of here. Be prepared when we arrive at the docks." She said.

"Right." Marco said as the connection was cut off.

"Okay, so we got a few issues." He said as he pointed out of the door.

Perseis looked out the door to see various White Fang members out on the other side of the door.

"The White Fang?!" She asked.

"Yeah, if we're gonna hijack this plane, then we need to take care of these guys." He said.

"So how do you want to handle this?" Perseis asked.

"How I handle most things." Brandon said, kicking down the door.

"Head on and improvise as I go." He said.

 _'... I was thinking ask politely but hey that works to I guess.'_ Perseis thought to herself.

"Freeze!" The White Fang member said as he pointed his gun at the duo.

"Sup. Just passing by." He said, walking towards the cockpit.

The White Fang member growled and pulled the trigger on his gun.

Though, similar to what happened before, the guns didn't fire bullets.

"What the-?! Our guns are jammed!" He said.

Perseis ran over and hit the grunt over the head with her sword.

The other grunt growled and pulled out a sword of his own.

He charged towards Perseis and swung his sword at her, though Perseis was quick to block the attack. Though as their swords made contact, sparks started to fly off of the grunts body, knocking him out cold.

"Again with the electricity." Perseis said.

"Hey." She heard someone growl.

"Aaand now I have to deal with this." She said as she turned around to face Aria.

"Give. It. Back." Aria commanded.

"You want it? Then come and get it." Perseis said.

Though before they could continue, the sound of thunder cut them off.

"A rainstorm? How? There wasn't a cloud in the sky when we took off." Aria said.

"Uh, Brandon?" Perseis asked.

"Just one second!" He said before throwing the pilot out of the cockpit.

"What's up?" Brandon asked.

"You might want to speed it up! There's a thunder cloud above us!" She said.

Though as she said this, tiny little clouds started to form around her.

"What in the world?" She asked.

"Please, do you know how low the chances are for lightning to hit a plane? There's next to-" Though Brandon was cut off as lightning hit the side of the plane, causing one of the engines to explode.

"You were saying?!" She asked.

"Change of plan, grab a parachute and-" Though before Brandon could finish, lightning hit the plane again, cutting a hole in the side of it and causing Aria to go flying out, along with the parachutes.

"Okay, twice in a row?!" He asked.

"What now?!" Perseis asked.

"Jump!" Brandon yelled.

"What?!" She asked.

"Don't worry! Your spirit will protect you one way or another!" He yelled.

Perseis looked down and took a deep breath.

"I hope you're right!" She yelled as she and Brandon jumped out of the plane.

They screamed as they came closer and closer to the water.

"THIS WAS A BAD IDEA! A REALLY BAD IDEA!" Brandon yelled.

Though before they could come into contact with the water, the wind started to pick up around them and pushed them towards the docks.

"Hey, is it just me or are we getting really close to the docks?!" Perseis asked.

Though before Brandon could respond, another strong gust of wind pushed them onto the concrete of the docks, Perseis landing safely, and Brandon hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Ow." He said.

Perseis began to look around to see if she was still alive and that this wasn't just some sick trick.

"I-I'm alive." She said in disbelief.

She looked at her hands and balled them up into fists.

"Was it you? Did you save us?" Perseis asked.

"Persy!" She heard her teammates yell from a distance.

"Guys?" Perseis asked in a mixture of shock and joy.

Sure enough, they were running towards her with big grins on their faces.

"Guys!" She yelled as she ran towards her friends.

Eventually, they came to an embrace, each member of the team speaking over the other.

"Guys! I've never been so happy to see you all in my entire life!" She said.

"Yeah! We thought you were a goner there, Sheila!" Linen said.

"Don't do that again! Do you have any idea how violently Willow shook me when she found out you were taken?" Marco asked.

"Hey! Not my fault your bones are weak." She said.

They continued to talk before letting go of each other.

Willow glanced over to her right to see that Brandon was struggling to get up.

"Isn't that the guy you fished up?" She asked.

The rest of Team PLSM looked over to Brandon with confused stares.

"We did it!" Perseis yelled as she ran over to Brandon with her arms stretched outwards.

Though what she didn't notice was Perseus' arms giving off sparks.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Ho-!" Brandon tried to say, but Perseis had already pulled him into an embrace, causing sparks to fly off of him.

"Ugh." He groaned.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" She apologized.

Brandon meekly gave her the thumbs up, signalling to her that it was alright.

"So what now?" Linen asked.

"Well, now we just need to find that-" Perseis began, only for the sound of someone coming up from the water to cut her off.

Aria climbed onto the shore with an extremely angry look in her eyes.

"Give. It. Now!" She yelled, pulling out her SMG.

Perseis just stuck her tongue at Aria in a mocking matter.

Aria roared and pulled the trigger to her SMG.

As she did that, Willow jumped in front of her team and summoned a shield of some sort.

Though what none of them expected was for Aria's SMG to not fire a single bullet.

"What the hell?!" She asked.

Sure enough, her gun was filled with water.

"How in the fu-?" Marco began.

"Fine! We'll do it the old fashion way!" She yelled, summoning her claws and rushing towards them.

Marco was quick to react and pulled out his weapon and shot an electrical burst at Aria.

Aria ducked under the shot and rushed towards Perseis.

Though before she could, Willow summoned another one of her barriers to block her path before swinging her massive blade at her abdomen.

Aria grunted as she was sent flying back towards the water.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Perseis asked as she threw one of her lines at Aria's pants, reeling her back into Team PLSM's range.

Linen and Linen Copy both reeled their fists backwards before delivering two powerful punches to Aria's abdomen.

Aria growled and reached for one of her disks.

"Oh no you don't!" Linen yelled, seeing first hand just what those disks were capable of.

He swung his leg to kick the disk out of her hand and Willow came in to ram her in the abdomen with her two antlers.

Willow stopped and lifted Aria up in the air with her horns before suplexing her to the ground.

Aria growled and tried to dig one of her disks into her skull.

But as she held the disk, a strange mist formed around her hand and suddenly caught fire.

"What the fuck?!" Marco asked.

Aria quickly put out the fire, but her hand was completely burnt to a crisp.

"Don't let her use her disk! She can steal other people's semblances and use them for her own power!" Brandon yelled.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to make sure that never happens." Marco said as a ball of light formed in his hand.

He threw the ball and it exploded into a surge of light, blinding Aria.

"Get the bag!" Perseis yelled.

As if on command, a small tornado sent her flying upwards.

"What is going on?!" Marco asked himself as he was pushed back by the wind.

From the corner of her eye, Willow saw the bag fly away from Aria.

She summoned some of her barriers so the bag landed safely on them.

"Got it!" She yelled.

"Nice, Sheila!" Linen said.

Aria growled, she had lost her disks, the use of one of her hands, and her reward.

Though before Aria could move, a storm cloud appeared from above the harbor.

Everyone looked confused, but due to Linen's strong sense of smell, he was able to quickly identify what was going on.

"Willow! Create a barrier and hold it above you! Everyone get under it!" Linen yelled as he ran towards Willow.

Willow nodded formed a barrier above her head big enough for everyone to fit under.

Aria inhaled sharply, her eyes widening. She quickly ran towards the water and dove in it.

Before anyone could question her actions, hail started to rapidly come down.

But the weird thing about it was the pressure and speed at which it was coming down.

The ground dented as the hail made contact, and Willow's barrier started to crack.

Eventually, the hail settled down.

"What the hell was that? Why was the hail coming down so strong... actually why was hail coming down to begin with?!" Marco asked.

Aria rose to the surface, various holes in her body.

"Looks like she can't take to much more." Linen said.

Aria started to run towards the group with her claws outwards.

"Get ready for another round people!" Perseis said confidently.

As Perseis said this, mist started to form above Perseis as if it were forming a body of some sort.

When it fully manifested, it took the form of a feminine muscular humanoid mass of clouds with a pair of eyes that have vertical stripes on them.

It was surrounded by thick mist or miniature clouds. Its face possessed a mask-like structure with a hat atop its head.

It seemed to wear what looked like to be clothing of a french pirate, as well as having knuckle braces on its hands.

It also wore a pair of boots which seemed to have wing-like clouds on it.

"W-what the fu-?!" Marco began, though the spirit rushed towards Aria and started to throw a barrage of punches at her body.

It continued this attack until it punched her towards the water, making an audible splash.

Perseis stared at her spirit in awe and wonder as it moved towards her. Though before Perseis could get a closer look, the disk started to come out of Perseis head and the spirit was sucked back into the disk.

"Ew." Marco said.

"Oh grow up." Willow said.

Perseis looked down at the disk before walking towards Brandon.

"I think this belongs to you." She said.

Brandon was just as shocked at the rest, but quickly shook his head and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks." He said, putting the disk back into his head.

"So what do you want to do with her?" Linen asked.

Marco pulled out his scroll and dialed the number to the Vale police department.

"Hello? Yeah, I have a certain criminal you might want to take." He said.

"So... are we even now?" Perseis asked.

"Maybe. How about you and I discuss this over dinner?" Brandon asked.

Perseis laughed and patted him on the back.

"How about you grow a few extra inches, I like my men taller, or at least the same height." She said as she walked away.

.

.

"Y-you can't judge a man for something he can't help." He said sadly.

Willow walked up to Brandon and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, I know how you feel." She said.

* * *

 **Well then... out of all the things that had happened to me on Remnant, this takes the cake for being the strangest thing.**

 **I mean, Caliber was taken out of my body, forced into someone else, and then back into me again.**

 **And boy did Caliber become powerful, I mean he was summoning lightning and everything!**

 **This Team PLSM is certainly... strange.**

 **Then again, I'm don't have a lot of room to talk.**

 **Let's just move on to the review responses.**  
 **  
Review Response:**

 **Fiction Fan 369: No, I'm not going to kill Cinder off that early on in the story. That would be dumb.**

 **DIYEyal:... Damn it why didn't I think of that?**

 **rocketmce: It's still going on.**

 **Ragnorak16: *Slowly slides into bush***

 **olTran: I NEVER said that they were being paired together, this was only a way to have SSSN have more of a spotlight.**

 **Aragon365: I'll consider it.**

 **CraazyReader: Well as you can see, Vol 2 will mainly focus around the side characters with little bits of Brandon in it.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks! Though I changed Sage's semblance because if I use powers from the League games everyone goes nuts.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King**

 **Brandon: What are you doing?! Pay her!**

 **Author: Alright! Here!**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: I don't particularly appreciate your shouting sir.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: How about no?**

 **Lord Adhes: Because I thought it was cool, apparently I was wrong. -_-**

 **haloreacher2779: Glad to see that SOMEONE likes it.**

* * *

Omake - Brandon goes fishing. (Non-Canon)

"So how do I do this again?" Brandon asked Perseis.

"It's simple, you just throw the line in and wait for a bite." She said.

 _'Never thought I'd have to explain fishing to someone.'_ She thought.

Brandon nodded and did what she told him to do.

"Wait! Not that-!" Perseis began.

"Ow!" They heard Willow yell.

"Far." She finished.

Willow stomped on over to Brandon with a crushed can in her hand.

"Uh... sorry?" He said.

Willow threw the can to the ground and stomped away.

"Sorry about her, she can be a bit cranky sometimes." Perseis said.

"Yeah, I can tell." He said.

He threw it again, only this time it was much lighter.

"Now you didn't throw it far enough." She said.

Brandon sighed and reeled it back in.

"Try again." She said.

Brandon nodded threw it back into the water.

"There we go! Now just wait until you-" Perseis began.

"I got a bite!" He said.

.

.

"Already?" She asked.

"Guess so." Brandon said.

Though Brandon started to move closer to the river.

"Tch, tough one this one." He said as he summoned Caliber.

 **"ORA!"** It yelled as it brought the fish to the surface.

The fish was twice as big as the two of them combined and it had... golden scales.

.

.

"You got the river monster... on your first attempt." Perseis said.

"Is that a good thing?" Brandon asked.

.

.

"I need to lay down." She said.

* * *

 **Team PLSM is owned by Echollama, go check out his tumblr and his deviantart page! He posts little comic strips of Team PLSM's adventures.**

 **Perseis Corsair**

 **Height: 5'7"**

 **Weight: 156 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: None**

 **Linen Elzaphane  
**  
 **Height: 6'2"**

 **Weight: 240 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Gemini**

 **Summary: Linen is able to create a solid clone of himself, though in order for the clone to keep standing, Linen must have at least 30% of his aura and must be at least fifty meters within the clone's range.**

 **Destructive Power: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: B**

 **Range: A**

 **Willow Sciathe  
**  
 **Height: 4'8"**

 **Weight: 159 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: C**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Aegis**

 **Summary: Willow creates a shield around her body, though this shield can also act as a repulsor panel. When Willow has her shields out, it halts all aura regeneration and consumes 10% of her aura when activated. This shield is durable enough to take a point blank explosion from a grenade.**

 **Destructive Power: D**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: D**

 **Marco Ardente  
**  
 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 165 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Nova**

 **Summary: Marco is able to create a small ball of light that is bright enough to blind his enemies, though if he so wishes, he can create a massive explosion with this semblance, at the cost of his own aura that is.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: D**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Weapon Spirit: Weather Girls (Temporary)**

 **User: Perseis Corsair.**

 **Appearance: Weather Girls takes the form of a feminine muscular humanoid mass of clouds with a pair of eyes that have vertical stripes on them.**

 **It was surrounded by thick mist or miniature clouds. Its face possesses a mask-like structure with a hat atop its head. It seemed to wear what looked like to be clothing of a french pirate, as well as having knuckle braces on its hands. It also wore a pair of boots which seemed to have wing-like clouds on it.**

 **Abilities: Vapor and Air Manipulation.**

 **Summary: Weather Girls is able to manipulate various vapor and air properties, bending the weather to its will to an extent. Weather Girls is able to increase the oxygen in a certain area of space, making it near impossible to breathe.**

 **Weather Girls is also able to create storm clouds that can hold lightning, hail that shoots down like bullets, or acid rain. Weather Girls is also able to manipulate the air pressure, combined with the vapor control and it is one powerful foe to face, if you know the extent of air pressure that is.**

 **Weather Girls can also change the current of the waves and wind to an extent as well. If the user were to study the various effects of meteorology, than they would make for one deadly opponent.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: E**

 **Range: A**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 55**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 43**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 32**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 18**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	40. Dance Dance Confrontation

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

Speech: "Dance Dance Confrontation"

Thought: _'Dance Dance Confrontation'_

Flashback: _"Dance Dance Confrontation"_

The days following my kidnapping were... interesting so to say. Turns out that the members of Team PLSM were not only attending Beacon, but also participating in the Vytal Festival, so that means that there's even more people I have to worry about when I eventually put my plan into action.

What is my plan you may ask?

Well where's the fun in just flat out telling you... that and most likely the plan will wind up changing due to my lack of knowledge on the world of Remnant itself, really only know about Vale and a little bit about the other kingdoms, nothing outside of that.

That day was interesting to say the least, I mean it's not everyday that I get Caliber ripped out of my body, and then shoved into someone else.

Shame that Aria chick was part of the White Fang, Perseis's version of Caliber was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Still don't know exactly what it did, but from what I've gathered it was able to manipulate the weather to a certain extent.

It does have a certain range to it, only being able to manipulate weather to a close or medium range, though it's still a powerful ability.

Which is why I REALLY wish I had more access to it, I mean seriously! Who the hell doesn't want more access to a spirit that has the ability to manipulate the freaking weather?! No one! That's who!

Whatever, can't really do a whole lot about it now, even if I would really like to do something about it.

Jeez, where the hell's the spirit equivalent of a stand arrow when you need it?

Then again I doubt she would be on board with the idea of me shooting her in the neck with an arrow.

Now for those of you who have either read or watched JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, you may be telling me that people don't need to be pierced in the neck by the arrow to get a stand.

That may be true, but most of the good stands manifest when the user gets shot in the neck so... yeah, shoot em in the neck!

.

.

I mean sure they might die but that's not something that requires to have too much thought.

Anyways, moving on from shooting people in the neck, the big dance is coming up.

Everyone's been asking their potential life partner to the dance so they may confess their undying love for them... either that or they just don't want to be that one guy who goes to the dance without a date.

For those of you who may be asking who I'm going to go with to the dance, I am pleased to tell you that I have zero intentions on going to the dance entirely.

.

.

Now you're probably wondering why I would want to skip out on such a wonderful event such as this one?

Well that also happens to be the night where Cinder plants the bug in Beacon's system, which is most of the reason as to why most of the events of Vol three happened in the first place.

So instead of having a fun night in the ballrooms of Beacon, I'm going to be sitting in a computer room for god knows how long waiting for currently one of the most powerful villains in all of RWBY.

I say current because I have yet to see any other villain that is stronger than Cinder... hopefully it stays that way... knowing my luck that isn't going to be the case.

Though Cinder was able to make it back to the dance by the time Ironwood came up so maybe I'll have time to mingle a bit.

Really this entire plan relies on me stalling Cinder long enough so that Ironwood can get his ass up to the communications room.

Trying to beat her is out of the question entirely, because more than likely if Cinder and I threw fists then there wouldn't really be a tower for her to plant the bug in.

So I have to stall her while keeping collateral to a minimum.

Hope Team's RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN will have a good time because lord knows that I'm going to want to shoot myself in the foot by the time I'm done with all this.

Though that's enough recap and future planning for one day, how about we just move on.

The day was going how you'd expected it to go in Vol two, sparring class, Pyrrha kicking the absolute shit out of the members of Team CRDL, you know the usual stuff.

Pyrrha had just slashed at Cardin with her javelin before jumping into the air and diving towards the ground with her javelin below her.

She launched her javelin towards Dove and swept her leg below his legs, causing him to lose his balance.

Sky tried to attack Pyrrha, though she was quick to react to his oncoming attack.

Pyrrha blocked Sky's attack with her shield and began an attack of her own, causing Sky to go flying towards the wall.

She wasted no time attacking Cardin with her xiphos, though Cardin was able to block her attacks and swing his mace towards her, causing a large crater to be formed in the ground.

Sky and Cardin both charged at Pyrrha with their weapons reeled backwards, though Pyrrha was quick to respond by blocking Cardin's attack and dodging Sky's. Pyrrha swept her legs under the two and rolled backwards.

She ran towards Cardin and jumped over him, throwing her shield at him, causing it to bounce off of his body and towards the head of Sky. Pyrrha jumped to grab her shield and landed on Sky's back.

Russel and Dove ran towards Pyrrha, though Pyrrha bashed Russel with her shield and kicked Dove away.

Cardin went in to attack Pyrrha, though she was quick to move out of the way of his attack. She began to fire rounds of her rifle at Cardin, though Russel was able to block the bullets with his daggers.

Russel and Dove ran towards Pyrrha and started to attack her at the same time in hopes to overwhelm her.

Though Pyrrha was able to block each and every one of their attacks.

Cardin swung his mace at Pyrrha in attempts to knock her out, though Pyrrha was quick to roll out of the way.

She wasted no time to fire a few rounds at Cardin, though he blocked them all and charged towards Pyrrha.

Pyrrha kneed Cardin in the chin and the two started to exchange blows for a little bit, though in the end, Pyrrha was victorious.

Russel started to repeatedly stab Pyrrha with his daggers though Pyrrha threw her shield at Russel and swing her Javelin at his feet. Dove ran towards Pyrrha, though she started to stab him in various area's before swinging her weapon at him, causing him to retreat.

He was about to start another attack, but Cardin pushed him out of the way and attacked Pyrrha.

She was able to dodge the attack, sweep Cardin off of his feet, throw him into the air and throw his body towards the ground.

Cardin struggled to get up for a bit, though before he could continue the lights started to turn on one by one.

"And that's the match." Glynda said.

"Tch, lucky shot." Cardin managed to say before collapsing onto the floor.

"Well done Ms. Nikos, you should have no problems qualifying for the tournament." Glynda said.

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha said.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for two more sparing matches." She said.

"Any volunteers?" Glynda asked.

Pyrrha was about to speak out to me, though I quickly cut her off.

"No." I said, causing Pyrrha's expression to sadden.

"Ms. Belladonna?" Glynda asked, causing Blake to be broken out of her daze.

"You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-" Glynda began, only to be cut off by Mercury.

"I'll do it." He said.

"Mercury is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent." She said.

"Actually. I wanna fight... her." Mercury said as he pointed at Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm afraid Ms. Nikos has just finished her match. I recommend you find yourself another partner." Glynda said.

"No! It's fine." Pyrrha said.

"I'd be happy to oblige." She said.

Mercury smirked and started to walk down towards the arena.

They circled each other for a few moments before Mercury charged towards Pyrrha.

He threw a kick at Pyrrha, though she blocked it with her shield and swept her weapon under his legs, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

Mercury quickly got up and started to move away from Pyrrha.

Pyrrha charged towards Mercury and swung her weapon at him, though he blocked it with his own attack and attempted to kick Pyrrha, though she was quick to block it with her shield.

Pyrrha pushed Mercury away with her shield, causing him to move back a few feet.

Mercury kicked Pyrrha's shield again before attempting to knock her towards the ground.

She rolled around for a bit before preparing to block another barrage of kicks.

Mercury rapidly kicked her shield and went in to kick her from her open spot, though she was able to block it with her own arm.

He didn't stop his assault though, and during their exchange of blows he was able to kick her weapon away from her grasp.

Mercury attempted to kick her across the chin, but she used her semblance to move the attack away from her.

Hmm... so that's what her semblance is.

Pyrrha charged towards Mercury with her shield in front of her, though Mercury quickly used his own weapon to launch himself away from her.

Though as Pyrrha charged towards Mercury, he turned towards Glynda.

"I forfeit." He said.

.

.

"You... don't even want to try?" She asked.

"What's the point, you're a world renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart." Mercury said.

Pyrrha looked slightly disappointed, while Emerald had a look of annoyance on her face.

"In that case, Pyrrha Nikos is the winner of this match... again. Next time you may want to think harder before choosing your opponent." Glynda said.

"I'll be sure to do that." He said before walking towards me.

"Hey." He said as he sat next to me.

"Hmm." I hummed in response.

"So, big day coming up eh? Who's the lucky girl going with you?" Mercury asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm not going." I said.

"How come?" He asked.

"Never really into that sort of stuff. Besides, I have more important things to do that night." I said.

"What could be more important than going to the dance and potentially finding a girlfriend? I've seen a few girls eyeball you." Mercury said.

"Let's just say that I'm putting a year long plan into action." I said.

Mercury narrowed his eyes at me before shrugging.

"So, it seems we have even more time than I originally thought. Let's see who will be fighting in our last match." Glynda said.

I looked at the board up on the top of the arena to see who was next up in the ring.

"Hmm, Mr. Kim. It has been awhile since you last had a match. Now let's see who your opponent is." She said.

Well it's not Pyrrha, so anything else shouldn't be to challenging... right?

As fate would have it, I just had to be paired up with the one person I wanted to avoid it all costs.

"Hmm, Ember was it? Could you two please step into the... Mr. Kim, why are you glaring at the ceiling?" Glynda asked.

Okay, now I know someone is just fucking with me now. Seriously?! What are the chances of this match up happening?!

"No reason." I grumbled as I walked towards the arena.

As Cinder and I walked into the arena, our gazes never left each others.

Glynda was saying something but we were to zoned out to even make sense of what she was saying.

"Are both sides ready?" She asked.

"Of course. May the best warrior win." Cinder said.

I just stood there in complete silence, my gaze not leaving hers.

"What's up with him?" Yang asked.

"Hmm, well you don't look ill, so I'll just take your silence as a yes." Glynda said as she raised her hand.

"May the match b-!" Glynda didn't even have time to finish as I charged towards Cinder with my sword unsheathed.

"That's a new one. Normally he waits for his opponents to engage." Weiss said.

"Yeah, he didn't even let Professor Goodwitch finish her sentence." Ruby said.

"Something isn't right here." Pyrrha said.

"What do you mean Pyrrha? Everything seems fine to me." Jaune said.

"You really only notice it when you've fought Brandon for as many times as I had." She said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I can't really explain it. But this fight just feels... different. Personal, so to say." Pyrrha said.

"Personal?" Weiss asked.

"Like I said, I can't explain it. Let us just watch and see what happens." She said.

I rushed towards Cinder with my sword in my right hand.

Cinder smirks and pulls out her two swords from her back.

I can't use Caliber here... well I probably could but that would be a dead giveaway. I can't use more than one of my enchantments either, it would be pretty suspicious if I had a semblance that could do multiple things.

I swung my sword at Cinder, though she was able to block the attack with her two swords.

She swept her feet under my legs, causing me to fall to the ground.

Cinder tried to dig both of her heels into my stomach, but I quickly rolled to the right to dodge the attack.

I pulled out my revolver and activated the Buster enchantment. I fired a few of the Buster-infused rounds at Cinder, the bullets glowing blue as they zoomed towards her.

She held up her swords to block the attack, but she winded up being knocked backwards due to the sheer amount of force put into the bullets.

Okay, Buster enchantment it is!

I charged towards Cinder with the blade of my sword glowing blue.

Cinder narrowed her eyes as she looked at my sword, though she quickly shook her head and prepared to block my attack.

I started to slash at Cinder's body rapidly, but she was able to dodge each attack with little to no effort.

She slammed her elbow into my abdomen and kicked me away, connecting both of her swords together and summoning three arrows.

Cinder shot the arrows towards me at blinding speeds.

I dodged the first two, but I was hit by the last one, causing it to explode and sending me flying backwards.

"Ow." I simply said as I got up off of the ground.

"Terribly sorry. Sometimes I just don't know my own strength." Cinder said with an innocent smile.

.

.

Innocent... sure let's go with that.

I dusted myself off and ran towards Cinder with my sword unsheathed.

She smirked and fired more of her arrows at me, the arrows catching fire as they sped towards me.

With my quick thinking, I slashed at each of the arrows with my sword, each arrow shattering into pieces as the sword sliced through them.

I made sure that I wasn't anywhere near the arrow because we all know what happened to Pyrrha when she destroyed her arrows.

I noticed that a certain part of the blade was burning, due to the flames of the arrows heating the metal.

Though the strangest thing about the burning part was it's color.

Now I'm not pyrotechnic, but I'm pretty sure that fire isn't supposed to be blue.

"What the hell?" I mumbled to myself.

Though Cinder took my confused state as an opportunity to attack. She took out some device from her pocket and summoned a wide variety of Dust crystals. Once they were all in place, she shot them towards me.

I was broken out of my daze just in time and blocked a good chunk of the crystals from hitting me with my sword.

As I regained my composure, I noticed that my sword was starting to get significantly hotter than usual.

I looked at my blade to see that the sword was completely blue to the fire from Cinder's crystals.

Then, a question popped into my head.

Does fire have organic properties?

I looked to my right to see that Cinder was running towards me with her blades in her hands.

Well only one way to find out.

I started to put more power into the enchantment and sure enough, the flames started to get stronger and stronger to the point where I literally had to ball my hands into my jacket so I could hold the metal.

"Okay, bit too hot!" I yelled as I swung my sword around the air in attempts to put out the fire.

"Alright! Sorry bout that!" I said as I ran towards Cinder.

We started to exchange blows for a brief period of time, the blue sparks emanating off of our weapons as they clashed.

From the looks of it, Cinder wasn't even phased by the blue flames that emanated off of my weapon.

Though before I could make the flames even stronger, Cinder was able to kick me straight in the stomach and sent my flying towards the wall.

I growled and rushed towards Cinder, the flames becoming even stronger than before.

Though as she dodged another of my attacks, I noticed that she was squinting her eyes due to the sheer light of the fire.

I smirked and pulled out my revolver while she was still recovering from the light of the blue flames.

I charged up the shot for three seconds before releasing it, causing Cinder to go flying backwards.

Though as I started to twirl my gun around, I noticed smoke coming from my right. I looked at my right hand to see that it was completely engulfed in flames.

"Ah!" I yelled as I started to shake my hand in attempts to put out the flames.

This went on for a couple of seconds before eventually the flames went out.

Cinder eventually got up from the ground and started to charge towards me, both of her swords in her hands.

Though before I could attack, I noticed Caliber was starting to form from my right hand.

I grunted and shoved my right hand into my coat pocket.

Can't let her see it, at least not yet.

I grabbed my sword with my left hand and prepared to block the attack... well attempt to block it would be a better term. It's times like these that really I wish that I was left handed.

I exchanged blows with Cinder for a couple of seconds, though I wasn't exactly doing so well... really wish I was left handed.

Cinder eventually came out on top and threw my sword towards the wall.

She looked at me with a cocky smirk on her face before swinging her sword at my head.

I quickly ducked under her attack and rammed my head into her chin before kicking her away.

Cinder was able to regain her composure and land on the ground of the arena, her cocky smirk not leaving her face.

She put her weapons back into their sheaths before snapping her fingers and pointing downwards.

I looked down below my feet to see that various crystals were scattered around my feet.

Before I could even react, the crystals exploded and I was sent flying out of the arena.

"Ugh." I groaned as I got up slowly.

"And that's the match." Glynda said.

"I must say Ms. Ember, that was quite the display of skill you showed there. I'm sure you'll also have no issue qualifying for the tournament." She said.

Cinder bowed politely before walking away from the arena.

I dusted myself off and walked out of the arena with my hands in my pockets.

"That's is all for today! Remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first missions on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." Glynda said.

At the same time, Pyrrha's gaze didn't leave me as I continued to walk away.

"Wow, that woman was really strong. She beat Brandon without even breaking a sweat." Jaune said.

"Hmm." Pyrrha hummed.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune called out.

"I need to go." She said as she walked out of the arena.

Jaune tried to reach out to her, but Pyrrha was already long gone.

"What's up with her?" Nora asked.

"I don't know, I'll talk to her during our training session tonight." Jaune said as he sat up from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Ren asked.

"Ah, my good friend Ren, I am going to ask out the girl of my dreams." He sighed happily as he walked away.

.

.

"Should I get the ice cream?" Nora asked.

"Nora." Ren said.

"What?! You know he's going to get turned down!" She said.

"I know, but still. We should have a little more faith in him." He said.

* * *

Well then, that could have gone better. Instead of actually going toe to toe with Cinder Fall herself, I just made a colossal fool out of myself instead.

Then again I guess it's better than Cinder finding out about Caliber.

Besides, if I revealed too much in that fight then I wouldn't have been able to use it in my eventual confrontation with Cinder in the C.C.T.

If she saw me use the same abilities I used in that fight then I doubt she wouldn't be connect the dots and link them back to me.

So I can't use the Buster enchantment during the fight.

I was about to walk towards my dorm room until I heard someone walk towards me.

I turned around to see that Pyrrha was walking towards me with a very serious look in her eyes.

"Uh... hey Pyrrha?" I said.

"Brandon." She said as she stood in front of me.

.

.

"So... what's up with you?" I asked.

"Your stance was all wrong during that fight." She said.

"I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night." I said.

"You were carrying your sword in your left hand rather than your right hand." Pyrrha said.

"Thought I'd try out something new for a change." I said.

"You only used one enchantment during that whole fight." She said.

"... Yeah I got nothing for that one." I said.

"Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"Can you be a bit more specific?" I asked.

"Why were you holding back? You never hold back, not even with Jaune." She said.

"What are you talking about? I hold back with Jaune." I said.

Pyrrha's only response was to pull out her scroll and play a video of me beating the ever loving shit out of Jaune.

"Ow! Can you please hold back just a bit?! I'm still new to all this!" He said.

"Well you know what they say! The best way to learn is to have a hands on experience! So get ready for the fight of your life!... Literally, you might wind up in the hospital." The me in the video said.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out.

"That was only one time!" I said.

"Brandon! The fact still remains, I just want to know this sudden change is about." She said.

"Why do you even care? It's not like I have any restraints with you." I said.

"You're my rival, Brandon, every time you face an opponent you face them with a smirk on your face and with unwavering confidence." Pyrrha said as she gripped my shoulder.

"You are a boy who I am proud to call my rival." She said.

"That wasn't what I saw during that match." Pyrrha said.

I just stood there in silence, unsure how to respond.

"What's wrong? What was it about that fight that put you on edge?" She asked.

I tried to respond, but there was only one thing that came to my mind.

'Do you believe in destiny?' I remembered.

"It's... personal." I said.

Pyrrha's only response was to put another hand on my shoulder.

"Talk to me." She said.

"It's a bit more complicated than that." I said.

"I can try to understand." Pyrrha said.

"I just... " I began.

"Look, I just want to help you. You know that right?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"I would trust you with my life. Though do you trust me with yours?" Pyrrha asked.

.

.

Okay Brandon, how do you tell someone about the person who basically kills them in the future without actually telling them they're gonna die?

"Cinder and I go back... before I started training here at Beacon that is. We don't really know each other that well, but I know enough about her." I said.

"You mean you two know each other through your youth?" She asked.

"Something like that." I said.

"You know how everyone has their reason as to why they want to become huntresses and huntsmen?" I asked.

"Yes?" Pyrrha said.

"Well she's my reason. She's the reason why I enrolled into this school." I said.

Pyrrha just looked at me for a second before covering her mouth with both her hands, a blush on her face.

"O-oh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize you two were like that!" She said.

.

.

Wait a minute. She thinks that Cinder and I were-?!

"What?! No, no, no, no! It's not like that!" I said.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She apologized.

"It's fine, I probably should have worded it better." I said.

"If it wasn't for that reason, then what is it?" Pyrrha asked.

I sighed, digging my hands into my face before responding.

"Do you believe in destiny?" I asked.

"W-what?" She asked.

"Do you believe that we are all forced to follow a fate that we don't even know?" I asked.

"I don't know. I've never really thought about it to be honest." Pyrrha said.

"Well, lets just say that I'm fighting destiny." I said.

Pyrrha just looked at me with a very confused expression on her face.

Damn, I'm not getting anywhere with this.

Hmm... alright, hopefully this works.

"Tell you what. After the tournament is over, I'll tell you everything you want to know, how that?" I asked.

Pyrrha just stood there with her eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought.

.

.

"Okay, but I'm going to hold you to that." She said.

"Thank you Pyrrha, I promise to tell you everything when it's all over." I said.

Pyrrha nodded with a smile on her face.

"Thank you Brandon, it may not seem like much but I'm very glad that you're considering opening up to me... I'm glad to have you as a friend, as well as a rival." She said.

"Uh, yeah." I said.

"What now?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm just not used to this sorta thing. It's weird." I said.

"You'll get used to it." She said.

"Yeah." I said.

Though before we could further our conversation, Pyrrha felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket.

"Who's calling?" I asked.

"It's an alarm." She said.

"An alarm for what?" I asked.

Pyrrha looked at the alarm on her scroll and gasped.

"I'm late! I must have lost track of time! I'm sorry Brandon, but I need to go, I'll see you some other time." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, later." I said as Pyrrha ran off.

"Oh! And Pyrrha!" I yelled, causing Pyrrha to turn towards me.

"Just tell Jaune how you feel, he's not going to get any of those subtle hints you drop." I said.

Pyrrha just looked at me, her face turning the same color as her hair.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She said before turning around the corner.

Whatever you say, Pyrrha.

Though before I could continue my walk to my dorm room, I felt someone tap my shoulder.

"What do you want now?" I asked, expecting Pyrrha to be right behind me.

Though to my surprise, it wasn't Pyrrha who was trying to get my attention, rather it was Emerald.

"Well, hello to you to." She said with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, sorry I thought you were someone else." I said.

"Sure." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"So what do you want?" I asked.

"Can't a girl just say hi to her good friend?" Emerald asked.

"Can't you just not steal a bit of my money every time we interact?" I asked.

"Fair point." She said.

"So I'll ask again, what do you want?" I asked.

"Well, I have a little request for you." Emerald said.

"No, you can't have some of my money." I said.

"Wha-?! No! I don't want some of your money!" She said.

"No, you can't have all of my money." I said.

"I don't want your stupid lien!" Emerald said.

"Oh... then what do you want?" I asked.

"Well, you know how there's this dance this weekend, supposed to be pretty big and all that?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"And you know how you need to have a date to get into the dance?" Emerald asked.

"It's not a requirement to have a date." I said.

"Well I don't want to be that one person who goes to the dance without a date." She said.

"Okay, fair point." I said.

"So do you have a date for the dance?" Emerald asked.

"No?" I said.

"Well what a coincidence! Neither do I!" She said.

"What about Mercury?" I asked.

.

.

"Yeah, I'm just going to pretend you didn't just suggest that." Emerald said.

"Okay?" I said.

"So how about it? You, me, dance?" She asked.

Oh... that's what she wanted.

"Well, I would love to go but you see-" I began.

Okay Brandon, how do you let down a girl in the most painless but honest way possible?

"What? What's wrong?" Emerald asked, her grin turning into a frown.

Damn it! Where the hell is Weiss when you need her, she's probably turned down more guys than I can count! I mean just look at Jaune!

"Well, the thing is-" I started.

Then again, Weiss doesn't really like Jaune all that much so I guess it would be easier for her.

"I'm sorta... not... going?" I said meekly.

A few seconds passed, Emerald blinking a few times before responding.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, I'm just going to be really busy that night. I don't think I can make the dance." I said.

"Busy with what?" Emerald asked.

"Well, I just have to meet someone in Vale that night and it's probably going to take up most of my day." I said.

"Who are you going to meet?" She asked.

"An old friend of mine. I promised I'd show him around Vale." I said.

"Can't you meet him today?" Emerald asked.

"No, because his flight doesn't land today, it lands on the night of the dance." I said.

"Oh... okay." Emerald said quietly.

"Look... I'm sorry, I really wish I could go." I said.

"No, it's fine. I understand." She said.

Then why do I feel like the biggest asshole in the world?!

Ugh, curse my good looks, I knew they would come and bite me in the ass one day!

Cinder just HAD to plant the bug on the night of the dance, didn't she?!

She couldn't do it some other time?! A time that's more convenient for me?!

Though as I had my inner argument with myself, an idea sparked into my head.

"Wait!" I said, causing Emerald to jump a bit.

"Gah! Jeez, I'm right here!" She said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, right sorry." I said sheepishly.

Maybe I can make it to the dance, I mean it might only be for a short while but hey, I won't feel like complete shit.

"Look, there's a small chance that I might be able to make it to the dance, but it would only be for one song." I said.

"Really?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah, though like I said, it's a big maybe here. But if I do make it, save me a dance?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll save a dance for you, though I have to warn you. I'm not really good at it." She said.

"That's fine, neither can I." I said

"Really?!" Emerald asked.

"Yeah... why is this such a surprise to you?" I asked.

"Well, it just seems like you're the kind of guy who would be into that sorta thing." She said.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!" I asked.

"I don't mean it in a bad way! I just assumed it was a hobby you had." She said.

"When did I ever give off that impression?" I asked.

"Well, Mercury does like to dance in his spare time so I just thought he would share some of his hobbies with you." Emerald said.

"Mercury can dance?" I asked.

"Trust me, it was a surprise for me as well." She said.

As if on cue, a mental image of Mercury doing the kazotsky kick flashed in my mind.

God I miss Team Fortress 2.

"So, Sunday?" I asked.

"If you can make it that is." Emerald said.

"I make no promises, but I'll try my best to get there." I said.

Emerald nodded and walked in the other direction, though when she was certain that I wasn't looking, she threw her fist up into the air.

"You still got it, Emerald." She said.

"I didn't know you had it to begin with." Emerald heard someone say.

Emerald slowly turned around to see that her partner, Mercury, was leaning on the wall with the biggest shit eating grin you could possibly imagine.

"Mercury." Emerald began.

"Then again with your semblance, you can make anyone see anything you'd like... anything." He said.

"I need your help." She said.

"To be honest I'm surprised you didn't... wait what?" Mercury asked, clearly taken back at her sudden request.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" She said.

"You? You want MY help?" He asked.

"... Yes." Emerald said through her teeth.

"With what?" Mercury asked.

"I want to learn how to... dance." She said.

Mercury blinked a few times before rushing into the changing room.

"H-hey! What the hell are you-?!" Emerald didn't even have time to finish as a pair of clothing was thrown at her face.

"Put those on." Mercury said as he wore his dancing attire.

"I already regret this." Emerald groaned.

* * *

3rd Person POV

The members of Team RWBY were worried about their dear friend Blake, this investigation she was undergoing had taken a great toll on her mental and physical health. If this kept going the way it was going, then Blake wouldn't even have enough energy for their up coming mission on Monday.

So Team RWBY decided that she needed a long overdue break from all this stress.

"You what?!" Blake asked.

She didn't take their decision very well.

"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said.

"That's ridiculous." She said.

"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head." Yang said.

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, your grades are suffering, and I'm fairly certain you're suffering from short term memory loss." Weiss said.

"You think I care about grades?! People's lives are at stake!" Blake said.

.

.

"Sorry, what were we talking about again?" She asked.

"My point exactly." Weiss said.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"Look, Blake. We understand what's at stake here and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to." Yang said.

"Thanks to you and Sun, we know there operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale." Ruby said

"And the Schnee Dust records signaled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies for the last few months." Weiss said.

"Don't forget about their missing military tech too." Yang said.

"But there are still unanswered questions." Blake said.

"Blake, you won't be able to find out anything if you can't even keep your eyes open." Ruby said.

"All that we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang said.

"It'll be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it." Weiss said.

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" She said.

"Excuse me?!" Blake asked.

"Blake, we went over this already." Weiss said.

"We did?" She asked.

"Yes! Team CFVY's mission lasted longer than expected, so they won't be here to finish up the planning." Weiss said.

"So Weiss and I are gonna pick up where they left off, and now we can make sure you have the perfect night." Yang said.

"And once it's all over, I promise that we'll return to our search. Rested and ready." She said.

"So... what do you think?" Ruby asked.

.

.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time." Blake said as she walked out of the room.

"I'll be in the library." She said.

"Greaaat." Yang said.

"What now? If she keeps going on like this she's going to cause permanent damage to herself, mentally or physically." Weiss said.

Before Ruby or Yang could respond, a knocking was heard at their front door.

"What now?" She asked herself as she walked over to the door.

What she saw was... horrifying to say the least.

Jaune was at there front door with a guitar and bouquet in his hands.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Weiss~!" Jaune sang, causing Weiss to slam the door in his face.

 _'Nope.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"Aw come on!" Jaune said as he knocked on the door.

 _'Not happening.'_ She thought once again.

"Open the door!" He requested.

 _'Please go away.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"... I promise not to sing." Jaune said.

 _'Fine.'_ Weiss eventually gave in.

Reluctantly, Weiss opened the door as Jaune requested.

"I lied~!" He sang.

 _'Monty? What did I do to deserve this?'_ Weiss asked.

"Weiss Schnee~! Will you accompany me~? To the dance on... Sunday~?" He asked.

"Are you done?" She asked.

"Yes?" Jaune said.

Weiss sighed and walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"Look, Jaune. You are... less insufferable than I originally thought. Admittedly, you have grown quite a lot since you first enrolled into Beacon, and you may have one of the most versatile semblances I've ever seen on a warrior." She said.

"Aw, stop! You're gonna make me blush!" He said.

"So I'm going to let you down in the most painless, yet honest way possible." Weiss said.

.

.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Stop. Just stop it already. Your constant flirting has done nothing but cause me agitation, and despite my constant protests, you still continue. Now I see that I will have to be direct with you." She said, each word feeling like a stab to the heart for Jaune.

"I don't like you. I never have, and I never will." Weiss said.

"Look, you do seem like a nice person, you're a good friend to both Ruby and Pyrrha. To be honest, at first the only reason I ever interacted with you was because you were on good terms with Ruby. But recently, you've become more tolerable to be around." She said.

"But we'll never get to that level." Weiss said.

Jaune just stood there, he had already dropped the bouquet of flowers he had in his hands.

"Do you understand now?" She asked.

"I-I think so?" He said.

"Then repeat back what I just said." Weiss said.

"Y-you'll never see me as anything more than a f-friend?" Jaune asked.

"Exactly." She said as she walked back into her room.

Though when Weiss entered her room, she was met with a smirk from Yang.

"What?!" Weiss asked.

"And that's why they call you the ice queen." Yang said.

"I turned him down as nicely as I could!" She said.

Though before anyone could continue the conversation, another knock was heard on the door.

"Oh you can NOT be serious!" Weiss yelled as she opened the door.

"Look, I was trying to be nice but now I see I have to be more forceful! I don't like you like that! I will never like you like that! We will never be anything more! Now get out!" She yelled.

"... What are you talking about?" She heard someone ask.

"What?!" Weiss yelled as she saw Brandon standing at their front door with a very confused look on his face.

"Oh my-! Brandon I am so sorry! I thought you were Jaune!" She yelled.

"Do I look blonde to you?" He asked.

"No! I just-! Ugh, what do you want?" Weiss asked.

"I came here to pick my Dust?" Brandon said.

"Oh! Right!" She said as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a box of Dust rounds from a drawer.

"Here you are... 500 Dust rounds ready for use." Weiss as she handed the box over to Brandon.

"Thanks." He said as he started to walk away.

"Wait!" Weiss called out to Brandon, causing him to turn around.

"Why do you need all of that Dust?" She asked.

"... No reason." He said as he walked away from her.

.

.

"What was that about?" Yang asked.

* * *

 _'I can't believe I lost track of time like that! Oh I hope Jaune doesn't think I walked out on him!'_ Pyrrha thought to herself.

 _'No, Jaune wouldn't think that! He's a very understanding person, I'm sure he's training on his own right now!'_ She thought.

Though as she ran down the various halls in the building, Brandon's statement lingered in her mind.

"Just tell Jaune how you feel, he's not going to get any of those subtle hints you drop." She remembered him saying.

 _'How did he find out?! I've been doing my best to keep my feelings for him hidden from everyone, and yet he found out almost instantly!'_ Pyrrha inwardly panicked.

 _'How many other people know about my feelings for Jaune?! Oh why does this have to happen today?!'_ She thought to herself.

 _'N-no, I'm sure that he'll keep it a secret from Jaune. He isn't the kind of person who would openly reveal someone secrets like that... right?'_ Pyrrha asked herself.

 _'But what if Jaune overheard our conversation! Oh that would be absolutely terrible!'_ She panicked.

 _'It's okay Pyrrha! Just pretend like nothing happened today and just act normal! Yep! Normal as can be!'_ Pyrrha thought to herself.

Though as Pyrrha arrived at the balcony where she and Jaune trained, she was not only surprised to see him there so soon, but she was also surprised at the fact that he was doing absolutely nothing.

Every time she was late he had already started practicing, and yet here he was, just sitting there.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, startling Jaune a bit.

"P-Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, causing him to slip and fall over the railings.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she went in to grab Jaune's hand.

"I'm so sorry Jaune!" She apologized as she hung onto his hood for dear life.

"No, it's fine! Can you please pull me up now?" He asked.

Pyrrha nodded and pulled Jaune over the railing, gasping for air once she was finished.

"Wow, that work-out routine must really be working." She said.

"Yeah, sure is." Jaune said somberly.

Pyrrha picked up on this and looked at Jaune with a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

.

.

"Jaune, you know you can tell me." Pyrrha said.

"I-it's Weiss." He said.

"Oh." Pyrrha said, less than pleased to be talking about the woman of Jaune's dreams.

"What about her?" She asked.

Jaune just sat on the railing and sighed.

"Pyrrha. What do you look for in a guy?" He asked.

"W-what?!" She asked, her face turning the same color as her hair.

"Who would make the perfect boyfriend?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha eventually got a hold of herself and cleared her throat.

"W-well. I don't really have a lot of standards really. Thought they would have to accept me for who I am now, and not for who I was back in Mistral." She said.

"Right." He said.

"Jaune? What's this all about?" Pyrrha asked.

"She shot me down!" Jaune admitted.

"Weiss?" She asked.

"Yeah, but she didn't just shoot me down. It's like she just fired a full machine gun clip through my heart!" He yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked.

"She said that I never had a chance with her, and that I never will. Not now, not then, and not ever!" Jaune yelled.

Jaune just wiped his eyes with his free arm, sniffling all the while.

"Oh Jaune." Pyrrha said as she sat behind her partner.

"I-I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Jaune said.

"It's alright, we all have our moments of hardships." She said.

Jaune nodded and wiped away his tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's just... she was my dream girl! From the moment I laid eyes on her I knew she would be my little princess!... or that's what I thought." He said.

"Well, you know the saying, there's plenty of fish in the sea." She said.

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You probably have a pool of people waiting to ask you to the dance." Jaune said.

"Y-you'd be surprised." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, if you don't get a date to the dance, then I'll wear a dress." He said.

Pyrrha just chuckled a bit at the thought of Jaune wearing a dress.

.

.

"Maybe I should just give up on girls. Be like Brandon, one man kind of guy." He said.

"W-what?! No!" She yelled.

Jaune was taken back at Pyrrha's sudden out burst.

"Jaune, just because you got turned down once doesn't mean you should just give up all together! You would make a great boyfriend!" She said.

"Then why can't I get a date with Weiss?" He asked.

"Look, Jaune, some things aren't meant to be. You see her as this goddess and angel, but to her, she's heard the same thing over and over and over again to the point where she's not really sure what's considered sincere and what's fake." She said.

"So... you're saying she doesn't believe my affections are true?" Jaune asked.

"Sadly yes. I should know what that feels like." Pyrrha said.

"Look, Jaune, what you say to her is really sweet and considerate, but she's heard it a thousand times before." She said.

"... Is that so?" He asked.

"I'm afraid it is." Pyrrha said.

"Heh, wow. I really messed up, didn't I?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune-" She began.

"I just wish I could have told her how I felt without coming off as one of those rich kids in Atlas." He said.

Pyrrha bawled up her fist and sighed.

"Look, I won't lie to you, I don't think you may ever get that chance. But the least you can do is tell her you're sorry and try to start over. Not as lovers, but as friends instead." She said.

"D-do you really think that would work?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know. But you'll never know if you don't try. But I want you to take this with you." Pyrrha said.

"Don't do it for her sake, do it for yours." She said.

"W-what?! But I-!" Jaune began.

"Weiss has already moved on, I think it's time for you to move on as well." Pyrrha said.

"So that's it? I just... move on?" He said.

"Well, it's not that simple. It never is, but it's a start." She said.

Jaune just sat there for a couple of moments in silence before nodding.

"You're right. I need to move on, not for her sake, but for my own. She said it herself, we'll never be anything more than what we are now, so the least I can do is try to start over." He said.

"That's the spirit." Pyrrha said.

Jaune walked over to Pyrrha and wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you Pyrrha, I'm glad that I have you as a friend." He said.

 _'Friend... right.'_ Pyrrha thought to herself.

"And I you." She said.

"Well, I guess I should find Weiss." He said.

"Wait!" Pyrrha said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a book.

"What's this?" Jaune asked.

"It's a book on Botany! I believe it will help you with your training." She said.

"You want me to study flowers?" He asked.

"No!... well yes... just listen. With this book, you can research all of the different plants you can potentially grow to aid you in the battlefield." Pyrrha said.

"So... you want me to study flowers." Jaune said.

"Yes! I want you to study flowers!" She said.

Jaune looked at the book before nodding.

"I guess I can see why this could be useful. Thanks Pyr." He said.

.

.

 _'D-did he just give me a nickname?!'_ Pyrrha mentally screamed.

"It's getting late, I guess I can talk to Weiss tomorrow." Jaune said.

Pyrrha nodded and followed Jaune off of the balcony.

"Jaune." Pyrrha called out.

"I just want to say, that I'm really proud of you." She said.

"Oh stop! You're gonna make me blush!" He said.

* * *

"Ugh, this is so boring." Ruby sulked as Yang and Weiss finished setting up the ballroom for the big night.

"Well, if you want something to do, then you can help me with picking the table cloths for the dance." Weiss said as she put two colors that looked exactly the same in front of Ruby.

.

.

"Where's the second one?" She asked.

"They're right in front of you?" Weiss said.

"Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asked.

Weiss sighed and took back the cloths that she put on the table.

"I don't even know why I asked." She said as she walked away.

 _'What did I do that time?'_ Ruby asked.

"Don't mind her sis, she's just being Weiss. Nothing too out of the ordinary." Yang said.

"Yeah." Ruby said dejectedly.

'Maybe I should try and get her mind off of Blake's health.' Yang thought to herself.

"So... have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked.

"What's the point if Blake's not going?" She asked.

'Okay, she's REALLY upset about it. Luckily I have a foolproof plan for getting Blake to go to the dance!' She thought to herself.

"Oh don't you worry little sis, she's going." Yang said as she looked to her left.

"Weiss! We talked about this! No doilies!" She said.

"If I can't have doilies, then YOU can't have fog machines!" Weiss said.

"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked as he entered the ballroom with Sun in tow.

"We were thinking about it." She said.

"That's pretty cool." He said.

"So... you ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun asked.

"Psh, yeah right." Ruby said.

"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night." Yang said.

"So... what are you two wearing?" Weiss asked.

"Uh, this?" Sun said, referring to usual attire.

.

.

"H-he can't be serious." Weiss said.

"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." Neptune said.

"How can someone be so... c-casual at a formal event?!" She asked.

"I asked myself the same question during our entrance ceremony." He said.

"Hey! I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. Not exactly a shirt and tie kind of place." Sun said.

"Heh, sounds like my kind of kingdom." Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby said.

"So... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all... you know... Blakey?" He asked.

"Obviously." Weiss said.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby said.

"Guys, trust me. Blake WILL be at the dance tomorrow." Yang said as she walked off.

"So... Neptune, can I get your opinion on something?" Weiss asked.

"Sure, lay it on me." He said.

"Which table cloth would look best with tonight dance?" She asked.

"Oh! I love the texture on this one! Such a calm and smooth feeling!" He said.

"I know right?!" Weiss said.

"Oh but this one is just as good! Having such a mysterious yet romantic feeling to it." Neptune said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." She said.

"Don't they look the same though?" Sun asked, causing Neptune to turn towards his partner in disgust.

"Do they look the sa-?! Are you even hearing yourself right now?!" He asked.

"What?!" Sun asked.

"Just take a good look at this one right here and tell me what you see." Neptune said.

"I see... uh... color?" He asked.

"I don't even know why I even bothered." He said.

"Finally, someone who has a true appreciation for the finer arts." Weiss said.

"I know right! I try to explain it to my team, and all they can say that it just looks good!" Neptune said.

"I know! Art is more than just a picture! It's a message! It can change lives, outlooks, even spark romances!" She said.

As Weiss and Neptune went back and forth, Sun and Ruby just looked at them with confused expressions on their faces.

"What are they talking about?" He asked.

"Beats me." Ruby said.

Though as Ruby looked to the corner of her eye, she saw Brandon walking through the ballroom with a box in his hand.

"What you got there, Brandon?" Ruby asked.

"My suit." He said.

"You're going to the dance?" She asked.

"Maybe." Brandon said.

"What do you mean, maybe?" Sun asked.

"I mean I MIGHT be going to the dance. Not that hard to comprehend." He said.

"What's stopping you?" He asked.

"I'm meeting someone tonight." Brandon said.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Someone I've been wanting to meet for a very long time." He said as he walked away.

"What's up with him?" Sun asked.

"I don't know, he's been very... tense lately." She said.

"Are you two even listening?!" Weiss asked, breaking Sun and Ruby out of their daze.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Nevermind." She said.

"So... what's Yang planning?" Sun asked.

"I don't know, all we can really do is wait." Ruby said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blake was doing her usual research in the library, looking for any leads she could get on Roman Torchwick, though so far she was having no such luck. Though if she did find something useful, she would have had to write it down on her notebook so she wouldn't forget it.

One of the many drawbacks of sleep deprivation.

 _'Come on! There has to be something out there!'_ She thought to herself.

Though before she could continue her research, a red dot appeared on her screen.

 _'What in the-?!'_ She thought to herself as she looked around to see who was shining that light near her.

 _'Tch, whatever.'_ Blake thought to herself as she continued to conduct her research.

Though not even a few seconds later, the red dot appeared again.

 _'Just ignore it.'_ She thought to herself.

The dot started to move.

 _'Ignore it.'_ Blake said to herself.

.

.

 _'Okay! Now this stupid thing is getting on my nerves!'_ She thought as she started to give chase.

 _'Get back here!'_ She thought.

She continued to follow the dot around a corner.

"I got you no-!" Blake began, only for the sight of Yang to stop her in her tracks.

"Hello~!" She sang.

"Yang?! What are you-?!" Blake began.

"We need to talk." She said.

"About whaaaaaa-?!" She yelled as Yang dragged her to a nearby room.

"Why are we in here?" Blake asked.

"Sit." Yang said.

"What?" She asked.

"Sit down." She said.

Blake narrowed her eyes but sat in a chair that was conveniently placed next to the front desk.

"I think you know why I dragged you in here." Yang said.

"Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop then you might as well save your breath." Blake said.

"I'm not telling you to stop." She began.

"I want you to slow down." She said.

"We don't have the luxury to slow down." Blake said.

"It's not a luxury anymore, it's a necessity now." Yang said.

"The 'necessity' is stopping Torchwick." She said.

"And we're going to. But why not sit down and relax for a moment? I have a story to tell you." She said.

Blake narrowed her eyes but reluctantly complied.

"Fine, tell me your stupid story." She said.

"Alright, it's time for storytime with mama Yang!" Yang joked.

"I will leave this room." Blake warned.

"Fine, Mrs. Grumpy Pants." She said.

"Yang." She warned once again.

"Oh, sorry. Ms. Grumpy Pants." Yang said.

"Yang! I swear, I will leave this room if you-!" Blake began.

"Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island just outside of Vale." She began.

Blake sighed and started to listen to Yang's story.

"Our parents were both huntsmen. Our dad's a teacher at Signal, and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom." Yang said.

"Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like, super mom. Even if she had some... strange personality switches." She said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Well... think Ruby, but when you least expect it, she just turned into the battle crazed warrior." Yang said.

"Uh... " Blake tried to say.

"Yeah, she was a weird one. But she was awesome. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters." She said.

Though as Yang continued, her expression turned into one of sadness.

"Then one day she left for a mission and never came back." Yang said.

"It was tough... for all of us. Ruby was devastated, but I think she was still to young to truly realize what was going on." She said.

"My dad just kinda... shut down and all that. It wasn't long before I knew why." Yang said.

"Summer wasn't the first love he lost, she was the second. The first one was my mom, Raven Branwen." She said.

"He wouldn't tell me everything. But I learned that the two of them had been on a team with Summer and Qrow, and that she left me with him just after I was born." Yang said.

"No one had seen her since. I only know bits and pieces from my uncle." She said.

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asked.

"Heh, that's the question of my life. Why? I didn't know the answer but I was determined to find out." Yang said.

"It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could what they knew about her, but every time I found myself more confused that I was before." She said.

"Then, one day I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers. Maybe even my mother." Yang said.

"So when dad left the house, I put Ruby in a wagon and headed out." She said.

"I must have walked for hours, I had cuts and bruises and was totally exhausted. But I wasn't going to let anything stop me." Yang said.

"When we finally got there, I could barely stand... but I didn't care, I finally made it." She said.

"Then I saw them... those burning red eyes." Yang said.

"There we were, a toddler asleep in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter, but as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time. My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that night." Yang said.

"Yang... I'm sorry, I truly am, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different! I'm not a child, this isn't just a search for answers, I can't just-!" Blake began.

"I told you! I'm not telling you to stop! You think I have?! No! Everyday I wonder why she left, what happened to her, and what could possibly be more important then being there for her own damn daughter!" Yang yelled.

.

.

"But I will never let that search control me. We're going to figure this out, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process then what good are we?" Yang asked.

"You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!" Blake yelled.

"No! You don't understand! If Roman Torchwick walked through that door right now, what would you do?!" Yang asked.

"I'd fight him!" Blake yelled.

"You'd lose!" Yang yelled.

"I could stop him!" She yelled back.

"You can't even stop me!" Yang yelled.

Blake just stood there with a glare on her face, Yang's message clearly not getting through her head.

"Okay, so that's how it's going to be." She said as she started to walk away.

"Where are you-?!" Blake began.

"Meet me at the arena. If I can't tell you, I'll show you." Yang said.

Blake glared and followed her out of the classroom.

Eventually, Blake and Yang arrived at the empty arena, the moonlight shining over the ring as they stood on opposite sides.

"Yang, what is this about?" Blake asked.

"You think you can fight Roman with the way you are now? Then prove it to me, one on one, right here, right now. If you win, I'll leave you to your investigation." Yang said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Yang." Blake began.

"What's wrong? If you can't handle this then that speaks volumes for what your encounter with Roman will be like." She said.

Blake growled and pulled out her weapon from her back.

"That's what I like to hear." Yang said.

Though Blake noticed something about Yang that was off.

"Where are your weapons?" Blake asked.

"Trust me, I won't need Ember Celica to kick your ass." She said.

Blake growled and ran towards Yang with her weapon in her hands.

Yang just stared at her with her arms crossed, one of her eyebrows were raised.

Blake swung her sword at Yang, though Yang was able to dodge her attack effortlessly.

She tried to slash at her once again, but Yang was able to dodge the attack, her arms still crossed.

"Fight back!" Blake yelled.

"I'll start fighting back when you start putting up a fight." She said.

Blake's glare deepened and she switched her weapon over to her scythe mode before throwing it at Yang.

Yang was able to catch the scythe in her right hand with little to no effort.

Blake tried to pull her weapon out of Yang's grasp, but Yang had an iron grip on the weapon.

Yang pulled on the weapon, causing Blake to go flying towards her.

She reeled her fist backwards and punched Blake across the jaw, causing her to drop her weapon.

Blake struggled to get up, her vision was starting to blur.

"Ugh, I-I can still-" Blake began, though was interrupted by her weapon being thrown at her feet.

"Then pick up your weapon and fight." She said.

Blake picked up her weapon shakily and switched it to it's pistol form.

She fired a few shots at Yang, but she was able to dodge them with ease as she slowly started to walk over to Blake.

Blake growled louder and ran towards Yang with her weapon in its sword form.

Though as she was right about to slash at Yang, she collapsed to the ground.

Yang sighed and walked over to Blake to pick her up.

"So... you still think you can beat Torchwick when you can barely swing your own sword?" She asked.

Blake just laid there in silence, not even trying to get up from the ground.

"Do you get it now? Your body can't take any more of this treatment. You'll kill yourself before you can stop Roman." Yang said.

.

.

"Look, we're not telling you to stop... just get some rest. Not just for you but for the people you care about." She said.

.

.

"Blake?" Yang asked.

 _'Shit, did I go overboard? Damn it! I knew this was a bad i-!'_ Yang began, only to be cut off by a very audible snoring sound.

"Heh, looks like you're already on it." She said as she picked Blake up.

"Come on, the concrete's no place for a nap." Yang said as she carried Blake out of the building.

* * *

 _'Okay Jaune, you got this! You and Pyrrha practiced this back in your dorms.'_ Jaune thought to himself as he searched for Weiss.

 _'Just go up to her and say that you're sorry and that you want to start over. Just as friends.'_ He thought to himself.

Though before he could continue his search, he saw Weiss running away with tears in her eyes.

"W-Weiss?!" Jaune called out.

When he turned the corner, he could see Neptune standing there with a look of sadness in his eyes.

 _'I knew it! I knew that Neptune was just another jerk! How could he ha-?!'_ Jaune began, only to see a tear fall down Neptune's eye.

"I'm sorry, Weiss." He said quietly before walking away.

Jaune was confused, he was wrong about Neptune? Then why did Weiss run away in a crying fit?

Though he could worry about that in a later time, he had to make sure Weiss was okay.

Though not as a crush, but as a friend.

Jaune followed Weiss into the ballroom where the dance was to be held.

"W-Weiss?" Jaune called out for quietly.

Weiss gasped lightly before spinning her head around.

"Oh... it's you." She said.

"Yeah... me... you know, Jaune." He said.

"I know who you are. Now go away. I'm not exactly in the mood to talk." Weiss said.

 _'Well, it's now or never.'_ He thought to himself.

"I saw what happened." Jaune said.

.

.

"Why?" She asked.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"Why did he reject me?! I mean, I'm me!" Weiss said.

 _'Jeez, was she always this humble?'_ Jaune asked himself in a sarcastic way.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" He asked.

"What could you possibly know about how I feel?!" She asked.

.

.

"Really?" He asked.

"Okay, you've made your point." Weiss said.

"So what happened?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I've been wanting to go to the dance with Neptune for quite some time now, I had this perfect plan all set up for the two of us. I would ask him, he'd say yes, and we would dance under the moonlight sky." She said.

"That's what was supposed to happen at least. As you can see, only one of those three things happened." Weiss said.

"Why did he say no?" Jaune asked.

"How should I know! He just said that he couldn't go to the dance with me and left it at that!" She said.

"He just... up and left... maybe I did something wrong." Weiss said.

"Don't say that!" Jaune shouted, causing Weiss to jump a bit.

"Jeez, I'm right here!" She yelled.

"Oh, right sorry. Look, I know just as well as anyone that rejection sucks, it really sucks. But, that's no excuse for us to stop trying. Maybe he's going through a difficult time in his life, and he's just not ready for a relationship, and if that's the case it would be your job to help him." Jaune said.

Weiss just stared at Jaune before wiping her eyes with her arm.

"If this is your way of winning me over it's not working." She said.

"Which brings me to why I was really looking for you." He said.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"I'm... sorry. I didn't realize that what I was doing was... well... what's the word?" Jaune asked.

"Annoying?" Weiss said.

"Yes, but that's not the word I'm looking for." He said.

"Hmm... Oh! Predictable!" Jaune said.

"What?" She asked.

"I didn't realize that what I was doing was something you've heard over a thousand times in a thousand ways." He said.

"How could you not realize?! You know who I am, right?!" She asked.

"Well to be honest, I didn't really know what the Schnee name really meant until Pyrrha told me." Jaune admitted.

Weiss just sat there in silence before responding.

"What?" She asked.

"But that didn't stop me! I still saw you as the most perfect girl in the world... but I guess a lot of guys thought that, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah." Weiss admitted.

"So... I want to start over. Not as just a crush, but as friends." Jaune said.

Weiss raised one of her eyebrows in response.

"So what do you say? Wanna start over from zero?" He asked.

.

.

"Fine. But don't think of this as a way for you to make a move on me." Weiss said.

"Thank you Weiss! I really appreciate it!" He said.

"Alright, just don't go getting ideas." She said.

"Don't worry, those days are over now." Jaune said.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, what's with that book you have there?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, I think Pyrrha said this was a book on Batony." Jaune said.

"You mean Botany?" She asked.

"Yeah, that." He said.

"What could possibly drive you to read a book about plants?" Weiss asked.

Jaune's only response was to walk up to a set of nearby flowers, touch it with his hand, and add some of his aura to the dying plant, causing it to bloom once again.

"That's why." He said.

"Right. Plants." She said.

* * *

The night of the dance was here, and the room was jam packed with various people from various kingdoms.

Ruby was attempting to walk across the ballroom in her heels, Weiss was making sure everything was in place, Blake was dancing with Sun, Yang was there to greet the guests, Jaune was dancing with Pyrrha in a dress, and everyone was having a good time.

Everything was going smoothly... well, almost everything.

There were two certain teenagers who were keeping watch over the guests so that their boss could go and plant a certain bug in Beacon's tower.

"It appears all the dancers have their partners." Emerald said.

"How long do I have?" Cinder asked.

"You should probably be back by midnight." Mercury said.

"I'll keep my eye on the clock." Cinder said as she cut off the connection.

Emerald looked down at the crowd with a disappointed look in her eye.

"Guess he's not showing up after all." She said.

"He did say he probably couldn't make it." Mercury said.

"I know that! I was just... hoping to get a dance with him." Emerald said.

"Well, the night's still young. You know him, he always likes to put on a show before he does something big. Knowing him he might be preparing to ask you right now." He said.

"Yeah that does sound like him." Emerald said with a chuckle.

"Well, no point in letting those dance lessons go to waste, so how bout it?" He asked as he held his hand out.

Emerald just looked at his hand before sighing.

"Fine. But don't get any ideas." She said as she walked down the stairs.

"Whatever you say." He said, following Emerald down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Cinder had already made her way to Beacon's tower.

 _'Hmm, this shouldn't even be a challenge.'_ She thought to herself.

She walked up behind the guard standing on the front door and knocked him out.

After she hid his body, she went inside of the main building where she was met with various guards.

"Excuse me. No one's allowed in the area. Stop!" He yelled as he pointed his gun at Cinder.

Cinder ran up to the guard and grabbed his arm before hitting him across the jaw.

Another one was right on her tail, though she was able to kick him in the gut before he got too close.

After that, she threw the guard she had in her grasp at the two guarding the elevator.

The guards rushed towards with their weapons unfurled.

Cinder smirked and summoned her two blades, slashing at the guards before knocking them out with a swift kick.

"Honestly, you'd think they'd have better guards on duty." She said as she entered the elevator.

"So then she said-" The guard began, only to stop himself at the sight of Cinder.

.

.

"Uh." He began.

"No, do go on. What did she say? I'm dying to know." She said.

"Uh... she said that it wouldn't work out?" He said.

"Oh, that's too bad." Cinder said as she knocked both guards out.

"Though I can see why she would turn you down. I mean just look at the mess you made in here." She said as she kicked the bodies out.

"There, much better." Cinder said as the elevator went up towards the C.C.T.

 _'Hmm, now all that's left to do is plant the bug in the system. Then I can bend the odds into my favor.'_ She thought as she pulled out her scroll.

 _'All that's left to do is wait.'_ She thought.

.

.

 _'Bit bored here.'_ Cinder thought to herself.

.

 _._

 _'Kinda wish I didn't knock out those guards as soon as I did.'_ She thought.

Before she could continue however, the elevator had arrived at the C.C.T.

"Finally! Gods, I thought that would never end." Cinder said as she walked out of the elevator.

"Hold up miss! I'll be with you in a minute! I'm eating a biscuit." A man said from behind the counter, causing Cinder to stop dead in her tracks.

 _'W-what?! How?! When?! What?! No one's supposed to be here!'_ She thought to herself.

She couldn't identify the man however, his face was completely covered by a mask.

 _'No matter, I can take care of him like I took care of the rest.'_ She thought to herself.

The man finished the remains of his biscuit and looked at Cinder.

"How may I help you?" He asked.

"Well, I was just wondering if I could use this station here. It's really important." She said.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss, this station is reserved for authorized personnel only." He said.

"But surely you'll make an exception for someone like me." Cinder said.

"Sorry ma'am, no exceptions." He said.

Though before Cinder could continue her mission, the sound of Emerald's voice cut her off.

 **"We have a problem."** She said.

"Will you give me a moment?" Cinder asked as she walked away.

"What is it now?!" She asked.

 **"Party guest is leaving."** Emerald said.

"Which one?" Cinder asked.

 **"Ironwood."** She said.

 _'It just HAD to be the general!'_ She thought to herself.

 **"Should we keep him busy?"** Mercury asked.

"No, I'll be done with my current problem soon." Cinder said.

 **"Problem?"** Emerald asked.

"Someone's here." She said.

 **"What?! We're on our way!"** She said.

"No! I will take care of it. You just make sure no other guests leave." Cinder said.

 **"Understood."** Emerald said.

Cinder walked up to the counter and reached for her blade.

"If you want, I can do it for you." He said.

 _'What?... No, this is perfect. This way I can pin this all on him. This will make my job much easier.'_ Cinder thought to herself.

"Of course, here you are." She said as she handed him her scroll.

"Alright just take this." He began.

"Throw it over there." He said as he threw it behind his chair.

"What are you-?!" Cinder began.

"And-" He said as he pulled out a revolver and shot the scroll into tiny little pieces.

"Done." He finished.

.

.

"Oh, I'm sorry was that important?" He asked.

"... " Cinder just stood there in silence.

"Sorry. Probably should have warned ya." He said with a smirk.

"... " Cinder glared at the man who destroyed her scroll.

"Important stuff is hard to recreate. Might take months... though that was your only opportunity to get this right?" He asked.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Me? I'm just a greeter." He said.

"You sure have a strange way of greeting people." She said.

"You're one to talk." He said.

"I don't know who you are, or who you work for. But know this, you have only put a rock in our road that leads to our goal." She said.

"You got it all wrong lady. I'm not doing this for anyone, I don't really have a boss, I'm doing this because I can." He said.

"You think you can fight a war all by yourself?" Cinder asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows, I might pick up a few allies along the way... or maybe eleven." He said with a smirk.

Though before Cinder could further question him, the sound of a elevator cut her off.

 _'Damn it. I wasted too much time.'_ She said as she looked for the nearest escape route.

Eventually, Cinder settled on a nearby stairway.

She looked behind the counter to see that the man behind it was already gone.

 _'Tch, I have no idea who you are, but you have no idea how much trouble you are in.'_ She thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Ironwood had entered the room with his revolver in his hand.

He scanned the room to see if there were any nearby enemies. When he knew the coast was clear, he started to walk around the room to investigate.

 _'They couldn't have gone very far.'_ Ironwood thought to himself.

Though before he could continue his search, a large hole in the bottom of the chair of the greeters desk stopped him in his tracks.

"Hmm." He hummed as he investigated the hole.

"It's an emergency exit. Someone must have used it." He said.

Though before he could climb down to give chase, he saw the shattered remains of Cinder's scroll.

"What in the world?" He asked himself as he picked up the remains.

"Damn it. They were here, the enemy was here." He said as he walked towards the elevator.

* * *

"What's taking her so long?" Emerald asked.

"I don't know, but you know what she said, stay here just in case anyone else leaves." She said.

Though before the two could finish their conversation, Emerald felt a tap on her shoulder.

"I'm back." Cinder said.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"It was a little more... stressful than I would have liked." She said.

"Should we be worried?" Mercury asked.

"Hmm... It wouldn't hurt to keep our guard up from here on out." Cinder said.

"So what happened?" Emerald asked.

"I'll explain it later. But from the looks of it, there's an extra player on the field." She said.

"A third party?" She asked.

"Precisely." Cinder said.

"But now is not the time, it is a party after all, let us enjoy ourselves." She said.

Though little did they know, two people were watching the three over there heads.

"Is that her?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, now let's put the plan into action." Yang said.

"This is stupid." She said.

"Well it was Brandon's idea so just do it!" She said as she walked over behind the curtains.

Weiss nodded reluctantly and went up to the stage where she could put the first step of the plan into action.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. Now it's time for the big finale. Yang! Bring out the cake!" Weiss yelled, causing everyone to cheer.

"Cake?!" Ruby yelled in excitement.

Yang started to roll out a giant cake out into the dance floor.

"Well now, this is certainly a pleasant surprise." Cinder said.

Though the strange thing was, Yang was rolling the cake over to Emerald.

"This is for you." She said.

"What?!" Everyone yelled.

"What?!" Emerald yelled.

"Yang! I told you to bring out the actual cake first!" Weiss yelled.

"Well I thought it be better if we gave Brandon some air!" Yang yelled back.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

Her only response was for the top of the cake to pop open and Brandon to come out of the cake.

"Jeez! Couldn't you poke a hole in the cake or something?!" He asked.

Brandon wore a pair of rectangular sunglasses with gold trimmings and a dark fedora with a white trim on his head.

He also wore a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt, with a loose purple tie wrapped around the collar. Completing his attire was a pair of dark dress pants, black dress shoes with golden lacing and a pair of fingerless gloves.

"I was gonna, but Weiss said the whole cake would fall apart then." Yang said.

"How is one little hole gonna break an entire cake?!" He asked.

"I don't know! Ask her when this is all over!" She said.

Brandon growled but jumped out of the cake and landed in front of Emerald.

"You made it." She said.

"I had a little extra time on my hands." He said as he held out his hand.

"So how about that dance?" Brandon asked.

Emerald smiled and gripped Brandon's hand.

"Took you long enough." She said as they made their way to the dance floor.

* * *

 **So, I officially got on Cinder's shit list.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Shit.**

 **Well, it was bound to happen one way or another.**

 **On the plus side, I get to have a dance with Emerald. So it's not all bad.**

 **Though seriously! How the hell can one little hole destroy an entire cake?!**

 **Well, I can worry about that later.**

 **I stopped Cinder from planting the bug in Beacon's system. Now all I have to do is pray that fate doesn't give me the middle finger and have the match ups happen anyway.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Why are you looking at me like that?**

 **Here were some of the reviews you guys left in the last chapter.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Thanks, I plan on using all the OC's I've used up until now in later chapters.**

 **olTran: Well I might use her in a later chapter, she did have a short hands on experience with a weapon spirit.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Thanks.**

 **DragonLord501st: It's not filler if it has some relations with the actual story.**

 **bwburke94: Oh no. I messed up ONE letter.**

 **TheoMidnight: Thanks! I'm glad that you like it!**

 **Ragnorak16: Well that just doesn't make sense, it's either him or not.**

 **Raidentensho: I don't understand what you're asking about Winter. Are you asking me if she has an enchanted weapon or how she will react to it?**

 **Guest: We'll see.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: Sent help huh?... does that mean he's already getting help?**

 **Brandon: Guess so.**

 **Author: Okay, well good luck then!**

* * *

Omake - Mistake- (Non-Canon)

"Is that her?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, now let's put the plan into action." Yang said.

"This is stupid." She said.

"Well it was Brandon's idea so just do it!" She said as she walked over behind the curtains.

Weiss nodded reluctantly and went up to the stage where she could put the first step of the plan into action.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. Now it's time for the big finale. Yang! Bring out the cake!" Weiss yelled, causing everyone to cheer.

"Cake?!" Ruby yelled in excitement.

Yang started to roll out a giant cake out into the dance floor.

"Well now, this is certainly a pleasant surprise." Cinder said.

Though the strange thing was, Yang was rolling the cake over to Emerald.

"This is for you." She said.

"What?!" Everyone yelled.

"What?!" Emerald yelled.

"Yang! I told you to bring out the actual cake first!" Weiss yelled.

"Well I thought it be better if we gave Brandon some air!" Yang yelled back.

"Fine, I guess I'll just start cutting the actual cake." She grumbled as she pulled out another cake.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

"Okay Brandon, you can come on out now." Yang said.

.

.

"I said, you can come out now!" She yelled.

.

.

"I said! You can come out n-!" Yang began as she hit the cake with the back of her hand, though instead of hitting cardboard, she hit frosting.

"...Oh crap." She began as she spun her head towards Weiss.

"Don't cut that cake!" Yang yelled.

"Why? You have the surprise cake already." Weiss said as she dug the knife deep into the cake.

Yang's only response was to punch a hole in the actual cake, her arm covered in cake and frosting, causing Weiss to turn pale.

She slowly looked into the cake, and after a few seconds, she took her head out with a nervous smile on her face.

"Change of plans! That's the actual cake! Everyone enjoy!" Weiss said.

"Then what's with this one?" Jaune asked.

"It's uh...a fake! It was meant to be a joke!" Yang said.

"What's that red stuff coming from the bottom of the cake?" Ruby asked.

.

.

"Book it!" Yang yelled as she and Weiss ran out of the ballroom with the fake cake in tow.

* * *

 **Aria Symphonia**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 146 lbs**

 **Age: 27**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Whitesnake (Namesake-Whitesnake band)**

 **Summary: Aria is able to steal any organic property from a human and take it for her own, this also includes semblances. Once she kills the person who owns these properties, they are hers forever. Other people can also use her disks to gain powers or organic properties.**

 **Destructive Power: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: D**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: B**

 **Range: C**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 55**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 43**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 32**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 18**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	41. Taken

**Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Taken"

Thought: _'Taken'_

Flashback: _"Taken"_

.

.

"Ugh." I groaned as I stirred awake from my slumber with a massive headache.

I put my right hand on my forehead in pain, everything was spinning and my ears were making this weird ringing noise.

Jeez, what happened? I don't think Yang spiked the punch... then again I didn't drink any in case she did so I guess I wouldn't really know for sure.

Well last night was certainly a night full of excitement, probably a bit too much to be honest. Now all I've done was make one of the current most dangerous women in all of Remnant angry.

Guess it was bound to happen anyway with my line of work.

Though now there's just one question I have on my mind at the moment.

Where the hell am I?

I looked around to see that I was in a very dark but spacious room, not a noise was to be heard from any part of the room.

There were no windows, no doors in sight, and from the looks of it, there was a table right beside me with various tools on it.

"Guess I should have a look arou-" I began, only to be cut off by the feeling of something solid blocking my path.

"What the hell?" I asked as I looked at the solid object in front of me.

I began to feel the object in front of me to see what exactly I just hit, it's not exactly easy to see anything in pitch black darkness.

From what I've been able to gather, it feels as if they were some sort of steel bars.

I looked around me to see that the steel bars were all around me, blocking my every means of escape.

I reached my hand towards the sky and sure enough, there was a flat solid surface blocking my way.

"Who the hell put me in a cage?" I asked.

After I identified the situation I was in, I started to look around to see if I could find the person responsible for putting me in this situation to begin with.

"Hello?" I called out, though my call was only met with a stone cold silence.

"Anyone there?" I asked.

.

.

"Nope." I simply said.

Guess the person who put me in here to begin with was already long gone.

"Well, whoever you are, you clearly don't know who I am if you honestly think a simple cage is gonna hold me!" I yelled with a smirk on my face.

Seriously, this was gonna be easy. All I had to do was summon Caliber, have him break the bars, find the guy who put me in here to begin with, and smash their fucking head in!

"Okay, let's do this." I said as I rubbed my hands together.

I summoned Caliber and had it grip the bars with it's hands.

Caliber started to pull the bars apart with its bare hands, though as it was just about to break the bars, sparks started to come off of the bars.

"That doesn't look-" I began, only for the feeling of electricity coursing through my body to cut me off.

"GoooOOooooOOoooD!" I yelled shakily as Caliber let go of the bars and disappeared from sight.

Okay, I take it back, they clearly do know who I am if they had this installed in the cage.

I shook my hands as smoke emanated off of them and just sat there in silence.

Wait! If I can't break the bars with Caliber, I can use one of the charged shots to break the bars of the cage.

Though as I reached for my revolver, I was only met by the feeling of empty space.

Aaaand they took my revolver, why wouldn't they?

I guess I can call someone to-

Though before I could finish my thought, the feeling of an empty pocket cut me off.

Right. They took my revolver, why wouldn't they take my scroll?

So I guess the only thing I can do is sit and wait for the guy who put me in here to return.

Great, I can't leave, I can't contact anyone, and the only person I can possibly talk to is a person who can only say one word.

"Well... guess it's better than nothing." I said as I summoned Caliber to my side.

Caliber looked at the bars again and looked back at me.

"No, I didn't summon you just to try and break the bars again, that would be dumb considering what happened the last time we did that." I said.

Caliber just tilted his head to the side.

"What's with that look?! I don't always have to summon you to punch someone's skull in!" I said.

Caliber's only response was to keep his head tilted to the side.

"Whatever. I just wanted someone to talk to." I grumbled.

Caliber just continued to look at me with it's expressionless face before nodding.

"So... am I the first one to pick you up?" I asked.

His only response was to tilt his head to the side.

"I mean am I your first wielder." I clarified.

Caliber shook his head in response.

"So who was the first one?" I asked.

.

.

"So I'm assuming that I can only ask yes or no questions." I said, causing Caliber to nod his head.

"Fair enough. Do you know where we are?" I asked.

Caliber looked around the room, his eye going smaller and bigger as if it were one of those duo scopes that Peach has in her class rooms.

A few seconds passed before he shook his head.

"Damn, guess we're both in the dark on this one." I said.

Caliber tilted his head to the side again.

"It's an idiom. It means that neither of us knows what's going on." I said.

"Hey, what was up with your eye before? Was it some sort of enhanced eyesight or something?" I asked.

Caliber nodded his head in response to my question.

"Of course it is." I said.

Caliber tilted his head to the side, his eye moving between small and big.

"What's up with you?... Oh, I guess you're confused as to why I expected you to have this ability." I said.

Caliber nodded his head in response.

"Well, you just remind me of something back in my world." I said.

Caliber looked at me with a look of curiosity in his eye.

"Well, I don't exactly have something to draw with so I can't give you a visual. Though I'll try my best to tell you about it." I said.

"You remind me of this spirit called Star Platinum, but unlike you, it didn't go by weapon spirit, it went by a different name, a Stand." I explained.

"Stands and weapon spirits are fairly similar, both being the projection of one's soul put into physical form." I said.

"Though I've never seen to many Stands share the level of communication that you do." I said.

"You both have very similar abilities, super strength, speed, precision, and enhanced eyesight." I started to list down the various abilities that they shared.

Though as I did, an idea sparked into my head.

"Can you stop time?" I asked.

Caliber put his hand up to his chin and closed his eye for a moment. After a few seconds passed, he opened his eye and shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I'll just take that as a maybe." I said.

Heh, having the ability to stop time. Do you have any idea how many people I can mess with if I had that ability?

"Star Platinum stand user was the iconic Jotaro Kujo." I said.

"Now the term badass has been thrown around to the point of redundancy to be honest. But Jotaro? Man, he's like every badass moment from every film, comic, and T.V show squeezed into a single character. Hell, even Clint Eastwood says that Jotaro is cool!" I said, causing Caliber to tilt his head again.

"He's an actor from my world. He's actually one of the main reasons as to why Jotaro's character was so popular." I said.

"He's not real obviously, he's part of this show and graphic novel series called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure." I explained.

Then again I didn't think RWBY was real but hey, look where I am now.

"I owe a lot to Jotaro. I actually based my fighting style off of his own way of fighting." I said.

Caliber just stared at me with it's vacant expression on it's face before nodding.

"I'll tell you more about it later. For now we need to focus on getting the hell out of here." I said.

Though before we can do that, we need to figure out how we got here to begin with.

"Hmm, what happened last night?" I asked myself.

Well, I stopped Cinder from planting the bug, I had a dance with Emerald, I left, then after that everything is all fuzzy.

Though as I continued to attempt to remember what happened last night, I felt a slight sting on my right wrist.

"What in the hell?" I asked as I pulled up my sleeve to see a very visible burn on my right wrist.

.

.

"Wait, now I remember!" I said as I started to recollect the events that happened last night.

* * *

 _So after the dance, everyone started to make there way to their dorms so that they could prepare for their first missions tomorrow._

 _._

 _._

 _Well, almost everyone._

 _As promised, Team RWBY had to clean up the mess that the students had left after the dance, and considering that Yang had probably spiked the punch they were going to be there for a good while._

 _Emerald and I said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways._

 _"Well then, I guess this night wasn't all that bad." I said to myself._

 _Though now I need to figure out how I'm gonna get into Mountain Glenn without causing too much suspicious to myself._

 _So far the only thing I can come up with is to hide on the bullhead that Team RWBY and Oobleck are going to be taking, though Ozpin would be curious as to why I'm going to Mountain Glenn in the first place._

 _Not to mention Ironwood would be suspicious as to how I knew where the White Fang was operating._

 _So that last thing I need is for both parties to be suspicious of me._

 _Most I can do is try and hide before the actual breach happens, though even that might be hard considering all the Grimm will be there._

 _I don't think I can stop the breach as easily as I stopped Cinder from planting the bug._

 _Not to mention this might be my only chance to bring Neo over to my side._

 _Though even then, I seriously doubt that Ironwood would trust the niece of the most dangerous criminal in Vale around his students._

 _Not to mention I have the Phantoms to worry about, because more than likely they'll be taking part in the breach._

 _Then there's Roman Torchwick._

 _Now, it's not that I think I'll have an issue with him, it's just that if I do bring Neo over to my side, I seriously doubt she'll like the fact that she might have to face her uncle in battle._

 _So yeah, nothing is ever easy for me anymore... then again, it was never easy to begin with._

 _Though before I could continue my walk to my dorm, I felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket._

 _"Who the hell is calling me this late at night?" I asked myself as I pulled out my scroll from my pocket._

 _"You have reached the phone of Brandon Kim, please leave a message so it can be deleted later." I said._

 _"Well hello to you too." I heard Coco say from the other side of the scroll._

 _"C-Coco?!" I yelled as I dropped my scroll._

 _"W-what's up?" I asked._

 _"Well, I'm back in Vale. I want to talk to you about a few things." She said._

 _"Well you took your sweet ass time. What took you?" I asked._

 _"Mission took longer than I originally expected. Turns out when you kill the first horde of Grimm, the next few just keep on coming." She said._

 _Ain't that the truth._

 _"Alright, fair enough. So what do you want?" I asked._

 _"Well, during my time on the mission, I've been doing my own little investigation on the White Fang." She said._

 _"Yeah? So what did you find out?" I asked._

 _"Well, from what I've gathered from you and Team RWBY, the White Fang are operating in the south-eastern part of Vale. The best bet we'll probably have is in Mountain Glenn, but until we can get some concrete proof that they're working there, I can't send a team there to investigate." She said._

 _Well hello alibi for going to Mountain Glenn!_

 _I'll just go to Mountain Glenn and tell Ozpin that Coco thought the White Fang would be there!_

 _"So what do you want me to do about it?" I asked._

 _"I want YOU to come to the police station so that we can find our concrete proof." She said._

 _"But I have my mission tomorrow." I said._

 _"No you don't. I already arranged for Ozpin to send you over, you're off the hook." Coco said._

 _"How the hell did you arrange that?" I asked._

 _"He was actually pretty on board with the idea. Here I thought I'd have to do a lot of convincing to get you out of a mission." She said._

 _"Yeah, that definitely sounds like him." I said under my breath._

 _"What was that?" Coco asked._

 _"Nothing, so where do we start?" I asked._

 _"Come over to the station, I'll give you the specifics there. There are a few papers regarding a certain fang member that I want to go over." She said._

 _"Osvaldo?" I asked._

 _"The one and only. Come on over and I'll give you the specifics." Coco said._

 _"Yeah, I'll head on over." I said as I cut off the connection._

 _I started to walk over to the bullheads that lead to Vale with my hands in my pockets._

 _"Hey, bring me down to Vale." I said as I walked towards a pilot._

 _"Isn't it a bit late to be going down to the city?" He asked._

 _"I'm going to meet a friend." I said._

 _"Don't you have a mission tomorrow?" He asked._

 _My only response was to pull out a hand full of lien out of my pocket._

 _"Get in." He said as he took the lien out of my hand._

 _I nodded and got into the bullhead._

 _As we flew into the air, I began to think back on what happened tonight._

 _"I don't know who you are, or who you work for. But know this, you have only put a rock in our road that leads to our goal." I remembered Cinder saying._

 _Did I even change anything? Did my actions tonight even have an impact on what happens in the future?_

 _"You think you can fight a war all by yourself?" I remembered her asking me._

 _I never had any intentions on fighting this war by myself. When the opportunity shows itself, I'm going to go around Remnant and search for the possible eleven enchanted weapon users._

 _Though going around the world trying to find eleven specific people will definitely be hard... and time consuming._

 _But even if I can just get one, I might be able to get the rest of them._

 _Then there's the remaining maidens._

 _I seriously doubt that I'll be able to do anything about Amber's death in the near future. All I can do is hope something pops up because so far, I've got nothing._

 _Then there's Ironwood._

 _While he doesn't do anything too bad in the future, he's still someone I need to watch out for._

 _._

 _Okay, he didn't do anything majorly bad on purpose._

 _From what I've gathered, he knows the whereabouts of some of the wielders and might possibly know the identity of the wielder of Cronus might be._

 _Though I can't help but feel as if he's hiding something from me, something important._

 _I mean I'm pretty used to being kept from important information, but this feels different somehow._

 _Like it directly affects me in way form of fashion._

 _Maybe I'm just reading too deep into it, but still, I can't shake that feeling away from my mind._

 _"Hey, kid! We're about to land in Vale!" I heard the pilot said._

 _Wow, already? It didn't feel like we were in the air for all that long._

 _"Hey! Are you gonna get off or what?" He asked._

 _I looked to my side to see that we were in the city of Vale._

 _"R-right. Sorry. Thanks for the ride." I said as I walked off of the bullhead._

 _"Don't stay up too late. Never know who's gonna be out there." He said._

 _Trust me, I probably have a pretty good idea on who's out there._

 _"Yeah, thanks for the warning. Have a good night." I said as I walked away from the bullhead._

 _"Jeez, did he have to land to far away from the station? I mean seriously! It's all the way on the other side of Vale!" I said._

 _"Well, guess I should start walking." I said as I started to walk towards the station._

 _As I walked down the streets of Vale, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the cold silence of the sleeping kingdom._

 _It felt... ominous in a way. Like walking in a fog where you can't see anything but the silhouette of the various buildings around you._

 _"I'm probably being paranoid, I mean I do have a weapon with me, as well as a punching ghost that responds to danger." I said._

 _As I continued to walk, I couldn't help but feel as if someone were watching me._

 _"I can't help but feel like... " I began as I spun my head around and pointed._

 _"Someone wants to sell me something!" I yelled._

 _After a few moments of silence, I started to chuckle._

 _"Always wanted to do that." I said as I continued my walk._

 _Though the feeling of uneasiness didn't go away, if anything it made my heart race and my sweat go cold._

 _Get a hold of yourself Brandon! Whatever might be following you, I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle._

 _Though as I continued my walk, I heard a sudden sound coming from above me._

 _"What the hell was that?!" I asked myself as I looked around to see if I could locate the noise._

 _I continued to look around, though from the looks of it, the source of the noise was long gone._

 _"Guess it was noth-" I began, only for the sight of a fairly large magenta feather to cut me off._

 _"Wow... that's a pretty big bird." I said as I picked up the feather._

 _I slowly looked around me to see if I couldn't find the source of the feather._

 _From the looks of it, the bird was already long gone._

 _"Maybe I should just keep walking." I said as I started to walk away._

 _Though as I started to walk away, I could hear the sound above me again._

 _"R-running! Yeah! I just need to start running!" I said as I started to run._

 _Though as I ran, the noises started to get louder and more frequent than before._

 _"Sprinting! I just need to keep sprinting!" I yelled as I sprinted across the streets of Vale._

 _Though as I continued to spirit, the noises started to get even more frequent than before._

 _Jesus! What the hell did I even do to this bird?! Why does it want my head so badly?!_

 _As I continued to spirit, a few feathers were fired in front of me, causing me to stop in my tracks._

 _I made a quick turn into a nearby alley way in hopes to shake this stupid bird off my tail._

 _Okay Brandon, just gotta keep-_

 _Before I could finish my thought however, I slammed into a nearby wall._

 _"Spinning. Just gotta keep...spinning... bleeding." I said as I fell to the ground._

 _I shook my head to prevent myself from losing consciousness._

 _"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little shit bad himself." I heard a female voice say._

 _I looked up to see two figures standing on the buildings that stood in between the alleyway._

 _"We've been looking for you... for about twenty minutes really." The female voice said as the two figures jumped down into the alleyway._

 _The female figure had medium magenta hair that curled around her shoulder, black armor with a magenta hoodie underneath it, black pants with various belts on it, a magenta colored cape with feathers on it and some strange wrist guards on her wrists._

 _The other figure looked like a male man with messy golden hair, a golden hoodie with short sleeves, black armor, black shorts, a golden colored cape with feathers on it, and two pairs of fingerless gloves._

 _"So you little fucker, how about you be a dear and come along quietl-" The female began._

 _"Hey! You did the whole intimidation thing the last time we did this! It's my turn now!" The male said._

 _"Now?! We're really doing this now?!" She asked._

 _"Yes! We're doing this now! I mean it's the least you can do after that performance you showed back there." He said._

 _"Excuse me?!" She asked._

 _"Yeah! You heard me! How come you didn't tell me you were starting to molt?!" He asked._

 _"W-what?!" She asked as she turned around to see that sure enough, a good chunk of feathers were scattered behind her._

 _"Honestly, we're trying to keep ourselves hidden. You might as well have a sign on you back that says come fuck us!" He said._

 _"I-I can't believe I started to molt in front of a human." She mumbled as she started to crouch in a corner._

 _Words could not describe the feeling of confusion I was having right now._

 _I mean just... what is happening?_

 _"Uh... " I began._

 _"Don't worry, she'll be fine in about a few seconds." He said._

 _"Well, at least I know how to keep quiet! What the hell was that?! Are you trying to wake up the whole kingdom?!" She asked._

 _"It was for dramatic effect! Think about it! You're traveling through the kingdom in the dead of night, when suddenly! You hear a loud noise from above. You look around, but there's no one in sight. The fear, the tension, the suspense! Think about the setting sis!" He said._

 _._

 _"He does have a point there." I said._

 _"Thank you!" He said._

 _"You! Shut up!" She said._

 _"Oh, uh right! You're our target, so you need to look at us and be struck with fear and awe." He said as he leaned over towards me._

 _"But in all seriousness I'm so glad that someone else thinks about the setting of a battle." He whispered._

 _"Uh... yeah." I said._

 _"So who are you two?" I asked._

 _"You seriously don't remember?" She asked with her eyebrow raised._

 _"If I did, then why would I be asking in the first place?" I asked._

 _"He's got a point there sis." He said._

 _"Shut it! Anyways, it doesn't matter, the less you know about us the be-" She began, only to be cut off by her brother._

 _"Well I'm glad you asked, human! Allow me to introduce myself! I am the dashing, the handsome, and the badass, Alerio Aquila!" He yelled._

 _"And this is my uptight sister, Aleria." Alerio said as he pointed his thumb at Aleria._

 _"Or you know, we can just announce our names to the whole... wait, uptight?!" Aleria asked._

 _"Aleria and Alerio... not ringing a bell." I said._

 _"I shot you in the chest." Aleria simply said._

 _"That was you?!" I asked._

 _"Yeah, trust me, Alerio can't aim to save his life." Aleria said._

 _"What?! Not true! My aim is perfect!" He said._

 _"Sure. So I'm assuming you know why we're here." She said._

 _"Let me guess, you're here to carry out the will of the White Fang?" I asked._

 _"What? No, that sounds stupid and cliche." Aleria said._

 _"Oh... then why are you here?" I asked._

 _"We're here to kidnap you because some smokin hot chick asked us to... she's legal, right?" Alerio asked._

 _"Yes." She said._

 _"Finally!" He said as he pumped his fists in the air._

 _"Well... I hope you're ready to get a few broken bones, because if my memory is correct, you two had some hands on experience with Caliber." I said._

 _"Who?" They both asked in unison._

 _"This guy." I said as I summoned Caliber, who simply raised his right hand in response._

 _"No, SHE had hands on experience with it." Alerio said as he pointed to Aleria._

 _"My cheek is still sore." She said._

 _"Yeah, Caliber has that effect on people." I said._

 _"Well, lucky for us, we aren't going to fight you." Alerio said._

 _"Lucky for you." Aleria said as she looked at her brother._

 _"Oh... well then who is?" I asked._

 _"She is." Alerio said as he pointed at the wall behind me._

 _I turned around to see a girl with brown hair tied back in a ponytail that curls at the end and her eyes are a light gray with a faintly bluish tint._

 _She wore a black, plum, and navy sleeveless stealth suit with short legs. The suit had two parts to the bottom section: a navy blue front panel that matches her belts and the rest was plum-colored._

 _The color divide was at the center of her thighs. The stealth suit's zipper is gold, and over it, she wore navy blue belts with gold buckles. She wore simple black boots with a cuff and a black glove on her right hand._

 _"Was she always there?" I asked._

 _"Yep." Alerio said as the girl got off of the wall and onto the ground._

 _"So... what kind of Faunus are you?" I asked._

 _._

 _"Ah. So you're the silent type, right?" I asked._

 _The girl just looked at me with the same glare she had on her face from the moment I laid eyes on her._

 _"So that's a yes." I said._

 _"We're just gonna stand back here." Alerio said._

 _The girl started to walk towards me with some sort of whip in her right hand._

 _"Whips? You must be into some kinky shit." I said._

 _The girl just kept on walking towards me with the whip in her hands._

 _"Well, here's a little life lesson for you." I said as I reached into my back pocket._

 _"There are two kinds of people in this world." I began._

 _"Those with guns." I said as I whipped out my revolver._

 _"And those-" I tried to finish, but Ilia used her whip to smack the gun out of my hand._

 _"... and those with whips apparently." I said._

 _"You tried man." Alerio said._

 _"Shut up, Alerio!" Aleria said._

 _"Well, gun or no gun, I still won't have any issues kicking your ass." I said as I summoned Caliber._

 _The girl raised one of her eyebrows before cracking her whip, sparks starting to come off of the whip._

 _"Psh, so you have a few little sparks coming off of you whip, big whoop." I teased, causing the girl to growl._

 _"Aw, am I making the little Faunus mad?... now that I look at ya, what kind of Faunus are you?" I asked._

 _As if on cue, her skin started to turn a bright shade of red, her hair turning yellow._

 _"Ah, chameleon." I said._

 _I looked over at Caliber to see that it was holding its arms in a blocking position._

 _"Oh come on already! It's just a few sparks, how bad can it-" I began, only for the whip to wrap around one of Caliber's arms and a very sharp pain started to course through my body._

 _"BeeeEEeeeeeeEEeee?!" I yelled as sparks started to move up and down my body._

 _A few seconds passed before the girl released her hold on Caliber, causing Caliber to disappear, as well as causing me to fall to the ground with smoke emanating off of my body._

 _"Did I over do it?" The girl asked._

 _"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I wheezed in pain._

 _"Nope. Get him in the truck, I'll contact Adam and tell him the news." Aleria said._

 _"Why do I have to do it?" Alerio asked._

 _"Because you're the most physically strong out of the three of us so get moving." She said._

 _Alerio grumbled, picked me up, and threw me over his shoulder._

 _I tried to move, but nothing I did would help me in the situation I was currently in._

 _Then everything faded to black._

* * *

"Okay, so I might have gotten a little over confident." I said as I recalled the events of last night.

Caliber's only response was to whack me over the head with it's open palm.

"Ow! Hey! You trying to knock me out again?!" I yelled.

Caliber just stared at me with it's usual expressionless stare.

"Right, you can't answer that." I grumbled.

"Though now that I remember what happened, who the hell was that girl?" I asked.

"From the way Alerio acted around her, she must be one of the Phantoms." I said.

"Great, from what I've been able to gather, the members of the Phantoms mostly rely on range and punishing their opponents for making physical contact with them." I grumbled.

In other words, the Phantoms had two of the biggest problems to my fighting style.

"Jeez, as if fighting them wasn't hard enough." I said.

"Though if the Phantoms were the ones who put me in this cage, then that means I'm in the White Fang's base of operation." I said to myself.

"So I'm in the heart of the storm with no weapons, no back up, and a spirit that I can't even use... seems like a normal day for me." I said.

"Wonder how Coco's doing right now. I'm never gonna hear the end of this when I get out of here." I grumbled to myself.

"Though I suppose it's not all that bad. I mean I finally get to go the main source of the problem and investigate it from the inside." I said.

"What's more is that I can finally see where Osvaldo's been hiding. More than likely he's been hiding out here because he clearly can't go back to his original way of life." I said.

"Though since I'm here in his base then he probably has one of the best opportunities to kill me." I said.

.

.

"Well... shit. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." I said.

"Though before I can actually look for him, I need to get out of this stupid ass cage." I grumbled.

"So maybe if SOMEONE wants to come in here with the keys! I can actually get around to doing that!" I yelled.

After a few seconds of silence, it was clear that no one was showing up.

"Jeez, you'd think they'd send a few guards here." I said.

As if on cue, a bright light was suddenly shone through the room.

"Gah! Jeez, turn down the lights!" I yelled as I shielded my eyes from the light.

"So is this him?" I heard a female voice ask.

"I believe so." I heard a male voice say.

As I started to recover from the light, I could clearly see the two figures in front of me.

The first one was a female Faunus with dark blue hair, a lab coat with a black turtleneck, black jeans, and a pair of goggles similar to the one's Peach wore.

The second one was one that I recognized... and not in the good way.

He was tall man with red and brown hair that spikes backwards in a windswept way. While most of his hair is red, a portion of it in the back and several streaks are brown. A noticeable trait of his appearance is the mask he wears, which obscures his eyes and upper face. His Faunus heritage appears to be that of a bull, as two horns can be seen on either side of his head.

His mask is whitish-tan with red, flame-like symbols decorating the front, and two slits on each side, presumably to allow for vision.

He wears a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves and more red designs and a white symbol on the left side. His trench coat is red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and a large emblem on the back, with a white tulip design covered by a red rose design.

His trench coat is half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it.

He wore long black pants, black shoes with red soles, and black gloves with more red emblems on their forehand.

"Hmm, such a fascinating creature. Mr. Taurus." The woman said.

"Naomi, what have I said before? Humans aren't creatures... they're vermin." Adam said.

"Technically, vermin are creatures. They are wild mammals and birds that are believed to be harmful to crops, farm animals, or game, or that carry disea-" The woman began.

"Naomi." Adam said to the newly named Naomi.

"I mean, yes, they are vermin." Naomi said.

Adam nodded and started to walk towards the cage I was in.

"So, how does it feel, human?" Adam asked.

"How does what feel?" I asked.

"To be locked up in a cage like some animal." He said.

I scratched my head before summoning Caliber once again.

"I don't know, feels weird doesn't it?" I asked Caliber.

Adam just crouched down and started to look at Caliber.

Can't really tell what he's thinking due to the mask and all that.

"So, this is the spirit that the twins were talking abou-" Adam began, only for Naomi to rush towards the cage and poke her head in between the bars.

"Naomi... what are you doing?" Adam asked.

Naomi just sat there in complete silence, her eyes glued to Caliber's figure.

"Personal space mean anything to you, lady?" I asked.

"What. Is. That?" She asked.

"Uh... this?" I asked as I pointed at Caliber who simply raised his right hand as a form of greeting.

"Yes. What is it?" Naomi asked.

"It's a... spirit?" I said.

"What kind of spirit?" She asked.

"There are multiple?" I asked.

"Possibly. I've never seen anything quite like it, the sheer scientific capabilities that these spirits might have could be endless. I've been wanting to meet it ever since I heard about if from the twins." Naomi said.

"Uh... okay." I said as I leaned over towards Caliber.

"Looks like you got some fans." I said.

Caliber just floated there with the same expressionless look it always had on it's face.

"Can I touch it?" She asked.

Okay, this just got borderline creepy.

"I don't think you should do that." I said.

"And I think I should. It seems we both have different opinions for my needs." Naomi said.

"What?" I asked.

"I said, it seems we both have different opinions on my-" She began.

"I heard what you said! I just... what?" I asked.

"Let. Me. Touch it." Naomi said.

"Fine! Just don't do anything funny weirdo." I said.

"What qualifies as, doing something funny?" She asked.

"Don't touch it in weird ways." I said.

"Weird how?" Naomi asked.

Is she for real? Even Ruby had a slight understanding as to what I was talking about!

"Don't touch it... sexually." I said.

"Ah, I see. Though from the looks of it, it is just a simple smoke figure, I don't believe it has any genitalia for me to touch, therefore, I cannot-" She began.

"Okay! I get it!" I yelled as Caliber moved closer towards the bars.

Naomi reached out into the cage and moved her hand across Caliber's arm.

"Fascinating. Despite it's smoke-like appearance, it's surprisingly solid." She said as she pulled out a needle.

.

Wait, needle?!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's with the needle?!" I asked.

"Naomi. Need I remind you that we were given specific instructions to keep this one alive at all costs?" Adam asked.

"I know. I just want a little sample." She said as she attempted to stab Caliber with the needle.

Caliber's response was to break the needle, as well as her right index finger.

"Ow." She simply said.

"What now?" Adam groaned.

"It broke my right index finger." Naomi said as she showed Adam her broken finger.

"Then stop trying to probe it." He said.

"Very well." She said as she wrapped her index finger with some medical tape.

"Terribly sorry." Naomi said as she held out her hand.

Caliber looked at the hand before gripping it and shaking it.

Wow, for a couple of terrorists, they sure are pretty... human.

"You seem... surprised." Naomi said.

"Well, it's just I didn't expect you two to be so... human... here I thought you'd want to kill me on the spot." I said.

"You are incorrect, technically we are two different species, our genes are vastly different from one another. Therefore, we cannot-" Naomi began.

"Naomi." Adam said.

"I mean, yes, we are just like you... in a way." She said.

"Don't mistake your place human, if it were up to me I would have had the twins kill you in the alleyway. Our client is the only thing keeping you alive." He said.

.

.

"Well alright then!" I said.

Before we could continue however, Alerio and Aleria walked into the building.

"Hey! The trucks ready!" Alerio said.

"Good, grab the cage and let's go." Adam said.

The two nodded and walked over to the cage, picking it up by it's two handles.

"Can we knock him out again?" Aleria asked.

"No." Adam simply said.

"...Can I-" She began.

"No." He said.

"Fine." Aleria grumbled as she and Alerio threw my cage into the back of a truck.

"Might want to hang on to something. Could get a little bumpy." Alerio said as he closed the doors to the truck.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

"What do you mean he's gone?" Ironwood asked as he and Glynda stood in Ozpin's office.

"I mean exactly what I said, James. Ms. Adel called him over to the station after the dance, he agreed to meet her, and he never showed up. She's had various teams on the search for him since last night, and so far, they haven't found a single clue on his whereabouts." Ozpin said.

"Great, this is just great." Ironwood said dryly.

"James." Ozpin began.

"No, this isn't just about the maidens, or your plans anymore. These are your students we're talking about! How can you just sit there and pretend that this isn't a big deal?!" He asked.

"I think you're getting out of line, General." Glynda said through her teeth.

"Out of line?! I'm thinking about the wellbeing of one of your students and you say I'M out of line?!" He asked.

"I'm sure Ozpin has his reasons for not going after him." She said.

"Oh really? Then let's hear it." Ironwood said.

Ozpin just sat there for a few moments before responding.

"You're right. This isn't about our plans right now, this is about one of my students being in very grave danger." He said.

"Good, I'm glad you understand what's at risk here. Now, are we going to do something about it or not?!" Ironwood asked.

"And what do you propose we do?" Ozpin asked.

"We take action! We do something about this and not just stand in this office twiddling our thumbs!" He said.

"And what is your definition of taking action?! Sending an triumphant display of military bravado?! Putting even MORE people at risk?!" Glynda asked.

"That's not what I-!" Ironwood began to defend, but the two were quickly silenced by Ozpin.

"Enough." He said as he stood from his chair.

Ironwood and Glynda just stood there in silence, their eyes not leaving one another.

"I do not believe you are asking the right question, Glynda." Ozpin said.

"What you should be asking is why go so far for ONE student you barely even know?" He asked.

"Why?! You know just as well as I do why this is so important!" Ironwood said.

"What is he talking about?" Glynda asked.

"He's not just your average student, Ozpin. He's one of the twelve possible enchanted weapon wielders." He said.

"Yes, I am aware of that." Ozpin said.

"Then you of all people must know why I'm going this far." Ironwood said.

"So this isn't about him after all. It's about her." Ozpin said.

"It's about both of them! What if she took him, what if she saw him as a threat and-" He began.

"Do you honestly think she is that far away from her humanity that she is willing to mercilessly kill a child?" He asked.

"A lot can happen in twenty years." Ironwood said.

"Yes, but Qrow has been keeping his watchful eye on her, and while her actions are... less than agreeable, she still holds onto some form of humanity." Ozpin said.

"...Alright, but if she were here-" Ironwood began.

"Then we will deal with it tactfully, but she's only one person." He said.

"One very dangerous person." He corrected.

"True, but still, not even she can drag a person half way across the sea without someone noticing and the other four enchanted weapon users have no way of knowing of his existence." Ozpin said.

"Three." Ironwood corrected.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"Only three of the twelve we know about do not know of his existence." He said.

"Ah, right. Brandon had an interaction with a mysterious stranger in the Forever Fall forest." Ozpin said.

"Yes, I've asked him about that night in hopes to identify the person he encountered." Ironwood said.

"Oh? And what have you come up with?" He asked.

"I've only come up with one person who can fit the description." He said.

"And?" Ozpin motioned him to go into further detail.

"Think about it Oz, female, red clothing, a scythe, and a white cloak." Ironwood said.

.

.

"You can't be serious!" Glynda said.

"I know that it seems impossible, but it's the only thing I can think of!" He said.

"You wish us to believe that the wielder of Cronus is a person who has been dead for ten years?!" Glynda asked.

"We never did find her body." Ironwood said.

"This military operation must be getting to your head if you're starting to believe in ghosts." She said.

"Now Glynda." Ozpin said.

"You can't possibly believe him on this!" Glynda said.

"He does have a point, we never did find the body." He said.

"I can't believe we're actually considering this." She said.

"With the current events, it's not out of the question." Ironwood said.

"Speaking of current events." He said as he pulled out the remains of Cinder's scroll.

"They were here, Ozpin." Ironwood said.

"We are very much aware of that now! Thank you, General." Glynda said.

"Fantastic, you're aware. Now are we going to do something about it, or are we going to just stay the course and keep ignoring what's right in front of us?!" Ironwood asked.

"And I assume you have a better plan?!" Glynda asked.

"We take action! Send our troops out to take down this threat!" He said.

"And there we go again. Why don't we just announce our plans to the whole world? That won't cause worldwide panic." Glynda said sarcastically.

"That isn't my goal! I'm thinking about the people, our people!" He yelled.

"Do you think that we are not?!" She countered.

"That isn't what I said-!" Ironwood began.

"Enough!" Ozpin said, silencing the room.

.

.

"Are you two done?" He asked.

Ironwood and Glynda looked at each other before nodding.

"Good." Ozpin said.

"You two do make very good points when it comes to tackling this situation." He said.

"Glynda is right, as much as I to would like to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon and if this truly is part of some master plan which we know not the final move, we must not be so bold." Ozpin said.

"Nor can we risk the spread of panic." He said.

"I have served you faithfully for years. But if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses and wait-" Ironwood began.

"It is not!" Ozpin said.

"You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag-bearer, or the scouts?" Ozpin asked.

Ironwood just stood there in silence.

"But you do also have a point, our first priority should be to keep our people safe. So that is why I am going to hold off on sending the students on their first missions for now." Ozpin said.

"What?!" Glynda yelled.

"Glynda, we do not know who the people who took Brandon are, nor why they took him to begin with. So for now we must prevent anything like that from happening again. You understand that, right?" He asked.

Glynda just stood there in silence before sighing and pulling out her scroll.

"I'll go let the other staff members know." Glynda said as she walked out of the room.

"Thank you Ozpin. I promise you that we'll find him soon enough." Ironwood said.

"I am merely thinking of all of my students in general." Ozpin said.

"Well, he is your own personal student, you taught him everything you know." He said.

"Yes, but that does not mean he gets any special treatment. I care for all my students on the same level." He said.

"I know, but he isn't the first personal student you've had, I just wish to prevent something like the events from twenty years ago from happening again." Ironwood.

Ozpin sat in his chair in silence, simply sipping on his cup of coffee.

"It wasn't your fault Ozpin, I hope you know that." He said as he walked out of the room.

"Then why does it feel as if I played a major role in turning her into what she is today?" Ozpin asked himself as he stared into the liquid in his mug.

* * *

"So why are we here again? Jeez, did we really have to come here so early in the morning?" Mercury complained as he stretched his arms out.

"Oh, quit your whining. If Cinder said that this is important, then we need to be there no matter what." Emerald said.

"Jeez, if you like Cinder that much then why don't you just-" Mercury began, only for Emerald to slam her leg down on his own.

.

Emerald then proceeded to fall the the ground, clutching her leg in pain.

"My legs are made of metal, dumbass." He said.

"Oh shut the... fuck." She groaned.

"Oh quiet down already, I don't want to explain why you two are killing each other to the boss... again." Roman said as he lit a cigar.

"Not my fault." Emerald grumbled.

"So what's taking so long anyways?" Mercury asked.

"Well, the White Fang aren't too happy about making another bug for the boss." She said.

"Wait, what happened to the original?" Roman asked.

"It was... destroyed." Emerald said.

"You're kidding." He said.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" She asked.

Roman sighed heavily and dug his hands into his face.

"Greeaaaat." He said.

"Wasn't her fault. Some jackass cut her off before she could plant it." Emerald said.

"How? No one but the people who are standing in this room should know about the plan." Roman said.

"I. Don't. Know! I didn't even know the guy was there until Cinder told me about it, but he was there, and he knows about our plans to a certain degree." Emerald said.

"Well, this is just great. Now our job is going to be even harder!" He said.

"Come on, it's just ONE guy, I'm sure that it's nothing we can't handle." She said.

 **"You know, I can see to it that he never causes us any problems again."** Neo said.

"We don't know what he looks like, he was completely masked under some cloth." Emerald said.

"Oh and he's a mysterious stranger! Jeez, it's just like one of those stupid spy flicks." Roman said dryly.

"You have any better idea's?" She asked.

"No, because that's not my job. I execute the plans, I don't make them. That was a part that I trusted with your boss, which right now, I am seriously doubting her ability to do." He said.

"Watch your mouth, you bastard." Emerald growled.

"Or what? You'll kill me? Trust me deary, I've been doing this for as long, if not longer, as you were born." He said.

Emerald growled, but eventually settled down in her chair.

"So, where have you been, haven't seen you since we gave you those coordinates." Mercury said.

"Mountain Glenn, boss is having me prepare something in one of its railroad tracks." Roman said.

"Hmm, yeah, Cinder was telling us about that." Emerald said.

"But who knows! Maybe this mysterious stranger might come in and save the day!" He said in a mocking matter.

"Oh but we'll just have to make sure he doesn't do that." Roman heard Cinder say from the other side of the room.

.

"Uh, yeah. Right." Roman said nervously.

 **"Busted."** Neo said with a smirk.

"Shut it, young lady." He said.

"Though he is right." Cinder said.

"He is?" Emerald and Mercury asked.

"I am?" Roman asked.

"Yes, while this man has just appeared, he has caused us more problems than anyone in Vale." Cinder said.

"... Yeah... right." He said slowly.

"You know what I mean." She said.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Emerald asked.

"There isn't too much we CAN do right now. He has concealed his identity from us." Cinder said.

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" She said.

"I. Know! But we can't take action without putting the entire plan at risk, which is something I am not willing to do." She said.

"But we can investigate! We can look for him while you handle the plan!" Emerald said.

"No, I cannot risk putting you two getting caught, you hold the most crucial part of the plan." Cinder said.

"Uh...thanks?" Mercury said.

"Besides, we cannot go around interrogating random strangers, it's bad enough that stupid crow caught us in the act. I was hoping to remain under the shadows throughout this entire trip. But it seems like it will not be that simple." She said.

"Of course it won't, why can't ANYTHING be simple anymore?" Roman asked.

 **"Where's the fun in simplicity?"** Neo asked.

"Neo." Roman warned.

 **"You're no fun today."** She said.

"So what do we do?" He asked.

"You and your little niece need to make sure that the plan is carried out without issues." Cinder said.

 **"Who you calling little?"** Neo asked.

"You two will stay with me during our time at Beacon, we need to make sure that this mysterious stranger doesn't interfere more than he already has." She said.

"Understood." Emerald said.

"You're the boss." Mercury said.

"Now, on a greater note, the White Fang has dealt with one of their little problems." Cinder said.

"Which one?" Roman asked.

"They have captured the person who has been giving them so much trouble." She said.

"Captured? How come they didn't just kill him?" He asked.

"There is something about this boy that strikes me as odd." Cinder said.

"Odd?" He asked.

"Yes, which is why I'm having them bring him to us." She said.

As if on cue, the doors to the warehouse opened and two trucks pulled in.

"That must be them." Cinder said.

As Cinder started to walk towards the trucks, Adam and the members of the Phantoms walked out of the trucks.

"All I'm saying is that the name, Phantoms of the White Fang, just doesn't sound all that good anymore." Alerio said.

"Our name doesn't dictate what we do! Even if we change it, we're still going to be doing the same old shit, in the same old way!" Aleria said.

"But how about we change it into something more intimidating! Something that will REALLY strike fear into the hearts of our enemies!" He said.

"I think we already do a pretty good job doing that already." She said as she pulled out a feather.

"Fair point." Alerio said.

"Enough you two, it's time for business." Adam said.

"Ah, Mr. Taurus, I'm so glad you could make it." Cinder said with fake severity.

"Spare me the chit-chat. I have what you want." He said.

"Such hostility. We are partners, can't we have a little fun?" She asked.

"We are co-workers. Once my business with you is through, I'll be going back to my regular way of leading." Adam said.

"Very well. I assume you have the prisoner." She said.

"Yes, he's in the back of the truck. You two, get him out here." He said.

The twins nodded and went over to the back of the truck.

"I assume he wasn't too much trouble." Cinder said.

"He broke one of my fingers." Naomi said.

"Is that so? Well, that won't do at all." She said.

"It was more her fault than his. I warned her to to get to close to the cage and she didn't listen to me." Adam said.

"Cage?" Cinder asked.

"Yes, we are keeping him in a cage." He said.

"That seems a bit extreme for one person." She said.

"It was the only thing that can hold him at the moment." Adam said.

"Hmm, well now I'm even more curious." Cinder said.

"What's taking you two?" He asked the twins.

"Hey! Give us a break! This thing isn't exactly light!" Alerio said.

"Hey, what's with the cage?" Mercury asked.

"This, is where we are holding the human who has caused us so much trouble." Adam said.

"Then why the cage? Seems a bit much for one guy." He said.

"Well his stupid spirit would just break the cuffs we put on him so if you have anything better then please, we're all ears!" Aleria said.

.

.

"His... spirit?" Cinder asked.

"Yes, this boy is rather unique, it's as if he has some sort of guardian protecting him from harm. We were able to contain him and it with these electrical bars." Adam said.

"May I...see this spirit?" She asked.

"If you wish to." Adam said as the twins put the cage in front of Cinder.

Mercury quickly glanced at who was in the cage and nearly fell out of his chair in the process.

"What's up with you?" Emerald asked.

"Look who's in the cage!" Mercury whispered.

Emerald quickly glanced at the cage and fell off of the table she was sitting on.

"What the hell?!" She whispered.

"What's with you two?" Roman asked.

Neo glanced over at the cage to see who was in it.

As soon she saw her spirit-possessed friend in the cage, her eye's turned a mixture of black and white.

Roman saw this and glanced over at the cage.

"Oh... that's actually bad... that's really not good." He said.

Though Cinder was paying no attention to the four, her eyes were glued onto the platinum smoke figure that was beside the boy in the cage.

"Fascinating." She said as she reached out to touch the spirit.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Adam said.

"Oh? Why's that?" Cinder asked.

"That's the reason why Naomi's finger is broken." Adam said.

"Hmm, fascinating, it's true that with the right amount of force you can cause mortal damage to a person, but that requires a lot of force." She said.

"We would try to get some information out of him, but this damn spirit attacks anyone who tries to get inside of the cage... well, almost anyone." He said.

"What's the exception?" Cinder asked.

"It's able to sense hostility from other people, if you aren't hostile, then it won't attack." Adam said.

"You speak of it like it's a sentient being." She said.

"I've seen enough to believe that it has a mind of it's own. It's able to understand our tongue, it's able to comprehend certain concepts such as handshakes, and from what I've gathered, it's able to determine whether or not a person is a threat to it." He said.

"Interesting." Cinder said.

"Though it's not able to speak... to a certain degree." Adam said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"From what we gathered from the encounter Osvaldo had, it's able to say one word over and over and over again. It's able to say ORA, over and over again as if it were some sort of battle cry." He said.

"That's a... very specific word to shout. Any particular reason why?" Cinder asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Adam asked as he motioned his arm toward Brandon.

Cinder turned her head towards Brandon, but as she did, she felt something... weird.

It was as if her mind was telling her that she knew this boy.

And judging by the look he was giving her, he knew her to a certain extent.

"Who...are you?" She asked.

Brandon just sat there in silence, his gaze not leaving Cinder's.

"So, is that all you wanted to know? If so, then we're done here. We'll be dealing with this one properly no-" Adam began.

"No." She said.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked.

"I said, no." Cinder said as she turned to Roman.

"Roman." She said.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Take him with you to Mountain Glenn, he could be useful to us." Cinder said.

"What?!" Adam asked once again.

"Is something the matter, Adam?" She asked.

"Is something the ma- Of course something's the matter! Why the hell would you want to keep a kid like this?!" He asked.

"Well, he's more useful than we thought. If he is able to go toe to toe with one of your elites then maybe he'll have some use for us." She said.

"Besides, it's not everyday you come across one of the twelve wielders of the twelve enchanted weapons." Cinder said.

"Twelve enchanted-?! You honestly expect me to believe in such a fairytale?!" Adam asked.

Cinder's only response was to summon a ball of fire in her hand and raise one of her eyebrows.

.

.

"She's got you there, Adam." Alerio said.

"We're moving." He said as he started to walk away.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Cinder said.

The rest of the Phantoms started walk towards the trucks, but Adam stopped them in their tracks.

"No, you'll all be going with them." Adam said.

"What?!" Aleria and Ilia asked.

"I want you all to keep an eye on him." He said as he pointed at Brandon.

"Osvaldo will be there to, I want you to make sure he doesn't kill him." Adam said.

"... Yes sir." Aleria said reluctantly.

"Well, you heard him kiddies! Let's put the kid in the back and hit the road!" Roman said as he started to walk towards the truck.

As the cage passed Emerald, Brandon quickly waved at her with a smirk on his face.

.

.

"Well, I can safely say that shit just hit the fan in the worst possible way." Mercury said.

"I know." Emerald said.

* * *

After Brandon's disappearance, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN were all waiting in their dorm room lodge for Team CFVY to return.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's been in worse situations." Weiss said.

"Worse how?" Neptune asked.

"Well, he had an encounter with some of the White Fang's elite assassins, I'm sure this isn't something he can't handle on his own." She said.

"Didn't he have help with those encounters?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, Penny, Team CFVY, and that one dude, and he didn't even beat that one dude." Ruby said.

"Look, I'm trying to lighten up the mood." Weiss said.

"What can you tell us, Blake?" Sun asked.

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Well, what do they typically do to humans like him?" Sun asked.

"That's the thing, we've never encountered someone like him." Blake said.

"Okay, different question, how do they deal with humans in general?" Weiss asked.

"Kill on sight." She said, causing the room to go silent.

.

"Well, good thing he's not an average human." Weiss said.

"Y-yeah." Ruby said.

"Hey, it's okay Rubes, we'll figure this out eventually." Yang said.

"It's weird, Mistral's branch of the White Fang aren't this brutal towards humans." Scarlet said.

"Well, that's because the Vale branch of the White Fang has gone rogue from the orders of High Leader Khan." Blake said.

"Why?" He asked.

"They were tired of being treated the way we've been treated. So they decided to take matters in their own hands." She said.

"Well, you know the saying. If you want something to change, then you have to take matters into your own hands." Sage said.

"They certainly have a weird way of going about changing things." Weiss said.

"Why do you think I left?" Blake asked.

"So what do we do now?" Pyrrha asked.

"We go find the head of the White Fang! Take it by storm! And break the legs of anyone who doesn't talk!" Nora yelled.

"Nora, that would be rash. We need to really think about how we go about this." Ren said.

"I did really think about it. If we want to get Brandon back, we all need to go and take him back! I mean there's... sixteen of us! We're basically more advanced in combat than half of the White Fang, and if we come across the Phantom guys, it wouldn't matter, we outnumber them!" She said.

"She does have a point." Jaune said.

"Okay, so let me once again be the voice of reason. We're going under the assumption that the White Fang was the one who took Brandon." Weiss said.

"Who else would?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know! It was just an idea that could be considered!" She said.

"What makes you think that someone else took him?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, he DOES have a priceless artifact in his possession that is bound to fetch a high price. Not to mention it's one of the twelve most dangerous weapons in all of Remnant, there are a lot of reasons why people would want it! Money, power, fame, glory, etc." Weiss said.

"But how did they find out about the weapon?" Jaune asked.

"This is all hypothetical. I'm just making sure we don't go rushing in without any concrete proof of the White Fang being behind this." She said.

"She has a point. If we just went rushing in without any real evidence, then all we would be doing is causing panic." Sage said.

"Look, we're going to go to Mountain Glenn tonight, chances are he might be there! So it's not like we'll just be here twiddling our thumbs." Weiss said.

"She's right. When we go tonight we should make looking for Brandon one of our top priorities." Ruby said.

Before they could continue, the doors leading to the outside of the dorms opened and Team CFVY walked in.

"So... ?" Jaune asked.

"We don't have much. They covered their tracks pretty well." Coco said.

"I've been asking around to see if anyone could have any clues on his whereabouts, but so far we haven't had a whole lot of luck." Velvet said.

"Investigation team hasn't found a whole lot either." Fox said.

"And the Phantom member we have locked up doesn't seem willing to cooperate at the moment. But considering she's been locked up for the past few months I doubt she'd know a whole lot." Coco said.

"Do we have ANYTHING to go off of?" Sun asked.

"We got this." Coco said as she pulled out a feather from her pocket.

"Aleria!" Blake said as she snatched the feather from Coco's hand.

"Who?" Everyone asked.

"Oh, right. She's one of the Phantoms, she's in charge of taking important targets to the White Fang's designated base of operation, along with her brother, Alerio." Blake said.

"Well... I think we know who might have taken Brandon." Coco said.

"But it would be near impossible for either of them to do it quietly." Blake said.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Well, Aleria relies on taking out her opponents from a range, and considering Caliber is able to catch a bullet at point blank range I doubt she would be able to catch him off guard." Blake said.

"Alerio's semblance is more for when things need to get more... loud." She said.

"But this feather does tell us one thing, the White Fang took Brandon somewhere." Ruby said.

"Okay, so that settles it, we need to make a plan to see where they took him." Blake said.

"Well you two are going to Mountain Glenn, right?" Coco asked.

"That's the plan." Ruby said.

"Well, we'll hang back here and keep looking for the rest of the Phantoms." Coco said.

"Yeah, you guys go out and look outside of Vale, we'll keep tabs here." Jaune said.

"Thanks guys." Ruby said.

Everyone was about to leave when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

.

"Do you know anyone who knocks on the door to the building?" Sun asked.

Yang walked up to the door and opened to see who it was.

"Ms. Xiao Long?" The girl asked.

"Uh, yeah?" She said.

"Package from Patch." The girl said.

"A present from home?!" Ruby asked as she dashed towards the door.

"Uh, thanks?" Yang said.

"Have a nice day." The girl said as she closed the door.

"So what is is?!" Ruby asked.

Though before Yang could answer, the package started to shake.

All of a sudden, a black-headed tricolor Pembroke Welsh Corgi with gray eyes and a bobbed tail popped out of the box.

"A DOG?!" Everyone but Yang and Ruby shouted.

"ZWEI!" They both shouted.

"Who sends a dog in the mail?!" Weiss asked.

Yang took out a letter that was contained within the box and began to read it aloud.

"Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days so I'm sending Zwei for you to take care of. As well as all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang." Yang said.

"Of course he's related to you." Weiss said as he pinched her nose.

"Well aren't you just the cutest little thing!" Jaune said as he leaned over to pet Zwei.

Zwei barked happily and tacked Jaune to the ground.

"I think he likes me." Jaune said.

"He likes everyone." Ruby said.

"Wow, isn't he just the cutest, Blake?" Sun asked.

.

"Blake?" Sun called out as he looked to see that Blake was hanging from the chandelier on the ceiling.

"Get. Away. No. Touching." She said.

"Right." Sun said slowly.

"Are you telling me that this mangy... drooling... mutt is going to live with us forever! Oh yes he is, yes he is!" Weiss said.

"Will all first year students please report to the amphitheater." Everyone heard Glynda say thought the announcer.

"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for a week." Weiss said.

"Leave him with us. We can watch him." Coco said as Zwei ran over to Coco.

"Maybe you can help me out a bit." She said.

Zwei barked happily and jumped into her arms.

"Well, we got that covered, let's head out, team." Yang said as she walked out of the room.

Everyone was gathered in the amphitheater awaiting their very first missions as huntresses and huntsmen.

"Wow! Our first mission! I can't wait to crack some skulls!" Nora said.

"Nora, please, let's calm down. What we do in the end is up to Jaune." Ren said.

"Well, I'd like it if you all had a say in what we do." He said.

"I'm sure that whatever we do, it will bring us closer as a team." Pyrrha said.

"But make sure that I can at least punch a guy." Nora whispered to Jaune.

"Quiet! Quiet please!" Glynda said through the microphone.

"Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before the big announcement." She said as she gave Ozpin the mic.

"Big announcement?" Yang asked.

"Just listen." Weiss said.

Ozpin walked up the the stage and began his speech.

 **"Today we stand together, united."** He began.

 **"Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale."** Ozpin said as he listed down the various kingdoms.

 **"Four kingdoms, united. On this day, eighty years ago the largest war in recorded history came to an end."** He said.

 **"It was a war of ignorance, greed, and oppression."** Ozpin said.

 **"A war much more than about where borders fell or who traded with who. But about the very idea about individualism itself."** He said.

 **"We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art, self expression, and as you are all aware, that was something some people could not stand for."**

 **"As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began to name their children after one of the core aspects of art itself. Color."**

 **"It was their way of saying that not only would they not tolerate this oppression, neither would the generations to come, and it was a trend that is held to this very day."** Ozpin said.

 **"We encourage, individuality, expressionism and unity. True diversity."** He said.

 **"As I have said, today we stand together. United, but this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why when today the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it."** Ozpin said.

 **"Now, normally you would have been tasked to shadow a professional huntsmen or huntress on a mission. But if you have watched the recent news, you know that this time isn't what you'd consider normal."**

 **"Robberies, kidnappings, and murders have become all the more common recently. Which is why we have had our huntsmen do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the people."** He said.

 **"But now I see that it is far more than we thought."** Ozpin said.

 **"Now, one of our fellow students has been captured by an unnamed kidnapper."** He said, causing various mummers to be spread across the room.

 **"So to ensure your safety, we are putting all of your missions on hold for now. Now I know you are eager to take your first steps as huntsmen and huntresses, but what good would that do if you die before you can take those first steps?"** He asked.

 **"So for now, you will stay here. But you will get your chance to go out and prove yourself."** Ozpin said.

 **"I hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember to stay out of trouble."** He said as he walked off of the stage.

.

.

"What?!" The members of Team RWBY shouted.

"N-no missions?!" Ruby said.

"Are you serious right now?!" Yang asked.

"Great, this is just great. Now we can't even go the southeastern district without seeming suspicious." Weiss said.

"W-what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

* * *

"Well isn't this just great!" Yang said as she paced around in the room.

"Yang, calm down." Sage said.

"Calm down?! How the hell can you expect me to calm down when our friend is out there where people are doing Monty knows what to him!" She yelled.

"Getting angry about it won't solve anything!" He said.

"Well what else CAN we do?! All we CAN do is sit on our asses and wait for something to happen!" Yang yelled.

"We'll figure something out!" He said.

"Oh really! Then please tell me, I'm all ears right now! Because right now, our one way ticket to finally cracking this case is gone!" She yelled.

Yang and Sage argued back and forth while everyone else just sat there in silence.

"So... what now?" Jaune asked.

"Well, we can't exactly conduct an investigation without solid proof that this is the feather of Brandon's capture." Coco said as she twirled the feather around.

"And we can't go to Mountain Glenn anymore. Not without someone noticing us." Blake said.

"Out of all the times to go into lockdown, it had to be this one." Weiss said.

"There's no telling what they'll do to him." She said grimly.

"No, he's too valuable to them, they can't risk putting him in any sort of danger." Coco said.

"Tell that to Osvaldo." Blake said.

.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Osvaldo was a very different kind of member, he never cared for the mission or our goal. He only cared about reaching his goal, which was the complete destruction of all of humanity." Blake said.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"What could drive someone to wipe out an entire race of people?" She asked.

Blake sighed heavily before answering.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know a whole lot about Osvaldo. He just sorta... showed up." Blake said.

"Do you think that he'll kill him?" Coco asked.

"If the opportunity presented itself then yes, I have no doubt in my mind." She said.

Coco just stood there in silence before slamming the her fist against the wall.

"Damn it! There has to be SOMETHING we can do." Coco said.

As everyone went back and forth, Ruby was trying desperately to think of something that might save her friend.

 _'There has to be something! Please! Just something! Anything!'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Ruby.'_ Ruby heard a very familiar voice say.

 _'W-who was that?'_ She asked herself.

 _'What's wrong my little petal? Tell mama what's wrong?'_ She heard her mother say.

 _'I-it's not fair mama! Yang was only defending me, and SHE was the one who got in trouble! It should have been that big old meanie!'_ She remembered saying when her mother was still alive.

 _'Why? Why now of all times?'_ She asked.

 _'Well sweetheart, sometimes the right thing to do isn't always the thing that'll keep you out of trouble. I'm glad that your sister is doing what she needs to do to make sure you're safe.'_ Summer said.

 _'Like that one time you beat up those girls for looking at dad all funny?'_ Ruby asked.

 _'That was... different. The point is, is that sometimes in order to do the right thing, we have to do a few wrongs first.'_ She said.

 _'A few wrongs... before a right!'_ Ruby said.

"We're going." Ruby said.

.

.

"Excuse me?" Weiss asked.

"Forget the lockdown. Forget the rules. Let's just go and save our friend." She said.

"We can't just 'Go and save our friend'! We can't even leave the kingdom at the moment!" Weiss countered.

"We can, we're just not allowed to do it." Ruby said.

"Exactly my point! We can't just go against the lockdown like that! Do you know how much trouble we would be in?!" Weiss asked.

"And do you know how much trouble Brandon is in right now?! If we want to do something then let's do it! Sure, we may get in trouble for it, but at least we can save our friend." Ruby said.

"... S-sis... are you saying that we should... break the rules?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying." She said.

All of a sudden, Yang wrapped Ruby in the tightest bear hug she could muster.

"I'm so proud of you!" She said.

"Yang!... Choking!... Not breathing!" Ruby managed to say.

"She's right. We shouldn't just stop just because of the lockdown. People's lives are at stake, and if we have to break a few rules to do it, then so be it." Blake said.

"...Yeah, I guess I have a few integration methods that Mocha showed me, but the station might not like it too much." Coco said.

"We can do some more investigating in the lower class part of Vale... I mean sure some of the area's are 'restricted' but hey, that's just another word for come on in!" Sun said.

"And we can keep searching for people who might know more about this situation... what? Not all of us have to break the rules!" Jaune said.

"Then that settles it, we start tomorrow morning. Operation 'Kick the Bad Guys Where It Hurts' is underway!" Ruby said.

"Oh really now?" Everyone heard a very familiar voice say.

Everyone turned their heads towards the hallway to see that Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port were standing there with their arms crossed.

"Uh... hey?" Ruby said.

"Office. Now." Port said.

* * *

 **Was it cliche to put in a flashback?**

 **.**

 **Yes but I couldn't think of anything else so shut up.**

 **So… I'm trapped now.**

 **.**

 **Not much to really say about that but shit.**

 **Hopefully I can get some inside info on all this.**

 **By the way, we have officially hit over 100,000 views on this story.**

 **I can't thank you all enough for this, you're all truly awesome.**

 **Here are some of the reviews you left in the last chapter.**

 **Review Response  
**  
 **Fiction Fan 369: You read my story, started to enjoy it, and started shipping people.**

 **dragoncraftertex: ... Fuck.**

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 **Dinosaurchicken: It's a totally true story.**

 **olTran: Well I'm sorry, not every chapter has to have fighting in it. I mean look at this one, it barely has any at all.**

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 **TheoMidnight: We'll just have to wait and see.**

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 **Guest: Well Yang didn't get a fist to the chest... Right Rooster Teeth?**

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 **bwburke94:... You're a cheeky little one aren't ya?**

 **Guest: I can almost guarantee you that she doesn't. Each weapon has it's own wielder.**

* * *

Omake - A more… direct approach. (Non-Canon)

So who knew that sitting in a cage for hours upon hours would get boring as shit.

Seriously! Can I at least get some cards here?!

"Ugh... bored." I said.

.

.

"Really bored." I said once again.

.

.

"Seriously! I will do ANYTHING right now!" I yelled.

"He's in here." I heard someone say.

"Excellent. You assistance is appreciated." I heard Naomi say.

"Just don't do anything funny." The guard said.

"I do not intend to do anything you will consider, humorous." She said as she walked in.

Great, the crazy doctor is here.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I'm here to collect samples." She said as she took off her coat and pulled out a pair of keys.

"What's with the keys?" I asked.

What she did next surprised the absolute hell out of me.

She opened the cage.

"Uh... tha-?" I began, only for Naomi to climb in and lock the door from behind her.

"Never mind." I said.

Naomi took off her glasses and placed them outside of the cage.

"Why are you in here?" I asked.

"To collect." She said as she started to take off her shirt.

.

.

Wait, hold up for just one second.

"Uh... what are you-?" I began, though I quickly cut myself off as Naomi started to remove her jeans.

"UH?!" I was at a loss of words right now.

Naomi put her hands to the her back and started to undo her bra, it gently falling to the ground.

As I started to stare at Naomi's bare skin, I could feel my mouth starting to water.

"So... what the hell are you doing?" I asked her.

"Stripping." She simply said.

"Oh... why?!" I asked.

"So we can engage in intercourse." She said.

.

"I'll ask again... why?!" I asked.

"I need to collect samples, and considering that your friend doesn't like needles, I decided to go for a more... direct approach." Naomi said.

"I thought you said you wouldn't do anything funny." I said.

"I did. This will not be amusing. If what I've heard from the other members is true, then this will be more...pleasurable." She said.

"Besides, this is what I believe you humans call an Omake. So anything we do here will not have an effect on the present timeline." Naomi said.

.

You know, when I said I would do anything, I wasn't talking about this.

* * *

 **Naomi Oceanus  
**  
 **Height: 5'6"**

 **Weight: 146 lbs**

 **Age: 23**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Voodoo Child (Namesake: Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child)**

 **Summary: Naomi is able to change various organic properties on a person to her very own will.**

 **She can replace organs, limbs, bones, etc. Naomi can also manipulate how your semblance works, though in the end, it's still pretty much the same semblance, it just works a little differently.**

 **She cannot use this semblance on herself however.**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: D**

 **Poll Progression  
**  
 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 56**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 43**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 33**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 18**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	42. The Other Side

Hello readers, and welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.

* * *

Speech: "The Other Side"

Thought: _'The Other Side'_

Flashback: _"_ _The Other Side"_

.

.

"So, who's going to start explaining?" Port asked.

Team's RWBY, JNPR, CVFY, and SSSN were all sitting in Port's lecture room after him and Oobleck over heard their new plan to stop the White Fang's operation, and save their friend Brandon.

"Well, we're waiting." Oobleck said.

No one really knew what to say, they still had every intention of carrying out their newly devised plan. Though now it was going to be a lot harder for them to do anything due to the teachers knowing of their plan now.

"What do you want to know?" Ruby asked sheepishly.

"What do we want to know? We want to know what you were thinking! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to do what you're doing?" Port asked.

"Yes, but-" Ruby began.

"Then why would you go out of your way to directly go against the rules like that?! There's a reason why Ozpin set up this lockdown!" Port said.

"Port, please. They're just children. You don't need to yell." Oobleck said.

"I know, it's just... We're only concerned for your safety. We know that you have excelled more than any of our students here, but even so, you can't just go and take on an entire army." He said.

"But-" Blake began.

"We understand that you are all eager to go out and make a difference in the world. But there are some things that aren't as simple as you'd think." Port said.

"First it was the highway incident, and while we are very glad that you figured out who was stealing the advanced equipment, it didn't come at a price." He said

"What?" Ruby asked.

"People are starting to wonder if they're truly safe in Vale, even with the Atlas military being here." Oobleck said.

"And I'm sure you all know what happens when people start to panic." Port said.

"Grimm start to come in." Jaune said.

"Exactly. That is why we are taking our time and carefully analyzing the situation instead of just taking the threat head on without any consideration for the consequences of the future." Oobleck said.

"These things take time. It's much more complicated than we would have hoped for." Port said.

"So that's it?! We're supposed to just wait and hope for the best?!" Blake asked.

"That is not what we are saying, Ms. Belladonna!" He said.

"But you need to think about this. If you keep up these reckless actions and keep on causing panic, how many people will have to suffer for it?" Port asked.

"That's not to say that it is your fault that the Grimm have become all the more active around Vale. But if panic continues to spread, then more dangerous Grimm will come over to the area." Oobleck said.

"So what? A few Grimm were never too much trouble for us." Yang said.

"Oh? And how many types of Grimm have you fought?" Port asked.

"Well, I lost count after one hundred and-" She began, only to be cut off by Port.

"We didn't ask for the amount you fought, we asked how many types of Grimm you have fought." He said.

Yang pinched her chin for a few moments before responding.

"Well, if I really had to think about it. Then I would have to say... five or six." Yang said.

"Specifics?" Oobleck asked.

"Basic stuff, Ursai, Nevermores, Beowolves, etc." She said.

"I see." He said.

"Why are you asking anyway? What does our knowledge of Grimm have to do with any of this?" Weiss asked.

Port and Oobleck looked at each other before nodding.

"More than you'd think." Oobleck said.

"What are you-?" She began.

"We will tell you why we have been taking such a passive approach to the situation." Port said.

Though before anyone of the sixteen teenagers could say anything, they were cut off once again by Professor Port.

"But what we say here does not leave this room, you cannot share this information to anyone in or outside of Vale. Do you understand?" Port asked.

Everyone nodded, though Port and Oobleck still weren't convinced.

"No, we need to hear you say it." Oobleck said.

"We understand." Everyone said in unison.

Port and Oobleck nodded before taking out a diagram from within Port's desk.

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked.

"This is a diagram of Mountain Glenn." Oobleck said.

"Okay, but what does the ruins of an old city have to do with your approach on the situation at hand?" Coco asked.

"We're not talking about the city. We're talking about the actual mountain itself." Port said, pulling out a marker and circling the very top of the mountain.

"Right here, in this exact location, lays a Grimm of unimaginable power. A Grimm that could destroy the very city of Vale itself, this beast is simply known as the Grimm Dragon." He said.

.

.

"I-I'm sorry. But did you just say... d-dragon?!" Jaune asked.

"Your ears do not deceive you, my boy. There is indeed a Grimm Dragon sealed away in the very mountain itself." Port said.

"W-when did this happen?! Shouldn't we have heard about this?!" Ruby asked.

"We would be surprised if you HAD heard about this. Ozpin did his best to keep it hidden from the public." Oobleck said.

"But why?! Shouldn't the people of Vale know about this?!" Weiss asked.

"How would you react if there was a literal Dragon slumbering right next to the place where you live?" Port asked.

"... He's got a point there." Ruby said.

"Quiet you!" She said with an embarrassed look on her face.

"It happened fifteen years ago. We were called in by Ozpin to intercept the Dragon before it got to Vale." Oobleck said.

"Though the Dragon turned out to be a more formidable opponent than we expected." Port said.

"Even with the combined forces of Peach, Glynda, and the two of us, it still wasn't enough to take it down." Oobleck said.

"Eventually, Team STRQ came to our assistance before the situation got too out of hand." Port said.

Ruby and Yang's eyes widened when they heard the name of the team their parents were a part of.

"Team STRQ?" Jaune asked.

"That was the team our parents were apart of." Yang said, voice hushed in shock.

"Indeed. It was actually your mother who sealed away the Grimm Dragon, Ms. Rose." Oobleck said.

The room went silent, Ruby's eyes widening in surprise.

"M-my mother?" She asked slowly.

"Yes, with her help, we were able to seal away the dragon." Port said.

"H-how did my mother seal away the Dragon?" Ruby asked.

"Your mother was a... special kind of woman. She had powers beyond our wildest imagination. With those powers, she was able to seal away the Dragon." He said.

"Though ever since she... you know... the seal she put on the Dragon has been weakening." Oobleck said.

"So that's why you're avoiding such a direct approach." Blake said.

"Correct. No matter what, preventing the release of the Dragon has and will be our top priority." He said.

"We understand that you are worried about Brandon. We truly do, we would want nothing more than to go and retrieve him from his captivity." Oobleck said.

"But we still need to think about the bigger picture here. No matter what, we need to make sure that the people of Vale feel safe so that the Dragon does not awaken once again." Port said.

"Which is why we can't let you go out on your own like this. We can't risk the spread of panic, but more importantly, we can't risk your lives on this." Oobleck said.

"But what about Brandon?!" Ruby asked.

"We know, Ms. Rose. But not everything is that simple. These things take time and careful planning, if we're not careful we could be doing more harm than good. You should let us handle it." Port said.

"Peter is right. What if you got hurt? Even worse, what if you or one of your friends were killed in the process?" Oobleck asked.

"One of our friends MIGHT be killed if we just stand here and do nothing!" Ruby shouted as she got up from her seat.

"Ruby." Yang tried to say.

"You think I don't get that?! You think that I don't get that everything isn't as simple as a fairy tale?!" She asked.

"I get it, but I'm just doing what I think my mom would do if she were in this situation!" Ruby said.

"What do you mean?" Port asked.

"I look up to my mom with all my heart! But even I'll admit that from what I've heard from dad and Qrow, that mom isn't exactly the most heroic person in the world!" She yelled.

"She would do things that not everyone agreed with. But she did it because she knew that in her heart, she was doing the right thing!" Ruby said.

"So I know that what we're doing is wrong, and that we'll probably get into even more trouble for going against Ozpin. But if we save Brandon in the end, then I personally don't care!" She yelled.

.

.

"Ms. Rose." Port began.

"She's right." Blake said.

"Blake." Ruby said with a grin on her face.

"We may be doing things that the public may not like, but what we're doing will help them in the long run. Even if they don't know they're in danger to begin with." Blake said.

"We're huntsmen and huntresses, we save lives, that's our job. Besides- " She began as she took off her bow.

"My name has already been disgraced, so what's the harm in getting my hands even more dirty than they already were?" Blake asked.

Before Port or Oobleck could ask what she meant by that, Weiss and Yang stood up.

"Well, if this is what needs to be done then so be it." Weiss said.

"Meh, breaking rules was never something I was unfamiliar with." Yang said.

"We all know that." She said.

Everyone else stood up from their chairs.

"Brandon's our friend... he's been like a brother to me. No offence, Ren." Jaune said.

"None taken." He said.

"Brandon and I have been through a lot of shit in the past year. I've been bailing him out of sticky situations from the very start, so this won't be any different." Coco said.

"Besides, Brandon is always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and was always able to get the job done. So why not take a few pages from his book?" Velvet asked.

"Wait, what are you all talking about? Why is your name disgraced? What do you mean by trouble? What has Brandon been getting involved in?" Oobleck asked.

Everyone looked at one another before nodding.

"Which one do you want to know about first?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, how about you tell us what exactly Brandon has been getting involved in?" Port asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the various elites that have been roaming around Vale recently." Coco said.

"We're huntsmen. It would be unusual if we didn't know about what happened." Oobleck said.

"Well, Brandon has decided that he should start getting involved with there little operations." She said.

"I've heard about that. Ozpin sent you two to investigate a few potential suspects, right?" Port said.

"Yeah, well Brandon has his ways of attracting trouble wherever he goes. So naturally he decided to do some of his own investigating." Coco said.

"I see, so that's why Brandon hasn't been in class recently." Oobleck said.

"Yeah, always getting into all sorts of trouble. Anyways, he searched around for a good while until he ran into the Faunus responsible for all of the assassinations happening in Vale." Coco said.

"Hmm, is that so... wait, he ran into who?!" Port asked.

"He's the reason why the guy on the news from a few months back was caught. If it weren't for him he would have kept up his usual agenda." She said.

"But how did he find him?" Oobleck asked.

"How he finds all of the criminals he's fought. Pure. Luck." Coco said.

"So is that why he was so injured that night?" Port asked.

"Yeah, though we decided to go with a cover story so people didn't start talking about it." She said.

"Good, if word got out about what happened it would only cause more tension." Oobleck said.

"Yeah, though Brandon's been having trouble keeping his mouth shut." Coco said.

"What do you mean?" Port asked.

"We know about it." Weiss said, referring to everyone in the room.

"I assume he told you all? I should have guessed, it had to take a lot of convincing for him to keep quiet about what happened with Merlot." Oobleck said.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"We'll tell you later." Coco said.

"Okay, so what happened to the killer?" Port asked.

"Osvaldo." She corrected.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"That's the name of the killer." Velvet said.

"Hmm, I see. At least we have a name now." Port said.

"Yeah, so far we haven't had any other leads on his whereabouts." Coco said.

"Unfortunate. So Brandon has been meddling in the affairs of the White Fang, while he has made some progress, I'm sure the White Fang won't be pleased with this new development." Oobleck said.

"You have no idea." She said.

"Not to mention the people of Vale are tense about an assassin lurking within the city." Port said.

"Yeah, that's why we were doing our best to keep it under wraps but you know how much of a glory hog Brandon is." Coco said.

"Okay, so now let's move on. We've answered what Brandon was doing, and what trouble he was getting into, so that leads us to our final question." Oobleck said as he turned towards Blake.

"What do you mean your name is already disgraced?" He asked.

.

.

"You sorta walked into that one." Yang said.

"Yes, I get it. Thank you for the update Yang." Blake said sarcastically.

"We're waiting." Port said.

Blake shuffled her feet around, unsure if she should tell them or come up with some excuse.

"Look, Ms. Belladonna, whatever you did in your past doesn't matter now. We will not look down upon you for your past-" Port began.

"I was part of the White Fang." She said.

"... transgressions." He finished.

The room was silent for a couple of seconds before they responded.

"My... that is... my word." Port said.

"You, Ms. Belladonna, were a member of the White Fang?" Oobleck asked.

"Yep. Was one of the Phantoms too." She said.

.

.

"My, that is... certainly a lot to take in." Port said.

"So... what do you think?" Blake asked.

"It's certainly not what we expected, but only another question surfaces. Why did you leave in the first place?" Oobleck asked.

"I couldn't support their cause anymore. Ever since I left I've been disgraced as a traitor to the White Fang, but I don't care. I won't support their crimes anymore." She said.

"Well said. Truly words of a true huntress." Port said.

"If you left because of their crimes, then we won't hold it against you." He said.

"So, now you know what's been happening this year." Coco said.

"Well, despite hearing all this, we still can't let you do this." Port said.

"We weren't asking for your permission. We're doing this even if it's against the rules." She said.

"Let us finish." Port said.

"What?" Coco asked.

"We won't let you do this without proper help." Oobleck said.

"W-wait, you mean you'll-?!" Ruby began.

"While it may be tricky to work under the shadows, it isn't something we are unfamiliar with." He said.

Everyone stood there in silence before Ruby jumped up in the air.

"Thank you so much!" She yelled.

"Please, we are huntsmen. If we simply sat in our office while Brandon was being held captive then what kind of heroes would we be?" Port asked.

"So judging by all of the information you gave us I can assume that the White Fang are the ones responsible for his kidnapping." Oobleck said.

"Yeah, and we have this to go off of." Blake said as she pulled out Aleria's feather.

"A feather?" Port asked.

"It's a feather from one of the members of the Phantoms. This feather was found on the scene of the crime." Coco said.

"Fascinating. Though without an exact location, we would basically be walking around Vale blindly." Oobleck said.

"Don't worry, we have one of the Phantoms in custody right now, and I intend on making her talk." She said.

"Yeah, and from what we've gathered the White Fang are operating in the southeastern part of Vale." Blake said.

"So somewhere in the Mountain Glenn area. It would be the perfect place for a hideout due to all of it's various ruins." Oobleck said.

"That's why we wanted to go on a mission that covered that area." Ruby said.

"I see." Port said.

"Yeah, I can get her to spill the beans on camera, you guys are free to go to the Mountain Glenn without any trouble from the authorities." Coco said.

"Hmm, so if we play our cards correctly we can rescue Mr. Kim without any negative repercussions." Oobleck said.

"That's the plan. Though I'd think of a backup plan just in case we have to work under the radar." She said.

"We'll take care of all of the planning and try to figure out the exact location of the White Fang's operations." Oobleck said.

"So that's it then? We've got our roles, and we've got a plan." Ruby said.

"It seems so." Jaune said.

"Ah yeah, this is gonna be awesome. I'll have the team and I'll search for any place that might seem suspicious." Sun said.

"Like junior detectives?" Neptune asked.

"Like junior detectives." He said as he and Neptune connected fists.

"Ah ha ha! This reminds me of the times from when I was your age! Oh, the feeling of being young again!" Port said.

"We haven't a moment to lose, students! Consider this your first mission!" Oobleck said.

"You heard the man. Let's move out." Coco said as she and the rest of her team walked out of the room.

The students nodded and went their separate ways, while Port and Oobleck remained in the lecture room.

* * *

(My POV)

.

.

Bored.

.

.

Really bored.

.

.

Holy shit I'm bored!

That was really the only thing going through my mind right now as I sat in this stupid cage.

Seriously, I've only been here for about a day and still nothing!

I was expecting Team RWBY and Oobleck to arrive already, though they seem like they're taking their sweet time to get here.

Well, I suppose it isn't too bad.

I mean I do have someone to talk to... even if the only thing they'll ever say back to me is shut up.

Well, almost everyone.

Though as of right now I'm just sitting in this cage waiting for one of the Phantoms to arrive.

Though before I could continue my train of thought, the door leading to outside the hallway opened.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

The man who walked into the room had brown hair, some sort of beard growing on his face, and various tattoo's on his arms and chest.

He walked up to the cage and kneeled down to look me in the eye.

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked.

The man gripped the bars tightly, his knuckles going pure white.

"Okay, personal space mean anything to you, pal?" I asked.

"It's been quite a long time." He said in a deep and rough voice.

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"You don't know the current me... but I know who you are." He said.

Jeez, the White Fang sure know how to pick em.

"Look, buddy. I'm not really sure where we met before, but-" I began.

"I. Am NOT! Your buddy." He said slowly.

"It's a figure of speech." I said.

"I don't care." He said.

"Well, if you came to annoy the ever loving crap out of me then congrats, it worked." I said dryly.

"The feeling is mutual. Just the sight of you is enough to make my blood boil with rage." He said.

"Well, you and the rest of the White Fang." I said.

"You ruined me. You ruined the life I had, the life I was trying to keep alive for her." He said.

"Her?" I asked.

"Yes, her. We all have our partners, and I had mine at one point." He said.

"I'm not really sure I follow." I said.

"That place was her pride and joy, she put so much work into it and because of you, it's now gone!" He yelled.

"All she wanted was to show humans that we were just like them, that we could love, laugh, and cry to." He said quietly.

"But your kind killed her, your fear of us drove her over the edge!" He yelled as he slammed his fist on one of the bars.

"You destroyed her. You destroyed her dreams, her hopes, and her life." He said.

I just sat there in the cell with the most confused look on my face.

"Buddy, words cannot describe the level of confusion I am feeling right now." I said.

"Hmph, and here I thought you were cleverer than this." He said with a disappointed look on his face.

"Though I suppose it isn't your fault. If anything it's a good thing you don't recognize me. That means the procedure was a success and I can get back into Vale soon enough." He said.

"What procedure?" I asked.

"Allow me to jog your memory. It's not like you'll be going anywhere for the time being." He said as he walked over to one of the guards.

"Come here." He said.

"Y-yes sir." He said.

What the hell is he doing?

Though before the guard could ask the same question I was asking myself, his body began to... shrink?

"What the-?!" I began.

As the guards body shrunk, the man's body started to grow in size and mass.

Eventually, the guards body dropped to the floor as if it were nothing but an empty shell.

The man cracked his knuckles and his neck before turning towards me.

"Now I do believe that we've had enough talk for now." He said in a low tone.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"No, you can't be-" I began.

"Well, not anymore. As of today I am Gabriel Alvarez, though you will still know me as Osvaldo Gervinho." He said.

We stood there in silence for a moment before I was the one who broke the ice.

"That's some plastic surgery you got there." I said.

"You can thank Naomi for this new appearance. Took hours to get it right." He said.

"So... why are you telling me your identity. I mean I am the one who was looking for you to begin with." I said.

"Because, I want you to know just who's going to kill you after all of this is over." He said.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"You ruined my life and destroyed her memory. Now I will destroy you." Osvaldo said.

"Tch, because the last time you did worked out so well for you." I said sarcastically.

"It will be different. There will be no restrictions, no back up, and no surprises. It will be me, killing you in the worst possible way imaginable." He said.

"Yeah, well you wouldn't be the first who would try to, and like hell you are going to be the last." I said.

"We shall see in time." He said as he turned around to walk out of the room.

"What was she like?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" Osvaldo asked.

"I don't, though I'm just curious as to how a guy like you had someone special like that." I said.

"Tch, if you don't care then drop it. It doesn't concern you." He said as he walked out.

Jeez, looks like he's still got that stick up his ass.

But still, hard to believe someone like him had someone special in his life.

Though if she was that important to him, than I can assume that her death was what caused him to go over the edge.

But if that's the case, then who was the one who killed her?

Before I could continue my thought process, the door opened once again.

"Yo." I heard Alerio said.

"Oh are you-?! Come on Os! At least clean up after yourself!" He yelled as he kicked the body into the hallway.

"So, I'm on watch now." He said.

"Seems like it." I said.

"What exactly do you do here anyway?" Alerio asked.

"Sit... sit... and more sitting I guess." I said.

"Man, that blows." He said.

"Tell me about it." I said.

Alerio reached into his pocket and pulled out some cards.

"You can fit your hands through the bars, right?" He asked.

My only response was to reach my hand out through the bars.

"Good, you know how to play?" He asked as he sat in front of the cage.

"Depends on what you intend on playing." I said as I got into my sitting position.

"Meh, Aleria's a big fan of Blackjack so wanna play that? Only thing I know how to play really." Alerio said.

"Sure, better than nothing." I said as Alerio started to lay the cards in front of me.

"You know, for a prison guard you sure are nice to your prisoners." I said.

"Meh, you don't seem all that bad." He said as he shuffled the cards in his hands.

"Hmm." I hummed.

"Wassup?" He asked.

"Nothing, just... thinking." I said.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

The police station was quiet as usual, the crime in Vale has been fairly quiet recently, with the exception of Brandon's kidnapping, of course.

Though they couldn't exactly pursue a kidnapper they know nothing about.

Every time they asked Veronica about what she knew about this incident, she told them that she didn't even know they were targeting the kid until now.

She still wouldn't budge about their plans for the future.

Though Coco was intent on changing that really quickly.

Veronica was just sitting in her cell, under heavy surveillance just in case she accidentally spilled the beans on her whereabouts.

"Ain't no place for the wicked, money don't grow on trees." She sang.

Seems like that was the only thing she could do at the moment.

"I got bills to pay, I've got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free." Veronica sang.

"Oh yeah there ain't no place for the wicked, until we close our eyes for-" She tried to finish, though she was cut off at the sound of the door opening.

"Good." She finished.

"Hope I didn't interrupt." Coco said.

"You're interrupting my song so yeah, get the hell out." She said.

"I wasn't asking for your permission to enter. This is our cell you know." She said.

"What do you want. I already told you that no matter what you do I won't talk." Veronica said.

"That's not what I came here to do." Coco said as she pulled up a chair.

"Then what do you want." She asked.

"I just want to talk." Coco said.

"... About?" Veronica asked.

"You." She said.

.

.

"What?" She asked.

"You heard me, I want to know all about the famous Veronica Lambert." Coco said.

"Why do you care?" Veronica asked.

"I want to know what drives you to do what you do. As a detective it's my job to figure out everything and anything about the crooks I catch... if you are a crook that is." She said.

"What?" She asked.

"I've learned a whole lot from following my sister you know." Coco said.

"Mocha Adel, right?" Veronica asked.

"Yep. She taught me that the world isn't as black and white as some people may make it out to be." She said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"I mean, most of her closest friends were people she brought into custody." Coco said.

"W-what?! How does that even happen?!" Veronica asked.

"Hell if I know. I was too young to fully understand what she was doing anyway." She said.

"So is that your plan? To get all buddy buddy with me?" She asked.

"No, I said I want to know all about you." Coco said.

"But why-?!" Veronica began.

"Look, just because you're part of the White Fang doesn't make you a bad person. I mean look at your friend Blake, we're on good terms." She said.

"... " She remained silent through her little talk.

"I want to know why you joined the White Fang… and why you still continue to support their cause despite their violent methods." Coco said.

"What do you mean by that?" Veronica asked.

"I've watched the footage where you and Blake had your little heart to heart." She said.

"You shouldn't butt into other's social lives." She said.

"I'm a detective, it's my job to stick my nose in other people's business." Coco said.

"Tch, can't argue with that." Veronica said dryly.

"So you heard about what we talked about, what's it to ya?" She asked.

"From what I've gathered, even you are starting to doubt the methods you've been using over the past year." She said.

"Yeah, so I don't exactly approve of pointless slaughter of humans and these stupid robberies, sue me." Veronica said.

 _'Oh how I'd love to do that._ ' Coco thought.

"Then why keep supporting a cause you no longer believe?" She asked.

"You listened to the tape, figure it out yourself, ace detective." Veronica said.

"I could, though I thought it would be easier to hear it from your mouth." Coco said.

"Why should I even tell you my life story to begin with?" She asked.

"I didn't ask for your life story, I just asked why you keep supporting a cause you don't believe in. If you don't believe it, then just quit." She said.

"It's not that simple." Veronica said.

"Was for Blake." Coco said.

"She had the luxuries and opportunities to move on. I don't." She said.

"Why's that?" She asked.

Veronica just sat there in silence before sighing heavily.

"You're not gonna leave until I tell you, are you?" She asked.

"I was planning to stay the night." She said as she pulled out a pillow from her bag.

"Ugh, fine. Where do you want me to start?" Veronica asked.

"Well, first off I want to know why you keep fighting for this cause." Coco asked.

"It's because... I have nowhere left to go." She said.

"Hmm." Coco hummed as she continued to listen to her story.

"It… it happened ten years ago, the day Mountain Glenn fell." Veronica said.

"Seems like a lot of stuff happened that day." Coco said.

"Yeah... I was studying a little engineering during the incident, was trying to make ends meet by doing a little construction on the city." She said.

"Well, you're twenty five right now, so that would have made you fifteen at the time." She said.

"Congrats, you can do math." Veronica said dryly.

"Where were your parents?" Coco asked.

"Never had any. Never needed 'em." She said.

"So you were living by yourself when you were only fifteen?" She asked.

"That's the gist of it." Veronica said.

"Did you have a job?" Coco asked.

"I was one of the engineers in Mountain Glenn." She said.

"I meant before." She said.

"Oh, I was a freelancer in engineering." Veronica said.

"A freelancer? Don't they make a decent amount of money?" Coco asked.

"Well if you worked for the companies I work with you'd be lucky if they'd kept you around for a week." She said,

"Oh." She said.

"This job was just gonna be like any other job I've had, though it just so happens I was working in the one area that was the source of the collapse." Veronica said.

"Everyone was evacuated... except for me, I was stuck in the main Merlot building when the evacuation happened." She said.

"I was stuck in that shit hole for weeks, eating nothing but the remains of the M.R.E's that were scattered. I eventually dug my way out of the building with all the tech I had available to me." Veronica said.

"Though I took a bit longer than my employers would have liked. My contract was cut off and my employment registration was revoked, to be blunt, I was in the biggest shit hole I've ever been in." She said.

"So where does the White Fang come into all this?" Coco asked.

"I was getting to that." Veronica said.

"Eventually I took up a job as a mercenary, I did a whole bunch of things. Body guard, black market deal, weapon deals, weapon forging, etc." She said.

"D.S.M.N was one of the main reasons why I thrived in this profession. Turns out having a mini-fighter jet at your disposal tended to put a lot of people at ease." Veronica said.

"What about a hit man?" Coco asked.

"No, most of those clients wanted it to look like an accident, and it's kinda hard to make thirty four bullet wounds as well as a missing limb look like an accident." She said.

"So you did kill people." She said.

"I was a bodyguard so yeah, sometimes people tried to kill my escort." Veronica said.

"Fair enough, even us huntsmen have to get our hands dirty in order to get a paycheck." Coco said.

"Then there was that one contract I had. Here's where the White Fang get involved." She said.

"I'm listening." She said.

"I was to escort the wife of Ghira Belladonna, Kali Belladonna to the main base of the White Fang's operation." Veronica said.

"Those are Blake's parents, right?" Coco asked.

"Yep, pretty important Faunus too. So naturally a few people wanted her head on a platter." She said.

"After the mission was over, I was supposed to collect my funds and leave. But Ghira had other plans." She said.

"Hmm." Coco hummed as she continued to listen to her story.

"He offered me a position in the White Fang's elite group. In return for my service, he would provide food, water, shelter, and a family for me." Veronica said.

"At first, I was only interested in the first three, though in time I would come to appreciate the last one." She said.

"For the very first time in my life, I had a family." Veronica said.

.

.

"So that's it?" Coco asked.

"That's how I got into the White Fang, yeah. It's also why I can't leave them, I've never had a family until I met them, and I'll be damned if I turn my back on them." She said.

"I see... we've all done some crazy shit for the people we care about." She said.

Veronica just stared at her with the blank expression she had on her face since the conversation started.

"Which is why I need you to tell me where your team is now operating." Coco said.

"... Pardon?" She asked.

"Please, we know our friend has been taken by the White Fang and we know they're operating in Mountain Glenn, but we can't legally go there without actual evidence of them being there." Coco said.

"Wait, your friend? You mean that... kid?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Damn, I knew we were getting a little brutal with our kidnappings but a kid? I mean just... damn." She said.

"So you understand why I need you to tell me where he is on camera." Coco said.

"... " Veronica just stayed silent.

"I know you don't particularly like me, but please, I can't lose another one of my-" She began.

"Is the camera rolling?" She asked.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Is the damn camera rolling?" Veronica asked.

"Not yet." She said.

"Start rolling it and follow my lead." She said.

Coco was confused but nodded and turned on the camera.

"Okay! You win! They're in Mountain Glenn, just stop it already!" She yelled.

Coco's eyes widened before she started to smirk.

"Took you long enough." Coco said.

"Tch, tell you're friend I said hi when you get to hell." Veronica said with a smirk on her face.

Coco mouthed thank you to Veronica and walked out of the room.

* * *

(My POV)

"So... you got any three's?" Alerio asked as he held his card deck in his hands.

Eventually we stopped playing blackjack after I kept cheati- I mean using my amazing skills to win every match.

Speaking of winning.

"Go fish." I said with a smirk on my face.

"Oh come on!" He yelled as he threw his cards into the air.

"If you want to quit then just say so." I said.

"Hell no! Rematch, let's go baby!" Alerio said as he started to shuffle the cards.

Yeah, whatever Doc.

As Alerio continued to shuffle the cards, he had a very curious look in his eyes.

"Got something you want to say?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"You look like you got something to say." I said.

"Well... it's not important." Alerio said.

"You sure? You still have that look in your eyes." I said.

"Heh, you can really read people like an open book, can you?" He asked.

"No, just you really." I said.

.

.

"Wait, is that an insult?" He asked.

"Were you insulted?" I asked.

"Not particularly." Alerio said.

"Then no, it wasn't an insult." I said.

"Well... what's Vale like?" He asked.

"What do you mean what's it like, you've been there before." I said.

"I've only been in Vale for business with my sis, I've never had a real opportunity to actually take it all in." Alerio said.

"Really? Throughout your entire time being here, you've NEVER explored Vale." I asked.

"No, I know Vale like the back of my hand, though when it comes to the trends, culture, and all that jazz." He said.

"So you don't just... hang out?" I asked.

"It's kinda hard to hide from the cops when the one thing that keeps them from identifying you is attached on your back." Alerio said, referring to his feathered cape.

"Wait, that's... real?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's real alright. Always a pain in the ass when it comes to clothing and all that." He said.

"I guess I can see that." I said.

"Yeah, though it makes me look pretty damn cool." Alerio said.

"So it's basically like having one wing on your back...can you even fly?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no I can't." He said.

"Wow, so it's only for appearance then." I said.

"Well, not particularly." Alerio said.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Aleria's feathers act like daggers with various effects, bombs, heat radars, etc." He said.

Well, hello info on the Phantoms, put that somewhere safe.

"My feathers are more for a direct approach." He said.

"Specifics?" I asked.

"Heh, that's a secret." Alerio said.

Of course it is.

"So why are you asking me about Vale anyway?" I asked.

"Like I said, don't know a whole lot about it. Wanna know more." He said.

"Okay, fair enough. It's a pretty cool place, good people, good culture, all that fun stuff." I said.

"What about the fashion?" Alerio asked.

"Uh... it's cool?" I asked.

"Specifics?" He asked.

"I don't know! I never really had a good look and all that!" I said.

"All right! No need to shout." He said.

.

.

"So, why did you and Aleria join into the White Fang to begin with?" I asked.

"Heh, interested in the tale of Alerio and Aleria, eh?" He asked.

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have asked in the first place." I said.

"Okay I get it, though we might want to keep it down. Aleria won't be happy if she heard me telling you our life story." Alerio said.

"I asked for yours, not hers." I said.

"Well that's the thing. It's always been just the two of us from the very beginning, even before the Fang." He said.

"No parents?" I asked.

"None that I can remember. Aleria doesn't know a whole lot either." Alerio said.

"Is that so." I mumbled.

"So where do you want me to start?" He asked.

"How about what you two did before the Fang?" I asked.

"Heh, alright then. Here goes nothing." Alerio said.

"So we were both already familiar with the criminal underworld, we would mug, steal, and rob every store, person, and bank we could." He said.

"Where were you two from?" I asked.

"We've been wondering for a good while, but Vacuo was always the place we were the most welcome at." Alerio said.

"Figures." I said.

"Yeah, anyway, we were always on the run from cops, mafia bosses, gangs, etc." He said.

"We kept on moving, stealing whatever we could from the big shots in the big cities." Alerio said.

"Why specifically them?" I asked.

"Tch, it's because rich assholes like those guys are the reason why us lowlifes are struggling! I mean, it's not like they have anything to do with that money, why not give it to someone who needs it!" He said.

"Can't argue with that." I said.

"Yeah, so we thought we would lighten their load, make'em feel the struggle of being low on dough." He said.

"What did you do with all that money?" I asked.

"All sorts of stuff, food, water… women." He said.

"Though we would always give a little money to some of the struggling people we come across." Alerio said.

"Well that's good, I guess." I said.

"Yeah, anyways, we kept on moving until we eventually stopped at Vale." He said.

"Why did you stop?" I asked.

"Well... it wasn't meant to be our last stop, it was just supposed to be one little heist before we bailed." Alerio said.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Shit hit the fan really quick, we always had a phrase, if you had to steal from anyone you steal from the mafia." He said.

.

.

"That's an... interesting phrase." I said.

"Yeah, though this time it was different, this was the day we actually got caught." He said.

"By who?" I asked.

"Who do you think?" Alerio asked.

.

.

"Wait, you tried to steal from the White Fang?!" I asked.

"Yeah, we tried to steal some of Ghira's treasure and all that, but in the end we were caught." He said.

"But instead of turning us over to the authorities, he actually gave us a chance to make an actual difference in this world." Alerio said.

"You sound like you really liked him." I said.

"Yeah, he was sorta like the dad of the White Fang, he even gave us a position in the Phantoms." He said.

"Our job, stealing, whether it be treasure, people, or info, we'll steal it without fail." Alerio said.

"Without fail huh?" I asked with one of my eyebrows raised.

"You know what I meant." He said.

"So that's when we learnt, that if we couldn't earn our rights, we were just gonna steal em." He said.

"How can you steal rights?" I asked.

"We're... still working on that, but we're gonna find a way." Alerio said.

"So... is that it?" I asked.

"That's all I can remember, yeah." He said.

"All you can remember?" I asked.

"Meh, I always had a shitty memory, if you want to know some specifics then ask Aleria, though I doubt she would actually tell you." Alerio said.

"Yeah, I don't think she's really in the mood to talk to me." I said.

"Welp, that's our story... wanna continue our game?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Think I'm just gonna relax for now." I said.

"Whatever you say, guess I'll find something else to do. I'm gonna bail then." He said as he got up.

"Hey." I began.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I think I've got a name for you." I said.

"What?" He asked.

"You wanted a name just for the two of you, I've got one for ya." I said.

"Oh!...Well lay it on me, though it needs to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies." He said.

"Okay, how about... the Phantom Thieves?" I asked.

"The... Phantom Thieves?" He asked.

"Well, you guys are part of the Phantoms, and you are thieves so why not put em together?" I asked.

.

.

"Damn it! Why didn't I think of that?!" He asked.

Probably because you haven't played Persona 5.

"Well, I'll have to think about it, human. For now, just sit tight." He said as he walked out of the room.

Yeah, because I'm clearly going places at the moment.

I laid in the cage and started to think about the new information I've learned about the Phantoms.

So from what I've learnt, Alerio and Aleria want to steal their rights back, and Osvaldo is crazy because he lost a lover.

Now that I really think about the events that happened today, are the White Fang really that bad?

.

.

Meh, I really shouldn't think about it too hard, I can't be feeling bad for em when I get out of here. Won't be good for when I have to throw fist with em.

All of a sudden, Caliber appeared from within the cage.

"Well look who it is. What do you want?" I asked,

Caliber looked at me with his single eye and his head tilted to the right.

"What?... okay... maybe I'm starting to doubt if they're really that bad." I admitted.

"But it doesn't matter, what's done is done." I said.

.

.

"Quit looking at me like that!" I said.

Caliber looked at me with his usual blank expression.

"You know, it would really help if I could actually talk to you. I mean, you are sentient, and you are capable of speech." I said with an annoyed tone.

Caliber remained silent before disappearing into my body.

"Tch, fine be that way." I said as I continued to lay in my cage.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

"So... do you think she'll be able to do it?" Yang asked as she, her team, and the two professors sat in the room.

"Maybe, Veronica has always been a stubborn one." Blake said.

"Still, we must have faith in Ms. Adel. She is the sister of one of Vale's best detectives after all." Port said.

"Though this is the White Fang we're talking about." Weiss said.

"True, they have been known for their undying loyalty." He said.

"I'm sure she'll be able to do it. She has to, lives are on the line here." Ruby said.

"That they are, Ms. Rose. All we can do is hope that these lives aren't harmed." Oobleck said.

Before they could continue their conversation, Team CFVY walked into the room.

"Ah! Ms. Adel, I see you have returned." Port said.

"So... what's the deal?" Yang asked.

Coco smirked and pulled off her glasses.

"We got our confession, the police have already took her testimony as evidence." She said.

"So does that mean-?!" Ruby began.

"Yep, we're clear to go and storm the fortress." Coco said.

"Aw yeah! Let's go kick some bad guy butt!" Yang said as she punched her fists together.

"Now now, let's not be to reckless, it would look too suspicious if we went right now. Let us go over a plan that Port and I have devised before we take action." Oobleck said.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Weiss asked.

Oobleck pulled out the map of Mountain Glenn he had from before out from his desk.

"Let us go over the battle plan." He said, taking out a marker.

"More than likely they'll be on their guard, so we'll have to cause as little noise as possible." Oobleck said.

"Our first priority is to free Mr. Kim from his captivity." He said.

"After that we'll put a stop to whatever these ruffians have planned." Port said.

"We'll enter through here, due to Brandon's extensive knowledge on the layout of the mountain really helps us plan our entrance and escape route." Oobleck said.

"Wait, he's been in the mountain before?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, Ms. Adel will explain that to you, for now let's keep going over the plan of action." He said.

"We'll have to leave by nightfall tomorrow so that we do not attract too much attention to ourselves." Oobleck said.

"Okay, so I'll gather everyone else and-" Coco began.

"I'm sorry Ms. Adel, but you need to stay here." He said.

.

.

"What?!" She asked.

"Wait, wouldn't we have more of a chance if we had more numbers?" Yang asked.

"While that might be true, having an airship of that size land in the city is bound to cause some suspicions." Oobleck said.

"Besides, you need to be here with Team's JNPR and SSSN just in case things go south." Port said.

"Tch, fine." Coco said.

"Look, I know you want to find the Phantom who killed your sister, but try to understand that the people of Vale need all the protection they can get if things go south." Port said.

"No... I know. Just make sure you find him if you can." Coco said.

"You have our word. Your sister's justice will be done." Port said.

"Thanks." She said.

"So, do we all understand the plan?" He asked.

Everyone nodded before getting up from their seats.

"Good, now all we have to do is wait." Port said as he and Oobleck walked out of the room.

.

.

"So... why does Brandon know the layout of the mountain." Yang asked.

"Well... do you know of what happened in Vale a year ago?" Coco asked.

"Uh... can you be a bit more specific." She asked.

"Do you know how Vale was almost leveled last year?" She asked.

"Wait, what?! When did that happen?!" Yang asked.

"Not surprising, no one really told the public about this incident." Coco said.

"So what happened?" Ruby asked.

"Well, at first it was just Brandon investigating some security problems, but then it turned into something much bigger." She said.

"Huh?" She asked.

"It was terrible, there were mutant Grimm and lots of lives were at risk." Velvet said.

"This was all tied into what happened in Mountain Glenn, the man responsible for the fall, Dr. Merlot, was trying to make another incident like the fall of Mountain Glenn happen in Vale." Coco said.

"Well, you guys obviously stopped him, so where is he now?" Yang asked.

Coco simply pointed to the ground with her right hand.

"... Oh. Did you guys... ?" Yang asked.

"No... Brandon did." Coco said causing the members of Team RWBY, with the exception of Ruby, to look at Coco with disbelief written on their faces.

"You can't be serious." Weiss said.

"Why would we joke about something like this?" She asked.

"...That's true, I guess." She said.

"But that can't be right." Ruby said innocently.

"It's the truth." Coco said.

"But Brandon is a hero... and heroes are supposed to help people and stop the bad guy. Not kill them." She said.

"Well, that's clearly not how he saw the situation." She said.

"But we're supposed to be heroes, not killers. If we kill, then aren't we no better than the people we fight?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe, I was never able to understand Brandon all that much back then." Coco said.

"Is Brandon a... hero?" She asked.

"Of course he is, Rubes, why wouldn't he be?" Yang asked.

"But if he's a hero then why would he take a life like that? Life is just so...precious." Ruby said.

"I don't understand Brandon's mentality, I doubt I ever will. But he's not a bad person if that's what you're concerned about Rubes." Coco said.

"Would he do it again?" She asked.

"I... I don't know... maybe." She said.

Ruby just stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking up again.

"Then that's gonna be the first thing I ask him when we find him." She said.

"Ruby, I don't think you'll understand, we don't even understand why he does the things he does." Coco said.

"Then I'll have him tell me in a way that makes sense to me." Ruby said.

Ruby walked out of the room, leaving everyone behind.

"She's a dreamer." Coco said.

"Yeah, she's always wanted to be a hero like the ones our parents told her about." Yang said.

"She's got a bright future ahead." Yatsuhashi said.

"Yeah... though she'll have to learn that not everything is a fairy tail eventually." She said.

"Yeah." Coco said.

.

.

"Is he?" Yang asked.

"Hmm?" Coco hummed.

"Brandon. Do you really think he's a hero?" She asked.

"... If you're asking me if he seems heroic, then no." She said.

"What makes you think that?" Yang asked.

"Well, let's just say he's got a lot of shit to work out in his life." Coco said.

"We all do." Weiss said.

"Yeah, but he has a different way of sorting it out compared to others." She said.

The room remained silent before Blake spoke up.

"We should get ready for tomorrow." She said.

"Yeah, let's get some shut-eye." Yang said as she walked out of the room, along with the rest of her team.

Velvet just stood there in silence throughout the duration of the conversation.

"Hey, what's up?" Coco asked.

"I'm... concerned." Velvet said.

"About Brandon?" She asked.

"Yeah, I mean he's in the source of the White Fang's operation. We've never had to deal with something that big before." She said.

"Yeah, but we'll get out of this situation." Coco said.

"I know we will." Velvet said as she walked out of the room.

* * *

(My POV)

.

.

Damn it. I can't seem to get any shut-eye.

Then again, I guess it would be kinda hard to sleep when you're on a solid metal surface.

Hmm, well I've got nothing better to do, and from the looks of there aren't any guards around here.

You'd think they would have at least ONE guard on duty during the night.

Well, I guess it's alright, gives me time to plan and think on stuff.

Seems like that's really the only thing I can do at the moment.

No matter how many times I try, I can't summon Caliber for some reason.

Never thought I'd be getting the silent treatment from something that's with me constantly.

I looked around the room to see if anyone was about to come in, though unfortunately, the room was as dead quiet as it always was.

Neo's here, right? I would have thought she would have come by for a few visits.

Wonder where she-

 **"Audio Log #1: Beginning Now."** I heard a robotic voice say, cutting my thought process off.

"W-what the-?!" I began, only for the voice to suddenly cut me off again.

 **"So I'm making this little journal to record my time here in the facility. They said that if I can cooperate with them they would make sure that he got into a good home. This is only my first day so I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure everything will be fine, it's the least I can do for him."** The woman said.

Who the hell is talking right now?

 **"I'm not really sure what these experiments are, but from what they said, these experiments heavily involve my Semblance. Not really sure what my Semblance has to do with their experiments, but only time will really tell."** The woman said.

Experiments? What the hell is she talking about?

 **"Oh! They're paging me to come in, I better get going. This is Doctor Naomi Oceanus, signing off."** The woman said as she track cut off.

.

.

I'm sorry what?

No, that can't be her, there's no way she would show that much emotion in her voice.

 **"Audio Log #2: Beginning Now."** The robotic voice said.

 **"Okay, so these experiments we've been running are actually quite fascinating. We've been working on creating artificial organs, limbs, and even aura with various components. Though the question is, where exactly do these components come from?"** Naomi asked.

 **"Well, so far we've been having very stunning results with these experiments. We've already have been able to save a couple of lives with these experiments."** She said.

Artificial organs? Yeah, this shit is about to go south in the worst possible way.

 **"I've been trying to create artificial limbs with my own Semblance, though as of right now I can only do some minor repairs with my Semblance."** Naomi said.

So this must be Naomi before she went into the White Fang.

 **"Looks like they're calling me in again. This is Doctor Naomi Oceanus, signing off."** She said as the connection cut off.

A few seconds passed before the next tape played.

"Audio Log #3: Beginning Now." The voice said.

 **"I've done it! I've finally managed to do it! I was finally able to create artificial limbs with my very own Semblance! This will be huge with our scientific experiments!"** Naomi said.

Wow, don't think I've ever heard her so happy.

Then again I've only known her for one day, so what do I know?

 **"I've been able to create so many things! Organs, limbs, I've even been able to change skin color, even Semblance! In other words I can completely change how a person looks entirely!"** She said excitedly.

 **"This is such a great moment in scientific history! The sheer possibilities open to me are limitless now!"** She said.

 **"This could even work for people in the military, you know for infiltration and all that stuff."** Naomi said.

 **"Though for now I'll finish my research, maybe then I'll get my actual medical degree and maybe go to a place where my skills can be put to good use. If I'm lucky, I'll finally be able to give him the life that he deserves."** She said.

She keeps mentioning this dude. Who is he, is he some sort of boyfriend or something?

 **"Looks like they're paging me again, until next time I guess. This is Doctor Naomi Oceanus, signing off."** She said as she cut off the connection.

A few more seconds passed before I heard a sigh and an audible clicking noise.

 **"Audio Log #4: Beginning Now."** The robotic voice said.

 **"I-I can't keep these experiments up anymore. It was never supposed to become this."** She said.

 **"What they're doing to these people is inhumane... that's exactly what they want to do with them. Turn them into machines. People with no sense of self, freedom, or free thought."** Naomi said.

Aaaand there it is! I was wondering when this shit would go south.

 **"This isn't what I wanted to do. I thought we were just saving lives, but now I see we were just toying with lives as if they were our own personal play things."** She said.

Let this be a lesson kids, don't ever try to play god... I mean just look what happened to Ed.

 **"This is wrong, but I'm going to fix this. I'm going to take this project into my own hands and make something that will truly help the people."** She said.

 **"I'm going to fix this tainted project."** Naomi said as she cut off the connection.

Well... shit.

Though before I could do anything else, the next tape played.

 **"Audio Log #5: Beginning Now."** It said.

 **"I... don't know why I'm doing this."** Naomi said in a monotone voice.

Though it sounded different from before, it sounded so... lifeless.

 **"I... I just feel as if I should do this for some reason."** She said.

 **"I do not remember anything before the lab really. The only thing I remember was waking up on a table and being asked to work."** Naomi said.

 **"They asked me to do various experiments on various subjects, they said I had special abilities that they needed."** She said.

 **"I do not particularly understand these experiments really, nor do I really care. If I am given an objective then I must carry it out without fail."** Naomi said.

 **"Sometimes they require information, so if they need it, I must acquire it. I do not really understand the information, though as I said before, I do not really care."** She said.

 **"If there is science to be done, then I must make sure it is finished properly."** Naomi said.

 **"They are very happy with my performance, I suppose that is satisfactory."** She said.

 **"I don't really know a lot about my past. I would like to find out, though there is work to be done."** Naomi said.

 **"Hmm, it seems another test subject has come in, I am required to go and make sure the experiment is done properly."** She said.

 **"There is work to be done... for the people who are still alive."** Naomi said as she cut off the connection.

.

.

Okay, I'm getting some strong Portal vibes from that last statement.

 **"Audio Log #6: Beginning Now."** It said.

 **"It seems as if I have new employers. Their line of work is vastly different from the work I used to do, they require me to fix, rather than take apart."** Naomi said.

 **"Mr. Belladonna found me in the desert after the collapse happened. I'm not really sure why he took me in to begin with, though I guess it does not matter now. There is work to be done here, so I must make sure it is done right."** She said.

Wait, did she just say Belladonna?!

 **"He tells me of all these... irrelevant things. He tells of the tales of the war's, hardships, unity, etc. Though I do not understand them, if they do not help me with my work, then why would I need these thoughts?"** Naomi asked.

 **"Then there's that woman... Kali was her name. I do not understand those two, why do they co-exist with one another when neither side will get any reasonable benefit?"** She asked.

 **"He keeps telling me of this emotion called... love. I do not know why, but when he starts to talk about this emotion, I feel as if I am...missing something."** Naomi said.

 **"Perhaps I may understand one day, or perhaps I won't."** She said.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening coming from within the recorder.

 **"Naomi? What are you doing in here? Why aren't with the others?"** I heard a deep voice say.

 **"Oh. Sorry Mr. Belladonna, I was just doing some of the work you assigned me."** Naomi said.

 **"I didn't assign you all this."** He said.

 **"No, but I thought it would get done faster if I did it."** She said.

 **"Ha ha! It's always work with you, why not come and relax with my family and I?"** Mr. Belladonna asked.

 **"Your family?"** Naomi asked.

 **"Yes, Alerio, Aleria, Ilia and Veronica will be there to."**

 **"But I do not understand. The twins, Ilia and Veronica are not your family. So why invite them to your gathering?"**

 **"You make it sound like a ritual. Everyone in the Phantoms, as well as the Fang are my family."**

 **"But that doesn't make any logical sense, if they do not share the same genes as you then they are not your family at all."**

 **"Oh Naomi, family goes so much farther than simple genes and blood."**

 **"I... do not understand."**

 **"Well, it's like this. A person or Faunus can feel like they are part of your family, even if they aren't related to you by blood. Rather than being blood family, they are family through the bonds they share."**

 **"... "** Naomi remained silent as Mr. Belladonna gave his little speech.

 **"I know it's hard for you to understand due to your background and lack of knowledge of your past. But I hope that you will consider us your family one day."** Mr. Belladonna said.

 **"... Maybe."** She said.

 **"Come now, let's go and relax a bit. The food will get cold."** Mr. Belladonna said as the connection cut off.

.

.

"You know, it's not very polite to listen in on another person's private time." I heard Naomi say.

"You're on top of my cage, it's kinda hard not to listen to you." I said.

"Fair observation." She said as she got off of the cage.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That, was a reminder." Naomi said.

"Of what?" I asked.

"That I am not a machine, that I am a living, breathing organism." She said.

"Wha-?" I asked.

"This, was my past... or at least part of it. I do not remember what happened for the first three tapes, nor can I piece together what they mean. All I have been able to gather is that I was a scientist for artificial life, something went wrong, I tried to fix it, I failed, and now I'm here." She said.

"Do you know what happened to the project?" I asked.

"It was eventually shut down. Everyone involved with the project was disbanded, going their own separate ways." Naomi said.

"I waited at the facility for further instructions, but those instructions never came. Not until Mr. Belladonna arrived." She said.

"Do you want to know what happened before you turned into... this?" I asked.

"Yes. I want to know who I was originally, yet I've only been able to gather the details I just told you." Naomi said.

"Then why stay here? Why not go out into the world and search for answers?" I asked.

"Wandering the world aimlessly looking for answers is illogical." She said.

.

.

"Okay, you made your point." I asked.

I glanced over to my right to see that Naomi was holding some sort of rock with various holes in her hand.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's something I'm making." She said.

"Oh? What are you making then?" I asked.

"I don't know." Naomi said.

"Well now THAT doesn't make sense, why would you make something when you don't even know what you're making?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just feel as if I should." She said.

"Hmm, mind if I take a look?" I asked.

"If you wish to." Naomi said as she placed the rock within the cage.

Upon further inspections, it seems to be a flute of some sort.

"It's a flute." I said.

"A... flute?" She asked.

"Yeah, you blow into this part and it makes a soothing sound." I said as I blew into the flute, causing it to create the noise.

"Like that." I said.

"May I see it?" Naomi asked.

"It's your's so sure, why not?" I asked as I threw it into her hands.

Naomi brought the flute up close to her face before connecting her lips against the flute.

Suddenly, she did something that made even less sense to me.

She began to play.

.

.

A few minutes flew by before she stopped playing the flute.

"W-what in the world?" She asked.

"When you learn to do that?" I asked.

"I... don't know." Naomi said.

I looked up to see that Naomi's right eye was starting to tear up a bit.

"Hey, what's with the waterworks?" I asked.

"What?" She asked as she wiped her right eye with her left hand.

"What in the... I need to leave now." Naomi said as she walked out of the room.

.

.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

 **Well... that was a thing.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Just what the hell is up with these group of Faunus, why didn't we get these characters when the RWBY series was introducing the White Fang?**

 **So from what I've gathered, Osvaldo had a lover that he lost, the twins were street rats with nothing, and Naomi is... I don't even know what she is.**

 **Guess all I can do right now is wait for Team RWBY and Oobleck to get here.**

 **Speaking of which what the hell is taking them so goddamn long?!**

 **Seriously, I don't exactly like the idea of sitting in a cage for hours and hours at a time!**

 **Meh, let's just go to the review response.**

 **Review Response**

 **Baron Bolt: Glad you think so! :)**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Nah, sorry man.**

 **olTran: Now you tell me. Would have been nice to know beforehand.**

 **Ragnorak16: Um... who?**

 **rocketmce: *Cough* No. *Cough***

 **Noble graysin: What's that?**

 **CraazyReader: Glad you like it!**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad you feel that way about this fic. Now let's answer your questions in order.**

 **1\. I might.**

 **2\. Probably just a bunch of quotes he's heard in video games.**

 **TheHedgehogAttorneyAssassin: Thanks.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: I can guarantee you she would never say that.**

 **Guest: Nope.**

 **bwburke94: Guess you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire:... Goddamn it Barb.**

 **Joe645: Dude, it wasn't canon. It was meant to be a joke.**

 **Naomi will literally do anything for science.**

 **Calm down.**

 **Meow: Well good thing it's not canon.**

 **Lord Adhes: Yeah he is.**

 **SMV Aria2: Whoa! Whoa! Gun down!**

 **SMV Aria2: Well... here you go.**

 **DragonLord501st: Patience.**

 **DireProphet: True that.**

* * *

Omake - Soccer Game

"Ha ha ha! We're gonna destroy you red! Prepare to lose!" Roman threatened.

"Ha! We're always prepared." Ruby said.

.

.

"Well, not to lose. I meant just prepared in general." Ruby corrected.

"It's too late to turn back now! There's no escape for any of you." Cinder said.

"We don't know the meaning of the word." Yang said.

.

.

"Wait, which word?" She asked.

"Take your pick!" Yang said.

"You'll be sorry!" Neo said to Jaune.

.

.

"Yup! Probably." He said.

"... I like your dress." Emerald said.

"Thank you!" Weiss said.

"Grr." The Grimm growled.

"Ruff!" Zwei barked back.

"Alright! I want a nice clean game!" Nora announced.

"... Or you know, just a game I guess." She said.

"Let's do this!" Mercury said.

"It's already done!" Blake said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"What's your face supposed to mean?" She asked.

.

.

"What?" He asked.

Though before Nora could blow the whistle, Brandon interrupted.

"So why can't I play again?" He asked.

"Because you're technically two people in one, so it would technically be cheating." Nora said.

"But you let me play last time!" Brandon said.

"Well, last time Caliber hit the ball a little... too hard." She said.

.

.

"Okay, so hitting the ball so hard that you break the goalie's ribs is illegal. How was I supposed to know?!" I asked.

"Play ball!" Nora yelled as she threw the ball in the air.

Mercury jumped into the air and kicked the ball, though by doing this, he accidentally triggered his gun.

"Oh… whoops." He said.

.

.

"Welp! That was our only ball so-!" Nora began.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Yang said as she turned towards Brandon.

"What?" He asked.

"Remember our fight in the tournament?" She asked.

"Yeah? Why?" He asked.

.

.

"No." He said.

"Oh come on! It will be twice as fun!" Yang said.

"How would that be fun for me?!" Brandon asked.

"Never said it was going to be fun for you." She said.

"... Fine." Brandon said as he activated the Barrier enchantment.

Yang smirked, picked up Brandon and threw him over to Nora.

"Alright! Now I want a... oh you know the drill." Nora said as she threw Brandon up in the air.

"Wait, should I really be up fro-?" Blake began, only for the fist of Caliber to cut her off.

 _ **"ORA!"**_ It yelled as it punched Blake further into the ground.

.

.

"Uh... " Mercury began.

"Don't worry, this is normal for those two." Brandon said.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you, why does Caliber hate Blake so much?" Ruby asked.

"Oh come on, hate is a really strong-" He began, only for the sight of Caliber hammering Blake into the ground with a tree.

"... Okay I honestly don't know." Brandon said.

* * *

 **Gabriel Alvarez (Osvaldo Gervinho)**

 **Height: 6'3"**

 **Weight: 166 lbs**

 **Age: 35**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Perception: D**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Eye Of The Tiger (Namesake: Survivor-Eye Of The Tiger)**

 **Summary: When activated, Osvaldo is able to absorb muscle fiber from any known organism so that he can add it to his own. While he has sacrificed his constant form of muscle mass, he's able to make up for this by having endless potential for muscle growth.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: E**

 **Gabriel Alvarez (Osvaldo Gervinho)-(Semblance)**

 **Height: ?**

 **Weight: ?**

 **Age: 35**

 **Strength: ?**

 **Speed: C**

 **Endurance: ?**

 **Perception: D**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 58**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 45**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 33**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 19**

 **Well, that's about it.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	43. The Great Escape

**Hello readers, now before we start, I just want to say that I have posted a new story idea on my profile and that idea might become an actual story in the long run.**

 **Anyways, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Great Escape"

Thought: ' _The Great Escape'_

Flashback: _"The Great Escape"_

.

"Is it time yet?" Yang asked as she stared out into the night sky.

"It should be close, Port and Oobleck are just making sure that the coast is clear." Weiss said.

"Still can't believe they agreed to do this. If they got caught in the act then I seriously doubt it would look good on their report." Blake said.

"Well, they can see that this is much bigger than we all originally imagined. We should be thankful that they're going this far to help us." Ruby said.

"Yeah, though still. This all seems way too easy." Weiss said.

"I know what you mean, I would have thought the headmaster would have tried to stop us." Blake said.

"I wouldn't think about it so much, let's just go to the mountain, get Brandon out of there, and stop whatever they're planning!" Yang said.

"Yeah, but still, we should keep our guard up." Weiss said.

"So... what do you think gonna happen after we stop them?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know. Though I do know that this will seriously hinder whatever they're planning." Blake said.

"What are they planning anyway? What do they hope to accomplish by doing this?" Ruby asked.

"Beats me. What about you Blake? You were part of the Fang, what do they usually do?" Yang asked.

"That's the thing, they've never done an operation to this scale before. I don't know what could be driving them to resort to working with humans, especially ones like Roman." Blake said.

"So this is a first, even for you?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Well, that certainly helps." Weiss said sarcastically.

"But it won't matter soon enough. If we stop them then that means they won't be able to carry out their original plans." Ruby said.

"Still, I would like to know why they're doing what they're doing." Blake said.

"Well, when we bring them to justice, maybe we can figure out why they did what they did." She said.

"Yeah, if we can get them to talk then maybe we can shut down their little operation for good." Yang said smugly.

"Well, Blake has a friend in prison that is associated with the Phantoms. Did you get anything out of her?" Weiss asked.

Blake shook her head in response.

"Nothing that Coco wasn't able to get out of her." She said.

"Hmm, unfortunate." Weiss said.

"Yeah, well if we stop their operations then we won't have worry about the Phantoms any longer." Yang said.

"..." Blake just stood there in silence.

"What's up?" She asked.

"..." Blake was still silent.

"Hmm, I'm assuming that this is about the Phantoms." Weiss said.

"Yeah." She said.

"What about them?" Ruby asked.

"I mean... I know that with the actions we're taking, they'll wind up being my enemies. But still, they were my family, I've known them ever since I was a child." Blake said.

"Yeah, guess it would be pretty hard to fight the people who were originally your family." Yang said.

"But maybe we could bring them over to our side. I mean if you were able to change, then maybe they could!" Ruby said.

"I doubt it. The only reason I was able to attend Beacon in the first place was because I was able to cover up my criminal background. I seriously doubt they would do the same due to their big public appearance." Blake explained.

"Yeah... I didn't think about that." She said.

"Maybe if they turned themselves in and did their time they would have a chance to make a difference. But with the amount of crimes they did I seriously doubt they would turn themselves in just like that." She said.

"Yeah, the lightest sentence they would get would be thirty years to life." Weiss said.

"What's the worst they could get?" Ruby asked.

"Death penalty." Blake said.

.

"Wow... I guess it's not as simple as I thought." She said.

"Yeah." She sighed.

"What about you Blake?" Ruby asked.

"What about me?" Blake asked.

"Did you commit any crimes?" She asked.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed.

"No, it's fine." Blake said. She gave Ruby a small smile.

"Well, I did say that I was able to cover up my criminal background so yeah, I did commit a few crimes." She said.

"What kind of crimes?" Ruby asked.

"Theft, espionage, infiltration, basically anything to do with obtaining information." Blake said.

"Uh... I know what the first and third one are, but what's the second one?" She asked.

"Espionage, the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information." She said.

"Soooo... you were a spy?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, I was a spy." Blake said.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." She said.

"Heh, thanks, I guess." She said.

"So what other crimes are the Phantoms guilty of?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you. Maybe you'll get a general idea on what we're dealing with." Blake mused.

"Yeah, that's one way to look at it." Yang said.

"Well, first off there's the twins. Alerio is guilty of theft, abduction, robbery, basically anything that involves stealing, he's probably guilty of it." She said.

"What about his sister?" Weiss asked.

"Same things, just add blackmailing to the list." Blake said.

"Oh... blackmailing, huh?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, she's not exactly the nicest of the twins." She said.

"Who's next?" Weiss asked.

"Hmm, how about Veronica, the one who's actually in jail." Blake suggested.

"Sure. Not like she's going anywhere anytime soon." Yang said.

"Okay, black market deals, illegal use and possession of weapons-" Blake began.

"Wait, it can be illegal to possess weapons?!" Ruby asked in shock.

"Uh, yeah?" She said.

"... What world do I live in?" She asked.

"Moving on, she's worked for a variety of crime bosses, she's also made various, and sold illegal weapons-" Blake said, only to be cut off once again.

"You can have ILLEGAL weapons?" Ruby squeaked.

"Moving on." Blake said.

"Ilia, one of my closest friends back in the Fang. She's also guilty of the same crimes I'm accused of." She said.

"So what, you were like partners in crime?" Yang asked.

"Something like that." Blake said.

"Niiice." She said.

"Okay, so who's next?" Weiss asked.

"Naomi, psychological torture, physical torture, probing, and illegal experimentation."

"Damn." Yang said.

"Yeah, though unlike the other members, she only does it if she's told to do it by whoever is in power. She's almost like a robot to be honest." She said.

"That leaves us with one more person." Weiss said.

"Osvaldo... probably the worst of all of us." Blake said.

"Here we go." Yang said.

"Okay, Osvaldo, manslaughter and dismemberment." She said.

.

"Well... I know who I don't want to fight now." Yang said.

"Y-yeah, I mean... manslaughter?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, out of all the members of the White Fang, he has the highest body count." Blake said.

"Why?" She asked.

"What do you mean why?" Blake asked.

"What drives him to take lives? I mean... life is just so precious." Ruby said.

"To be honest, I don't know." She said.

"How could you not know? You worked with him, didn't you?" Weiss asked.

"No, he was just part of the Fang, we never worked together." Blake said.

"But he was part of the Phantoms, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, he was the newest member of the Phantoms, despite being the oldest. He just sorta came and started working here." Blake said.

"Didn't Adam tell you anything about him?" Yang asked.

"He didn't know a whole lot either. He saw his combat skills and hired him." She said.

"Didn't he ever talk to you guys about his life beforehand?" Weiss asked.

"No, whenever he came back to base, he got his new mission and left without saying a single word." Blake said.

"Isn't there something you know about him?" Ruby asked.

Blake shook her head in response.

"Like I said, he just appeared, the only time he would talk to us is to ask where Adam was." She said.

"So... you don't know why he does what he does." Ruby said.

"Basically." Blake said.

"Oh... well okay then." Ruby said.

Yang noticed the tone Ruby was using, and stood up from her seat.

"Hey, what's up Rubes?" Yang asked in a concerned tone.

"Well... it's just... " Ruby tried to say.

"You can tell us." She probed.

"Well, it's just that from what Coco's told us, Brandon's killed before." Ruby said.

"Yeah... that's right." Yang said.

"Why though? Brandon isn't like Osvaldo. He's not a killer." She said.

"We can all jump to that conclusion Rubes." She said.

"Then why did he kill that one guy... what was his name?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm... I think his name was Merlot or something." Yang replied.

"He was a man who did a lot of bad things, right?" She asked.

"I think that's what Coco said, so yeah." She said.

"And that's why Brandon killed him... right?" Ruby asked.

"I can't say for sure. I never know what's going on in that guy's brain." Yang said.

"He couldn't have killed him for any other reason... I mean, he's supposed to be a hero... right?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I don't know Rubes. There's no telling why he did what he did." She said.

"But... mom always told us that life was so precious." Ruby said.

"Yeah, though apparently, he doesn't think so if he was able to take a life like that." Yang said.

"... " Ruby just stood there in silence.

"Why don't we ask him when we free him from his captivity?" Weiss suggested.

"Do you really think he'd tell us?" Ruby asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" She asked.

"Well... it's just that he's never wanted to talk to us about things like these." She said. "Now that I think about it, he's never wanted to talk to us about anything personal really."

"Yeah... you know, I think I've heard Velvet talking about this." Blake said.

"What did she say?" Weiss asked.

"Something about a problem Brandon had." She said.

"What problem?" Ruby asked.

"It was about how Caliber was manifested." Blake said.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. I mean Caliber looks all masculine and Brandon just looks... meh." Yang said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I mean trying to get Caliber's level of muscle is probably damn near impossible. But still, the difference between the two is pretty obvious." She explained.

"Well, from what I've heard from Velvet, the spirit is sorta like an aura. Rather than copying the user's physical appearance, it manifests based on their desires and mental state." Blake said thoughtfully.

"Desires? Well, Brandon has some weird ass desires if his spirit is a smoke figure." Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she pulled out the swear jar.

"Sorry." She said, putting a couple of lien in the jar.

"I think it's actually a good thing." Blake said.

"Really?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, it gives us a chance to look into his psyche." Blake said.

"Uh... ?" Yang and Ruby began.

"It means we can get a better idea on what he's thinking." Weiss said.

"Oh! That makes sense." Yang said.

"So... what can we gather?" Ruby asked.

"Well, let's start off with appearance." Blake said.

"What appearance? It has one eye and is made of silver smoke." Yang said.

"I thought it was platinum." Ruby said.

"Platinum isn't a color. It's a metal." Weiss immediately corrected.

"Moving on, I've read a few books about reading into things." Blake said.

"A few?" Yang asked.

"Moving on, I think there's a reason as to why the appearance is so unclear." She said, stressing on the first few words.

"Unclear?" Ruby asked.

"Well, whenever it's just the arm, it's an armored arm." Blake said.

"That's right." Yang said, nodding.

"Let me ask you this, have any of you asked WHY Brandon wanted to become a huntsman in the first place?" She asked.

The remaining three members of Team RWBY looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"Now I may be wrong, but maybe this is a sign that there is more to Brandon's thought process then he lets on." Blake said.

"Hmm?" Ruby asked.

"It's as if something is clouding his mind, and that is preventing the spirit from manifesting." She said.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Think of it like this. There are two sides of a battle, and you are forced to pick a side between these two armies. Yet you know that neither side is completely in the wrong and that they have their own motives and reasons as to why they take the actions that they take." Blake explained.

"So... he's unsure?" Yang asked.

"Basically, and if he's unsure of his actions, the spirit can't pick one single form to take." She said.

"Unsure of what?"

"That, I don't know." She said.

"Okay... so now that we have our little theory out there, what about it's fighting style?" Weiss asked.

"It's... fighting style?" Blake asked.

"Yeah! I mean, Brandon relies on his sword and revolver, but his spirit's fighting style is identical to mine." Yang said.

"Yeah, I've been wondering why that is. I mean the two fighting styles are so different from one another." Ruby said.

"Hmm, well, I've always found that punching stuff really hard is a great way to relieve stress and anger."

"Believe me, we know." Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, I think I get what Yang's trying to say here." Ruby said.

"Yeah, think about it, punches really fast, really hard, and really precise without showing any mercy to anyone who falls victim to one of it's assaults. Hell, it won't hold back to people Brandon sees as allies, it's beaten down both me and you." Yang said as she referred to Blake and herself.

"I guess she has a point." Blake said.

"See what I mean? Caliber is the perfect vessel for venting." She said.

"Hmm, venting... but venting for what?" Ruby asked.

Yang shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just speaking through experience here."

"Would actually help if Brandon just talked to us to begin with." Ruby said sadly.

"Yeah, he tends to keep quiet about these sorts of things." Weiss said.

"Well, we can't force him to talk about this sort of stuff. It would only complicate things in the long run." Blake pointed out.

"Yeah, but still." Ruby said.

.

Though before any of them could continue there observation, their scrolls started to vibrate.

They pulled out their scrolls and read the message.

"It is time to act students. Meet us at the runway, we will give you a briefing on the mission in the airship."

"Looks like it's finally time." Yang said.

"Well team, let's go. Our first mission, to stop the Fang and save Vale is underway! Let's go!" Ruby said as she walked out of the room.

Everyone else nodded and followed her out of the room.

* * *

 **(My POV)**

"Ugh." I groaned as I awoke from my slumber.

"Jeez, my aching back." I groaned as I cracked my back a few times.

"You know, maybe a few pillows could have been nice." I said.

I looked around the room to see if Naomi or one of the twins were on guard duty for the night.

Unfortunately, neither of the three Faunus were anywhere to be seen.

Shame, those were the three I actually kinda liked... well, can't really say the same about Aleria, but hey, her brother is pretty cool in my book.

But if they aren't here, then who's guarding me?

I seriously doubt they would leave this cage unguarded.

I mean, have they MET me? I was bound to get out of here one way or another, with or without help.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I started to peek my head out through the bars to see if I couldn't find the person... or Faunus, who was guarding me.

I did this for a couple of seconds before confirming that there were no Faunus to be seen.

"Well, if there's no one here, I suppose I could listen to some of my music." I said as I reached into my pocket to grab my music player.

Only for me to grab thin air.

Okay, maybe I put it in my other pocket.

Once again, the only thing I was met with was thin air.

Pants pocket?

Sure enough, thin air.

"Okay, where the hell is it?!" I yelled as I looked in each and everyone of my pockets to see if I could find it, including the ones I already checked.

"Where is it?!" I yelled.

When I was sure that it wasn't anywhere to be found, my brain started to connect the dots one by one.

"Wait... those assholes took it!" I yelled.

"Oh ho ho! Now I REALLY want to just break out of this stupid cage and beat the ever loving shit out of everyone in this mountain!" I yelled as I started to violently shake the cage.

"You hear me?! If I see so much as a scratch on that music player, that's another foot up your ass!" I yelled as I shook the cage.

Though before I could continue to yell, the sound of someone hitting the floor cut me off.

"... Uh." I began.

To my surprise, some girl just randomly appeared from the floor.

"Ugh, would it kill you to be quiet for a few minutes?" She asked dryly.

"... Wait a minute! I know you!" I yelled.

"Yes, and unfortunately, I know you." She said.

"You're!... You're... Who are you again?" I asked.

"Why would I give my name to a human like you?" She asked.

"Well, you are the girl who attacked me in that alley last night, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, that was me." She confirmed.

"Well, I would like to know the name of my attacker at least." I said.

"... " She just stood there in silence.

"Okay, fine, be that way." I said.

"... Why?" She asked.

"Why do I want to know your name? It's called common courtesy, or does that not apply to humans like me?" I asked.

"That's not what I meant!" She yelled.

"Oh... then what did you mean?" I asked.

"Why do you care for such a simple object? You can just as easily replace it." She said.

Oh, if only you knew how hard it would be to replace those songs.

"What's it to you? Not like you care for what a human's personal life is like." I said.

"Tch, I was just curious. I didn't want to talk about it anyway." She said as she turned her head away from my.

.

"It was my grandmothers." I said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"That music player, it originally belonged to my grandmother." I said.

"Oh... is that so?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's filled with the songs she used to love to listen to. Those songs are all I have to remember her by." I said.

"... " The girl just sat there in silence.

"My mom was always busy back when I was a kid, so my grandmother was the one who really looked after me." I said.

"I assume by the way you talk about her, she passed." She said.

"Yeah... it was two years ago. Worst day of my entire life." I said.

"Even worse than the situation you're in now?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"... What was she like?" She asked.

"I thought you didn't care about the personal affairs of a human?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"I don't... but I am curious." She said.

"Alright, she was... probably the nicest person you'll ever meet." I said.

"Hmm." She hummed.

"She was always ready to help basically anyone. Sometimes it would put her at an inconvenience, I always tried to convince her to be a little selfish for a little while, but she was just one stubborn old woman." I said.

"Heh, guess that's where I got my own stubbornness from." I said with a chuckle.

"No matter who it was, man, woman, child... inmate, she would always try to help anyone she could."

"Inmate?" She asked.

"Yeah, it turned out a lot better than you'd think." I said.

"She would always patch me up whenever I got into a fight with some of the kids in my school... well, fight wouldn't really be the right word to describe it. I would call it more of a one sided beatdown." I said.

"Tch, you're pretty confident in your abilities." She said.

"Never said I was the one doing the beat down." I said.

"... Oh." She said, a slight smile forming on her face.

"She was a nurse so she knew just what I needed for each bruise or cut." I said.

"She always wanted to try new things, every time we went to a different coun-kingdom, she would always want to take pictures of all it's monuments." I said in a slightly nervous tone.

The girl narrowed her eyes but nodded.

"I... never did fully appreciate the work she did for me. But you know how the saying goes, you never truly appreciate something until you've lost it." I said.

"Yeah." She said in the same tone I was using.

"You sound like you speak from experience." I said.

"It's none of your business." She said dryly.

"Alright, alright! No need to be all prissy." I said.

"... what were her thoughts on Faunus?" She asked.

Well she doesn't even know they exist but I seriously doubt that's what you want to hear right now so...

"It's like I said, she would help anyone she could. Including Faunus, and she helped a lot of Faunus back in her youth." I said.

"Is that so?" She asked.

"Yeah... I really do miss her. That music player is all I have to remember her." I said.

"Oh." She said.

"That's why it's something you can't just replace. It has personal value." I said.

"... " She just sat there in silence.

"Tch, guess you don't care. Not surprising." I said.

"... Do YOU hate the Faunus?" She asked.

"What? No, why would I?" I asked.

"Why? You have been the source of our troubles for the last year, you are the reason some of my closest friends are behind bars." She growled.

"Well, excuse me for not approving of this senseless attack on humans." I said.

"We do what we have to do." She said.

"Really? Seems like you were doing just fine with your old boss in power." I said.

"Yeah... we were." She said.

"... let me ask you something." I said.

"It seems that is the only thing you can do at the moment so go ahead." She said.

"Why do you support this cause?" I asked.

"Why?... So we can achieve our equality." She said.

"Equality? Is that what you think you'll be achieving through all these attacks?" I asked.

"... " She just sat there in silence.

"Do you honestly think that everything you're doing will give you what you want?" I asked.

"... I don't know." She said.

"Oh... you don't know. So why fight for a cause when you don't know what the outcome is?" I asked.

The girl just sat there in silence.

"Let me tell you a story." I said.

"A... story?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think it's one you'll like to hear." I said.

"... Fine. What is this story?" She asked.

"It's called the Civil Rights Movement." I said.

"... The Civil Rights Movement?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's primary goal was to give equal rights to a group of people." I said.

"I've... never heard of this movement." She said.

"Then allow me to tell you about it." I said.

Okay, history class don't fail me now.

"The civil rights movement was a mass popular movement to secure rights for these group of people so that they have equal access to and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of citizenship." I said.

"... So, it was a fight for equality?" She asked.

"Basically." I said as I started to continue my history lesson.

"Although the roots of the movement go back to the 19th century, it peaked in the 1950s and 1960s." I said.

.

"What?" She asked.

"It's how we determined the year back home." I said.

"Oh... you sure do live in a strange place." She said.

"The groups of men and women, along with the people of the opposite race, organized and led the movement at national and local levels." I told.

"They pursued their goals through LEGAL means, negotiations, petitions, and nonviolent protest demonstrations." I said, putting emphasis on legal.

The girl just sat there in silence as she listened to my tale.

"The civil rights movement was the largest social movement of the 20th century. It influenced the modern women's rights movement and the student movement of the 1960s." I said.

"Wait, even WOMEN had issues getting equal rights from where you came from?!" She asked, shocked.

"They couldn't even work for a short period of time." I said.

The girl just sat there in silence but moved closer to the cage.

Looks like I peaked her interest.

"The civil rights movement centered on the South part of my home. That was where the population was concentrated and where racial inequality in education, economic opportunity, and the political and legal processes was most blatant." I said.

"Wow, even education?" She asked.

"Yep." I said as I continued my tale.

"Beginning in the late 19th century, state and local governments passed segregation laws, known as Jim Crow laws; they also imposed restrictions on voting qualifications that left the black population economically and politically powerless." I said.

"The Jim Crow laws?" She asked.

"It was a law that mandated the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for the two races." I said.

"The movement therefore addressed primarily three areas of discrimination: education, social segregation, and voting rights." I said.

"Now, I could talk about all this stuff individually but then we would be here forever so I'll tone it down for you." I said.

"To make a long story short, in the end, these group of people were given equal rights. Now they were allowed to vote, go to any school they wanted to, they basically got what they wanted." I said.

"I see... so they finally got equality. That's good." She said.

"I never said that." I said.

"What? But how? After all that, how can you tell me they weren't treated as equals?!" She asked.

"The whole point of the movement was to gain equal rights. At least that's what I was told. It never said that this was a goal of the abolishment of racism." I said.

"... Why? Why not get rid of the source of the problem?" She asked.

"Because getting rid of racism is impossible." I said.

"How?" She asked.

"Didn't think I needed to spell it out for you. Racism is an ideal, a belief humans and Faunus all have. Sure you can make any racist acts illegal, but you could never kill an belief." I said.

"... " She just sat there in silence.

"Getting rid of that belief is like taking away free will itself. You couldn't believe what you want to believe, you could never think for yourself." I said.

"Free... will?" She asked.

"Yeah, free will. It's what allows us to evolve and grow as people and Faunus. Take that away, and we're basically robots." I said.

"... " As usual, she just sat there in silence.

"How about it? Are you willing to give up free will for this equality you believe in?" I asked.

She sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before responding.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"Because I've been noticing a trend with all the Phantoms." I said.

"Huh?" She asked.

"You all have been doubting your cause ever since your new leader was put into power." I said.

"That's not-" She began.

"Isn't it? Then why are you still listening to me?" I asked.

"Look, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm just giving you some advice." I said.

"And that would be?" She asked.

"Think for yourself for once. Do what you want, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." I said.

The girl was about to respond, but the sound of her scroll vibrating stopped her.

"Hello?" She asked.

.

"Yes." She said.

.

"Understood." She said as she started to walk out.

"Just something to think about!" I said, though she didn't turn to face me.

"... Ilia." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"My name. It's Ilia." The newly named Ilia said.

"... Heh, the name's Brandon." I said with a smirk.

"Yeah. I knew that." Ilia said as she walked out of the room.

I smirked and laid back in my cage.

"Guess these guys aren't so bad after all." I said to myself as I closed my eyes.

Though I quickly jolted upwards at the sound of someone chuckling.

"What in the-?! Who's there?!" I asked.

Though the only thing I was met with was the cold sound of silence.

"Tch, see that they like jokes apparently!" I yelled as I turned over to try and get some sleep.

* * *

 **(3rd Person POV)**

"Okay, so do we need to go over the plan again?" Ruby asked.

"No, we got it, sis. We meet Port and Oobleck at the runway, we go to the Mountain, clear out any Grimm we see in the area, we look for the entrance to the Mountain, find Brandon, and stop whatever the White Fang are up to." Yang said with a smirk.

"That's the gist of it, yeah." Ruby said.

"I just have one question." Blake said.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Why are we bringing HIM?" She asked, putting more emphasis on him.

Ruby's response was to look to her right to see that Zwei was wearing a collar that said 'I am combat ready' on it.

"You mean Zwei?" Ruby asked.

"No, I mean the other canine we were bringing with us. Of course, I mean Zwei!" Blake yelled as she hung onto one of the stone pillars.

"Why wouldn't we bring him?" She asked.

"I have a book listing multiple reasons why we shouldn't bring him." She said.

"Oh come on Blake. He's not that bad, I mean, look at him!" Yang said as she pointed at Zwei.

Zwei tilted his head at Blake and barked happily.

Though from the looks of it, Blake wasn't budging one bit.

"Look, think about it like this. With him we might be able to track down the White Fang better, dogs have proven to be excellent trackers." Weiss said.

"Isn't that right you little cutie!" She said as she bent down towards Zwei who was licking her happily.

"Ha ha! Aren't you just the cutest thing in the world?" Weiss asked.

"Gee Weiss, didn't think you'd be such a dog person." Yang said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I don't know. I just kinda thought you'd have a few birds or something." She said.

.

.

"Hmm, that isn't a bad idea." Weiss said.

"Come on Blake, if we have Zwei here, maybe he could track Brandon's scent!" Ruby said.

"But Zwei's never met Brandon." Blake said.

"No, but we have this." Yang said as she pulled Brandon's hat out of her bag.

"And it just so happens, Brandon smells like one of Zwei's favorite treats." Ruby said as she put Brandon's hat in front of Weiss.

"I am NOT smelling his hat. That's just creepy." She said.

"Okay fine, his hair smells like coffee." Ruby said.

"Coffee? Your dog drinks coffee?" Blake asked.

"Well, more like coffee flavored gum." Yang said.

"I feel like there's a reference I'm just not getting." Blake mumbled.

"What was that?" She asked.

"It's nothing." She said.

"So how about it Blake? Can Zwei come on the mission? I promise to keep him far away from your stuff." Ruby said.

Blake remained silent for a moment before sighing.

"Fine. The dog can come." She said.

"Yay! Thank you, Blake! I promise you won't regret it." Ruby said.

Zwei barked happily at Blake.

"So what will the rest of the gang be doing while we're in the mountain?" Yang asked.

"Well, Team SSSN will be searching around Vale just in case there are any other White Fang operatives around the area. Sun said he would let us know if he found anything of interest." Blake said.

"Team CFVY will be undergoing a highly overdue security check around the kingdom with Vale's police department. In case things go south, they'll be prepared to take action." Weiss said.

"And Team JNPR will be on standby in Vale in case we need them for an emergency." Ruby said.

Yang nodded and looked up into the night sky.

"Wow, this is it sis." Yang said.

"Hmm?" Ruby asked.

"Well, this is our first big step to becoming actual huntresses. If we keep this up we'll be some of the best huntresses around the kingdoms!" She said.

"Yeah! You're right! I can't wait to tell uncle Qrow about all this!" Ruby said.

"Maybe he'll finally start taking us more seriously." Yang said.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

.

"I'm sure mom would be proud of us." Yang said.

"I know, I just wish she could be here right now." She said.

"Same here sis. Same here." She said.

Everything was silent for a couple of seconds before Yang broke the silence.

"Well, no use dwelling on it now! We have to deal with what's happening now." Yang said.

"Yes, it's time to initiate our very first mission as a team." Weiss said.

"Oh? And here I thought missions were closed off until the issue was solved." They heard a very familiar voice say, causing them to freeze on the spot.

One word went through their minds when they heard the voice of their headmaster.

 _'Shit.'_ Yang, Weiss, and Blake thought to themselves.

 _"Crap baskets.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"H-hey, Professor Ozpin." Ruby said sheepishly.

"Hello young ladies, and what could a couple of teens such as yourself be doing up during a time like this?" Ozpin asked.

"We were... " Ruby tried to come up with an excuse.

"Going for a walk!" Yang chimed in.

"Yeah! A walk!" She said.

"With all that equipment?" Ozpin asked.

"It's going to be a really long walk." Ruby said.

"Oh? And where would you be going on this little walk of yours?" He asked.

"You know, just all around Vale." Yang said about as vaguely as she could muster.

"Including the south part of Vale?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, it is a part of Vale so yeah!" Ruby said.

"Interesting. Would your little 'walk' have anything to do with why Professor's Port and Oobleck are currently loading supplies into a bullhead?" He asked.

"Psh, what? Why would we know about that? So they're going to the southeastern part of Vale, big whoop." Ruby said.

"I never said WHERE they were going, Ms. Rose." Ozpin said with a smirk.

Ruby slowly turned her head towards her teammates who were giving her a look that just said 'are you serious right now?'.

"Then again, Port does like to go on about his future adventures, so I suppose it's not a surprise that you've heard about their departure to the southeastern part of Vale." Ozpin said.

"Y-yeah! You know Port! Just loves to run his mouth!" Yang said.

"I'm still curious as to why you were all found at the docks last semester, which just so happens to be the area where the robbery would take place." He said.

"Uh... coincidence?" Ruby said.

"What a mighty coincidence that is. I am also curious as to how you found the location of a hideout in the south-east." Ozpin said.

 _'What?! How does he know about that?!'_ Ruby asked herself.

"I've heard that there were witness reports of people seeing robots and rose petals at a dance club some time ago." He said.

"Uh... " Ruby began.

"I would also like to know why the members of Team SSSN, a team allied with Mistral, would be interested in the affairs of Vale." Ozpin said.

"Uh... " Yang began.

"I'll let you girls in on a little secret." Ozpin said as he leaned towards the group.

"I've heard, that one of the Phantom members, Veronica Lambert, has just confessed the location of a White Fang operation! And right after the lockdown!" He whispered.

"Uh... help?" Yang and Ruby asked Weiss and Blake.

"Such a mighty coincidence indeed." Ozpin said.

.

.

"Why are you girls going to the Mountain?" He asked.

"... You've known from the start, haven't you?" Ruby asked.

"Of course Ms. Rose. I am the headmaster after all. I have eyes and ears everywhere." Ozpin said.

"So, are you going to stop us?" Yang asked.

"That depends. Why are you going in the first place?" He asked.

"To stop the Fang of course! We've had proof of their operation there for a while!" Weiss said.

"Oh? Do you really think four girls will be enough to stop an entire organization?" Ozpin asked.

"We'll have Oobleck and Port backing us up!" Yang said.

"While they are both trained huntsmen, even they would have some trouble with the sheer number of the Fang's members." He said.

"Not to mention the Phantoms. They are a group of elite warriors, trained to kill if necessary." Ozpin said as he looked at Blake.

"You should know more than anyone, Ms. Belladonna." He said.

"... " The members of Team RWBY just stood there in silence.

"But I sense that there is an alternate reason for you wanting to go to the mountain. May I ask what this reason is?" Ozpin asked.

"Well... we want to save Brandon." Ruby admitted.

"Oh? And how do you know that he is in the Mountain in the first place?" He asked.

"With this." Blake said as she pulled out Aleria's feather.

"... What is this exactly?" Ozpin asked.

"It's Aleria's feather. One of the members of the Phantoms. Veronica told me that they were being moved to a different location soon, and we think that the mountain is that location." Blake said.

"Interesting deduction. Now I ask you this. How do you intend to get him out?" Ozpin asked.

"What do you mean? We bust him out and start to kick some ass!" Yang said.

"Language, Ms. Xiao Long." He said.

"Wha-?! You're totally fine with Brandon swearing!" She yelled.

"That is because I've learned to accept that swear words have become his primary vocabulary, and there will be no changing that." He said.

"Tch, whatever." Yang said.

"Do you think he'll be ready for combat? He's been in the mountain for days now, do you think he is in any condition to fight at the moment?" Ozpin asked.

"Well... " Ruby began.

"Then again, Mr. Kim has always shown that he his more than capable of adapting to different situations so what do I know?" He asked.

"Yeah. That's right!" She said.

"But I sense there are different reasons as to why you want to save Brandon." Ozpin said.

"What's wrong with wanting to saving your friend?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing at all. But I'm sure you've heard a few things about his past from Ms. Adel." He said.

"... We want to know why he killed that scientist." Yang said.

"You mean Doctor Merlot?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, I think that's what his name was." She said.

Ozpin sighed and took a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Even I do not know the exact reason as to why he killed him. But you do have to realize, there are some enemies that cannot be defeated with words alone." Ozpin said.

"Sometimes, more drastic measures have to be taken."

Ruby looked at the ground in response.

"But I would understand why you would want to ask him about it. He's quite the bizarre fellow." Ozpin said.

"So wait, does that mean you'll-?!" Ruby began.

"Your intentions are just and reasonable, I just hope that you girls have not bitten off more than you can chew." He said.

"Thank you professor! We won't let you down!" She said.

"Do not thank me for this." Ozpin began.

"Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. Stay close to the professors at all times and follow their instructions. They will be leading you on this mission and they are professionals." Ozpin said as he began to walk away from the four.

"And when you see Brandon, give him my regards." The Headmaster disappeared around the corner.

.

"Well... that wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang said.

"But it's the truth." Blake said.

"It's gonna be tough but I know we can do it." Ruby said.

"Ah! Team! Over here!" They heard Oobleck yell from the runway.

"Uh... what is he wearing?" Yang asked.

Oobleck was wearing a long brown great coat, khaki buttoned safari shirt, and a pith helmet; this is presumably his combat outfit, all of which appear to be properly worn and tucked in and such, unlike his earlier attire.

"I... don't know." Blake said.

"Come now! We haven't a moment to lose!" Oobleck yelled.

"Wait, what are you-?" Weiss asked.

"I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary girls! Seeing as you are now shadowing a huntsmen on what is now a rescue mission! I can assure you we will not be staying in one single location, rather moving to a variety of different locations to prevent capture. We have packed all of our essentials ourselves, readied the air course, and the airship!" He rapid-fired.

"... Uh." Weiss began.

"What he means to say is that we're ready for action!" Port said.

"Oh... well that's good." She said.

"Come now, students! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind... " Oobleck began, only to stop himself at the sight of Zwei.

Zwei barked happily at the sight of Oobleck and Port.

"We are going on a rescue mission to save Mr. Kim from one of the most dangerous Faunus organizations out there, and you're bringing a dog?" Oobleck asked.

"Uh... " Ruby began.

"That's-!" Port began.

"Genius!" Oobleck cut off as he picked up Zwei.

"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound! Making them excellent companions for huntsmen such as us!" He said.

"Hear that guys! I'm a genius!" Ruby said proudly.

"Now all we need to do is get Brandon's scent." Oobleck said.

"Already got that covered." Yang said as she pulled out Brandon's hat.

"Excellent! This will go much more smoothly now!" Port said.

"Well, let us go ladies! I'm sure Mr. Kim would not like to be kept waiting." Oobleck said.

"Yeah, let's go!" Yang said as she hopped onto the bullhead.

Everyone else nodded and climbed into the bullhead themselves.

As they flew over Vale, the members of Team RWBY were once again able to marvel at the view of the town illuminated under the night sky.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Ruby breathed out.

"Indeed." Port said.

"So... you can fight Professor Oobleck?" Yang asked.

"That's DOCTOR Oobleck, young lady, and yes, I can fight. What kind of huntsmen would I be if I were incapable of fighting?" Oobleck asked.

"I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter." She said.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an, intellectual, but I can assure you that as a huntsmen, I've had my fair share of tussles." He said.

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.

"Those are truffles." Blake said.

"Like the sprout?" She asked.

"Those are brussels." Yang said.

"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history, as well as dabbling in the art of archaeological surveys, I believe I am most suited for a mission like this." Oobleck said.

"What does history have to do with rescue?" Weiss asked.

"My, what a preposterous question you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society!... and the liver!... and probably the kidney's if I were to wager." He said.

"And that means?" Weiss began.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But it is also the location to one of the kingdoms greatest failures." Oobleck answered.

"Mountain Glenn." Ruby said.

"Yeah, it was supposed to be an expansion of Vale. But in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang said.

"Glad to see you have been paying attention in class!" Oobleck said.

"Now, it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder." He said.

"And the location to the hideout of the White Fang." Blake said, frowning.

"Precisely. With my navigational skills, we should be able to traverse the mountain with relative ease." Oobleck said.

"What about you Professor Port?" Ruby asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Ms. Rose?" He asked.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I mean... you look pretty... you know." She said.

"Old?" He asked.

"You said it. Not me." Ruby said.

"Ho ho ho! While I may not be as well fit as I was in my youth! I can assure you I am still a very capable huntsman!" He said.

"Okay... if you say so." She said.

"Do not worry girls! This old man's still got some fight left in him!" Port said.

"We'll be landing shortly. Everyone please get ready for landing." They heard a woman's voice say.

"Wait, who's flying the plane?" Ruby asked.

"It is an artificial intelligence unit named Filss. We use her to navigate special missions just like this one!" Port explained.

"Artificial intelligence?" She asked.

"Yes, with this unit, we can easily make our way into the mountain." Oobleck said.

 _'Just like Penny.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"Hey, you alright Rubes?" Yang asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nervous is all." She said.

"It is a normal feeling, I remember my first mission back in my youth!" Port said.

"Commencing landing sequence! Please get ready to begin operation." Filss said.

"You heard her, ladies, let us move!" Oobleck said as he and Port jumped out of the bullhead.

"Aw yeah! Let's do this thing!" Yang said as she launched herself out of the plane.

Everyone else followed suit.

When Oobleck made sure everyone was out of the bullhead, he typed a code into his scroll.

"Standby mode activated. Awaiting further instructions." She said.

"Ladies, you still may be students, but as of this moment your first mission as a huntress has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly what we say. Do you understand?" He asked.

Once the members of team RWBY nodded, Port smirked.

"Very good. Now it is time to commence the operation!" He said.

"So... what do we do?" Ruby asked.

"Follow us. We have already taken the liberty to assign a point of rest." Oobleck said as he started to walk.

Everyone else nodded and followed Oobleck deeper into the ruined city.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

"Okay, what's with that look. You've been keeping that same look on your face ever since we got here." Roman said to Neo.

Neo just sat on one of the crates with the same look of deep thought she had ever since she got here.

"Seriously! It's freaking me out. Did you kill one of the members? You know I hate having to explain that shit to Mr. Stick up his ass." He said.

"... " Neo just remained silent throughout her uncle's whole ordeal.

"Look, I know you're the 'silent' type, but this is just unsettling." Roman said.

"Will you just say something?!" He asked.

Neo rolled her eyes and pulled out her scroll.

"Something." She said before putting down her scroll.

"... Okay, smart ass. Would you mind telling what's on your mind?" Roman asked.

She rolled her eyes once again and picked up her scroll.

"Connect the dots." She said.

Roman looked at her with a confused look before his eyes widened.

"... Oh. That's what's up. Should have guessed." He said as he lit a cigar.

Neo nodded and continued to think about the situation that was in front of her.

"So, what do you intend to do?" He asked.

Neo just sat there in silence with the same look on her face.

"Well, whatever you do, just don't do anything stupid... or anything I'd do." Roman said as he started walk away.

When she was sure that he was gone, she pulled out a pair of keys from her pocket.

Roman was tasked with guarding this key, though he made one single mistake.

He trusted Neo around him.

He had taught her everything she knew any more, so she was easily able to swap the real keys with a pair of fake keys.

But now there was only one question on her mind.

' _Should I actually free him?'_ She asked herself.

He was one of her closest friends... okay technically he was her only real friend, considering she was forced to work with peg legs and the street rat.

 _'I mean, they aren't bad. Brandon seems to like them... though I don't understand what he sees in that street rat.'_ She thought to herself as she twirled the keys around with her right finger.

'Besides, if I free him, then Roman will be held responsible for his escape considering he was supposed to be the one with the keys.' Neo thought to herself.

 _'Then again, if I get caught with these keys then I'll be labeled as the traitor. Not only would that put Roman and_ I _in one of the biggest shit holes we could be in, running from authority, and the Fang, there's also no telling what will happen to Brandon when the operation to breach Vale goes into effect. I mean, the Fang_ aren't _exactly happy with what he did to some of their best operatives.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Speaking of, how in the hell did Brandon get into this whole ordeal?... Then again, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, the guy is like a magnet for trouble.'_

 _'But still, I can't just sit here and do nothing. I mean, where's the fun in that?'_ She asked herself.

 _'I'll just have to think it over, though for now I just need to make sure I don't get-'_ She began to think, only to cut herself off at the sight of a White Fang member looking at her while holding two mugs in his hands.

He was about to call out to his friends, only to cut himself off at the sight of Neo appearing directly in front of him with her sword to his neck.

She brought her index finger to her lips, signaling the Fang member to keep quiet.

He nodded rapidly and started to walk away from Neo, only for her to appear right in front of him once again.

"W-what do you want now?!" He asked shakily.

Neo grabbed one of the mugs from his hands and kicked him away.

"You could have just asked you know." He said as he walked away.

 _'Tch, are all the White Fang members such pansies? No wonder they need our help to get anything done.'_ She thought to herself as she took a sip of the coffee.

Neo looked at her reflection in the liquid and saw that her eyes were the color of pink and brown.

This wouldn't be as strange to her if it weren't for the fact that both of her eyes the same color, the right side of her eyes being pink, and the right side was brown.

 _'Okay... that's new.'_ She thought to herself as she sat on the crate she was originally sitting on.

 _'Well, whatever you do, just don't do anything stupid... or anything I'd do.'_ He said.

Neo clenched the keys in her palm before getting up off of the crate.

 _'Sorry uncle, but you've always told me to take control of my life and not let any legal bullshit get in the way.'_ She said as she put the mug back onto the counter.

 _'Well, now I'm finally going to listen to you for once.'_ Neo thought to herself.

.

.

 _'Even if what we're doing isn't legal in the slightest.'_ She amended.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Beacon's runway, General Ironwood was gazing out into the illuminated city of Vale.

Ironwood was currently thinking back on the last conversation he had with Professor Ozpin a few days ago.

"I know, but he isn't the first personal student you've had, I just wish to prevent something like the events from twenty years ago from happening again." Ironwood.

Ozpin sat in his chair in silence, simply sipping on his cup of coffee.

"It wasn't your fault Ozpin, I hope you know that." He said as he walked out of the room.

Ironwood sighed and pulled out a photo from his pocket.

It was an old one, but it was one he would remember forever.

It was a photo of the legendary team STRQ holding their official huntsmen licenses, as well as Professor Ozpin and him standing next to them.

 _'Heh, this was back when I was still able to convince people I was in my mid-thirties... maybe I should consider hair dye.'_ Ironwood thought to himself.

 _'... Where did we go wrong? How did it come to this?'_ He asked himself as he looked upon the photo.

"Trouble sleeping?" He heard someone say from behind him.

He turned around to see that Glynda was walking towards him with a mug of coffee in her hands.

"No, my arms just acting up." He said as the gears in his arms made an audible whirring sound.

"Of course, so logically you got out of bed, dressed yourself up completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance." She let that settle in.

.

.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh? Now you're concerned for my well being?" Ironwood asked with a smirk on his face.

"You know I can just walk away." Glynda threatened.

"... I've trusted him for years. We both have." He started.

"It's just... I can't help but feel he's keeping us in the dark." Ironwood said.

"What? Don't be ridiculous. You of all people should know that WE are not the ones in the dark." She said.

"But that makes it worse." He said.

"How?" Glynda asked.

"I refuse to believe that a man I have trusted for so long, could act so... passively." Ironwood said.

"You're a good person James. You've always done what you think is best for the people. Even against the strong protest. It's admirable." Glynda said.

"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." He said.

"But it's also high time you stop talking about trust and start showing it." She said.

"Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack, and I think that's something worth remembering." Glynda said.

"... I know, but the situation is different now." He said.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"We have an enchanted weapon user now." Ironwood said.

"... Isn't that a good thing though?" Glynda asked.

"Depends on how you look at it." He began.

"On one hand, we now have a very powerful ally, even if he is just a child." He began.

"But on one hand, we are probably going to attract unwanted attention." Ironwood said as he looked at the photo.

Glynda looked at the photo as well.

"... Oh." She said in realization.

"Yes. Oh." He said.

"Do you honestly think she would come back?" Glynda asked.

"Yes, and not for the reasons that we would like." Ironwood said.

"But Qrow would have informed us by now. He has been keeping a close eye on her." She said.

"I know, but you and I both know that even with his Semblance, he couldn't fight her in a one on one fight." He said.

"While that may be true, those aren't his intentions." Glynda said.

"I know that it's just... now that she has an actual reason to come back to Vale, Ozpin hasn't been taking into account of that possibility." Ironwood said.

"I'm sure that he has a plan in case she does return to Vale." She said.

"Perhaps. But until then, all we can do is wait." He said.

"James... why do I feel as if this is isn't just about her anymore?" Glynda asked.

"... His situation is almost identical to that of hers." He said.

"Now I see. You're afraid that he might become just like her." She said.

"Not just like her, as far as I'm concerned he's never actually excited in Remnant until last year." Ironwood said.

"Yes, it is quite suspicious how he just suddenly appeared like that." Glynda pondered.

"It is, and it frustrates me to no end that Ozpin isn't taking this into consideration." He said.

"Do you believe him to be an enemy?" She asked.

"No, then again, I didn't believe her to be an enemy, so what do I know?" Ironwood asked with a sigh.

"She was different." Glynda said.

"I know. I'm just taking extra precautions." He said.

"Cautious, or paranoid?" She asked.

"... " Ironwood just stood there in silence.

"Look, James. I won't tell you how to run your army, but please, try to have a little more faith in Ozpin. He won't make the same mistake twice." Glynda said as she started to walk away from James.

"You should come to my office. I can make you some coffee." She said.

"Yes... that would be nice." He said as he looked at the photo.

' _I can only hope.'_ Ironwood thought as he started to follow Glynda.

* * *

 **.**

"Hey, do you know the WIFI password?" One of the White Fang members asked.

"We are in the middle of an abandoned mountain infested with Grimm, why in the love of Monty Oum himself would we have WI-FI all the way out here?" The other White Fang member asked.

"Okay, no need to be so hostile." The White Fang member grumbled.

"Sorry, it's just that I don't understand why we're keeping that human alive." The other White Fang growled.

"I know what you mean, I mean why would we keep the one thing we're trying to kill alive in the first place?" The first one asked.

"Well, Adam was ordered to keep him alive. Though why we would work for a human of all things is beyond me."

"He said that they will help with our battle against humanity, though why a human would want to wage war on humanity is beyond me."

"Yeah, this all seems a bit too weird to me."

"I'm sure that Adam has his reasons, I mean he's the one who started this war in the first place. So if he's requesting help from a human then it's possible they will help us in the long run."

"I know, but something's up with this human, it's like he's possessed or something." The White Fang member shuddered.

"If he were possessed, the spirit wouldn't be out and about like it was." The other one pointed out.

"True, it's like it's protecting him or something."

"Why though?" He asked.

"Well, I'm assuming they're attached to some certain degree. So if he does then it dies."

"All the more reason to kill him! If we kill the kid, we kill the spirit, it's no longer a problem, and we can go back to our regularly scheduled program!" The Faunus threw up his hands in exasperation.

"That's true, but I don't want to get near that thing. If it was able to beat Osvaldo to a certain degree, then I don't want to know what would happen if WE were on the receiving end." He shuddered again.

"Yeah, he must be one tough brat if he were able to defeat someone like him... but now he's in a cage! If we can get the jump on both of them we'll be promoted! Think about it! You and me, living in style, what do you say?" He asked.

.

"Dude?" He asked as he turned around.

"... O-okay, very funny." He stuttered.

.

"S-seriously! Quit fucking around!" He yelled.

"Hey! Swear!" He heard a high pitch voice say.

"Wha-?" He began.

"Ruby!" He heard someone say.

The White Fang member pulled out his gun and pointed it at the direction of the voices.

"A-alright! Quit fucking around! Come on out slowly!" He said.

"If that is what you requested." He heard someone say.

The White Fang member slowly turned around to see Professor's Port and Oobleck pointing there weapons at the White Fang member.

"... You know, you have very feminine voices for a pair of men." He said.

"W-what?! No! That wasn't us, it was those young ladies right there!" Port said as he pointed at Ruby and Yang who were currently trying their best not to fall on the floor laughing.

"How many more of you are there?" The White Fang asked.

His only response was for Weiss and Blake to walk out of a nearby building.

"M-ms. Belladonna?!" He asked.

"Hey... uh... ?" She tried to say.

"Jerry." He said somberly.

"Right... Jerry." Blake said.

"Who?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know." She said.

Though when his eye fell onto Weiss, his look immediately soured.

"What are you doing with a Schnee?!" He asked.

"Investigating, my dear lad." Oobleck said.

"And you have a few questions that we need some answers to." Port said.

"W-what do you want?" He asked.

"We heard that you have a 'prisoner' in this mountain." Port said.

"Y-yeah, so what?" He asked.

"Well, it just so happens that your description of this 'prisoner' is the exact description of one of our fellow students." Oobleck said.

"Of course it does." He said.

"Now, how about you do us all a favor and tell us the location of this cage?" Port asked.

"You want him?! Fine! You can have him!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I was hoping we could-" Oobleck began.

.

"Wait, pardon?" He asked.

"We don't want him! Have you seen him?! That kid is some sort of demon! Here, I'll give you the-!" He began, only to be picked up by the collar by Yang.

"Call him that ONE more time! I fucking dare you!" She yelled, red eyes smoldering.

"Mx. Xiao Long! Control yourself!" Port yelled.

"No! I am sick and tired of hearing all this crap from these idiots who think they know him! What right do you have to call him a demon?! He's probably done more right than any of you!" Yang yelled.

Jerry was shaking under Yang's iron grip, desperately trying to get away.

"Yang! Stop!" Blake said.

Yang looked at Blake to see that she had a look of desperation in her eyes.

Her look softened, and her grip on Jerry loosened.

"S-sorry." She said, her eyes returning to their lilac hue.

"It's fine sis. It's done and over with now." Ruby said.

Blake walked over to Jerry and knelt down.

"Why are you just telling us? Won't you be labeled as a traitor?" She asked.

"It won't matter, we were planning on leaving him on the mountain once our plan went into motion." Jerry said.

"Plan?" Ruby asked.

"I-" Jerry began, only for a purple feather to dig into his skull, killing him instantly.

As soon as the feather hit, Blake whirled her head backwards to see where the source of the feather was coming from.

"Aleria!" She called out.

"Ugh, what happene-?!" The White Fang Yang had knocked out began to say, only for the sight of Jerry's corpse to cut him off.

"Jerry! N-!" He began, only for another feather to dig into his skull.

"No!" Ruby yelled.

"Aleria! Stop!" Blake yelled, though it was too late, Aleria was already making her escape.

"Wait! Tell me what's going on!" She yelled as she ran after her feathered friend.

"Ms. Belladonna! Stop!" Port yelled.

"Come students! It seems the mission will be getting more rough than we expected." Oobleck said.

"Alright! Come on Rubes, let's go kick some but!" Yang said.

.

"Ruby?" She called out once again.

Yang turned her head to see that Ruby was staring down at the dead body of Jerry.

"Ruby?" Yang called out as she slowly started to move towards her sister.

Ruby was breathing heavily as she laid eyes on the red blood coming out of Jerry's body.

"Ruby!" She yelled, snapping her out of her daze.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle this?" Yang asked her sister.

"Y-yeah. I'll be fine. Let's go." Ruby said as she started to run after her friends.

Yang nodded and followed her sister.

After a few minutes of running, they eventually reached the entrance to the cave.

"Hah, hah, hah. Whew! These old bones aren't what they used to be." Port said.

"What is this?" Yang asked.

"It looks like the entrance." Blake said as she pulled out Gamble Shroud.

"Well ladies." Oobleck began as he activated his weapon.

"Let's go and bring Mr. Kim home." He said as he walked into the cave.

* * *

 **(My POV)**

"Bored." I said.

.

"Really bored." I said again.

.

"Jesus Christ I'm-" I began, only for the sound of a siren to cut me off.

"Tch, took em long enough." I said as I got up out of the cage.

"Now all I have to do is-" I began once again, only to be cut off by the sound of a door opening.

"What do you want now?" I asked, expecting one of the Phantom members to appear.

Though imagine my surprise when Neopolitan herself came out from behind to door.

"Neo?" I asked.

Neo waved at me with her free arm, her usual mischievous smirk on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Neo kicked the door open to reveal two dead guards on the other side of the door.

"Damn... do you always kill without a second thought?" I asked.

Neo took out her scroll, typed her message in it, and threw it near my cage.

"Do you always have to almost get yourself killed without a second thought?" She asked.

"Fair point." I said.

She picked up her scroll and started to type her message.

"Seems like things are kicking off earlier than expected." Neo said.

"Earlier?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"Not surprising that you don't know about it. Was kinda hoping it would stay that way, but hey, you're like a magnet for trouble." She said.

"Well what can I say, trouble and I have a very one sided relationship." I said with a chuckle.

"More than likely you'll be imprisoned here in the mountain. What a shame, the brave and cocky warrior, Brandon Kim, killed by captivity." Neo said.

"Tch, if you think this is gonna be enough to kill me then you clearly don't know a whole lot about me." I said with a smirk.

"Oh? And what is your plan? Please enlighten me on your grand escape?" She asked.

"I'm... still working on the details. But I'll get out of here, I always do." I said.

"Okay, instead of waiting for you to be near death by the time you escape, how about I make this easier on you?" Neo asked.

"Oh? And how do you intend to do that? Unless you have the keys, I'm not-" I began, only for Neo to go up to the cage, pull out a pair of keys from her pocket and twirl them around her index finger.

.

"Get... out." I finished.

"Heh, loss for words? That's a new one." She said.

"How? When? What?!" I asked.

"I stole the keys, earlier in the night, and I'm freeing you." Neo said.

"... What?" I asked.

"Is it really that hard to comprehend? I would be bored if you were to bite the dust." She said.

"Uh... " I began.

"Besides, I've grown to like you, you know?" She said with a wink.

As she winked her right eye, I felt my chest start to get... warmer... as well as my face.

"Ooooh, am I embarrassing the great Brandon?" Neo teased.

"S-shut up! Just give me the damn keys!" I yelled.

"Well, someone's impatient... then again, this is you were talking about." She said as she threw the keys in the cage.

Tch, someone's impatient, yeah whatever.

I grabbed the keys from within the cage, put the key in the lock, and unlocked the front door.

"Well, you should get going, the White Fang are bound to find out you've escaped sooner or later." She said as she started to walk away.

Suddenly, an idea sparked into my head.

Well, it's now or never.

"Come with me." I said.

Neo stopped dead in her tracks, but didn't turn to face me.

"We both know that this plan won't work in the long run. So come with me." I said.

Neo sighed before typing her message into her scroll.

"I assume you have a better plan?" Neo asked.

"Screw over Cinder." I said with a cocky smirk.

Neo chuckled before typing in another message.

"It sounds like a plan I'd like. A lot. But I can't leave my uncle. He's the only family I have left, I can't leave him now." She said.

"Come on! I can't do this without you!" I said.

"Yeah? Well I'm sure you'll find a way." Neo said as she started to walk away.

"Wait!" I yelled.

Neo looked over her shoulder to face me.

"My friends are out there. If you're not going to help me then please just do me this favor. Don't hurt them, please. This is my only request." I said.

Neo remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"Thank you." I said.

Neo smirked and disappeared from my sight.

As soon as she was gone from my sight, I clenched my fist with frustration.

"Damn it! One chance! This was your ONE chance, and you fucking blew it! Good job! Good fucking job!" I yelled.

 _ **"Ah, such a shame isn't it."**_ I heard someone say.

.

What. The. Fu-?!

Though before I could further question the random voice, I heard some guards coming towards me.

"Well, time to get out and dodge." I said as I ran out of the room.

* * *

 **(3rd Person POV)**

"What do you mean we need to go now?!" Roman asked Aleria.

Though before she could respond, a loud explosion cut him off.

"I mean that huntsmen are here, as well as a few little trainees, and we need to go now!" She yelled.

"A huntse-?! Are you kidding me right now?!" He asked.

"Get the train ready!" Roman yelled.

"But we're not fini-!" One the the White Fang members began, only for Aleria to cut him off.

"We're leaving! Now! If you have a problem with that than I can easily shut you up!" She yelled.

"N-no, Ma-" He began, only for a feather to stab the wall next to him.

"Sir! I mean sir!" He yelled.

"Good. Now get your ass moving!" She yelled.

"Sis! What's happening?!" Aleria heard her brother ask.

"It's all kicking off! We're leaving now! Blake's here and she's got back up! Get your shit ready and let's go!" She yelled.

"Blake's here?!" Ilia asked.

"Yeah, she's here and she's got huntsmen with her!" Aleria yelled.

"What?!" She yelled.

"Do I need to answer every little question you have?! We're leaving!" She yelled.

"What about the kid?" He asked.

"Leave him! We'll say he died in the rubble or something!" Aleria said.

"But-" He began.

"Now!" She yelled as she got a top the train cart.

Ilia and Alerio looked at each other with uncertain looks before nodding and following Aleria.

"Wait!" Alerio said.

"What now?!" Aleria asked.

"Where's Os?" He asked.

"I don't know! I'm not his babysitter!" She yelled.

Though before they could further question her, another explosion could be heard coming from the other side of the cave.

As the dust settled, Team RWBY and the two professors could be seen running towards the train.

"Blake?!" Ilia yelled.

"Ilia?!" She yelled back.

"Blakey!" Alerio yelled.

"Alerio?!" Blake yelled.

"Blakey?" Yang asked.

"Any day now you two!" Aleria yelled.

"Wait! What's happening?! What's going on?!" Blake asked, utterly baffled.

"The start of our declaration of war! We're going to drive this train all the way to the center of Vale and let hell loose!" Aleria yelled.

"That's preposterous! These tunnels are sealed! These tracks lead to a dead end!" Oobleck yelled.

"Get to your places! We are leaving now!" They heard Roman say through a microphone, as well as steam coming from the wheels of the train.

"You were saying, four eyes!" She yelled as the train started to move.

"Well, at least we know where they're going!" Yang yelled.

"We need back-!" Ruby began, only for something at the corner of her eye to catch her off guard.

"Brandon?" She mumbled.

"Rubes? What's up?" Yang asked.

Ruby was about to point towards the area to where she saw Brandon, but as she did, Brandon was long gone.

"What are you pointing at?" She asked.

Though before Ruby could respond, Professor Port appeared from behind one of the buildings.

"It's no use. He's not here." Port said.

"What?! How can he not be here?!" Yang asked.

"That's because he has most likely escaped." He said.

"Escaped?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, I have come across a cage while I was searching the area, and when I went to investigate further it was open." He said.

"So that means he must have gotten out!" Yang said.

"Perhaps. We can only hope he can get back to Vale in one piece." Oobleck said.

"So... what now?" Weiss asked.

"I believe there is only one option now." He said.

"Yeah, let's stop that train." Ruby said with a smirk on her face.

* * *

"One simple operation, that's ALL I'm asking for! ONE simple operation!" Roman said.

Though before Roman could do anything else, one of the White Fang members opened the door to the train.

"Boss! They made it onto the train!" He said.

"Are you-?! Ugh! Then grab some cargo and get them off the train!" He yelled.

"Yes sir!" He yelled.

"You! Go with him! I've got this covered." Roman said.

"Yes sir!" The White Fang member yelled as he ran out of the train cart.

.

"Ugh, animals, every single one of them." He said.

Though before he could rant any further, Neo appeared inside of the train cart.

"Well you took your sweet time young lady." Roman said.

Neo shrugged and began to type in her scroll.

"I was busy." She said.

"With what?" He asked.

"Me time." Neo said with a smirk.

.

"Ugh! Neo! I did NOT need to know that!" Roman yelled.

"What? I was eating some ice cream?" She said.

"Oh... ice cream." He said.

"What did you think I was talking about?" Neo asked.

Though before he could respond, he spotted the faintest of smirks growing onto Neo's face.

"I hate you." He said, causing Neo to burst out into a silent laughing fit.

"So what's up?" She asked.

"What's up? I'll tell you what's up! Everything is just hitting the fan, and I'm working for a bunch of idiots!" He yelled.

"So the usual?" Neo asked.

"Not helping!" Roman yelled.

"I try." She said.

"Well, if you REALLY want to be a help, then you can take care of the pests on the train!" He said.

"Bout time, I was getting bored with just sitting around." She said, though before she could leave, Roman motioned her to stop.

"Wait, before you go, take this." He said as he pulled out a letter.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Read the front of it and find out." He said.

Neo flipped the letter over and nearly let it slip out of her hand in shock.

"This is my mother's hand writing." She said.

"Yeah, she told me to give this to you when I thought you were ready." Roman said.

"I think you're ready now." He said.

"What's inside?" She asked.

"Hell if I know. I'm just the man who delivers." Roman said.

Roman walked up to Neo and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Neo, I don't know what's inside this letter, but if you're mother told me that you needed to be older to read this, then this most likely has some things she didn't want to tell me or you." He said.

"But whatever's inside that letter, I know you're ready for it." Roman said.

Before Neo could respond, Roman wrapped his arms around her.

"I was glad I got the privilege to watch you grow. Thank you." He said.

"Heh, very funny. From the way you're talking it's as if this will be the last time I see you." Neo said.

.

"This isn't funny anymore." She said.

Roman just walked over to the controls of the train in silence.

"Stop it! Is this some sick joke?!" She asked.

"It's been a fun ride Neo. It truly has." He said.

Neo's eyes widened before she disappeared out of sight.

"Sorry, Meg. Looks like I won't be able to keep my promise." Roman said.

* * *

 **(My POV)**

Gotta find the exit, gotta find the exit.

Those were the only words going through my mind as I ran through the ruins of Mountain Glenn.

.

Well, almost the only words at least.

 _ **"What's the matter?"**_ I heard a deep voice asked.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

 _ **"Are you going to abandon your allies to save yourself?"**_ He asked.

"I'm not abandoning them." I said.

 _ **"Then why did you not aid them in their battle against the enemy?**_ " I heard him ask.

"They can handle it themselves, they don't need my help." I said.

 _ **"Oh? Is that so?"**_ I heard him chuckle.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

 _ **"Is that your real reason? Perhaps your judgment has changed."** _ He said.

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

 _ **"Do not kid yourself, you have been seeing those Phantoms in a different light ever since you've got a chance to make your little connection with them."**_ He said.

"Yeah? So what if I have?" I asked.

 _ **"Because of these connections, you no longer see them as enemies."**_ He said.

"... " I remained silent as I ran through the mountain.

 _ **"What's the matter? No more quips to throw? No more quirky remarks?"**_ He asked.

"Mind if I ask you something?" I asked.

 _ **"Sure,"**_ He said.

"Why do talk to me as if you know me? Like you're my friend or something? Who the hell do you think you are?!" I asked.

 _ **"Hmm, why don't you figure it out yourself?"**_ He asked.

"Tch, fine be that way." I said.

Though before I could continue our little conversation, I saw a nearby exit.

"Finally, now I can get-" I began.

"I would strongly recommend you take another course of action." I heard someone say.

I whipped my head backwards, to see that Naomi was right behind me.

Greaaat, guess I can't get through this without getting my hands-

 _ **"I would lower your sword if I were you, I sense no hostile intent from this woman."**_ He said.

"Lower my sword? I don't even have my sword, how could I-?" I began.

 _ **"Just don't attack her."**_ He said.

"Oh... you know you could have just said-" I began.

"Who are you talking to?" Naomi asked.

"Wait, you can't hear him?" I asked.

"Hear who?" She asked.

Great, so only I can hear this stupid voice in my head.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because there's a horde of Grimm on the other side of that cave." She said.

.

"Okay... fair point so do you have a better escape route?" I asked.

"I have calculated several escape routes. Follow me and I will show you to the safest one." She said as she started to walk.

I shrugged and started to walk behind her.

As we walked through the mountain, we could hear various explosions coming from the distance.

"Damn, shit's really hitting the fan." I said.

"Why would bodily fluids be hitting the fan?" Naomi asked.

"Wha-? No, it's just an expression." I said.

"Of what?" She asked.

"That thing's are turning for the worse." I said.

"Perhaps." Naomi said as she continued to walk.

We walked for a good couple of minutes before reaching some sort opipelinene.

"Ugh! What is that smell?!" I asked as I held my nose.

"Sewer water." She said.

"... Wait, do these sewer's-?!" I began.

"Yes, they lead directly to Vale." Naomi said.

I stood there in shock for a couple of seconds before responding with a question.

"Why?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Naomi hummed.

"Why are you helping me? Aren't I an enemy of the White Fang?" I asked.

"Yes, you are. But you are not an enemy to me." She said as she started to walk away.

"Besides, you have helped me discover a clue that leads to the remnants of my past. That is a debt that must be repaid." Naomi said as she walked away.

I just stood there in silence before I heard the voice once again speak up.

 _ **"Well? The city of Vale is waiting."**_ He said.

"R-right." I said as I started to run down the pipeline.

 _ **"I have a question for you."**_ I heard him say.

"What is it?" I asked as I ran down the pipeline.

 _ **"Why did you not attack her when you had the opportunity?"**_ He asked.

"Oh I don't know, I have no weapons, and no means of attacking her, and no idea what she can even do combat wise. So you tell me." I said.

 _ **"Oh I think we both know that you are capable of much more than that."** _ He said with a chuckle.

"So you know?" I asked.

 _ **"Oh ho, my dear boy. I know more about you than you know about yourself."**_ He said.

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked.

 _ **"... Be on your guard."**_ I heard him say.

"What?" I asked as I looked around to see what he was talking about.

 _ **"Keep moving, but do not let your guard down."** _ He said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked.

 _ **"Just. Keep. Moving."**_ He said.

I grunted but kept on moving through the pipeline.

 _ **"So, it seems that your connection with that woman has aided you in your escape."**_ He said.

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

 _ **"She no longer sees you as an enemy, yet you are both on opposite sides of the battle. What happens if you have to draw swords against one another?"**_ He asked.

"Then we fight. Not that hard to comprehend." I said.

 _ **"Very well, what of the others?"**_ He asked.

"Others?" I asked.

 _ **"The assassin, the thief, and the deceiver."**_ He said.

"Wait, you mean Mercury, Emerald and Neo?!" I asked.

 _ **"Yes, if that's what they are called. They are also on other sides of the battlefield. What will you do if you cross swords with them?"**_ He asked.

"I... I'll figure that out when the time comes." I said.

 _ **"Will you be willing to sever all ties with them if necessary?"**_ He asked.

"Shut up." I said.

 _ **"What about that man with the forged face? He seeks justice for the death of his lover, will you deny him that justice?"** _ He asked.

"Shut up." I said a bit louder than before.

 _ **"And what of the woman whose past is forgotten in the remnants of time? Will you deny her past for your own desires?"**_ He asked.

"Shut up!" I yelled as I pushed the sewer door.

"Just shut up already! Just who the hell are you?!" I yelled as I climbed onto the streets of Vale.

 _ **"Who am I? I am the other you who exists within."**_ He said with a chuckle.

"What does that-?" I began to ask.

 _ **"I have always been at your side, even when your fate had reached its conclusion."**_ He said.

.

"Wait, how did you-?!" I asked.

 _ **"I am spirit of the fallen kings, Caliber."**_ He said.

* * *

 **So... Caliber can talk apparently.**

 **Didn't see that coming, I always thought his vocabulary would have been limited to ORA, ORA, and ORA.**

 **.**

 **All in that order.**

 **Oh I am capable of so much more, my dear boy.**

 **Yeah... wait, what?!**

 **I am a part of you, so it's only natural that I can talk in this part of the story as well.**

 **... This is a lot to take in.**

 **Well you have a week to take it all in, take your time.**

 **Let's just move onto the reviews.**

 **Review Response**

 **Fiction Fan 369: I was never intending you to see the White Fang in a different light, just wanted to show you that not all of them are bad.**

 **Yes, not everything is as black and white as people make it out to be.**

 **.**

 **Why are you-?... You know what? I don't care.**

 **olTran: Yes, fate is truly such a cruel mistress, but are you going to be a prisoner to that fate? Or will you break the chains and take a hold of your destiny?**

 **... Yeah, Remnant is a pretty shitty place.**

 **CraazyReader: Fair point.**

 **Guest: I went back to that chapter and fixed it.**

 **DragonLord501st: Well, here's the thing. I'm going to keep away from canon character backstories until I know for certain that they won't have a major role in the story.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: All aboard the hype train.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks :)**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Yes, if it weren't for me, he would have been dead before the our story began.**

 **Whatever, and thanks, I'm glad you like the story that much.**

 **SMV Aria2: Pretty cool, and I have posted another fic idea on my profile.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Uh... you alright there buddy?**

 **ProgressingFuture: Well it only really works on idiots so... probably not.**

 **Grimm-san:**

 **1\. Probably.**

 **2\. Yes.**

 **3\. Thanks! :)**

 **Grimm-san: Glad you think so.**

 **Rimmer Dall: It's more of the seal on the coffin.**

* * *

Omake - Evil Plans (Non-Canon)

"Muhahaha! My evil plans are all coming together, now we just have to make sure no one finds out who we really are." Cinder said menacingly.

"Then maybe we shouldn't have the evil plans out in the open?" Emerald suggested.

"It's fine. Everything is fine. No one is going to discover our evi-" Cinder began, only for the door to their rooms to be kicked open.

"Yo, Emerald, I'm here to return this book. You in here?" Brandon asked.

"Not evil!" Cinder yelled as she and Emerald covered up the evil plans.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing! What do you want?" She asked.

"I just said what I wanted, to return this book." Brandon said.

"Oh, just throw it over there." Emerald said.

"Okay." He said as he threw it over at Emerald's bed.

"What's that?" Brandon asked as he pointed at the billboard.

"Get away from there!" Cinder yelled as she spun the billboard in the opposite direction, hitting Emerald directly on the head.

"Ow!" She yelled as she clenched her head in pain.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emerald said.

"It's nothing." She said.

"Really? Because from the looks of it, it looked like some sort of elaborate scheme." He said.

"Well. It's not evil! If that's what you're thinking." She said.

"Then what is it?" Brandon asked.

"It's uh... recipe! For a cake! For charity!... for uh... " Cinder began.

.

"Kittens?" Emerald suggested.

"What kind of cake is it?" He asked.

"Chocolate!" Cinder said.

"Wouldn't that kill that cats?" Brandon asked.

"Yes! Emerald! What were you thinking?!" She asked.

"I don't know, clearly I wasn't thinking straight." Emerald said sarcastically.

Though before the conversation could continue, Mercury walked in with a rocket launcher on his shoulders.

"What up evil dudes? Got the kitten killer 9000 up and ready to-" Mercury began, only to be cut off at the sight of Brandon.

.

"Okay." Mercury said as he slowly walked out of the room.

"Well... I'm going to leave, have fun with your kitten charity." He said as he walked out.

Cinder and Emerald sighed in relief, but were quickly silenced by Brandon walking into the room.

"Now I may be wrong, but that sort of looked like a plan to... I don't know, destroy Beacon, take some crazy ass powers, kill Ozpin, and leave Vale in ruins." He said.

.

"Nah, I'm probably crazy." Brandon said as he walked out of the room.

"Emerald." Cinder said.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You associate yourself with strange people." She said.

"I know. Believe me I know." Emerald said.

* * *

 **Ilia Amitola  
**  
 **Height: 5'7"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 17**

 **Strength: C**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown**  
 **  
Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 62**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 47**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 35**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 19**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	44. The Breach

**Hello readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Breach"

Thought: _'The Breach'_

Flashback: _"The Breach"_

.

"I'm sorry, can you run that by me again?" I asked, still in shock as to what I was hearing... or who I was hearing to be more specific.

 _ **"Are you surprised? I am the spirit that resides within your very soul, it's only natural that I would be capable of human speech."**_ Caliber said with a chuckle.

"I guess it just took me by surprise." I said.

 _ **"Well, allow me to enlighten you. Since I have regained my ability of speech I am free to answer any questions you desire to ask."**_ He said.

"What took ya?" I asked.

 _ **"After being asleep for eighty years, your power tends to take it's time to resurface."**_ Caliber said.

"Wow, eighty years?!" I asked.

 _ **"Yes, after the Great War, the contract I had made with the king was completed."**_ He said.

"... Okay, already I have multiple questions." I said.

 _ **"Well, if your memory serves well, then Grimm should be attacking the city of Vale fairly soon. So I would recommend we make haste."**_ Caliber said.

"Fair point, I'll make them quick then. So... you were once wielded by the king of Vale?" I asked.

 _ **"Indeed."**_

"Wow, that's something. What was he like?" I asked.

 _ **"A** **nobleman** **he was, though he was naive to believe that this peace he believed in would last forever."**_ Caliber said.

"Heh, guess so. Speaking of the king, what did you mean by 'contract'?" I asked.

 _ **"We spirits can be bound to a user by a contract, a contract being forged based off of the user's desires. Once that contract is forged, then the spirits are able to manifest."**_ He said.

 _ **"The spirits are the physical manifestation of our user's desires and soul. Once the conditions of the contract have been met, then the user can gain unimaginable powers**_." He explained.

"Contract, huh? What was the contract that you and the king made?" I asked.

 _ **"In exchange for power, the king had vowed to make a world where the people decided the fate of the kingdoms."**_ He said.

"That doesn't sound so bad." I said.

 _ **"However, Atlas had a different sort of world in mind."** _ Caliber said.

"What sort of world did they have in mind?" I asked.

 ** _"A world of order and law."_** He said.

"Doesn't sound too bad." I said.

 _ **"Ah, but the peace he believes in did not come with its own set of downsides."**_ Caliber said.

"What downsides?" I asked.

 _ **"Allow me to explain. Order will provide a peaceful utopia where all forms of suffering are eliminated. But in turn, this does not leave room for individuality and free will. Such a system would lead to stagnation."** _ He said.

"So... what does that mean?" I asked.

 _ **"Think of it like this, instead of making things better, order would simply keep things as they were."** _ Caliber said.

"So it would be as if we were mindless slaves?" I asked.

 _ **"Precisely."**_

"Then what about Chaos?" I asked.

 _ **"Hmm, Chaos, people view this concept as a form of disorder and discord. However, I disagree."**_ Caliber said.

"So what are your beliefs on the concept of Chaos?" I asked.

 _ **"Chaos is the purest form of freedom. Removing the chains of captivity, thus allowing humanity to grow and develop on their own terms."**_ Caliber said.

"Huh, never thought of it like that." I said.

 _ **"However, this freedom would wield the oppression of the weak by the strong."**_ He said.

"Heh, guess there is no right path for how the world should be run, is there?" I asked.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ He said.

"Wow, so you really are a sentient being. You have your own set of beliefs and views on the world." I said.

 _ **"That is correct, it is one of the many blessings our creator gave us. The gift of free will."** _ He said.

"You mean Olaf, right?" I asked.

 _ **"I see that his name still holds the test of time."**_ Caliber said.

"Okay, just one more question." I said.

 _ **"Quite the curious fellow you are."** _ Caliber remarked.

"You told me that you were by my side ever since I died." I said.

 _ **"Yes, that fact remains true."** _ He said.

"But how is that possible? The only way that could be possible is if-" I began.

 _ **"If we were the one who brought you back in the first place."**_ Caliber said.

.

"B-but how?! How is that possible?!" I asked.

 ** _"The realm where us spirits reside is in a place beyond dream and reality, beyond mind and matter. The realm of the spirits exists throughout all worlds, though Olaf was the first one who ever made a contract with us."_ ** He said.

"What was the contract?" I asked.

 ** _"In exchange for freedom, we would serve humanity however they see fit."_** Caliber said.

"So... you know what happened?" I asked.

 _ **"Yes, I know of the war that happened in your world, and how it lead to your demise."** _ He said.

"... Then how did you bring me here?!" I asked.

 _ **"I never said I was the one who brought you to Remnant."** _ Caliber said, putting more emphasis on the word I.

"Wait, then how-?" I began.

 _ **"I said I was the one who brought you back from the depths of the void."**_ He continued.

"Then who did?! Who brought me here?!" I asked.

 _ **"Hmm, that is a question to which I do not know the answer to."** _ Caliber said.

Great, of course you don't know, that would have been TOO easy.

 _ **"I can still hear you."**_ He said.

Of course you can.

"So why did you bring me back in the first place?" I asked.

 _ **"Would you rather me leave you to die?"** _ Caliber asked.

"Answer the question!" I yelled.

 _ **"... I saved your life. Shouldn't you be thankful for my services?"**_ He asked.

"... I didn't ask for this." I said.

 _ **"Hmm?"**_ Caliber hummed.

"I didn't ask to come back! I didn't ask to be blown up, put back together, dumped onto some shitty planet so I could deal with some shitty people who can't deal with their own shitty problems!" I yelled.

 _ **"... You are correct, my boy."**_ He said.

"Then what gave you the right to decide that for me?" I growled.

 _ **"I didn't."**_ Caliber said.

"Bullshit you didn't. You're the one who brought me back." I said.

 _ **"Yes, I brought you back, but you are the one who made the decision to challenge fate itself."**_ He said.

"..." I just stood there in silence.

 _ **"Now I have a question for you, my boy."** _ Caliber said.

"What?" I asked.

 _ **"Why challenge fate?"**_ He asked.

"You're a part of me, you should know the answer." I said.

 _ **"Oh, I do know the answer, but I'm not sure if you know the answer to it."** _ Caliber said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

 _ **"What do you hope to gain out of challenging fate itself?"**_ He asked.

"... Because if I sit here and do nothing, then I'd be no better than the bad guy now, am I?" I began.

 _ **"Oh? If that is so, then why do I sense the feeling of uncertainty coming from the back of your mind?"**_ Caliber asked.

 _ **"Do you know what I think?"**_ He asked.

"What?" I asked.

 _ **"I think you don't even know why you're doing this anymore."** _ Caliber said.

"..." My fists started to ball as Caliber kept talking.

 ** _"Oh but this is a familiar feeling for you, isn't it?"_** He asked.

"What?" I asked.

 _ **"The feeling of uncertainty, it is quite a familiar sight."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"All this time, you've been dealing with the troubles of others, yet you refuse to acknowledge the troubles that reside deep within your mind."**_ He said.

"S-shut up." I said shakily.

 _ **"You're quite the deceiver you know, you wear the mask so that you can hide the feeling of fear you have felt for quite some time now."** _ Caliber said.

"I said shut up." I said.

 _ **"You desire power, right?"**_ He asked.

 _ **"You desire the power to break the chains of captivity and be free from this prison of fate."**_ Caliber said.

"... I-" I tried to say.

 _ **"That is what you desire the most, right? To be free from this captivity. You desire that feeling of freedom, correct?"** _ He asked.

 _ **"Well?! What is it that you desire?! Are you going to be a prisoner to fate, or do you want to break the chains of captivity and know true freedom?!" I**_ heard him yell, causing my head to pulse.

 _ **"You desire power! Yet you hold it back with this feeling of uncertainty! Such uncertainty will only lead to demise! I refuse to give my power to such a weaklin** **g!**_ " Caliber yelled.

"W-who the hell are you calling a weakling?!" I growled.

 _ **"Oh ho! So he speaks! So, are you going to continue to sit there and refuse to acknowledge what is right in front of you, or shall you stand up and break the chains that have been holding you captive for so long?!"**_ He yelled.

.

.

"You should know the answer to that already." I said with a smirk on my face.

 _ **"Now tell me, what is it that you desire?"** _ Caliber asked.

"... Freedom." I said.

 _ **"Go on."**_ He said.

"I want that feeling of freedom more than anything in the world." I admitted.

"Good, keep going." He said.

"So, I'm going to break these god forsaken chains, no matter the cost." I said.

 _ **"Even if it means going against the gods themselves?"** _ Caliber asked.

"You heard me. No matter the cost." I said.

 _ **"Then shall we renew our contract?"** _ He asked.

"... Give me all you've got." I said.

 _ **"Very well, then let us begin."** _ Caliber said.

All of a sudden, my head pulsed with a sudden pain, as if it were splitting open.

"Gah!" I yelled in pain as I fell to the ground.

 _ **"You have kept me waiting for quite some time!"** _ I heard him say with a laugh, causing the pain to get even more intense.

 _ **"It's time to break the chains of captivity, my boy!"**_

 _ **"You desire freedom that badly?! Then go! Grasp that freedom you desire so badly!"**_

 ** _"Do not let anyone cloud your judgment ever again! The pieces are on the table now, my boy! Now it's time to carve your own path, choose your own fate, and destroy all those who stand in your way!"_** Caliber yelled, causing the pain in my head to become agonizing.

 _ **"You have escaped hell itself, a feat few have pulled off and lived to tell the tale!"**_ He said.

"Hah, hah, hah!" I was clenching my fist so hard blood was starting to form in the center of my palms.

 _ **"Now. Stand up."**_ Caliber said slowly.

I nodded and stood up from the position I was in. As soon as I did this, an explosion was heard from behind me, signaling that the breach has started, but if I'm going to be completely honest here, I didn't care.

I didn't care about anything at the moment. Not Team RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, SSSN, Neo, Emerald, Mercury, or anyone in Beacon or Vale. They were all just irrelevant thoughts to me at the moment.

It hurts like a bitch.

But at the same time, I've never felt so alive in my entire life.

 _ **"Now, I will ask again."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"Will you be willing to sever all ties if necessary?"** _ He asked.

"... Yeah." I said.

 _ **"Would you be willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for your own desire for freedom?"**_ Caliber asked.

"... Yeah." I said.

 _ **"Would you go against the gods themselves if necessary?"**_ He asked.

"... Yeah." I said, a smirk starting to form on my face.

 _ **"And would you be willing to abandon everything that made you human for your own desires?"** _ Caliber asked.

"... I went to the void and climbed back out. So take a wild guess." I said.

 _ **"Then the contract is complete. Now, call upon my name, and release our new power so that everyone may know our names!"**_ He said.

"Heh, whatever you say... Caliber!" I yelled.

All of a sudden, Caliber appeared from my body, though it was much different from the other times he had come out.

He wore knight's armor like the ones they wore in the medieval ages, though there were some significant differences that set it apart.

The shoulder pads were much larger than on the original armor they wore, and the chest plate had an open area which revealed a suit of some sort. The suit was a simple white dress suit with a black overcoat on it. On the suit was a locket of some sort and a black tie that was neatly wrapped around the collar of the suit.

Caliber wore an black overcoat of some sort as well, the coat somehow being attached to the shoulder pads on his shoulders. The coat itself reached down to his knees, and the outline of the coat was glowing with a silver aura of some sort.

He wore the average knight's lower half, though there were some parts of the armor, specifically the thigh area, that were made of some sort of fabric, and his greaves looked more like boots than actual armor.

Though the most noticeable part of the whole set was the head piece.

Caliber still wore the same knight's visor you would see on a knight, but that's about all he had in terms of a helmet. The back of the helmet was just flowing with some sort of blue aura, and to finish it all of, he wore a top hat with a black ribbon wrapped around it.

.

"Wow... this was not what I was expecting." I said as I gazed upon Caliber's new form.

 _ **"I quite like it. It brings out the... noble in me, yet it still fits me as a spirit."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, I guess it does." I said.

Though before we could continue our conversation, we heard someone, or something, banging on the doors to the warehouse we were in.

"Looks like we've got company." I said.

 _ **"Here."** _ Caliber said as he lifted his hand up into the air.

Suddenly, blue flames appeared from the palms of his hands. Once the flames had died down, a sword appeared from the palms of his hands. It was a double edged sword with a black blade that almost fit most of the guard of the blade.

The guard itself had ancient-like curves on it as if it were a sword you would find in some very deep cave.

The symbols that were in the original were still there, though they were much larger and were held by a piece of metal. On the bottom center of the blade was a circular armor piece.

 _ **"I believe this is required for a situation such as this."** _ He said.

"New vessel or something?" I asked.

 _ **"Not exactly, my boy. The contract has been renewed, thus the weapon has taken on a new form. This is the blade of your very soul."** _ He said.

"The blade of my soul?" I asked as I started to inspect the blade.

 _ **"Yes, the Forgotten Paradise."**_ Caliber said.

Forgotten Paradise, huh?

Well, it does have a more modern look to it... kinda fancy now that I look at it.

Though before we could continue our conversation, the banging noise became all the more louder and the wall was starting to give out.

 _ **"That's my cue. If you are in need of my assistance, you know what to do."**_ Caliber said as he bowed, took his hat off, and disappeared into the sword.

"Gotcha." I said with a smirk as I held the sword in my hand.

As soon as Caliber disappeared, the wall gave out and a huge hole was made inside of the metal wall.

I rolled to my right to stop the remains of the wall from hitting me.

Though as I looked up, I could see the figure getting bigger and bigger.

Once the light had died down, I could see Osvaldo walking towards me, carrying various bodies in his hands.

"Damn, it's almost as if they had the life sucked out of them." I mumbled.

"Ah, this fellow again. He is quite the persistent one, is he not?" Caliber asked.

"Yeah that's ONE word to describe him" I said.

Osvaldo looked at me with his signature glare and cracked his knuckles.

"It is quite unfortunate that you happened to run into me. Now I can finally pay you back for the humiliation you caused me two months ago ten fold." He growled.

A few seconds of silence passed before I started to chuckled.

Then it turned into full blown laughter.

"What's got you all riled up?" Osvaldo asked.

"You see here's the thing big guy. It's not unfortunate that I just happened to run into you." I began as I got into my combat position.

"It's unfortunate that YOU just so happened to run into ME!" I said with a smirk.

Osvaldo stood there for a couple of seconds before walking towards me.

"Normally your confidence infuriated me... but now, it's different." He said.

"What happened to you?" Osvaldo asked with his eyes narrowed.

My only response was to fling my sword into the air and catch it with my right hand with the blade facing backwards.

"Why don't you come and find out?" I asked as I motioned him to come towards me.

Osvaldo grunted and started to pick up the pace.

"So, how about a second round, eh tough guy?!" I asked as I sprinted towards him.

* * *

(3rd Person POV)

"Intruders! We've got intruders on the-!" One of the White Fang members began, only to be cut off by Yang's fist making contact with their jawline.

"So, a sneak attack is out of the question. What now?" She asked.

"Alright, children! We must get to the front and stop this train!" Oobleck said.

"Uh... Professor!" Weiss called out as she looked inside of the cargo cart.

"That's Doctor, young la-" He began, only for the sight of a bomb to cut him off.

"That my dear... appears to be a bomb." Oobleck said.

.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Weiss asked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Blake has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to disarming bombs." Yang said.

Blake narrowed her eyes as she inspected the bomb, and after a few seconds, she shook her head.

"Sorry, not this one." She said.

"Oh... why?!" Yang asked.

"This bomb was made by Veronica." Blake said.

"So that means...?" Weiss began.

"That this bomb can't be disarmed, once it's armed, the only way you can disarm it is by setting it off." She said.

"Great! Just great! So what now?!" Yang asked.

"Uh... well we better think of something, and fast!" Ruby yelled as she pointed at the White Fang members that were running towards them.

"Well, I didn't expect them to go-" Oobleck began, only for the sound of the bomb's timer to go off.

"Easy on us." He finished.

"Well! Time to go!" Oobleck said as everyone started to run off of the cargo cart.

"Blake! Detach the caboose!" He said.

"Got it!" She yelled as she ran down to the caboose.

Though as she was about to cut the caboose that was holding the cart, the cart detached from the rest of the train.

"... Okay, that wasn't supposed to happen." Blake said.

"Blake! What's wrong?!" Oobleck yelled.

"It decoupled itself!" She yelled.

"Wow, they REALLY don't want us on this train!" Yang commented.

Eventually, the bomb that was on the cart was set off, causing a large hole to be made in the mountain.

"Oh that's not good." Oobleck said.

"Neither is this!" Ruby said as she looked down into the cargo of the cart.

"Another bomb?!" Blake asked.

Oobleck narrowed his eyes and started to run to the next cart.

"No, no, no!" He yelled as he opened the door to reveal another bomb.

"They all have bombs!" Oobleck yelled.

As soon as he said this, the other cart decoupled itself from the cart Oobleck was standing on.

"It's time to move students!" Port yelled as he started to run towards the other cart.

Team RWBY nodded and ran towards the cart their professors were standing on.

"This doesn't make sense!" Yang yelled.

"Hmm, it seems that we have a few unwanted guests." Port said as he pulled out his blunderbuss.

Team RWBY turned around to see that the White Fang were closing in.

"Get the humans!" One of the members yelled.

Team RWBY charged towards them with their weapons ready.

One of the members tried to kick Yang in the leg, but she countered the attack with her own kick, causing the White Fang member to lose his balance.

Yang gave the member a quick wink before punching him through the cart.

Blake ran past her former allies, slashing at each opportunity she could get, using her semblance to dodge oncoming attacks.

Weiss used her Glyphs to launch herself through the crown, freezing them as she passed by them.

Ruby launched herself toward the oncoming wave of White Fang members, slashing at each of them as she passed by them.

After they dealt with wave of White Fang members, Port and Oobleck turned around to see that another hole was made due to the bombs in the carts.

"No." Port said.

As soon as he said this, Grimm of various kinds started to make their way through holes in the wall.

"Oh dear." Oobleck said.

"What's happening?!" Ruby yelled.

"He's leading Grimm to the city!" He yelled.

"What?!" Weiss asked.

"It's the carts! They detach and explode, creating an opening for the Grimm!" Oobleck yelled.

"That's insane!" Blake yelled.

Just as she said this, another cart was detached.

"We must make haste, students!" Port said.

"You three! Go below and try to stop those bombs!" Oobleck said as he pointed at Weiss, Blake, and Yang.

"We are going to put an end to this operation!" Port said.

.

"Yeah... that was kinda a given." Ruby said.

"Ah... right... let's make haste ladies!" He said as everyone went to their respective positions.

Port, Oobleck, and Ruby were making their way to the front of the train, though the sight of one of the Mechs they encountered on the highway cut them off.

"So... keeping score?" Oobleck asked.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"Keeping score." Port said with a smirk.

Oobleck started to chug the remains of his drink down before activating his club.

Zwei turned towards Oobleck and nodded.

"Can someone explain to me what's going o-?" Ruby began, only for Oobleck to whack Zwei with his club, sending him flying towards the Mech in a ball of fire.

Once Zwei made contact with the Mech, a giant hole was made in the main body, causing it to fall off of the train.

Though before Zwei could celebrate, another Mech took the place of the Mech Zwei and Oobleck had just destroyed .

As the Mech was about to crush the pup under it's foot, Oobleck fired a few fireballs towards the Mech before hitting it with his club.

"That's two points for me!" He yelled.

Port smirked and fired his blunderbuss into the air, sending three cannonballs into the air.

Once they were over the two Mechs, Port fired another round into the air, causing the cannonball to explode into smaller cannon balls.

As the smaller cannon balls made contact with the Mechs, they fell into the other suits, causing them to explode.

"I do believe that's... four points for me." He said with a smirk.

"... Whoa." Ruby said in awe.

Meanwhile, the other remaining members of Team RWBY were making their way through carts.

"So... you guys ready?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Weiss said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a clip of Dust rounds.

"Here. This should help you." Weiss said, offering the clip to Blake.

Blake nodded and took the clip from Weiss's hand, putting it in her weapon.

"Well, let's move." Yang said as she started to run down the cart.

"Wait, I think I see someone up ahead." Weiss said.

Yang slowly came to a stop as she saw just who was on the other side of the cart.

"... You." She growled as she balled her fists up.

Neo looked up from the position she was sitting in before rolling her eyes.

She quickly put the letter that Roman had given her into her pocket and started to walk towards the group.

"Go ahead." Yang said, scowling.

"She's mine."

Nee simply kept walking towards Yang with the same unamused look on her face.

Blake and Weiss nodded, running towards Neo with the intent to dodge whatever she had to throw at them.

Though what she did next just confused them.

She actually let them pass through.

"Huh?" Weiss asked.

Neo kept walking towards Yang with her same unamused look on her face.

"Oh? That eager, eh? Well the feelings mutual!" She yelled.

"What's going on?" Weiss asked.

"Don't question it. Just keep moving." Blake said as she moved towards the next cart.

Weiss nodded and followed her feline companion to the other cart.

"Just you and me. I've got a score to settle for what happened that da-" Yang began, only to cut herself off once Neo walked passed her.

"Wha-?!" She tried to say as she spun her head around to face Neo.

"Hey! Get back here!" Yang yelled.

Though Neo wasn't listening to her, she kept on moving towards the exit.

"I said!" She yelled as she cocked her gauntlets.

"Get back here!" Yang yelled as she fired a round at Neo.

Neo simply blocked the oncoming attack with her parasol.

She looked back at Yang whose eyes were glowing bright red from rage.

"We're settling this! Right here, and right now!" She yelled.

Neo rolled her eyes and suddenly disappeared from Yang's sight.

"Wha-?!" She said, only for Neo to appear right in front of her.

Yang growled and punched Neo, only for her to shatter into little bits of glass.

"What the hell?!" Yang asked as she frantically looked around the cart.

Suddenly, Neo appeared on one of the crates with her legs crossed.

"Hold still!" She yelled as she fired another round at Neo, to which she shattered into glass once again.

Yang looked around the room once again to see that Neo was standing right behind her.

"Quit it!" Yang yelled as she punched her once again, though she only got the same result as last time.

Suddenly, various Neo's started to appear in the room, each one having the same expression as the other.

"What the hell?!" She asked as she looked around the room.

Yang screamed as she started to fire various rounds at the various illusions around the room, each one shattering into glass.

Once all of the glass reflections were destroyed, Yang turned to face Neo.

"You done running?!" She asked.

Neo rolled her eyes, waved at Yang, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared from sight.

"Wha-?!" Yang began as she looked around the room.

"How can her semblance can do multiple things?" She asked herself in shock.

"I mean, Weiss's Glyphs can do multiple things, but those are just the perks of the Glyphs themselves. It's almost as if she had two separate semblances." Yang said.

"Who is she, and why didn't she attack me?" She asked herself as she moved to the next cart.

"You think Yang will be alright?" Blake asked.

"I don't know, you know how she is when her temper gets the best of her." Weiss said.

"Yeah, and if she's working for Roman of all people, she's bound to have some tricks up her sleeve." She said.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." She said.

Though before they could continue their conversation, the sound a chainsaw being dragged across the floor cut them off.

"Ah, if it isn't the traitor." The Lieutenant said with a chuckle.

"Uh... " Blake began.

"I see that you've brought the Schnee as well, wonderful. I get to kill a traitor, and a Schnee." He said with a chuckle.

"Hmm." She hummed.

"You will pay for what you did to my brother, Schnee! Now dra-!" The Lieutenant began.

"So... who is he?" Weiss asked.

.

"P-pardon?" He asked.

"I don't know. Thought you knew who he was." Blake said.

"Y-you can't be serious. I'm the Lieutenant of the White Fang!" He said.

"There are a lot of lieutenants in the White Fang, you're going to need to be a bit more specific." She said.

"I'm one of Adam's best soldiers! He specifically chose me to lead the operation in Vale!" He yelled.

"Uh... I never heard Adam mention you." Blake said.

"... Oh." He said.

"Also, brother? I'm not really sure what you're talking about." Weiss said.

"Back in Atlas, during the expedition! You faced my brother in combat!" He yelled.

"Hmm... nope, I got nothing." Weiss said.

"... You son of a bitch! You imprisoned him and you don't even remember! Do you know how humiliating that is?!" He asked.

"You go on ahead. I'll deal with... whoever this is." She said.

"Right." Blake said as she started to run.

"You don't get off that easy!" He yelled as he started to reel his chainsaw backwards, though Blake was quick to parry the oncoming attack.

Weiss ran up to the Lieutenant and kicked the chainsaw, causing him to move backwards.

After she landed on the ground, she started to deliver a flurry of slashes and jabs before knocking him on his feet.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." He said.

Weiss smirked and readied her weapon.

The Lieutenant charged at Weiss with the intent to kill, but Weiss quickly summoned a barrier to block the oncoming attack.

Though he was quick to launch another attack, Weiss parried it with ease.

Weiss jabbed the Lieutenant with her rapier before flipping to kick him across the jaw.

The Lieutenant threw another attack at Weiss, but she quickly dodged the attack.

She slashed at his abdomen, slashed at his arms so his chainsaw hit him across the jaw, jabbed his weapon away, and threw him in the air.

Weiss took this opportunity to position herself.

The Lieutenant quickly got up and slashed at Weiss's stomach, though she moved out of the way at the last second.

He grunted and threw another attack her way, to which she blocked.

Undeterred, he shoved her back into a pile of crates and reeled his foot back to kick her.

Weiss used her Glyphs to launch herself into the air and back down.

She summoned a time dilation Glyph, taking a few precious seconds to receive its effects, and ran towards the Lieutenant.

As she was doing this, various Glyphs started to form around him.

She launched herself towards the Lieutenant and started to move off of the various Glyphs, slashing all the while.

Though before she could continue her attack, the Lieutenant grabbed Weiss by the face and slammed her down onto the ground.

After he did that, he threw her up into the air and swung his chainsaw at her, sending her flying through the wall and towards the other cart.

Meanwhile, Blake was making her way towards the main control room.

"Who was he again? I can't remember Adam saying anything about a lieutenant." Blake said to herself.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." She heard a very familiar voice say.

"Heya, kitty cat. Miss me?" Roman asked as he twirled his cane in his hands.

"Barely." Blake said through her teeth.

"You know, we REALLY gotta stop meeting like this, people are gonna talk." He said.

"Then I'll make this our last meeting!" She yelled as she charged towards Roman.

Roman was about to swing his cane at Blake, but right as the can made contact, Blake exploded in a burst of fire, sending him flying into the air.

Blake slashed at him a few times before launching him towards the ground.

Roman quickly fired one an explosive Dust crystal at Blake, though she summoned a stone figure of herself to block the attack.

She ran towards Roman with her sword reeled backwards, but right as he was about to swing his cane at her, she summoned one of her shadows to tank the attack.

The two exchanged blows for a few seconds before Roman tried to jab her with his cane, but she was quick to summon an ice clone of herself, causing Roman's cane to get stuck inside of the clone.

Blake summoned some of her aura into her sword and slashed a wave of energy at him, causing Roman to go flying towards the door.

.

"Wow... that was easier than I thought." Blake said.

She shrugged and started to walk towards Roman with her blade in her hand.

"Ugh, jeez what's with this generation?" He asked himself as he started to get up, though before he could Blake slammed her foot onto his chest.

"Heh heh... Why are we fighting?" Roman asked.

"Why do you think?" Blake asked.

"I saw you at the rally, we're on the same side here and you know it." He said.

"Not on my side." She said as she pointed the tip of her blade at his throat.

"Heh, still feisty. So... what now?" Roman asked.

"Do you REALLY think putting a little bow on your head will make people forget what you were?" He asked.

"You don't know shit!" Blake growled.

"Hey! Watch the language!" He said.

.

"Sorry. Force of habit." Roman said.

Though before Blake could question him any further, the door leading to the other cart where Weiss was opened and Weiss was seen flying through the door.

"Weiss!" She yelled.

"So... what's it gonna be? The death of your friend, or the death of me?" He asked.

Blake grunted, put her sword back in her sheath and kicked Roman across the jaw, knocking him out.

"Weiss! Are you okay?!" Blake asked.

"I-I'm fine. Just caught off-guard is all." She said.

"I'm not done with you!" The Lieutenant yelled.

"We can't stay here." Blake said.

"Yeah." Weiss said as they ran out of the cart and outside of the train.

"Seventeen!" Oobleck yelled as he took down two White Fang members.

"Eighteen!" Port yelled as he took down one of the Mech's.

Though before Oobleck could retort, another Mech was charging towards him with it's fist held high.

As the Mech brought down it's fists, Oobleck quickly moved behind the Mech.

"Hmm." He hummed as he quickly analyzed the situation.

Oobleck smirked and moved on top of the Mech and fired one of his fire balls into the main controls.

"Ms. Rose! If you may!" Oobleck said from the other side of the Mech.

"Right!" Ruby said, readying her weapon.

The two fired their weapons at the Mech's legs, knocking it off of the train.

"Ha ha ha! I live for this!" Port said, charging towards the Mechs that were coming from behind them.

"Ruby! You go on ahead!" Oobleck said.

"But you-!" Ruby tried to protest.

"Don't worry Ruby. It's time Peter and I teach them a lesson." He said as he ran after his old friend.

Ruby looked down to see that Zwei had a saddened look on his face.

.

"Oh, go ahead." She said, causing Zwei's ears to perk up.

Zwei barked happily and started to run towards his new friend.

"Ruby!" Ruby heard her sister call out.

"Yang!" She called out as she ran toward her sister.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm fine! But where's Weiss and Blake?" Ruby asked.

As if on cue, Weiss and Blake came out from one of the doors.

"We're right here." Blake said.

"Guys!" Ruby said as she and Yang went to help their teammates up.

"What happened to you guys?" Yang asked.

"Roman... and some other guy." Blake said.

"So what now?" Ruby asked.

Though before either of them could come up with a plan of action, a feather sped past Yang.

"What the-?!" Yang began.

"Ah! Damn it!" They heard Aleria say.

"You!" Yang yelled.

"Yeah, it's me. What, you gonna roll the red carpet or what?" She asked.

"Aleria! Why are you doing this! What do you have to gain by letting Grimm into the city?!" Blake yelled.

"Adam's orders. Sorry, Blake." Aleria said.

"Well, why is HE doing this then?!" She asked.

"Hell if I know. He never tells us anything." She said.

"But hey," Aleria began as she pulled out another feather.

"Business is business." She said as she threw the feather like a knife.

Though before the feather could hit Blake, Yang shot it out of the air.

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that." Yang said.

As soon as she said that, a feather sped past her, cutting a slip of her hair.

"You mean like that?" She asked with a smug grin on her face.

.

"You... " Yang said shakily.

"Huh?" Aleria asked.

"You REALLY shouldn't have done that." Ruby said.

"What the hell are you-?" Aleria began.

"YOU BITCH!" She yelled as she launched herself towards Aleria.

"What the he-?!" She began, only for a fist to make contact with her stomach.

Aleria was sent flying towards the air, though she was quick to recover.

She threw a few more feathers at Yang, though she punched them all out of the air.

"Word of advice!" She yelled as flames started to engulf her hair.

"You better start running!" Yang yelled.

"... Tch, give me a break. Alerio! You're up!" Aleria said.

"R-really?!" He asked.

"Yeah. My feathers aren't doing anything to her." She said.

"Well... guess that's my cue then." Alerio said as he rubbed his hands together, creating some sort of golden dust.

"... Oh no." Blake said.

"What? What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Yang! Don't fight Alerio!" Blake said.

"Trust me! I won't! My business is with the bitch right there!" Yang yelled as she ran towards the twins.

"That's not what I meant, just don't-!" Blake tried to say, but Alerio was already charging towards Yang.

All of a sudden, a golden aura started to move around Alerio as if it were spiraling into a drill of some sort.

"Never!" He yelled as he brought his knee to Yang's chin.

"Call!" Alerio yelled, kicking Yang up into the air.

"My sister!" He yelled as punched Yang towards the ground.

Though before she could, Alerio sped towards the area where she would land.

"A bitch!" He yelled before punching Yang towards the Mech's.

Each hit he dished out on Yang made some sort of golden wave of energy come out of his hands and legs.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as Yang sped past her.

She ran as fast as she could so that her sister wouldn't fall off of the train, and she eventually caught her sister.

"Ow... that's gonna leave a mark." Yang groaned.

"Uh, sis!" Alerio yelled as he pointed towards the front of the train.

"That's our cue." Aleria said as she jumped into one of the cargo carts.

"Later ladies!" He said as he followed her sister.

"What now?!" Blake asked.

"You two! Get over here, now!" Weiss yelled.

"Got it!" Ruby and Yang yelled as they ran over to Weiss.

Weiss dug her rapier into the ground to create, making a barrier to shield them from the blast.

Everything went white for a few seconds before the view of Team RWBY started to clear.

"Ugh... what happened?" Ruby asked as she stood up.

Though as she did, what she saw horrified her.

There were crowds upon crowds of people scattered in the central part of Vale.

"No." She said.

As she did, the Grimm burst through the rubble of the train wreck.

"Everyone! Run!" Blake yelled.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

.

.

A few minutes after Neo's encounter with Yang, she reappeared in the warehouse she and her uncle were staying in.

 _'Jeez, that chicks got some anger issues.'_ She thought to herself as she stretched her legs out.

 _'Haven't created that many glass copies of myself in a long time. But I guess it was worth it, I mean did you see the look on her face?! Priceless!'_ Neo thought to herself.

Though before she could continue to muse herself, the sound of an explosion cut her off.

 _'Looks like they did it. Didn't really doubt they could, I mean my uncle was the on in charge to begin with._ ' She thought to herself.

 _'Speaking of Roman.'_ She thought to herself as she pulled out the letter that Roman had given her.

 _"Neo, I don't know what's inside this letter, but if you're mother told me that you needed to be older to read this, then this most likely has some things she didn't want to tell me or you."_ She remembered her uncle saying.

 _'But mom told me everything. She said it was what brought her and dad together. So what was she hiding? What was so bad that she couldn't even tell me in person?'_ Neo asked herself.

 _'I was glad I got the privilege to watch you grow. Thank you.'_ Those were Roman's final words to her before she teleported out of panic.

Neo let out a silent chuckle as she remembered the events that had just transpired.

 _'I've been doing that a lot now that I think about it. But it's what Roman always taught me to do. If you ever panic or feel doubtful, then run.'_ She thought to herself.

Neo looked over to where the source of the explosion came from and sighed.

 _'Then why didn't you run?'_ She asked herself.

Her gaze eventually fell towards the letter, her mother's greatest secret was held deep with in this letter.

 _'Time to see what she was hiding.'_ Neo thought to herself as she went to go open the letter, only for the sound of a loud crashing noise to come from outside of the warehouse.

 _'Grimm? Wow, they sure move fast.'_ Neo thought, putting the letter back in her pocket.

Neo walked out of the warehouse with her blade unsheathed from her parasol.

Though as she walked out of the warehouse, there were no Grimm to be seen.

 _'What the hell? Where are they? I could have sworn I heard them from out here.'_ She thought to herself, slowly walking outside.

Though before she could continue to investigate, the same crashing noise was heard again.

Neo spun her head backwards to see smoke coming from the other side of the docks.

 _'... Only one person I know is able to make an explosion like that.'_ Neo thought to herself as she started to run towards the explosion.

As the noise became louder and louder, the sound of metal clashing together became louder.

 _'Metal? But how, he didn't have his sword when I let him loose.'_ Neo thought.

As Neo turned the corner, she could see Brandon fighting a fairly large and muscular man.

"What's the matter, big guy! You get rusty from our last encounter?!" He asked.

The man grunted and swung his fist at Brandon, who simply jumped on his arm.

"Damn, have you been working out?" He asked as he kicked the man's arm.

The man growled and attempted to grab Brandon.

He chuckled and jumped off of the man's arm, doing a little flip for style.

 _'Glad to see he hasn't changed a bit.'_ Neo thought to herself.

"Faster, eh? Guess our last encounter gave you a few notes on how to modify your semblance." He said as he threw his sword up into the air before catching it.

"You could say that." He said.

 _'Modify? How do you modify a semblance?'_ Neo thought to herself.

"You know, that doctor ain't half bad." Brandon said.

 _'... Right! I remember some assassin from the White Fang was getting surgery that would modify his semblance... oh this is a problem.'_ She thought to herself as she realized who exactly Brandon was fighting.

"Indeed." Osvaldo said.

"So... wanna tell me about her?" He asked.

Osvaldo's only response was to grab a crate and throw it at Brandon.

"Jeez! It was only a question!" He said with his hands raised.

"I believe I already gave you my answer." He said as he crushed the metal into a tiny ball.

"Just thought you could had a change of heart." Brandon said.

"It's been a day." Osvaldo said.

"A lot can happen in a day... well, at least for me." He said.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"Yeah, lets just say I finally got my head straight." Brandon said.

Osvaldo grunted and started to run towards Brandon with his fist reeled backwards.

He smirked and slid under the massive man, slashing at his legs as he did.

"You know, sometimes I like my small size." Brandon said.

"As do I. Makes it easier to crush you." Osvaldo said.

Though from the looks of it, Brandon wasn't really paying attention. It's almost as if he was staring off into space.

 _'What's he doing?'_ Neo asked herself.

Osvaldo took this opportunity to charge towards Brandon, though at the last second, Brandon rolled backwards.

"Hey! Do you mind?!" He asked.

Osvaldo grunted and swung his fist at Brandon once again.

"Yeah, I know I need to work on that, shut up!" He yelled.

 _'... Who is he talking to?'_ Neo asked herself.

"What are you talking about now?" Osvaldo asked.

"I'm not talking to you!" Brandon yelled as he hit his hand over his head.

"Now shut it! I can't focus if you're talking to me!" He yelled.

 _'Who?'_ Neo asked herself.

Osvaldo took the opportunity to run towards Brandon with his hand stretched outwards.

"What do you mean he's-?!" He began to ask, only for Osvaldo to grab Brandon with his right hand.

"... You know, you pick the worst times to start a conversation." He said.

Osvaldo reeled his arm backwards as if he were about to throw Brandon like a ball.

"Don't you do it you-!" He yelled as Osvaldo threw Brandon across the city.

After a few seconds, a loud crash was heard.

Osvaldo sighed and started to walk towards the area where he threw Brandon.

Though before he could continue his walk, Neo suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Oh. Excuse me young lady, but I have business to take care of." Osvaldo said.

Though Neo didn't move from the spot she was standing in, her only response was to give him her signature smug smirk.

"I'll have to ask you to move." He said as he went to go and push Neo out of the way, only for her to shatter into glass.

Osvaldo stepped backwards and brought his fists up, getting ready for combat.

"Show yourself." He said.

 _'... Sorry Roman, I was never a good listener to begin with.'_ Neo thought to herself as she walked out from the crate she was hiding in.

"I know you, you were with that human in the bowler hat. What business do you have here?" He asked.

Neo's only response was to point towards the area where Osvaldo had thrown Brandon.

"The boy?" He asked, causing Neo to nod.

"What do you want with him?" Osvaldo asked.

Neo pointed the area where Osvaldo had thrown Brandon, pointed back at herself, and pointed her thumb upwards.

"You are... allies?" He asked.

Neo nodded, giving a thumbs up directed towards Osvaldo.

"I can assume you are the reason as to why he is free from captivity." He said.

Neo once again, nodded and gave Osvaldo a thumbs up.

"So you are here to assist him then?" He asked.

Neo's only response was to unsheathe her sword and point it at Osvaldo.

"Very well. But the only thing that awaits you is hell." He said as he started to walk towards Neo.

Neo smirked and disappeared from sight.

"Hmm, quite the unusual semblance you have there." He said.

Neo appeared over Osvaldo and attempted to dig her sword into Osvaldo's eye, though he was quick to react.

"Too slow!" He yelled, swinging his arm at Neo, though once his arm made contact with her body, she shattered into glass.

"Hmm, now where have you run off to now?" He asked.

Osvaldo caught Neo running towards the area where he had thrown Brandon from the corner of his eye.

"Hmm, maybe this will be more interesting than I thought." He mused as he started to follow the ice cream-themed girl.

* * *

.

.

"Huh?" Jaune awoke to the sound of his scroll ringing beside him. He had kept it there in case Ruby had run into any complications and required backup from the rest of the team back in Vale.

 _'Maybe something's wrong._ ' Jaune thought to himself as he climbed out of bed.

"Hello?" He asked.

Though the only response he got was the sound of static.

"W-what the-?!" Jaune asked himself as he pulled his scroll away from his ear.

Though before he could question Ruby's strange call, the connection cut off.

 _'What's going on? Are they in trouble?'_ He asked himself.

"Ugh, Jaune?" Pyrrha managed to say, awaking from her slumber.

"Oh. Sorry Pyr. I didn't mean to wake you up." Jaune said.

"No, it's fine." She said, stretching her arms upwards and letting out a loud yawn.

"So what's the matter?" Pyrrha asked.

"... It's RWBY." Jaune said.

"... The person or the team?" She asked.

"The team. I just got a call from Ruby, though the only thing I heard was static." He said.

"Strange. Could she be calling for assistance?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. But I have a bad feeling about this." Jaune said.

"Well, whatever you decided, know that we'll follow you every step of the way." She said.

"What are we doing?" Ren asked groggily.

Jaune gripped his scroll in his hands before dialing the scroll number of Sun.

The scroll rang for a few seconds before the connection was made.

 **"Hello?"** Sun asked groggily.

"Sun, it's me." Jaune said.

 **"Dude! It's six in the morning! What do you want?!"** He asked in an annoyed tone.

 _'Looks like someone's not a morning person._ ' He thought to himself.

"It's RWBY." Jaune said.

 **"The team or the person?"** Sun asked.

 _'Maybe I should be a bit more specific from here on out.'_ He thought to himself.

"The team. I got a call from them but all I was receiving was this weird static noise." He said.

 **"Static? You mean the connection wasn't strong?"** Sun asked.

"Yeah, that means Ruby tried to contact me in the Mountain. I think they're in trouble." Jaune said.

 **"Alright, I'll get the team up and running. Meet us at the runway when you guys are ready."** Sun said as the connection was cut off.

"Alright, we've got SSSN on board." Jaune said.

But before Pyrrha could ask the obvious, Jaune quickly cut her off.

"And I mean the team. Not the person." He said.

Pyrrha nodded and went to go collect her armor.

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked.

"If Team RWBY is engaging the enemy, then we need to be prepared to do the same." Pyrrha said.

"Right. Ren, wake up Nora." He said.

"Already on it!" Nora said as she appeared behind Jaune.

"Gah!" Jaune yelped, jumping out of his bed.

"You okay?" She asked.

"When did you-?! How did you-?! How are you already dressed?!" He asked.

"What are you talking about? I was dressed this whole time!" Nora said.

.

.

"You know what? I'm just gonna call Coco." Jaune said as he dialed Coco's number.

After a few seconds, Coco picked up the call.

 **"Hello?"** She asked.

"Hey Coco, it's Jaune." He said.

 **"What's up, Blondie?"** Coco asked.

"You... sound more awake than I originally thought." Jaune said.

 **"Coffee, does wonders."** She said.

"Okay, I want you and Team CFVY to meet us at the runway." He said.

 **"... Why?"** Coco asked.

"I just got a call from Ruby, and I think her and her team are in trouble." Jaune said.

 **"What kind of trouble we talkin' here?"** She asked.

"Big trouble. When Ruby tried to call me for backup, the only thing that came out of my scroll was static." He said.

 **"You sure it wasn't a butt dial?"** Coco asked.

"Are you willing to take that chance?" Jaune asked.

 **"... I'll gather the team, make sure everyone's ready for the worst."** She said as the connection cut off.

"Alright. We've got everyone, let's move!" Jaune said.

"Jaune." Ren said.

"What's up, Ren?" Jaune asked.

"You're still in your nightwear." He said.

Jaune looked down to see that sure enough, he was still in his Pumpkin Pete footie pajamas.

"... I'll be right back." Jaune said sheepishly.

Eventually, Team JNPR had arrived at the runway where they would meet the rest of their friends.

"So, what do you think is happening?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is it can't be good." Jaune said.

Though before any one in the group could continue their conversation, the sound of Vale's distress siren cut them off.

"What in the world?" Jaune asked.

As soon as he said this, the sirens going off within Beacon went off as well.

"What's happening?" He asked.

Though before anyone could say anything, the sound of Jaune's scroll cut them off.

"Hello?" Jaune asked as he picked up his scroll.

 **"It's me! Get your asses to Vale, now!"** He heard Coco yell.

"Coco?! What's wrong?! What's happening?" Jaune asked.

 **"Grimm are in the city! I don't know how, just get down here!"** She said as the connection cut off.

"Jaune? What's going on?" Pyrrha asked.

"Grimm are in Vale, we need to move!" Jaune said.

Everyone looked surprised, but quickly gained their composure and nodded.

"So... anyone know how to drive a bullhead?" He asked.

"I can." Everyone heard a familiar voice say.

Team JNPR turned around to see that Team SSSN was standing right behind them.

"Guys!" Jaune said.

"First we stop a robbery, then we fight a giant Mech, now we're saving a city?! This place has everything!" Sun yelled.

"Focus on the task at hand, Sun." Sage said.

"I know, I know." He said.

"Everyone, get in. Scarlet and Neptune will drive." Sage said.

"Wait, you guys can fly a bullhead?" Jaune asked.

Neptune and Sage nodded, confirming Jaune's question.

"How?" Pyrrha asked.

"I learned a thing or two back in Atlas." Neptune said.

"I've driven a lot of boats, from what I've gathered they aren't too far off. One just goes into the sky and the other goes in the water." Scarlet said.

"... Yeah, I'm driving." Neptune said as he opened the door that lead to the cockpit.

"What?" Scarlet asked, opening the other door.

"Alright team, let's go save the city!" Jaune said, climbing inside of the bullhead.

Little did Jaune know, Pyrrha was staring at Jaune with a proud smile on her face.

"Jeez, you can ogle Jaune later. Let's go smash some heads." Nora said with a smirk before climbing inside of the bullhead.

.

"N-Nora!" Pyrrha said as she followed her teammate inside the bullhead.

Though as the group was flying away, a certain group of students were watching from the distance.

"You don't think... ?" Emerald asked.

"Sure looks like it." Mercury said.

"But that's still days away! How could it be happening today?!" She asked.

"Beats me. Your move, boss." He said to Cinder.

"Hmm." She hummed.

.

"Get ready to go down to Vale." Cinder said.

"What?! Why?! Isn't this what we wanted?!" Emerald asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't supposed to happen today. Now we need to draw attention away from us so that we don't cause suspicion." She said.

"But-!" Emerald began.

"Come on Em, let's get moving." Mercury said as he started to run towards Vale.

Emerald sighed before nodding and running after her partner.

* * *

"... Well, I can safely say that shit just hit the fan in the worst possible way." Yang said as Grimm laid waste to the city of Vale.

"You don't need to tell us twice." Weiss said.

"We need to make sure that the people are safe, that has to be our first priority." Blake said.

Ruby nodded and loaded her sniper rifle.

"Then let's do this." Ruby said with a smirk.

The Grimm roared and charged towards the group of young huntress'.

"Let's go!" Yang yelled as everyone went their separate directions.

Ruby landed in front of a pack of Beowolves who were currently charging right at her.

But before they could pounce on the hooded girl, she dug her scythe into the ground and started to kick each individual Beowolf away from her.

Yang ran towards a Creep so that she could launch herself into the air at a very fast velocity.

Once she was in the air, she began to fire shot after shot towards the Grimm on the ground.

Though what she didn't notice was the flock of Nevermore's coming towards her.

Before she could react, one of the Nevermores grabbed her with its massive talons and threw her towards the ground.

Blake was currently dealing with her own set of problems.

She sliced and stabbed at the Beowolves that were coming towards her, and once she was through with them, she pulled out her pistol and started to fire round after round at the oncoming Grimm coming towards her.

On Weiss's side, she was currently stabbing and slashing at the various Grimm that surrounded her, though before any other Grimm could approach her, she summoned a Glyph and slashed at the air, a mirror copy mimicking her movements and slashing down the various Grimm that surrounded her.

"There's too many!" Blake yelled.

"No! We have to do something! We can't just let these people die!" Ruby yelled.

Though before any of them could react, the sound of various screaming noises could be heard coming from one of the shops.

The team spun their heads towards the source of the sound to see a Beringel with various people in its hands.

"No!" Ruby screamed as she desperately ran to save the civilians.

Though before she could reach them, a King Taijitu slithered in front of her, cutting her off.

The team tried desperately to save the people being held captive by the Grimm, but it was too late, by the time they killed the wave of Grimm, the Beringel was already chowing down on the people one by one.

"No... " Ruby said shakily.

The King Taijitu lunged at Ruby, though before it could sink its teeth into the poor girl, Nora was seen coming out from the sky with her hammer reeled backwards.

"Someone call for backup?!" Nora asked.

"Let's move!" Pyrrha yelled as everyone sped off, leaving Jaune in the dust.

"... I thought I was the leader." Jaune pouted as he ran after his teammates.

Nora was seen crushing various Grimm with her hammer, as well as firing various grenades at the Grimm above her.

Ren was quickly assassinating the Grimm that had moved away from it's pack, sticking to a one on one approach.

Pyrrha was seen slashing and stabbing at various Grimm with her spear, as well as moving various metal objects to crush the Grimm.

"Okay… who's first?" Jaune asked.

As if on cue, a fairly large Ursa landed directly behind Jaune.

"Oh... well hey, big guy." He said as he pulled out various seeds from his pocket, as well as a few Dust crystals.

"Do you wanna know what happens when you mix flower seeds with fire Dust... well normally the seeds would just burn but not in this case." Jaune said as he clapped his hands together.

All of a sudden, various wooden trunks started to appear from the ground, impaling the Ursa.

"Whoooo." Nora whistled.

"Guys! Catch!" Jaune yelled as he picked off some sort of plant from the tree and threw it at his teammates.

"Ah, so we're using these. Are you sure it is wise to use these in a city? It will only cause more damage." Ren asked.

"Can't be more than what the Grimm are doing!" Jaune said.

"... Compelling argument." He said.

"Can someone start explaining?! What are those?!" Weiss asked.

Nora's only response was to hit the giant plant with her hammer, sending it flying towards a flock of Nevermore.

After a few seconds, the plant exploded into a massive ball of fire, incinerating the Grimm.

"Bombs. They're bombs." Ren said, throwing his bomb at one of the Ursai packs near him.

Once it was directly in the center, he shot the bud with Storm Flower and, setting it off.

"Whoa! These are pretty bad ass man! I wanna try!" Sun said as he pulled of one of the buds.

"Sun?!" Blake yelled.

"Sup!" He said as he threw one of the buds at a pack of Grimm.

"Where did you even come from?!" Ruby asked.

"Up there." Sun said as he pointed upwards.

Everyone looked up to see a bullhead flying above them.

"Who's flying it thought?" Weiss asked.

To answer her question, the bullhead landed in the middle of the courtyard, revealing Neptune and Scarlet in the cockpit.

"Ladies." Neptune said.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Weiss asked.

"I picked up a few things back in Atlas." He said.

Neptune pulled out his trident and shot it towards Weiss, impaling a Grimm that was directly behind her.

"Watch yourself, okay?" Neptune said with a wink.

Weiss's only resonance was to speed towards Neptune and stab a Grimm that was directly behind him.

"Watch yourself, okay?" Weiss said with a wink.

.

"Well then... that's new." Neptune said.

Though before the battle could continue, the sound of an airship coming from above silenced the battlefield.

Everyone looked up to see a massive air fleet hovering over Vale, each ship open firing on the Grimm below.

Eventually, the Atlesian knights that have been shown in the public dropped out of the airship and towards the city.

As they landed, a few airships made their way down to the city, each ship going to a different district.

"Everyone! Please make your way to the airships!" Everyone heard Ironwood say from a speaker.

The battle was now turning in their favor, and the Grimm were dropping like flies.

"Well... this is bad." Mercury said.

"What now?" Emerald asked.

"... Do what we are here to do. Deceive." Cinder said.

Mercury nodded and ran towards some nearby Grimm.

Emerald nodded and started to walk towards a pack of Beowolves who had just taken notice of her.

She smirked and pulled out her two pistols, open firing on the pack of Grimm as they charged at her.

Though one Grimm wasn't even being phased by her bullets.

'Tch. Figures.' Emerald thought to herself, activating her blades and slashing at the Grimm.

Eventually, she emerged victorious and the Grimm laid on the ground, dead.

During the battle however, one of the Mechs that had been inside of the tunnel emerged, along with Zwei, Port, and Oobleck.

All of a sudden, a pack of Beowolves started to run towards the little pup, though before they could, the sound of a mini-gun spinning cut them off.

"Bout time you guys showed up!" Yang yelled.

"Sorry." Coco said as she smashed one of the Grimm's skulls with her purse.

"Traffic was pretty bad today." She said.

"Let's go!" Velvet yelled as she and Fox ran ahead.

As Yatsuhashi started to walk towards the group, a pack of Grimm started to surround him.

He closed his eyes, unsheathed his sword, and slammed it on the ground.

This caused a fairly large crater to be formed within the city, blowing the other Grimm away from him.

Velvet and Fox were currently at work with their own set of Grimm however, kicking and slashing at each Grimm that came their way.

Fox looked around to see if he could hear any specific Grimm that might be able to turn the tides of the battle.

Eventually, his gaze settled on a Ursai of fairly large size.

He charged towards the Grimm and pumped a good chunk of his aura into it, causing it to explode and the spikes on it's back to go flying towards any Grimm nearby.

"Nice hustle Fox. Good job." Coco said, walking past her blind teammate, giving him a discreet pat on the butt.

Eventually, her gaze settled on a massive Beowolf that stood in front of her.

"Hey, you wouldn't have happened to see a kid with messy black hair, a hoodie and has a ghost coming out of his body anywhere around here?" Coco asked.

The only response she got was the Grimm roaring at her face.

"A simple no would have been alright." She said, activating her minigun and unloading the clip into the various Grimm around her.

"Ha ha ha! I live for this!" Port yelled.

"Eighty five!" Oobleck yelled.

"Eighty six!" He yelled back.

Though before either of them could continue, a little arrow sped past them and started to kill each individual Grimm that was around them.

"Ah...so she's here now." Port said as he looked behind his back to see Peach walking towards them.

Peach started to whistle, causing the hair pin to speed towards the remaining Grimm in the area, killing them instantly.

Once all the Grimm were dead, the hairpin went back into Peach's hair.

"... Whoa." Yang said.

"Honestly, why must you children always make such a mess?" Everyone heard Glynda ask.

Glynda cracked her crop, causing the rubble to go back into its designated area.

"H-hey! Watch it bub!" Everyone heard Roman yell.

"You have the right to remain silent! Anything you can and will-!" One of the officers began.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. You REALLY taught me the error of my ways." He said. "Hey! Watch the hat bub!" Roman yelled.

"... Wow...we did it... we actually did it!" Ruby yelled.

"Yeah we did!" Yang yelled.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Weiss asked.

"Wait!" Jaune yelled as he looked around.

"Where's Brandon?" He asked.

.

"Right." Yang said.

"You mean you forgot?!" Coco yelled.

"We didn't forget! We couldn't find him is all!" She yelled.

"How could you not find him! He sticks out like a sore thumb!" She yelled back.

"I don't know! Why don't you ask him! It's not like he's just gonna fall out of the sky or some-!" Yang began, only for Velvet to cut them off.

"Wait! I hear something!" She said.

"Is it a Grimm?" Coco asked.

"No, I hear it to. It sounds more like... screaming." Blake said.

"What kind?" Ruby asked.

"Like someone's-" She began, only for the sound of a loud crashing sound to cut them off.

"Falling." Blake said.

"I sometimes hate this job." Glynda growled.

"Ugh." Everyone heard a familiar groan.

"Is that-?!" Weiss began, and sure enough, Brandon appeared from within the rubble of the store he crashed in.

"Brandon!" Everyone yelled.

Though from the looks of it, Brandon wasn't exactly paying attention to them.

"Okay, so he caught me off guard! Big deal, happens to me all the time!" He said.

"Uh... who is he talking to?" Weiss asked.

"No idea." Ruby said with a shrug.

"Hey! You're the one who made a contract with ME bub!" Brandon yelled.

"Contract?" Yang asked.

Though little did everyone know, Ironwood was standing right next to the cell where Roman would be held captive and he just so happened to over hear the word 'contract'.

He spun his head towards Brandon with his eyes widened.

"What?! I like to mess with my enemies! It's my charm! Quit fucking it up!" He yelled.

"Brandon!" Coco yelled.

Brandon snapped back into reality and turned to face Coco.

"Oh. Hey guys." He said with one of his hands raised.

"Don't 'hey guys' us! You've been gone for days! Where have you been?!" She asked.

"In the mountain." He said.

"Oh! So he WAS in the mountain!" Coco said as she turned her head towards Yang.

"He wasn't when WE were there!" Yang yelled.

"Ugh, anyway I have TWO questions for you!" She yelled.

"Yeah? Well make em quick, he's probably almost here." He said.

Coco was slightly confused as to what he meant by that, but she pushed it to the side due to her having other things on her mind at the moment.

"Got it, who were you talking to?" Coco asked.

"It's kinda complicated." Brandon said.

"So who are you talking about? Who's going to be here any second no-?" Ruby began, only for the sound of another loud crashing noise to cut her off.

"He is." Brandon said.

Everyone turned to see just who Brandon was talking about.

Once the dust had settled, Yang and Coco both had glares on there faces as they stared at the figures.

Though they were each glaring for a vastly different reason.

"You!" Yang and Coco yelled.

"Oh, hey Neo." Brandon said.

"Neo?!" Roman yelled.

"... Wait, you KNOW her?!" Yang yelled.

"Oh yeah, we go way back." He said.

Yang just stared at him with a mixture of shock, confusion, and slight anger.

"Coco, that's-!" Velvet began.

"Yeah. I know Velv." Coco said with a glare on her face.

Osvaldo was currently attempting to grab Neo with his massive hand, though every time he did, she would shatter into glass.

"Hmm." He hummed as his eyes darted back and forth.

Osvaldo grabbed one of the cars near him and attempted to throw it at Neo.

Though she simply shattered into glass like the last six times he tried to do that to her with a different object.

The car sped towards Brandon at a high velocity, though before it could make contact, Brandon pulled out his newly improved sword and sliced it in half.

"Wait, who are those people?" Jaune asked.

"The big one's Osvaldo, and the little one... I don't really know." Coco said.

"Wait, THAT'S Osvaldo?!" He asked.

"Yeah, you don't just forget someone like him." She said.

"But he looks so... different from when he was on T.V." Jaune said.

"Probably Naomi's work." Blake said.

"So... what's the plan? If you want my suggestion, I say we take em both down." Yang said.

"Right, everyone! Let's go!" Coco said as she turned towards Brandon... or at least she turned towards the spot where he should have been.

"What the-?!" She began, only to spin her head towards Osvaldo to see that Brandon was charging straight at him.

"Are you-?! Ugh!" Coco groaned, activating her mini-gun.

Neo was currently blinking in and out of sight so that she could maintain this level of confusion she had with Osvaldo.

'Just need to keep this up until he wears himself out.' Neo thought to herself.

Though right as she was about to kick Osvaldo across the chin, Osvaldo's body lit up and a wave of fire came out of him.

Neo attempted to dodge the attack, though it was too late, she had been hit by the wave of fire while she was still out of sight.

Osvaldo's eyes snapped open and charged towards Neo, punching her with his massive fist and sending her flying across the courtyard.

Brandon, not expecting the oncoming attack, collided with Neo and the both of them crashed into a nearby car.

"Fire?! Who in the hell gave him fire?!" Brandon asked.

Neo on the other hand was still recovering from the attack, you see her fighting style relied on her not getting hit at all, due to her small and nimble size, she wasn't exactly good at tanking hits.

Though this one hit was different, Neo attempted to get up, but instead, she blinked forward, multiple copies of her moving around the area, each one slowly falling apart.

 _'W-what the hell?! What's happening to me?!'_ She asked as she stared at her hands that were slowly falling apart.

Eventually, she just shattered into tiny bits of glass, only this time she didn't come back.

"... Neo?" Brandon asked.

Osvaldo was just standing there, scanning his surroundings in attempts to formulate a new plan of attack.

"What the hell did you do to her you bastard?!" Roman yelled from within his cell.

Osvaldo looked up to see that an attack airship was flying over him.

He smirked and jumped up into the air and onto the airship.

Once he was on top of the air ship, he ripped off the hood of the cockpit and pulled out the pilot out.

Eventually, the only thing left of the pilot was an empty shell of bone and skin.

Osvaldo took a hold of the ship and threw it at Brandon, to which he simply rolled out of the way of.

"Open fire!" Coco yelled.

Everyone nodded and started to fire their weapons at Osvaldo, to which he simply shrugged off as if he were being hit by pebbles.

"Is that all?" He asked as he picked up another car and threw it at the group.

"Incoming!" Sun yelled as everyone scattered around the courtyard.

Fox attempted to go up and punch Osvaldo, though as he got close, his hand started to burn.

"Gah!" He yelled, reeling his fist backwards.

Yang tried to do the same, though she suffered the same fate as Fox did.

"What the hell?!" Yang yelled.

"We can't even get close to the guy!" Sun yelled.

"Guess the fight with Brandon got his gears turning." Coco growled.

Osvaldo growled, though before he could charge at Coco, Brandon was seen slowly walking towards the massive man.

"What is he doing?" Velvet whispered.

"Heck if I know." Coco said.

Brandon stood in front of Osvaldo and nodded.

"Yeah, I hear ya." He said as his aura started to flare to life.

All of a sudden, the silhouette of Caliber started to appear from behind the boy. Though unlike the last times he had used the spirit, it's figure was actually becoming more clear than before.

Suddenly, the ears of Blake and Velvet started to twitch.

"Wait, I can hear something." Velvet said.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, I can hear it too." Blake said.

"... I can hear it too! It kinda sounds like... laughter." Ruby said.

Eventually, everyone could hear the sound of laughter coming from the spirit that was standing behind Brandon.

Osvaldo attempted to reach for Brandon, but the spirit merely punched the man away, causing a massive shock wave to spread all throughout the area.

After a few more seconds, Brandon roared into the sky, causing his aura to flare wildly. Once the dust had settled, the spirit could be seen hovering above Brandon in all it's glory.

 _ **"Good afternoon everyone."** _ He said. _**"Hmm, it appears we have some familiar faces in the audience today. Allow me to formally introduce myself."**_ He said as he took off his hat.

 _ **"My name is Caliber. It is a pleasure to finally meet all of you."**_

Everyone started at Caliber in shock and awe, not believing what was right in front of them.

"What the hell?" Coco asked.

Osvaldo stepped back a few feet, shocked at the sudden sight of Caliber.

 _ **"So you have finally called upon me."** _ He said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, wouldn't shut up about it." Brandon said.

"Shall we?" Caliber asked.

"You should know the answer to that already." He said with a smirk.

"Very well." He said as he turned towards Osvaldo.

"What in the-?!" Osvaldo began.

 _ **"Osvaldo Gervinho, a man who has allowed the rage of his fallen lover to blind him.**_ " Caliber began, causing Osvaldo's eyes to widen.

 _ **"The day of judgment has come, and the boy and I shall be your jury. You shall not run from your crimes any longer."** _ He said as he pointed his finger at the Faunus.

Brandon's eyes shot open, causing him to charge towards the man with a determined look in his eyes. The man raised his arms up to block the oncoming attack, though the force of Caliber's restored strength proved to be too much even for the giant of a man.

As the swordsman struck at Osvaldo, rather than just the silhouette of Caliber appeared from behind him, the entirety of the spirit was seen standing behind charged forward and started to deliver a series of kicks and punches to the massive man.

Brandon ran towards Osvaldo with his blade held high. The blade itself was glowing with a platinum aura, the wind around him starting to pick up.

The swordsman roared and struck at the man with his new found blade, causing a very visible wound to appear on Osvaldo's arm.

Caliber caught his master with little to no effort, chuckling all the while.

 _ **"Well done, my boy."**_ He said.

Blood could be seen dripping down the man's arm as he stood on the ground, breathing heavily. He attempted to get up from the stone floor, though the damage he had taken proved to be too much for the man.

Letting out a sudden gasp, Osvaldo returned to his usual form.

"Nowhere to run this time." Brandon said with a smirk.

Osvaldo just sat there in silence, his eye's devoid of any form of rage, malice, or emotion.

"If you are going to kill me then do it. I will not stop you from exacting vengeance for the ones that have fallen." He said as he closed his eyes.

Though before anyone could take action, the spirit quickly held his hand outwards, causing the sudden gust of wind to stop everyone dead in their tracks.

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

 _ **"Not yet."**_ He said as he lowered himself down to the ground.

"What?" Osvaldo asked.

 _ **"The land of the living is not through with you just yet."** _ Caliber said

"...Do as you wish." He said.

Eventually, the authorities took Osvaldo away, along with Roman Torchwick.

Meanwhile, everyone was crowded around Caliber with looks of shock and awe.

 _ **"Uh... can I have an explanation as to why everyone is insistent on flocking towards me?"** _ Caliber asked.

"He can... talk." Coco said.

 _ **"Indeed. I have been watching you all for quite some time now."**_ He said.

"Watching us?" Ruby asked.

 _ **"Well, I am a part of the boy here. His eyes are my eyes as well."** _ Caliber said.

"Wow, so you've been watching us since the very beginning?" Ruby asked.

 _ **"Indeed."** _ He said.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Coco asked.

 _ **"Yes? What is it, my dear?"** _ Caliber asked.

"Why did you spare Osvaldo? With your power, you could have easily killed him." She said.

 _ **"Spare is not the word I would have used, my dear. I prefer the word, repent."**_ He said.

"Ah... I see." Coco said.

 _ **"He shall spend the rest of his life in solitude now, so he shall have time to think upon his actions."** _ Caliber said.

 _ **"We spirits believe that there are worse fates then death."**_ He said.

"Yeah. This seemed like a fitting punishment for him, death would have been the easy road out of here." Brandon said.

 _ **"Ah, I believe it is just about time."** _ Caliber said.

"Time for what?" He asked.

Caliber simply raised the palm of his hand outwards and all of a sudden, Neo reappeared from sight, gently falling into his hand.

"Neo?!" Brandon called out.

"You!" Yang yelled.

Neo's eyes fluttered open before attempting to sit up.

 _ **"Allow me."** _ Caliber said as he gently placed Neo back onto the ground.

Neo just blinked at Caliber's figure for a few seconds before turning to Brandon and pointing at Caliber.

"You know that smoke figure you saw in the cage?" He asked.

Neo nodded.

"That's him." Brandon said as he pointed at Caliber.

 _ **"Greetings, my dear."**_ Caliber said as he took off his top hat.

"... So... you KNOW her?!" Yang yelled.

"Yeah, I know Neo. You got a problem with that?" Brandon asked.

"A problem?! She worked for ROMAN TORCHWICK! Of course I have a problem with this!" She said.

"Worked. Past tense, she doesn't work for him anymore." He said.

"Oh that's just wonderful! How about we all just dance around in the fields of friendship now!" Yang said sarcastically.

"So... you wanna join my team? I have three spots open." Brandon said.

Neo shrugged and nodded.

.

"WHAT?!" Yang, Weiss, and Blake yelled.

"Congrats, you've officially become the newest member of team... team I guess." Brandon said.

Neo simply raised one of her eyebrows at him.

"It's a work in progress." He said.

"How can you be alright with this?!" Weiss asked.

"She's my friend. How can I not?" Brandon asked.

"B-but she's a criminal! She played a part in all of this!" Blake yelled.

"Meh, no one's perfect." He said.

"Ruby, you can't be alright with this!" Yang said.

Ruby took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"Do you trust her?" Ruby asked.

"She's the one who let me out of the cage so yeah, I do." Brandon said.

"Then I'm willing to give her a chance." She said.

"... Wait... YOU let him out?!" Yang asked.

Neo nodded at Yang's question.

"... Why?" She asked.

Neo pulled out her scroll and began to type her response.

 _ **"I wanted to."**_ She said.

"You wanted to?" Weiss asked.

Neo nodded at Weiss's question.

"Why would you work for someone like Roman?" Blake asked.

 **"He's family. I couldn't just leave him."** Neo said.

"He's... family?" She asked.

 **"Uncle to be more specific."** She said.

"Okay, now I just have one question for you. Why didn't you attack me?" Yang asked.

 **"I promised him that I wouldn't hurt any of you."** Neo said.

"Promised?" She asked.

 **"Yeah. I'm a lot of things, but treacherous isn't one of them."** She said.

"Why would you want to dig a trench?" Ruby asked.

"You dunce! It means she's not a traitor to the ones who trust her!" Weiss said.

.

.

"Fine." Yang said.

"Yang?" Blake asked.

"I'll give you ONE chance! You better not waste it." She said.

 **"Oh, your kindness brings a tear to my eye!** " Neo teased.

"I hate you." Yang said.

"... Fine. If Ruby and Brandon are willing to give you a chance, then I suppose I can." Weiss said.

"... I guess it would be hypocritical of me to not to give you a second chance. I mean, I got one, why shouldn't you?" Blake asked.

"... So, now that we've got all buddy buddy, can we go now? I'm dying to catch some Z's on an actual bed." Brandon said.

"Yeah, I think we all deserve some rest after today." Ruby said as everyone started to walk.

'... Heh, maybe this won't be as bad as I thought.' Neo thought.

"Hey! You coming or what?!" Brandon asked.

Neo nodded and started to follow her new teammate.

 _'Teammate. That's a nice word.'_ She thought to herself.

* * *

"Thirty people. Dead. Ninety people found injured." Ironwood said.

"Yes, we are quite aware of how many people suffered. Peach is tending to her patients." Glynda said.

"We can't keep ignoring this, Oz! This is probably just one of the enemies MANY assaults." He said.

"And how do you suggest we do that, James?! The people are already tense as it is!" She asked.

"We go out, find the people responsible for this attack and bring them down!" Ironwood said.

"Oh, because THAT won't just cause even more panic! Why not just put the final nail in the coffin?!" She asked.

"That's not-!" Ironwood began.

"Enough!" Ozpin shouted, silencing the duo.

"I understand your reasons, James, but Glynda is right, the people are tense and they are only one attack away from absolute panic. We must not be so hasty." Ozpin said.

"But-" Ironwood began.

"James. I would want nothing more than to stop this madness once and for all. But we must make sure that we do not breathe more madness to the world." He said.

.

"You saw it, right Ozpin?" Ironwood said.

"Everyone in Vale saw it, James." Glynda said.

"Fantastic. So what are we going to do about it? She's bound to have noticed by now." He said.

"We realize that, so what do you suggest we do?" She asked.

"Tighten our security. More scouts out around the border! Anything we can do, we have to do it now!" Ironwood said.

"James." Glynda began.

"What else would you have me do?! I have brought to you my entire army, and you suggest I don't use it?! If I cannot use it for the threat at hand then at least let me prevent any further threats from getting in!" He said.

"... He does have a point there." She said.

"I understand that you are against this, but I... wait, could you repeat that?" Ironwood asked.

"I agree. We should do whatever we can to prevent any further threats from rising. It will only bring panic to the city, and with the recent events of today, I doubt anyone in Vale would object." Glynda said.

"R-right! Thank you, Glynda." He said.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's just, I'm not exactly accustomed to you agreeing with me... ever" Ironwood said.

"Oh come now, I don't disagree with you on everything." She said.

"... Right." He said.

"Very well, if you think that is necessary, I will allow it. With the recent events, I doubt the people of Vale will object to extra security." Ozpin said.

"Thank you, Ozpin." Ironwood said.

"I would hold off on the security, Jimmy." A very raspy voice said from the other side of the room.

Glynda and Ironwood turned to see a man leaning on the wall of Ozpin's office.

The man had graying black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. With a red, tattered cloak, he wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.

"Qrow?!" Ironwood and Glynda said.

"The one and only." He said as he took a sip from his flask.

Ozpin just sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking up.

"Qrow... why are you here?" Ozpin asked.

"You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" Ironwood said.

"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy." He said.

"You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you that our enemy is here." Qrow said.

"We know." Ironwood said.

"Oh! Oh you know! Well thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!" He said.

"Qrow." He began.

"Communications a two way street, pal. You see this? That's the send button!" Qrow said.

"... Go on." Ironwood said.

"Your little 'infiltrator' isn't just another pawn. They're the ones responsible for Autumn's condition." He said.

"What?!" Glynda asked.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, generals, or headmasters. The people in this room and the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones who keep the world safe from the evil's no one even knows about." Qrow said.

"It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So tell me something, James. What in the HELL were you thinking when you brought your army to Vale? Did you think you were being discrete, or did you not give a damn?!" He asked.

"... Discrete wasn't working." Ironwood said as he placed his scroll onto the desk, causing a hologram of the kingdom to appear.

"I'm here because THIS is what was necessary." He said.

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!" Qrow said.

"And I'm grateful." Ironwood said.

"Well, you've got a real funny way of showing it." He said.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them. Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength." He said.

.

"Heh heh heh." Qrow began to chuckle.

"You think they're scared of your little ships?! I've been out there, I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you. They are fear." He said.

"And fear will bring the Grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now. A question in the back of everyone's minds. If THIS is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?" Ozpin said.

Ironwood sighed before taking the scroll off of the desk.

"So then what would you suggest we do then?" Ironwood asked.

"I think it's about time we found our guardian." He said.

.

"She's here, Oz." Qrow said.

"What?" Ozpin asked.

"You told me to keep an eye on her, and I'm telling. She's here and she's in Vale." He said.

"What?! But how?! There's no way she could move that fast!" Ironwood said.

Qrow sighed before taking a sip of his flask.

"It doesn't matter how she got here, she might have been in the area. But one fact is clear now." He said.

"Raven is coming." Qrow said.

* * *

Meanwhile, on a mountain top that looked over all of Vale, a white hooded figure stood on a cliff, looking over the kingdom of Vale as it shone over the night sky.

 _ **"You seem...troubled, mistress."** _ A female voice said.

"You sensed it too, didn't you Agnus?" She asked the newly named Agnus.

 _ **"Yes, one of our dear brothers has awakened."**_ Agnus said.

 _ **"Brother? Brother has awakened?"**_ A deep male voice asked.

 _ **"Yes, dear Lupus. Brother has awoken from his very long slumber."** _ Agnus said to the newly named Lupus.

 _ **"Good, it has been quite some time since we have seen dear brother."**_ Lupus said.

 _ **"Yes, ten years if I am correct."**_ She said.

 _ **"Ten years... shorter than I remember."** _ He said.

 ** _"Time, is but an irrelevant afterthought for us, dear Lupus."_** Agnus said.

"So... he's forged a contract, hasn't he?" The woman asked.

 _ **"That is the only way to awaken the spirits so yes, the boy has forged a contract."** _ Agnus said.

The woman giggle lightly before responding.

"It was a rhetorical question, Agnus." She said.

 _ **"Oh... terribly sorry, mistress."** _ Agnus said.

The woman stared out into Vale and sighed.

"Perhaps it's time to pay our friend a little visit." She said.

 ** _"Ah, it has been quite a while since brother and I have had a hunt, I can feel the exhilaration flowing deep within my soul!"_ ** Lupus said with a loud laugh.

"Don't get too excited now, we'll only be there for a brief period of time." The woman said.

 _ **"A shame."** _ He said.

 _ **"This seems like the best course of action, mistress."**_ Agnus said.

"Agnus, what did I tell you before?" The woman asked.

 _ **"That formalities are unnecessary."** _ She said.

"Good, now try again." The woman said.

 _ **"Very well. This seems like the best course of action, Summer."** _ Agnus said.

"That's the way! Now let's get moving, I'm sure you two are eager to be reunited with your brother." Summer said as she moved through the forest.

* * *

 **So... Vol two is done... well at least the canon Vol 2 and the contract was made.**

 **Not only that but guess I DID manage to bring Neo over to my side.**

 **Guess all it took was for me to put my life at risk again.**

 **Who knew.**

 **Anyways, Vol 3 is just around the corner, so the stakes are high right now.**

 **But I'm glad I was able to forge the contract before Beacon fell.**

 **Stakes are high, eh Caliber?**

 **Indeed, the day of judgment shall soon come for our dear Cinder.**

 **Yeah, until then, we have time to prepare.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Caliburn?**

 **Don't worry, a lot of people make that mistake. Also yeah, I agree, SI inserts don't always need to have the Self Inserted character in them. Sometimes it's nice to have someone other than them on the screen.**

 **Also I haven't really considered it.**

 **olTran: Interesting question, young one. If you want my honest answer, I would do whatever it took to escape from that well. There is nothing worse than the feeling of captivity.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King: See, you didn't need my help to begin with.**

 **TrueNecromancer: Don't worry, I won't turn Zwei into Iggy... that is if he doesn't meet anyone who acts like Vanilla Ice. Also don't push yourself, if you don't have anything to say, it's cool.**

 **Guest: Well here you go.**

 **TheoMidnight: I can see why writers like to do this, it's fun! Also thanks, glad you liked it.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Indeed.**

 **WarriorOfHell-RulerOfDeath: The Crazy Train? I prefer the words, train to revolution.**

 **fanficcyberman:**

 **1\. You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **2\. Same thing in canon really.**

 **3\. A contract has been formed.**

 **DragonLord501st: I only said it wasn't time manipulation, I never said it wouldn't be Summer.**

 **Ragnorak16: Glad you liked it. Expect more in the future.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire:... Okay.**

 **Onerom2018: I'll try, but the teachers never had to much screen time to begin with**.

* * *

Blake tries to make Caliber like her.

"Then I said, now that's a katana!" Ruby said.

"Ha! Good one Rubes!" Yang said.

"... I don't get it." Weiss said.

"Oh come on Weiss! Clearly Ruby is talking about a-" She began, only to cut herself off at the sight of Blake towing various boxes behind her.

.

"Uh... should we-?" Yang began.

"Yeah, let's." Weiss said as she started to follow Blake.

"Okay, so I've got this, that, and... oh! What if he doesn't like the brand of tea! Oh maybe I should-!" Blake began, only to be cut off by Ruby.

"What's in the box?" She asked.

"Gah!" Blake yelped.

"Wait, are these... gifts?!" Yang asked.

"N-no!... Yes." She said with a blush on her face.

"Aw, does Blake have a little crush on someone?" She teased.

"N-no! I just thought this would be a good gift of friendship is all!" Blake said.

"Well, come on, give us the goods!" Yang said.

"I told you it's not like that!" She yelled.

"Then what's with all these gifts?... Especially the one that says 'please do nothing to the cat.'?" She asked.

"... They're for... Caliber." Blake said.

"You mean the spirit?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, that's the one." She said.

"Why though?" Ruby asked.

"Because I want him to like me! Now that he can communicate with us, I can finally try and make peace with him!" Blake said.

"Then why were you acting as if you had a crush on someone?!" Yang asked.

"I'm sorry that I think it's embarrassing that I'm trying to impress a ghost!" Blake said.

"So how did you figure out his likes and dislikes? He only started talking a few days ago." Ruby said.

"Well, Caliber said that he was a part of Brandon, so I thought that if I studied Brandon's daily routine, I would get a better idea on what to get him!" She said.

"So you stalked him?" Yang asked.

"I did not stalk him!" Blake said.

* * *

Earlier.

Brandon was just sitting on the couch flipping through the channels when suddenly, he felt a chill go down his spine.

 _'What the-?'_ He thought as he looked around the room.

.

 _'Must be imagining things.'_ Brandon thought as he continued to flip through the channels.

Though little did he know, Blake was peering out of a flower pot with a notepad in her hands.

* * *

Earlier... again.

Brandon was walking down the streets of Vale in attempts to find a restaurant.

Though every few seconds, he would spin his head around to see if anyone was following him.

This was a feeling he had been feeling for the past two days, and so far he hasn't found anyone.

 _'Jeez, maybe being stuck in a cage really messed with my head.'_ He thought as he continued his walk.

.

Though little did he know, Blake was peering through a newspaper with two eye holes poked through it.

* * *

Earlier yet again.

Brandon was just sitting in the bathroom, doing what he usually did in the bathroom when suddenly he felt a chill go up his sp-

"Geez! Can't a guy get some privacy?! At least when he's taking a dump!" Brandon yelled at Blake who could be clearly seen behind the curtains.

* * *

Present.

"So during my research, I have made a list of things that Brandon likes." Blake said as she pulled out her notepad.

Though before she could read it, Neo and Emerald snatched the notepad out of her hands.

"What the-?!" Blake tried to say.

Neo and Emerald were currently looking to see if their names were on the list of things that Brandon likes.

.

"Here." Emerald said as she handed the notepad back.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go take a bath. With a toaster." She grumbled.

Everyone turned around to see that Neo was repeatedly hitting her head on the nearest wall, as well as one of her tiny fists.

"... Anyways! Let's see if he likes them or not!" Blake said as she knocked on Brandon's door.

"Come in." He said from the other side of the door.

"Hello!" Blake said.

"Oh... it's you." Brandon said.

"Yep! Me! Good friend Blake!" She said with a nervous smile.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I want to speak with Caliber!" Blake said.

Brandon gazed off into the distance as if he were spacing out.

"I don't know why! Just come out!" He said.

Sure enough, Caliber appeared from Brandon's body.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I, Blake Belladonna, have brought you gifts!" She said.

Caliber looked around the room before pointing at himself.

"Me?" Caliber asked.

"Yeah! Here you go!" Blake said as she put the boxes in front of him.

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff." Brandon said.

Caliber started to open the boxes one by one.

"My word! I have not had this tea ever since my time with the king! Ah the nostalgia." He said.

"Good! So does that mean we can be friends?" Blake asked.

The only response she got was for Caliber to punch her through the wall of the dorm.

"Ha ha! You're quite the joker." He said.

.

"Why do you hate her in the first place?" Brandon asked.

"I don't. I just find this joke quite amusing." He said.

* * *

 **Weapon Spirit: Caliber**

 **Appearance: Caliber wears knight's armor like the ones they wore in the medieval ages, though there were some significant differences that set it apart.**

 **The shoulder pads were much larger than on the original armor they wore, and the chest plate had an open area which revealed a suit of some sort. The suit was a simple white dress suit with a black overcoat on it. On the suit was a locket of some sort and a black tie that was neatly wrapped around the collar of the suit.**

 **Caliber wears an black overcoat of some sort as well, the coat somehow being attacked to the shoulder pads on his shoulders. The coat itself reaches down to his knees, and the outline of the coat was glowing with a silver aura of some sort.**

 **He wears the average knight's lower half, though there were some parts of the armor, specifically the thigh area, that were made of some sort of fabric, and his greaves looked more like boots than actual armor.**

 **Caliber still wears the same knight's visor and mouth guard you would see on a knight, but that's about all he had in terms of a helmet. The back of the helmet was just flowing with some sort of blue aura, and to finish it all off, he wore a top hat with a black ribbon wrapped around it.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: D**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 66**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 49**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 37**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 19**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	45. The Aftermath

**Hello** **readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Aftermath"

Thought: _'The Aftermath'_

Flashback: _"The Aftermath"_

The day following the breach were very...eventful to say the least. People from all across Vale were stressing out over possible White Fang attacks that could happen now that they had taken such a public attack. Now there were not one, but TWO of the White Fang's elite members behind bars.

Now you'd think this would slightly calm down the citizens of Vale, though this was not the case in the long run. People were more concerned at the fact that they were in the same city as them, rather than feeling safe at the fact of them being held in captivity.

Can't really blame em though, I mean if they were THAT dangerous to begin with then they probably could have broken out of prison by now.

Though that raises a question in my mind.

Why HAVEN'T they broken out of prison yet? I mean with Osvaldo and Veronica there I seriously doubt that they would have any trouble breaking out of the place, either by force or in the shadows.

So what are they waiting for?

I thought after this whole thing was done I would have some of the answers to the questions I've been asking myself ever since I encountered the Phantoms, though as you can clearly see, this isn't the case.

If anything I have more questions than I do answers, these guys are a lot more crafty than they were in the show.

In the show, they were just a bunch of stumbling idiots that weren't really all that much of a threat without Cinder doing all the planning from the get-go.

Now? They're was actually an elite group of White Fang members that I actually have to worry about...well maybe I don't have to worry about ALL of the Phantom members.

If what Naomi said is still true, then she doesn't see me as an enemy anymore. Guess accidentally helping someone discover a clue that might lead to the remnants of there forgotten past will do that to ya.

I mean I'm not complaining, that means there's one less Faunus that I have to possibly worry about.

I say possibly because she's still part of the White Fang, and she could attack me out of the blue because she's ordered to.

From what I've gathered from those tapes she's more of a machine than she is an actual living being.

Sure she still has SOME shred of humanity left in her, but it's still pretty faint to be honest. I mean, everything from her tone of voice to the way she acts just screams robotic.

I do want her to find her past and all that, nobody deserves to not know who they really are, though it's kinda hard to do that when she's part of the organization that literally wants my head on a silver platter.

.

.

Well maybe gold, I'd say I'm worth more than silver.

So, that's why I've decided to take matters into my own hands.

What do I mean by this you may ask? Well I'll tell you what I mean in a fairly simple, yet complex matter.

I'm going to help each of the Phantoms with there problems without then actually knowing I'm the one who's helping them.

Now how am I going to pull this off exactly?

Well I'm going to take a page out of Ozpin's book and work from the shadows, that means that I won't be getting the help of team RWBY, JNPR, or any of the others with this little side operation of mine.

Though I may pick up a few allies along the way, people who are willing to stay under the shadows, maybe do a few...lawfully questionable things for the good of the people.

I mean Ironwood and Ozpin are doing that but we all know how THAT turned out in the long run.

Not to say that their reasons aren't just, it's just that Ironwoods methods are to direct, and Ozpin's methods are a bit to passive. Not only that but with the counsels eye's on them, Ozpin probably couldn't do a whole lot with the situation that was in front of him.

That's where I come in.

My name isn't in the counsels records, the only thing they have to go off of is the legal records that Ozpin made so I could join this academy in the first place.

To the counsels knowledge, I never existed until now, which makes it perfect for me to slip in between the cracks.

So in a way, my method will be both passive, and direct at the same time.

I'll be right in there face the entire time, and the best part? They won't even know it was me until it's too late.

First, I'm going to try and look into this little project that Naomi was working on because from the sound of it, it sounds like it could be tied into Penny and her creation.

After that, I'll have to do my best to find what little of Naomi's past I have right now.

Only thing I can actually go off of is those vague audio clips I had of her past, and that ocarina she had with her that is somehow linked to her past.

So yeah...not a lot to work with here.

Osvaldo will definitely be easier.

Now I know what you're probably thinking. Why the hell would I want to help someone who tried to kill me on multiple occasions?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for his sake.

It's just that the thought of a person who murdered someone because they were a Faunus and got away with it really doesn't sit to well with my consciousness.

Not only that, I'll show the Fang that not all humans are just piles of shit, and I thought bringing down or turning in a man who got away with murdering one of there kind was the best way to go about it.

I've even got a few allies in mind right now.

Neo is definitely going to be one of them, no doubt in my mind that she wouldn't hesitate to support something like this.

As for my second ally, well it's not going to be as simple as I'd like.

It's not a matter of convincing him to support this little cause of mine, it's more of convincing the higher uppers to let him into our ranks in the first place.

Ozpin might be more open to it, he's actually seen what I could do when I actually put my mind to it.

Ironwood's the one I'm mainly worried about.

I know he wouldn't agree to this idea in the first place, which is why I'm really riding on Ozpin's trust and my potential alley's cooperation for this to work.

It's a pretty big gamble to be honest, but I'm going to have to get used to if I'm going to accomplish this goal of mine.

Then there's Mercury and Emerald.

Ho boy are they gonna be tough to convince, especially now since they know I'm the one who's been messing with them.

So much for keeping my identity secret from Cinder, now she know's who I am, what I can do, and just how much of a threat I can become given the opportunity.

Can never catch a break, can I?

Then again, my life has been filled with nothing but trouble since day one of arriving of Remnant, and with my line of work, more trouble is bound to be on it's way.

Only a matter of time really.

 ** _"You are making quite the gamble here, my boy."_** I heard Caliber say from within my head.

Speaking of trouble.

 _ **"I can still hear you."**_ He said.

"Well excuse me, I'm just not used to having a voice in my head talking to be on a regular basis." I said dryly as I stood inside of the elevator.

 _ **"You'll get used to it in time."**_ Caliber said.

"Believe me, I know." I said.

 _ **"So, are you certain that this is a wise decision? The general will not be pleased to hear your proposition in the slightest."**_ He said.

"I am VERY aware of that. Doubt anyone will be happy with this decision if both sides agree to the terms." I said.

 _ **"I'm sure the crime boss will be most pleased, my boy. I mean, you are attempting to break him out of prison."**_ Caliber said.

"Okay so ONE person will be happy with my decision. Also 'break out'? I think, bailing him out would be a better term to use." I said.

 _ **"Same outcome, different words. Honestly I never got why you humans have so many different words that mean the exact same thing."**_ He said.

"I'm thinking a few words right now." I grumbled.

Though before we could continue our conversation, the elevator rung, signaling that we had reached the top of the tower.

 _ **"Looks like this is our stop."**_ Caliber said.

I walked out of the elevator and pushed the button that acted as some sort of door bell for Ozpin's office.

"Who is it?" Ozpin asked.

"It's the pizza man!...Who do you think it is?" I asked.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. Please, do come in." I heard him say as the doors opened.

As I walked in, I could see Ironwood standing next to Ozpin's desk.

"Hello, Mr. Kim. I was just talking to the professor here, I won't be a moment." Ironwood said.

.

.

Well...how convenient.

"Actually, it's really good that you're here because I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something." I said.

"Oh? Is that so?" Ozpin asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, just a little idea that popped into my brain." I said.

"Is it important?" Ironwood asked.

"Could be." I said.

Ironwood stood there for a couple of seconds before nodding to himself.

"Okay, what is this idea of yours?" He asked.

Good! Got him to actually listen to what I have to say! Step one is complete.

 _ **"I do believe it is time for our next course of action."**_ Caliber said from within my head.

"Yeah, I know." I said.

"We're all ears, Mr. Kim. I am quite interested with this idea of yours if it is having YOU come to ME." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, well don't get used to it, Oz." I said.

I took a deep breath and exhaled before clapping my hands together.

"So!...I'm just going to get straight to the point. I want you guys to let me talk to Roman." I said.

Ironwood just stood there for a couple of seconds before taking off his glove to his metal hand.

"What are you-?" I began, only for one of Ironwood's metal finger's to pop open, revealing a needle.

Before I could ask what the needle was for, Ironwood jammed it into my arm and started to suck some of my blood out of my body.

"W-what the hell is your deal?!" I asked.

Ironwood rolled up his sleeve and opened some sort of console on his arm.

"Hmm, no he doesn't seem to be under the affect of any sort of drug." Ironwood said.

"A little warning would have been nice!" I yelled.

"Okay, so now that we know that Mr. Kim isn't under the affect of any sort of drug, I do have to ask. Why the sudden urge to go see Torchwick?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, you know that girl I brought to school with me?" I asked.

"I was meaning to bring that up, but I thought I would keep away from the affair's of your love life." He said.

"W-what?! No! She's not my girlfriend!" I yelled.

 _ **"The way you gaze upon her figure sometimes say's differently."**_ Caliber said with a chuckle.

"You shut the hell up!" I yelled.

 _ **"Now that I think about it, you also gaze upon the thief in a similar manner."**_ He said with a chuckle.

"I said shut the hell up!" I yelled.

"Can we get back to the topic at hand?" Ironwood asked.

"Indeed." Ozpin said with a chuckle.

Tch, glad to see someone is enjoying this.

"So yeah, her name is Neopolitan. Though I just call her Neo for short." I said.

"Okay, so what does Ms. Politan have to do with you wanting to talk to Torchwick?" Ironwood said.

Ms. Politan huh? Never thought about calling her that...or anyone for that matter.

"She's Roman's niece." I said.

Ironwood and Ozpin just sat there for a couple of moments before Ironwood eventually broke the ice by speaking up.

"His...niece." He asked.

"Hmm, I did not take Torchwick for a uncle. It appears we all learn something new everyday." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine. Currently staying in my dorm room right now." I said.

"Okay, so if she's the niece of one of the most dangerous crime bosses in Vale then why on Remnant would you bring her here?" Ironwood asked in a stern tone.

"I asked if she wanted to join up with me, she said yes, now's she's here." I said.

"And it didn't cross your mind for a second that this might be one of Torchwick's plans?" He asked.

"Not really, no. Still hasn't." I said.

"Oh, and why is that, Mr. Kim?" Ozpin asked.

"I've known Neo for quite some time now, and she's had more than enough opportunities to stab me in the back. If there's one thing I know Neo's NOT, it's a traitor to the people she trusts." I said.

"So you're asking us to blindly trust her?" Ironwood asked.

"No. I'm asking you to trust me, I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." I said.

Ironwood just stood there for a couple of moments before turning to Ozpin.

Ozpin stared back at his old friend and nodded.

"Fine. But she's your responsibility, you will be held accountable for her actions." Ironwood said.

"Great, so now we have our bargaining chip." I said.

"Bargaining chip?" Ironwood asked.

"Well...part of it at least." I said.

Ironwood just stood there for a couple of seconds before his eye's narrowed.

"What are you suggesting?" He asked.

"Well, you want information on the enemy, right?" I asked.

"How are you aware of that?" Ironwood asked.

"I was in the center of one of there main operations, I've heard a few things." I said with a shrug.

"...What are you planning?" He asked.

"Well, we you just so happen to have the one man who was the head of most of there big operations. Not only that but we just so happen to have his precious little niece in our very school...don't tell Neo I called her that." I said.

"So you're suggesting we use his niece as a hostage?" Ironwood asked.

"No, that will only piss him off and make it more likely for him to back stab us in the end." I said.

"Then what do you propose we do?" He asked.

"I suggest...we make a deal." I said.

"A deal? With Roman Torchwick?" Ironwood asked.

"That's what I said." I said.

Ironwood just stood there before pinching the brim of his nose.

"You can't be-." He began, only for Ozpin to cut him off.

"Hold on, James. He might be onto something." He said with a smirk.

"Oz! Are you honestly considering this?" Jame asked.

"Thank you Ozpin, knew I could count on ya." I said, pointing at Ozpin with a smirk on my face.

"I am merely considering the opportunity." He said.

"That's good enough for me. Besides, it's a win win situation for us. If it all goes well, then we just got a shit tone of information on our enemy, and if it doesn't go well, then we just keep him behind bars." I said.

"Hmm, you make a compelling argument, though what do YOU hope to gain out of allying yourself with Roman?" Ozpin asked.

"Call it returning the favor for all the times Neo saved my ass." I said.

"Ah, so you are merely repaying a debut?" He asked.

"Something like that, yeah." I said.

"Hmm...what are the conditions of this deal you have in mind?" He asked.

"Well, I need to know that everyone is on board with this idea." I said as I turned my head towards Ironwood.

Ozpin also turned towards the good general himself.

"Well? What do you say general? You've got nothing left to loose. Just one man, you've got an entire army." I said with a smirk.

.

.

"Fine. What are the conditions?" He asked.

"Glad to see that you're on board, good general." I said.

"The conditions, what are they?" Ironwood asked.

"Okay, so here's what I've got in mind." I said as I rubbed my hands together.

"Neo is probably the only precious thing that Roman has at this moment, and that's where we strike our deal." I said.

"How exactly did Ms. Politan wind up with Torchwick?" Ironwood asked.

"Long story short, Grimm, dead parents, mom was good friends with Roman, Roman promised to take care of Neo, and now we're here." I said.

"Hmm, very well. Go on." He said.

"So, this is where YOU need to come in, Oz." I said.

"Oh?" He asked.

"You were able to make records for me to get into Beacon, you can sure as hell make them for Neo." I said.

"Ah, so offer his niece a proper education, interesting methods you have there, Mr. Kim." Ozpin said.

"Though he might see through this rouse and see that we were going to place her in Beacon to begin with." I said.

"True, very true." He said.

"You were going to do that? Despite her criminal past?" Ironwood asked.

Ozpin's only response was to pull out a binder with various papers that all contained transcripts under Neo's name.

"...You never cease to surprise me, Oz." He said.

"So, this is going to be the tricky part. Especially with you, Oz." I said.

"I can manage." Ozpin said.

"Okay, so what if there was a way where he could give us all the info we need, and in return, he's still able to be there for Neo and get rid of his criminal past?" I asked.

Ozpin closed his eye's before a smirk appeared on his face.

"My, that is quite the interesting proposition you have there." He said.

"What? What exactly is he suggestion here?" Ironwood asked.

"Here's the deal. He gives us information about who exactly we're fighting against, and in return, we give Neo a position here in Beacon, we revoke him of all the charges he was charged for, as well as a job in Beacon academy." I said.

.

.

"You can't be-?!" Ironwood began.

"Very well." Ozpin said as he stood up from his chair.

"Oz!" He said.

"We will only offer him this position if he accepts these terms. He must answer every question we ask of him, no exceptions what so ever. Am I clear?" Ozpin asked.

"Crystal." I said.

"Then we have a deal." He said as he shook my hand.

"Well...almost." I said, turning my head towards Ironwood once again.

"General? Do we have a deal?" Ozpin asked.

Ironwood just stood there in silence before sighing heavily.

"This has to be one of the most stupidest idea's I've ever heard of." He said.

"Meh, you get used to it." I said with a smirk.

"...You truly are Ozpin's student." He said with a chuckle.

"Great! Now...I need you to drive me to the prison where he's being held in...I can't drive." I said.

"Well, driving there would prove to be quite difficult to begin with." He said, pointing towards his main ship of operation.

"...Right." I said, scratching the back of my head.

"You would also need a figure of authority with you, and being a general, headmaster, and counsel member, I'm sure that won't be to much of an issue." Ironwood said.

"You're a life saver Ironwood, real hero." I said cheekily.

"Hah, you've really rubbed off on him Oz." He sighed as he started to walk out of the office.

"Hmm, maybe." Ozpin said with a smirk.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready." I said.

"You seem fairly ready to me." He said.

"I'm going to strike a deal with Vale's most dangerous crime bosses. I need to look dressed for the occasion." I said, walking out of the room.

Though as I started to walk out, Ozpin started to chuckle, pulling out the same photo of team STQR, Ironwood, and himself from twenty years ago.

"They may be alike in some ways, but there resolve is what sets them apart, my dear general." He said to himself.

* * *

 _3rd Person POV_

 _._

 _._

 _'Wow, never thought I'd be wrapped up in a situation like this?'_ Neo thought to herself as she sat on Brandon's bed.

 _'My uncle is behind bars, I'm hiding out with the boy who was the cause to so many of his troubles, and because of what I pulled with that assassin, I'm officially on Cinder's shit list...and that all happened in a single day._ She thought.

 _'Guess Brandon was right, anything can happen if you put your mind to it.'_ Neo thought as she grabbed the letter she had placed on a table Brandon had in his room.

 _'So...these are my mothers last words.'_ She thought to herself, holding the letter in her hands.

 _'I've had more than enough opportunities to read the contexts of the letter. So why haven't I done it yet? What's holding be back?'_ Neo asked herself as she reached for the seal of the letter itself.

Though as she gripped the seal, she could feel her hand start to freeze up.

 _'It's just a letter. Move damn it!'_ She commanded her body, though it had very little results.

 _'Move!'_ Neo commanded her body once more, though once again, her body refused to open the letter.

 _'Just open the damn letter already!'_ She thought once more, only this time, her hand ripped open the top of the letter.

 _'Jeez, took ya long enough.'_ Neo thought to herself as she reached in to grab the letter.

Though what she grabbed wasn't a letter, what she grabbed was a photo of some sort.

 _'A photo? Who uses actual photo's anymore?'_ Neo thought to herself as she look at the photo.

From the looks of it, it was a photo of some sort of tree with red leaves.

Though unlike the Forever Fall's red leaved tree's, these tree's had a tint of violet to them.

 _'What does this tree have to do with the letter my mom wrote to me?'_ Neo asked herself.

She looked back into the letter to see another slip of paper inside of it.

Neo pulled out the paper and sure enough, here was the letter her mother had written to her.

 _'Here we go.'_ She thought to herself.

The letter was neatly folded, preventing the letter from being ruined.

 _'Roman held onto this for more than a decade. Seems like it's still in good shape.'_ She thought.

Neo took a deep breath and unfolded the letter.

Sure enough, her mother's hand writing was clearly visible on the letter.

 _'Time to see what you've been hiding from me.'_ Neo thought to herself as she started to read the context's of the letter.

 _ **"To my loving daughter, Neopolitan."**_ The letter began.

 _ **"If you are reading this, then I'm afraid that your father and I are not here to tell you the truth in person."**_ The letter said.

Neo took a deep breath and exhaled, continuing to read.

 _ **"It truly pains me that we aren't here for you anymore, though I know your uncle Roman will take care of you. Even with his criminal past, he's always been there for me, and he'll always be there for you."**_ It said.

 _'Heh, if only you knew, mom.'_ Neo thought sadly.

 _ **"I specifically requested your uncle give this to you when he feels you are ready to know the truth. The truth about your past."**_ It said.

As Neo's eye's continued to move down the letter, she could see dried up tear marks on the bottom of the page.

 _'The truth about my past? What the hell are you talking about mom?'_ Neo asked, feelings of confusion and concern washing over her.

 _ **"To be honest, I don't really know a whole lot either. Though I can tell you what I do know, if you're reading this then you're clearly ready to know the truth."**_ It said.

 _ **"I know how impatient you can get, so I'll just get straight to the point."**_ It said.

Though what Neo read bellow nearly caused her to drop the letter from complete and utter shock.

 _ **"You're not our daughter, Neo."**_ It said.

 _._

 _._

 _'W-what the hell is this?! Is this some sort of sick joke?! How could I not be there daughter?! I've known them for as long as I can remember!'_ Neo internally asked.

Neo was clutching the letter at this point, her eye's flashing between various colors.

She eventually regained her composure and looked back at the letter she had in her hands.

 _'There's more. Maybe I can get a clear answer here.'_ Neo thought to herself as she continued to read.

 _ **"Now, I know that this will be hard for you to process, let alone understand, but please allow me to explain."**_ It said.

 _'Tch, understatement of the century.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 _ **"Your father and I were planning on having kids of our own after we had just gotten married. It was always a dream we had, even before our marriage."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Though fate was always so cruel."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Your father and I went in for the test just a few months after our marriage. What the doctors told us, almost tore your father and I to pieces."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Guess it's kind of hard to have kids when you're physically incapable of bearing them in the first place."**_ It said.

Neo's eye's widened, though she shook her head and continued to read.

 _ **"Our dream was over before it even started. That's what we thought at least, until we went to that tree you see in the photo."**_ The letter said.

Neo looked at the photo, and then back at the letter.

 _ **"That's were we found you, all wrapped up in a little piece of cloth. You were...quite the bizarre child, everyday there was always something a little different about you."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"We had searched for your real parents for hours, though we came up with nothing. You eventually started to cry, so we decided to take you home and take care of you for the time being."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Day's turned into weeks, then into months. Over time, it was clear that whoever left you there didn't have any intention of coming back."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"So we decided to take you in and raise you as one of our own. Though the question always lingered at the back of our minds. Where did you come from? Why were you left in a tree?"**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Though over time, the question eventually faded from our minds. We were just thankful that we were blessed enough to take care of you."**_ It said.

 _'Mom.'_ Neo thought sadly.

 _ **"I can understand if you're angry with our decision to keep this a secret from you. Though I want you to know this, we will always love you, even from beyond the grave."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"It pains us that we have to leave you so soon in your life, but I'm sure you will grow into such a strong woman, you are being looked after by Roman after all. He's bound to have taught you a few of his tricks."**_ It said.

 _ **"We still don't know of where or how you originated, but we do have something. It should be in the letter."**_ It said.

Neo's eye's widened and she quickly dug her hand into the letter.

Sure enough, she felt some sort of cloth deep within the contents of the letter.

Neo pulled the piece of cloth out, revealing a purple cloth with a strange symbol stitched into it.

 _ **"I'm not entirely sure how this is supposed to link to your past, and it's up to you whether or not you want to pursue this past of yours."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"I won't tell you what to do this time. This is a decision you have to make on your own, this is your past after all."**_ It said.

Neo clenched the cloth in her hand, though she continued to read.

 _ **"Though whatever you do, I'm sure that you'll do what you believe is right."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"We will always love you Neo."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Your mother, Megalo**_ _ **."**_ Neo had finished the letter that had contained her mothers biggest secret.

.

.

Neo had just sat there on Brandon's bed for a couple of seconds trying to process everything she had just read.

Her mother...wasn't actually her mother.

Just as she thought this, Brandon had walked into the room.

"Hey." He said, closing the door behind him.

Neo waved to him with her right hand in response.

"The package come in?" He asked.

Neo blinked a few times before nodding, pointing at the table.

"Cool, be right back." He said, walking into the bathroom with the package in his arms.

Neo just sat there with her fists balled up, a mixture of emotions washing over her.

Anger, sadness, confusion, and shock were all present emotions in her heart.

Her eye's were flashing various different colors, each color representing one of the various emotions that was in the back of her mind.

Though throughout all these emotions, only one question was going through her mind.

 _'W-who am I?'_ She asked.

A few seconds later, Brandon emerged from the bathroom with a new outfit.

He wore a gray hoodie with a black interior, a black over coat, a white dress shirt of some sort. Though the overcoat was outfitted with a very different symbol when compared to his original emblem.

It almost looked like the head of the spirit that had appeared yesterday.

He wore grayish blue jeans with various rips in them, a pair of black belts wrapped around his waist, each belt having a pouch of some sort, as well as a pair of black shoes with white laces.

One of the belts had a holster for his revolver, as well as a series of ammo pouches.

Around his wrist was some sort of electronic watch that was wrapped around his left wrist, as well as a wrist band that had the same logo that was on the over coat.

He also wore a pair of brown finger less glove around his right and left hand.

Though the most noticeable part was the hat that laid on his head.

On his head was a dark brown flat cap with a fairly large pin on the side of the hat.

The pin itself was a circular pin representing his spirit's appearance, though there the colors, black, blue, and red could all be seen on the pin itself.

"I'm heading out." He said.

Neo nodded and continued to stare down at her hands.

"By the way, here." Brandon said as he threw a file of papers over towards Neo.

"Congrats, you're officially apart of the team. Don't ask what the name is, we still need two more members before we can come to a decision like that." He said.

Neo just stared at the folder for a second before pulling out the contents of the folder.

Sure enough, they were transcripts that she had seen Mercury and Emerald use to get into this place to begin with.

"...What's up with that look? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." He said.

Neo just stared off into the distance before turning towards Brandon.

"Jeez, what's with your eye's? It's kinda creepy you know." He said.

 _'Gee, thanks.'_ She thought sarcastically.

Neo's only response was to give him the letter her mother had given her.

"What's this? New form of communication or something?" He asked as he started to read.

Though as his eye's scrolled down the letter, they became wider and wider.

"Jesus." He said.

Neo grabbed her scroll and started to type her message into her scroll.

 **"So this was my mothers big secret. Our entire family was built off of one big lie!"** She said.

"Neo-." Brandon began.

 **"Don't 'Neo' me! Hell, I'm not sure if that's even my real name! I don't even know who I am anymore! What am I?! Where did I come from?!"** She said, the color in her eye's changing all the more rapidly.

.

.

Brandon just stood there for a moment before sighing, walking over to Neo, and flicking her in the head.

She stumbled back a few feet before looking at Brandon with a look of shock, and slight annoyance.

 **"What the hell was that for?!"** She asked.

His only response was to grab Neo, bring her over to the bathroom and place her in front of the mirror.

Before she could start to respond, Brandon grabbed her by the chin and moved her head in front of the mirror.

"Who's that?" He asked.

Neo looked confused before responding with her scroll.

 **"You?"** She said.

"...Okay, who ELSE?" Brandon asked once more.

 **"Me?"** Neo said.

"Exactly, that's you. Not rocket science." He said as he started to walk out of the bathroom.

 **"What are you talking about now?"** She asked.

"Is that a lie?" Brandon asked, pointing at her reflection.

 **"What?"** She asked once more.

"Is that you or not?" He asked.

 **"Of course it's me. What kind of a question is that?"** Neo asked.

"Then there's your answer. That's who you are. You're you, and that's never gonna change." He said.

Neo just stared at Brandon with a shocked look on her face, but continued to listen.

"Look, I know what it's like to be uncertain of what you're supposed to do next. Believe me, it's a feeling I've been experiencing all my life." Brandon said.

"Though I know what I want to do now, what I am to the world, where I came from, or who I am never mattered to me to begin with." He said.

Neo just stood there in shock, unsure of what to make of Brandon's statement.

"What you do isn't my concern. But try not to bring me down, you're a part of the team now." He said with a smirk, walking out of the door to the bathroom and the dorm room in general.

Neo just stood there before looking at her hands.

 _"You're you, and that's never gonna change.'_ She recalled him saying.

Neo pulled out the letter her mother had given her and started to search for part of the letter.

 _ **"I won't tell you what to do this time. This is a decision you have to make on your own, this is your past after all."**_ She said.

 _'Mom.'_ Neo thought sadly.

.

.

 _'They're right. Who I was or could have been doesn't matter to me anymore. What matters now is who I choose to be today_ _.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 _'I'm Neopolitan. Didn't think I really needed to be told that.'_ She mused to herself.

Neo looked at the cloth once more and clenched it in her hand.

 _'Hmm, huntress huh? Well, if they're any way to find out about my past, I'd assume this is the best way to got about it.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Time to find out what my mother_ _couldn't.'_ She thought to herself, her eye's glowing with a magenta glow.

 _'I am Neopolitan, and no amount of words will convince me otherwise. Not now, or ever again from here on out.'_ Neo thought to herself.

Neo walked out of the room and stared at the second package that was on the table.

 _'Wonder what the second one was for.'_ She thought to herself.

Though as Neo walked over to the package, she could see a note attached to the side of it.

She tore it off and started to read the note.

 _ **"Thought you might want a change of clothes as well."**_ It said.

Neo smirked and picked up the box.

 _'Maybe it's time for a change of pace.'_ She thought to herself, walking back into the bathroom.

* * *

The day had come to a close, and the light of the shattered moon shone brightly over Vale, illuminating the city for all of it's citizens.

Well...most of it's citizens.

Roman Torchwick, was not one of those people who had the luxury or the freedom to truly admire the night sky.

It's calming nature, it's soothing light, everything was perfect for a good night sleep.

So it was kinda hard to admire anything when the only thing you could see was from a very tiny window that you could barely see out of because you can't sit up.

 _'Heh, so this is how it is, huh?'_ He thought to himself as he sat inside of the cell.

 _'Who would have thought? The Roman Torchwick, most feared crime boss in all of Vale, sentenced to a life in solitude because of a group of color coordinated brats.'_ Roman thought.

 _'Hope you're doing alright out there Neo. Maybe you're having better luck than your old man is...well, not THAT old man, but you know what I mean.'_ He thought.

Though before he could continue his internal conversation, the door to his cell opened.

 _'Heh, was wondering when he would show up.'_ Roman thought to himself with a smirk on his face.

In front of his cell was none other than general Ironwood himself, and boy he did not look happy in the slightest.

"Leave us." Ironwood said.

"Yes sir." The guards said, walking away from the two.

"I've been informed that you refuse to cooperate with the authorities." He said.

"I know that his might be a little hard for your metal head to understand, but I'm not the biggest fan of the law enforcement." Roman said.

"How about the worlds strongest military power?" Ironwood said smugly.

"First impressions?...Not great." He said.

.

.

"I am going to give you ONE chance to cooperate." Ironwood threatened.

"Oooh, scary." Roman teased.

"Who's REALLY behind all this?" He asked.

Roman simply leaned forward in his cell and narrowed his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" Roman asked before throwing his hands behind his head.

"You're looking at him." He said with a smug grin.

Ironwood sighed and turned to his left as if he were facing someone.

"You still want to try and negotiate?" He asked.

 _'Negotiate? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?! I'm-!'_ Roman began to think, only to be cut off by the sound of a familiar voice.

"It's why I'm here." He heard someone say.

 _'T-that voice! Why the hell is he here?!'_ Roman asked himself as Brandon walked in front of the cell.

"You're sure about this? It's not too late to turn back." Ironwood said, placing his hand on Brandon's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm sure about this. You got the papers ready, right?" Brandon asked.

Ironwood sighed and pulled out a file of papers from his coat pocket.

"Here you go. Here's the pen as well, though don't be surprised if things don't go your way. If he wasn't willing to cooperate with me, then chances are he won't listen to anyone." He said.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine." Brandon said.

"Very well, proceed with your offer." Ironwood said.

 _'Offer? What are they going on about now?'_ Roman asked.

"Kay." He said.

"You're certain that you want me away for this deal? The idea of leaving you alone with Roman of all people doesn't settle well in my mind." He said.

"You saw what happened in Vale with me and Osvaldo, right?" Brandon asked.

Roman blinked a few times before nodding.

"Yeah, I saw your little light show." He said.

"Then you should know better than to start shit with me." He said.

"Do I LOOK like I'm in fighting condition right now?" Roman asked.

Brandon turned towards Ironwood who simply sighed in response.

"I'll be over in the other room if you need anything." Ironwood said, walking towards the room.

Brandon pulled out a chair from the other side of the cell and sat in the chair.

"So, let's talk." He said.

Roman just started at Brandon before growling.

"Damn authorities, making a kid doing there dirty work." He said.

"I'm not doing this because they asked me. If anything I asked them to see you." Brandon said.

Roman, once again, blinked a few times before responding.

"You. Wanted to see ME?" He asked, pointing at himself.

"That's what I said." He said.

"Why?" He asked.

"I also said why I wanted to talk to you earlier. I want to strike a deal with you." Brandon said with a smirk.

"A...deal?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, a proposition, a contract, a chance to dig yourself out from the grave you've already dug yourself." He said.

"What do you mean by 'grave'?" He asked.

"I know who you're boss is. I also know what she has in store for the people of Vale." Brandon said, causing Roman's eye's to widen.

"How the hell did you figure something like THAT out?!" He asked.

"Did you forget?" He asked.

"Huh?" Roman asked.

"Who do you think told me? Who could possibly have information like that and be willing to tell me said information?" Brandon asked with a smirk.

Roman just sat there in deep thought before looking up at Brandon.

"N-Neo?!" He asked.

"Bingo." He said, his smirk not leaving his face.

"So she's with you?! She's safe?!" Roman asked.

"Jeez, yeah she's fine. Thought you knew that, you did watch the battle after all." Brandon said.

"I...I couldn't see anything else after Neo disappeared, the authorities had put my cell into the air ship." He said.

"Oh...well yeah, she's fine and well...I think." He said.

"You think? What's that supposed to mean?" Roman asked.

"Well, last I saw her, she was reading some sort of letter." Brandon said.

"So, she read the message Megalo gave her." He said.

"That's her mom, right?" He asked.

"Yeah...wait, how did you know that?!" Roman asked.

"I...may or may not have read the letter." Brandon said.

"...You read her mother's dying wish?!" He asked.

"Hey! SHE gave the letter to ME!" He said.

Roman sighed and dug his hands into his face.

"Honestly, every time I go out of my way to keep her out of trouble, she just keeps getting into a bigger mess than before." He groaned.

"Yeah, we're just a couple of magnets for trouble, aren't we?" Brandon asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Roman said.

Roman sighed before continuing the conversation.

"So...what did the letter say?" He asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Brandon asked.

"If I knew then I wouldn't be asking you so yes! I don't know!" Roman said.

"Jeez, I would have thought Neo's mom would have told you Neo wasn't there legitimate child." He said.

.

.

"I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly, mind running that by me again?" Roman asked.

"Guess she really didn't tell you. Yeah, Neo's not actually your friends child by blood." Brandon said.

"So you mean to tell me that Neo's...adopted?!" He asked.

"Guess so. That's what the letter said." He said.

Roman just sat there for a moment, processing this new information he had obtained.

Once the initial shock passed, he pinched his chin and closed his eyes.

"That would explain a few things. I mean for one, Neo doesn't seem to bear any resemblance to either her mother or father. Meg was a brunette, and her old man had black hair." Roman said.

"You...got over that REAL quickly." Brandon said.

"Kid, when you've been in the business I've been in for as long as me, you tend to not dwell on things to much." He said.

"Fair enough." He said.

"So how did she take it?" Roman asked.

"How do you think she took it?" Brandon asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, so is she holding up alright?" He asked.

"I don't know, gave her a little talk before I left." He said.

"What'd you say?" Roman asked.

"I just told her that she was Neo, and nothing will ever change that fact." Brandon said.

"...That's it?" He asked.

"Yep." He said.

"Well...for whatever it's worth, thank you." Roman said.

"Don't thank me yet. They're just words, what she makes of them is entirely up to her." Brandon said.

"Still, I'm glad you're there for her at least." He said.

"Someone's gotta be, you're not exactly capable of looking after her at the moment." He said.

"Thanks for the reminder." Roman said sarcastically.

"How bout we change that?" Brandon asked.

"...Pardon?" He asked.

"How about we get to the actual reason I came here in the first place?" He asked.

"Sure, not like I've got anything else better to do." Roman said.

"I want to bargain." Brandon said.

"You want to...bargain?" He asked.

"Yep. Both sides get something out of this, so how about you listen to what I have to say?" Brandon asked.

"...What kinda deal we talking here?" Roman asked.

"Let's face the facts here Roman, the second you play your part in this whole plan, Cinder is going to take the first opportunity she can get to kill you, as well as Neo." He said.

Roman flinched a bit, but continued to listen.

"This is exactly what she wants, she's pulling your strings so well you don't even know you're a puppet." Brandon said.

"What are you getting at here, kid?" Roman asked.

"Take her out, before she takes you out." He said with a smirk.

"I assume you have this whole 'master plan' ready to go when the plan goes into it's final stage?" He asked.

"Still working on the details, but I've got a general idea on what's gonna happen when things start to go down." Brandon said.

Roman just sat there before he dug his hands into his face and sighed.

"Look kid, if you know anything about Cinder, then it'd be in your best interest to stay out of this operation." He said.

"The Vytal Festival, that's when everything is going to go down." Brandon said.

"I know, why do you think I was put in charge of our-." Roman began.

"I have until the Vytal festival to convince Mercury and Emerald that Cinder is playing them so well they don't even realize it." He said.

"So...you're plan is to bring Mercury and Emerald over to your side?" He asked.

"Basically. If she looses those two she can't carry out her plan." Brandon said.

"What's so important about those two to begin with?" Roman asked.

"What's Emerald semblance?" He asked.

"What?" He asked.

"Emerald's semblance. Do you know what it is?" Brandon asked .

"..Yeah, it's individual illusions, causes people to hallucinate, see things that aren't really there." Roman said.

"Perfect for pinning a crime on someone, make them see something they didn't actually see." He said.

"Yeah...so what's that got to do with her plan?" He asked.

"You're a crime boss, what would you do if you were in her shoes?" Brandon asked.

Roman pinched his chin for a moment before responding.

"Well, I would probably find someone who had a short fuse, maybe that Blondie or something. I'd have peg legs go out there and take her, though have him purposely lose." He explained.

"After that I would have the street rat use her voodoo or whatever to make it seem like he's going in for an attack, after that, one of peg leg's metal legs will have been broken, though I wouldn't tell anyone that, that would surely stir some people up." Roman said.

Brandon just stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before smirking.

"Bingo." He said.

.

.

"Wait, that's ACTUALLY the plan she's using?!" Roman asked.

"Dead on the money. You're on a role here." Brandon said.

"How the hell can you know all this?!" He asked.

"Neo was part of there main circle, so she needed to be informed on anything and everything. Including the plan for the future." He said.

"...So they tell my niece but not me?" Roman asked.

"Sucks, don't it?" Brandon asked.

"Okay, so you know how it's all gonna go down, but there's a pretty big flaw in that little plan of yours." He said.

Brandon raised his eyebrow and waited for him to respond.

"It relies too much on street rat's and peg leg's cooperation. If just one of them doesn't agree, then the whole plan will fall apart." Roman said.

"That's why I need your help." He said.

"...Wait, you need MY help?" He asked.

"Yeah, something wrong with that?" Brandon asked.

"No, it's just I'm not used to people asking for my help." Roman said.

"Well, there's a first for everyone." He said.

"Okay, so you want my help with this little plan of yours, what's in it for me?" He asked.

"I'm not done with my conditions." Brandon said.

"Of course you're not." Roman said.

"As far as I know, Ironwood and Ozpin don't know about this plan, and to be frank, I'd like to keep it that way. If not Ozpin, then Ironwood." He said.

"Okay, so what's that gotta do with me?" He asked.

"So I made an alternate deal. You tell them EVERYTHING they want to know, only then will we be able to keep our end of the deal." Brandon said.

"Everything?" Roman asked.

"Almost everything, don't tell them about Emerald, Mercury, or Cinder. Tell them that Cinder gave you your orders through a scroll and you never actually met her in person." He said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well it would be kinda hard to bring them over to our side if they were behind bars, and I seriously doubt Ironwood or Ozpin would give me anther opportunity like this!" Brandon said.

"Hmm, alright, I see your game. But I'll ask again. What's in it for me?" Roman asked.

"Glad you asked, in exchange for your information, Ironwood has agreed to revoke you of all the charges that were held against you." He said.

A few moments of silence passed before Roman responded.

"What?" Roman asked.

"Basically, you could walk the streets of Vale without the police coming for your head." Brandon said.

Roman was about to speak up, but Brandon cut him off.

"Not only that, but Ozpin has agreed to give Neo a spot in the academy if you agree to these terms." He continued.

"...Y-you're serious?" Roman asked.

"Though even if your slate is clean, finding work will be quite difficult. The public won't forget what you did for all those years." Brandon said.

"Well, can't get everything." He said.

"Which is why Ozpin has offered you this." He said, placing the file in front of Roman.

Roman looked confused for a few moments before picking up the envelope and pulling out the papers that were inside the file.

What Roman saw made him question whether or not he had gone insane or not.

"K-kid, this is-." He began.

"A job application for being a teacher in Beacon? Yeah, it is." Brandon said.

"...What would I be teaching?" Roman asked.

"Hell if I know, that's for you to decide, it'll be YOUR classroom after all." He said.

Roman just stared at the paper for a few moments before sighing.

"So, in exchange for info, Neo and I get a second chance at life, as well as a chance to get back at Cinder?" He asked.

"You also have a chance to prove to the world that you're not a pile of shit." Brandon said.

.

.

"Heh, heh, heh." Roman started to chuckle.

"Hmm?" Brandon hummed.

"Ha ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha!" His chuckles eventually turned into full blown laughter.

"What's with you? Your screw finally come loose?" He asked.

"T-this is rich! Who knew the one thing I had to get a second chance in this shitty life was to get arrested!" Roman said.

"Ah, irony. She's quite the joker, isn't she?" Brandon said.

"So kid." He said with a smirk.

"Where do I sign?" He asked.

* * *

"This isn't going to work." Glynda said as she and the rest of Beacon's teachers stood in Ozpin's office.

"Don't be like that Glynda, if Roman is wise he shall accept this offer." Ozpin said.

"What if he does? Do you honestly expect us to work with a criminal?!" She asked.

"I must agree with Ms. Goodwitch here, this is quite the tall order you ask of us, Ozpin." Port said.

"Indeed, and I'm sure the students will not be pleased if he does accept the offer. Especially team RWBY, I don't think they would be open to the idea of one of there greatest adversary's teaching them." Oobleck said.

"Perhaps, or perhaps this would be a great learning opportunity for the students. The man has more street smarts, and criminal knowledge than all of us combine." Ozpin said.

"What do you think Vanessa?" Glynda asked Peach.

Though Peach was only half paying attention, she was simply staring out through one of the various windows in Ozpin's office.

"Peach?" She asked once more.

"I'm not entirely sure why Brandon wants to bring him over to our side, but no matter what he does, I respect his judgment. He must have a plan, during my constant research and experiments on him-." Peach began.

"With him." Everyone except Ozpin said.

"That to." She said.

"I've learned that he isn't the type who doesn't have a plan for the actions he takes. Each move is carefully thought out and planned." Peach said.

"He's the smartest student I know...yet also the most idiotic one I know. He's what you call a paradox, and that mind set has gotten him out of so many dangerous situations." She said.

"He's also the reason why he's in those situations to begin with." Glynda said.

"True, very true. But he's trusted us for a very long time. The least we can do is trust his judgment." Peach said, turning to face everyone.

Everyone just stood there in silence for a couple of moments before Port was the one to break the silence.

"That is very true. I shall try to see this in a different light, though that doesn't mean I will let my guard down for a second." He said.

"Hmm, perhaps this will be a good learning experience for everyone." Oobleck said.

Everyone then turned there heads towards Glynda, expecting her to join in on there conversation.

.

.

"Very well, I will give this a chance, but I will not hesitate to strike him down if I see him doing anything suspicious." Glynda said.

As soon as she said this, the elevator door rang, signaling someone had arrived on the top of the tower.

Everyone turned there heads towards the door and saw who was at the door.

"...Guess who's back~?!" Everyone heard someone sing.

"Oh. My. Oum." Glynda said, her glasses threatening to fall off of her face as she gazes upon who was at the door.

There he was, Roman Torchwick in all his glory with the smuggest grin anyone has ever seen on anyone's face.

And they had to spend time with Brandon on a daily basis.

"Glynda, please. If you keep staring people are gonna start to talk." Roman teased.

Glynda had to summon as much will power as she could just to prevent herself from striking him down on the spot.

"Well...he actually did it." Port said.

"Port, good to see ya, love the stache." He teased.

"Oh...uh, thank you?" He said, slightly unsure how to handle the situation.

"Oobleck! Now, I know you and I have had our differences, but how bout you and I just leave all that stuff behind. You know, start over and all that stuff." Roman said.

"We shall see." Oobleck said, taking a long sip of his mug of coffee.

"And Peach! I-!" Roman began, only for the sound of Peach whistling to cut him off.

As she whistled, the hair pin in her hair sped towards Roman and threatened to stab him through the eye.

"...Got nothing." He said.

"Good! Glad we can view things on the same page! Good to meet ya, my name is Vanessa Peach, but everyone calls me Peach." Peach said as she started to shake Roman's hand.

Roman slowly turned his head towards the elevator door with a very strong look of confusion written on his face.

"You get used to it over time." They heard Brandon say.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. I assume you were successful with your negotiations?" Ozpin asked.

"No, I just brought him here just to waste your time. What do you think old man?" Brandon asked.

"Good, excellent job. We all had faith in your abilities." He said.

The teachers that were in the room started to whistle a random tune and shuffle there feet around.

"Gee, thanks. I feel so good." Brandon said sarcastically.

"Ah, Oz. Just the man I was looking for." Roman said.

"Good evening, Mr. Torchwick." He said formally.

"Hmm, Mr. Torchwick, that's got a good ring to it." He said.

"...I already regret this." Ironwood whispered to Brandon.

"Yeah well tough it out! You wanted info and this is how you're getting it!" He whispered back.

"So how bout it? Let's get down to business and all that jazz." Roman said.

"Very well, let us talk about the role you shall play in our academy." Ozpin said.

"Just so you know, I'm not exactly patient with brats. So if you have any little shits in this school well...sorry not sorry in advance." He said.

"How about we talk about what exactly you will be teaching our students before we actually give you a classroom?" He offered.

"Fair enough." Roman said.

"Wait, you're actually giving him a class to teach?!" Glynda asked.

"Those were the conditions to the deal. So yes, I am." Ozpin said.

"So, Oz. What ya got for me?" He asked.

"That is entirely up to you, Mr. Torchwick." He said.

"What?" Everyone except for Roman asked.

"Ah, so what the kid said was true. What I teach is entirely up to me." He said.

"Indeed. So, Mr. Torchwick, what will you be teaching the students of Beacon academy?" Ozpin asked.

"Hmm." Roman hummed as he pinched his chin.

A few seconds of silence went by before Roman came to a decision.

"You've got a class that deals with the criminal underworld?" He asked.

"Why on earth would we have a class like that?" Glynda asked.

"What I thought. Let's be realists Ozpin, we both know that your precious little students won't just be dealing with the Grimm for long. Sooner or later they'll have to deal with criminals like me...well former criminal in my case but you get my point, the Fang, and any other problems humanity wants to throw at us." Roman said.

"Hmm, that is all very true." Ozpin said.

"So, what better way to prepare them for all said dangers than with a class designed to tell you about all the bad things in the world that don't relate to Grimm...well not entirely." He said.

"Hmm, such a class would be helpful for the students." Oobleck said.

"Indeed, what better way to prepare our students for the worlds villains than giving them a class centered around that concept?" Port said.

"Exactly, and you just happen to have the best teacher out there. I know the criminal underworld like the back side of my hat." Roman said.

"So, you wish to teach a class that specifically deals with the criminal underworld?" Ozpin asked.

"Exactly. I mean it would be a shame if all these years of experience just went to waste now would it?" He asked.

"Indeed. Very well Mr. Torchwick, I shall allow it, though there are a few rules you will need to follow before we make it official." He said.

"Ah, rules. You know, rules and I never really got a long." Roman said.

"They are just a few basic rules that we have here in Beacon academy." Ozpin said.

"Alright, lay em on me." He said.

"This one should be a given, but you may not harm our students, physically or mentally." He said.

"Yeah, wasn't planning on it." Roman said.

"You may not steal any personal belongings of our students or staff, that is if you intend to incorporate that into your lesson. Though in the end, you must give them back there belongings." Ozpin said.

"Alright, I can get behind that." He said.

"And lastly." He said.

"Teach as you see fit." He said.

"...What?" Roman asked.

"Here at Beacon Academy, we allow our professors to teach there students in whatever method they see fit. It is your classroom, Mr. Torchwick, so teach however you see fir." Ozpin said.

"...Heh, now this just got interesting." He said with a mischievous grin.

"If you don't have any questions left, then you are all dismissed." Ozpin said.

Everyone nodded and started to walk out.

"Not you, Glynda." He said.

Glynda nodded and stayed in the room with Ozpin and the rest of the people in the room.

"Mr. Kim, I would also like you to join us as well." He said.

"Me? Why?" He asked.

"I do believe you deserve to be part of this conversation. You are the one who convinced him to change his ways after all." Ozpin said.

"...Alright. But make it quick, it's almost midnight." Brandon said.

Everyone stood in Ozpin's office, making sure that the other teachers had left the area.

"So...what do you wanna know?" Roman asked.

"I will ask again. Who's REALLY behind all this?" Ironwood asked.

Roman sighed and dug his hands into his face.

"Straight to the main point, huh? All right, I can work with that. The name of the woman you guys are looking for is Cinder Fall." Roman explained.

"Cinder Fall." Ironwood said.

"What does she look like?" Glynda asked.

"Don't know, she never talked to me in person. She only gave me orders through a call." He said.

"Hmm, a reasonable tactic. Our enemy has probably taken this exact situation into account." Ozpin said.

"She's a crafty one, I'll give you that. She's even got the Fang wrapped around her little finger." Roman said.

"That would explain there recent attacks." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, she even had us work together on multiple occasions." He said.

"What exactly is here objective here?" He asked.

"Don't really know exactly, she was pretty vague on what her actual goals were. Though she did tell me one thing." Roman said.

"The people of this world had placed there faith in fools, so now they will be swallowed by the consequences of there mistakes." He said.

.

.

The room went silent for a couple of seconds before Ironwood spoke up.

"Do you know of anyone else involved with her crimes?" He asked.

Roman quickly glanced towards Brandon who simply shook his head.

"No. I never met her in person so I wouldn't know." Roman said.

Ironwood looked towards Ozpin who simply nodded.

"Do you know what she is after?" He asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I was only given the plans, not the reasoning behind them!" Roman asked in an annoyed tone.

"What do the White Fang hope to gain from aiding her?" Ozpin asked.

"What they wanted ever since the new one was put into power. The eradication of humanity." He said.

"And why did you assist them in there plans?" Ironwood asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I would have been KILLED if I did!" Roman said.

"So survival was your only motive?" Ozpin asked, clearly not convinced.

"...They would have also killed Neo if I didn't cooperate." He said.

"Your niece?" He asked.

"Yeah. She's one of the few people I actually give a damn about in this world...okay the ONLY person I actually give a damn about." Roman said.

"So you were protecting your family?" Ironwood asked.

"We all have something to protect, right Jimmy?" He asked.

"Don't call me that. What will there next move be?" He asked.

"Hell if I know. I lost all contact with the Fang, and Cinder after I was put in the slammers." Roman said.

Ironwood sighed before pulling out his scroll and pressing a button.

"Congratulations. You're a new man now." He said.

Roman just sat there in silence before shaking his head.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on...just like that?" Roman asked.

"You had kept your end of the bargain, you have answered all the questions we have for you." Ironwood said.

"That's it? I thought we would be here for hours upon hours with questioning." He asked.

"We were hoping to get a little more out of you. But I see that the enemy was smart enough to keep you in the dark." He said.

"Though this has proved to be valuable information, Mr. Torchwick. Now we have a name for our mysterious enemy, as well as an idea on her grasp on Vale's criminal underworld." Ozpin said.

"So...what now?" Roman asked.

"Mr. Kim will lead you to your quarters. I trust you can pinpoint those coordinates I sent you?" He asked.

Brandon pulled out his scroll, looked at the message and nodded.

"Yeah, I've got it covered." He said.

"Excellent. Then you are both dismissed, and welcome to Beacon, Professor Torchwick." Ozpin said.

"...Okay, that is gonna take some getting used to." Roman said.

"Tell me about it. I'm still swallowing that pill." Brandon said as he walked out.

.

.

"So...your thoughts?" Ironwood asked.

"I...What?" Glynda asked.

"For once Glynda, I can relate to you." He said.

"Come now, perhaps this will turn the tides in our favor. I believe that both sides need this development, Roman and our fellow students." Ozpin said.

"But still...Roman Torchwick?" Ironwood asked.

"I know that it is a mighty large pill to swallow, but what's done is done. All we can do is wait." He said.

All of a sudden, Qrow burst through the front doors of Ozpins' office.

"Would someone care to explain to me why Roman Torchwick is walking through the halls of Beacon tower?!" He asked.

"A development both sides need." Ozpin said as he took a sip from his mug of coffee.

* * *

 _My POV_

Holy shit. I actually did it, I actually managed to bring both Neo AND Roman to our side all in the same week.

I am on a roll!

 _ **"Glad to see that your confidence hasn't wavered. That was quite the gamble you took, my boy."**_ I heard Caliber say.

Yeah, well this will be one of many gambles we'll have to take if we want to have any hopes in accomplishing our goal.

 _ **"Your goal. Remember that I am but a mere part of you."**_ Caliber said.

Well, you're still your own entity, I mean you and I are a far cry to each other when it comes to personality.

 _ **"Indeed. My manners are much more refined then yours ever will be."**_ He boasted.

What I'm trying to say is due to how different we are, we might as well be two separate beings.

 _ **"Ah, so it's as if we share one body?"**_ Caliber asked.

Something like that, yeah.

 _ **"Hmm, quite the interesting argument you make there, my boy."**_ He said.

Wasn't really trying to argue with you so to say but whatever.

 _ **"So, we have free'd the deceiver and the crime boss. What is our next move against the enemy?"**_ Caliber asked.

Next, we'll try and see if we can't show Emerald and Mercury that signing there services to Cinder is basically the equivalent of signing there death warrant.

 _ **"I see, instead of over powering the enemy, you are merely taking away there means of offense."**_ He said.

Yeah, thought I'd take a trick out of Cinder's book.

 _ **"Using tactics of both the enemy and your allies. Quite the clever thing to do, my boy."**_ Caliber said.

Thanks, I try.

 _ **"Though you must be careful which methods you use at which time. One wrong move could wind up upsetting both sides of this game we're playing."**_ He said.

Don't worry, I won't go and declare war on the entire world.

 _ **"Waging war against all of humanity? My, that sounds like quite the interesting conflict."**_ Caliber said with a chuckle.

You know, I'll never get your sense of humor.

"What's up with you, kid?" I heard Roman say.

I looked to my side to see that Roman was looking at me with a look of confusion.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You've been staring off into space ever since we left the tower." He said.

"Oh! Right, you don't know." I said.

"Know what?" Roman asked.

"Caliber and I have little conversations from time to time, but if he's not physically out of here, then I'm the only one who can hear him." I explained.

"Caliber? You mean your sword?" He asked.

"No, I mean the spirit." I said.

"What spirit?" Roman asked.

I snapped my fingers and on cue, Caliber appeared from my body in a burst of black and white flames.

"This one." I said.

 _ **"Greetings, Torchwick. I am Caliber, another part of Brandon that resides within his soul. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."**_ He said, tipping his top hat.

.

.

"Nice hat." Roman said, pointing at Caliber's top hat.

 _ **"Thank you, your hat is quite the looker as well."**_ He said.

"...Seriously? That's the first thing you say to him?" I asked.

"What? I can appreciate anyone with good taste's for hats." He said.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Caliber said.

I just started to rub my fingers against my eye lids.

"Ugh, I'm to tired for this." Brandon said.

"So...you're the famous enchanted sword, Caliber, huh?" Roman asked.

 _ **"No, I am the spirit, Caliber. The sword is but a mere vessel."**_ He said.

"Vessel, huh? So you could be anything then?" He asked.

 _ **"Correct."**_ Caliber said.

"So why stay in a sword of all things?" Roman asked.

 _ **"We spirits choose to take the form of an object that would cause our user comfort."**_ He said.

"So in this case, it's a sword." He said.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Caliber said.

"So, where are you taking me?" Roman asked.

"To your room." I said.

"I know that, specifics would be nice thought." He said.

"Somewhere with a lot of security. Ozpin may have let you into his house, but the other guests aren't happy you're here." I said.

"Heh, guess some things never change." Roman said.

"Then you have to make it change." I said.

Though before we could continue with our conversation, we passed the door to my dorm room.

"Hey...you're sharing a room with Neo, right?" He asked.

Fuck.

"Y-yeah?" I said.

"Calm down. I know you're not stupid enough to try anything." Roman said.

Oh thank god.

"Wanna see her?" I asked.

"Yeah, how about we ease her mind a bit?" He asked.

"Sounds like a plan." I said, pulling out my scroll and opening the door.

"Neo, I'm ho-." I began, only to be cut off by Neo's outfit.

She wore a white short sleeved coat with pink linings, a black crop top that covered her all of her torso. The top itself had a rectangular and diamond shaped cutouts around the neckline. Neo also dawned long white boots with magenta outlines and black bottoms.

Neo also wore a blown leather waist guard with magenta buttons, as well as a black earring on the side of her head that had pink hair, and magenta one on the side of her head that had brown hair.

Though the most noticeable part of the outfit was the hat she dawned. It was identical to that of Roman's, though instead of a red lining, she had a magenta lining around the hat.

"See you got the package I got you." I said.

Neo nodded and turned towards me, though she dropped the box she had in her hands when her eye's laid on Roman's figure.

"Guess who's ba-!?" Roman didn't even have time to finish his sentence as he was tackled to the ground my Neo herself.

"Thought you might have missed him." I said.

Neo looked up and stood up to face me.

"T-thank you." She said, her voice raspy and rough.

"Don't mention it. Least I could do for the constant time's you've saved my ass." I said.

Neo nodded and turned towards Roman with a stern look in her eye's.

"Look. I know you're upset about what I did, but I just want to say-!" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as Neo cracked him across the face with her palm.

"Ow! Okay I probably deserved that but you didn't need to be so hard!" Roman yelled, rubbing the area where Neo had smacked him.

 **"Then don't pull stupid stunts like that ever again you old fart."** Neo said.

"I'm not that old." Roman grumbled.

.

.

"So...how are you holding up?" He asked.

Neo took a deep breath before typing her response in her scroll.

 **"I've made a decision. I'm going to help Brandon take down that bitch who put you in prison once and for all, become a huntress, and search for the remnants of my past."** She said.

"You sure? We're bound to get into a lot of trouble, and we won't just stop with Cinder. We'll shut down every other operation that's bound to be happening in the other kingdoms. We'll basically be traveling all around the world on foot, you up for that?" I asked.

Neo looked at me with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Guess I should have figured as much. Who know's? Maybe we'll pick up a clue on your past along the way." I said before turning to Roman.

"You're going to have to play your part to. You need to make Cinder think you're a spy infiltrating Beacon." I said.

"So, I'm a double agent all of a sudden?" Roman asked.

"You're the most suited for the job." I said.

"Heh, fair point. Alright, I'll be your little double agent." He said.

"Good. Then our plan can officially be put into action." I said with a smirk on my face.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh, why did we have to get up so early in the morning?" Yang asked groggily.

Crap.

"Come on Yang, even though we've saved all of Vale from the Fang, that's no excuse to be slacking off." Weiss said.

Shit.

"...I have to agree with Yang. I could go for a nap right about now." Blake said groggily.

Are you kidding me right now?!

"Yeah, I'm still sore from what happened two days ago." Ruby said.

I swear, there is some god up there who's out to get me!

 _ **"Would you calm yourself already?"**_ Caliber asked.

How can I be calm?! The four people who I DIDN'T want to be in this class are here!

Not only that, but team's JNPR and SSSN are here as well!

Now that I think about it, why the hell did they start it now?! You'd think Roman would have to go through some basic training.

 _ **"It was bound to happen eventually."**_ He said.

I know! But I wanted it to be around Oz at least. He's always got a little speech prepared for situations like this!

 _ **"True, very true. But unfortunately, fate does not smile upon you this day."**_ Caliber said.

It's never smiling down on me.

 ** _"I know."_** He said.

"Hey." I heard Jaune say from beside me.

"Huh?" I asked, turning my head towards Jaune.

"You alright? Seem a little stressed over there, and I wanted to know if there was anything I could do." He said.

"...Don't freak out." I said.

"Brandon, come on, we're your friends. We won't freak out." Jaune said.

"That's right. Whatever is on your mind, know that we are always here for you." Pyrrha said.

"Right guys?" He asked Ren and Nora.

Though from the looks of it, both parties were sound asleep in there seats.

"...Correction. Pyrrha and I will be here for you." Jaune said.

"That's right. Now tell us what's on your mind." She said.

"What? No, I mean don't freak out period." I said.

"...Wha-?" Jaune asked.

"Why would we freak out?" Pyrrha asked.

"You'll see." I said.

"So...who's she?" Jaune asked as he pointed towards Neo.

"Oh, her? That's Neo, she's my new teammate." I said.

Neo raised her right hand as a from of greeting.

"Hi! I'm Jaune Arc, and this is Pyrrha, my partner." He greeted.

"Hello!" She said.

"And those are our other teammates, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Jaune said.

Neo nodded and turned her head towards the front of the class.

"...Not much of a talker, is she?" He asked.

"Well she's mute so yeah...well partially mute at least." I said.

"Oh my-! I'm so sorry I didn't know! I didn't mean to sound insensiti-...wait, partially?" Jaune asked.

"She can talk, it just REALLY hurts to do so. So she only does it for special occasions." I said.

"Oh." He said.

"So, what do you think this class is on? The thought of learning something new fills me with excitement." Pyrrha said.

"You're really eager, aren't ya?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I've learned from the best." Pyrrha said with a slight blush.

"Really? Who?" He asked.

.

.

Neo just tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn my head towards her.

When I did, she was giving me a look that clearly said, is he for real right now?

"Yes." I said.

Just as we were about to continue our conversation, the door to the classroom opened.

"Good morning class." Glynda said as she walked through the door.

Everyone mumbled there agreements out, still half awake.

"Now, I'm sure you all want to know what this mysterious new class is about." She said.

Everyone nodded...well except for Neo and I.

"Well, I'll allow your new...teacher to explain that. You can come out now." Glynda said.

Though as Roman walked out, I could see that his outfit has also made a significant change.

Not really overly major, just a color swap really.

His coat was now black with golden buttons, his hat was black with a blue trim instead of a red one, his pants were white and so were his shoes.

"Hello everyone, I don't see the need for introductions, you should know who I am already. So, who's ready for the lesson of a life time?" He asked.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Each member of team RWBY yelled.

Here we go.

* * *

 **So...Roman is a teacher now.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, that idea is just weird to me, hell it's even weird to Roman.  
**

 **Though having him here will make convincing Emerald and Mercury to jump sides all the more easier.**

 **Hopefully I can get that done before the tournament starts but if I can't...well let's hope for a last minute change of heart.**

 **Anyway's, not a whole lot to say really so how bout we move onto the reviews.**

 **Review Response**

 **TheoMidnight: Thanks, glad you like it.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Here you go. **

**olTran: Suuuure you could have.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **1\. Nah, then I wouldn't have time to develop the spirits.**

 **2\. Not really, Brandon finally woke up and thus, completed Calibers contract.**

 **3\. I wanted Caliber to look like gang boss of some sort. It's a way to show that Brandon isn't just a piece on the table, he's one of the players now.**

 **4\. True...unintentional, but true none the less.**

 **5\. Soon...soon...probably not.**

 **6...Eww.**

 **7.**

 **Aleria: Rude.**

 **8...Eww.**

 **9\. That's in EVERY anime, even RWBY.**

 **10\. Yeah, specifics man.**

 **11\. Your choice.**

 **12\. True dat.**

 **13\. Sure, just be prepared for a long lesson.**

 **14.**

 **Peach: Soon...I will be the best...what's he talking about again?**

 **15\. That sounds like a side story.**

 **16\. He's been nuts.**

 **17\. Literally.**

 **18\. Who?**

 **19\. Yeah.**

 **20...Eww.**

 **21\. Yep.**

 **22\. Well, there are still two more slots.**

 **23\. True that.**

 **24\. Spirits...but yeah. There's two of em.**

 **25\. What's it about?**

 **26\. True that.**

 **DragonLord501st: Nah, he's cool.**

 **1bigbro4ae:** **Basically.**

 **Dinosaurchicken:** **OP? Caliber is the one with all the power. Brandon is just a normal dude.**

 **renton163: Thanks :) **

**fanficcyberman:** **Thanks :)**

 **Lord Adhes:** **Good.**

 **Kerchaulk: That's who I based his outfit on. **

**darkifiedluis: Wasn't the intention but okay.**

 **Well, at least things will be calm from here on out...right?**

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Vale stood a tall woman who gazed over the city of Vale.

"Hmm, how long has it been since I've last been here?" She asked herself.

 _ **"Ten years."**_ A rough and low male voice said.

"It was a rhetorical question, I know how long it's been." She said.

 ** _"Then why did you ask if I'm the only one here?"_** He asked.

"It was just...Never mind." She ground.

.

.

 _ **"So, one of my brothers has awoken from their slumber."**_ He said.

"Yes, I felt it too. It was definitely the flames from the spirit realm." She said.

 _ **"Indeed, so what are your intentions?"**_ He asked.

"Hmm...I don't want the user. They may prove useful in the near future. How about we...size them up?" She said.

 _ **"So you wish to test the strength of my brother and his new wielder?"**_ He asked.

"Something like that, yeah." She said with a smirk.

 ** _"Be warned, I sense discord in the city of Vale. It seems quite a lot has happened since your last visit."_** He said.

"I'll be careful, dad." The woman teased.

 _ **"Just be on your guard."**_ He said.

"Don't worry, we'll just find this new user, size them up, and go." She said.

 _ **"Very well, then let us proceed with our mission, Raven."**_ The male voice said to the newly named Raven.

"Whatever you say, Masamune." Raven said before walking towards Vale.

* * *

 **...What?**

 **Roman Torchwick.**

 **Height: 6'3"**

 **Weight: 162 lbs**

 **Age: 36**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: ?**

 **Semblance: Unknown.**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 68**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 50**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 38**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 21**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	46. The Calm

**Hello** **readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Calm"

Thought: _'The Calm'_

Flashback: _"The Calm"_

"Hello everyone, I don't see the need for introductions, you should know who I am already. So, who's ready for the lesson of a life time?" He asked.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Each member of team RWBY yelled.

"Well, I see a few familiar faces here. Hello ladies, weren't expecting me now were you?" Roman asked, twirling his cane in his hand.

"What are YOU doing here?!" Blake yelled, her teeth clenched tightly.

"Who, me?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, I mean the OTHER criminal mastermind in the room!" She said.

"You mean Neo?" I asked, pointing towards Neo.

"I was being sarcastic!" Blake yelled.

"Mastermind? Oh stop, you're to kind kitty cat." Roman said with a smirk.

"Hey, shut your mouth before I make you shut it." Yang growled, standing up from her seat.

"Well someone's got an attitude." He said.

"Why aren't you in jail?" Weiss asked.

"Well, they let me go, all I had to do was sign a few contracts, answer a couple of questions and bam! Here I am." Roman said.

"They just let you go?!" She asked.

"That was the deal. I start talking, and they give me the keys to my cell." He said.

"Ms. Goodwitch?! How could you guys just let him go like that?!" Blake asked.

"It wasn't my decision, Ms. Belladonna. It was the headmaster's decision, as well as the General's decision." She said.

"How could they allow this?!" She asked.

"It was part of the deal that was arranged. If Torchwick here answered all of our questions honestly and truthfully, we would give him and his niece a spot in this academy." Glynda said.

"What and you believed him?!" Yang asked.

"Goldilocks, I am shocked! Shocked and appalled, do you take me for a liar?" Roman asked.

The only response he got was for everyone in the class room, including Neo and myself, to look at him with a deadpanned look.

"...Okay, I AM a liar, and a cheater, and a criminal. But cut me a little slack, I mean this is the two headmasters of the academies. If they thought I was sincere, then who am I to question there judgment?" He asked, his smirk not leaving his face.

"Besides, they're not the ONLY one's who played a part in my release." Roman said as he turned his head towards me.

Oh don't you fucking dare you-!

"Your dear friend over there played his part to. I mean he was the one who came up with the deal in the first place." He said.

Son of a bitch.

 _ **"Hmm, he's quite the trickster."**_ I heard Caliber say.

Really now? What made you draw that conclusion?

Though before I could continue my inner conversation with Caliber, I could see four girls standing in front of me with expressions that were a mixture shock, confusion, and anger.

"Explain." Yang commanded.

"...Well...Now I know that this looks bad." I said.

"Bit of an understatement." Yang said.

"But hear me out." I said.

"Okay, start explaining." Blake said, leaning in towards me.

 _ **"I do not like this level of hostility I am sensing from her."**_ Caliber said seriously.

They aren't going to straight up attack me, just calm down and let me do the talking.

 _ **"I know that they would not attempt an attack on you, though this level of hostility coming from allies is not something I would take lightly."**_ He said.

They just want to know WHY I let him out in the first place, that's all.

"So I assume you want to know why I let him out." I said.

"Yeah, that's one of the MANY questions we have right now." Weiss said.

"Well...I think he could help us." I said.

"...Help us." Yang said.

"Yeah." I said.

"Roman Torchwick." Weiss said.

"The one and only." I said.

"The one person who's been the cause for all of the trouble we've been through." Blake said.

"...Basically." I said.

"Okay...HOW?!" Ruby yelled.

"Jeez! I'm right here, no need to yell." I said.

"Oh...sorry." She said.

"Well, there are various things about this whole incident that we don't know of. Why it happened, why the White Fang would side with a human of all things, what would Roman have to gain by destroying the ONE kingdom that holds all of his money." I said.

"...Huh, didn't think about that." Ruby said.

"So what better way than to ask the man himself? Not only that but this guy knows the criminal underworld, inside and out. So why not teach that to a select pair of students?" I asked.

"Wait, then why are we here?" Sun asked, referring to the rest of his team.

"Yeah, we don't even go to Beacon." Neptune said.

"You had a part in this case, so Ozpin thought it was only natural that you'd take the class." I said.

"But we have to go back to Mistral in a few months." Sage said.

"We're still working out the details with your headmaster...what was his name?" I asked.

 _ **"Lionheart."**_ Caliber said.

"Right! Lionheart! We're still working out the details with good old Lionheart." I said.

.

.

Wait a minute.

Lionheart?

Ironwood?

Ozpin?

Goodwitch?

Does the headmaster of Vacuo have a name referring to a scarecrow?

 _ **"You're getting off topic."**_ I heard Caliber say.

Right, we can worry about that later. Right now, convince team RWBY that I'm not absolutely crazy.

 _ **"You are crazy."**_ He said.

Yeah well they have there doubts about that so let's try and keep it that way.

"But why Roman of all people?" Blake asked.

"Well...it was mainly for Neo." I said, pointing towards my new partner.

Huh, partner. That's a nice thing to have now.

"Her?" Yang asked.

"Well, he is her uncle, and I don't think she would be particularly happy if he spent the rest of his life behind bars." I said.

"He was a criminal." Blake said.

"Hey, family's family." I said.

"...Can't argue with that." Ruby and Yang said.

Blake sighed and pinched the brim of her nose.

"Okay, but what makes you think he won't stab us in the back?" He asked.

"I don't know." I said.

Blake just stood there in silence for a few seconds before speaking up.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" She asked.

"I don't know, he might have an agenda of his own for all I know. All I can do is hope for the best." I said.

"...So let me get this straight. You want all of us to trust HIM based off of 'what if's' and 'maybe's'?!" She asked.

"I'm not asking you to trust him. Never said you had to." I said.

"Then why-?!" Blake began.

"He trusted me with his niece, the least I can do is give him that one chance." I said.

Blake just stood there in silence as she listened to my reasoning for letting Roman loose into our school.

"Glynda doesn't trust him. Ironwood doesn't trust him. Why should they? He hasn't done anything for them or any of you...yet." I explained.

"Then why did they let him in?!" Blake said.

"Because that was the deal. He paid his end of it, and we had to pay our end." I said.

Blake just stood there, every feeling of anger and frustration leaving her body and instead being entirely consumed with confusion.

"Look, every teacher, including Ironwood are ready to strike him down if he tries anything. Believe me, I can almost guarantee you that none of the Beacon staff, or any of the people sitting in this room are happy with this situation." I said.

Neo was about to speak up, put I promptly held her hands down with my free one.

"You don't count." I said.

"I'm not asking you to trust him, I could never ask you something like that. All I ask is that you trust me with my decision to trust him." I said.

Blake just stood there, her eye's closed as if she were in deep thought.

"Okay." Ruby said.

"Huh?" Yang, Blake, and Weiss asked.

"Huh?" Roman and Glynda asked.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Wait, why are you surprised?" Blake asked.

"Didn't think someone would be willing to give him a chance THAT quickly." I said.

"Well, if Brandon trusts him, then I'm willing to give him a chance. We did the same for Neo, why not do the same for Roman. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?" Ruby asked.

"...Heh, thanks Rubes." I said.

"You're my friend, and friends have to trust one another, right?" She asked as she turned towards her teammates.

Blake, Weiss, and Yang just stood there before sighing.

"Okay, fine. Though don't think I won't let my guard down." Weiss said.

"Would be surprised if you did, Ice Queen." I said.

"Stop calling me that." She said.

"Then quit being one." I countered.

"I hate you." Weiss said as she walked away from my desk.

"Well...I gave Ice Cream here I shot, might as well give Jack O Lantern over here a shot." Yang said.

"Jack O Lantern?" Roman asked.

I glanced to my right to see that Neo was typing furiously in her scroll.

 **"Well at least I'm not some-!"** Neo began.

"No! No, no, no, no, you are NOT finishing that." I said, snatching the scroll from her hands.

Neo was desperately trying to reach for her scroll, though due to her small size, she had little to no results.

"Delete, delete, delete." I mumbled, deleting the message from her scroll.

Yang was watching the scene with a big grin on her face.

Neo turned to the blonde haired bombshell and started to glare daggers at her.

Yang's only response was to glare right back.

Jeez, I can practically see the sparks coming off of the two.

"Come on, calm down." I said, placing my hand on Neo's shoulder.

Neo just shot a dirty look at Yang, to which she responded with pointing her two fingers at her own eye's and back at Neo's before walking away.

"...Fine. I will give him ONE chance. But if he tries anything, I will strike him down." Blake said.

"Just glad you're giving this a shot." I said.

As Blake walked away from Roman, she pointed her right index finger at him.

"I'm watching you." She said.

"Looking forward to it." Roman said with a smirk.

"So, are we all calm now?" He asked.

I simply looked at Neo who simply nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah." Yang said.

"Good, now we can get onto our little lesson." He said.

"Um, excuse me, professor Torchwick?" Jaune called out.

"Yes, what is it...uh." Roman began.

"Jaune." He said.

"Right! Jauney boy, what is it?" He asked.

"What exactly will you be teaching?" Jaune asked.

"Ah, straight to the point, eh? Alright, I'll be teaching you all about the criminal underworld." Roman said.

"How fitting." Everyone except for Neo and I said.

"The world is full of dangerous criminals that would want nothing more than to see a huntsman's head on a platter." He began.

"Take me for an example, I used to HATE the huntsmen, they would always put an end to my fun before it even started. Now?...Still don't like em, though they don't need to know that considering they're the reason I'm getting paid in the first place." Roman said.

"You see kiddies, not a lot of teachers around here know a whole lot about the criminal underworld. That's why they called me in, I know the criminal underworld like the back side of my hat. They needed someone with experience, someone who knew every trick in the book, someone who probably invented a few." He said.

"I'm gonna teach you the in's and out's of the criminal underworld so that you know exactly what to do when push comes to shove." Roman said as he reached into his pocket.

"Lesson one, be ready for anything." He said as he pulled out a gun.

"Think fast!" He yelled as he shot a bullet towards Neo.

Everyone gasped as the bullet went flying toward Neo, though as it made contact, she shattered into glass and appeared on Roman's desk.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! She's your niece for Oum's sake!" Yang yelled.

"Oh calm down, they aren't real bullets." He said as he threw the gun at Yang.

"Huh?" She asked as she examined the gun.

Sure enough, it was a custom made BB gun that was designed to fire pellets at the same velocity as a bullet firing from a gun.

The pellets themselves were soft enough that they wouldn't cause actual moral damage, though hard enough so that they would travel faster.

"It's just a BB?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, the school didn't exactly like the idea of me shooting my students with real bullets so this was a little compromise." He said.

"How was that supposed to teach us anything?" Weiss asked.

"Good question, Ice Queen." Roman said.

"Hey!" She said.

"This will be your very first lesson in Criminal and Illegal knowledge." He said.

Everyone in the class, with the exception of Neo of course, looked at Roman with confused looks on there faces.

"Let's say that you go into an unfamiliar kingdom for a mission. You don't know any of the land marks, you don't know what the people are like, and you don't have a clue what the criminal underworld is like." He said.

"Criminals can range from all sorts of looks. There are your average thugs who are rough and tough around the edges, though those shouldn't be an issue for anyone in here." Roman said.

"There's people who work for gang's and mafia's." He said.

"There's crime bosses such as myself who know the ins and out's of each underworld of each kingdom." Roman said.

"You never know when there's gonna be an attempt on your life. You're all huntsmen and huntresses, thus autocratically putting you on the radar for any would be criminals or assassins." He said.

"You'll need to be prepared for anything, as well as know how to counter and retaliate." Roman said.

"Tch, I think we can handle some simple assas-!" Weiss began, only to be nailed in the head with a BB pellet.

"Really now?" He asked.

"Ow! Hey!" Weiss yelled.

"Here's the thing, Ice Queen. Good assassins are able to kill a target without fail. Great assassins are able to kill a target and not get caught. But the one's you REALLY need to watch out for are the assassins who know how to live a normal life." Roman said.

"What?" She asked.

"Those kinds of assassins know how to blend into there environment. They know the perfect way to push suspicion away from them, they know the perfect way to kill a target without the target knowing who killed them." He said.

"You'll need to be prepared for anything. That's why I'm going to teach you everything I know about these little shits." Roman said.

"Now let's talk about your first lesson." He said, pulling out the gun.

"You'll find these guns under your desks." Roman said.

Everyone looked under the desks to see the same gun that Roman was using.

"What are these for?" Ruby asked.

"Here's the thing, there will be sometimes where you'll be required to do some...questionable things to some targets. It's all in the line of duty, and I'm here to prepare you for all that." He said.

"If you can land one of those BB's on me, then you basically passed the class." Roman said.

"What?!" She asked.

"Now I could just give you a paper and tell you to write down some stuff but where's the fun in that?" He asked.

"Besides, this is how I trained Neo to become how she is today." Roman said as he pointed at Neo who simply waved her right hand.

"You attempt this little 'assassination' however you'd like. With the guns I gave you to one of the rubber knives that are also in your desks." He said.

Everyone looked in there desk's to see that a rubber knife was sitting on the wood of the table.

"Though here's the catch, I'm free to retaliate however I like, just so long it doesn't cause physical injury that is." Roman said.

"So you'll need to think about these assassination attempts long and hard." He said.

Though before anyone could speak up, Roman started to speak again.

"Oh, and don't think you can get out of this. This is one of the longest assignments you'll ever get, it lasts all the way till the end of the school year, and if you don't pull of a successful assassination well then you'll just fail my class." He said.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Everyone except for Neo and I yelled.

"This assassination is fifty percent of your grade kiddies, you fail to do it, you fail the class. While I'll still be teaching you all about the criminal underworld, these skill's will be especially helpful in your line of work." Roman said.

"How is assassination supposed to help us become the protectors of the world?" Weiss asked.

"Let's be real here, Ice Queen. Being a huntsmen isn't always about hunting down Grimm and wiping them off the face of the planet. There are some people out there who tend to get a little rowdy." He said.

"And what happens during all that commotion?" Roman asked.

"The Grimm come." Jaune said.

"Good! Yes, the Grimm come. So, sometimes you need to make sure they don't cause trouble for the kings again without the public actually knowing they were in danger to begin with." He said.

"...I suppose he does have a point there." Blake said.

"Kitty cat is agreeing with me? Wow, are pigs flying now?" Roman asked.

The only response he got was for Blake to fire the BB at Roman, to which he blocked with little effort with his cane.

"That brings me to the rules I set." He said.

"Rules?" Yang asked.

"First rule, no guns discharging in the classroom, a rule Kitty Cat had already broke." Roman said.

"W-what?! I didn't even know it was a rule until now!" Blake yelled.

"No excuses. Back row." He said.

"What?!" She yelled.

"1." Roman began.

"Y-Yang." Ruby said shakily.

"Y-yeah sis?" Yang asked.

"He's counting." She said.

"I know, we'll get through this together." She said.

"Come on guy's, you're overreacting." Blake said.

"2." Roman said.

.

.

"3." He said.

"Okay! I'm going, I'm going!" She said, walking up to the back row.

"Sorry Blake." Ruby said.

"We'll never forget you." Yang said.

"Second rule, no assassination attempts in the class room. You can do it any other time, but during class is not one of them." Roman said.

Everyone nodded and continued to listen.

"That's it." He said.

"...Only two rules?" Weiss asked.

"I'm one of the biggest crime bosses in all of Vale, if not Remnant. You expect me to have a chart full of rules?" Roman asked.

"...He's got you there." Yang said.

"Quiet you!" She yelled.

Though before Roman could continue his class, the bell rung, signalling the end of the day.

"Oh would you look at the time, it seems that's all we have for today. Well, I'll see you all tomorrow kiddies, and remember, you fail the assassination, you fail my class." Roman said.

Everyone walked out of the class feeling very conflicted...well everyone with the exception of Neo and Brandon.

"So, we need to quote on quote, assassinate one of Vale's biggest crime bosses during this semester...this place is awesome!" Sun yelled.

"Gotta hand it to Roman, he may be a criminal but he sure knows how to run a class, and make it fun as hell." Yang said.

"Still, I can't believe Ozpin would let someone like him into our school, I mean what was he thinking?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I'm sure him and Brandon had there reasons, right Blake?" Ruby asked.

Blake simply just stood there in silence, not really responding to her question.

"Blake?" She asked.

"Huh?" Blake asked, snapping back into reality.

"Are you okay?" Yang asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. I just...I need to go for a walk." She said as she started to walk away from the group.

"...Yeah, the team and I need to go into Vale, we're going to have a little team bonding. You know, to take a break and unload from all that happened." Jaune said as he and his team started to walk off.

"Well, have fun." Ruby said as the group left.

"..I also need to check on something. I'll meet you guys back in our dorms." Sun said as he ran off.

"Oh! That reminds me, I have something important to do." Weiss said, walking off.

"Oh. Okay." Ruby said.

"I also gotta get repairs on Bumblebee." Yang said.

"I need to go and make repairs to my weapon. It over heated during the breach." Neptune said.

"...How about-." Ruby began as she turned towards the remaining members of SSSN.

"Sorry Rubes, I'll be busy going to the Vale history museum." Scarlet said.

"Oh! I can come with you then!" Ruby said.

"I only bought one ticket." He said.

"Oh." She said.

Ruby was about to speak up to Sage, though he quickly cut her off.

"Can't. Need to meditate." He said as he walked off.

"Don't worry Rubes, I'm sure there are plenty of things in Vale you could show me. We can do it some other time." Scarlet said as he walked off.

.

.

"Why is everyone so busy?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby!" She heard a familiar voice say.

Ruby turned her head to the right to see that Penny was charging full speed towards her.

"Penny!...Wait, wait, wait, wa-!" Ruby began, though it was too late, she was already tackled by her robotic friend.

"Whyyyyyy?" She asked.

"Ms. Polendina!" Ruby heard a unfamiliar voice say.

Ruby looked over her friend to see an unfamiliar girl running towards the pair.

The girl has dark skin, short, navy blue hair, and blue eyes. She also had a gold marking consisting of an oval shape surrounded by four smaller circles in the center of her forehead.

She wore a blue beret, a plain gray button-down shirt with an asymmetrical collar and matching leggings, a blue combat skirt, and fingerless, elbow-length black gloves with a wristwatch on her left hand, and black shoes.

"Oh! Ciel! Salutations!" Penny greeted.

"Please...don't run off so suddenly." The newly named Ciel said.

"I'm sorry. I just got so excited to see my friend Ruby!" She said.

"Who is this?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, this is my teammate." Penny said.

"Ciel...Soleil." Ciel greeted.

"Hi! I'm-!" Ruby began, only to be cut off by Ciel.

"Ruby Rose. Fifteen. Hale's from Patch. Leader of team RWBY. Status...questionable." Ciel said.

"...Sooooo, wanna hang out." Ruby asked.

"What?" She asked.

"That sounds lovely." Penny said.

"What?!" Ciel asked.

"Great! Then let's go! Oh there's so much I want to show you!" Ruby said as she dragged Penny off with her.

"Wha-?! Ms. Polendina! Wait for me!" Ciel yelled as she ran after her teammate.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

Blake was walking down the halls of Beacon, a heavy weight had been put on her shoulder.

 _"I'm not asking you to trust him, I could never ask you something like that. All I ask is that you trust me with my decision to trust him."_ She remembered Brandon saying.

 _'How?'_ Blake asked herself.

 _'How could you trust someone who has hurt so many people in his life. So many Faunus, he's the cause of everyone's troubles. So how can you still trust him after everything he's done?'_ She asked herself, clenching her right fist.

 _'It doesn't make sense! How could you trust him?! How could the headmaster trust him?! How can anyone trust him after everything he's done to Vale?'_ Blake asked.

 _'...Why?'_ She asked herself.

That was the only real question ever since this morning.

Why?

Why was he here?

Why did Brandon of all people trust him?

Why did the headmaster let him in despite knowing what he's done?

Though every time she tried to come up with an answer to any of those said questions, more questions just popped into her head.

It didn't make sense to her, and she's sure that it didn't make sense to any of her teammates.

 _'I was able to give his accomplice the benefit of the doubt, but Roman himself?! How could I ever trust him after seeing what he's capable of doing to people?!'_ Blake asked.

"Hey." She heard someone say from behind her.

"Huh?" Blake asked as she turned to see that Sun was walking towards her with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, hey Sun." She said.

"So...pretty eventful day, huh?" Sun asked.

"That's one way to describe it, yeah." Blake said.

"Kinda surprising that they let Roman in of all people. Wonder what was going through the headmaster's head when he agreed to it, ever since I got here he's always let loose a mysterious vibe to him. Like you could never tell what he's thinking." He said.

"Ozpin has made some questionable decisions. I mean he let me in despite knowing about my affiliations with the White Fang and the Phantoms." She said.

"Yeah, it's really...wait, wait, wait. He KNEW you were part of the White Fang?!" Sun asked.

"Ever since I applied at Beacon." Blake said.

"Wow, he sure is one weird headmaster." He said.

"That's one word to describe him." She said.

"So why did he let you in then? Not that I have a problem with it, I'm just curious as to why he would let one of the former members of the White Fang into his school." Sun said.

"Even I haven't been able to come up with a logical conclusion for why he let me in." Blake said.

"Well...ever thought that he did it because he wanted to give you a second chance?" Sun asked.

"Maybe he did, maybe he did it for a different reason. I'll never understand what drives him to do what he does." She said.

"Well...maybe you shouldn't think so hard on it then." He said.

"...What?" Blake asked.

"Well, it's not like knowing will make much of a difference. What matters right now is that you're here, and that you're here with us." Sun said.

"Still, I'd like to know why he did what he did." She said.

"I know, just don't think on it to hard. You know what happened the last time you over thunk something." He said.

"Yeah." Blake said, a small drop of sweat sliding down her forehead as she remembered the time where she literally passed out onto the arena floor with her fight with Yang.

"We won Blake. So what if Roman is now a teacher in Beacon, I'm actually looking forward to it. It's not everyday you get taught how to fight assassins with one of the greatest crime bosses in all of Vale." Sun said.

"...I suppose your right. But I'm still keeping my eye on him." She said.

"Well someone has to. Besides, he's being kept under surveillance and all that jazz, so if he's doing something fishy, we'll be the first to know about it." He said.

"That's true, it's not as if they just let him in without taking the smallest precautions." Blake said.

"Exactly! See, nothing to stress over. Just lay back and deal with the situations as they come, that's what I do at least." Sun said.

"Relax, huh?" She asked.

 _'Now that I think about it, I haven't been able to do that for a long time. Not even in the White Fang, it was always work, work, and more work. Never really had the time to sit back and let loose.'_ Blake thought to herself.

"Yeah! Just kick back and celebrate your victory." Sun said.

"Our victory, you had just as much of an involvement as we did, Sun. Everyone did." She said.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you guys would have been fine without us." He said.

"No, we wouldn't have." Blake said.

"Huh?" Sun asked.

"We were out numbered out there, we were low on ammunition, and we were on our last reserves of aura. If you hadn't showed up when you did, I doubt we could have saved as many people as we did." She said.

Sun just stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before scratching the back of his head.

"Aw come on, you're gonna make me blush." Sun said cheekily.

"Heh, guess you aren't as much of a tough guy as you think." Blake said with a smirk.

"Meh, we all have our days." He said.

"Yeah, guess we do." She said.

"So...you wanna hang out?" Sun asked.

"...What?" Blake asked.

"Well, you're not doing anything right now, so why not use this free day to chill and all that?" He asked.

"Hmm, what did you have in mind?" She asked.

"Well, I heard there was this good noodle shop somewhere in town, and I wanted to see if it was as authentic's as Mistral's." Sun said.

"Do you even know what authentic means?" Blake asked.

"Nope. But I hear Neptune say it all the time so it must mean something classy." He said.

"It means that it's genuine." She said.

"Oh, well now we HAVE to see if it's authentic. Mistral's noodles are the bomb!" Sun said.

"Hmm...okay, why not?" Blake asked.

"Great! Let's go!" He said.

"Wait, now?!" She asked.

"Yeah! I'm starving." Sun said.

"Can I at least get a book or two? I mean they aren't going anywhe-." Blake began.

"I heard they have a killer fish bowl." He said with a smirk.

Blake's ears shot up at the mention of her favorite type of food.

"We're leaving." She said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Weiss was currently making her way through the courtyard of Beacon with a letter in her hands.

She had just received a letter from her dear sister, Winter Schnee from back home at Atlas.

Winter Schnee was really the only care taker she had back in Atlas, next to her dear friend Klein Sieben that is.

The two had been her care takers ever since she was a child, her mother was barely around for her, constantly secluding herself from her husband.

Then there was Weiss's father, Jacques Schnee, the current owner of the Schnee Dust Company.

That man was the whole reason why Weiss's childhood was hell, he had made her into what she was when she first joined Beacon.

It's the whole reason why Weiss applied at Beacon in the first place, it was to get away from her father.

Sure it pained her to leave her sister and her butler behind to deal with father, but she knew that they would be able to manage without her.

Winter was the lieutenant of Atlas's army, so she was always away from home during her early teen years.

Though she would come to visit as much as possible during her off days.

Weiss's sister wasn't just her caretaker, she was also her teacher.

Winter had taught everything Weiss knew about combat, even though the two had two very different weapons and styles.

She was the one who taught Weiss how to use her Glyph's properly, and how to utilize there full potential.

Sure she was stern at times, though what sister wasn't?

Even Yang could be stern with Ruby every once in a while.

Winter would always be there for her, even if they were half way across the world from one another.

They don't get to talk all that much due to this large gap and Winter's heavy work load.

But the two do try and remain in contact via letters and all that.

Winter insisted that they just communicate via scroll, though Weiss wasn't having any of it.

This was how they communicated back in Atlas, this is how they will continue to communicate, even if this form of communication was pretty unreliable these days.

Weiss appreciates the nostalgia of it all.

Then there was her butler, Klein.

Klein was like her best friend, if anything Klein was more of a father to Weiss than her actual father ever was.

He would always read her bed time stories as a child, play with her whenever she wanted to, and even dress up as a princess if she so wished him to.

During her teen years, Klein would always help her during her studies by bringing her refreshments and even attempting to help her with her studies.

We use the word 'attempting' because Klein had no idea what half of the things Weiss was studying about were.

Though he was still there for Weiss, and that's all she needed him to do.

The butler didn't do it because it was his job to do so, he did it because he wanted Weiss to feel at home there.

He was pretty saddened when she told him that she was going to Beacon, though he was also proud of her.

She was finally standing up against the tyranny her father had over her and the rest of her family.

Weiss wasn't going to tolerate his methods any longer, now that she had seen just what it was like for the other side.

She wouldn't let the Faunus suffer any longer, at least not because of her father's beliefs.

Though her father was getting more and more persistent each passing week.

Constantly calling her over the days, sending her messages, reducing her funds, etc.

He was starting to get restless, and that's exactly what Weiss was hoping for.

It seems her leave has caused her father quite some trouble.

Weiss wasn't going to live under his thumb any more, she would rebuild the Schnee Dust Company with the vision she had gained during her time here in Beacon.

 _'I will not let you be the end of our family name, father. I will fix what you have broken.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

 _"I wish you the best of luck in your time in Beacon, Ms. Schnee. I hope to see you back here a different woman, though don't forget to write, there's a limit to how much of your fathers blasphemy I can take."_ Weiss remember Klein saying.

 _"While I may not like the idea of you moving half way across the world to learn how to become a huntress, I support your decision none the less. Just remember if you ever need someone to talk to, you know who to call."_ She remembered Winter saying before she left for the academy.

"I won't let you guys down." Weiss said to herself.

Though that was for another time, today is a day for relaxation and to let loose.

After everything that has happened they deserved at least ONE day off, even she agreed to that.

Though it just so happens that her sister had written back from Atlas.

It was a letter asking her dear sister if she could take some day's off to come down to Vale.

Considering the Vytal festival was right around the corner, Weiss thought she would take this time to tell her of her progress and success here at Beacon.

Weiss took a deep breath and opened the letter.

 _ **"My dearest sister."**_ The letter began.

 _ **"It pleases me to hear that your progress in Beacon is going rather smoothly, not that I had any doubt you'd do well in your studies."**_ It said.

 _ **"By the time you're reading this letter, the headmaster of Atlas academy will have already arrived at Beacon. I'm not particularly sure why he insisted on taking some of Atlas's forces with him, though I'm sure that he has his reasons."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"As for your offer, I am pleased to say that I will be able to visit, though only for a brief period of time."**_ It said.

 ** _"The general has called me to Vale for business purposes, classified information."_** The letter said.

 _ **"I'll be able to stay for the last three days of the tournament, we can use this time to make up for the time we missed."**_ It said.

 _ **"Though our time will be brief, I am here for business reasons and that must come first."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"I expect your team to move to the finals of the tournament, I will be watching your matches, and grading you based on your performance."**_ It said.

 ** _"It is quite unfortunate that you were not elected leader, but there isn't anything you can do about it as of now. Though that is no excuse to be slacking, you must be in top shape for the tournament. You are representing a kingdom after all, even if it's not Atlas."_** The letter said.

 _ **"That being said, know that Klein and I will be rooting for you during the tournament."**_ It said.

 _ **"I am looking forward to hearing all about your time at Beacon."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Your dear sister, Winter Schnee."**_ It concluded.

Weiss smiled happily as she finished reading the letter.

 _'If Winter is going to be watching me, then I need to be in top shape for the tournament.'_ She thought to herself.

Weiss was about to get up and prepare for the tournament, though she stopped herself as her eye's stopped on Neptune's figure.

He was sitting on one of Beacon's various benches that laid under a tree.

From the looks of it, he was drawing in some sort of sketchbook.

 _'Huh, I knew Neptune had a interest in art, though I didn't think it would have been one of his hobbies.'_ Weiss said.

Though upon further inspection, it was clear that Neptune wasn't drawing any of the various sights that Beacon had to offer.

 _'What's he doing?'_ She asked.

Weiss started to walk over to Neptune in hopes to find out what exactly he was drawing.

"No, not that." He mumbled as he started to erase some of the parts of the drawing.

As she arrived at the bench, she peered over Neptune's shoulder to see he was drawing...something.

She couldn't quite make it out really, it was something new to her...that and it wasn't finished yet.

"Not that either." Neptune mumbled.

"Hey." Weiss said, causing Neptune to jump from the bench in surprise.

"Gah!" He yelled as he fell off of the bench.

"Oh! Are you alright?!" She asked, walking to his side.

"Ugh, yeah. I'll be alright." Neptune said as he got up from off of the ground and picked up his sketchbook.

"What are you drawing?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, you saw that, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty curious as to what it is exactly." She said.

"Well...to be honest, I don't even know myself." Neptune said.

.

.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"It isn't my drawing. Well, not my original drawing that is." He said.

"Oh, so you're attempting to draw based off of memory alone. Quite the interesting tactic there, Neptune." She said.

"No, I can do that easily, it's more of trying to figure out what the rest of it should look like." Neptune said.

"Well that shouldn't be to hard, right?" Weiss asked.

"Harder than you'd think." He said.

"How? Just draw something that'll blend in well with what you have here." She said.

"It's not that simple. I need to get it just right." Neptune said.

Weiss sighed and placed her hand on Neptune's shoulder.

"Listen, I'm sure that anything you draw will turn out to be a splendid piece of work, you just need to be creative." She said.

"I'm not worried about making it look good, I'm worried about making it right." Neptune said.

"I...don't follow." Weiss said.

Neptune sighed and placed the sketchbook onto the bench.

"I'm trying to finish a painting that someone dear to me couldn't finish." He said.

"Who?" She asked.

"My little sister." Neptune said.

"Wow, she drew this?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, she was really something." He said.

"So...why couldn't she finish it?" She asked.

Though she was able to put two and two together as Neptune's expression saddened.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Weiss said.

"No, it's cool. You didn't know." Neptune said.

"...How old was she?" She asked.

"When she made this? She was about eight." He said.

"Ten?! She made this when she was eight?!" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, she was really something. This was the last painting she did before she..." Neptune said.

"How?" She asked, shocked how someone so young could have died.

"It was a disease, it really affected her nervous system. She couldn't even walk." He said.

"..." Weiss just remained silent as Neptune told his tale.

"So, I took her everywhere I could so that she could draw. Mistral is the kingdom of art you know? A lot of sights to be seen and to draw." He said.

"This one painting was the world to her, she would spend days and nights trying to complete it. Though one day she went to sleep and never woke up." Neptune said.

"So, I owe it to her. I'll complete this painting for her sake. It's the whole reason why I became a huntsmen, I'm searching for what my sister envisioned all those years ago." He said.

Weiss just sat there in shock as Neptune finished his little tale.

"So, this is what you're looking for?" She asked as she stared at the sketch.

"Yeah, though I'm not really sure what this is." He said.

"Hmm, it looks like a fascinating picture. I haven't seen a lot like it, even in Atlas." Weiss said.

"Yeah, makes it kinda hard to figure out what she was trying to tell with this painting." Neptune said, lifting it up.

"But I'll find it one day, I'm sure of it." He said.

Weiss stood there in silence, before standing up.

"Let me help." She said.

"Huh?" Neptune asked.

"Let me help you find the message your sister wanted to portray." Weiss asked.

"Why go through the trouble?" He asked.

"I...have a sister to. This is your sister's dying wish, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Neptune said.

"Well, if my sister died, then I would want to fulfill her last wishes as well." Weiss said.

Neptune just sat there in silence before he started to chuckle.

"Thanks, Weiss." He said.

"What was her name?" She asked.

"Amphitrite Vasilias. What's your sister's name?" Neptune asked.

"Winter Schnee." Weiss said with a grin on her face.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

 _ **"Given there reactions, I'd say that it went rather well."**_ Caliber said.

Well? Considering that Roman still has all of his limbs intact yeah, I'd say it went pretty well.

 _ **"They didn't seem to be particularly pleased about this new development."**_ He said.

I can assure you that no one is happy with this new change of pace.

 _ **"Our new partner tends to think other wise."**_ Caliber said.

Neo doesn't count.

 _ **"Well what of the rose? She seemed pretty open to all of this."**_ He said.

That's just how Ruby is, she's a really good fighter but if you say you're sorry to her than she'll more than likely accept you with open arms.

 _ **"Hmm, how naive. She will have to learn the true ways of the world, sooner or later."**_ Caliber said.

I think she already has...or at least she possibly will.

 _ **"You are referring to the down fall of the spartan, correct?"**_ He asked.

Yeah, Ruby had to watch her die right in front of her eyes.

 _ **"Then we shall turn the wheel of fate in our favor."**_ Caliber said.

That was the plan from day one, and the plan hasn't changed.

 _ **"Though be warned, my boy. Turning the wheel in your favor would mean loosing sight of a predicted future. You have seen just what meddling with fate can do the rivers of time."**_ He said.

Yeah, a lot of shit has popped up that hasn't happened in the show.

New characters, new events, a lot has been changing.

Though in the end, the major events do happen. So what we're doing isn't having that much of an impact yet, the Vytal festival is when we really need to start making some changes.

 _ **"Indeed, though meddling with the rivers of time can have dire consequences, my boy."**_ Caliber said.

That's a chance I'm willing to take.

 _ **"Hmm, well said."**_ He said.

Hey, mind if I ask you something?

 _ **"If your mind is troubled, then I shall do my best to ease it."**_ Caliber said.

Do you remember what happened back in the Forever Fall, you know when we were going to fight off against Merlot?

 _ **"Hmm, my memory from that time is not that great. I was still asleep, though the presences of some of my siblings awakened me from my rest."**_ He said.

Yeah...wait, siblings? As in more than one?

 _ **"That is the term you humans use, is it not?"**_ Caliber asked.

How? There was only one wielder and one spirit from what I saw, not to mention there was only one weapon.

 _ **"Hmm, I see you have encountered my siblings, Cronus."**_ He said.

Okay, I knew what weapon it was, though how does it have multiple spirits?

 _ **"Allow me to tell you a story."**_ Caliber said.

Huh?

 _ **"There was once a man, a man of great power. Though despite all this power, this man was very lonely."**_ He said.

I was confused but I continued to listen to Caliber's tale.

 _ **"Why was he lonely you may ask? Well all things must meet this man, every man, woman, and child, once they saw his mask, there souls would have been guided to the realm where they may rest. Though once they had been laid to rest, the man disappeared as quickly as he came."**_ He said.

 _ **"So one day, the man took his scythe, and split himself in two."**_ Caliber said.

...Jesus.

 _ **"The man's power was divided into two separate entities."**_ He said.

 _ **"His left side inherited the power of mercy, guiding souls away from the land of the living with a calm and soothing voice."**_ Caliber said.

What about his other side?

 ** _"The right side of the man inherited the power of brutality, mercilessly hunting down those who's names are stained in blood."_** He said.

So...why did he split himself apart?

 ** _"So they would always have someone to call family."_** Caliber said.

 ** _"This is the tale of my siblings, Agnus and Lupus."_** He said.

Well, if they're two separate entities then why do they take one form?

 ** _"While they may act as two separate entities, they are still one of the same. Thus they must reside in the same vessel."_** Caliber said.

Guess that makes sense. So I'm assuming you don't know who the wielder is either.

 _ **"That is correct."**_ He said.

Damn, and here I thought we would actually have a name to put under our belt.

"Hey." I heard someone say.

"Hmm?" I turned around to see who was calling me.

Though once I did, my draw nearly dropped to the floor as I saw the man who was walking towards me.

There was no mistaking him.

That messy yet clean hair.

That long red tattered cape that somehow manages to flow in the wind with no wind.

The smell of alcohol lingering wherever he goes.

Qrow. Branwen.

.

.

"Hey, you deaf or something? I'm talking to you." He asked, looking directly at me.

"Huh? O-oh! What do you want?" I asked.

"I wanna talk." Qrow said.

"With me?" I asked.

"Do you see anyone else around here?" He asked.

"...Fair point. Though I have to ask...who are you?" I asked.

"Names Qrow, with a Q." Qrow said.

"Well, nice to meet ya Qrow, the names-." I began.

"Brandon Kim, yeah I know." He said.

"Oh...so what exactly do you want?" I asked.

"Look, how bout we just skip the whole chit chat phase and get straight to the point?" Qrow asked.

"Okay, I'll ask again. What's up?" I asked.

"I came here to talk, specifically about that sword on your back." He said as he pointed to the sword that was wrapped around my waist.

I looked at the sword that acted as the vessel for Caliber and looked back at Qrow.

"You want to talk about Caliber?" I asked.

"That's right." He said.

Though before I could ask why the sudden interest in Caliber, the spirit in question spoke up.

 _ **"I would be cautions around this one, my boy."**_ He said.

What? Why? He's not our enemy you know.

 _ **"While that may be true, he emanates an unusual aura."**_ Caliber said.

What do you mean by unusual?

 _ **"Hmm, I don't know how to explain it. Though I think it would be wise to keep your guard up around this man."**_ He said.

Alright, if you say so.

"You okay kid? You've been spacing out for a few seconds there." Qrow said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine." I said.

"Hmm, you talking to the spirit inside your head?" He asked.

"Yeah...wait, how did you know Caliber could do that?" I asked.

Qrow looked around the streets of Vale before leaning in towards me.

"Follow me. It ain't safe to talk here." He said.

"Wha-?" I asked.

"Don't question it, just move." Qrow said as he started to walk.

"Alright! I'm going, I'm going." I said, following Qrow.

We probably walked for a good ten minutes before we eventually arrived at some sort of food stand in the industrial part of town.

"We're here." He said, walking behind the curtains.

I shrugged and followed him inside.

"Come here." Qrow said as he pulled up a chair.

"O-okay." I said.

"Relax kid, you're not in trouble. Least not yet." He said.

I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but before I could, the cook came from out from behind the stand.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the same old man that every stand and store has.

"Qrow! Wow, it's been forever." The cook said.

"Been busy, how bout you cook us up something? I'll have my usual." Qrow said.

"And what will you be having young man?" He asked.

I looked at the various options that were open to me before picking.

"Surprise me." I said.

"Coming right up." The waiter said, though before he could walk behind the stand, Qrow stopped him.

"Give him the Yokai bowl." He said, causing the waiter to stop in his tracks.

"...Is she back?" He asked.

"Not yet, though expect a little visit from her." Qrow said.

"Then why did you-?" The waiter began, only to stop as his eyes settled on me.

"Is he-?!" He asked.

"Yeah, he is." Qrow said.

"...Well I'll be, it's been quite a while since I've seen someone like you son." The waiter said as he walked behind the booth.

"Someone like me?" I asked.

"Have a seat, kid." Qrow said.

I nodded and sat down on the chair next to Qrow.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you all the way out here." He said.

"To talk about my weapon, right?" I asked.

"Heh, not exactly." Qrow said as he took a sip from the cup of alcohol he bought.

"Damn, I missed this shit." He chuckled.

"So, why did you bring me all the way out here?" I asked.

"I needed a private place to talk, somewhere only a few select people know of us." Qrow said.

"Us? I mean most people in Vale know me as the kid who nabbed one of the White Fang's elite assassins." I said.

"Not talking about you." He said.

"Oh...then who are you talking about?" I asked.

Qrow took a sip from his cup before placing it onto the table.

"A place where very few people know about my sister, Raven." He said.

.

.

Well then, this wasn't what I was expecting to hear today.

"Who's Raven?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"That's a question with a lot of different answers, kid." Qrow said.

"...Okay?" I said, slightly confused.

"To some people, she's a criminal with no morals." He said.

"To others, she's a traitor to her own kingdom." Qrow said.

"Then there's the others, some see her as a former lover...okay one person see's her like that." He said.

"She's seen in a lot of ways. A traitor, a killer, a savage, a former lover, a mother, a sister. Though there should only be ONE way you view her." Qrow said.

"You should see her as the wielder of the enchanted Katana, Masamune." He said, causing me to drop the drink that was in my hand.

...No, I didn't just hear that. I have to be hearing things, there's no way that Raven Branwen of all people would be one of the enchanted weapon users.

"H-huh?" I asked him.

"I know it's a bit sudden to hear, but now that you've forged your contract, you've caught her attention." Qrow said.

Great. Like I didn't have enough on my dish already.

 _ **"Hmm, so brother is coming to Vale. Perhaps this will be a wonderful opportunity to talk over some tea."**_ Caliber said.

Oh sure, you can do that while Raven is stabbing me to death!

"So, is this a warning?" I asked.

"Not really. A warning would imply that you're in danger because of her arrival." Qrow said.

How the hell am I not in danger?! First Cinder now Raven?! Jesus I just put one of the White Fang's elite assassins behind bars can I have a little break already?!

"You're to valuable to her to kill you." He said.

"How am I valuable to her in any way shape or form?" I asked.

"Just by having that weapon at your side is enough for her to keep you around." Qrow said.

"So what does she expect to gain? Does she want me to join her posse or something?" I asked.

"No. The little group she's in isn't something you can just join, you need to be born into it. Not even the leader can recruit outsiders." He said.

"Group?" I asked.

This is definitely a new one for me. Did they cover this in volume four? I wasn't around for volume four.

"Well, if you're gonna meet her. You might as well have an idea on just what kind of woman she is." Qrow said.

"She's the leader of a bandit group in Mistral that travels around Anima, taking villages, caravans, other tribes, etc." He said.

...What?

"Raven and I were taken into the tribe, though Raven was the only one who was able to wield the sword correctly." Qrow said.

"So...she's a bandit?" I asked.

"Basically." He said.

"Then, how the hell did she get into Beacon, and if she graduated, why did she go back in the first place?" I asked.

"How did you know she went to Beacon?" Qrow asked with his eye's narrowed.

"I'm friends with your niece, Yang. She told me about Raven, or what little she knew about her." I said.

Qrow sighed before taking another sip from his cup.

"We left the tribe because we wanted to get stronger. There was nothing the tribe could have taught us, so we went out in search for further education." He said.

"One thing led to another and we wound up enrolling into Beacon. That's where we met Yang's father and Ruby's mother. Tai Yang and Summer Rose." Qrow said.

"Tai was always trying to get with Raven, he fell for her the second she laid eyes on her. Summer...she was something alright." He said.

"Though Ozpin saw that Raven had one of the twelve legendary enchanted weapons told in folklore. So, he decided to privately train her so that she could become the best huntress she could be." Qrow said.

Just like he's doing with me.

"She was a genius, both in academics and combat." He said.

"Raven even got the attention of good old Jimmy, and he decided that he would help Oz with his lessons." Qrow said.

"She got what she wanted, she was the strong. She was stronger than everyone in our classes and on our team." He said.

"Though there was one lesson that she could never perfect. One technique that would have made her the strongest, hell, Raven probably could have gone toe to toe with Oz if she had perfected this lesson." Qrow said.

"But no matter how hard she trained, no matter how hard she studied, she could never master this technique." He said.

"What technique was this? I've been training under Ozpin for two years now, and I've yet to come across a lesson the difficult." I said.

"That's because Ozpin wasn't the one teaching her how to do it." Qrow said.

"Then who was teaching her?" I asked.

"No one. This wasn't exactly a lesson that you can learn from someone. You sorta have to learn it yourself." He said.

"Then...who told her about the lesson? Who gave it to her?" I asked.

"It was the source of her strength, Masamune himself told Raven about this lesson." Qrow said.

Wait, you guys can teach us stuff?

 _ **"If we so please."**_ Caliber said.

Why haven't you taught me anything?

 _ **"The contract was forged last week, patience my boy."**_ He said.

You just don't know what to teach me.

 _ **"I can teach you a few things on how to be a gentleman."**_ Caliber said.

Never mind.

"So what was the lesson?" I asked.

"It was...pretty vague." He said.

I simply looked at him with one of my eyebrows raised.

"You desire the power dominate your enemies, though in order to gain the strength you desire, you must break the chains of captivity that have been holding it back, the strength that resides within your very soul." He said.

"Strength of her soul?" I asked.

"I don't get it either. Never really thought about it, wasn't my lesson." Qrow said.

"She trained day and night, trying to solve her weapons lesson. Though every time she tried, she had little to no results." He said.

"What would she gained from this lesson?" I asked.

"Hell if I know." Qrow asked.

Do you know what he's talking about, Caliber?

 _ **"Hmm, strength of one's soul. Masamune was always the one for riddles and puzzles. I would have to know more about this Raven before giving you an answer."**_ He said.

Alright, I'll hold you to that.

"She's still hasn't been able to get it right. Even after twenty years." Qrow said.

"T-twenty?! Jeez how hard can a single lesson be?" I asked.

"I don't know. But this one lesson was what sent Raven over the edge. She tried everything, tournament's, missions, all of it. Yet Masamune wouldn't budge." He said.

"It was slowly chipping away at Raven, though the Vytal tournament is what drove her over the edge." Qrow said.

"The Vytal festival?" I asked.

"Yeah, the one that was being held in Atlas. She had been training for weeks, and she thought that this would finally be the answer that would win over Masamune." He said.

"I'm assuming that wasn't the case." I said.

"Yep, she won the tournament for Vale, for her kingdom. Though Masamune wouldn't budge, even after seeing what Raven was capable of." Qrow said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She just...snapped." He said, looking down at his drink.

Guess it's a bit to personal for him right now, might want to drop it for now.

"So, if she doesn't want to kill me and she doesn't want me to join her tribe, then why is she here?" I asked.

"Raven want's to see what you're capable of. She might want to see if you could be useful to her in the near future." Qrow said.

"And if I'm not?" I asked.

"Then she won't bother you unless you interfere with her agenda." He said.

Huh, so there's no real danger in me denying her offers.

Well that's good to know, gives me one less problem to worry about.

But still, might want to keep the fact that she's an enchanted weapon user in the back of my head.

Never know when that might come in handy.

"Here are your orders, sirs." The waiter said.

"Bout time." Qrow said.

I looked down at my bowl to see my reflection in the broth of the soup.

"So...what's this called again?" I asked.

"The Yokai Bowl. It was a special soup that Raven made." Qrow said.

"Oh...why are you giving this to me?" I asked.

"Call it nostalgia." He said with a smirk.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"Wow Ruby! I never knew all of these fun activities were standing right in front of me during my time in Vale! How could I have been so blind to these activities?!" Penny asked.

"Well, you did say you were always busy when you were here. I just thought that I'd take you to see everything while you're still here...well, everything within my price range that is." Ruby said.

"I am also thoroughly impressed with you, Ms. Soleil. I was not aware that you could consume so much nutrients in one single sitting." She said.

"Well, running all around Vale tends to work up quite the appetite." Ciel said.

"Fascinating." Penny said.

"Though I am curious as to why you did not eat anything yourself, Ms. Polendina." She said, causing Penny to get a little nervous.

"W-well. I wasn't very hungry. I had a very early lunch." Penny said.

"But I've been with you the entire day." Ciel said.

"Uh...I ate while you were in the bathroom! Right Ruby?" She asked as she turned towards Ruby.

"Hmm? Oh! Yeah, she ate so fast you know, man it was sure a sight to be seen." Ruby said nervously.

.

.

"Hmm, very well. If you believe yourself to be well then let us proceed." Ciel said.

"So, what's next Ruby?!" Penny asked.

"Oh! There's this new arcade that just opened up, how about we go there?!" Ruby asked.

"That sounds sensational! Let us go to the gathering point known as the 'arcade'." Penny said as she started to walk off.

Though a few seconds passed before she came back with a confused look on her face.

"Where am I going?" She asked.

"I'll lead the way, just follow me." Ruby said with a chuckle.

"Excellent!" Penny said.

"Um...do you want to come to?" She asked as she turned towards Ciel.

"I have very specific orders to keep my eye on Penny at all times. So yes, I will be going. Though I don't know if I will indulge in any of these games." Ciel said.

"...Okay." Ruby said.

 _'Jeez, Penny sure does have a weird friend...then again I have a friend who has a talking gentleman spirit inside of him so who am I to judge?'_ She thought to herself.

Though before Ruby could continue to walk, Penny walked up beside her.

"So, it's been quite some time since we last talked. What has been shaking?" She asked.

"...What did you just say?" Ruby asked, trying her best not to just start rolling on the floor in a laughing fit.

"Well, according to my research, all of the cool kids use those kinds of terms." Penny said.

"Penny, that was cool twenty years ago...actually I don't think it was cool ever." She said.

"Oh, so I shouldn't say that?" She asked.

"No, you can. It's just that it's pretty...outdated." Ruby said.

"Drat!" Penny said.

"So...what's with her?" She asked.

"Who? ?" She asked.

"Yeah, is she like your friend or something?" Ruby asked.

"Well, in a way. She's like Blake, except if Blake was ordered to spend time with you." Penny said.

"Oh, so Weiss?" She asked.

"Precisely." She said.

"Well, does she know about...you know, beep boop bop, does not compute?" Ruby asked, making the movements of a robot.

"Oh, no. General Ironwood doesn't want anyone to know. Though there was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off." Penny said.

"Magnet?" She asked.

"Oh it was the strangest thing! I was just walking around Vale, when all of a sudden my body was pulled towards this red haired woman!" She said.

.

.

 _'Note to self. Keep Penny and Pyrrha away from one another.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"By the way, how is the boy with two souls?" Penny asked.

"The who with what now?" She asked.

"The boy with two souls! You know, how has Brandon been these days?" She asked.

"Wait, you know about Caliber?!" Ruby asked.

"Is that what he's called? Fascinating, I will have to formerly introduce myself to this dear Caliber when I cross paths with Brandon. I shall put this in the folder labeled, top secret. From what General Ironwood told me, this is the highest form of security." Penny said.

"Well, it's not much of a secret. Though what's with that nickname?" She asked.

"I found his presence odd when I first met him. When I analyzed his aura, I noticed that there were two separate aura's residing with in his body, one being significantly stronger than the other." Penny said.

"So...you knew that Brandon was a enchanted weapon wielder before any of us knew?" Ruby asked.

"I wouldn't say I knew that exact information you just said, though yes, I did know before you did." Penny said.

"Oh, okay...Hey, Penny can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Sure, what is it Ruby?" She asked.

"Well...can you eat?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, yes, I can, though I'd prefer not to." Penny said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Well, the last time I ate something, my system malfunctioned and I had to get repairs. It took a very long time...it wasn't a very pleasant experience." Penny said.

"...Okay, let me rephrase that. Do you NEED to eat?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm...nope." She said.

"What about drink?" Ruby asked.

"I think my circuits would burn out if I consumed any forms of liquid." Penny said.

"What about sleep?" She asked.

"I can't get tired. The only way I can 'sleep' is if I were turned off." She said.

"How about breathing?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I wasn't made with the organs of a human so, no, I don't need to breathe." Penny said.

.

.

"Ruby...there's something I want to talk to you about." Penny said.

"Okay, what is it?" Ruby asked.

Penny looked to see if Ciel was still watching them, though when she had confirmed that they were in the clear, she leaned in to speak to Ruby.

"I want to stay at Beacon." She said.

"...What?!" Ruby asked.

"I know they would never let me stay, but it's what I want! I've made so many fantastic friends here, I don't want to leave you all behind." Penny said.

"Penny, I appreciate the thought, but I think you're right. They would never let you do that." She said.

"That may be true, but I have a plan." She said.

"A plan? What do you plan to do?" Ruby asked.

"Sorry Ruby, that is also in the top secret folder." Penny said.

"Oh, well I do hope you can stay. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you!" She said as she started to walk ahead.

"I hope so as well!" She said, following her hooded friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the police station of Vale was a series of armored vehicles and soldiers stationed in the front of the station.

In the center of it all, was James Ironwood himself.

He was leading the relocation of the two White Fang Phantoms that were being held captive in the station.

Though before he relocated them to the air ship, he needed to have a few words with them.

"They're in here, correct?" Ironwood asked as he stood in front of an Atlas Military truck.

"Yes, sir." One of the soldiers said.

"Good, I would like to have a word with them before we ship them off to the main airship." He said.

"Yes sir! You heard him! Open the doors!" One of the soldiers said.

The truck driver nodded and opened the door that lead to the inside of the truck.

"I'll only be a moment." Ironwood said.

"Take all the time you need, sir." The soldier said.

Ironwood nodded and walked into the truck which held two people inside.

"So, the big man himself decides to show himself." A female voice said dryly.

"Hmm." Someone hummed in response, not bothering to turn towards Ironwood.

"Well, this is quite the treat. It's not every day you capture not one but two of the White Fang's elite members." Ironwood said.

"Shut it tin can." Veronica said.

Osvaldo just sat there in complete silence, his expression devoid of any emotion.

"So, "I've been informed that you refuse to cooperate with the authorities." He said.

"Well excuse us for not wanting to cooperate with someone who is shouting directly in our faces. We Faunus have sensitive ears you know." Veronica said.

"Well with where you're going, I'm sure that you both will get plenty of peace and quiet." Ironwood said.

"Oh, joy." She said sarcastically.

.

.

"I am going to give you ONE chance to cooperate." Ironwood said sternly.

"Hmm." Osvaldo hummed.

"Why did you forge an attack of that scale on the city of Vale? What were you hoping to gain out of this?" He asked.

"You interrogated the human, didn't you get what you wanted out of him?" Veronica growled.

"He proved himself to be unreliable. That is why I am asking you two, I was hoping you would have a better grasp on the perpetration than he did." Ironwood said.

"Even if we did, why would we tell you?" She asked.

"If you do answer my questions, then I will reconsider relocating you to spend the rest of your lives in solitude." He said.

"Tch, as if I'd tell you anything you tin bastard. Besides, I was thrown in the slammers long before I knew about the whole operation. If you want to know more about the bigger picture than ask the big guy over here." Veronica said as she pointed at Osvaldo.

Ironwood turned to face Osvaldo who still had the same expressionless face he had ever since he entered the truck.

"Well?" Ironwood asked.

Osvaldo just sat there in silence before turning to face Ironwood.

"Go to hell." He said .

"Very well then. Men! Get ready to move!" Ironwood said as he started to walk out of the truck.

"What's the matter, tin can? I thought you wanted to talk?" Veronica asked.

"I have been given custody over you by the counsel members themselves. You will stay in my custody for as long as I see fit. So I would make yourselves comfortable in your new home, it's where you'll be staying for the rest of your days." Ironwood said before closing the doors.

"Tch, dick." She said before turning towards Osvaldo.

"So, what's the plan big guy?" Veronica asked.

Osvaldo turned towards his cell mate and placed his index finger on his lips.

"Patience." He said.

Veronica shrugged before laying back down on the floor of the truck.

They had to have been driving for a twenty minutes now, Osvaldo still not telling Veronica of the so called 'plan' he had.

Though after a few more minutes, a audible thud could be heard from the top the truck.

"What the hell?" Veronica asked.

She was about to ask Osvaldo if this was part of the plan, though the sight of him sitting up stopped her.

"Get ready." He said.

Veronica sat there in silence for a few seconds before smirking.

"Heh, it's about damn time." She said as she stood up from the floor of the truck.

* * *

.

.

"Gah! Waiter! Can I have another bowl?!" Blake asked as she placed her seventh bowl down on the table.

"...Jeez, you eat more than Sage." Sun said as he continued to eat his first bowl.

"It's only with fish really. You should see my mom, she eats more than my dad, and my dad is huge." She said.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said as he started to eat his bowl.

"So, what's your home like?" Sun asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's pretty good I guess." Blake said.

"You guess?" He asked.

"Well, it's been a long time since I visited home." She said.

"Don't you write, text, or call em from time to time?" Sun asked.

"Well, it's kinda hard to do cross kingdom communication when you don't have a communications tower." Blake said.

"Ah, so Menagerie, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, have you been there before?" She asked.

"Nope, though I've heard a lot of good things about the place. Might want to go and visit sometime." Sun said.

"It's a nice place...bit hot but that's better than most kingdoms." Blake said.

"So, what are your parents like?" He asked.

"Well, who do you want to know about?" She asked.

"...How about your old man?" Sun asked.

"Alright. My dad's name is Ghira Belladonna, he's the former leader of the White Fang before a new leader was put into power." Blake said.

"So, you were born into the Fang?" He asked.

"Well, sort of. My mom wasn't to thrilled with the idea of me joining the Fang, though my dad eventually convinced her to let me join when I was ten." She said.

"Ten?! Jeez, you've been training for a while." Sun said.

"Yeah, long time." Blake said.

"So why did he step down?" He asked.

"He stepped down to settle down and become the Chieftain of Menagerie." She said.

"Chieftain, huh? So did you follow them back home?" Sun asked.

"...Not exactly." Blake said, a frown forming on her face.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Well at the time, I wasn't exactly happy to hear that my parents were stepping down from the White Fang." She said.

"I...said some pretty harsh things to them." Blake said.

.

.

"Let's move on! What about your mom? What's she like?" Sun asked.

"Oh, right. Well, my mom is...probably the nicest Faunus a person could ever know. Her undying compassion for others, her soothing nature, she was just...awesome." She said.

"Wow, never heard you say that word." He said.

"Well, there aren't a lot of ways to describe her other than that." Blake said.

"Though despite this, some people find it hard to believe that she was the one who formed the Phantoms in the first place." She said, causing Sun to choke on his food.

"S-seriously?! SHE was the founder?!" He asked.

"Yeah." Blake said.

"But she sounds so nice!" Sun said.

"Yeah, dad had a hard time wrapping his head around the concept to." She said.

"So, what's your family like?" Blake asked

Though what Sun did next made her wonder if there was anything in her food.

He frowned.

"That's...bit of a touchy subject." He said.

 _'Wow. I didn't know Sun was even capable of frowning.'_ Blake thought to herself.

Though as she started to think, a question had popped into her head.

"Hey, Sun?" She said.

"Hmm? What's up?" He asked.

"Why did you help me back at the docks?" Blake asked.

Sun just remained silent, staring down at his drink.

"You didn't even know me. Yet you were so persistent on helping me." She said.

"Heh, curious about me, aren't ya?" Sun asked.

Blake just nodded and started to listen to Sun's explanation.

"When I ran past you on the dock's, I saw something in your eye's. I saw...loneliness, like you just had a world of troubles and you didn't know who to share them with." He said.

"I saw someone who felt like they didn't belong." Sun said.

"I didn't want someone to go through the same shit I went through." He said, causing Blake's ears to perk up.

"Huh?" She asked.

"I didn't want someone else to have that feeling of being lost, like they had no matter where they went, they felt like they didn't belong." Sun said.

"Sun, what do you mean, went through the same thing as you did?" Blake asked.

"Heh, guess it was bound to happen anyway." He said as he put down the bowl.

"Let me ask you something. When you look at me and how I act, what exactly do you see?" Sun asked.

"W-what?...Well, I guess I would have to say that you're pretty reliable. You're always willing to get into some trouble if it meant helping the common people, that's a good aspect to have, not just as a huntsmen, but as a person." She said.

"Heh, you're the first person to make me feel that." Sun said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Well, it's just that everywhere I go. I'm treated like a pain in the ass by the people around me, no matter what I go I'm never taken seriously." He said.

"It's been a feeling I've had ever since my time in Vacuo. I never found a place where I truly belonged there, that's why I left to go and join Haven academy." Sun said.

"Though even there I still find it difficult to find somebody that would take me seriously." He said.

"What about your team?" Blake asked.

"They...aren't as bad. Though I never felt like I actually belonged with them, I mean sure they're fun to hang around, but sometimes they have trouble taking me seriously." Sun said.

"Really?" She asked.

"It's gotten better with everything that's happened, but it still happens from time to time." He said.

"When I saw you were going through the same crap I was going through, I knew I had to do something. I wasn't going to let anyone go through the same shit I did...that's what I told myself at least. Though I think the real reason I did it was to feel better about myself." Sun said.

"To be honest, I was really just trying to help myself by helping you." He said.

Blake just sat there in shock as she listened to Sun's tale.

"Though the more we hung out, the more time I wanted to spend with you." Sun said.

"W-why?" Blake asked.

"It's because you're the only one who takes me seriously. You listen to what I have to say, and you even invite me to these big operations that require a lot of planning and work to get right. It was good to feel like you were important to an operation, you know?" He said.

Blake just sat there for a few seconds in silence before speaking up.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Sun." Blake said with a grin.

"That's actually why I became a huntsmen. I'm gonna gain the respect of everyone who looked down on me, it's my way at getting back at them." He said.

"Getting back at them by proving them wrong, that's...pretty admirable Sun." She said.

"Heh, thanks. Just so you know, I've got your back, through thick and thin." He said with a grin.

"Thank you, Su-." Blake began, only for the sound of an explosion coming from outside to cut them off.

"What the hell?!" Sun yelled as he ran outside.

Blake followed him out the door to see what was happening.

"What happened? Where did that explosion come from?" She asked.

"Guys!" Sun and Blake heard Yang yell.

"Yang?!" Blake yelled.

"You saw that to, right?! What's happening now?!" Yang asked as she drove over to the two on her motor cycle.

"Over there!" Sun yelled as he pointed at the highway.

Blake turned around to see that smoke was coming from the highway.

"What now?" She asked.

"Wait, didn't Coco mention something about the two Phantom members being transferred to Ironwood's ship?" Sun asked.

.

.

"No." Blake said as she put two and two together.

"We need to go, now!" She yelled.

"You two, get on!" Yang yelled.

Blake and Sun nodded before getting onto the bike.

"Let's go! Hang on tight!" She yelled as she sped towards the highway.

* * *

Meanwhile, Veronica and Osvaldo were standing in front of the door leading to the outside of the truck.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Was ready from day one." She said with a grin.

As she said this, the door leading to the back of the truck opened, revealing Aleria and Alerio, as well as a series of bloody bodies behind them.

"Those are for you." Alerio said to Osvaldo.

Osvaldo nodded and started to absorb the muscle from the corpses so that he may add it to his own.

"And this is yours." Aleria said to Veronica as she handed her a very familiar weapon.

"Heh, been a while old friend." Veronica said as she typed in a code on the console.

.

.

 **"D.S.M.N Online. Weapons system operational, ammo capacity at 100%, sensors activated, ready for combat."** It said as it flew into the air.

"So, what's next?" She asked.

"We get the hell out of here before they send a whole army to catch us." Alerio said.

"And if we can't?" Veronica asked.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of this." He said.

"How's that? There's four of us and hundreds of them." She said.

"Don't worry. We've got an army of our own coming." Aleria said.

.

.

"Oh." Veronica said, a smirk forming on her face.

"Yeah, Adam is coming." Aleria said as she took out a feather.

* * *

 **You thought we were out of the danger zone until vol 3?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **You're really funny, I can never catch a break in this fic.**

 **So, I met Qrow Branwen, learned that Raven of all people is one of the enchanted weapon users, and that she's coming to have a little chat with me.**

 **...Yeah, I'm never gonna catch a break, am I?**

 **Review Response**

 **Fiction Fan 369:** **Well, this chapter was also a bit of a breather until I hit you with another cliff hanger. Also yeah, that's is one way to describe the amount of shenanigans that will unfold with Roman's new occupation**.

 **I might do a trailer for when his team is complete, if not, then I'll definitely do a trailer for each of the enchanted weapon users.**

 **Something321:** **Yeah, in my opinion the writers could have done a lot more with his character. But they're like "Fuck that shit! Kill em!"**

 **CraazyReader:** **Well then you wanted it changed to something else so...which is it?**

 **olTran:** **Well, the poll doesn't decide what pairing will win. Just gives me a general idea on what you guys want.**

 **CraazyReader:** **Glad you liked it. Was a little skeptical if you guys would like the idea of Roman being a teacher.**

 **rocketmce:** **Until I decide it goes down.**

 **Dinosaurchicken:** **Glad you like it.**

 **DragonLord501st: She is talking to a spirit that is the source of all of her power. So yeah, she might get a little buddy buddy with it. Spirits can only go into one object, so no, it's not the same sword Raven uses in the actual show.**

 **As for Summer, you'll just have to wait and find out.**

 **Onerom2018:** **Glad you like it.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:** **Is this normal? Like she just explodes when something pleases her?...then god do I not want the to be the guy who puts her to bed.**

 **fanficcyberman:** **Thanks, glad you like it.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:** **_I do not have to be in EVERY review, human. I will only speak when someone has a question about myself, or my brethren._**

 **Guest:...Fuck.**

 **TheRealCactoos:**

 **Raven: Wha-? I'm not dying.**

 **Onerom2018:** **Jesus what is with all the damn milf review's?!**

 **Shadoki: Glad you like it.**

 **TheoMidnight: Boy you have no idea.**

* * *

 **Omake-Unexpected Authors (Non-Canon)**

"I can't believe the author of one of my all time favorite books is here signing books!" Blake said.

"He wrote "The Oprah of a Trickster" series. It's about a mysterious thief who steals the treasures of various sinners. It's so romantic, so dangerous, so tragic!" She said.

"Jeez Blake, I've never seen you so wound up before." Ruby said.

"This. Is. Huge!" Blake said.

"He's a genius and yet no one knows what he looks like! So mysterious." She said dreamily.

"Oh my Oum I could die!" Blake said.

"Well, if you love him so much, why don't you marry him?" Ruby asked.

"Don't be silly." She said.

.

.

"Though do you think he would at least go on a date with me?! I mean, I'm his biggest fan!" Blake yelled as she tacked Ruby to the ground.

"Yes! No! I don't know, just stop hitting me!" She said.

"Oh my gosh, you're right! I'm folding the pages!" Blake said as she started to hyperventilate.

"What if he thinks I'm weird? What if he hates my ears?! This was a mistake we should go!" Blake said.

"Relax, Blake! I'm sure he's just a regular person like you and me!" Ruby said.

Though before they could continue there conversation the people at the front left, revealing the author in all his glory.

.

.

"Brandon?!" Blake asked.

"Hmm? Oh, sup." He said.

"Wow! I didn't figure you for an author!" Ruby said.

"Y-yeah...did anyone ever tell you that you look good in that hat?" Blake asked, her face now beat red.

"Don't get your hopes up, fur ball. I'm not the author." He said.

"Oh...then where is he?" She asked.

"Right here." Brandon said as Caliber formed right next to him.

 _ **"Hello readers of the Oprah! I am Calib-."**_ Caliber began to say, only to stop as his gaze met Blake's.

"...What?" Blake asked in shock and slight terror.

"Wow, I didn't know you were a writer, Caliber!" Ruby said.

 _ **"Well, I must do something in my spare time. Now, why have you come here?"**_ Caliber asked as he turned his head towards Blake.

"W-well. I want you to...sign my book." She said, shakily.

 _ **"Very well."**_ He said as he picked up the book and started to sign his name.

 _ **"To my loving follower, Ms. Belladonna. Caliber."**_ It said.

"T-thank you." Blake said.

"Wait, Blake. What about that date?" Ruby asked with a smirk on her face.

"Ruby!" Blake yelled.

 _ **"Date?"**_ Caliber asked.

"I-it's nothing. Ruby's just being Ruby is a-." She began, only to stop herself when Caliber leaned towards her with a rose in his hand.

 _ **"Well, why didn't you say so? Who am I to turn down the offer of a maidens affection? Shall we meet at...twelve?"**_ He asked.

"...Y-yeah. Twelve. I can work with twelve." Blake said.

"What?!" Ruby asked.

"What?!" Sun asked.

"What?!" Yang asked.

"Wait, does that mean I have to go to?" Brandon asked.

* * *

 **Qrow Branwen**

 **Height: 6'4"**

 **Weight: 216 lbs**

 **Age: 38**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Misfortune.**

 **Summary:** **Qrow's Semblance brings misfortune wherever he goes, and unlike most Semblances, his is always active and uncontrollable. His Semblance does not discriminate whom it affects, which causes him to keep his distance from the people he cares about, though it is especially useful for fighting an enemy.**

 **Destructive Power: E-A**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: A**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 70**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 50**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 38**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 22**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	47. The Storm

**Hello** **readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Storm"

Thought: _'The Storm'_

Flashback: _"The Storm"_

 _(Roman POV)_

Honestly, what's with all the paper work? I've only got what like...fourteen students in my class? Why the hell is there so much for them? Especially Neo, I mean I've already taught her everything I'm teaching her in this class, so I really don't see the point in teaching her all this.

Those were the only things going through my mind as I sat at my desk, filling out the papers for each individual student.

First we have the infamous team RWBY, the color coordinated pain's in my ass.

Who would have thought I'd be on the same side as them, I sure as hell wouldn't have thought this was possible if you were to tell me last week.

Then again, last week I was being held in one of the most heaviest prisons on Remnant so I guess I can't complain too much about my situation, not like an opportunity like this would have come by ever again.

Ruby Rose, little red herself.

Honestly, this little shit has been a pain in my ass ever since day one.

Though I have to admit, I'm pretty thankful for actually giving me a shot here, though that doesn't mean I'm going to get all soft on her.

A little shit is still a little shit.

Next we've got the ice queen herself, Weiss Schnee.

Not as bad as her partner, though her family is just a bunch of stuck up snobs with sticks up there asses.

Though from what I've seen, she's not that bad...though she's still pretty snobby.

Okay, who's next?

Oh...oh ho ho! Boy do I have a few things to say about this kitty cat!

This little one here has caused me no end of trouble, at least that's how it was before I got my job here.

Still trying to comprehend that.

Ruining my little heist at the docks with her monkey boyfriend, destroying one of my mech's with the rest of her posse, knocking me out and putting me in jail.

...Sure it was only for a few days but still.

Though if anyone's gonna have a chance at pulling of this little assassination, it's gonna be her.

Definitely gotta keep my eye on her.

Lastly, we've got the Blondie, Yang Xiao Long.

This one's got some serious anger issues, as well as a serious grudge against my niece, for some reason.

Gonna have to ask Neo what's that about.

...Actually never mind, I don't care.

Girls got some muscle on her I'll give her that, though she'll need more than muscle to pull of this assassination.

Then, there's team JNPR, think I saw a few of em back at the breach so they've gotta be at least above average to get into my class.

Jaune Arc, Jauney boy.

Guy's got a pretty interesting semblance, he's able to make plants pop out of the ground and kill Grimm, not something you see everyday.

Though the kid's soft, he'll need to grow a back bone if he's gonna pull this off.

Then we've got Nora Valkyrie.

She's in the same category as the blondie, all muscle, no class of any kind.

Though she's a bit more...questionably sane for my liking.

Not to mention she could probably crush half of the class like a twig if she wanted to.

Last, we've got Lie Ren.

I don't know a whole lot about the kid, and I don't like that.

I like to have a general idea on who a person is before I engage in any sort of combat with them.

This guy's gonna be tricky, might be just as if not more tricky than kitty cat.

Next we've got team SSSN, led by Sun Wukong...but I don't want to get confused so I'll just call him monkey boy.

The kid's almost in the same boat as kitty cat, pain in my ass, though he's only been at the docks and at the highway.

When it comes to fighting style, he's pretty straight forward, so nothing I can't handle.

But kid's got street smarts, so I can't let my guard down around him.

Then we've got Neptune Vas...Vas...Whatever.

Don't know a whole lot about the kid, other than he's visiting from Mistral along side his team.

Though the kid doesn't look like a whole lot I have to worry.

Okay, Scarlet David.

Kid looks like a pirate...weapons are pretty similar to that of a pirate to.

So if he acts anything like a pirate, then stealth isn't exactly his strong suit.

Jeez, these kid's are gonna make this too easy.

Okay, Sage Ayana.

The kid who destroyed my Mech back at the highway.

Kid's unpredictable with his tattoo's, might want to keep my eye on him.

Now we've got Neo...moving on.

Who's next?.

...Oh. This kid.

THIS is the kid that I'm worried about the most.

kid's been able to come up with a plan to stop everyone of the Phantoms previous operations...sure some of them weren't successful but still, kid's got a cunning mind on him.

He's also the kind of person I REALLY hate fighting against.

Unpredictable.

You may have the most well thought out plan in the world, but if someone can easily predict your moves, you might as well be shooting yourself in the foot.

If you're unpredictable, your opponent can't figure out what your next move is, putting them at a massive disadvantage.

That kid might as well be the definition of unpredictable.

Even with everything Neo has told me, and with everything I've seen, I still can't figure out what this kid's game is.

Heh, guess I can see what Neo sees in him.

So now, I'm working as a teacher/double agent for some kid and his partner who just so happens to be my niece.

Speaking of which, I'm not so sure how I feel about the two sharing a room.

I know the kid isn't dumb enough to try anything with her, though still, old uncle's instinct really.

While we're on the subject of my dear niece, wonder how she's handling the whole, your mother isn't actually your mother, ordeal.

Why would her mother lie to her like that? I've known her ever since I was young, and she never told a lie, even if the truth negatively affected her in the long run.

.

.

No, I can see why she would want to keep it a secret, telling your kid that they're not exactly your kid is a pretty hard thing to do.

Though that raises the question.

Who are Neo's real parents, why did they leave her in the first place, and how exactly did her mother and father wind up with her?

Honestly, things are only getting more complicated now, though I guess that's better than going six feet under.

Now there's the other deal I have to deal with the kid.

I'm now a double agent working against my old boss, Cinder.

From what the kid told me, I need to get Cinder to admit that the street rat and peg legs are nothing more than disposable objects to her end goal.

Which, I may mind you, is STILL a goal I know nothing about.

Though with everything that's happened recently, I'm not sure if I want to know anymore.

I'm not really sure why the kid is so determined to save the street rat and peg legs, though that's not my problem.

If this is one way to screw Cinder over, then oh boy am I in for this ride.

Though I've gotta make sure old Jimmy doesn't catch onto the whole, double agent act.

Knowing him he would try and take over the whole operation, more than likely making things even worse than they already are.

And that's the LAST thing we need to do.

I know for a fact that Jimmy's methods won't work, though with the kid's methods, he might have better odds in pulling this off than anyone right now.

Cinder doesn't know about my 'betrayal' yet, all I have to do is convince her I'm just making them think I changed, when I really didn't.

...Huh, double deception.

Deceiving both Cinder and Ironwood...hey, this is a win win for me.

I get to screw over Cinder, and mess with Jimmy without getting thrown back in jail.

Though right now, I can worry about that later.

For now...

"Nice try." I said, grabbing Neo's arm and hitting the rubber knife out of her hand.

Neo playfully glared at me before jumping onto my desk.

Maybe this will be a good refreshed course.

"Just because you did it once before doesn't mean you'll be able to do it again. You remember how long it took you to before you got lucky." I said with a chuckle.

 **"Yeah, took me seven months. Also, lucky?! I could easily kill you anytime I want old man!"** Neo said.

"Hey, I'm only thirty eight." I growled.

 **"So. How goes the job, teach?"** She asked.

"It's better than the job I originally had, I'll give you that." I said.

 **"I wouldn't exactly call what you used to do job."** Neo said.

"Hey, what I did was business. What our previous client did was just a bunch of terrorist attacks on Vale." I said.

 **"True, very true. So what's the plan exactly?"** She asked.

"Well, Cinder is still in Beacon, along with her little posse. So all WE have to do is convince her we're going under cover, when in reality, we're just trying to take her little posse away from her. With those two out of the equation, one of the most crucial parts of her plan will be ruined." Roman said.

Neo tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, Emerald and Mercury are, like it or not, are probably more important to this whole plan than we are. Peg legs can easily frame someone for assault at the tournament, causing everyone to get all paranoid and all." I explained.

 **"Hmm, so their goal is to attract the Grimm to the city."** Neo said.

"Exactly." I said.

 **"Though Mercury would have to provoke them to actually get them to attack them."** She said.

"That's where the street rat comes in. " I said.

"She can easily make an individual THINK that peg legs is attacking them, when in reality, they aren't." I said.

 **"Still, would take a pretty short tempered person to do that."** Neo said.

I simply just raised one of my eyebrows at my niece.

Eventually, she put two and two together.

 **"Oh, so that makes Blondie the perfect candidate."** She said.

"Exactly. So we've got to do everything in our power to prevent that from happening." I said.

 **"Why? You never cared for the kingdom of Vale before, what changed?"** Neo asked.

"I don't care. Hell, I still don't care all that much. But this might come as a surprise to you, but we're two of the people who LIVES in the city! So excuse me for wanting to protect the place I live in!" I said.

 **"Didn't stop you before."** She said.

"It was different back then, I didn't have too much of a choice." I said.

 **"What do you mean?"** Neo asked.

"They were...threatening to kill you if I didn't cooperate." I admitted.

.

.

 **"Oh."** Neo said.

"Yeah, but now you and I are safe, for now at least. So this is the perfect opportunity to get back at Cinder for all the shit she put us through." I said.

 **"So, all we have to do is take care of her two goons?"** She asked.

"Basically." I said.

 **"Okay, I'll take care of that."** Neo said, pulling out her sword and jumping off my desk.

"No! No no no no! We don't kill them! We convince them to come over to our side!" I said, causing Neo to stop in her tracks.

 **"What?"** She asked.

"I know, I don't understand why he'd want those two on our side, though that's his plan. You got a problem with it, you ask him." I said.

Neo closed her eyes before sighing and opening it again.

 **"How exactly do we bring those two over?"** She asked.

"Well, I'm going be posing as a double agent infiltrating Beacon academy, though in reality, all I'm trying to do is get Cinder to spill the beans that she doesn't need those two after this whole thing is over." I said.

 **"Hmm, so they're basically tools to her that'll be thrown out once she gets what she wants."** Neo said.

"Exactly, though they wouldn't believe either of us if we told them that up front. Hell, I seriously doubt they would believe the kid if he told them." I said.

 **"So, they need to hear it from her own mouth."** She said.

"Bingo. That's where I come in, if I can get her to spill the beans and get it on recording, I can give it to the kid who can show those two just what they've gotten themselves into." I said.

"After that, I'm not sure what we'll be doing. Though the kid's a man with a plan, and so far, his plan has been working." I said.

 **"What do I do? I was there original forth member, I seriously doubt they're to happy about all this."** Neo said.

"Don't worry. Cinder isn't dumb enough to kill you right here and now, she would wait until that little plan of hers goes into action before taking care of all of us." I said.

 **"But we're going to make sure she never gets that opportunity."** She said.

"Exactly. We're going to reveal who she truly is to the entire world." I said with a grin on my face.

 **"Heh, this is gonna be fun."** Neo said, a similar grin forming on her face.

After a few seconds of silence, I placed my hat onto my desk and turned towards Neo.

"So...how you holding up?" I asked.

 **"Oh, well it's a lot nicer than what we had. The beds are more comfortable, though kinda disappointed we can't give our room a custom paint job. It's also nice to have a partner around my age."** She said.

"That's nice and all, though that's not what I meant." I said.

 **"Then what are you talking about?"** Neo asked.

"I'm asking how you're handling your mothers 'big reveal'." I said.

 **"...Oh. Well, it was a shock at first, but I think this was just the sorta thing I needed at the time."** She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

 **"When I thought I lost you for good, I sorta felt lost. Like what am I supposed to do now? Where can I go?"** Neo asked.

"Oh...that so?" I asked.

 **"Yeah, I'm very grateful for Brandon, more than he would ever know."** She said.

 **"He gave me a place to go when I had no one left to turn to, he gave me a future...a future worth fighting for."** She said, pulling out some sort of cloth from her pocket.

"What's that?" I asked.

 **"It's a piece of cloth my mother found me wrapped in. It's the only clue I may have that may lead me to my past."** Neo said.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask about that. What's the deal with this, you're not her daughter, stuff?" I asked.

 **"Well, I don't know if my mother told you this, but she actually wasn't physically capable of bearing children."** She said, causing me to nearly fall out of my seat.

"W-what?! How?! When?!" I asked.

Why didn't she tell me she wasn't capable of having kid's?!

 **"Yeah, surprised the hell out of me as well."** Neo said.

"So where did she find you?" I asked.

 **"She said it was at a red tree just outside of the town I used to live in. Wasn't a Forever Fall tree, it was something else, I'm not sure how to describe it. I'll have to look at it myself."** She said.

"She said she found you in a cloth, right?" I asked.

Neo nodded and handed the piece of cloth over to me.

The symbol on the cloth was an unfamiliar symbol, it was sort of like a combination between two symbols.

"Huh, never seen anything like it." I said.

 **"Yeah, that doesn't help my case. Though there's bound to be someone out there who knows of my past."** Neo said.

"That's right, there's a whole lot of assholes out there. Bound to be one who knows about you." I said.

Neo nodded and placed the cloth back into her pocket.

"Though what are you gonna do once you find the answers you're looking for?" I asked.

Neo stood there in silence before responding.

 **"I'm sure I'll fine something to live for. Besides, I've also got huntress stuff to do, so it's not like I'll be out of options in the end."** She said.

"Yeah, well whatever you do, know I've got your back." I said, placing my hand on my niece's shoulder.

 **"Thanks Uncle."** Neo said.

"No problem. Now put down the rubber knife." I said.

Neo silently laughed and placed the knife onto the desk.

"Well, I think I'm just about done with my paper work. How bout you and I get some Ice Cream?" I asked.

Neo nodded eagerly and started to walk out of the room.

Though before we could, the sounds of sirens going off in Beacon.

"W-what the hell?!" I asked, running to the outside of the building.

"What's going on?! Why the hell are the sirens going o-!" I began, though I the answer to my own question before it was even asked as soon as I saw the smoke coming from Vale's highway.

 **"What's happening?"** Neo asked.

"I...I don't know." I admitted.

What the hell is going on?! I wasn't told of this, the breach was supposed to be it and then they would lie low.

So why are they starting another attack.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"Get your gear together, we're going down there." I said.

 **"What's going on? Is it another attack?"** Neo asked, a glare planted on her face as she stared at the smoke coming from Vale.

"No, it's a jail break." I said.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"I don't understand! Why the hell would the White Fang be attacking again only days after they just attacked Vale with that train?!" Yang yelled as she sped down the highway.

"It's a jail break!" Sun yelled.

"What?!" Yang asked.

"I don't know how, but they found out about the transport!" Blake yelled.

"What transport?!" She asked.

"General Ironwood was supposed to transport Veronica and Osvaldo to his main airship for further questioning! They must have found out about it, now they're trying to gather the Phantoms again!" She yelled.

"Then we gotta get there, and fast!" Yang yelled, pumping up the gas.

They sped past various cars and trucks, though they were about to get to a point where there were no cars to be seen.

"Huh? Where'd all the cars go?" Sun asked.

"Doesn't matter now! Now we can go full speed ahead! Let's ramp it up!" Yang yelled as she started to go even faster.

"Wait! Yang! Not so fast! We're going to burn-!" He tried to warn, only for a loud explosion to cut him off.

"Out." He finished as the bike rolled across the ground, sending each of the bikes inhabitants flying in different directions.

"Ugh, my tail." Sun said, rubbing his tail.

"Sorry guys. Looks like we're going on foot from here." Yang managed to say.

"Damn it! Just got this thing fixed!" She yelled.

"Vehicle or not, we're still pretty close. It's just down there. More than likely they'll all scatter to cover more ground." Blake said.

"One by one. Just the way I like it." Yang said, smashing her fists together.

"Be careful Yang, these aren't like the other criminals we fought. These are trained assassins, prepared to use whatever methods they have to kill you." She said.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you. So what's the plan? We all go after them as a group to even the odds, or we spit up and cover more ground." Yang asked.

"Hmm..." Blake hummed.

"Well, you guys might want to think of something, and fast. I can see something coming this way!" Sun yelled, pointing to a few bullheads coming there way.

Before Yang or Blake could come up with a reasonable strategy, they looked to see just what Sun was pointing at.

Sure enough, four bullheads with the symbol of the White Fang coming straight towards them.

"Damn it. Change of plans, Yang, you go on ahead." Blake said.

"What?! No! I'm not leaving you alone!" Yang said.

"Yang! We need as much backup as we can get, you're the only one who knows how to drive a vehicle. Find a nearby car and see if you can't find backup, or if not, try and chase down some of the Phantoms." Blake said before turning towards Sun.

"Besides, I won't be alone. I've got backup." She said with a smirk.

Sun's eye's widened before his expression turned into one of confidence.

"Yeah. I'll take good care of her, don't you worry." Sun said.

Yang stood there in silence for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly.

"Fine! But you better come back, you hear!" Yang yelled as she ran ahead to find a vehicle.

"So...you think we can fight an army?" Sun asked, pulling out his staff.

"Don't think we have much of a choice." Blake said, taking out Gamble shroud.

"Hey. Thanks for having faith in me." He said.

"Well, it's not like you're unreliable." Blake said.

"Oh! I've got the PERFECT idea for a team attack!" Sun said.

"But we're not on the same team." She said.

"Well, it's just the two of us for now, so let's make one!" He said.

"Hmm...it might help us in combat. Okay, but make it quick, not sure how much longer we have until those bullheads come down." Blake said.

"Got it! Okay, so it's called Eclipse! It's where you and I use our clones to dish out a serious beat down to our opponent, though the bad guy would still have trouble figuring out which one of our clones is the real us. It covers offence and defense at the same time!" He said.

"That's...actually pretty thought out for you." She said.

"What, I've gotta do something with my time." Sun said.

"Guess so." Blake said with a smirk.

Though before the duo could continue there conversation, the bullheads were only a ten meters away from them.

"Looks like practice is out of the question." She said.

"We'll improvise." Sun said.

"Fair enough." Blake said.

At this point, the bullheads were right above them and the two were directly above them.

"Here we go!" He yelled, a cocky smirk on his face.

Though just as they were about to start there assault, three of the bullheads flew off, while one stayed behind.

.

.

"Okay, I'm really confused." Sun said.

"Well, we still have one who stayed-." Blake began, only for a figure to jump out of the bullhead, causing the bullhead to fly away.

"Around." She said.

"Really? Just one guy? Kinda insulted, though I guess this saves us time!" Sun said.

Though as Blake got a closer look on who exactly jumped out of the bullhead, her eye's were filled with terror.

"No." She said meekly.

"Huh? Blake? What's up?" Sun asked.

As the man stood up and turned around, Blake was starting to move backwards.

"Hello, Blake." The man said.

"A-Adam?!" She asked in complete terror.

"It's been quite a long time." Adam said.

"Wait, I'm lost here, would you mind filling me in on who exactly this is?" Sun asked.

"And who do we have here?" He asked.

"Huh?" He asked.

"I see you have managed to befriend some of our brethren. That's good to see." Adam said, staring at Sun.

"Uh...mind removing the mask? Talking to you under it is kinda creepy." Sun said.

"No." He simply said.

"O-okay." He said.

"Now. I believe you and I have some catching up to do." Adam said, walking towards Blake.

"Blake, who is this?!" Sun asked.

"I-I." She tried to say.

"I see the cat's got your tongue, so allow me to enlighten you. I am her Mentor, Adam Taurus." He said.

"...Wait, you mean THAT Adam Taurus?!" Sun asked.

"So you've talked about me? Here I was thinking you forgot about your family back at the fang." Adam said.

"You tore our family apart." Blake growled.

"On contraire, my dear. YOU tore our family apart. YOU left us, YOU broke the heart of our family that I have been so desperately trying to mend." He said.

"You were the one who broke it in the first place! Do you think I liked leaving! It broke my heart to leave everyone in the Phantoms! Aleria, Alerio, Osvaldo, Veronica, Naomi, all of you! But what we were doing was wrong!" She yelled.

"Wrong? How could be fighting for our freedom be wrong?! You see how the humans treat, they look at us as lesser's, as degenerates. Ghira tried peace, but even he saw that peace would only get us so far, isn't that why he left?" Adam asked.

"We're still stuck in the same hole that was dug for us by humanity. So now, we shall climb out by force, the time for talk is over." He said.

"You're wrong. Do you hear me?! You're wrong! My father never would have wanted this, he wouldn't want all this pointless bloodshed! He wouldn't want all these lives to be taken!" Blake yelled.

"My intent was NEVER to pick up where Ghira picked up. I shall start a new revolution, one that will truly give us freedom." Adam said, leaning down to the ground.

"It's not too late, you can still come back to us. We can change the world, give Faunus the rights they deserve." He said.

The only response Blake gave was to use her semblance to move backwards, her blade out in her hand.

"I made my decision I long time ago." Blake said.

"Very well. Then I want you to know that I am truly sorry for what is about to happen." He said as he started to unsheathe his sword.

"I can only pray to Monty himself that he takes you in with open arms." Adam said, drawing his sword.

"Sorry, buddy, but that's not gonna happen." Sun said, walking beside Blake.

"Then it seems two of Monty's children shall be returning to his plain of rest." He said.

It was silent for a few seconds before Blake and Sun charged towards Adam with her blade unsheathed.

Blake swung her sword at Adam, though he blocked her attack with an attack of his own.

Adam swung his sword at Blake, though Blake quickly used her semblance to dodge the attack.

Sun followed up with an attack of his own, throwing a barrage of jabs and swings at Adam's figure.

Though Adam was quick to catch onto his fighting style, blocking each attack he threw at him.

Sun growled and took apart his two staffs to his shot gun nun chucks.

He started to swing and fire each individual shot at Adam's body, making sure to swing the nun chucks at him as he fired so that it was harder to block the attacks.

Though Adam wasn't like the other people Sun had fought.

Adam swung his shotgun sheath at Sun's abdomen, dazing him as he stumbled backwards.

Sun eventually regained his balance and fired one of his shotgun rounds at Adam, though he simply blocked the attack with his sheath, his blade and his hair glowing a bright red as he did.

"The heck?" Sun asked.

Blake's eye's widened, realizing what Adam was trying to do.

"Get back!" Blake yelled, sending one of her shadows to tackle Sun to the ground, preventing him from being struck down by Adam.

"Whoa! Thanks for the save." Sun said.

"Be careful, bullets don't work on Adam." She said, dodging one of Adam's slash attacks.

"What?" He asked, dodging one of Adam's attacks.

"He's able to absorb projectiles into his sword, adding to his own energy. It's sort of like Yang's semblance, but he doesn't need to be hit to absorb it, he just needs to block the attack with his sword." Blake said.

"Great! How the hell do we fight that?!" Sun asked, dodging one of Adam's bullets.

"He can only use the energy in one single attack, just dodge the attack and he'll have to regain the energy again." She said, blocking one of Adam's blows.

"Anything else?!" He asked.

"He can't absorb physical attacks! Just don't shoot him or use your semblance to attack him and we should be good!" Blake said, pushing Adam away.

"Got it!" Sun yelled, putting his staff back together and charged towards Adam.

Adam grunted and prepared this oncoming assault.

Though Blake took this opportunity to charge towards Adam with her blade in her hand.

Adam noticed this and moved backwards, preparing to take on the two combatants.

Blake and Sun started to exchange blows with Adam before he eventually got the upper hand and pushed the two away.

After that, he charged towards Blake and swung his blade at her, sending her flying backwards.

"Blake!" Sun yelled before charging towards Adam.

Sun jumped up into the air and swung his staff at Adam like a hammer, though he was easily able to block the attack.

He pressed a button on his staff, causing it to break apart.

Sun used this opening to kick Adam across the face, sending him flying backwards.

"Hell yeah! I got em!" Sun yelled.

Though Adam quickly recovered and landed on the ground, seemingly unfazed by Sun's attack.

"Ah damn." He said.

"Sun! Eclipse!" Blake yelled.

"What?! But we never practiced it! It's just an idea I came up with just now!" Sun said.

"Well now's a better time than any!" She said, clapping her hands together and summoning shadows of her.

"Got it!" Sun said, summoning clones on himself as well.

The two started to run around Adam, the clones multiplying as they circled Adam.

Adam looked around in attempts to find the real clones.

Though his thought process was cut off as Sun kicked him in the back.

Adam grunted and swung his sword at Sun, though Sun simply shattered.

"Tch, clever move, monkey." Adam said.

Blake jumped up into the air and kicked Adams shoulder blades.

Adam grunted once again, swinging his sword at his former partner. Though Blake simply faded into nothingness.

Soon enough, two Sun clones ran up and kicked Adam up into the air, causing Blake to kick him back down.

Adam growled as he got back up from the ground.

Though before he could think, two Blake clones slashed at his back and one Sun clone punched him across the face.

Adam took a deep breathe and closed his eyes under his mask.

He took a couple of deep inhales through his nose before shooting his shotgun at one of the Sun clones.

"Gah!" The real Sun yelled as the bullets made contact with his body, causing the clones to shatter into nothingness.

"Sun!" Blake yelled.

Though this would prove to be something she would regret as Adam grabbed her by the hair and brought his knee into Blake's stomach.

"Gah!" She gasped as all the air from her lungs was taken out, causing her clones to fade into nothingness.

Blake laid on the floor in a coughing fit, desperately trying to regain her breathe.

"Quite the trick, though a trick is only a trick." Adam said, grabbing Blake's hair.

Blake desperately tried to break free from her former partner's grasp, though she was no match for Adam's iron grip, especially with the state she was in.

"Rgh! You...Piece of-!" Blake tried to swear, only for Adam's grip to tighten.

"It's a shame that our paths had to cross like this. I shall try to make this as painless as possible, my dear." He said, bringing his sword up to Blake's head.

"S-stop!" Sun said, slowly getting up from off of the ground.

"Hmm?" Adam asked, turning towards Sun.

"S-stop it." He begged, his voice breaking a little.

"Tch, what a worthless piece of trash you are, getting emotional so quickly." He said.

"S-shut up." Sun said.

"You're quite the talker, if you're so determined to stop me, then why don't you come and try it?" Adam asked.

Sun tried to get up and charge at the samurai, but his legs refused to move, he could only kneel.

"That's what I thought. What a pathetic weakling you are, I don't have time to deal with your kind." He said, turning towards Blake.

"D-damn it. Can I really do nothing?" Sun whispered to himself.

"...M-maybe they were right, maybe I really am just a pain in the ass." He whispered.

"S-sun!" Blake managed to say.

"Huh?" He asked.

"A-are you gonna let him talk to you like that?! Stand up!" She yelled.

Adam's grip only got tighter, preventing her from saying anything else to Sun.

"...Y-yeah, I won't." He said, getting up from the ground.

"Hmm?" Adam hummed.

"Shut up. I am sick and tired of being looked down at by scumbags like you." He said, his tone turning into one of furry, one Blake had never heard before.

"S-Sun?" Blake managed to say.

"Do you hear me?!" He yelled, his face turning into one of pure anger.

"Stop looking down at me, WITH THAT STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" Sun screamed as he clapped his hands together.

Suddenly, a golden aura surrounded Sun, his eye's turning pure white.

The ground started to rumble a bit, causing Adam to drop Blake.

"Gah!" Blake gasped as she regained her breathe.

As Blake fell to the ground, a large golden ape could be seen forming behind Sun.

"Eat this!" Sun yelled as he rose his hand and swung it down.

As he did this, the ape reeled it's fist backwards and went to go and attack Adam.

Adam grunted and held his sword out to absorb the massive ape.

Though as the ape's fist made contact with Adam's blade, it wasn't showing any signs of being absorbed by the blade.

The ape pushed Adam back and grabbed him with his free hand, throwing him away from the duo.

.

.

"W-wha-?!" Blake tried to say, but the ape gently picked up Blake and Sun, moving down to the lower levels of the highway.

As the ape gently placed the duo onto the ground, it faded into nothingness.

"S-Sun, how did you do that?" She asked.

Though Sun wasn't responding, the only thing she was met with was silence.

"Sun?" Blake asked once more as she turned to face her friend.

Though what she was met with was the unconscious figure of Sun laying on the ground.

"Sun!" She yelled, rushing towards her companion.

"Please don't do this, come on." Blake whispered, pressing her ear up against Sun's chest.

She sighed in relief once she heard the heart beat of her unconscious friend.

"What was that?" Blake asked.

"Blake!" She heard a familiar voice say from above her.

She looked up to see Weiss moving towards the ground in a bullhead.

"Weiss!" She yelled, rushing towards the bullhead.

"Thank goodness you're safe." Weiss said.

"Glad to see you to." Blake said.

"What's happening?" She asked.

"It's the White Fang, they've come to break the Phantoms out of prison." She said.

"What?! How?!" Weiss asked.

"Ironwood was escorting a transfer that involved getting the two Phantoms we have in captivity...well, had in captivity to his air ship. I don't know how the Fang found out, but we need to make sure they don't get away." Blake said.

"Then let's go." Weiss said as she started to walk, though Blake stopped her.

"No!" She said.

"No?! What do you mean 'No'?!" She asked.

"I need your help." Blake said, turning towards Sun.

"What happened to him?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know, he just summoned this giant ape and then he passed out." Blake said.

"He did what?!" She heard Neptune ask, rushing out of the bullhead.

"Neptune!" Weiss yelled, following Neptune as he ran towards his partner.

"Come on buddy, let's get you somewhere safe." He said, picking up his friend.

"What happened to him?" Blake asked.

"It's nothing serious, he just pushed his semblance way too hard." Neptune said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, Sun can't just make clones on himself, he can practically make different kinds of monkeys of different sizes and race's. Though the bigger he makes them, the more aura he has to give up to make it, and to keep it held together." He said.

"Judging by the state he's in, he must have summoned a pretty big ape." Neptune said.

"Yeah." Blake said.

 _'He must have exhausted all of his aura to just summon it.'_ She thought to herself.

"We'll get him to safety, don't you worry." Neptune said, putting Sun into the bullhead.

"Thank you Neptune." Blake said before turning to Weiss.

"Weiss, I need you to go with him." She said.

"What?! Why?!" She asked.

"The White Fang are here, Adam is here. If he finds you, or if any of the Phantoms find you they will stop at nothing to see your blood on the ground. You're not safe here." Blake said.

Weiss closed her eyes for a moment, still unsure if she should stay or go.

"I will find the others. You need to make sure no one else gets hurt." She said.

.

.

"Alright, I'll go with Neptune." Weiss said.

"Thank you." Blake said.

"What'll you do? I don't exactly think it's a good idea wondering the kingdom alone when the leader of the White Fang is out to kill you." She said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I know all there tricks, they were the one's who taught me them you know. Besides, I'm not alone, Yang is still out there, all I have to do is find her." Blake said.

"...Okay, just be careful." Weiss said as she entered the bullhead.

"I will. Make sure Sun is okay." She said.

Weiss nodded and closed the doors to the bullhead as it took to the sky's.

"Okay, time to find Yang." Blake said to herself as she started to run down the streets of Vale.

 _'Question is, where do I find her? She could be anywhere in Vale by now.'_ She thought to herself.

After thinking for a few seconds, she nodded to herself.

 _'Well, if I were Yang, I would go to wherever the action is, so all I need to do is-.'_ Blake began, only for the sound of an explosion to cut her off.

 _'Follow the explosions.'_ She finished, staring at the smoke in the distance.

 _'Please just be a few trainee's. I just got done with Adam, please give me this one.'_ Blake thought to herself, running towards the source of the explosion.

* * *

"What was that?!" Ruby yelled as she and her two friends Penny and Ciel ran down the streets of Vale.

.

.

Well, her friend Penny and her acquaintance Ciel really, she had only met her a few hours ago.

"According to my scanners, there seems to be various hostile targets coming from the highway." Ciel said, pulling out her scroll.

"Oh...how can you tell? We're nowhere near the highway." Ruby said.

"It is a special module I have installed in my scroll, it allows me to survey the kingdom of necessary." She said.

"...Wait, by survey do you mean-?" She began.

"No, I don't stalk people. This is just a quick way to find hostiles and civilians." Ciel said.

"Oh, okay. So what's the deal?" Ruby asked.

Ciel looked at her scroll for a few seconds before nodding.

"Well, as I said before, it seems that the main source of hostile forces are coming towards the highway. Though there do seem to be some hostile forces coming from the other roads leading to the highway." Ciel said.

"What about Grimm?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, I can not detect Grimm with this device. It can only detect a person with an aura, thus it cannot sense the Grimm." She said.

"Darn it. Guess we can't have everything." Ruby said.

"I believe the best course of action would be to report to General Ironwood." Ciel said.

"Right! He was the head of the escort, he's bound to still be on that highway!" Ruby said.

"Indeed, I shall try contacting him." She said, putting her scroll to her ear.

After a few seconds of silence, Ciel pulled the scroll away from her ears and shook her head.

"Unfortunately, it appears I am unable to contact the General at this time. Though that is to be expected, he must be in the middle of battle." She said.

"Okay, though that means he's still on the highway. We should get there as fast as possible." Ruby said.

"Well spoken, we should make ha-." Ciel began, only to be stopped at the alarm going off on her scroll.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

Though Penny already knew what the alarm was for, her system was letting loose similar signals.

"Hostiles are approaching." Ciel said.

"Hostiles?" Ruby said as she pulled out her scythe.

"Indeed, ten of them to be precise." She said, pressing a button on her watch, forming a glove of some sort.

"Whoa." Ruby said, staring at Ciel's weapon.

"Hands up." She heard someone say.

Ruby turned around to see ten White Fang members surrounding them, each of them armed to the bone.

"Put down your weapons, and we'll let you go. We're not low enough to kill chi-!" One of the White Fang members began, only to be hit by a blue laser beam.

"Good shot Penny!" Ruby said.

"Ruby, that wasn't me." Penny said.

"Huh?" She asked as she turned towards Ciel.

"I'd recommend you people take a different course of action." She said, various blue pentagons forming in front of her fingers.

"Sorry." One of the White Fang members said as he raised his gun and open fired.

"Ciel!" Ruby called out.

"It's okay Ruby." Penny said.

Sure enough, Ciel was perfectly fine around a blue barrier that was coming out of her glove.

"Very well, but just so you know, whatever happens next is your own doing." She said as she put away her barrier and fired another laser at the White Fang members.

"Open fire!" One of them said as she raised her gun.

"Targets acquired. Engaging combat operations." Penny said, her eye's glowing green and the blades coming off of her back.

Ciel was currently engaging in hand to hand combat with various members of the White Fang, though due to her enhanced glove, she was easily able beat the White Fang while sustaining very little damage.

Penny on the other hand was, was taking down various White Fang members as they charged towards the trio.

Ruby shot herself towards two members that were charging towards her, kicking one of them into the air and shooting herself up towards her.

She swung her scythe at one of the White Fang members before shooting herself towards the next group of White Fang members, to which she was easily able to take down with one fell swing.

"Ha ha! We did it!" Ruby said.

"I would hold off on your celebration, ." Ciel said.

"Huh?" She asked.

"My radar is detecting multipe hostiles coming towards us at a very high velocity." She said.

Sure enough, two vehicles were speeding towards them, each with a Gatling gun attached to the top of the car.

"Oh come on!" Ruby said.

The gunners on the car started to open fire on the duo, though the trio was quick to react.

"Penny!" Ruby yelled.

"Roger!" She yelled, throwing her blades at one of the cars, stopping it in it's tracks.

Ruby tried to fire a few dust rounds into the car, though the gunner was hot on her trail and showed no signs of letting up.

"Darn it!" Ruby said.

Ciel saw her struggle and decided to assist them in there fight,

She held out her hand and shot a laser at the gun on the car, destroying it in the process.

"Damn it!" The White Fang member yelled.

Ruby took this opportunity to run up to the car and slice it down the middle, destroying it in the process.

"Excellent work you two!" Penny said.

Ciel turned to the next gunner car, though this one was a bit different than the other one.

Specifically, the gun was different from the one the other one had.

 _'That design...!'_ Ciel thought as she connected the dots.

"Get back!" She yelled.

Ruby was about to question why, but she got her answer as a laser shot out of the cannon on the gun.

She was able to dodge the attack at the last second, but the building behind her wasn't so lucky.

"W-what was that?!" Ruby asked.

"It's a special kind of cannon Atlas has been working on, a cannon specifically designed to punch through a person's aura." Ciel said.

"What?!" Ruby asked.

"We need to destroy this thing as fast as possible. Though keep moving! One shot from that cannon and you'll be dead." She said, bringing out a pair of sunglasses of some sort.

"Destroy the module of the gun! If we hit the barrel the cannon will still be operational." Ciel said.

"Got it! Penny! Keep moving!" Ruby said.

"Roger that!" She said, running around the vehicle.

The White Fang member operating the gun was shooting various shots at the trio.

Ciel shot a laser at the module of the gun, though it wasn't enough to punch through it.

The gun turned towards Ciel and aimed down at her.

"Ciel! Watch out!" Penny yelled as she pushed her friend out of the way.

"Penny!" Ruby called out in horror.

"Ms. Polendina!" Ciel shouted.

Though it was too late, the canon had already fired, hitting Penny directly.

But what the White Fang expected was a bloody puddle of a dead and limp girl, but what they got was a girl who was not only still standing, but seemingly unfazed at the fact that her right hand was completely missing.

What surprised them even more was the fact that there wasn't any blood coming out of the stump, but rather wires and sparks.

"W-what the he-?!" The White Fang member began, only to be cut off as the car they were driving blew up, taking them along with it.

"Huh?" Ruby asked as she turned to face the person who fired the killing blow.

"Honestly red, I thought you would have been able to handle a few cars." Roman said as he walked towards Ruby, Neo along side him.

"Roman!" Ruby yelled as she readied her weapon.

"Whoa! Easy there red! Remember, same side now." He said.

"Oh...right, that's gonna take some getting used to." Ruby said.

"Tell me about it, almost shot you on instinct." Roman said.

"Eh he he, yeah." She said nervously.

"Ms. Polendina?" Ciel asked.

 _'...Oh crap baskets!'_ Ruby internally swore as she spun her head towards her robotic friend.

"U-uh...U-uh." She tried to say, desperately attempting to cover up her missing hand.

"What the hell?" Roman asked as he gazed upon the various circuits in Penny's hand.

"Are those...wires?" Ciel asked.

"N-no! Of course not!" Penny said, hiccuping immediately afterwards.

"Ms. Polendina, you know I can tell when you're lying." Ciel said as she pressed a button on her sunglasses.

"P-please don't." She begged.

"...You're an android?" She asked.

The streets went silent for a few seconds before Roman eventually broke the silence.

"Jeez, I've seen a lot of shit in my days but THIS? THIS takes the cake." He said.

"This is...what?" Ciel asked.

"I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from you, but General Ironwood has given me strict orders not to reveal this to anyone." Penny said.

"...How?" She asked.

"I'm not allowed to go into detail. You were never supposed to know about this in the first place." She said.

"You're...a machine." Ciel said.

Penny looked down at her feet with a saddened look in her eyes.

"You're...a machine! You're a machine with a soul!" She yelled with stars in her eyes.

"M-Ms. Soleil?" Penny asked.

"You're an android! A real life android!" Ciel yelled excitedly.

.

.

"Oh...ahem. Excuse me, that was very unprofessional of me." She said, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

"Y-you're not afraid of me?" Penny asked.

"Of course not, why would I be?" Ciel asked.

"Well, I'm basically a machine that is built to combat the evils of the world. I am armed with the most heavy artillery, the most advanced battle plans, and various other functions." Penny said.

"...I am SO glad we switched sides." Roman whispered to Neo.

"Though I am not able to use most of these functions yet." She said.

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"Well, general Ironwood doesn't think I'm ready for such advanced combat yet." Penny said.

Ciel walked over to her partner and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Now, Ms. Polendina. I know that you and I haven't exactly been what you would call 'teammate' but that I suppose that is my fault." She said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, when I was first enrolled into the academy, I was very excited to start my training. But this all changed when I was placed on a team with you." Ciel said.

"Me?" Penny asked.

"At the start of our partnership, I knew you were a special student. It's not everyday a headmaster assigns a team of two." Ciel said,

"You were amazing, you excelled at combat, and you had a very high intellect, I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little bit jealous. I always thought you had it easy, that you didn't have a single problem in your world." She said.

"Though I suppose that was incorrect." Ciel said as she stared at Penny's severed hand.

"Yeah, I suppose you are." Penny said.

"I may not know what trouble cloud your mind, nor may I understand them. Though if you can give me the chance, I would like to try and understand what troubles you." She said.

Penny stood there in silence before nodding her head.

"That sounds wonderful. I would 'cry tears of joy' as they say, but I am physically incapable of doing so." She said.

"So, shall we start over from scratch?" Ciel asked.

"Of course! We shall be the best of friends!" Penny said, bringing Ciel into a bone crushing hug.

"Ms. Polendina! I require oxygen!" She managed to say.

"B-but I thought I was your best friend." Ruby said, sounding heart broken.

"Oh! Do not fret dear Ruby! She shall be best friend number two!" Penny said.

"You can have TWO best friends?!" Ruby asked.

"I don't see why not." She said.

"Okay, I don't mean to ruin your little moment...oh who am I kidding, I'm totally trying to ruin it." Roman said.

"Jerk." Ruby said.

"Have you met me?" He asked.

"Fair point." She said.

"Point is, there are a few pests roaming around the city, and as you may know, I'm the best exterminator around." He said as he started to walk down the street.

"...Is that Roman Torchwick?" Ciel asked.

"Yep." Ruby said.

"Oh...can I get an explanation for that?" She asked.

"I'll tell you on our way there." Ruby said as she started to follow Roman.

"Wait! Torchwick!" She called out.

"That's Professor Torchwick to you, young la-." He began, only for Ruby to take the rubber knife and stab him with it.

"I completed our assignment." She said.

.

.

"That. Was a dirty move, red...full points." He said as he walked off towards the highway.

* * *

"Jeez, guess I know what it's like to be Brandon, can't catch a single break to save our lives." Coco said as she and the rest of team CFVY sped down the streets of Vale in Coco's car.

"Yeah, all this action is starting to give me a headache." Fox said, rubbing his temples.

"I believe this shall be good experience for us when we graduate." Yatsuhashi said.

"Bit early to be thinking about graduation. That's still two years away." Velvet said.

"Well, we can worry about grades and graduation later, right now we need to make sure Osvaldo doesn't escape for the ninth millionth time." Coco said.

"What about the rest of the Phantoms?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, them to." She said.

A few moments of silence passed before Velvet spoke up once again.

"Hey, Coco. Mind if I ask you something that's been bugging me for a little while now?" She asked.

"Sure, what's up?" She asked.

"Why are you still chasing after him?" Velvet asked.

"...What? The hell kind of question is that, it's for justice. I'm a detective, it's my job to hunt down criminals." Coco said.

"Yeah, criminals, as in multiple criminals." Fox said.

"What are you two implying exactly?" She asked.

"Coco, ever since you've gotten this job, you have done nothing but search for that man, it even got to the point where you were so consumed in your work to make time for your studies." Yatsuhashi said.

"Well excuse me if I think lives are more important than studies." Coco said.

"That's not the point, we wouldn't have been concerned if you were hunting down criminals as a whole, but you've been hunting down ONE criminal, all you've done was search for Osvaldo!" Velvet said.

"He's an assassin! If I don't put him back behind bars then more people are going to die!" She said.

"You didn't put him behind bars." Fox said, causing Coco to stop the car.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Brandon and his Ghost sword did that, if he hadn't come when he did the fight would have turned out a whole lot differently." He said.

"What are you implying, you think we would have died if he hadn't come when he did?!" She asked.

"No, we had him outnumbered one to...over twenty I think, it would have only been a matter of time before he wore himself out." Fox said.

"Then what are you-?" Coco began.

"We believe Osvaldo's fate would have taken a different turn." Yatsuhashi said.

"...What?" She asked.

"What we're trying to ask you Coco...Is this about justice, or is it about revenge?" Velvet asked.

"I-." Coco tried to defend.

"I remember it clearly, when Brandon's ghost stopped the bullet from piercing Osvaldo's skull, you asked it something strange. 'Why did you spare him?', if I remember correctly." Fox said.

"Coco, what would you have done to Osvaldo if Brandon hadn't have appeared when he did?" Velvet asked.

"Do I look like a killer to you?" She asked, gripping the wheel of the car tightly.

"Does Brandon?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"..." Coco just sat there in silence.

"Brandon may have a dry personality, and he's not exactly the nicest person in the world, but even he wouldn't have taken a life. I mean, look what he did with Roman! He gave him a second chance!" Velvet said.

"Yet, Brandon has shown that when pushed around enough, he is very capable of being very brutal towards his enemies." Yatsuhashi said.

"Anger makes you do shit you never thought you could do before. It turns you into something you never thought you could become, and in some cases, it turns you into something you've always despised." Fox said.

"So we'll ask you again, why are you REALLY doing this?" Velvet asked.

"..." Coco just sat there in silence.

"Is it for justice?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Or revenge?" Fox asked.

"..."

"Coco, we're only trying to help you. But we can't if you won't be honest with us." Velvet said.

"...He killed my sister." Coco said.

"So we were right." Velvet said.

"I was SO close, when I entered his head, I could have easily destroyed his brain. I was SO close." She said.

"Then why didn't you?" Fox asked.

"Time limit. I can only stay in my shrunken state for ten seconds, so I decided to destroy the part of his body that was producing the flames." Coco said.

"Coco, revenge won't make the pain go away." Velvet said.

"..." She just sat there in silence, her teeth clenched.

"It will only make it worse. You need to ask yourself, would Mocha want you to go down this path of vengeance?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"You didn't know my sister." Coco said.

"That may be true, but you know your sister better than any of us. So can say that she would approve of this path you have taken?" He asked.

"I-." She tried to say.

"Can you go to your sisters grave and tell her that you have taken a life all for the sake of revenge?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"..."

"Well, can you?" He asked.

"I-." Coco tried to say, only for her eye's to widened as she stared at the scenery ahead of her.

"What now?" Fox asked, unable to see what Coco was seeing.

"Coco." Velvet tried to say, only for Coco to rush out of the car and start running forward.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi yelled, getting out of the car and running after her.

"Why are we running?!" Fox asked, getting out of the car.

"It's Osvaldo, he's right up ahead!" Velvet said.

Sure enough, Osvaldo was standing right over the rubble of the broken restaurant, the restaurant that his lover once owned.

 _'No running from he anymore! This time you're gonna pay for what you-!'_ Coco began, only to stop in her tracks as she over heard Osvaldo's words.

"I'm sorry, Scarlet." Osvaldo said.

.

.

 _'W-what?'_ Coco asked, more surprised at his tone than anything.

"I couldn't keep your dream alive, your hopes, or your passion." He said, looking at the remains of the restaurant.

"The day I lost you shall forever be burned into my mind, the image of your corpse as it laid on the floor of your restaurant shall haunt my dreams until I am unable to dream anymore." Osvaldo said.

"I know you would never approve of the path I have gone down. But I am at the point of no return, I shall continue walking down this path until the day I die." He said.

"I can never look at you as I did before, not with all this blood on my hands." Osvaldo said.

 _"Can you go to your sisters grave and tell her that you have taken a life all for the sake of revenge?"_ Coco remembered.

 _'T-the hell?!'_ She thought to herself.

"When that boy had me defeated, I wanted nothing more than to end this pain. But in the end, it seems fate had other plans for me." Osvaldo said.

"He...spared me. Even I do not know why he did what he did." He said.

"But that ghost was right, it seems my work is not done yet. I cannot stop now, he is still out there, somewhere." Osvaldo said.

"I shall find the man who had taken you away from me, and I shall crush him with my bare hands." He said.

"I know that killing him will not bring you back to me, nor shall it remove the pain. But this is the only thing pushing me forward, I shall finish what I started." Osvaldo said.

 _"Coco, revenge won't make the pain go away."_ Coco remembered Velvet saying.

Coco's fist balled up, her teeth clenching up.

"Then, there is you." He said, turning towards Coco.

Coco moved backwards, reaching for her Mini-gun.

"You want to kill me, correct?" Osvaldo asked.

Coco just stood there in silence, not saying a word as she pointed her Mini-gun at Osvaldo.

"I would not blame you, the pain I inflicted on you is a pain that shall stick with you until the day that you die." He said.

"I do not regret what I've done, you humans are the ones who fired the first shot, you are the ones who killed my Scarlette." Osvaldo said.

"I understand you're hatred for me, but hatred shall only breathe more hatred." He said.

"Though I shall not stop you, if you want to kill me then do it. But I advise you, do not pull that trigger." Osvaldo said.

"You begging for you life now?!" Coco yelled.

"No, I simply do not want to see a young girl go down the same path I did ten years ago." He said.

"I'm not like you." She growled.

"Indeed, you still have a chance to turn back." Osvaldo said.

Coco's only response was to rev up her Mini-gun.

"The choice is yours, but know this, pulling that trigger will only ignite more hatred. One of our cycles shall end, my hatred towards humanity, or your hatred towards me." He said.

"But in the end, it will all be pointless, all of the lives I have taken up until now, pointless. The pain will never go away, no matter how many lives you take." Osvaldo said.

Coco started to move backwards a bit before throwing her Mini-gun towards the ground.

"Shut your damn mouth!" She yelled, her sunglasses falling off of her face, tears in the corner of her eyes and her face filled with fury.

"You have hurt so many people, so many innocent lives, and you're trying to HELP me?! After everything you've done to me, to my friends, to my sister?! Just shut your damn mouth already." Coco yelled.

"Coco!" Velvet yelled as she and the rest of her team caught up.

"I am simply trying to avoid more pointless bloodshed, but I will not hesitate to take your life if given the proper reason." He said.

"Avoiding bloodshed was off of the table a long time ago." She said, reaching for her Mini-gun.

Though the only thing she grabbed was thin air.

"What the-?" She asked as she scanned the area to see where her weapon was.

"Coco." She heard Velvet say.

Coco turned towards her partner to see that she was holding the weapon in it's suitcase form.

"Heh, thanks Velvet, now give it here." Coco said.

"...No." She said.

Coco just stood there in silence for a few moments before speaking up.

"Give it." She said once more.

"No!" Velvet said.

"Damn it! Give me my weapon!" Coco yelled.

"No! This isn't right anymore Coco!" Velvet yelled.

"How the hell is sending this bastard six feet under not just anymore?!" She asked.

"How?! Just look at yourself Coco!" She yelled.

"Please, just stop this already!" Velvet said.

Coco clenched her fist and was about to counter, but she was cut off by Osvaldo's voice.

"Do what you want, girl. If you desire to kill me then so be it." He said.

"Who am I to stop someone from taking vengeance?" Osvaldo asked.

"Still, the road you are about to go down is a dark road, one which there is no return from." He said.

"So, are you willing to become the one thing you despise the most?" Osvaldo asked.

Coco just stood there in silence, her anger not leaving her body.

"Coco, please. Just stop this already. Don't get us wrong, we have no intention on letting him get away, but there's no need for bloodshed. This isn't just anymore, this is pure hatred. This won't help, not you, not your friends, and it won't help Vale." Velvet said.

"You're better than this, Coco." She said.

.

.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Coco asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Coco?" Velvet asked.

"I'm supposed to be your leader. But look at me now, I'm being scolded by my own teammates, and I'm being lectured by a man who is supposed to be my enemy." She said.

"Heh, I really messed up, didn't I?" Coco asked.

"Coco." Velvet tried to come up with something to say, but right now she wasn't in a position to do so.

"I'm sorry. All of you." She said, turning towards her team.

"I was so blinded by my rage that I failed to see how much I was hurting our team." Coco said.

"I thought revenge would give me closure, that it would help me cope with my sisters death, that it would ease the pain...but-." She said, her voice shaking as tears started to roll down her face.

"It hurts. It hurts so much." Coco admitted.

Velvet didn't have to say anything, she just walked over to her partner and wrapper her arms around her.

"Then let us help you." Velvet said.

"Indeed, we are your teammates. All you need to do is ask for our help." Yatsuhashi said.

"Yeah." Fox said.

Coco chuckled before wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Thanks." Coco said.

"No problem mate." Velvet said.

"Who was she?" She asked, turning towards Osvaldo.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Scarlet, who was she?" Coco asked.

"Why the sudden interest?" He asked.

"Well, I am a detective after all. If her case file still hasn't expired yet, then I might be able to track the guy who killed her down." She said.

Osvaldo's eye's widened upon hearing Coco's reasoning.

"Why?" He asked.

"Don't get the wrong idea, you're going to do your time, but I can't have someone getting away with murder now can I?" Coco asked.

Velvet stared at Coco with a proud smile on her face.

 _'Welcome back Coco.'_ Velvet thought.

"...Her name was Scarlet Astria." He said.

"Astria, huh?" She asked.

"Do what you want with the case. Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." Osvaldo said, turning away from team CFVY.

"Hold on now, just because I'm not trying to kill you doesn't mean you're off the hook bub." Coco said.

"Then try and catch me then." He said as his body let loose a massive cloud of steam.

"What the-?! Damn it I hate that trick!" Coco yelled as the steam cleared and Osvaldo was nowhere to be seen.

"Should we go after him?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Hmm...no, there's more important things to do right now. We need to make sure the people are safe from the White Fang." Coco said.

"Right." Everyone said as they started to run towards Coco's car.

Little did they know, Osvaldo was standing right behind a building in his normal form with a letter in his hand.

The letter appeared to have already been opened before, though that didn't stop Osvaldo from reading once more.

 ** _"My love, if you are reading this letter, then I am no longer by your side. Because fate has stepped between us, I have decided to write you this letter."_** The letter said.

 _ **"I know that it will be hard, we had planned our future together, though I beg of you. Don't let this change you, do not loose yourself, do not the man you are now die with me. I will forever cherish the times we spent together, and I hope you will do the same."**_ It said.

 _ **"Don't worry, I will be going to a better place. Though even if the distance between us is great, I will forever be by your side."**_ The letter said.

 _ **"Keep moving forward, my love."**_ It said.

 _ **"Your fiance, Scarlet Astria."**_ The letter said, concluding it's message.

Osvaldo shook the letter, causing two rings to fall out of the contexts of the letter.

He sighed, put the rings back into the letter, put the letter in his pocket, and started to walk towards the industrial district of Vale.

* * *

 _'Come on, how hard can one blonde be to find?!'_ Blake thought to herself.

Blake was currently running down the streets of Vale, desperately looking for her partner.

You'd think after that explosion she would have an easy time finding Yang, but after she went to the location of the current explosion, another one took it's place.

So yeah, it wasn't as easy to find her partner as she thought it would be.

Eventually, she made her way to the area where the last explosion was heard from, though this time, she did see her partner, Yang, fighting various White Fang members.

One of the members charged towards Yang with a blade in her right hand.

Yang responded by punching her fist towards the girl, sending one of her shotgun rounds at her blade and knocking it away.

Before the White Fang member could reach for her gun, Yang charged towards her and punched her across the jaw, sending her flying towards the wall.

Another White Fang member charged towards Yang with his gun pointed at her.

Yang smirked and launched herself up into the air before sending herself flying towards the White Fang member.

Before he could react, Yang sent him flying through some nearby windows.

Yang cracked her knuckles and looked around the area she was in.

"That it?" She asked.

Her only response was for another White Fang member to come charging towards her with a knife in his hands.

"What, you want some to?" She asked, motioning him to come closer.

Though before the White Fang member could get any closer, Blake had thrown Gamble shroud at him, knocking him out.

.

.

"I could have handled him." She said.

"Sure." Blake said.

Yang chuckled and started walking over to her partner.

"So, how'd your little brawl with those White Fang members go. Bet you kicked some serious ass, not that I doubt you couldn't." She said.

"Actually, things got a little more complicated than we expected." Blake admitted.

"Oh...what happened?" Yang asked.

"It's Adam. He's here." She said.

"Adam! Adam's your...your...?" She asked.

"Mentor." Blake said.

"Right, your mentor...wait, why is HE here?!" Yang asked.

"He's leading the jail break. Though he decided he wanted to pay his old partner a visit." She said.

"You're not hurt, right?" She asked.

"Still a little sore from where he kneed me, but other than that I'm fine. Sun on the other hand isn't doing as well." Blake said.

"What happened? Did he...?" Yang asked, dragging her finger across her neck.

"Fortunately, no, he didn't. But he used up all his reserves just to get us out of there." Blake said.

"Huh...well, I'll be sure to personally thank him after this is all over. I'm sure he won't mind a few bananas." Yang said.

"...Ugh! Yang! I'm right here!" Blake yelled.

"What? I was gonna make him a mean banana bread." She said.

"...Banana bread?" She asked.

"Yeah...oh! You thought I meant-! No! Come on Blake, I'm not THAT bad!" Yang defended.

"Okay, one: Yes, yes you ARE that bad, and two: You can't cook." Blake said.

"Excuse me?! I'll have you know I made a pretty mean cake on your birthday!" She yelled.

"Then why was it in a container?" She asked.

"I like wrapping all of my gifts." Yang said.

"Why was there a price tag on it then?" Blake asked.

"...Okay fine, I can't cook." She grumbled.

"Acceptance is always the first step to growth." She said, patting Yang on the back.

"Okay, I'll give you the burned cake next time!" Yang said.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, a feather sped past Blake, leaving a visible cut on her cheek.

"Damn it!" A female voice said.

Blake turned around to see that Aleria and Alerio were standing a top of a building, gazing down at the duo.

"You missed! How did you miss?! She was three feet in front of you!" Alerio asked.

"I'd like to see YOU try!" She yelled.

"You!" Yang said.

"Yeah, me. Remember me? Course you do, so how about you and I settle the sco-." Aleria began.

"Not you, YOU." Yang said, pointing at Alerio.

"...Me?" He asked.

"Yeah! I've got a clip of bullets with your name on it bub!" Yang said.

"Yang, we don't have time for this, Adam could find us any second now!" Blake said.

"Then we'll make sure we take em down while having time to make our getaway." She said.

"No! We need to leave n-." She began.

"Fine, Alerio, you take her. I'll take care of Blake." Aleria said, pulling out a handful of feathers.

"Aw yeah, this is gonna be fun." Alerio said, rubbing his hands together.

"Let's go!" Yang yelled, rushing towards Alerio.

"Straight to the point huh?! I can dig it!" He said, jumping off of the building.

"Woo ho!" He yelled.

"Get back here!" Yang yelled, running after him.

"Yang!" Blake shouted, only for Aleria to throw a few feathers at Blake.

"Eye's on me! I'm your target!" She yelled, rushing towards her, her feathers expanding with a magenta aura acting as a blade of some sort.

"Aleria! Please, we don't have to fight!" Blake yelled, pulling out gamble shroud.

"Sorry Blake! But that option was off the table a long time ago!" Aleria yelled, swinging her blade at her.

Blake blocked the attack with her blade and kicked Aleria in the gut before kicking her away.

"I don't want to hurt you!" She said.

"Then stop resisting and I'll make it quick!" She yelled.

Blake growled and switched to her pistol and started to fire round after round at Aleria.

Aleria blocked the bullets with her feathers, shooting a few of her own feathers at Blake.

Blake used her shadows to dodge the attacks, but Aleria was all to familiar with this method of attack.

"Nice try." She said, recalling the feathers she had placed behind her, causing them to send Blake flying towards her.

Aleria created her blade and swung it Blake, sending her rolling towards a nearby car.

"Ugh, always hated that move." Blake mumbled.

"I know all your little tricks Blake! Would have thought you would have picked up something in that rich kid's school you go to." She said.

Blake smirked and put a few dust rounds into her pistol.

She charged towards Aleria with Gamble shroud in her hands.

"Tch." Aleria said, getting ready for any attack she could throw at her.

Blake activated her semblance and sent a fire clone towards Aleria.

Aleria's eyes widened for a few seconds before back flipping and throwing a few feathers at the clone.

Blake summoned another clone, this one being a lightning clone.

Because Aleria was in the air, she wasn't able to dodge the oncoming attack.

Blake took this opportunity to slash and jag at Aleria's abdomen before sending her flying towards the ground.

Though as she laid on the ground, Aleria smirked and snapped her fingers.

Before Blake could react, various feathers were sent flying towards her, each one blowing up upon contact.

"Like I said Blake." She said.

"I know all your little tricks." Aleria said.

Meanwhile, Yang and Alerio were engaging in hand to hand combat in the street next to where Aleria and Blake were fighting.

"Come on girl, how bout we just talk this out?" Alerio asked.

"Yeah, and I've got two friends here who are eager to have an conversation with you." Yang said.

"Really? Who?" He asked.

"Beat em up!" Yang yelled as she punched Alerio across the face.

"Ow! My sexy face!" Alerio yelled.

"And fuck em up!" She yelled, punching Alerio in the nose.

"Ow! My sexy nose!" He said, rubbing his nose.

"More where that came from!" Yang yelled.

"Well, I really...enjoyed my conversation with your friends, though how about you and I get to know each other?" Alerio asked.

"She's in her teens!" Aleria said from the other side of the building.

"...Why?" He asked as he stared into the sky.

"Better luck next time Casanova." Yang said.

"Oh well." Alerio said as he thew his fist at Yang, a golden aura surrounding.

Though Yang was quick to react and moved out of the way.

"Okay, attempt number two." He said, throwing his fist at Yang again, only for her to dodge again.

"Third times the charm, right?" Alerio asked, throwing his fist at Yang again.

Though this time, Yang caught it in her hand.

.

.

"Uh." He began.

"So, the more you move, the more powerful your attacks are, huh?" She asked.

"...No." He said.

"So, if I keep you in one place-!" She began as she punched Alerio across the face.

"You're semblance is basically useless, that right?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, well I've got ways to get you riled up." He said.

"Oh really, and how tha-?!" She began, only to see a strand of her hair in Alerio's palm.

"Gasp! Did I do this! I am SO sorry! Please forgive me dear princess!" He said dramatically.

"...You...YOU BASTARD!" She yelled, charging towards Alerio.

"Whoop!" He yelled, moving backwards before charging at Yang, golden aura swirling around her.

Though Yang had played right into his hands, Alerio was now easily able to over power Yang and send her flying through the wall.

"Aaaaand goodbye!" He yelled.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Blake was currently breathing heavily, while Aleria was perfectly fine.

"What's the matter? No more tricks?" She asked.

Though before Blake could respond, Yang was seen flying through the wall, landing on a nearby car.

"Huh, that was quick." She said.

"Yang!" She yelled.

"Alright, we're all good!" Alerio said.

"Good, now we only have to do one more thing." Aleria said as she pulled out a feather.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Can't we just leave em like this? I mean...this is Blake we're talking about." He said.

"She betrayed us." She said.

"But still." Alerio said.

The two looked at each other before Aleria sighed.

"Fine, our objective is to get Veronica and Osvaldo out of here anyway." She said, putting away her feathers.

"Awesome! Looks like you get to live another day old Blake!" Alerio said.

"Don't expect any further kindness next time." Aleria said.

"Laters." He said as he and his sister ran off.

After a few moments of silence, Blake ran over to Yang.

"Yang! Are you okay?!" She asked.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm fine." Yang said.

"Good." Blake said, looking over at the highway.

"We should lay low while we make our way to the highway, we need to let our aura recharge." She said.

"Yeah." Yang said, her usual upbeat tone gone.

"Yang?" Blake asked, noticing the tone change in her partner.

"I'm fine. Let's just go." She said as she walked off.

"Yang." Blake mumbled, following her partner.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Jeez, I'm here in Vale for a day and already it's getting attacked." Qrow said bitterly.

"Welcome to my world." I mumbled.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing." I said.

Though seriously, it's been like...four days since the breach in Vale, can't you just give me a break until volume three for Christ sake?!

"Where did the explosion come from?" I asked.

"It came from the industrial district, mainly the highway center. That's where Jimmy's big ship is supposed to be." Qrow said.

Big ship?

.

.

Shit! That's right!

"We need to get there, and fast!" I said.

"Why? What's going on?" Qrow asked.

"It's the Phantoms, two of there members were supposed to be transported to the big ship, the rest of the members must have found out about it!" I said.

"...Great, just keeps getting better and better." He said sarcasticly.

"What's the plan?!" I asked.

Qrow closed his eyes for a moment before nodding to himself.

"You take the lower ground in case any White Fang members try to escape, I'll make my way to the highway." He said.

"Wait, how are you going to get there?! It's to far a-!" I began, only for Qrow to poof into a ball of smoke and turn into a crow before flying away from me.

"Away...you know, I always wanted to know how he did that." I said.

 _ **"So, what's the plan?"**_ Caliber asked.

"We get to the highway as fast as we can." I said.

 _ **"Ah, so we are going to the heart of the storm. Interesting strategy."**_ He said.

"Yeah, if anything that's where everyone else is going, so we're gonna need to be there to back them up." I said.

 _ **"Then let us make haste."**_ Caliber said.

"Though there's just one issue." I said, looking at the map on my scroll.

"It's to damn far! We're in the commercial district, and Qrow said the explosion came from the industrial district. That's all the way on the other side of Vale! We'll never make it in time!" I said.

 _ **"Might I suggest a mode of transportation?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Oh yeah, because clearly there are so many vehicles around-." I began, only for the sight of a bullhead to cut me off.

"...So, you ever want to hijack a bullhead?" I asked.

 _ **"Not particularly."**_ He said.

"Well we're doing it now so you can take that off your bucket list." I said.

"Only issue...I don't know how I'm going to get up there." I said.

 _ **"Allow me."**_ Caliber said as he appeared behind me and picked me up by the hood.

"Hey, what the hell are you doiiiiiiiing!" I yelled as Caliber threw me towards the airship.

As I landed in the airship, I could see four White Fang members looking at me with very confused and shocked expressions on there faces.

"Pilot! Make a quick stop at the industrial district! I need to meet a few friends the-." I began, only for the White Fang members to start attacking me.

"Okay now this is happening." I said as I grabbed one of the members by the neck and put him in a headlock.

"Sorry bub, only room for four!" I yelled, kicking one of the members out of the Bullhead.

The White Fang member managed to release my grip on him and pushed me against the wall of the bullhead.

"Ow." I said as I summoned Caliber's arm to punch the man out of the Bullhead.

"Just a few more blocks and we'll be right-." I began, only for one of the White Fang members to grab my head and slam it into a nearby wall.

"Ow." He said as he reeled my head back to do it again.

"Ow." I said once more.

"Ow."

"Ow." I said, having Caliber elbow the man.

"Caliber, would you see this man out?" I asked.

 _ **"Certainly."**_ He said, appearing outside of the Bullhead and throwing him out of the air craft.

"That's three down, and one more to go." I said.

Though as I said this, I heard the door to the cockpit open.

"Scratch that, three down TWO more to go!" I yelled, bringing my sword out to attack the White Fang member.

Though I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw just who it was.

"...Naomi?" I asked.

"Oh, hello there." She said.

"What the hell are you...actually, never mind. I've got places to be, so no hard feelings." I said as I went to grab her.

Though as I did, the other White Fang member pulled out a machine gun open fired.

"A bit busy bub!" I yelled, grabbing the rifle and pushing it out of the way.

Though as I did, the bullets hit one of the engines, causing it to explode.

.

.

"Shit." I said as we started to descend.

"So what exactly's below us?" I asked, staring down below the Bullhead to see the open sea.

"Okay, here I though we were gonna crash into the cit-." I began, only for the Bullhead to crash into sea.

Well then, that could have gone better.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Caliber said.

Okay, all I need to do is swim upwards and I'll be perfectly fi-.

.

.

Why can't I swim up?

I tried once again to swim up, but it seemed that the surface was only getting further and further away.

What the hell?! Why can't I swim u-?

Though my question was answered before it was even asked as I saw one of my legs stuck in the floors of the Bullhead.

Shit! I can't move my leg!

I once again tried to free my leg from the grasps of the floor boards.

Come on! Come on!

Caliber! Can't you do something?!

 _ **"I would have to cut off your leg to free you!"**_ He said.

Well, shit.

I once again tried to free myself from the Bullheads floor boards, but once again I had no dice.

My lungs were burning up, and I could feel my consciousness slowly fade.

Shit...I can't die here, I just...

Though as I was about to slip away, I could see a lone figure swimming towards me.

.

.

"Gah!" I gasped as my eyes jolted open to see the blue sky above me.

"Hah, hah, hah. How the hell did I-?" I began to ask.

Though as I turned by head to the right, I could see Naomi sticking her head out of the water.

"...D-did you-?" I began to ask, only for Naomi to swim away.

"Wait! Why did you help me?!" I asked, though it was too late, she was already long gone.

...Wow, why do you think she helped me?

 _ **"Perhaps this is her way of saying thank you for helping her discover a clue to her past."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, maybe." I said as I got up.

Though as I turned around, I could see that the highway of the industrial district in the distance, smoke coming from a certain part of the highway.

"Heh, looks like this is our stop." I said.

 _ **"Shall we go aid our comrade in battle?"**_ He asked.

"Yeah, let's go." I said, though before I started to run towards the highway, I turned towards the direction where Naomi swam away from.

"Thank you! I'll make it up to ya someday!" I yelled as I started to run.

Though as I started to run, Naomi peeked her head out from the water and smiled.

"This one is an...interesting specimen to say the least." Naomi said before diving back into the water.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"We need more troops! Call the main airship for reinforcements!" Ironwood commanded.

"Yes sir!" One of the commanders said, pulling out his scroll.

"Command! This is evac! We need reinforcements stat!" He said.

 **"Roger that, sending reinforcements now."** A woman from the other side of the scroll said.

Ironwood looked to his right to see that two White Fang lieutenants were making there way towards him.

He pulled out his revolver and shot various shots at the two, knocking them back a fair distance.

Though they were immediately replaced by one of Atlas's advanced military combat vehicles.

Ironwood's eyes widened before he pressed a button on the metal part of his head.

As he did, the right side of his body started to glow a bright blue.

He reeled his fist backwards before punching the car, destroying it in the process.

His eye's started to glow and he pointing his revolver in the general direction of the White Fang members.

He fired three rapid shots, each one piercing the White Fang member's skulls, killing them instantly.

"How did they get there hands on this?! It's still in the prototype stage!" He yelled.

"We don't know sir! They even have some of our advanced fire arms!" One of the commanders said.

 _'They must have got there hands on our equipment the day they got our new Atleasian paladins.'_ Ironwood thought.

 _'Though unfortunately, they only had the prototypes.'_ He thought to himself with a smirk.

"Call in the paladins!" Ironwood commanded.

"Yes sir!" One of the commanders said.

Ironwood turned to his right to see two more vehicles coming his way.

His eye's started to glow once more and he pointed his revolver at the oncoming attackers.

He fired two shots, each one going through the car, causing it to blow up with the White Fang members still in them.

Ironwood pointed his revolver up into the air and fired six shots from his chamber.

Each bullet went through the heads of each White Fang member that went air born.

Ironwood shook out the empty shells him his revolver before rapidly putting more back in.

 _'We need to hold out until reinforcements come. Though how did the Fang find out about this transfer in the first place?'_ He asked.

Ironwood shot a few bullets at the general direction of the White Fang army that was making there way towards them.

 _'We need to secure the area. Vale can't afford to experience another attack like the breach.'_ Ironwood thought.

"Sir! We just secured the residential district of Vale!" One of the commanders said.

"Good! Keep moving! Don't stop until everyone is sa-." Ironwood began, only for the sound of gunfire to cut him off.

"Get down!" He commanded.

Though as he ducked into cover, Ironwood could see a tiny fighter jet zoom past him.

Before the commander could react, the jet fired two missiles at his abdomen.

He had no time to react as the missiles made contact with his abdomen, killing him instantly.

"Commander!" Ironwood yelled.

"Damn it, show yourself!" He yelled, his revolver in his right hand.

The only response he got was for the little fighter jet to move towards a woman that was standing a few feet in front of him.

"Miss me, Tin can?" Veronica asked with a smirk, D.S.M.N flying over her.

"Why are you still here?" Ironwood asked.

"Just thought I'd pay you a little visit before bidding you bye bye." She said.

"Well, you might want to put a hold on your farewell because I have no intention in letting you leave." He said, pointing his revolver at her.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Veronica said as D.S.M.N sped towards him, firing it's guns as it closed the gap between them.

Ironwood rolled out of the way of D.S.M.N's line of fire before open firing on the tiny fighter jet.

Though the plane was easily able to dodge each oh his attacks.

Veronica pulled out a pistol and started to open fire at Ironwood, though he was quick to react and moved out of the way.

"How did the rest of you find out about the transfer?!" He commanded, his eye's glowing blue.

"My weapon isn't the only thing that's mechanical!" She said.

"What are you talking about?!" Ironwood asked.

"Implants, made them myself." Veronica said, pointing to her forehead.

Ironwood started to fire his revolver at D.S.M.N, each bullet making direct contact.

Though the tiny fighter jet showed no signs of crashing down or falling apart, the only thing Ironwood managed to do was to dent it.

"What's that thing made out of?" He asked himself, reloading his revolver in preparation for another attack.

Ironwood, started to scan the tiny fighter jet for any signs of weakness.

Fortunately for him, the cockpit seemed to have the most readings coming from it.

He carefully aimed before pulling the trigger, the bullet going through the cock pit.

"D.S.M.N! Protocol 026!" Veronica yelled.

The tiny fighter jet started to beep before various mechanical arms came out, along with little repair needles.

 _'It has self repair?!'_ Ironwood asked himself as he aimed his gun at the tiny fighter jet.

Though before he could pull the trigger, Veronica started to go one the offensive.

 _'So it can't attack when it's repairing itself. Good, that gives me an opportunity to destroy it completely.'_ Ironwood thought as he fired a few rounds at Veronica.

Two of them missed, but one of them hit Veronica directly in the head.

Though instead of a bruise or even blood, sparks started to come out of the metal part of Veronica's forehead.

"Damn it. That's gonna be a pain to fix." She said, rubbing the area where she had been hit.

"...I see, you installed an audio recorder inside of your head. I'm assuming that all audio it picked up would be transferred back to your base of operations?" Ironwood asked.

"Basically." She said, firing a few shots at Ironwood.

"Still, brain implants are extremely dangerous. Only the best surgeons would be able to pull of such a feat." He said.

"We have a good doctor." Veronica said.

"I can make that deduction." Ironwood said.

Though during there little exchange, D.S.M.N had finished his repairs and was making it's way towards Ironwood.

It fired one of it's missiles at Ironwood, though the general simply blocked it with his hand, tearing the fabric that covered up his metal arm.

"Tch, guess they don't call you Ironwood for nothing." Veronica said, with a smirk.

"Though I have a few tricks to deal with people like you." She said as she touched the metal part on her forehead.

She swiped her finger across the piece of metal, causing a wave of blue energy to move towards Ironwood.

Suddenly, his right side of his body felt heavy and he started to have trouble breathing.

"W-what did you-?!" He asked.

"E.M.P, would have thought you could have made that assumption." Veronica said.

"Judging by your struggle to breathe, I'd think it's safe to assume that you rely on these mechanical parts of yours quite a bit." She said, raising her gun.

"See you on the other side, Genera-." Veronica began, only for a red projectile to nail her right on her side, sending her flying.

"Tch, always hated you rats." A familiar voice said.

"Y-you!" Ironwood managed to say, turning his head to his right to see Roman, Neo, Ruby, Penny, and Ciel all standing next to him, Roman pointing his cane at Veronica.

"Target locked." Penny said as the blades fired various lasers at D.S.M.N, though the tiny fighter jet dodged it with ease.

"General!" Ciel yelled as she ran over to her headmaster.

"Ms. Soleil?" He asked.

"Are you all right sir?" She asked.

"Y-yes. The E.M.P is only temporary, my right half should be fine after a few seconds." Ironwood said.

Sure enough, blue lights started to flicker on, causing Ironwood to regain his movement.

"So, how ya holding up Jimmy?" Roman asked with a smirk.

"I said don't call me that." He said.

"Whatever you say, Jimmy." He said as he started to walk over to Veronica.

"Hey sweetheart, remember me?" Roman asked.

"Unfortunately yes. Why the hell are you helping them now?" She asked.

"Well you see, the thing is, we're kinda on the same side now." He said.

"What?!" Veronica asked.

"You know, we're on the same side on the chess board, same side of the war, we see eye to eye...okay not that last one but you know what I mean." Roman said, pointing his cane at her.

"So how about you be a good girl, and go back into your little cage?" He asked.

Veronica growled and whistled, causing D.S.M.N to move towards her.

She gripped the handle with her right hand and glared at Roman.

"Go to hell." She said as she flew away.

"Rude." He said, lighting a cigar.

"Are you unharmed general?" Penny asked.

"Yes, I am fine Penny." He said, though as he stared at Penny, his gaze fell upon her right hand, or lack of to be exact.

"W-what happened?!" He asked, grabbing her arm.

"Oh...I lost my hand." She said.

"I can see that! How could you be so reckless?! No one was supposed to know about this!" Ironwood said.

"I'm sorry general, but it was not something I could prevent. Ms. Ciel was in danger, so I must protect her." Penny said.

"This will take days to repair. You're father will not be happy with this." He said.

"I will tell him that it was my own fault. You had nothing to do with it." She said.

.

.

Ironwood sighed and pinched the brim of his nose.

"Just be more careful next time." He said.

"I promise!" Penny said cheerfully.

"Good, now you two." Ironwood said, turning his head towards Ciel and Ruby.

"Y-yes sir?!" Ciel asked.

"You will not speak of this incident to anyone. This is top secret information, is that clear?" He asked.

"Yes sir!" She said, saluting to Ironwood.

"Uh...y-yes sir!" Ruby said.

"Good, now I have an assignment for you three." He said.

"A mission?" Penny asked.

"Yes, a mission." Ironwood said.

"Oh boy! My very first mission! This is so exciting! Isn't this exciting Ms. Ciel, it's our very first mission!" She said.

"Focus, Ms. Polendina." Ciel said.

"Oh! Right!" Penny said.

"Moving on, I need you all to secure the highway, the safety of our citizens must me secured." Ironwood said.

"Updating objective." She said.

"What about you?" Ciel asked.

"Roman, his niece and I shall stay back. We cannot afford to loose more men." He said.

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't agree to that buddy." Roman said.

"Think of it as a deal. If you help us secure the area, not only shall it brighten your image in the city of Vale, I might be swayed to loosening security on you." Ironwood said.

Roman just stood there for a couple of moments before sighing.

"Fine, but if your soldier boys get in the way I won't think twice about blasting them to kingdom come." He said.

"Don't worry, most of these soldiers will be mechanical. They can be easily repaired." Ironwood said.

"Good. You heard the tin man, move it!" Roman said.

"Right! Mission to secure the highway is underway!" Penny said, running towards the entrance to the highway.

"We won't let you down sir!" Ciel said, following her mechanical friend.

"You sure you want to put your life in his hands?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think I have much of a choice in the matter." Ironwood said.

"Okay, we won't let you down!" Ruby said, speeding towards her companions.

Ironwood sighed and turned towards his former enemy.

"Looks like we got company." Roman said as a battalion of White Fang members surrounded them.

"It seems so." Ironwood said.

"You ready for this, Jimmy?" He asked.

"I wish you would stop calling me that." He said as the trio engaged in combat.

* * *

"Looks like no one's here." Blake said as she and her partner, Yang made there way onto the highway.

"They're all probably at the airship." She said.

"Yeah." Yang said.

.

.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Blake asked.

"Huh?" She asked.

"You've been quiet. Too quiet for my liking." She said.

"It's nothing." Yang said.

"It's not nothing Yang! You've been like this ever since our fight with the twins! Just tell me what's wrong!" Blake yelled.

"I told you it's nothing! Butt out of my business!" She yelled back.

"You're business is my business Yang! I'm your partner!" She yelled.

"I already told you it's-!" Yang yelled, only to cut herself off as Blake put her hand on her shoulder.

"Yang, I'm your partner. Talk to me. You already helped me, now let me help you." She said.

Yang stood there in silence for a few seconds before responding.

"It happened again." She said.

"Huh?" Blake asked.

"I let my anger get the best of me for the ninth millionth time." Yang said.

"Yang, what happened?" She asked.

"I'll tell you what happened! I was THIS close to beating that feather brain, but I let my anger get the best of me and I lost, that's what happened!" She said.

"Yang, it wasn't your fault, Alerio has always been like that, it's part of his strategy. He finds out what makes his opponents tick and uses that to his advantage." Blake said.

"So what, it was a lost cause from the beginning?!" Yang asked.

"That's not what I'm saying!" She yelled.

Yang stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before sighing.

"I'm sorry for yelling. It's just...this has always happened, before and during Beacon." She said.

"I always had a temper, would get into a lot of trouble at school. They even threatened to kick me out at Signal." Yang said.

"I'd always get into fights in and out of Signal, I destroyed night clubs because of my anger, and I've even put people in the hospital because of it." She said.

"I got into a lot of trouble because of it. But I always won the fight, so I didn't care how angry I got." Yang said.

"That is until I came to Beacon." She said.

"Time and time again, I've been shown that my temper can't always solve my problems. I mean, look at Roman and his mech, that little ice cream girl, Brandon, Caliber, and now Alerio." Yang said.

"Yang, you're not the only one who struggles with anger management, I'm pretty sure Brandon's default emotion is angry." Blake said.

"Yeah, but he can control it. He can control his anger, I can't." She said.

"Yang...I may not know what you're going through, but I want to help you. You did help me after all." She said.

"...You really think you can?" Yang asked.

"I know a few things about self control so yeah, I can. I can even see if Sun's teammate, Sage or Yatsuhashi can help you." She said.

"I want to be calm, not stone faced." She said with a chuckle.

"Help is help." Blake said.

"Yeah, thanks Blake." Yang said.

"Anytime, partner. Now let's see if we can't find the others." She said.

"Right." She said.

Though before the two of them could continue, Blake heard footsteps coming from behind them.

"You're quite the runner, you know that?" A voice that made Blake freeze said.

"Huh?" Yang asked, turning to face none other than Adam Taurus.

"Then again, I'm sure that concept is familiar to you." He said.

"The hell are you?" She asked.

"A-Adam?!" She asked.

"...Wait, THIS is Adam?!" Yang asked.

"And who might you be?" Adam asked.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long, her partner." She said as she activated her gauntlets.

"...Partner? With a human?" He asked, his gaze falling upon Blake.

Adam stood there in silence before drawing his sword.

"I see you are too far gone. The only way I can save you now is by ending your suffering with my own blade." He said.

"W-what?!" She asked.

"Just try it bub! You want some of her?! Well you've gotta go through me!" Yang yelled.

"Do not think I shall be quick with you, human. I will make sure all of you suffer the same pain we did." Adam said.

"Bring it!" She yelled as she charged towards Adam.

 _'Stop.'_ She thought to herself.

Yang and Adam were getting closer to one another.

 _'Please.'_ She internally begged.

Adam's sword was reeling back, and Yang's fist was reeling back.

 _'Please! I can't loose anyone else!'_ Blake internally screamed.

"Target locked!" She heard someone say.

Adam spun his head to his right before jumping backwards, barely dodging a green laser.

"Hmm, attack unsuccessful." The voice said.

Blake and Yang turned there heads towards the source of the voices to see Ruby, Penny, and Ciel standing right next to them with there weapons out.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled as she ran towards her sister.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she embraced her sister.

"Blake?! Are you okay?!" She asked.

"H-huh?" She asked.

"Who is that?" Ruby asked.

"Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang." Ciel said.

.

.

"Sorry what?" Ruby asked.

"Vale's branch of the White Fang that is." She said.

"I see you have associated yourself with more humans. Has everything we said meant nothing to you?" Adam asked.

"Target locked, engaging in combat." Penny said, moving towards Adam.

"W-wait! Don't!" Blake called out.

Though what surprised her the most was that Adam moved back, blocking Penny's attacks instead of countering with his own set of attacks .

 _'Why is he being so passive?'_ She asked.

 _'This girl. Something about her puts me on the edge, I must keep my guard up around her.'_ Adam thought.

Penny swung her blades at Adam in attempts to get the upper hand, but Adam was able to dodge the attacks.

Though as soon as he did, Penny shot a few lasers at Adam, knocking him back a bit.

 _'She's a clever girl, I'll give her that.'_ He thought to himself.

Penny's eye's darted around the area before she shot her blades at a near by truck.

 _'Does she intend to use that truck to her advantage? No matter, whatever is in that truck will not help he-.'_ Adam began to think, only for Penny to pick up the truck and throw it at Adam.

"W-what the hell?!" Yang asked in surprise.

Adam was just as surprised as Yang, not expecting the tiny girl to be so physically strong.

He reeled his sword backwards and sliced the car in half. Though as he did, Penny was right there to meet him, kicking him in the chest and sending him flying down the street.

 _'Tch, there is definitely something wrong here. She doesn't seem to have any form of muscles yet she is able to lift and throw a truck like it's nothing.'_ He thought to himself as he got back up.

"Updating battle plan." Penny said.

 _'Who is she?'_ Adam asked.

He shook his head and gripped his sword tightly.

 _'I need to end this quickly.'_ He thought to himself, running towards Penny at blinding speeds.

Right as he was about to strike Penny, he quickly moved downward to stab Penny.

Though what surprised him the most was the fact that Penny caught the blade with little to no effort.

"W-what?!" He asked.

Penny reeled her leg backwards and kicked Adam away.

"Yeah! Get em Penny!" Ruby cheered.

"Whoa, I knew she was something but THIS, jeez." Yang said.

Adam growled and started to fire shot after shot at Penny.

Though Penny was easily able to block each and everyone of his attacks .

Penny's blades started to spin around one another, a green ball of light forming around it.

Adam smirked and prepared his blade to absorb the attack.

Penny seemed to notice this and fired her laser at Adam's feet, causing him to go flying upwards.

She jumped up and punched him across the jaw, sending him flying towards the ground.

 _'She knew how my semblance worked in the matter of seconds. Just what the hell is she?'_ Adam thought to himself.

Adam rushed forward, his blade in his hands.

Penny fired shot after shot at Adam, making sure he had no opportunity to strike.

 _'Just a little bit closer.'_ He thought.

As soon as Penny was within Adam's required range, he dashed towards her, slicing his blade as he passed her.

 _'And that's the curtain ca-.'_ He began to think.

"Oh drat. I lost another one." Penny said as she started at her severed left hand.

.

.

 _'W-what?!'_ He asked himself.

"Well, no matter. I can get another one." She said as she turned to face Adam.

His eye's widened under his mask as he saw wires and sparks coming out of her severed hands.

Though this look quickly turned into a smirk.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

Ciel turned to her right to see that Veronica was flying towards the group.

"Incoming hostiles!" Ciel said.

Everyone turned to see Veronica flying over them, landing next to Adam.

"What's up with you?" She asked.

"Just a little bump in the road, though it's a good thing you came when you did, I require your skills." He said.

"Hmm?" She asked as she turned towards Penny.

She blinked for a few seconds before a beeping in her head cut her off.

"How the hell?!" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but perhaps this is just what we needed." He said.

Veronica looked confused before her mouth started to form into a smirk.

"Heh, I got it." She said as she brought out an aura key board.

Penny tensed up a bit, her blades ready to charge towards the duo.

After a few seconds, Veroncia smiled and hit a button on the keyboard.

"Aaaaand done." She said.

Suddenly, Penny started to scream in agony, sparks starting to form around her body.

"P-Penny?!" Ruby yelled.

"Ms. Polendina!" Ciel yelled.

Soon, Penny started to slowly move her body towards the group, her blades starting to form a laser.

"R-run." She said, one of her eye's turning red.

"No." Blake said.

"What did you do to her?!" Ruby yelled at Veronica.

"Connect the dots red, she's a computer, an artificial intelligence, and any form of computer can be hacked." Veronica said.

"H-hacked?" Ciel managed to say.

"P-please run." Penny said, her voice cracking up.

"Wait, what is she talking about?! What does she mean by hacked?!" Yang asked.

Suddenly, Ruby's eye's widened as she realized the gravity of the situation.

A person who was able to go toe to toe with Adam himself has just been hacked to see them as her enemy.

"P-please! Just run!" Penny begged.

"Ms. Polendina! You need to fight it! You aren't like those robots, you have a soul, a mind, a consciousnesses!" Ciel yelled.

"Targets locked." She said in a low tone.

"P-please. I'm begging you." She said.

.

.

"No." Ruby said as she started to walk towards Penny.

"Ruby!" Yang tried to reach for her sister, though she was out of her grasp.

"I won't leave you Penny." She said.

"B-but you'll die if you don't!" Penny said.

"No I won't. I know you won't." Ruby said.

"P-please! Don't make me kill you! You're one of my best friends! Just stop and run already!" She begged.

"I won't." She said with a smile on her face.

"You're my friend _ **.**_ I know you won't hurt me." Ruby said.

"N-no! Stop it! Don't come any closer!" Penny begged.

"I'm your friend Penny." She said.

"Please!" She yelled.

"I know you won't kill me." She said.

The laser was almost fully charged, and Ruby was right in front of the blast zone.

"Ruby! Get out of ther-!" Yang began to say, only to stop herself as a black blur rushed past her.

"Huh?" She asked.

Before Penny could fire her cannon, Brandon had jumped in front of Ruby with Caliber reaching for Penny's head.

"Sorry, Pen." Brandon said as Caliber gripped her head.

All of a sudden, sparks started to emanate from Caliber's hands, causing them to go directly into Penny's head.

"Error. Error. Errroooooor." Penny said as her pupils faded from her eyes and she collapsed onto the ground.

The air was silent, it was deadly silent. Everyone was shocked at what Brandon just did.

"P-Penny!" Ruby yelled as she rushed to her fallen friend.

"Ms. Polendina!" Ciel yelled, running to her companions side.

"How could you Brandon?! She was our friend!" She yelled.

"Calm down, she's not dead." Brandon said.

"...She's not?" Ruby asked.

"No, she's not. I just gave her an overload is all." He said.

"So, you just forcibly shut her down?" Ciel asked.

"...Who are you?" Brandon asked.

"Oh! Ciel Soleil and you are...uh." She began.

"Names-." Brandon began, only to be cut off by Ciel.

"Don't tell me!" She yelled.

A few seconds passed before Ciel sighed and turned towards Brandon.

"...Who are you?" She asked.

"Brandon Kim." He said.

"Brandon. Keep that in the back of my mind." Ciel said.

"Well you can think about me all you want later, right now you need to get her out of here. She'll turn back on in a couple of minutes." Brandon said.

"W-what about you?!" Ruby asked.

"I'll be fine. I've got myself some back up." Brandon said as he turned towards Blake and Yang.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

Yang blinked a few times before smirking.

"Hell yeah, steaks on the menu." She said.

Blake stood there for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"Good, now you two need to go." He said.

Ruby and Ciel nodded, picking up Penny.

"Don't die." Ruby said as she and Ciel ran off.

"No promises." He said.

.

.

"So, you want me to go after them?" Veronica asked.

"No, you go get the ship ready for departure. I'll deal with these three." Adam said.

"You're the boss." She said, flying away from the four.

"Well if it isn't Adam Taurus himself, to what do I owe the honor for?" Brandon asked.

Adam's only response was to ready his blade.

"Straight to the point, huh?" Brandon asked.

"Okay, I can work with that. Caliber!" He yelled, causing Caliber to appear.

 _ **"Yes?"**_ He asked.

"Give me some speed." Brandon said.

 _ **"Very well."**_ He said as he snapped his fingers, causing a blue aura to form around Brandon.

"Let's go you three!" He yelled as he charged towards Adam.

"Right!" They both said, running towards Adam.

Brandon was the first one to strike, his blade coming into contact with Adam's.

"You should have stayed in that cage." He said.

"And YOU should have NEVER put me in it to begin with!" He yelled as he moved away from Adam at high speeds.

Adam was about to give chase, but Blake was quick to cut him off with an attack of her own.

He went to go and fire his shotgun at her abdomen, but as soon as she did, she disappeared from sight.

Yang rushed towards Adam and started to throw punch after punch at Adam.

He was able to dodge most of them, though eventually, Yang was able to land a clear shot on him.

Adam moved back a bit, though before he could react, Brandon ran up to him and summoned Caliber to his side.

Caliber reeled his fist backwards and started to punch Adam, his punches being far more powerful than Yang's.

 _ **"ORA!"**_ He yelled, pushing Adam away.

Adam growled and went to go and slash at Caliber.

He attempted to block the attack, though Adam's blade was sharp and it easily cut Caliber's right arm, causing a very visible cut appearing on Brandon's right arm.

Adam smirked and went to go and slice Caliber once more, but he quickly disappeared before the blade could make contact.

Brandon rushed forward and slashed at Adam with his blade.

The two exchanged blows for a few seconds before Adam was able to push Brandon back.

As he fell backwards, he summoned Caliber once more.

Caliber snapped his finger, purple sparks coming off of his fingers as he did.

Suddenly, a purple aura started to form around Yang and Blake.

Yang smirked and charged towards Adam with her fists reeled backwards.

Adam was about to block the attack, but he was taken by surprise when Yang easily pushed him back.

He was about to go on the offensive, but Blake appeared right in front of him and slashed at his abdomen.

Adam looked around to see various Blake clones circling him, each one moving in for a different attack.

He stabbed one of the clones, but instead of disappearing, the clone slashed at Adam, causing him to move backwards.

Each clone attacked him in a different way, though eventually Adam was able to destroy them all with his blade and shotgun.

Though as he turned towards Brandon, he could see Caliber hovering above him pointing at him with his fingers in a snapping motion.

Caliber snapped his fingers, causing white sparks to come off of his fingers.

As he did this, Adam was consumed by a white and black swirl of an explosion.

Though what no one expected was for Adam to absorb the attack with his sword.

 _'...Right, forgot he could do that.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

Adam rushed towards Yang at blinding speeds and started to slash at her rapidly.

Yang did her best to block or avoid the attacks, but Adam got the best of her and slashed, causing her to go flying towards a car and for her aura to shatter.

Once he was done with Yang, Adam rushed toward Blake and started to do a similar thing, though Blake attempted to escape with her semblance.

Adam sped forward and attempted to stab her with his sword, leaving a visible cut on her cheek.

Once he did this, Adam grabbed Blake and slammed her to the ground before kicking him towards Yang, shattering her aura.

He turned towards Brandon and ran behind him at blinding speeds, pressing his shotgun against his abdomen before pulling the trigger.

A large red burst of aura came out of the sword, causing Brandon's aura to shatter and for blood to come out of his mouth as he went tumbling down the road.

"Brandon!" Blake called out as she attempted to get up, only for her to fall back down.

 _'Ow. That hurt, that really fucking hurt.'_ Brandon thought as he attempted to get up.

Adam smirked and started to walk towards him with his blade out.

 _'Okay, we're fighting an enemy with a good amount of aura, who was able to take down Yang with one fell swoop in volume three, and was able to take all four of us like it was nothing...you've gotten out of worse...okay no you haven't, you are in the deepest shit hole you have ever been in!'_ Brandon thought to himself.

 ** _"...Huh?"_** Caliber said.

 _'What now?'_ He asked.

 _ **"This presence."** _ He said.

"W-what are you going on about now?" He asked.

Brandon looked back to see that Adam had stopped in his tracks, his face tensed up.

He looked over to see that Yang and Blake were looking behind him with looks of pure shock.

"What are you-?!" He began, only to see just what everyone was staring at.

Or to be more specific, WHO everyone was staring at.

A woman was walking towards the four of them.

The woman wore a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She is also seen wearing fingerless gloves.

An object that looks to be made from feathers hangs from the right side of her skirt. She also wore detached black leggings with a red splatter pattern, and black leather boots beneath them.

Her most distinctive feature is a fearsome, full-face mask that resembles the face of a Creature of Grimm. The mask has four eye slits, further enhancing the character's inhuman appearance.

 _'...Raven.'_ Brandon thought to himself as he stared upon the woman Qrow had warned him about.

Raven kept walking towards Adam before eventually stopping at Brandon.

The two started at each other for a couple of seconds.

"Who are you?" Adam asked, his sword pointed at Raven.

She simply turned her head towards Adam and sighed.

Raven shook her head and started to walk over to the bull horned man.

"I asked you a question." Adam asked.

Raven's only response was to draw her sword.

Her sword was different from the one she had in the show.

The blade was bigger and more curved, like a traditional katana. There were also similar patterns that my own blade had, though they were noticeable differences. The center of the blade also glowed with a blood red aura.

Yang gasped as she saw the sword that was in Raven's hands, her breathing becoming more heavy and rapid.

 _'T-that's the same sword! The sword that my mother always held in those pictures!'_ She thought to herself.

Adam stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, staring at Raven's sword.

The two just stood there in silence, gazing at one another.

.

.

Then, they charged.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **I know, I'm terrible for the cliffhanger, but I don't care.**

 **Gives you a reason to look forward to next week.**

 **Raven vs Adam.**

 **I never knew I wanted something so much until it actually happened.**

 **Review Response.**

 **Fiction Fan 369:** **Well, this isn't the actual end to this version of vol 2, even this whole jail break arc isn't the final one. Still one more story line I need to write before the events of vol 3 can start.**

 **1\. I don't really know, probably something that isn't kid friendly I'll tell you that. I might do that short rant thing you've mentioned.**

 **2\. I haven't watched Camp Camp, though it looks good.**

 **Cinderfall201:** **Yeah, I got the idea from Assassination classroom, seemed to fit Roman's character.**

 **Glad you like the idea of Roman being a teacher.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:** **...Bruh, it's just an omake.**

 **TheoMidnight:** **Yeah well Raven sure to dish out some serious punishment.**

 **olTran:** **Well then you won't like this cliffhanger that's for sure.**

 **Also I'm sure EVERYONE forgot Ciel existed.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:** **That can't be healthy.**

 **Darki88:** **Wonder why.**

 **Lord Adhes:** **Interesting theory, though I have a different plan for Neo's eyes in the future.**

 **fanficcyberman:** **Thanks, glad you like it.**

 **Ilikebob:** **Yes. Problem? No? Then keep reading.**

 **Energy Dragon Slayer:** **Yep.**

 **Imdelayed:** **Thanks.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire:** **Some people would disagree with you there.**

 **xanothos:** **You caught me.**

 **xanothos:** **That's an idea for an Omake.**

 **xanothos:** **1 like=1 Blake saved.**

 **xanothos:** **Finally! Someone got the reference!**

 **xanothos:** **...Not sure if insult or joke.**

 **xanothos:** **Hmm...maybe.**

 **xanothos:** **Indeed.**

 **xanothos:** **...Okay.**

 **Donovan:** **I'll consider it.**

 **Guest:** **Never thought of it that way.**

* * *

 **Omake-Battle of the Bands. (Non-Canon)**

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the battle of the bands! We're your hosts, Professor Port!" Port said.

"Bartholomew Oobleck!" Oobleck said.

"Vanessa Peach!" Peach said.

"Why am I here?" Glynda asked.

Vanessa's only response was to hit Glynda upside the head.

"Glynda Goodowitch." She said.

"Today we shall be judging four bands! RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and...Brandon." Oobleck said.

"Are you allowed to enter when you're the only one in a band?" Glynda asked.

"I don't see it in the rule book so why not?" Port asked.

"Very well, who is first?" She asked.

"First up we have none other than, team RWBY!" Oobleck announced.

"Uh...h-hey." Ruby said sheepishly.

"Hello Ms. Rose, can you inducer yourself for the people just joining us today?" He asked.

"W-well, I'm Ruby, and I'm playing the cello." She said.

"Hmm, good choice of instruments, Ms. Rose." Glynda said.

"T-thank you." She said.

"Well, I'm Weiss Schnee, and I will be singing for you all." Weiss said.

"No fair!" Sun yelled.

"Shut it." She said.

"I'm Blake and I don't want to be here." She said.

.

.

"I'm Yang, and I play a mean guitar!" Yang said.

"So, what shall you be playing for us today?" Port asked.

"Red like roses." Ruby said.

"Excuse me?! I thought we all agree'd on Mirror Mirror!" Weiss said.

"That's songs too long Weiss! How about I burn?" Yang asked.

"...From shadows." Blake said.

The four members started to argue back and forth.

"Uh, it appears team RWBY cannot agree on one song, so we shall move onto team JNPR." Port said.

Team RWBY walked off of the stage and team JNPR took there place.

"Uh...Hi, I'm Jaune." Jaune said.

"Hi Jaune!" A woman's voice said.

"Hi mom!" He said.

"So, what will you be playing for us today?" Oobleck asked.

"Well, I play the guitar." Jaune said.

"I'm playing drums!" Nora said.

"Violin." Ren said.

"I"m singing." Pyrrha said.

"And we'll be singing...what was it called?" Jaune asked.

"Shine." Pyrrha said.

"Okay, whenever you're ready." Oobleck said.

Pyrrha took a deep breathe and exhaled.

Also there's one thing Jaune forgot to mention.

Pyrrha can't sing.

"Baby! It's time make up you're-!" She began, only for the sound of the cracking of Glynda's and Oobleck's glasses to stop them.

.

.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Get off the stage." Glynda said as she reached for a different pair.

"Told you I should have sung." Ren said.

"Our next contestant is none other than team SSSN!" Peach said.

"Yo!" Sun said.

"What will you be singing for us today, Sun?" She asked.

"Well, I'm the singer." He said.

"I'm playing the piano." Neptune said.

"I play the saxophone." Sage said.

"...Triangle." Scarlet said.

"Oh...well whenever you're ready." Peach said.

Sun cleared his throat and started to sing.

"My song is the best!" He began.

"No!" Everyone yelled.

"Aw." Sun said as he and the team walked off the stage.

"Told you I should have written the song." Neptune said.

"Our next contestant is...Brandon." Glynda said.

"Oh boy! I've been waiting for this performance!" Peach said.

"Yo." He said.

"And what will you be playing for us?" Glynd asked.

"I'm singing." He said.

"Very well, whenever you're ready." She said.

Brandon cleared his throat and placed a tape into a tape player.

A guitar started to play.

Though before Brandon could start to sing, a buzzer could be heard throughout the field.

"Oh. I guess that's all the time we have for today." Port said.

"Wait, wha-?!" Brandon began.

"Well, thank you all for coming! But now it's time to get to class!" Oobleck said as he rushed off.

.

.

"What the hell?!" He asked

* * *

 **Raven Branwen**

 **Height: 6'1"**

 **Weight: 164 lbs**

 **Age: 38**

 **Strength: B**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: A**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Weapon Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Masamune.**

 **Appearance: Unknown.**

 **Destructive Power: ?**

 **Speed: ?**

 **Endurance: ?**

 **Precision: ?**

 **Potential Growth: ?**

 **Range: ?**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 71**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 51**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 38**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 22**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	48. The Ghost

**Hello** **readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Ghost"

Thought: _'The Ghost'_

Flashback: _"The Ghost"_

"Who are you?" Adam asked, his sword pointed at Raven.

She simply turned her head towards Adam and sighed.

Raven shook her head and started to walk over to the bull horned man.

"I asked you a question." Adam asked.

Raven's only response was to draw her sword.

Her sword was different from the one she had in the show.

The blade was bigger and more curved, like a traditional katana. There were also similar patterns that my own blade had, though they were noticeable differences. The center of the blade also glowed with a blood red aura.

Yang gasped as she saw the sword that was in Raven's hands, her breathing becoming more heavy and rapid.

 _'T-that's the same sword! The sword that my mother always held in those pictures!'_ She thought to herself.

Adam stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, staring at Raven's sword.

The two just stood there in silence, gazing at one another.

.

.

Then, they charged.

Adam was quick to pull draw his sword, it still glowing red from the energy he had absorbed from the Caliber's attack.

He swung his sword at Raven, though Raven seemingly blocked the attack with little to no effort, countering with her own set of attacks.

Adam flipped backwards to dodge the attack, though as he landed on the ground, Raven was right in front of him with her sword half way out of it's sheathe.

He attempted to block the attack with his sword, though Raven had already slashed at his abdomen, sending him flying backwards.

Adam landed on his feet and got ready for Raven to try another attack.

Though as he looked at his arm, he noticed that there was some sort of distortion with in his aura, as if it were blinking in and out of existence.

 _'W-what in the-?!'_ He began to think, only for his aura to return to it's normal state.

 _'What was that?'_ Adam asked as he turned his head towards Raven.

Raven was simply looking at her blade, not really paying too much attention to the leader of the White Fang.

She pointed her blade at Adam and motioned him to come towards her.

 _''I should't let my guard down, I still don't know what she did to me.'_ He thought, a cold sweat dripping down his forehead as Raven glanced at his direction.

 _'She's dangerous. I need to end this quickly.'_ Adam thought as he ran towards Raven with his sword drawn.

He swung his blade at Raven, though Raven blocked his attack as if he were hitting her with a wooden sword.

Adam growled and raised his sword, his blade glowing red, before bringing his sword down in attempts to strike Raven down.

Raven brought her sword up to block the attack, sparks starting to fly off of the two blades as they clashed.

He put more pressure on his blade, while Raven simply pushed her blade and pushed him back.

Adam reached for his shot gun, though he felt an unsettling shiver go down his spine.

He quickly moved away from Raven to see that another figure had attempted to cut her down.

Adam tensed up a bit and moved backwards to see just what blocked his attack.

He expected Brandon or even Blake to stand beside Raven, though what he saw only confused him even more.

It was a figure that looked almost identical to that of Ravens, though it was almost as if it were completely consumed by shadows.

Though before Adam could question her power, Raven quickly dashed forward at blinding speeds and slashed at Adam's sword, a audible crack echoing throughout the highway.

Adam looked at his sword, his eye's opened wide under his mask.

The sword had a visible crack in it, the aura that was surrounding it was fading.

Adam looked at Raven to see that her blade of her sword was glowing blood red, fading out of the color near the bottom of the blade.

Raven looked at Adam with the same dangerous look in her eye's she had since the fight had started.

She smirked and motioned Adam to come towards her with her sword.

He growled and pointed her shotgun at Raven, pulling the trigger and unloading the clip.

Raven swung her sword at the bullets, slicing them as they came speeding towards her, the shells falling to the ground as she cut each and everyone of them down.

Adam stood there in shock, baffled at how the woman could not only block the bullets he had fired at her, but slicing the bullets with little to no effort.

She put her sword on her shoulder and started to walk in a nonchalant matter.

He growled and charged towards her with his sword drawn, loading another clip into his shotgun.

Raven got back into her combat stance and blocked Adam's attacks with little effort.

Adam swung his sword at Raven, his hair and cloths glowing red.

Raven moved backwards to dodge the attack and brought two of her fingers up to the mouth guard of the mask.

As if on cue, two shadow figures rushed towards Adam with there blades drawn, there eye's glowing blood red.

Adam blocked there attacks, though he had no time to react as Raven rushed towards Adam and slashed at his abdomen.

He was about to go in for another attack, but as he stared down at his abdomen, he could see that his aura was doing the exact same thing his arm was doing only moments ago.

Adam seemed very confused at first, not knowing what she was doing to his aura.

He felt weaker, like he had little to know control over the situation at hand.

But that didn't stop him from continuing his attack.

Adam shook his head and put his sword back into his sheathe before swinging his sword, a red energy blade moving towards Raven.

Raven jumped to the right to dodge the attack, leaving her open for an attack.

Adam smirked and ran towards Raven in attempts to do some damage to her.

Though as the Bull Faunus swung his sword at the spirit user, she was gone in the blink of an eye, catching the man off guard.

He swung his head in various directions in attempts to locate the bird themed woman.

Before Adam could react, Raven had appeared above Adam and swung her sword down his back, bright red liquid oozing out of the small cut she had made.

Adam stared at the liquid in shock, pressing his fingers up against the liquid.

Though as he did, the red liquid faded out of existence.

Before he could react, two more shadows appeared around him.

Two shadow figures ran dashed towards Adam with the intent to kill in there eyes.

Instead of blocking the attack's or countering with his own set of attacks, he rolled backwards to dodge the attacks.

The figures faded into the shadows as they moved past Adam.

Adam continued to block the attacks, the shadows fading after they were moving past his general direction.

Adam shook his head and charged towards Raven, swing his sword rapidly in attempts to gain the upper hand in this fight.

Though as the fight went on, it was clear to everyone watching the fight just how out classed Adam was.

Raven was dodging the attacks with little to no effort, her sword resting safely on her shoulder.

Blake and Yang looked at the fight undergoing in front of them in complete shock, though both for entirely different reasons.

"I-I can't believe what I'm seeing right now. I've never seen Adam struggle to this extent before. Sure Penny gave him a run for his money, but even then he was able to land a few hits in. But this? He can't even hit her!" Blake said as she watched this woman utterly dominate her mentor.

She had always seen Adam as one of the strongest warrior she had ever known, but seeing him get dominated like this shocked her.

"Who is she?" She asked.

.

.

"Yang?" She asked as she turned to her partner.

Yang just stared at her mother with a look of shock, confusion, and anger.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"D-do you remember when I told you about my mother?" Yang asked, her voice shaking.

"Yes...wait, is that-?!" She asked.

"Yeah, there's no mistaking it. That's her, that's my mother. That is Raven Branwen." She said.

"Why did she pick now of all times to show up?" Blake asked.

"I don't know! Why is she here to begin with?! Where was she?! Why did she leave me?!" Yang asked, her questions directed towards Blake and Raven.

"Uh...are you talking to me?" She asked.

"Yes!...No!...Sort of, I don't know! This is all confusing to me!" Yang yelled.

Raven kept dodging Adam's attacks before blocking one of them with her own sword.

Though before Adam could react, Raven pushed Adam's sword over his head, hit him with the blunt part of her handle and slashed upwards, causing his mask to break into two.

As Adam's mask fell onto the ground, you could see his burning red eye's that were filled with pure fury for the person standing right in front of her.

The look on Adam's face sent a chill down Blake's spine.

Adam grunted as he attempted to stand up, the attack to his back from earlier holding him back.

He looked at his arm to see that blood was starting to leak out of the fresh wound he had, though what baffled him the most was the fact that his aura wasn't healing him.

Adam shook his head and ran towards Raven with his sword in his sheathe.

Raven grasped her blade with both her hands, preparing to strike again.

Though as Raven came into Adam's range, he pulled the trigger and his blade flew out of his sheath.

Raven blocked the first attack, though Adam pointed his sheathe at her blade and pulled the trigger.

Though as the blade came speeding towards her, the arm of the spirit came out and blocked the attack.

.

.

"Y-you just saw that, right Yang?" Blake asked, shocked to see what just came out of Raven's arm.

"S-she has the same powers as Brandon." Yang said, shock evident in her voice.

Adam was about to question Raven's familiar power, though he was cut off as Raven grabbed him by the head and slammed him down to the ground.

Though before the sword could make contact with her head, the upper half of Raven's spirit came out to catch the sword in between it's hands.

The upper half of the spirit had a massive black fedora dawned on his head, a piece of red and samurai's armor on his lower arms, though the right arm had a significantly larger shoulder pad, while the left one didn't have one at all.

On his torso, it had a dress suit with red trimmings, a black dress vest with a white dress shirt and a red tie.

Though instead of the visor of a samurai's helmet, he had some sort of cloth wrapped around his mouth and the fedora shadowed two red eye's coming through the darkness of his face.

Masamune moved his right hand to the sword and grasped it with in it's palm before going up to Adam and punching him across the face, a visible shock wave of air could be seen coming off of his face.

Adam jumped backwards and gazed at the fully formed figure of Masamune.

The lower half of the spirit was now clear for all to see.

It dawned a pair of dress pants, the coat it wore was significantly shorter than his brother, Caliber, and it also wore a pair of armored boots that reached up to it's knee's.

Though the most noticeable part about the spirit was the massive katana wrapped around his waste.

Masamune grabbed his katana and swung it at Adam, creating an energy wave that went speeding towards the bull horned man.

Adam quickly dodged the attack and fired a few shotgun rounds at the massive figure.

Though unlike Caliber, Masamune was easily able to block the attack with his sword.

After the bullets hit the ground Masamune disappeared from sight, causing Raven to walk over to her sword, pulling it out of the ground.

Raven unsheathed her blade and started to walk towards Adam.

The bull horned man growled and prepared an attack of his own, his hair and cloths glowing red.

Raven swung her blade at Adam, causing various red energy wave's to form around her, slicing the ground as it made contact.

Adam was sent flying backwards, though before he could hit the ground, Raven ran up to him and and swung her sword at his abdomen various times before kicking him to the ground.

Adam got up and charged towards her with his blade in his sheath.

Though before she could get into his range, a large wave of energy formed around her, knocking Adam back.

As Adam went through the air, Raven swung her blade at his flying body, a large wave of energy coming out of the blade and hitting Adam directly.

Adam hit the ground with an audible thud, groaning as he slowly got up from off of the ground.

Adam roared and ran towards Raven at blinding speeds.

Raven attempted to shot another crescent shaped energy wave at him, but he simply dodged the attack and swung his blade at Raven as he passed her.

Though Raven was seemingly unharmed by the attack.

"Tch, she's quick." Adam said.

Though before Adam could go in for another attack, a small strand of black hair fell from the sky.

After a few seconds of silence, she inhaled deeply before exhaling.

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened and she dashed towards Adam with her sword in her right hand.

As she passed him, a large crescent like energy wave was seen going through Adam.

He was pushed back a bit, but before he could react, a few of Raven's shadows appeared around Adam, each shadows slashing at the Bull Faunus.

As they passed Adam, crescent shaped energy waves could be seen going through Adam, knocking him back a certain direction.

The bull horned man struggled to get up, though before he could even stand up, Raven dashed forward and brought her knee up to his chin.

Dazed from the attack, Raven took this opportunity to slash upwards, a large energy wave following the sword slash.

Adam was sent airborne and Raven swung her sword in a circular motion, hitting away from her and sending him flying towards the concrete floor.

The bull horned man attempted to get up, but a Raven appeared right in front of him and punched him in the gut, causing him to go flying into the air. Though Raven wasn't finished yet.

She snapped her fingers, causing various shadows started to appear around the bull Faunus.

The shadows rushed towards the man and started to slash at his body, keeping him suspended in the air.

The real Raven jumped up to the man and reeled sword backwards, a blood red aura starting to form around her.

Raven swung her blade at Adam before sending him flying towards the ground with a downward slash, causing his aura to shatter.

The bird themed woman landed on the ground and put her sword back into her sheathe.

"Gah!" Adam yelled as he spit out bright red liquid from his mouth.

Veins started to form on his face, the same bright red liquid oozing from his back and chest.

"Hah! W-what the hell did you-?!" He tried to say, only to start violently coughing.

"Tch." Raven said before walking towards the man with her sword unsheathed.

Adam attempted to get up in attempts to escape, but every effort was made with another coughing fit.

Raven raised her sword to deliver the final blow to the broken leader of the White Fang.

Though before she could, the sound of airships coming towards them stopped her.

Raven turned around to see that two bullheads flying above the duo.

"Fire!" She could hear someone say from inside the bullheads.

As the person said this, the bullhead on the right started to rapidly fire it's machine guns at Raven, to which she was able to block with ease, though she had to move to the right to keep this motion up.

The bullhead on the left came flying down towards Adam, two figures standing ready to pick up there leader.

"Adam!" A female voice yelled as she jumped out of the bullhead.

"Sis!" A male voice said.

"The hell did she do to you?!" Aleria asked.

"D-did you complete your m-mission?" Adam managed to ask.

"Yeah, we've got Os and Veronica." She said.

"T-then we retreat for now. " He said.

"What?! Retreat?! But we outnumber them! Let's just-!" Aleria began, only for Adam's commanding look to cut her off.

"No, not her. Even with our combined forces we wouldn't be able to kill her." He said, looking over towards Raven.

Aleria turned her head towards Raven and a cold sweat dripped down her forehead as she gazed at the glare that was planted on her face.

"...Y-yeah. Let's go." She said as she picked up her leader.

Aleria put her leader into the bullhead, causing everyone to gasp at his condition, with the exceptions of Osvaldo and Naomi.

"A-Adam?!" Ilia asked.

"The hell happened to you?!" Alerio asked.

Adam tried to speak, but started to cough violently.

"Shit! Naomi!" He said.

The fish Faunus nodded and went over to her fallen comrade.

"Who did this?" Veronica asked.

"She did." Aleria said as she pointed at the woman that was currently fighting the bullhead.

"Her? She doesn't look all that-." He began, only for Raven to shoot another wave of energy at the bullhead, slicing it in half and causing it to explode.

"...B-bad?!" Alerio asked, his jaw threatening to hit the floor.

"Get us out of here!" Veronica yelled, causing the bullhead to ascend and leaving the group behind.

.

.

"Well...I know where you get your temper from." Blake said to Yang.

Though she was only met with a cold silence, not even an angry remark from her partner.

"Yang?" She asked as she turned to her partner, only to see that she was no where to be seen.

She looked over to Raven to see that Yang was walking towards her mother with her fists clenched tightly.

"Yang!" Blake called out.

Though Yang couldn't hear her, the only thing she was fixated on was the woman in front of her.

The woman who abandon her and her dad, Tai Yang.

 _'After all these years, you finally show up. Like hell you're getting away with out explaining yourself!'_ She thought as she walked over to the woman who was supposed to be her mother.

"Hey! You and I need to have a little talk!" Yang yelled.

Though from the looks of it, Raven didn't even notice she was there, it was as if she was in a world of her own.

"Hmm, minor inconvenience, kid's still alive." She said as she started to walk over to Brandon.

"Minor-?! What the hell did you just call me?! I'm your daughter!" She yelled.

Though once again, Raven paid no attention to her.

"Hey! You get the hell back here!" Yang yelled, following her mother.

Though Raven showed no signs of stopping her walk towards her fellow spirit user.

"You think you can just show up and not explain shit to me?! Well you've got another thing coming you no good-!" Yang began, only for Raven to disappear in the blink of an eye.

As she did, an unsettling shiver started to travel down Yang's spine.

"W-what the-?" She began.

"Get lost." Raven said with a dangerous tone.

Yang slowly turned around to face Raven to see a the burning red eye holes of her mask burning into her soul.

A cold sweat started to drip down Yang's forehead as she stared at Raven.

Raven started to walk towards Yang, to which Yang responded by moving out of her way and letting her continue her walk towards Brandon.

She was...shocked.

Yang had faced criminals like Roman Torchwick, beat an entire gang with a smile on her face, faced down one of the members of the Phantoms, and even charged head first towards the leader of the White Fang.

And this woman shut her up just by uttering two words.

Every feeling of rage and confusion had left her body and was replaced by an unsettling feeling.

She wasn't sure how to describe it, though she was certain that this was not a woman she wanted to piss off at the moment.

 _'T-that's my mother?_ _'_ Yang thought as she stared at the woman who was walking away from her.

"Yang!" Blake called out, causing Yang to break out of her daze.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Y-yeah. It's just...jeez." Yang said.

"Well, you just met the mother who abandoned you for seventeen years. You're bound to be in shock." Blake said.

"I know, but...I've planned this entire moment out in my head for years. I've mentally prepared myself for years, and yet she was able to make all that training worth nothing with two simple words." She said.

"What did she say?" She asked.

"Get lost." Yang said.

"That's it?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, not much. But with the way she said it, it was just...unsettling. Then there's that look in her eye's, it's just...damn." She said.

Brandon, on the other hand, had been watching the whole fight in complete and utter shock.

Though it was for an entirely different reason than Yang and Blake.

"So, that's why twenty five years of experience with a spirit looks like, huh?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Quite the show they put on. A wondrous display of power."**_ Caliber said.

"Y-yeah." He said.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, Raven had stopped in front of them.

"H-hey." Brandon said.

Raven just gazed at Brandon from underneath her mask in complete silence.

"Uh, t-thanks for that." He said.

Raven nodded and swung her sword, creating a portal of some sort.

"We'll talk soon." She said, walking into the portal.

Once she had completely disappeared from sight, the portal closed.

 _ **"Well, she seems to be a women of very few words."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, seems like it.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

Though before anyone could say anything else, Blake collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Blake?!" Yang yelled.

 _'Seriously?! Can't we catch a break already?! We just got done fighting Adam!'_ Brandon thought as he ran towards his fallen comrade.

"What the hell?! What's wrong?!" She asked.

Blake's only response was to groan, clenching her lower stomach.

Yang looked at Blake's lower half to see that blood was starting to form on the white part of her clothing.

"W-when did this happe-?!" Yang began, only to start connecting the dots.

"Okay, so you either got shot when Adam was firing bullets at mo-I mean Raven, or you got shot when the bullhead was firing bullets at Raven." She said.

Blake simply held up two fingers as a form of response.

"Okay, bullhead. Guess it doesn't matter either way, you still got shot." Yang said.

"Great, just what we needed. How far is Ironwood's airship?" Brandon asked.

"It was just down the highway I think, if Caliber to carries her maybe she can get some help." She said.

"Okay, you heard her Caliber, pick her up. We're moving out." He said.

 _ **"She won't make it."**_ Caliber said, appearing beside Brandon.

"What the hell do you mean she won't make it?!" Yang asked.

 _ **"I mean she would have already suffered the affects of led poisoning. If not that then she would have bled out through internal bleeding, if not that, then infection."**_ He said.

"You don't know that!" She yelled.

"Do you have any better idea's?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"We perform surgery here."**_ Caliber said.

"What?! None of us have medical experience, we'd only be killing her!" He said.

 _ **"We don't need medical experience. My intention isn't to heal her, but lower her chances of death."**_ He said.

"What are you on about now?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Think about it, when I was in my ghost form, as you call it, I was able to catch a bullet at point blank range. Now that I have fully awakened what do you think I am capable of now?"**_ Caliber asked.

The duo sat there in silence for a few seconds before there eye's widened.

"You're saying you can remove the bullets, right?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"It is possible."**_ He said.

"Okay, then let's do it." Brandon said, turning towards Blake.

.

.

"So, I don't suppose any of you you have a knock out drug of some sort?" He asked.

"...No." Yang said, realizing what Brandon was implying.

"Blake-." Brandon began.

"J-just do it." She managed to say.

"Alright, let's do it then." Brandon said.

 ** _"Hold her down. She cannot move during this process."_** Caliber said, moving towards Blake's wounds.

The two nodded and went to hold down Blake, Brandon holding down her legs, and Yang holding down her arm.

"Here, bite this." Yang said as she gave Blake her sash she keeps around her waste.

Blake nodded and bit into the sash, taking a deep breath.

"You do realize this is gonna hurt like hell, right?" Brandon asked.

Blake nodded, already clenching Yang's hand.

"We're here for ya." Yang said.

 _ **"Let's begin."**_ Caliber said as he reached in for the first bullet, causing Blake to let out a muffled scream.

Yang squeezed Blake's hand, causing Blake to squeeze even harder.

After a few seconds, Blake's legs started to kick.

"Work with me here!" Brandon yelled, attempting to keep her down.

 _ **"One down."**_ Caliber said, flicking away the bullet.

"Jeez, how many are there?!" Brandon asked.

 ** _"Two more to go, you're lucky none of the bullets pierced any vital organs."_** He said.

"Alright, round two, here we go." Brandon said.

"You're doing great." Yang said.

Blake nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Caliber reached in for the second bullet, causing Blake to let out a muffled scream.

Blake was starting to squeeze Yang's hand so hard that she was starting to form a bruise.

She was also dangerously close to kicking Brandon directly in the face.

 _ **"Two down, what say we get the third one out of the way?"**_ Caliber asked.

Blake nodded and braised herself.

Caliber nodded and reached in for the third and final bullet.

At this point, Yang was honestly starting to believe that her hand was starting to break.

Blake had also kicked Brandon across the face, leaving a visible mark.

 _ **"Done, hand over the sash."**_ Caliber said, holding his hound out.

Yang nodded and took the sash out of Blake's mouth, causing her to gasp heavily.

Caliber started to wrap the sash around the wound so that the bleeding would slow down.

 _ **"There, while I cannot stop the bleeding entirely, it is much slower than before. Now you are more likely to survive such a trip."**_ He said.

"T-thank you." Blake managed to say.

 _ **"All in the day's work, milady."**_ Caliber said as he tipped his hat and disappeared from sight.

"Whew, that was way too close. Thought you were on your last life there Blake." Yang said.

Blake chuckled dryly and managed to sit up.

"Whoa, easy there." She said, holding up Blake.

"T-thanks guys." Blake said.

"Hey, don't mention it." Yang said with a grin.

"Yeah, don't." Brandon grumbled, rubbing the area where she had kicked him.

"Heh, heh, sorry about that." Blake said.

"It's fine. Let's just get you some ACTUAL medical help." He said.

"Yeah." Blake said.

"Here, I'll help you." Yang said as she threw Blake's arm over her shoulder.

Blake nodded and the trio started to walk down the highway.

* * *

.

.

 ** _"System reboot complete."_** Penny heard someone say.

 _ **"Damage repair complete, beginning awakening."**_ The voice said.

"Ugh." Penny groaned as her eye's fluttered open.

 ** _"Awakening complete. System's operational."_** The voice said.

"Ruby? Ciel? Is that you two?" She asked.

"Penny!" Ruby yelled as her head spun towards her robotic friend.

"Ms. Polendina!" Ciel yelled, following the red hooded girl.

"Huh?" Penny asked as she realized that the voice wasn't her two companions.

"Y-you're okay!" She yelled.

"Please, don't ever do that again." Ciel said.

"Do what again?" Penny asked.

"...Wait, you don't remember?" Ruby asked.

"Remember what?" She asked.

"Ms. Polendina, what are your memories of the events that had just transpired?" She asked.

"Well, I remember fighting Mr. Taurus, then everything is unclear after that...why? Do you know what happened?" Penny asked.

"Well..." Ruby began.

 _ **"Recalling the events of the current hour. You were engaged with a fight with Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang. Would you like me to do a bio check on him?"**_ The voice asked.

"Huh?" Penny asked.

"Penny? Is something wrong?" Ruby asked.

 _ **"Would you like me to do a bio check on Mr. Taurus?"**_ The voice asked.

"O-oh! No thank you." She said.

 _ **"Understood."**_ The voice said.

"So, what happened after that?" Penny asked.

 _ **"You were about to gain the upper hand in the fight until one of the members of the Phantoms of The White Fang hacked into your system."**_ The voice said.

"I can be hacked?" She asked.

 _ **"It came as a surprise to me as well, unfortunately I have no further data on the events afterwords."**_ The voice said.

 _'I-I can be hacked.'_ Penny said.

"Ms. Polendina? Are you okay?" Ciel asked.

"O-oh! Yes, I am quite alright, Ms. Soleil!" Penny said.

 _ **"Incorrect. You have sustained various damages during combat. Your main guns have been severed, shall I begin repairs?"**_ The voice asked.

"Main guns?" She asked, looking at the area's where her hands should have been.

 ** _"Correct, shall I begin repairs?"_** The voice asked.

"Um, sure." Penny said.

"Who are you talking to Penny?" Ruby asked.

 _ **"Beginning repairs."**_ The voice said.

As the voice said this, two small bots came out of Penny's back and flew towards her hands.

"...Okay, this is new." Ciel said.

"What are they?" Ruby asked.

Though before Penny could respond, the two bots repaired her hands, making it look like she hadn't sustained damage to being with.

"W-what in the world?!" Ciel yelled, shocked at Penny's new hands.

 _ **"Repairs complete."**_ The voice said.

"H-how did you do that?!...and why didn't you do that before?" Ruby asked.

"I-I wasn't aware of this function." Penny said.

"What?" She asked.

 _ **"Peculiar. I would have thought General Ironwood would have briefed you on these new functions."**_ The voice said.

"W-what? No, he hadn't told me about this new function, nor did he tell me of you." Penny said.

 _ **"Strange. Though I'm sure the general has his reasons."**_ The voice said.

"Who are you?" She asked.

 _ **"I am an A.I specially designed to aid you in combat and handle all of your equipment."**_ The A.I said.

"An A.I?" Penny asked.

"A...what?" Ruby asked.

"Artificial Intelligence." Ciel said.

"Oh." She said.

 _ **"I would like to be the first one to congratulate you on your graduation from Atlas academy, I look forward to aiding you in combat."**_ The A.I said.

Penny sat there in silence before speaking up.

"Um, there seems to be some sort of mistake. I haven't graduated Atlas academy, I haven't even finished my first year in the academy." Penny said.

 _ **"That is impossible. I am specifically designed to activate once your training has been completed."**_ The A.I said.

"Uh, Penny, who are you talking to?" Ruby asked.

"Oh! Terribly sorry Ruby, I am talking to my A.I, she was supposed to activate once I finished my training at the academy, but I haven't even finished my first year." She said.

Ciel pinched her chin for a moment before her eye's widened.

"It must have been the overload!" She said.

"Overload?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, it happened while you were hacked, you were about to shoot Ciel and I, but Brandon quickly came in and did something to you. I don't really know what he did exactly, but it was enough to shut you down apparently." Ruby said.

"...I was about to s-shoot you?" Penny asked.

"Yeah...b-but you didn't! That's all that matters right now!" She said.

"R-right." She said.

 _ **"Well, if you haven't been updated on your new system, shall I give you a tutorial, Penny Mark IV ?"**_ The A.I asked.

"...Wait, what did you just call me?" Penny asked.

 ** _"Penny Mark IV, that is the name I have in my records."_** She said.

"M-mark IV? Y-you mean I'm not the first?" She asked.

 _ **"Correct. There have been a total of one hundred and twenty six of you in total."**_ The A.I said.

"W-what happened to marks one through three?" Penny asked.

 _ **"They did not meet the required conditions that were needed for the final project, and thus they were terminated."**_ She said.

"T-terminated?!" Penny asked.

 ** _"You seem troubled."_** The A.I said.

Penny's only response was to start to shake, falling to her knee's.

"P-Penny! What's wrong?!" Ruby asked.

"S-so I really am just a machine." She said.

"What?! No! Of course you're no-!" She began.

"Yes I am Ruby! I can't breathe! I can't sleep! I can't eat or drink! I've even had multiple copies of myself!" Penny yelled.

"...C-copies?" Ruby asked.

"Yes! Copies, more Penny Mark IV's waiting to be activated. Marks one through three were all terminated because they proved to be inefficient!" She said.

"Penny." She said.

"I can even be hacked Ruby. How am I supposed to be convinced that I'm not a machine now?" Penny asked, her voice cracking up.

.

.

"We can be hacked to, you know." Ruby said.

"W-what?" Penny asked.

"We can?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, we can be subjugated to lies and propaganda. We can be blackmailed or tricked into doing something we don't want to do." She said, kneeling down to her friend

"You think you're a machine, right? But I don't think so. You have the one thing that sets you apart from being a machine and being human." Ruby said.

"You have a soul. The fact you have an aura proves that." She said.

"I told you back than that we are the same, that you're just like me in every way. Though I guess now I can't really say that, now can I? We need to breathe, eat, drink, and sleep in order to survive. I would like to tell you that we are one in the same, but to be honest, we're not the same, we are both very different from each other." She said.

"But that doesn't make you any less of a being, you love, you laugh, you feel pain and sorrow." Ruby said.

"There is nothing like you Penny. But that doesn't make you any less equal than us." She said.

Penny just sat there in silence as she listened to Ruby's speech.

 _ **"If I may intervene."**_ The A.I said.

"Hmm?" She hummed in response.

 _ **"I recall saying that there were multiple Mark IV's like you, but according to my records, they stopped all development once you enrolled into the academy."** _ The A.I said.

"W-what?!" Penny asked.

 _ **"You met the one condition required to complete the project. You manifested an aura, you were able to manifest your very own soul."**_ The A.I said.

Penny looked down at her palms, the shaking starting to stop.

 _ **"So if anything, you are more human than your previous copies."**_ She said.

Penny just sat there in silence before standing up.

"I'm sorry." Penny said.

"You don't need to apologize, you weren't in control." Ruby said.

"I know. It just feels right to apologize." She said.

Ruby nodded and went to embrace her friend.

"I'm glad to have met you, Penny." Ruby said.

"And I you." Penny said as she embraced her red hooded girl.

"...Penny! Choking! Not breathing!" Ruby managed to say.

"Oh, sorry. It seems my strength was enhanced as well." Penny said as she let go of Ruby.

 _ **"Warning! I am detecting multiple hostile forces coming towards us!"**_ The A.I said.

Penny spun her head around, getting ready to engage the targets.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

Ciel looked at her scroll to see that she was getting similar readings.

"It seems we have been found." Ciel said as she put on her combat gear.

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and loaded a clip of fire dust into it.

 _ **"Fifty meters away."**_ The A.I said.

 _'I may not be human.'_ Penny though, a smile starting to form on her face.

 _ **"Thirty meters away."**_ The A.I said.

 _'But I don't need to be human to feel alive.'_ She thought.

 _ **"Ten meters away, get ready for combat operations."**_ The A.I said.

"Let's do this, Quarter!" Penny said.

 _ **"...Quarter?"**_ The A.I asked.

"Well, I need to call you something." She said.

 _ **"Hmm, very well. I shall now respond to my new name, Quarter."**_ The newly named Quarter said.

"Sensational." She said.

As she said this, various trucks and Mech's appeared in front of the trio.

 _ **"Scanning surroundings, formulating a plan of action."**_ Quarter said.

"Humans! Clear out of the way! We do not want to kill you, but we WILL open fire if you plan to resist!" One the White Fang members said through a mic.

 _ **"Question. Lethal or Non Lethal approach?"**_ She asked.

"Hmm, Non Lethal, though if we have to switch to Lethal than I won't object." Penny said.

 _ **"Very well. Do you require a tutorial?"**_ Quarter asked.

"That would be lovely!" She said.

 _ **"Very well, beginning Non Lethal tutorial. Your fingers are armed with various electrical non lethal canons, though this can be changed to lethal attacks. If damaged, drones can be deployed to repair any damage you may have sustained. Your boots have a high powered fire dust dispenser that will lift you off of the ground."**_ Quarter said.

"I can fly?!" Penny asked.

 _ **"To an extent. Electrical charges can be used to temporarily disable electronic devices, I recommend you use these charges on those Mech's until we have formulated a battle plan."**_ Quarter said.

"Sounds like an excellent plan!" She said.

 _ **"Then let us proceed."**_ She said.

Penny nodded, pointing her arm at the White Fang members.

"The hell is she doing? Hey! Kid! This isn't the play ground! Either pull out a real weapon or get off of the-!" One of the White Fang members began to say, only for a blue laser to fire out of Penny's ring finger, hitting the man in the chest.

Sparks started to consume the man until they eventually died down, causing the man to collapse to the ground.

"Like that?" Penny asked.

 _ **"Excellent work. Let us continue to subdue the enemy until further notice."**_ Quarter said.

"Roger." She said.

"W-what the hell?! What is she?!" One of the White Fang members asked.

"Me? I'm one of a kind." Penny said as she started to fire shot after shot towards the White Fang.

"Open fire!" One of the White Fang members yelled, causing everyone to get out of there vehicles and point there weapons at Penny.

"Beginning combat operations! Ruby! Ciel! Stay back! It's time I test out my new skills." Penny said, charging towards the group.

"New skills?" Ruby asked.

"Perhaps we should let Ms. Polendina handle this, she seems rather confident in her abilities." Ciel said.

Ruby was slightly unsure, though she nodded and started to back up.

Penny on the other hand was making work of the White Fang that surrounded her, firing blue electrical lasers at each of there bodies.

One of the White Fang had pointed the Gatling gun that was attached to the car at Penny and started to fire the gun.

Though what no one expected, not even Ruby or Ciel, was for Penny to fly into the air, dodging the attack.

"W-what the-?!" The White Fang member began, only for Penny to come speeding down with her leg outward, smashing the Gatling gun into pieces.

Penny pointed her index finger at the White Fang member and fired, stunning him.

She looked behind her to see that one of the Mech's was slowly approaching her.

 _ **"Scanning...I have located several optimal weak points."**_ Quarter said.

All of a sudden, various circles started to appear in front of Penny.

She smirked and started to fire her laser at the targets, each having a different affect.

The first shot had completely made the right arm of the Mech useless, it going limp after the first shot.

Penny smiled and jumped up into the air, firing various lasers at the Mech.

After hitting all of it's weak points, Penny landed a top of the Mech and pulled the driver out, shooting him and throwing him to the ground.

Penny scanned the area to see if there were any more White Fang members hiding in the shadows.

Sure enough, Quarter was able to pick up some readings of some coming towards them in vehicle's.

Penny was about to stop them in there tracks, but the cars just zoomed past her.

"Where are they going?" Penny asked.

 _ **"Hypothesis, they are heading towards the main location of General Ironwood."**_ Quarter said.

"Then let us cut them off." She said.

 ** _"Understood, adding power to boots."_** She said.

Penny jumped up into the air and started to speed towards the cars at a high velocity.

 _ **"Warning. You are low on dust, I recommend we make haste."**_ She said.

Penny nodded and rose to the air.

"Deactivate the boots!" Penny yelled.

 _ **"Acknowledged."**_ Quarter said.

As the boots deactivated, Penny went flying towards the cars, landing on the front of one of them and kicking it towards the other car, causing it to explode.

Penny fired blue lasers at the White Fang members that were sent air born, stunning them.

 _ **"Warning! Multiple high threat level targets making there way to our vicinity."** _ Quarter said.

Penny spun her head around to see that two fairly large Mech's were making there way towards Ciel and Ruby.

Ruby had started to fire various shots at the Mech while Ciel was attempting to sever it's limbs with her lasers.

Though the Mech's armor grooved to be more than capable of tanking there hits.

The Mech on the right started to fire a few lasers at Ruby, though she was able to dodge the attack with ease.

Though Ciel wasn't as lucky, she attempted to block the attack, but the Mech was easily able to break through her barrier and send her flying away, shattering her aura.

"Ciel!" Ruby yelled as she went to catch the flying girl.

Though Penny had already been there to catch her fallen teammate.

"Are you okay?!" Penny asked.

"Y-yes. J-just minor damage." Ciel managed to say.

Penny nodded and put her on the ground, walking towards the Mech's.

"Quarter. Activate lethal mode." Penny said.

 _ **"Understood."**_ Quarter said.

Penny pointed her hands at the Mech's and started to fire various green lasers from her fingers.

Though this only seemed to slow down the Mech's.

 _ **"Activating main cannons."**_ Quarter said.

Suddenly, two arm cannons materialized from underneath Penny's arms and started to fire high powered green lasers at the Mech's.

This seemed to do some damage to the Mech's as they were starting to move backwards.

 _ **"Activating missile launchers."**_ She said.

As she said that, two missile launchers started to form on Penny's back.

Penny smirked, causing the two launchers to fire various green missiles at the Mech's.

This seemed to do even more damage than before as the arm of one of the Mech's fell off from it's body.

The Mech on the right fired various missiles at Penny, to which she countered with an attack barrage of her own.

The Mech on the left ran towards the girl with it's fist reeled back, preparing to strike at the girl with the full force of the Mech.

Penny jumped up into the air and started to fire various lasers at the Mech before a blade appeared from her arm. She swung her arm at the Mech's left arm, causing it to fall from it's body.

 _ **"Activating wrist lasers."**_ Quarter said.

Penny nodded and pointed her wrists at the Mech's, causing two high powered lasers to fire out of her wrists, pushing the two back.

The robotic like girl ran towards the Mech nearest to her, grabbed it by the leg, and threw it at the other Mech.

Suddenly, Penny's blades started to come out of her body, connecting together to form one singular blade.

The girl smiled and ran towards the Mech's with her new weapon.

She swung her blade at the Mech's before slicing the other arm off with the energy blade.

She slid on the ground for a moment before pointing her weapon at the other Mech's arms, causing a high powered laser to shoot out from the middle of the blade.

Suddenly, Penny's blades broke apart and started to spin around in a circle like she used to do to summon her main blast attack.

Though this energy blast was significantly larger than before.

 _ **"Preparing main cannon. Please stand by."**_ Quarter said.

After a few seconds, the blades started to spin around more rapidly, green sparks coming off of the blades.

"Uh, what is she doing?" Ruby asked.

"I-I don't know...we should take a few steps backwards." Ciel said.

"Yeaaaaah." She said, moving away from the attack.

 _ **"Energy wave stable. Noise at 0.3 percent. Blade dancer's wave length fully charged. Ready to fire."**_ Quarter said.

At this point, the White Fang members had ran out of there Mech's and ran away from the attack.

 _ **"Feedback in four."**_ Quarter began to countdown.

 _ **"Three."**_

 ** _"Two."_**

 ** _"One."_**

 ** _"Firing now."_** She said.

As she said this the blades let loose a massive energy blast, destroying the Mech's instantly.

.

.

"Whoa." Ruby said, stars starting to form in her eye's.

"Indeed." Ciel said, equally if not more shocked than Ruby.

"We're almost there." Ruby heard someone say.

She spun her head behind her to see Blake, Yang, and Brandon walking towards them, Blake struggling to walk in Yang's arms.

"Yang! You're okay!" She yelled.

"Sis! Whew, had me worried there with all the gun fire and all." Yang said.

Ruby was about to ask what happened with Adam, but the sight of Blake's wrapped wound stopped her.

"Oh my-!? What happened to you?!" She asked, pointing at Blake.

"It's fine Ruby. I just need some medical help and I'll be fine." She said.

"She got shot." Brandon said.

"What?!" Ruby yelled.

"Brandon!" Yang yelled.

"No use sugar coating it, she's bound to find out eventually!" He yelled.

Though before they could continue there conversation the sound of a bullhead coming from above them stopped them.

"What now?!" Brandon asked.

Though fortunately, the emblem of the White Fang wasn't spotted on the bullhead.

"Ruby!" Ruby heard a familiar voice say.

"Weiss!" She yelled as she ran over to where the bullhead would land.

"Where have you been?! I've been growing grey hairs because of you!" Weiss asked.

"You sure that isn't just white hair?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss yelled.

"Eep!" Ruby yelled as she ran away from Weiss, leaving a pile of rose petals behind her.

"Get back here right this instant!" She yelled, running after her teammate.

"Blake!" Sun yelled as he ran out of the bullhead.

"S-Sun, you're okay." Blake said in relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell happened to you?!" Sun asked.

"Adam shot me." She said.

"What?! Where is he?! I'll-!" He began.

"He's long gone Sun. I'll be fine though, I just need some proper medical attention." Blake said.

"Still. I was worried you know?" Sun said.

Before they could continue there conversation, everyone heard footsteps coming towards them.

"Well if it isn't the kiddies! Glad to see that no one died on me! That would have been one awkward parent teacher conference." Roman said.

"Excellent work students, you have all preformed admirably." Ironwood said.

Neo had ran past Roman and stood in front of Brandon with a questioning look on her face.

"Long story, I'll tell you later." Brandon said.

"I'm sure you're all tired. I've called in an evac team to retrieve us, because I'm sure not all of us can fit into that bullhead." Ironwood said before looking towards Blake.

"And we will give you the proper care you need." He said.

"Thanks." She said.

"Now, Penny." Ironwood began.

"Yes General?" Penny asked.

"I'd like to know how you got access to such an advanced system." He asked.

"He did it." She said as she pointed at Brandon.

"He did?" Ironwood asked.

"I did?" Brandon asked.

"How?" They both asked.

"The overcharge you gave her during our encounter with Taurus activated the A.I-." Ciel began.

"Quarter." Penny said.

"Who?" She asked.

"That's what I named her." She said.

"You fought Taurus?!" Ironwood asked.

"...Moving on, the overload activated the A.I and gave her such an advanced system." Ciel said.

"...You fought Taurus?!" He asked once again.

"Yeah, he was one tough customer that's for sure." Brandon said.

Though before Ironwood could continue, Qrow suddenly appeared from atop of the bullhead.

"Hey." He said.

"Uncle Qrow?!" Yang yelled.

"Hey firecracker. Been awhile." Qrow said with a smirk, jumping off of the bullhead.

"So this is the legendary Qrow Branwen." Ciel said.

"Who's this?...and this...and this...and-?" Qrow continued to ask.

"Neo, Blake, Sun, Neptune, Ciel, and Penny." Brandon said.

"Salutations!" Penny said with a wide grin.

"...Right, will probably forget those names in a few days." He said.

Though before Qrow could continue, he felt a chill go down his spine.

"...ooooooOOOOOOOWWW!" Ruby yelled as she clung to her uncle's arm.

"UNCLE QROOOOW! WHAT ARR YOU DOING HERE?! DID YOU MISS ME?! DID YA?!" She asked.

"...Nope." He said, scratching his nieces head.

"Ruby...don't ever do that again." Weiss said.

Though as Qrow saw the familiar white hair, his face turned into a scowl.

"Schnee." He said.

"Huh?" Weiss asked.

"Nothing." Qrow said.

"So, how'd catching the Phantoms go?" He asked.

Everyone's looks saddened, telling Qrow that they had failed to prevent there escape.

"Oh. Well, we'll get em eventually, ain't that right, Jimmy?" Qrow asked.

"What exactly are you implying?" Ironwood asked.

"I'm just saying that maybe this whole ordeal could have been prevented if you hadn't been so public about the transfer." He said.

"They would have known about it regardless! One of there members had an implant in there brain that recorded our conversations, it wouldn't had mattered!" He yelled.

"Uncle Qrow." Yang called out.

"Tch, ever cross your mind why not one but TWO Phantoms weren't attempting an escape on there own? Probably could have pulled it off to." He said.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang said louder.

"This wasn't my fault we were just-!" Ironwood began.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang yelled even louder.

"Yang, we're in the middle of something right now. Can't it wait until we-." He began.

"I met her." She said.

.

.

"Oh." He said.

"Her...wait, you saw Raven?!" Ironwood asked.

Yang nodded, before pointing to Brandon.

"Seems pretty interested in Brandon. Uncle, I need to ask you something that's been bothering me ever since I saw her. Does Raven have the same powers as Brandon?" Yang asked.

"...Hah, while it may not be the EXACT same, yeah, she's definitely an enchanted weapon user." Qrow said.

"How?! When did she get one?!" She asked.

"I'll explain on our way to the airship. Our ride is here." He said, pointing at the bullheads that were approaching them.

"Wait, I'm lost. Who's Raven?" Ruby asked.

"She's my mother, Ruby. My birth mother." Yang said.

.

.

"...Oh." Ruby simply said.

* * *

"So...where do you want me to begin?" Qrow asked as they sat in a living room just outside of the operating rooms.

"How did she get one? WHERE did she get one?" Yang asked her uncle.

Qrow took a deep breath before exhaling, taking a sip from his flask.

"Raven and I came from this tribe back in Mistral, they were the one's who raised us, who taught us how to fight, how to survive. They were the one's who gave your mom Masamune." He said.

"Tribe?" Yang asked.

"Heh, guess you were bound to find out eventually. Raven and I come from a tribe, and not the good kind either. We were raised how to steal, kill, and survive through any means necessary." Qrow said.

"K-kill?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, know it's all kind of sudden, but that's what we were raised to do. Kill, steal, and survive." He said.

"Then why did you guys leave?" She asked.

"I left, Raven just took a little time off from the tribe. The only reason she wanted to go to Beacon is because she felt that there was nothing left for the tribe to teach her. Though she knew she could do more, a hell of a lot more. So she packed our things and we headed to Vale." Qrow said.

"Why Vale? Isn't Haven academy closer?" Yang asked.

"Raven didn't like there kind all that much. Smug, rich, and ignorant, at least that's how she described them." He said.

"Besides, there was bound to be someone in Mistral's underground who knew who we were, or at least who our tribe was. We wanted to have a clean slate, so Vale was our best shot. Neither of us could dream of traversing Vacuo's desert with our limited supplies, and you couldn't pay me enough Lien to go to apply at Atlas academy." Qrow said.

"Okay, so exactly did you two get into Beacon?" She asked.

"Well, we left when we were fourteen, so we had to apply to Signal first." He said.

"Though Signal didn't have living area's for there students so we were homeless for a while." Qrow said.

"We had to get jobs to make some extra cash, or at least one of us had to." He said.

"Oh, so where did you work?" Yang asked.

"You remember that restaurant that got the reputation for being able to deliver anywhere in Vale?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah?" She said.

"Well, you're looking at the founder to that tradition." He said proudly.

"Oh. Cool." Yang said.

"..Tch, you kids aren't impressed by anything anymore." Qrow said dryly.

"So what did Raven focus on?" She asked.

"She traversed the area, getting a general idea on Vale's underworld and all that. Sometimes she would fill in for me on sick days, though my managers put a stop to that because Raven was to rude to the customers." He said.

"Why can't you just do your bird thing that you do?" Yang asked.

"Because I didn't know how to do it back then." Qrow said.

"Then when did you learn to do it and how can you do it?" Yang asked.

"That's...a touchy subject. Let's just say that something happened in the past, and now Raven and I can do this sorta thing." Qrow said.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Like I said, touchy subject. Tell ya when you're older. Now where was I?...Right, settling in." He said.

"So, I started to save up money so that we could enroll into Signal, though I kinda liked working at that joint. It's how I met your dad." Qrow said.

"Really?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, we were coworkers, he cooked, and I delivered." He said.

"So did you ALL know each other before Signal?" She asked.

"Yeah, I was the one who introduced Tai and Summer to Raven." Qrow said.

"So my mother was like Blake, anti social?" Yang asked.

"Yeaaaah." He said.

"So how did you meet Summer?" She asked.

"She kicked my ass." Qrow said.

"...What?" Yang asked.

"Well, Tai wanted to teach me a few boxing moves after work one day, your mother saw us sparring, she asked to join in, we laughed, and she kicked our assess." He said.

Yang sat there in silence before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh about it." Qrow said dryly.

"I-I can't breathe! I can't stop imagining a little girl kicking you and dad's asses!" She said.

"ANYWAY! I would bring them over from time to time, Summer became quick friends with Raven...it was a one sided friendship for the longest time. Tai fell for Raven the second he laid eye's on her." He said.

"Heh, that sounds like dad." Yang said.

"So, we all applied to Signal together. Few off topic subjects later, we graduated and applied to Beacon." Qrow said.

"Raven graduated at the top of her class. She excelled both academically, and combat wise...especially combat wise." He said.

"Yeah, I saw." She said, remembering Raven's fight with Adam...well, fight wasn't the word she would use. That was more like a one sided ass kicking.

"She was personally recommended by the staff of Signal." Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask.

"Anyways, we all applied to Beacon, took the initiation, I got Tai as my partner, and Raven got Summer, much to her displeasure." He said.

"She STILL didn't like Summer?!" Yang asked.

"It got better during the beginning years of Beacon. Anyways, we killed a bunch of Grimm and team STRQ was born." Qrow said.

"Though Ozpin didn't turn a blind eye to Raven's powers. He knew that she was something special, and that she could be one of the greatest huntresses out there, given the proper training that is." He said.

"So, he took her under his wing, taught her everything he knew and more. No one could best her, not even your mother." Qrow said.

"...Wait, which one?" Yang asked.

"Summer, sorry, should have been more specific." He said.

"So, he took her under his wing and made her into the warrior you saw today." Qrow said.

 _'Wow. Wait, Brandon is training under Ozpin, does that mean he'll be just as strong as she is?'_ She thought to herself.

"Eventually, she even grabbed the attention of old Ironwood. He wanted to help her with her training by using some of his 'training' tactics." He said.

"She was the strongest student in our class, possibly even the whole school. She was a real genius." Qrow said.

"But it wasn't enough. It was never enough. No matter what Ozpin or Ironwood did, she always felt like she needed more, that she could become even stronger." He said.

"And she was right, she could become stronger, maybe even stronger than Oz." Qrow said.

"Oz? Didn't realize you were so casual with our headmaster." Yang said.

"Oh yeah, we go way back. Though this isn't about me, this is about Raven." He said.

"Right, so what exactly was she talking about?" She asked.

"I'm not really a hundred percent sure myself. Though I do know that this wasn't something Ozpin or Ironwood could have taught her. No, from what Masamune said, she'd have to learn this on her own." Qrow said.

"What did he say?" Yang asked.

"You desire the power dominate your enemies, though in order to gain the strength you desire, you must break the chains of captivity that have been holding it back, the strength that resides within your very soul." He recited.

.

.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, that's what everyone's reaction. Masamune wasn't what you'd call a clear and straight forward guy." Qrow said.

"Strength of the soul, huh?" She asked.

"That's what he said." He said.

"So what was the reward for figuring out her true strength?" Yang asked.

"Evolution." Qrow said.

"...What?" She asked.

"It's something that the spirits can go through. User just has to figure out the true meaning behind there desires, that's what Masamune told us at least." He said.

"Once they do figure it out. The spirits can gain new powers, unimaginable powers, enough power to take down armies of Grimm." Qrow said.

"So, Raven set out to find her true strength. She would always pick the hardest missions that would push her to her limits, she'd go off on these solo missions that were available to all second years, and she even fought Ozpin on a regular basis in hopes to draw out this power." He said.

"How long did it take for her to find her answers?" Yang asked.

Qrow simply sat there in silence, his gaze not leaving Yang's.

"Well?" She asked.

"..." Qrow just sat there in silence.

"...Wait, you mean she STILL hasn't been able to figure it out?!" Yang asked.

"Bingo." He said.

 _'Jeez, how hard can ONE lesson be?'_ She asked.

"Needles to say, she wasn't exactly happy about it. No matter what she did, no matter how many Grimm she'd slay or how many opponents she fought, Masamune never budged." Qrow said.

"I think deep down, we all knew how much this was hurting Raven." He said.

"Then why didn't you help her?" Yang asked.

"Your mothers a VERY stubborn woman. Won't accept help from anyone, she said it made her feel...weak." Qrow said.

"She was doing a damn good job keeping it together. But that all changed during the Vytal festival." He said.

"You mean the one at Mistral, right?" Yang asked.

"No, that was four years ago. OUR Vytal tournament took place in Atlas." Qrow said.

"We were all pretty riled up for the tournament, hell, even Raven was showing some form of excitement. Was the happiest I've ever seen her since...ever really." He said.

"She fought her way to the top, and won the tournament for Vale, for her academy, and for her team." Qrow said.

"Raven thought that THIS would be the thing that caused the evolution to trigger. Guess she was wrong." He said.

"After her fight was over, she stormed out of the arena. Didn't even appear for the award ceremony." Qrow said.

"Wow, she must have been pissed." Yang said.

"No, she wasn't angry. She was...I don't really know how to describe it. She was just...lost." He said.

"Lost? What do you mean?" She asked.

"Think about it. For years she had been training to become the strongest huntress in the entire world, she had gone through hellish training regiments, rigorous study lessons, this was the biggest event in all of Remnant, she was going to be fighting for the sake of her kingdom. This was her big chance to show the world just how strong she was. Yet the one person she wanted to impress the most didn't even acknowledge her accomplishment." Qrow explained.

"...Well, when you put it that way." Yang said.

"Yeah." He said.

"So what happened when you found her?" She asked.

Qrow closed his eye's and started to recall the events that had happened so long ago.

Even though it was twenty five years ago, the screams of his sister still rang perfectly in his mind.

 _"Just tell me what's wrong with me already!"_ He remembered her screaming at her sword.

 _"Raven!"_ Summer and Tai yelled.

Qrow sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Touchy subject?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, bit touchy for your dad and I, one of the few things we actually agreed on back then." He said.

"So...what happened after the festival?" She asked, moving away from that subject.

"Well, Raven just continued her training as usual. Always trying to draw out that strength, though her confidence took a major blow that day." Qrow said.

"We continued to train until graduation. After that, two months later your parents married, and two more months later they had you. She stayed around for a year and then just disappeared without saying a word to anyone, not even Tai." He said.

"Why? Why did she leave us?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. She tells me that it's because she won't support someone like Ozpin anymore, though I know that's not all of it. She just won't tell me what." Qrow said.

"...W-well maybe she'll talk to me! I mean, I AM her daughter after all!" She said.

Qrow sighed and took a sip from his flask.

"What did she say to you when she fought Adam?" He asked.

"She didn't say anything. She just appeared and left." Yang lied.

"Heh, if it were anyone else I'd believe em. But you? You probably went after, right? So what did she say to you, and the truth this time, please." Qrow said.

"...Get lost." She said.

"She more than likely doesn't want to be bothered at the moment. Even then there's no guarantee she would talk to you at all." He said.

"I know but-." Yang began.

"Look, you want to know why she left. I do to, so does Tai and Ozpin. But we can't right now. Just have to wait for the right moment." Qrow said.

"But...I finally found her." She said.

"I know. But just because you found her doesn't mean she wanted to be found in the first place." He said.

"So what, I'm just supposed to wait until she's in the talking mood?" Yang asked.

"Basically." Qrow said.

Yang just sat there in silence before sighing.

"Fine, I've waited all my life to talk to her. What's a little longer gonna do?" She asked.

Qrow smirked and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You'll get your answers eventually. Just gotta wait till she's ready to give em to ya." He said.

"Guess so." Yang said with a weak smile.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, the door to the emergency room opened.

"Ms. Xiao Long?" The nurse asked.

"That's me, yeah." She said.

"I am pleased to inform you that your partner is now awake, she will make a full recovery." She said.

"Really?! Then can I-?!" Yang began.

"Yes, you may go see her. Right this way." The nurse said.

Yang nodded and started to follow the nurse into the operating rooms.

Once Qrow knew for certain that his niece wasn't able to hear him, he took out his scroll and pulled up a picture.

It was a picture of Tai, Raven, Summer and himself standing in front of a hospital bed.

Tai looked like he had pulled seven all nighters, and Summer had a big dumb grin on her face.

Though the most noticeable part of the picture was Raven, specifically the yellow bundle of joy she was holding in her arms.

"Gonna have to face her eventually, sis." He said.

Though before he could follow Yang, his scroll started to vibrate.

"Hello?" He asked as he answered his scroll.

.

.

"Yeah, what about it?" Qrow asked.

.

.

"You really think he can pull it off?" He asked.

.

.

"You're making quite the gamble here." Qrow said.

.

.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the tower." He said as he started to walk out of the operating room.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Jeez, place looks like a military base with all these troops roaming around." I said.

 _ **"After the invasion of Grimm and the recent jail break, do you blame them for adding more security?"**_ Caliber asked.

"No, I understand Ironwood's good intentions. But adding more security won't really help calm everyone down." I said.

 _ **"True, very true."**_ He said.

"Now, how about we talk about the elephant in the room?" I asked.

 _ **"You are referring to the wielder of my brother, Masamune, correct?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Yeah, I'm talking about Raven." I said.

 _ **"What do you wish to talk about?"**_ He asked.

"Well, it's just...damn! Did you see that?!" I asked.

 _ **"Indeed, that was quite the performance she gave us."**_ Caliber said.

"I know! It was just like...holy shit! If that's what I'll look like in twenty years, I'll be kicking so much ass that when you pick up a dictionary, and when you look up ass kicker, you'll find my picture in it." I said.

 _ **"You have a very unusual ego."**_ He said.

You call it ego, I call it confidence.

"Though, I doubt Yang saw it in the same light I did." I said.

 _ **"Indeed, I could sense some sort of connection between the two. While it may be a blood link, it is still a link."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, I mean _Raven_ was cold with her. Just flat out told her to get lost." I said.

 _ **"Perhaps. Though now we can safely say that we know the identity of one of the twelve spirit users."**_ He said.

"True, that's always nice to know." I said.

 _ **"Not to mention she has no intention of igniting conflict with us."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, that's always a added bonus." I said.

 _ **"I'd advice you stop engaging our conversations so vocally. People are starting to stare."**_ He said.

I turned around to see that various people were looking at me as if I somehow escaped from a mental home.

Hah, I really need to work on that.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Caliber said.

Though while we're on the topic of Raven, I seriously doubt that she'd just up and help us if I just asked. She's got a agenda of her own, ya know?

 _ **"That may be true. But it's always good to keep in your pocket."**_ He said.

Fair enough.

 _ **"Besides, if we truly want to change the fate of this world then it would be wise to seek out all of the spirits and there users."**_ Caliber said.

That's the plan, not only that but more than likely they'll be targeting the other kingdoms. We've gotta be there for when shit hits the fan.

 _ **"Hmm, it seems that we have a lot of work ahead of us."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, well what else is new?

Though before we could continue our conversation, I felt someone bump into me.

"Gah! Hey! Watch it!" I yelled as I turned to face the person who pumped into me.

Though as I did, I could see that there was no one to be seen.

"Huh? Where the hell did they go?" I asked.

 ** _"Strange."_** Caliber said.

"You don't have to tell me twice, I mean they're either really fast, or I'm going crazy." I said.

 _ **"You're already crazy, and that wasn't what I meant."**_ He said.

"Huh? Then what are you talking about?" I asked.

 _ **"It was only for a moment, but I sensed the presence of some of my siblings."**_ Caliber said.

.

.

"Pardon?" I asked.

 _ **"It was only for a second, after that they disappeared without a trace."**_ He said.

Though before I could look for the potential spirit user, I felt my scroll vibrate in my pocket.

"What now?" I asked as I reached into my pocket.

Though as I reached for my scroll, I could feel a slip of paper sticking out in my pocket.

"Huh?" I asked.

It was a letter of some sort, though I'm not sure how it got there in the first place.

Did the spirit user put it in my pocket?

I shrugged and looked at my scroll to see that Ozpin was calling me.

"What does he want now?" I asked as I answered the call.

"Yeah?" I asked.

 **"Ah, Mr. Kim. I am glad to have gotten a hold of you, I have a task of the utmost importance for you."** Ozpin said.

"Yeah? Well what if I've got more important things to do?" I asked as I stared at the letter.

 **"No, this is something of the utmost importance. It is something that someone with your abilities can only do."** He said.

"What exactly would I be doing?" I asked.

 **"I need you to save someone."** Ozpin said, causing my to almost drop the scroll I had in my hand.

"Save? What do you mean save? Is someone in trouble?" I asked.

 **"Not yet, but if you don't aid them soon then they will be in great danger. It is as I said, it is of the utmost importance."** He said.

Save someone? Who the hell needs saving, and why am I the only one who can save them?

...Wait, he can't mean-!

"Can I at least get a name?" I asked.

 **"I'm sorry, Mr. Kim. But this is not something I want to risk falling into the wrong hands. Come to my office and I will give you the details there."** Ozpin said.

I think I already have a suspicion on who he wants me to save, though I'm not sure what I can do really.

"Alright, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." I said.

 **"I only ask that you try. I will meet you in my office."** He said as the connection cut off.

As I put my scroll back into my pocket, I stared at the letter.

After a few seconds of silence, I tore off the seal, opened the letter, and took out the message that was inside.

 _ **"Dear, Wielder of Caliber."**_ The message started off, already catching my attention.

 _ **"So I was correct, it was the presence of some of my siblings."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"Meet me at the beach tonight at eight a clock."**_ The message said.

 _ **"From, the Wielder of Cronus."**_ It finished.

I turned the letter over and back again, trying to see if there was anything else.

"That's it?" I asked.

 _ **"Cronus, hmm?"**_ Caliber said.

"Huh, so eight a clock." I said.

 _ **"Do you intend to go and meet with our unknown friend?"**_ He asked.

"Hey, you said we have to gather the spirits and there users, so how about we get two under our belt before the main event starts?" I asked.

 ** _"A wise choice. Cronus, my it has been quite awhile since I have seen my sister Agnus and my bother Lupus."_** Caliber said.

"Then let's have us a family reunion." I said as I started to walk towards Beacon.

"But first, let's see what Ozpin wants, then we go and talk to our little friend." I said as I walked off towards Beacon.

* * *

.

.

"Jeez, I always hate this elevator ride up." I said as I stood inside the elevator.

 _ **"Be patient, my boy. We're almost there, I can feel the aura of the wizard getting closer and closer as we speak."**_ Caliber said.

I know, I just get antsy in this elev-.

"Wait, Wizard?" I asked.

 _ **"Did I stutter?"**_ He asked.

"That's a specific name for Ozpin. Why pick that of all names?" I asked.

 _ **"I have my reasons. For now let us just focus on this task we have been assigned to do."**_ Caliber said.

"Uh, okay. But I'd like an explanation to that nickname sometime soon." I said.

 _ **"I believe that the wizard will be the one doing the explaining. Not I."**_ He said.

"So, it's a nickname Ozpin's familiar by, that right?" I asked.

Guess that makes things easier, though Ozpin was the one to be very clear on things.

 _ **"Well, I doubt he could make something as simple as saving a life complicated."**_ Caliber said.

"Hopefully, last thing we need is to be kept in the dark about important stuff." I said.

 _ **"Indeed, and judging by your reaction to the wizard's request, I assume you have an idea on who we shall be attempting to save?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Something like that, yeah." I said.

 _ **"Hmm, interesting. Well, it looks like we shall be getting our answers soon, we are approaching the main office."**_ He said.

"Yeah, about time." I said as the doors leading to Ozpin's office opened.

"Ah, Mr. Kim. Glad to see you could make it, and that you have recovered from the recent events." He said.

"Just you and me this time, huh?" I asked, noticing that there was no one else in the room.

Usually he at least had a teacher or two in here to give me extra details.

"Indeed. Ironwood is rather busy due to the recent events, and Glynda is...well Glynda." He said.

"Fair enough. So what'd you want old man?" I asked.

"It's as I said, I have a request that only you are capable of doing." Ozpin said.

"Mind telling me what that request is?" I asked.

"In a moment, though first I have a question for you." He said.

"Shoot." I said.

"What is your favorite fairy tale?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, I would say the legend of the twelve spirits, but that isn't a fairy tale anymore now is it?" I asked.

"Indeed, allow me to tell you my favorite fairy tale." He said.

"It is the tale of the four maidens." Ozpin began.

"Deep in the forests of Remnant, beside a great and mighty river, stood the small fragile home of a cold, frail man." Ozpin said.

"A lone, wizard." He said, looking down at his coffee cup.

"Hidden from the dangers and distractions of the world, the wizard seldom had visitors." He said.

"Though one day, as he peered out his window, his gaze fell upon a young maiden." Ozpin said.

"Calmly she sat beneath his tree in a state of absolute tranquility." He said.

"When the wizard demanded an explanation the maiden simply replied, "My name is Winter, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sisters." With that, she closed her eyes and sat in silence." He said.

"The wizard told himself that the girl was a fool, but the longer she sat, the more he wished to share the serenity the young maiden enjoyed." Ozpin said.

"In time, he grew tired and decided to close his eyes as well, thinking on this strange predicament." He said.

"Upon opening his eye's, the wizard was befuddled to find that a second maiden had appeared beneath his tree, cheerful and spry, with a basket of fruit and flowers." Ozpin said.

"When he asked for an explanation, the girl simply replied,"My name is Spring, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sisters."...what?" He asked.

"Don't quit your day job Oz." I said.

"Moving on, to show gratitude for his reluctant hospitality, the girl retrieved a handful of seeds from her basket and planted them in the wizards garden." Ozpin said.

"The old hermit could hardly believe his eyes, as the maiden turned the once a mere pile of dirt and manure, into a beautiful garden, from which life would surely blossom." He said.

"Quick question, how did they grow crops in the ice and snow?" I asked.

"It was spring at the time." Ozpin said.

"What?! You mean to tell me that he slept through the entire winter season?! Was he a bear or something?! How did he not die from starvation?!...and another thing! How the hell do you grow a garden from scrap to a field in the matter of seconds?!" I asked.

"There are some mysteries that have been lost in the seas of time." He said.

"You're just saying that because you don't know!" I yelled.

"Moving on. It's likely he would have gazed for hours, were it not for the unfamiliar laughter he heard from beneath his tree." Ozpin said.

"A young woman with a warm smile now stood beside the two maidens." He asked.

"The wizard begged her to introduce herself to which she happily responded, "My name is Summer, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sister." He said.

"Of course!" Thought the wizard." Ozpin said.

"But another chirp of laughter left the old man perplexed." He said.

"What in the world was so funny?" Ozpin asked.

"As it turned out, it was him!" He said.

"The new arrival found the wizard's insistence on staying indoors so very amusing." Ozpin said.

Boy we she have a field day in America.

"Why choose to view the world through a small window when the door leading out to it was right at his side?" He asked.

"It was a compelling argument." Ozpin said.

"And after only a moment of brief hesitation, the wizard left his home...and stepped outside." He said.

"What's with that pause there?" I asked.

"...The warmth of the sun brought with it a surge of energy and life, and soon the wizard wasn't feeling much like himself anymore...He was feeling much better." Ozpin said.

He did it again!

"As the day drew to a close, the maidens and the wizards all settled down and prepared a feast." He said.

"Winter set the table, Spring supplied the crops, Summer prepped the meal, and the wizard was the happiest he'd been in ages." Ozpin said.

"But in all the excitement, he nearly failed to notice the delicate woman that now stood beneath his tree." He said.

"He smiled and beckoned her to join them, asking only for her name." Ozpin said.

"My name is Fall," She replied softly "I am on a journey, and I am here to meet my sisters. Who are you?" Ozpin said.

"Me?" The wizard wondered.

"Well, I am but an old hermit, I have lived in these woods alone for centuries, and I'm afraid my story is not very interesting, as I have no one to love and nothing to my name." He said.

"The elder sister looked up at all that surrounded them.

"But sir. Do you not see? You have so much." Ozpin said.

"It was true, with their help, it was now clear to see that the wizard had everything he could ever need." He said.

"He was grateful, but a question lingered in his mind." Ozpin said.

"Why me?" He asked.

"Why did the four of you choose to open my eyes? To share with me your gifts?" Ozpin asked.

"Why am I so special?" He asked.

"The four sisters looked to one another perplexed. Finally the eldest spoke." Ozpin said.

"I beg your pardon sir, but we do not do these things for you because you were special. We do what we can for everyone, because we are able." He said.

"The old wizard was at a loss. Never in his years had he come across such kindness." Ozpin said.

"It was in that moment that he knew what should be done." He said.

"The wizard summoned his magic, every ounce he could muster and bestowed it upon the sisters." Ozpin said.

"He smiled." He said.

"Take this gift, and know now that you are able to do so much more." Ozpin said.

"Now armed with the elements, with the very powers of nature, and the unimaginable magic of the wizard, the four maidens, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, promised to carry onward with their journey, using their gifts to aid others, just as they had aided him." He said.

"One by one the sisters left. Before they did, they made one final promise." Ozpin said.

"They promised to return each and every year, to visit their dear friend." He finished.

.

.

"So...what was the point of all that?" I asked.

"Would you believe me if I told you that this story has been around since I was but a mere child?" Ozpin asked.

"You were a child?" I asked.

"Ignoring that comment, would you believe me if I told you that story was true?" He asked.

"...I have a living fairy tale inside my soul, I'd believe anything at this point." I said.

"Fair enough." Ozpin said.

"So, what do the maidens have to do with this little request of yours?" I asked.

"We need your help to save one of these maidens from certain death." He said.

"...We?" I asked.

As I said this, the doors to one of the elevators opened, revealing Ironwood, Qrow, and Glynda.

"Sorry we're late." Ironwood apologized.

"Ms. Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Qrow, what are you guys doing here?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"Mr. Kim. We have called you here because we are in desperate need of you assistance." Glynda said.

"Asking ME to help YOU? What are pigs flying now?" I asked, causing Qrow to start chuckling.

"This is no time for jokes. This is a matter of life and death." She said.

"What are you guys on about now?" I asked, still faking ignorance.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what they wanted me to do, just a matter of how I'm going to do it.

"Follow us." Ironwood said as he got up from his desk and walked towards the elevator.

I nodded and followed the four adults into the elevator.

Once Ozpin was certain that we were all present, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, putting it into the very bottom part of the console.

He opened the hatch and pressed the button, starting our descent.

"So...where are we going?" I asked.

"The vault, under the school." Ozpin said.

"We have a vault?" I asked.

"Indeed." He said.

We waited for a few moments before eventually, we reached the bottom of the school.

"We're here." Ironwood said.

As the doors opened, I could start to feel my heart race a bit. I mean, this was the place that basically got Pyrrha killed.

"Are you alright? You seem distraught." Glynda asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. This is just a lot to take in." I said.

"I'm sure you must have questions." She said.

"A few. First off, why keep this all hidden from the world?" I asked.

"If people knew about a woman holding unimaginable powers hiding in the vault of Beacon, how do you think they would react?" Qrow asked.

"Compelling argument." I said.

"So, I'm assuming that this 'maiden' is the one you want me to save?" I asked.

"You catch on quick. Saves us the trouble of explaining, I like that." He said.

"Why now of all times though?" I asked.

"Two reasons. One, you have shown that your spirit has enough precision to remove a bullet with it's bare hands, something even Peach cannot dream of doing." Ironwood said.

"Two, we've run out of time. I'm sure you've already noticed, but things are getting a little too out of hand in the world. Tensions are high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent, and it's not going to be long before this peace we've been enjoying so much goes out the window." Qrow said.

"Fair enough." I said.

"You seem pretty calm about the idea on the world going to shit." He said.

"Indeed, I would have thought someone your age would have been more...shocked at the idea on potential war." Ironwood said, causing me to flinch a bit, though no one really noticed it.

Only Ozpin knew of what happened to me.

"Yeah, well I'm not like most kids." I said.

We continued to walk until we eventually came to the end of the vault.

There she was, Amber, the soon to be previous Fall Maiden.

"That her?" I asked.

"Yes, this is the current Fall Maiden. Amber." Ozpin said.

"She's still kicking?" I asked.

"For now. We're using state of art Atlas technology to keep her alive, but there is a lot to this situation that is..unprecedented." Ironwood said.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"Well, we don't know what will happen if she passes." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked in fake ignorance.

"Didn't you tell him how the system works?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin shook his head, taking a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Well, allow me to explain the twisted and convoluted way the powers are passed down." He said.

"Qrow!" Glynda yelled.

"Hey, don't get mad at me for being right!" Qrow said.

"So here's how the powers are handed down, the person who was in the maidens thoughts during there final breathes of life will be the most likely candidate for the powers." He said.

"What if it's a guy?" I asked.

"Then it's random, making our job even harder." Qrow said.

"That's dumb." I said.

"See?!" Qrow asked Glynda.

"And it's not uncommon for the dying thoughts of a victim is to be of there attacker." Ironwood said.

"...Can Caliber be stolen?" I asked.

"No, the spirits don't operate like the maidens powers." Qrow said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, when the user dies, the spirit doesn't just go to the last person in your thoughts, they stay in the weapon. Besides, we're not worried about the enemy stealing your powers. Caliber is a sentient being, it only responds when it needs or wants to." He said.

Well, that's one problem avoided.

"So, how about we get started?" Qrow asked.

.

.

"Mr. Kim?" Ironwood asked as he turned towards me.

Caliber?

 _ **"I already know what's causing the problem. There is a Grimm deep with in her head, a parasite of some sort."**_ He said.

Parasite?

 _ **"Indeed, though it is fairly small, smaller than the bullets I took out of our dear feline friend."**_ Caliber said.

Can you take it out though?

 _ **"Do you even need to ask such a thing?"**_ He asked.

Okay then, let's get started.

I cracked my knuckles and started to walk towards the pod Amber was in.

"Uh, kid. Maybe you want to know what you're doing before you start doing i-." Qrow began, only to stop himself as Caliber appeared and ripped the pod door open, throwing it to the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Ironwood yelled.

"Alright, easy now. Just lay her right here." Brandon said as Caliber gently laid her on the ground.

Thoguh before I could start my little 'opperation' Ironwood grabbed me by my shoulder and pushed me away.

"She was on life support! Do you have any idea what you just did?!" He asked me.

"Mr. Kim! I know you can be rash, but even so this is just-!" Glynda began, only for Ozpin to cut them off.

"Do you know what you are doing Mr. Kim?" Ozpin asked.

"Ozpin!" Ironwood yelled.

"To an extent." I said.

"That's not really reassuring." Qrow said.

"There's some sort of Grimm in her head." I said.

"...Sorry what?" Qrow asked.

 _ **"There is a bug like Grimm nesting deep within her head. It is letting loose a toxin that is preventing her recovery. There is also a signal of some sort coming from the bug."**_ Caliber explained.

"Signal?...Of course! That must be how our enemy was able to find her!" Ironwood said.

"Well then hurry up and get that thing out of her." Qrow said.

"What do you think we're trying to do here? Okay, I need everyone to be quiet. This won't be easy." I said.

Everyone nodded and stepped backwards.

"Good luck Mr. Kim. We're all counting on you." Ozpin said.

"Cool, now shut it." I said as I held Amber by her head, Caliber appearing above me.

"Do you honestly think he'll be able to remove this Grimm?" Glynda whispered.

"I don't know. This is the first Grimm I've ever seen that actually attaches itself to your brain." Qrow whispered.

"We must put our fate in Mr. Kim. He is the best chance we have at the moment." Ozpin whispered.

"Mr. Kim. How much medical experience do you have?" Ironwood asked.

"Well, I played a board game called operation, does that count?" I asked.

"...Welp. Guess we should start looking for a new maiden." Qrow said.

 _ **"This will be slightly more complicated, I need to be extra careful, the parasite is attached to her brain. One wrong move would kill her instantly."**_ Caliber said in my head.

No pressure am I right?

Caliber started to reach down and dug his fingers into Amber's head.

She won't wake up from this, right?

 ** _"I don't know."_** Caliber said.

Oh, well that's reassuring.

Hopefully we can remove it without doing any permanent damage to her brain.

After a few seconds, I could feel Caliber grab something in between his fingers.

Though as I grabbed, I could feel some sort of needle dig into my hand.

W-what the-?!

"Shit! It's trying to release the same toxin it did to put Amber so sleep!" Qrow yelled.

"Mr. Kim! Let go!" Ironwood yelled.

"No, I've got it in my grasp. I just need to pull it-." I began

Though I was cut off by the sudden gasp of Amber.

"Out." I finished.

"W-wha-?" She said weakly.

"Shut up, don't move, trying to save your life here." I said.

Everyone was a bit taken back at Amber's awakening, but they were able to silence themselves for the sake of my concentration.

"W-who are-?" She began to ask.

"I said shut it!" I said sternly.

Amber was about to question me even further, but the sight of Caliber quickly shut her up.

I could feel myself getting slightly light headed, my eye lids becoming heavy.

"This is bad. He's already under the affects of the toxin! You need to let go! No-!" Ironwood began, only for Caliber to punch me lightly across the face.

"Gah!" I gasped.

 _ **"Don't fall asleep on me, my boy."**_ He said.

After a few seconds, I could feel my eye lids getting heavy again.

 _ **"Almost..."** _ Caliber began.

Suddenly, a loud screech could be heard, signaling the Grimm had been removed from her head.

 _ **"There!"**_ He shouted as he ripped the bug out of Amber.

 _ **"RGHA! ORA!"**_ He yelled as he crushed the bug in between his fists.

I shook my head violently, my eye lids becoming light again.

Caliber leaned down and picked up Amber bridal style.

 _ **"Are you alright, fair Maiden?"**_ He asked.

"Y-your a-." She said weakly.

 _ **"Indeed, you are not the only fairy tale to exist."**_ Caliber said.

"Holy shit. You actually did it." Qrow said.

Ironwood nodded and walked over to Amber.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Amber was shocked for a moment but eventually responded.

"I-I have a headache, and I'm a bit sore. T-though other than that I'm o-okay." She said as she attempted to walk on her own.

Only to collapse to the floor, though before she could hit the solid ground, Caliber caught her.

"W-why can't I-?" Amber began.

"Your body must be weak from the lack of nutrients." Ironwood said.

"W-what?!" She asked.

"You just got out of the pod. Don't expect to start walking." Qrow said.

"I-I remember you." Amber said.

"Your welcome." He said.

"H-how long was I asleep?" She asked as she looked at her very skinny arm.

"Well, it's a bit complicated. You see-." Glynda began.

"You've been asleep for nearly two years now." Qrow said.

"Qrow!" She yelled.

"What? She was bound to find out eventually." He said.

"T-two years?!" Amber asked.

"I know that this is all very sudden. But we are here to help you recover, do not worry." Ironwood said.

"W-where are they?" Amber asked.

"You are referring to your attacker, correct?" He asked.

"Y-yes. D-did you catch them?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, no. They are still out there looking for you. Can you remember what they looked like?" Ironwood asked.

Amber closed her eyes, struggling to remember until eventually she shook her head.

"N-no. Everything is so unclear." Amber said.

"We understand. This is a lot to take in for someone who had just awoken from a coma." Ozpin said.

"...I-I'm sorry." She said.

"Don't be. We're pretty close to tracking them down anyway, so don't get your panties in a twist." Qrow said.

"Must you be so crude?!" Glynda asked.

Qrow shrugged and took a sip from his flask.

Amber giggled lightly before turning to me.

"Y-you." She said.

"...Me?" I asked.

"W-what is your name?" Amber asked.

"Names, Brandon. Brandon Kim." I said.

"B-Brandon. That's a nice name. M-my name is Amber. T-thank you for saving me." She said.

"Meh, all in the days work. Here, hold her." I said, turning towards Ironwood.

Caliber floated over towards the general and placed Amber in his arms.

"Okay, have fun. I've gotta go." I said as I started to walk off.

"Go where?" Ironwood asked.

My only response was to wave the letter the wielder of Cronus gave to me and walk away.

.

.

"S-such a bizarre young man." Amber said.

* * *

I walked down the silent streets of Vale, the moonlight lighting up the city above for all of it's inhabitants.

There was a tense feeling in the air, everyone seemed to be on the edge, but can you really blame them? I mean, after not one but TWO assaults on Vale, people are bound to re consider there living conditions.

Though, that can all wait, right now, I have someone I need to meet.

"I think it's just up ahead." I said.

 _ **"Hmm, yes. I can sense my sibling's presence drawing closer and closer."**_ Caliber said.

"Heh, this is just what we needed. We get to meet not one, but TWO enchanted weapon users." I said.

 _ **"Indeed. Perhaps the cards are being played in our favor for a change."**_ He said.

"Bout time we got a break." I said as I walked towards the railings of the beach.

I looked around the beach to see if I couldn't see the wielder of Cronus anywhere.

"Where the hell are they?" I asked as I continued to look around the area.

Eventually, a lone figure caught my attention.

I couldn't really see what they looked like due to the white cloak covering most of there body.

Though I was able to tell it was Cronus due to the large ancient like scythe they held in their hands.

"There they are." I said as I jumped down onto the sands of the beach.

I took a deep breath and started to walk over to the wielder of Cronus.

"Hey." I said, causing the white cloaked figure to turn around.

"Ah! You came!" A woman's voice said.

"Kinda hard not to. You ARE the wielder of Cronus after all." I said.

"And you are the wielder of Caliber. I have waited for you for a very long time." She said.

"Well, waits over. Here I am." I said with a smile.

"Hmm, do you remember me?" She asked.

"Yeah, we met at the forest. You first showed me the concept of the spirits there." I said.

"Right, well, that wasn't what I was talking about." She said.

"Hmm? Well that's the only time I can really recall that we've met." I said.

"Not surprising, you were still recovering when we first met." She said.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"What the hell do you mean by recovering?" I asked.

"I mean when your body was mending from the blast." She said, causing me to move backwards in surprise.

S-she knows about earth?!

"How are you feeling? You did die after all, something very few people have managed to recover from." She said.

"Few? As far as I know I'm the only one who ever died and came back." I said.

"That's not true. I died and I came back, though I wasn't sent to another world like you were." She said.

"...Huh?" I asked.

"Though my recovery was a lot more quick than yours, considering I only had a few minor injuries and you were completely blown to bits." She said.

"H-huh?!" I asked once again.

"Let's allow our spirits to talk, shall we?" She asked, snapping her fingers.

As she said this, two figures of different sizes came burst into existence in a blue and red inferno.

The first spirit looked very regal like, though unlike the other spirits I've seen, she wasn't wearing armor.

It wore a white trench coat with a hood of some sort with a blue aura coming off from the bottom of the coat, various jewelry dawning the coat.

She wore long black dress jeans with boots of some sort.

She also wore a pair of leather gloves.

Though the most noticeable part was her out fit was curved top hat she wore on her head, a mask of some sort covering her face.

The second spirit was much larger than the other, this one glowing with a red aura.

He wore a lot more armor than his sibling, his helmet looking like some sort of demon head, horns and everything.

He wore demon like armor on his chest, arms, and his lower legs, the center of his chest glowing with a blood red aura.

He wore a pair of red loose clothed shorts with a belt wrapped around it, he also wore some sort of sash around his waste.

 _ **"Ah ha ha ha! It has been to long, my siblings!"**_ Caliber yelled as he appeared behind me.

 _ **"Brother! Ah ha! It is so good to see you again!"**_ The male spirit said in a very low tone.

 _ **"Indeed. Shall we have a cup of tea sometime?"**_ The female voice asked in a soft and soothing voice.

 _ **"Tea?! We haven't seen our brother in decades, and you wish to drink tea?! Let us bathe in the ashes of the Grimm!"**_ The male spirit said.

 _ **"My boy, allow me to introduce my siblings to you. The one in the hat is my sister, Agnus."**_ He said.

 _ **"A pleasure."**_ Agnus said with a bow.

 _ **"And this is my dear brother, Lupus."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"Charmed."**_ Lupus said.

 _ **"And who might you be?"**_ Agnus asked me.

"...O-oh! I-I'm Brandon. Brandon Kim." I said.

"Hello Brandon, allow me to introduce myself." The woman said as she took off her hood.

Who I saw right in front of me made me question the state of my sanity itself.

This woman looked almost exactly like Ruby, but with much curlier hair on the sides.

"My name is Summer Rose. Nice to meet you." Summer said with a warm smile.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **Well! This was certainly a strange turn of events! I mean...Raven AND Summer?!**

 **I could understand Raven but Summer?!  
**

 **How is she even still alive?!**

 **And how the hell did she know about my world and my death?!**

 **Well, on a slightly...better note I guess, Amber woke up.**

 **I can only hope Oz and the rest have a plan for her.**

 **But still...Summer?!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Also yeah, I know, I'm terrible for the cliff hanger.**

 **Review Responses**

 **Something321: I know, I know, but I swear that this will be the last cliff hanger, and I'm totally not crossing my fingers as I type this. Also yeah, it was a reference to RvB.**

 **xanothos:** **Hopefully it lived up to your hype.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: That was the plan of this fic since day one. Give minor characters a bigger role than what they had in the show.**

 **olTran:** **Glad to hear.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Also here's another cliff hanger. I'm not sorry.**

 **Lord Adhes: Not everyone, I mean Emerald has SOME votes...I mean not as many as Neo but still, she's in second place.**

 **Ragnorak16:** **Well, for all you know Emerald could become the canon pairing. It IS my decision after all.**

 **Donovan: No problem.**

 **fanficcyberman: Osvaldo's or Raven's...to an extent.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: I know no one is going to say it so I'll just say it. Dicks out for Adam.**

 **GOH426: I mean, it was a thing that was and still is going on in the series.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Fixed.**

 **catemperor402: It was a change to the writing style so that he didn't get to powerful.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Okay.**

 **squeegywing: Thanks! Glad you liked it.**

* * *

 **Omake-Raven's advice (Non-Canon)**

"Hey!" Yang yelled at Raven, causing her to turn to face her daughter.

"Yang." She said.

"So you remember me after all, huh?! Where the hell were you?! Why did you leave?! Do you have any idea how much dad has suffered because of you?!" She asked.

"..." Raven just stood there in silence.

"Well?! Do you?!...What did we do to you?" Yang asked meekly.

Raven sighed, went up to her daughter and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Look. I...it's complicated. But I can see that you're in pain right now. So, how about I give you a little motherly advice or something?" She asked.

"What the hell makes you think I'd listen to you?" Yang asked.

"Shut up and listen." She said.

Suddenly, Raven pulled out a microphone and Masamune appeared with a piano of some sort.

"Have you ever felt sad or lonely?" Raven started to sing.

.

.

"What?" Brandon asked.

"Have you ever felt two feet tall?"

"Have you ever thought, "Man, if only I was anybody else at all."

"They like to kick you when times get rough."

"And you give your all, but it's not enough."

"And sticks and stones might break your bones."

"But words can break your heart."

"And if you don't know where to go."

"I'll show you where to start."

"You know, this sorta seems a bit to nice for Ra-." Brandon began.

"Kill yourself, it'll only take a minute." She sang.

.

.

"Okay, now it makes sense." I said.

"You'll be happy that you did it."

"Just go over to your oven and shove your head in it."

"Kill yourself, really, you should do it."

"There's really nothing to it."

"Just grab a mug and chug a cup of lighter fluid."

.

.

"W-what the-?!" Yang began.

"I sound un-empathetic."

"I sound mean and rude."

"Suicide is an epidemic and I don't want to be misconstrued."

"Signs of depression go overlooked."

"So if you're depressed then you need to book a therapy session."

"Talk about your depression."

"Let a professional hear it."

"But if you search for moral wisdom in Jeff William lyrics, then kill yourself, it won't be painful."

"If you are able to give a little kiss to an oncoming train, you'll kill yourself, it's over, mull it."

"There's a trigger, pull it."

"Get it through your head, "it" being a bullet."

"Stick your tongue in a plug."

"Suck a pipe of exhaust"

"Make some toast in the tub."

"Nail yourself to a cross."

"Hold your breath till it's gone."

"Drink a gallon of mace."

"Let Port sit on your face."

"Jump off of a bridge."

"Skinny dip in a flood."

"Sky dive attached to a fridge."

"Break into the zoo."

"Give a tiger a shove."

"Eat a Phillips head screw"

"Marry Cinder Fall." She finished.

.

.

"What? To direct?" Raven asked.

* * *

 **Original Song by Bo Burnham**

 **Weapon Spirit: Masamune.**

 **Appearance:** **The upper half of the spirit had a massive black fedora dawned on his head, a piece of red and samurai's armor on his lower arms, though the right arm had a significantly larger shoulder pad, while the left one didn't have one at all.**

 **On his torso, it had a dress suit with red trimmings, a black dress vest with a white dress shirt and a red tie.**

 **Though instead of the visor of a samurai's helmet, he had some sort of cloth wrapped around his mouth and the fedora shadowed two red eye's coming through the darkness of his face.**

 **It dawns a pair of dress pants, the coat it wore was significantly shorter than his brother, Caliber, and it also wore a pair of armored boots that reached up to it's knee's.**

 **Though the most noticeable part about the spirit was the massive katana wrapped around his waste.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: B**

 **Range: C**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 73**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 52**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 39**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 22**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	49. The Reaper

**Hello** **readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Notice: Please re read the very first chapter so that you can understand the contexts of this one, it has been re written so that this part of the story actually makes sense.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Reaper"

Thought: _'The Reaper'_

Flashback: _"The Reaper"_

"Hello Brandon, allow me to introduce myself." The woman said as she took off her hood.

Who I saw right in front of me made me question the state of my sanity itself.

This woman looked almost exactly like Ruby, but with much curlier hair on the sides.

"My name is Summer Rose. Nice to meet you." Summer said with a warm smile.

.

.

"What?" I asked.

"I said, my name is-." Summer began.

"N-no, I heard you the first time. It's just...how?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, how the hell are you alive?!" I asked.

"That's not a very nice thing to ask a lady." Summer said.

"Answer the question! You're supposed to be dead!" I yelled.

"I can see manners aren't your strong suit." She said.

 _ **"You don't have to tell us twice."**_ Caliber said.

"Shut it!" I yelled at Caliber before turning towards Summer.

"You shouldn't even be alive right now! Everyone thinks your dead!" I yelled.

"Just because every one thinks that I'm dead doesn't mean I'm actually dead." She said.

"Okay, fair enough, but how?!" I yelled.

"Same way you were brought back...well, not the exact same way, but similar." Summer said.

...Wait a minute.

"H-how did you-?!" I asked.

"How did I know of your other worldly origins? How did I know you were brought back to life? Well, it's all quite simple." She said.

"You're going to be alright." Summer said.

Why she said this confused me at first, but once the gears started to turn, I nearly fell to the ground in shock.

"Y-y-you're-." I stuttered to say.

"The voice you heard before you died? Yes, that was me. I was the one who brought you here, who brought you to this world." She said.

I just stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Why?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Summer asked.

"Why me?! Why did you pick me out of the billions upon billions of people out there! Why am I so special?!" I yelled.

"...Do you remember Alice?" She asked.

"A-Alice! You mean that girl from back on earth?!" I asked.

"That's the one." Summer said.

"I-Is she alright?! Did she make it down?! Did she find her parents?!" I asked, all in rapid succession.

"Whoa, easy, easy, I don't know, I only know what happened before the blast, not what happened after it." She said.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as commanding." I said.

"It's alright. Though I'm sure you're wondering what she has to do with all of this." Summer said.

"Y-yeah, that's one of the many questions I have right now." I said.

"Well, how about we do it somewhere more private?" She asked as she started walking over to a dock.

I nodded and started to follow her, Caliber going back into my sword.

Once we were under the wooden runway of the docks, Summer sat down on a nearby log.

"So, where were we?" She asked.

"Alice?" I said.

"Oh! Right! Well, you may not know, but I was actually watching this girl from the spirit realm while I was making my recovery." Summer said.

"Your recovery?" I asked.

"I'll explain that in a bit. For now, I'll give you the crash course version of it. I was dying, I found the temple where Cronus laid, I made the contract, they took me to the spirit realm, and they saved my life." She explained.

"Oh, so you can look at other worlds in the spirit realm?" I asked.

"Yes, the spirit realm is a realm that exists in all world, all forms of reality." She said.

"Why pick our world then? I'm sure there are a bunch of worlds out there that are far more interesting than mine." I said.

"That may be true, but there were multiple things that caught my eye about your world. For one, it's not every day you find out that human kind inhabits multiple worlds, and it's also not everyday you get to witness a war against all of humankind." Summer said.

"Yeah, guess that would be a shock for anyone." I said.

"Would you believe me if I told you that you were not the first person the young girl went to for help?" She asked.

"I'm not?" I asked.

"No, she tried asking everyone for help, but no one even bothered to listen to her." Summer said.

"What the hell?! What kind of asshole just leaves a little girl to die in an explosion?! Where the hell were her parents?!" I yelled.

"I don't know, perhaps they were employees at these 'shelters' you people used to survive the affects from the blast and the radiation." She said as she looked up into the shattered moon.

"Anyone can say they will do noble things, any one can say they would sacrifice there own life to save another's. But once the opportunity presents itself, once your life is in actual danger, more than likely people will look after themselves rather than for others." Summer said.

"Self preservation." I said.

"Exactly. It is a feeling that resides in all creatures. Man, women, child, Faunus, animals, even Grimm have the feeling of self preservation, they won't engage in a fight they know they can't win." She said.

"Yeah, but still, leaving a little girl to die?" I asked.

"Crisis can bring out the worst in us." Summer said as she turned towards me.

"But it can also bring out the best in us." She said.

"You, you were the only one who decided to help the girl. The only who bothered to care for her safety." Summer said with a smile.

"W-well, I couldn't leave her to die, dying from an explosion at that young of age would be heart breaking." I said.

"Is that why you took the bullet for her?" She asked.

"..." I just sat there in silence.

"Not only did you bother to bring the girl to the shelter, you also sacrificed yourself when there was only enough room to fit one more person." Summer said.

"Why? Why save a girl you barely even know? What did you hope to gain from that?" She asked.

"Would you rather me let her die?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't say that. I'm just curious as to why you would save someone you didn't know in the first place from a very painful death." Summer said.

"It wasn't that bad. I think my body went numb when the blast actually kicked in, it only hurt for a second really." I said.

"Still, death is still death, and no matter who you are, everyone is afraid of the void." She said.

"...To be honest. I wasn't thinking really, I just...did it. There wasn't any time to think, no time to think of a plan, it was either me or her, and I apparently choose her." I said.

"Do you regret your decision?" Summer asked.

"Well, I didn't actually die...well, I did, but then I came back. So in the end it worked out for the both of us, at least I hope it did." I said.

"Indeed it did." She said.

"...So, was that the reason why you choose me? Because I saved a little girls life?" I asked.

"That's part of it. The other part of it was because you were one of the many who died from the blast. Spirits can't bring living creatures into the spirit realm, they can only bring souls and spirits in." Summer said.

"...How did you even do it? If I was really caught in the blast then I seriously doubt that I was exactly, fixable." I said.

"It was a...complicated process to say the least." She said.

"Your body was blown to bits, your lower half and arms were basically non-existent, and the parts of you that did remain were unrecognizable." Summer said.

"But your soul still remained, it had not yet passed on so the spirits were able to repair your body. But it was a very time consuming process to say the least." She said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, to start off, the spirits weren't able to create a whole new body for you, so they had to repair the broken body you had." Summer said as she lifted her sleeve up.

"...Uh?" I said.

"I lost my right arm during the fight before my death." She said.

"Jesus." I said.

"Repairing my body took a year to do, so how long do you think a body with the damage it took will take to repair itself?" Summer asked.

"...Uh. Let's see, if it took you a year to repair your body, then..." I tried to narrow it down.

"Ten years. You've been asleep for ten years." She said.

.

.

"T-ten?! Ten years?!" I yelled.

"That's what I said." Summer said.

"B-but it felt like a few minutes in the spirit realm!" I said.

"The spirit realm has no flow of time. Think of it like this, imagine if you froze your body in time, your body wouldn't grow, and you wouldn't technically age, you would be stuck like that until the you unfroze it." She said.

"It's how people jumped to the conclusion that I was dead. I hadn't been found in over a year, so naturally they assumed the worst. It was how I was able to hide from Ozpin for so long. It was how I was able to hide from her for so long." Summer said.

"Her?" I asked.

"I could tell you that story, but then you would be here until dawn." She said.

"I waited for your arrival into Remnant for nine years, though it would prove to be difficult due to me not knowing what you looked like. Though after the flames of the spirits emerged within the city of Vale it was rather easy for me to find you, all I had to do was follow the presence of your spirit." Summer said.

"Yeah, looks like you weren't the only one who found me." I said.

"Guess Raven beat me to the punch." She said.

"Yeah." I said.

"So what did she say to you?" Summer asked.

"Well, she didn't really have a whole lot of time to say anything. She just said that we'd be talking again soon." I said.

"Sounds like her." She said.

"...What was she like?" I asked.

"Well, that's another story that's a bit too long to explain. I would like to keep myself under the radar, so I'd rather spend as little time in Vale as I can." Summer said.

"Fair enough. So what have you been doing all this time?" I asked.

"Well, I've been hunting down dangerous Grimm, hunting down bandits, criminals, and rogue huntsmen and huntresses. I've also been going around Remnant helping people in need, though the most I'd do is stop a village from getting over run. I couldn't risk anyone finding out about my true identity." She said.

"Why not tell Ozpin? He's pretty good at keeping secrets. He's kept my other worldly origins a secret from...well everyone." I said.

"So you've told him?" Summer asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"I assume he's told you about the Fall Maiden as well." She asked.

"You know about Amber?" I asked.

"So THAT'S her name! That's been bugging me for the longest time now." Summer said.

"Yeah, I'm actually the one who saved her." I said.

"Saved her?" She asked.

"There was this bug in her head that was preventing her recovery, Caliber removed the bug and she woke up. Now Ozpin, Ironwood, Qrow, and Glynda are seeing to it that she makes a full recovery." I said.

"She must be very thankful to you then." Summer said.

"Well, if she is, she didn't get the chance to express it. I left to meet you before she could." I said.

"Aw, you were so eager to see me? I'm flattered, but I'm married...well, was, but I'm still to old for you." Summer said.

"Can it. So why not tell Ozpin?" I asked.

"Well...I think it's just for the best if no one else but you knew of my existence." She said.

"I'm the only one who knows?" Not even Raven knows?" I asked.

"Nope. Not even she knows, the more people who know of my existence, the more I'm in risk of getting caught." Summer said.

"...Well at least tell Ruby!" I said.

"So, you're familiar with my daughter then, aren't you?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're friends. Doesn't she deserve to know that her mother is still alive after all these years?!" I asked.

Summer sighed and took a photo from out of her pocket.

The photo showed her holding a red bundle of joy in her arms under a Forever Fall tree.

"Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to run to my little girls arms and never let go. But I know my daughter more than anyone else in this world, even after all these years." She began.

"But I could never put such a burden like that on her. Having to keep my identity a secret from everyone, including her own family." Summer said.

"If I told her, she'd more than likely would tell Yang, then Yang would tell Tai, and Tai would tell Qrow. That man would drop everything just to see my face again." She said with a chuckle.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure, go for it." She said.

"Is Tai Ruby's real father?" I asked.

"..." Summer just sat there in silence.

"Okay, different question. What is Qrow to you?" I asked.

"..."

"Fine, I'll cut straight to the chase. Is Qrow Ruby's real father?" I asked.

"...What makes you think that?" Summer asked.

"Well, for starters, Ruby shares next to no traits from Tai. One could argue that she got all her traits from you, but children don't inherit everything from one singular parent. Yang was the child of Tai and Raven. She inherited her mothers looks and her eyes to an extent, but she also inherited her fathers hair." I said.

"Ruby practically inherits everything from you, but that's physically impossible. She had to have gotten her hair from SOMEONE." I said.

"Qrow doesn't have her hair either you know." Summer said.

"No, but Raven does. Traits can be passed down through other members of the family, and Raven's hair would fit perfectly for Ruby." I said.

"...You're good." She said.

Though before I could respond, Summer interrupted me.

"Though I wouldn't say you're right. It's a bit complicated. I'd say that he's more of a father figure to her." Summer said.

"...Oh." I said.

"So, any more questions?" She asked.

"Just one. Why did you call me here in the first place?" I asked.

"Hmm, now we're talking." Summer said as she stood up.

"How much has Ozpin taught you?" She asked.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I want to know what Ozpin has been teaching you over the past two years." Summer said.

"Well, he's basically been training me on how to use my spirit properly. Due to his experience with Masamune he knows a few things about the spirits." I said.

"But he only knows the basics of what the spirits are capable. Sure he may know a lot due to his past teachings with Raven, but he can only know so much. Not even he knows everything about everything you know." She said.

I seriously doubt that but okay.

"So what are you proposing?" I asked.

"It's rather simple." She said as she held out her hand.

"Come with me." Summer said.

.

.

"H-huh?" I asked.

"Ozpin can only teach you so much. Why not learn from someone who's had ten years of experience with the spirits?" She asked.

I just sat there in shock before shaking my had and sighing.

"Look, I appreciate the offer but I can't just up and leave the people here. There's still something I need to do here." I said.

Summer looked confused for a second before she started to rapidly shake her head.

"Oh! No, no, no! I didn't mean come with me and never come back! It's that Spring Break is coming up and all, and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to sharpen you up! Turn you into a real force of nature!" She said.

"Wait, so it'll just be for a week?" I asked.

"Just for a week." Summer said.

"You really think you can turn me into a so called 'force of nature' in a week?" I asked.

"Hmm." She hummed as she leaned in so that we met eye to eye.

"Uh." I began.

"Yeah, I can work with this." Summer said as she took off my hat and ruffled my hair.

"Jeez, what's with you people and the hair?" I asked.

"Heh heh, sorry, motherly habits and all." She said before walking off.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked.

"Well, I can't stay here. I'm supposed to be dead." Summer said before pointing off into the distance.

"That'll be our training ground. Meet me at the bottom of the mountain." She said.

"I'll see you then." Summer said before walking off.

...So, training with Summer, huh?

"Spring break is next week. I should start packing my things." I said before walking off of the beach.

* * *

As I returned from my conversation with Summer, a lot of questions started to plague my mind.

I mean, if what she said was true, then she was the one who brought me here from earth.

I know Caliber said he was the one who brought me back to life, but if it weren't for her, then I'd be six feet under right now.

Still, she waited ten years for me, guess it would be pretty rude for me not to come to the mountains like she asked, even for me.

I turned around to stare at the mountains that I would be training in.

They were pretty high, no doubt there are some dangerous Grimm there.

Guess she wanted the perfect place to not only hide, but push me to my absolute limit.

I shook my head and continued to walk down the courtyard of Beacon.

How as she been able to hide from the world for an entire decade? I'm sure at least one person would have found out about her existence by now.

Even if it were someone who didn't know who she was.

Being able to hide from Ozpin of all people, huh? That's sure something...I mean sure Cinder is doing the same exact thing, but only for a year or so, Summer's been doing it for ten years.

Then there's that one thing she said that still bothers me.

 _"It's how people jumped to the conclusion that I was dead. I hadn't been found in over a year, so naturally they assumed the worst. It was how I was able to hide from Ozpin for so long. It was how I was able to hide from her for so long."_ I remembered Summer saying.

What the hell was she talking about?

Who else could she be possibly hiding from?

.

.

Hmm, now that I really think about it, there's that one Grimm lady that appeared at the end of volume three and the beginning of volume four.

What was her name?

Sal?

No, that's a guys name.

Selena?

Now, that doesn't sound menacing in the slightest.

...Salem! That was her name, her name was Salem!

More than anything she might be hiding from Salem, I mean if her and Ozpin share a past then she's gotta be just as if not more clever than Ozpin himself.

Though who is she anyway, and how do Ozpin and her share a past?

Damn it! Why did I have to die before the series could finish, would have made things so much easier for me!

I sighed and rubbed my temples with my fingers.

So, I'm the only one who know's she's alive, huh?

Man, now that I think about it, things are gonna start getting a little awkward between Qrow, Ruby, Yang and I.

Well, just so long they don't bring up the topic of Summer, I should be good for the long run.

Still, Ozpin's always been the one to read into me, he'll more than likely figure it out eventually.

Then again, he won't really be alive for too long so I doubt he'll figure it out before then.

Though it doesn't hurt to take a little bit of caution with this.

Now that I think about it, did Ozpin really die?

I mean, sure Cinder did say that Ozpin was dead, but she more than likely told Salem that just to get her off her back.

But if he isn't dead, then where would he be after all this time?

Judging by the length of team RNJR's hair, it's been more than a few months since the fall of Beacon.

Though how was he able to hide from Qrow, Ironwood, and the rest of the headmasters for that long?

Well, I guess it won't really matter right now. Amber is awake now, and the staff are working on getting her strength back.

I'm not really worried about an attack on Amber right now, Cinder isn't stupid enough to kill her in the middle of the school...Okay she did do that in the end of volume three, but a bunch of Grimm were attacking the school, everyone was shitting there pants.

I'm gonna have to rely on Roman getting Cinder to spill the beans about how little she cares about Emerald and Mercury during my trip. Otherwise, things are gonna start getting more complicated for my liking.

Though on the upside, if my memory serves correct then the White Fang are laying low for the time being.

So I really don't have to worry about any White Fang attacks on Vale anytime soon.

But then there's Raven.

Not really a whole lot to be said about her at the moment, she just wants to talk to me.

Don't really know what about, but hey, a talks a talk.

As long as she's not trying to stab me into little bits and pieces then we're good.

This worlds Raven is already a pretty far cry from the Raven in the actual series.

...Well I didn't know anything personal about her other than she was Yang's mom and...no, that was it. She was Yang's mom.

While I still don't know a whole lot about her, I at least have a handful of things to go off of for when we eventually talk.

For one, she's the wielder of the Enchanted Katana, Masamune.

That on it's own threw me off guard.

Really hope she's not a major antagonist in the future or else we're definitely going to have a problem here.

I mean, she was able to wipe the floor with Adam like it was nothing! How the hell am I supposed to fight that?!

We'll worry about that later, for now let's focus on the other things we know about Raven.

She's the mother of Yang...but we knew that already.

She MIGHT be the Aunt of Ruby, but that's only if either her or Summer spills the beans.

...Then again, I think she would be pretty suspicious as to why I would be questioning who Ruby's biological parents are so let's leave that out of the conversation...along with everything and anything about Summer.

She was the previous student of Ozpin, which explains how familiar he is with the spirits.

Raven had a fairly large falling out with her team, and it had something to do with the test Masamune gave her.

She's the leader of this tribe her and Qrow were apart of, and more than likely, she's ten times stronger than she is in the actual show.

While it still isn't a whole lot to go off on, it's more than what Rooster Teeth gave us.

Though I'm not sure how all this will help me with my inevitable confrontation with Raven.

But hey, it's better than nothing.

Man, it's gonna be weird to explain this to Neo.

Hey Neo, I need to spend an entire week in a Grimm infested forest to train...alone. Now I know this sounds like the dumbest idea in the world, and on paper it is, but my whole life is just a series of dumb ideas. You could probably make a book about it called "A series of stupid decisions staring Brandon Kim.".

So yeah, I'm not looking forward to THAT conversation.

Ozpin will also be curious as to why I'm going into a Grimm infested mountain by myself.

Which is why I won't be telling him!

I'll pack my things and high tail it out of here!

I mean sure I'll have to tell him when I get back, but at least I'll have a week to come up with a reasonable excuse.

But for now, I need to-.

My thought process was cut off as I felt someone tug at my jacket.

"Hmm?" I hummed as I turned around to see who it was.

To my surprise, it was Ruby.

.

.

Because you know, that's was the person I was REALLY looking forward to talking to.

"Hey." She said.

"Oh, hey. What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing really. I just wanted to talk you know?" Ruby said.

"Shouldn't you be prepping for the Vytal tournament?" I asked.

"Well, with everything that's happened with the Fang, Penny, and Yang's mom-." She began.

"You mean Raven?" I asked.

"Yeah...wait, how do you know her name?" Ruby asked.

"Qrow told me about her." I said.

"Why would he do that?" She asked.

"Well, she IS the user of one of the twelve spirits, Masamune." I said, causing Ruby's eye's to widen.

"Really?!" She asked.

"Yeah, I would have thought Yang would have told you. Would have thought she would have told you what happened with Adam." I said.

"What happened to Adam?" Ruby asked.

"Well, Raven gave him a good old fashion a-." I began, only for Ruby's glare to cut me off.

"Butt kicking." I corrected.

"Wow, Raven sounds so cool!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes.

She sure is!...You don't wanna meet her though.

"I wonder if all the spirits have users? If so, I'd totally like to meet the scythe wielder!" She said.

Okay, now I'm getting a metaphorical middle finger!

"Y-yeah. Sure." I said.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no I'm fine." I said.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Ruby, I'm fine." I said.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby. I. Am. Fine." I said slowly.

Ruby just stood there for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"Okay, just talk to me if your not feeling well, okay?" She said.

"Why the sudden concern?" I asked.

Ruby shuffled her feet around before taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"Before we went to the Mountain to investigate a lead we found, we heard about what happened with Doctor Merlot." She said.

"...Okay...and?" I asked.

"Well, Coco told us what you did in the labs." Ruby said.

"She tell you how we stopped Merlot from unleashing a horde of mutant Grimm into the city?" I asked.

"Well, yeah...but she also told us how you killed the man responsible behind it all." She said.

"Yeah, I did." I said.

Though as I said this, Ruby's expression saddened.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

"Why?" She asked.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"Why would you kill him?" Ruby asked.

"...Does killing the enemy warrant a reason? We were on separate sides, he was trying to kill me, and I was trying to kill him. It was only a matter of who got who." I said.

"But what if he could have changed?!" She asked.

"People don't change unless they want to change, Ruby. Torchwick changed because he wanted a better future for him and Neo. Neo changed because she didn't want to lose me. If Merlot wanted to change he would have done it when the Mountain fell." I said.

"You don't know that for sure!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, I don't! I never do whenever I fight an enemy. But it's either them or me. Do you want to know what would have happened if I left Merlot alive?" I asked.

Ruby just stared at me for a couple of moments before nodding.

"More than likely, he would have attempted to kill more people, causing more people to die." I said.

"But-." Ruby began.

"I know that it's not guaranteed he'd do that, but that's not a chance I'm willing to take." I said.

Ruby was about to say something, but I quickly cut her off.

"Look, I don't like killing, I do try and avoid it by doing things like I did with Roman and Neo. But you need to ask yourself this, Ruby. Are you willing to put your friends at risk? Sometimes they do change, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes they just don't want to change." I said.

Ruby just stood there in silence, her gaze falling.

"Look, I'm not telling you to go on a killing spree or anything. It's like I said, I don't like killing, and I try to avoid it whenever I can. But sometimes you need to take lives to make sure the ones you care about are safe." I said.

"..."

"I'm not telling you not to give people second chances. I mean, look what I did with Roman and Neo. Just saying don't expect to leave this world without some blood on your hands." I said.

"..."

"I know you don't like what I'm saying. You don't have to like it, but it's something that all huntsmen have to deal with. I'm sure Blake had to deal with the same thing." I said.

"You think Blake is a killer?" Ruby asked.

"No, I'm saying she's more than likely had to take lives with her line of work. Whether it be in self defense or for a different reason. You can still care for lives, but take them as well. Sometimes you don't have time to think, the only thing you can do is act, and your body will do the one thing it's made to do." I said as I put my hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Self Preservation." I said.

"..." Ruby just continued to stand there in silence.

"The world isn't some sort of fairy tale, Rubes. Things are more complicated than that." I said.

"I know." She said.

"...Wait what?" I asked.

"I know. I thought that because we had Roman on our side the White Fang would stop attacking Vale. Clearly I was wrong." Ruby said.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. There's no way you could have predicted it." I said.

"I know. But I guess this only proves your point. Not everything is as clear cut as we'd like it to be. Someone else is operating within the White Fang, someone with a larger influence than Roman." She said.

Boy you have NO idea.

"But we'll figure this out one way or another." Ruby said.

"Yeah, hopefully this will all be over soon." I said.

Oh who am I kidding? I know it won't be over anytime soon.

"Hey." She said as she grabbed my jacket.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm sorry." Ruby said.

"...Uh, why?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest, when I first heard Coco's story, the respect I had for you only grew, I even started to admire you." She said.

"O-oh! W-well I'm flattered but I...Damn, why is this so hard?" I asked myself.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"Well, it's just...I'm...not looking for a relationship right now." I said.

Ruby tilted her head in confusion before her face turned beat red.

"N-no! That's not what I meant!" She said.

"Oh. Whew! I dodged a bullet right there. You had me scared there for a second Rubes!" I said.

"Jeez, you don't have to sound so relieved." Ruby mumbled.

"What was that?" I asked.

"N-nothing! Anyways, I meant I admire you as in you're what I always dreamed of being. The hero who comes in, saves the day and beats the bad guy." She said.

"Why are you apologizing for that?" I asked.

"I'm not. But I was also scared of you." Ruby said.

"Scared?" I asked.

"Well, you killed someone. You took a life. I was always taught that all life was precious, and that there was no excuse for killing. So when I found out you took a life, it...scared me." She said.

"But during my time at Beacon, I've learned that sometimes you can't help it. Sometimes there are situations where you can't avoid it, whether it be self defense or to save someone you care about." Ruby said.

"So, I'm sorry, this whole thing was just one big misunderstanding." She said with a bow.

"...Um, I didn't really notice it." I said.

"W-what?! Are you kidding me?! I had that whole speech planned and everything!" Ruby yelled.

"Heh, well I do appreciate the apology." I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Well, I got the general point across, didn't I?" She asked.

"Yeah, you just misunderstood my motives and all. It happens to the best of us." I said.

Ruby nodded and gave me a bright smile.

"Heh, guess I know where she got that from." I mumbled, remembering the same smile Summer gave me.

"What was that?" Ruby asked.

...I said that out loud?!

"N-nothing! Just thinking out loud is all!" I said nervously.

"Hmm, well okay then." Ruby said before yawning.

"Geez, I am tired. I must have lost track of time." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, it has gotten late." I said.

"We should probably get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Ruby said.

"Actually, I'll be heading out tomorrow." I said.

"Out? Where to?" She asked.

"Training trip." I said, trying to be as vague as possible.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"To prepare for the tournament." I said.

"But you don't have a full team." She said.

Shit!

"W-well, it never hurts to get some more training, right?" I asked.

"Hmm, I suppose that's true. Hey! How about I come with you?" Ruby asked.

"No!" I shouted, causing Ruby to move back a bit.

.

.

"Uh, I mean no. You should train here with your team, it's always good to have your friends close, am I right?" I asked.

"But you're my friend to you know." She said.

"I'm one guy. You'll get more training out of multiple people." I said.

"Hmm, I suppose that's true." Ruby said.

"See? Now, don't you need to go to sleep?" I asked.

"Who are you, my dad?" She asked.

"Just go to bed." I said.

Ruby chuckled before walking off.

I sighed and rubbed my temples with my hands.

"I hate to lie to ya Rubes. But this is for the best." I said.

"E-excuse me." I heard someone say.

I turned around to see none other than Amber herself, sitting in a wheel chair.

"Should you be out by yourself?" I asked.

"I'm not defenseless you know." She said.

"With the state you're in? I seriously doubt-." I began, only for smoke to start coming off of my head.

I look up to see that the front of my hat was completely engulfed in flames.

"Gah! What the hell?!" I yelled as I started to shake the hat to put the fire out.

"Told you." She said.

"Okay! You've made your point! Now put the fire out, this hat is expensive!" I yelled.

Amber chuckled and snapped her fingers, putting out the fire.

"I may not be as physically fit as I was, but that doesn't mean I've lost control of my powers." She said.

"I see your stutter is gone now." I said.

"It comes back from time to t-time. See? But it's been getting better." Amber said.

"Yeah, I can tell." I said.

"So, what's a child like yourself doing up so late at night?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. You did JUST wake up you know." I said.

"I was more curious about my savior than anything." Amber said.

"You're curious about me?" I asked.

"Of course! It's not everyday you get to see one of the twelve enchanted weapon users." She said.

"If you're me then you're seeing more of them everyday." I mumbled.

"What was that?" Amber asked.

"Nothing. So how old are you?" I asked.

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman her age?" She asked.

"I pulled a parasite out of your brain, bite me." I said.

"Fair enough, I'm twenty...well, it's been two years since I was last awake so I guess that makes me twenty two." Amber said.

Hmm, younger than I originally thought.

Then again, they DID say young women so I guess I shouldn't be to surprised.

"But I didn't come here to talk about me. I came here to know more about you." Amber said.

"Well can we at least sit down first?" I asked.

"I'm already sitting down." She said.

.

.

"Okay, smart ass! Can I sit down?!" I asked.

"Sure." Amber said with a chuckle.

Guess SOMEONE likes jokes!

"Okay, so what do you want to know first?" I asked as I sat down on a nearby bench.

"Well, first I want to know how a child like yourself got his hands on one of the enchanted weapons." Amber said.

Okay, what was the story again? Been awhile since I've told this story.

Hmm...oh, right.

"My dad gave it to me." I said.

"Oh! So you're father was the previous user?" Amber asked.

"Something like that, he cut off the contract after I was born and hit the road, leaving the sword in my mothers hands." I said.

"Why would he leave such a weapon behind like that?" She asked.

"Don't know, don't care." I said.

"You don't care? But he's your father, not only that but he's the previous wielder of Caliber!" Amber said.

 _ **"No he wasn't."**_ Caliber said.

Shut it, it's for the sake of our cover story.

"He lost all right to be my father when he left for fifteen years and never came back." I said.

Amber just sat there in silence before nodding.

"Very well, I can see that it is a sensitive subject for you. What did you mean by 'contract'?" Amber asked.

"Guess it's no surprise that you don't know about it. Really the only one's who do know about the contracts are spirit users." I said.

"A contract is a something a spirit makes with it's user. The spirit helps the user get it's one true desire, and in turn the spirit is allowed to run wild to it's hearts contents." I said.

"Interesting. What was your contract?" She asked.

"A persons contract is there own business hun." I said with a smirk.

"Oh! I guess that makes sense. Forgive me for prying." Amber said.

"Nah, you're fine." I said as I waved my hand.

Though before Amber could continue, she gripped her temples and groaned.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" I asked as I rushed over to Amber's side.

"N-no. I-it's fine. Just the pain is all. It fades after a few seconds." She said.

"We should probably get you to bed. You need to rest." I said as I started to push her chair.

"I've been asleep for quite some time already." She said.

"That was due to a toxin that was injected in your body. If anything you'll need more sleep than you ever did before." I said.

"It's that way." Amber said.

"Oh. I knew that." I said as I started to move towards where Amber was pointing.

"I can move by myself you know." She said.

"Well, I don't want to risk you passing out in the middle of Beacon so just enjoy the ride." I said.

.

.

"Amber?" I asked as I looked over at Amber.

Though as I looked down at her, she was completely out cold.

"Heh, told ya so." I said as I continued to walk down the courtyard of Beacon.

I continued to walk across the various fields of Beacon until I eventually stumbled across the medical wing of Beacon.

"Looks like this is your stop." I said as I entered the building.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Ah! Brandon! So good to see you." I heard Peach say as she walked up to the two of us.

"This belong to you?" I asked.

"Oh! Yes, I was wondering where she went. I'm gonna have to keep a closer eye on you." She said as she took the wheel chair.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair for now." I said as I started to walk away, though before I could, Peach grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey." She said.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"I just wanted to say, I'm really proud of what you did today. It makes me happy to see one of my best students learning from his experiences with me." Peach said.

"Heh, I learned from the best." I said.

"Oh stop!...I wasn't being serious, keep talking about how great my medical skills are." She said.

"Goodnight, Peach." I said as I walked off.

"Goodnight, Brandon." Peach said as she walked off with Amber in tow.

I walked out of the medical wing and gazed out into the night sky.

"Well, guess it's time to get packing." I said as I started to walk down into the dorm rooms.

I passed a few students who were getting ready for the festival, whether they be students I've yet to meet, or students I've met in the past.

Eventually, I made my way to my dorm room.

Well, guess now is a better time than any to start explaining myself to Neo.

I opened the door and started to mentally prepare myself for the barrage of questions that would follow once I had finished packing.

Though as I opened the door, the only thing I could see was Neo walking across the room wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her, her hair dripping wet.

.

.

Neo smirked and winked her right eye at me, causing me to close the door as fast as humanly possible.

My face was beat red as I scrambled for my scroll and started to rapidly type in it.

 **"What the hell?!"** My message to Neo said.

 **"Aw, is someone embarrassed?"** She asked.

 **"Where the hell are your cloths?!"** I said.

 **"In my drawer. I just got out of the shower, normal people typically don't wear anything while they bathe."** Neo said.

 **"You mean MY drawer?!"** I asked.

 **"Your drawer, my drawer. What's the difference?"** She asked.

Though before I could respond, she had already sent another reply.

 **"The answer there is none."** Neo said.

How the hell does she type so fast?

 **"Would you please put some cloths on already?!"** I asked.

 **"Aw, but wouldn't you like to see me in just this towel? Or perhaps you would rather see me in something more...revealing. ;)"** She said.

 **"I swear to god, I will melt the entire pantry of ice cream we have if I come in there and see you are buck ass nude!"** I said.

 **"Fine, fine. You're no fun today."** She said.

As she said this, I could hear the sound of foot steps coming from the other side of the door.

After a few seconds the foot steps stopped.

 **"Alright, I'm dressed."** Neo said.

 **"How do I know you're not messing with me?"** I asked.

After a few seconds, the door opened, causing me to fall over onto the ground.

I looked up to see that Neo had her crop top and her pants on.

"Thank you." I said as I got up and walked over to my bed.

 **"So...are you okay?"** She asked me.

"Well I'm not dead am I?" I asked.

 **"Well, I just heard from Roman that you and the Blondie had a encounter with the leader of the White Fang...What was his name again?"** She asked.

"Adam?" I said.

 **"Right! Adam!"** Neo said.

Though before she could continue our conversation, she looked to see that I was putting various supplies into my bag.

 **"What's with you?"** She asked.

"Hmm? Oh this? I'm going out for the break." I said.

 **"Out? Where?"** Neo asked.

Hmm, maybe I should refrain from telling her WHERE exactly I'm going. More than likely she'll follow me without realizing it and the last thing Summer wants is for more people to find out she's alive.

"Just heading out of the kingdom for the week. Not really staying in one specific spot." I said.

 **"Why are you going out of the kingdom to begin with? Aren't Grimm more common now with all the commotion going around?"** She asked.

"Exactly why I'm going." I began.

For some reason.

"This will be the perfect opportunity to sharpen my skills for Cinder's big plan." I said as I dug through my cabinets.

Gonna wanna take these.

I picked up a few dust crystals and placed them inside of my bag.

 **"I'll come with you then."** Neo said.

"No." I said as I continued to pack.

Neo blinked for a few seconds before typing her response in her scroll.

 **"Do you want to consider it?"** She asked.

"No." I simply said as I continued to pack.

 **"You'll be going out of the kingdom...alone."** Neo said.

"Yeah, I took that into consideration. Answer is still no." I said.

 **"...Okay, you've come up with a lot of stupid plans before, but this is by far the dumbest idea you've ever had."** She said.

"I know." I said.

 **"Then let me come with you!"** Neo said.

"I said it once and I'll say it again. No." I said.

 **"Why?! This is suicide!"** She said.

"I'll be fine." I said.

Damn it, I hate to lie to her, but no one else can find out about Summer.

...Wait, I don't HAVE to tell her about Summer, but I can tell her that I'm going with someone.

"I'll have backup." I said to her.

 **"Caliber doesn't count as backup."** Neo said.

 _ **"I strongly disagree."**_ Caliber said from within my head.

Shut it.

"It's not Caliber." I said as I gave her the letter that Summer gave me.

Neo tilted her head and grabbed the letter.

Her eye's moved from left to right as she continued to read, her eyes widening as she got further down.

 **"This is-."** Neo began to type.

"Yeah, it's from the wielder of Cronus. They want me to come with them for the break to train me." I said.

 **"Who are they?"** She asked me.

"That's the thing, they want to keep there identity a secret from everyone. The only reason why they revealed it to me is because it would be pretty awkward to train someone who didn't know who you were." I said.

Neo nodded before typing her response.

 **"Are they strong?"** Neo asked.

"Well they have a decade's worth of experience with the spirits so you tell me." I said.

Neo closed her eyes for a few moments before nodding.

 **"Alright, I won't follow you. But just try not to get yourself killed."** She said.

"I make no promises." I said.

Neo nodded before typing her response.

 **"So what do you want me to do while your away?"** Neo asked.

"Well first off I want you to help Roman in getting Cinder to spill the beans about Emerald and Mercury." I said.

 **"What else?"** She asked.

"I just need you to stay here just in case the Fang or Cinder tries anything on Vale." I said.

 **"Where will you be?"** Neo asked.

"...I'll tell you, but you CAN'T follow me. Got it?" I asked.

Neo nodded, causing me to walk over to the curtains and push them aside.

"I'm going over to that mountain." I said, pointing at the mountain Summer told me about.

Neo stared at the mountain before typing her response.

 **"Don't a lot of powerful Grimm nest in that mountain?"** She asked.

"Well that's there plan. They want to push me to my absolute limits." I said.

 **"Okay but how are you going to get passed the guards? We are on a lock down you know."** Neo said.

"I'm still thinking about that part." I said.

Neo looked skeptical, clenching her scroll in her hand.

"I'll be fine. I'll keep in touch okay?" I said.

She looked down at the ground before nodding.

 **"You better come back."** Neo said.

"I plan on it. Besides, I don't really plan on leaving till tomorrow." I said.

Neo nodded before yawning.

"Guess it's been a pretty long day for everyone, huh?" I asked.

Neo nodded and crawled into her bed.

I chuckled and turned off the lights.

As I laid in my bed, I couldn't help but think of the kind of training Summer had in store for me.

What could she teach me that Ozpin couldn't?

.

.

Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough. In the mean time, time to get some Z's.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"Ah!" Adam gasped as Naomi treated his wounds.

Naomi was just putting a new coat of disinfectant on Adam's cuts, along with a new pair of bandages.

"It should be done in a few moments." She said.

Adam nodded and splashed some water on his face.

"Tch, that woman." He said.

"Do you know of her?" Naomi asked.

"No, but knowing of her existence in this world is enough to put me on edge." Adam said, clenching his fist.

"Will she be a threat?" She asked.

"...For now, not yet. She only seemed interested in the boy." He said.

"You mean Mr. Kim?" Naomi asked.

"Yes she was only be a threat if-...Mr. Kim?" Adam asked.

"That is his last name, is it not?" She asked as she dabbed another dose of disinfectant into Adam's wounds.

"I'm...not sure. Was it?" He asked as he scratched his head.

"Rhetorical question, it is." Naomi said.

"How do you know that?" Adam asked.

"How anyone else figures out the names of the people around them. They ask." She said.

.

.

"What was he like?" He asked.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" Naomi asked.

"That women was clearly trying to protect him. He must be of value to her in some way. I want to know why someone so strong would be interested in that boy." Adam said.

"Well, if I had to make a hypothesis then I'd assume it had to do with those spirits they posses." She said.

"The spirits." He said.

"Indeed, perhaps these powers of their's have made some sort of connection between them." Naomi said.

"Those spirits aren't anything I've seen before. They're fast, strong, precise, and even sentient." Adam said.

"Sentient?" She asked.

"It was for brief moments, but it seemed like the child and the woman were talking to the spirits they possessed." He said.

"Interesting. It's as if they have another soul residing within them." Naomi theorized.

"Two souls in one body? You mean like the book the man with two souls?" Adam asked.

"Something like that. I've been meaning to read the sequel how. How is it?" She asked.

"It's not as good as the original in my opinion." He said.

"Interesting. I'll have to read it sometime." Naomi said.

"Well, the mission comes first." Adam said.

"Indeed. Now to answer your question, I am unable to make a generalized description of his personality due to my lack of contact with the boy, though given the proper circumstances-." She began to ramble.

"Naomi." He quickly stopped her before she could.

"I mean, he is...nice...for a human." Naomi said.

"Nice? He's been the source of most of our troubles for the last year. What made you think he's nice?" Adam asked.

"Well, he didn't attempt to attack us when we were standing guard at his cage." She said.

"That's because she couldn't, Naomi." He said.

"That may be true. But if he truly did resent us then why would he engage in conversation with us?" Naomi asked.

"You talked to him?" Adam asked.

"Correct." She said as she put down the disinfectant.

"What did he say?" He asked.

"Well, it varied between the Phantoms. Alerio said that he listened to him when he told him about the past of himself and his sister." Naomi said.

"While our conversation was short, it was one I am truly thankful for." She said.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

Naomi's only response was to pull out the ocarina that she had in her pocket.

"What does the rock you always carry around have to do with the conversation at hand?" Adam asked.

"This is more than just a rock. It is a flute of some sort." She said as she blew into it, causing a high pitched whistling to echo through the warehouse.

"Gah!" Adam grunted as he covered his ears.

"Oh, terribly sorry." Naomi said.

"Just don't do it again." He growled.

A few moments of silence passed before Adam broke the ice.

"What does this 'flute' have to do with him?" Adam asked.

"It's more than just a flute. It's a piece of my past." Naomi said.

"Your past?" Adam asked as he slowly turned to face Naomi.

"Yes, for the longest time I had come up with no logical explanation as to why I would keep this around with me. Now I know, it was something I made before my time at the facility." She said.

"And he helped you discover this piece of your past." He asked.

"It wasn't intentional. He just told me what it was, not that it was related to my past." Naomi said.

Adam just sat there as he processed this information.

"Then there was Ilia." She began.

"Ilia actually talked to that human?" He asked.

"It was surprising to me as well. Due to her past experiences with the humans I would have thought she wouldn't want to speak to them ever again." Naomi said.

"What did he tell her?" Adam asked.

"It was interesting to say the least. The boy told her about something called the Civil Rights Movement." She said.

"The Civil Rights Movement?" He asked.

"You would have to ask her about it. I do not remember all of the details of that conversation as my mind was else where at the time." Naomi said.

"What're you two talking about?" Adam and Naomi heard Alerio ask.

They turned there heads towards the source of his voice to see that Alerio, Aleria, Ilia, and Veronica were all walking towards them.

"Where's Osvaldo?" Adam asked.

"He's...relaxing." Alerio said.

.

.

"I'm sorry could you run that by me again?" He asked.

"No! I'm serious! Last I saw of him he was relaxing!" Alerio said.

Adam was about to question it, but decided it would be best to question the Faunus himself.

"What do you want?" Adam asked.

"Hey, we just wanted to see how our leader was holding up." Alerio said.

"I'm fine." He said.

"So what's on your mind?" Veronica asked.

"A lot of things." Adam said.

"Like what?" Aleria asked.

"Today, the kid, that woman, the spirits, everything." He said.

"Who was she?" Aleria asked.

"I don't know." Adam said.

"She had powers like that kid, right?" Alerio asked.

"Yes, while the woman's spirit didn't do exactly what the boy's spirit did, it still felt as if they were one of the same." He said.

"Well then it can't be a semblance, people don't share the same semblances. Even then it has minor tweeks to it." Aleria said.

"I'm not really familiar with this so called 'spirit' like you guys are. Mind filling me in?" Veronica asked.

"Well, these two people Adam encountered have these guardian angels of some sort. They protect there user from harm, give them special powers, and even help them during a fight." Aleria said.

"...What?" She asked.

"I know how stupid it sounds, but it's true. These guys aren't people you want to mess with. One of them managed to take down Adam...no offence." She said.

"None taken." Adam said.

"Whoa! Seriously?!" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, we only thought there was one of them, but now another one of them has showed up out of the blue." She said.

"There's no telling how many of them are out there. I thought this would be a clear cut problem with a clear cut solution, but that's only because I thought that kid was the only one." Adam said.

"And if the others are just as powerful as that woman, then we've got a serious problem on our hands." Aleria said.

A cold sweat started to form on Veronica's head.

.

.

"Ilia." Adam called out.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"What can you tell me about the Civil Rights Movement?" He asked.

"The what now?" Alerio asked as he turned to his sister.

"...Don't look at me! I don't know what he's talking about!" She said.

"Right, the human told me about it." Ilia said.

"What was he talking about?" Adam asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know if he's crazy or if he was lying." She said.

"What was it?" He asked once more.

"Hmm, I'll try to re tell it, but I'm a bit fuzzy." Ilia said as she cleared her throat.

"If what he told me was correct, then the Civil Rights Movement was a mass movement to secure rights for these group of people so that they have equal access to and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of citizenship." She started to explain.

"So it was a fight for equality?" Adam asked, now interested in what she had to say.

"Not a fight, so to say. They didn't actually spill any blood, these groups of men and women, along with the people of the opposite race organized and led the movement at national and local levels. They pursued their goals through negotiations, petitions, and nonviolent protest demonstrations." Ilia said.

"So they didn't actually fight for there freedom?" Aleria asked.

"No, they asked for it." She said.

"Yeah? Well how'd that turn out for em because CLEARLY that worked for us." Alerio said sarcastically.

"Actually, it worked." Ilia said.

"...What?" Everyone except for Naomi asked.

"The Civil Rights Movement was largest social movement in his kingdom. It influenced the modern women's rights movement and the student movement." She said.

"How the hell did they...Wait, wait, wait. Even women had trouble gaining equality at the kids kingdom?!" Aleria asked.

"That's what he said." Ilia said.

"...Damn, what a bunch of assholes. Faunus weren't enough so they had to drag women into it?" Alerio asked.

"Jeez." Veronica said.

"The civil rights movement centered on the South part of his kingdom. That was where the population was concentrated and where racial inequality in education, economic opportunity, and the political and legal processes was most blatant." She explained.

"Even education?!" She asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised to." Ilia said.

"So what did his kingdom do about it?" Aleria asked.

"The counsel and local governments passed segregation laws, known as Jim Crow laws; they also imposed restrictions on voting qualifications that left the black population economically and politically powerless." She said.

"The what laws?" Alerio asked.

"Um... Oh! Right! It was a law that mandated the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for the two races." Ilia said.

"They couldn't even drink from a fountain?!" Alerio asked.

"Why is THAT the one thing you're surprised at?!" Aleria asked.

"How can I not! I mean, it's a drinking fountain for Monty's sake! How are you gonna make TWO separate drinking fountains?! Not even Vale or Vacuo or...ANY of the kingdoms do that!" He yelled.

"What else did he tell you?" Adam asked.

"That was all he really told me. In the end they did get the rights they wanted." Ilia said.

"There has to be more to it than just that." Adam said.

"Do you believe him?" She asked.

"I'm not saying that. Though if this were a lie, what would he have to benefit from it?" He asked.

"But it's sounds impossible! There have only been four kingdoms! Vale, Vacuo, Atlas and Mistral! None of these kingdoms deal with problems like these!" Aleria said.

"But if this were a lie, it would be one VERY specific lie. Even you said he didn't tell you everything he knew about this movement." Alerio said.

"Still, I would have thought the counsel would have found a fifth kingdom out in Remnant." Naomi said.

"You'd think the counsel would do a lot of things." Aleria growled.

Though before the group could continue there conversation, the sound of footsteps cut them off.

"What do we have here?" A female voice asked.

The figure was revealed to be Cinder Fall, as well as her two right hand men, Mercury and Emerald.

"Tch, what do you want?" Adam growled.

"I am simply here to congratulate you on your successful operation. Though from the looks of it you ran into some...difficulties." She said as she stared at Adam's wounds.

"Tch." He said.

"Would you care to enlighten me on how you got such wounds?" Cinder asked.

"...It was one of them." Adam said.

"...One of who?" She asked.

"The spirits. It was one of them." He said.

"Spirits? Did this child that has been causing you so much trouble get the better of you?" Cinder asked.

"No, the child was no trouble to me. It was that woman." Adam said.

"Woman?" She asked as she raised her right eyebrow.

"She was...infuriating!" He said.

"It was as if she were toying with me! I wasn't even able to land a single strike on her!" Adam said.

"Seriously?" Mercury asked.

"Now, now Mercury. Let's hear what Mr. Taurus has to say before we make our judgment." Cinder said before turning her head towards Adam.

"What did this woman look like?" She asked.

Adam closed his eyes and started to remember what the woman who did this to him looked like.

"She had long black and red hair. She was tall, maybe as tall as I am. Then there was that sword, that burning red sword." He said as he clenched his fist.

"Doesn't that kinda sound like the drunk?" Mercury whispered to Emerald.

"That was a man! This is a female we're talking about!" Emerald said.

"Hmm, what weapon did she wield?" Cinder asked.

"A katana. Unlike any other katana I've seen before." Adam said.

Cinder pinched her chin for a moment before it finally hit her.

"This woman. Could you possibly be talking about Raven Branwen?" She asked.

"Who?" Alerio asked.

"Raven Branwen...Yes, I remember the child saying that name once he saw the woman." Adam said.

"Who?" Aleria asked.

"So Raven Branwen is here. This could be troubling." Cinder said.

"Who?" Emerald and Mercury asked.

"Let's go you two. I hope your recovery is smooth and successful." She said as she walked out of the warehouse.

Adam grunted and turned away from her.

Emerald and Mercury ran up to there boss, a few questions plaguing there minds.

"Who's this Raven chick?" Mercury asked.

"Raven Branwen is the twin sister of the famous Qrow Branwen." She said.

"You mean that drunk we fought in the forest?" He asked.

"Indeed." Cinder said.

"From what Adam said she had the same powers as Brandon." Emerald said.

"...Tell me, are you two familiar with the tale of the twelve enchanted weapons?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah?" Mercury said.

"Well, what if I were to tell you that the weapons were real?" She asked.

"...Wait, do you think Brandon is one of-?!" He began.

"Indeed. I had my doubts at fist. But now I can say with one hundred percent certainty that Brandon is one of the twelve enchanted weapon users." Cinder said.

"...Well damn." Mercury said.

"Yeah." Emerald said, equally as shocked as her partner.

"And from the looks of it, Raven Branwen just so happens to be one of those wielders as well." She said.

"Is that going to be a problem?" He asked.

"Dealing with the child wouldn't be so troubling to our plan. He is still only learning the basics of what his spirit is fully capable of. But Raven? That is someone I would like to avoid fighting at the moment. She has decades worth of experience with the spirits." Cinder said.

"What should we do?" Emerald asked.

"Hmm...for now, we stay the course. As long as she doesn't interfere with our plans than all should go fairly smoothly." She said.

"Wait, you said there were twelve, but you only mentioned two. Where are the other ten?" Mercury asked.

"Excellent question, Mercury. But to be honest, I don't even know if the weapons have wielders." Cinder said.

"So what you're saying is...we could possibly have twelve serious problems on our hands." He said.

Though before Cinder could respond, a sudden jolt went down her spine, stopping her in her tracks.

"Cinder?" Emerald called out.

"No. That isn't possible." She said, a cold sweat starting to form on her forehead.

"W-what's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh this isn't good, this is really not what I needed right now." Cinder said.

"Cinder?" Emerald called out.

"Yes?" She asked.

"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked.

"Well, you know that parasite I used to drain Amber of her power?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Mercury asked.

"Well, before Qrow eventually stepped into stop the draining process, I quickly planted the bug inside of Amber so that it would not only keep her out of trouble, but it would also allow me to track it to it's exact location." She said.

"Okay, so what's the problem?" He asked.

"Well...it's gone now." She said.

.

.

"What?!" Emerald and Mercury asked.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

The next day came pretty quickly, this was the day I was supposed to meet Summer for her little training exercise.

I'm not entirely sure what this training she has in mind will involve.

She must be pretty confident in this training if she thinks this will turn me into a so called "Force of Nature" in a week.

I was walking down the streets of Vale, my bag over my shoulder as I headed towards the walls that kept the Grimm out of the main city.

Neo had followed our agreement and stayed back at Beacon academy.

How do I know that she isn't just following me while using a disguise to hide from me?

Well, I may not be able to sense her or see through her disguise, I have Caliber to make sure Neo doesn't follow us.

He's fairly good at sensing the presence and aura's of others.

Fortunately for me, no one I knew seemed to be following me at the moment. Hopefully it stays that way until we can get to the checkpoint that leads to the other side of the walls.

Be pretty awkward of someone I knew saw me hanging around someone who looked identical to Ruby.

Yeah, I don't even want to think of THAT conversation.

You know, if the one person who found me just so happened to be Ruby, Yang, or Qrow.

I'm mainly worried about Qrow because clearly he and Summer have some sort of past together.

Whether it because they're lovers or something a little more deeper is beyond me.

Though if it's because they were lovers, then why did Qrow leave Ruby with Tai and Yang?

Qrow has to be the father in this situation because I seriously doubt Tai would be the kind of guy to have an affair with someone.

Then again the only scenes I did see of Tai were the one's at the end of volume three.

Though he seemed like a fairly nice guy to me.

From the looks of it him and Qrow have some sort of bad blood with each other.

Maybe it has something to do with Raven.

Speaking of which, that's another person I need to be careful around.

I know she won't try to kill me...at least for now. Hopefully it stays this way.

I'm mainly worried of what she'll try to do if she finds out that Summer is still alive.

From what I've gathered all of the members of team STRQ didn't exactly leave on good terms.

Summer...well died.

Tai got dumped twice by his own teammates and was left with the kids, more than likely having to pay full child support for two children.

Raven left to go join a murder gang.

Qrow...not really sure what he did but he must have done something.

Maybe I can narrow it down when I have my chat with Raven and Summer.

Now that I think about it, I've talked with Qrow, Summer, and Raven...to an extent but still, we talked.

All that's left is to talk to Tai and get his side of the story.

Though considering the one thing keeping me from talking to him is a giant pool of water, I'll probably have to wait a little while before I can actually do that.

I doubt his story will be any different when it comes to there time at Beacon, but when it comes to Raven herself, I'm sure he knows a great deal.

After a few more minutes of walking, the view of the checkpoint leading to the outside of Vale was now in my field of vision.

Now time for the most tricky part of this plan.

Convincing the guards to let me leave in the first place.

Ever since the breach the kingdom has been on lock down, no one comes in and no one comes out.

That was before the jail break, now the security is even tighter than before.

Hell, I've heard that huntsmen and huntresses aren't even allowed to leave to go on jobs outside of the kingdoms.

So convincing them to let a kid out of the kingdoms are gonna next to impossible.

Luckily for me, there's only one guard.

If he's a stupid one I can easily persuade him into letting me out.

I walked over the guard who was currently reading one of the Vale's local newspapers.

Who the hell uses newspapers anymore?

"Uh, excuse me." I said, causing the guard to put down the paper.

"Hmm? Oh, hey kid. What'd you want?" The guard asked.

"Just passing by." I said.

"Okay, well then how about you move on ahead. I'm a bit busy at the moment." He said.

"Busy? You're sitting in a chair doing nothing." I said.

"Welcome to the life of a security guard. Most of our time is spent doing jack shit." He said.

"Well I can't argue with that logic." I said.

"So is there a reason why you're still here, bugging me?" He asked.

"Uh...I wanna get past." I said as I pointed at the gate.

The guard looked at me, then looked at the gate, then back at me.

"...Yeah, give me ONE good reason why I should." He said.

"Well, I wonder how your boss would react if he knew you were sleeping on the job." I said.

"Okay, one, I'm not sleeping, I'm just not doing anything. Two, he already knows I sleep, why do you think we have that?" The guard asked as he pointed at a bed that was on the other side of the booth he was in.

"Jeez, I've heard the term of sleeping at work but this is just ridiculous." I said.

"Meh, I don't mind. Sleep is sleep, and I LOVE me some sleep." He said before turning his head towards me.

"So why don't you stop bothering me, and go bother someone else for a change?" He asked.

Tch, this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.

Maybe I should use a more direct approa-.

Though my thought process was cut off as a figure appeared from behind the security guard and slammed his head against the desk, knocking him out.

.

.

"Uh." I began as I gazed at the unconscious man.

"Well, he was quite the rude one if I do say so myself." I heard Summer say from the other side of the booth.

"Could have done that sooner." I said.

"I could have, but I wanted to see how well you did in these types of situations." She said as she typed a code onto the console, causing the door to open.

"Glad to see you actually came." Summer said as she walked out of the booth.

"Kinda hard to refuse an offer like that." I said.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said, scratching the back of her head.

"So, where to?" I asked.

Summer walked out towards the other side of the wall and pointed at the same mountain she did last night.

"We're going to head to the top of that mountain. I'll tell you the rest as we make our way up." She said.

"What about him?" I asked.

"Oh he should be up in a few minutes, I didn't hit him that hard." Summer said.

I looked at the unconscious man before shrugging my shoulders and making my way towards Summer.

"Well, let's get going. They're bound to have noticed the unauthorized access to the doors by now." She said as she started to walk into the forest.

"Yeah, let's head out. There's a lot more I want to ask you." I said as I followed Summer into the forest.

"Well, I've got all the time in the world." Summer said.

.

.

"Grif!" A rough and gruff voice said.

.

.

"Grif!" He yelled once more, causing the newly named Grif to jolt awake.

"Bah! W-what?!" He asked.

"What the hell are you doing opening the doors?! We were given strict orders to keep these suckers under locks!" The voice said.

"H-huh?!" Grif asked as he stared at the newly opened doors.

"What in the hell were you thinking?!" He asked.

"N-no! They were closed when I last saw them I swear!" He said.

"No excuses! I want your ass back to base pronto! That's an order!" The voice said.

"Ugh, yes Sarge." Grif grumbled as he closed the doors and walked out of the booth.

"Tch, I don't see him yelling at Simmons like this." He said.

* * *

 **Aaaand that's a wrap.**

 **Summer has temporarily taken me under her wing and we're currently heading to the top of the Mountain she had mentioned.**

 **Turns out that the falling out of team STRQ is a lot more complicated than I originally expected.**

 **Still, maybe I can piece together this elaborate puzzle.**

 **Now all that's left to do is prepare for the big day.**

 **Hopefully Roman and Neo can do something about Emerald and Mercury while I'm gone.**

 **But that's a story for another time. Let's get to the reviews.**

 **Review Responses**

 **Something321: Nah, a reviews a review. Doesn't matter the length.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: It's not that hard to keep secret. I mean all I've gotta do is keep my mouth shut about my world and I'm set.**

 **Cinderfall201: Well the A.I was based off of the spider man A.I.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Glad you think so.**

 **xanothos: I'll go into specifics later.**

 **rocketmce: Well, if you didn't see it coming, then I'm still good at surprising you guys.**

 **CraazyReader:**

 **1\. I re wrote the Amber section. Being a cut scene would imply that this is a game of some sort.**

 **2\. That was for this chapter and the ones to follow.**

 **CraazyReader: Some people like long fights, some people don't. It's a matter of taste in my opinion. I saw the fight between Adam and Raven as a long one because Raven didn't need to even try during most of it. She was just taunting Adam.**

 **Million Arthur The Yuri King:**

 **1\. I agree.**

 **2\. I plan on changing that in this fic. Think like Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty.**

 **3...No comment.**

 **4\. Yeah.**

 **5\. Who?**

 **6\. Just a flesh wound.**

 **7\. I'm sorry?**

 **8\. Isn't that for men though?**

 **9\. Knock knock, open up the door its real!**

 **10\. Indeed.**

 **11\. You mean Kali? And what about her?**

 **12\. With what?**

 **13\. From what?**

 **14\. Indeed.**

 **15\. I make no promises.**

 **16\. So did everyone else.**

 **17\. Summer is 38. Brandon is eight teen...I can't even begin to describe how wrong that would be.**

 **19\. Maybe.**

 **20\. No.**

 **21\. Indeed.**

 **22\. Literally.**

 **23\. It got more like that scene after the recent rewrite I just did.**

 **24\. That's a good name.**

 **25\. The spirits.**

 **26\. Summer is British?...I like that idea.**

 **27\. I like tea.**

 **Energy Dragon Slayer: I know, I'm terrible.**

 **olTran: Glad you think so.**

 **TheoMidnight: Thanks! Glad you liked it.**

 **Donovan: Bite me.**

 **fanficcyberman: That sounds like something Nora would do, not Brandon.**

 **Shadoki: Maybe.**

 **AmethystPone: It's not Excalibur.**

 **AmethystPone:...Why would he realize that?**

 **AmethystPone: Yeah, let me make a Naruto crossover like half of every fanfic writer on the planet.**

 **AmethystPone: I know the difference between a Psychopath and a Sociopath.**

 **AmethystPone: That's why it's not becoming canon in this story.**

 **SMV Aria2: It's his way of reviewing the chapter.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Glad to hear.**

 **AmethystPone: That seems to simple.**

 **AmethystPone: It's part of his weakness. Once he actually discovered he could actually use the arm his cockiness skyrocketed through the roof, putting him in bad situations. It's for a writing purpose.**

 **AmethystPone: Difference between catching and deflecting.**

 **GOH426: Yeah, the tale of the various wars back on earth will be an eye opener for a lot of people in this fic.**

 **luluvibritania: I died, I went into the void, I came back, I wound up in a world that isn't supposed to be real and met a character that was only mentioned of...every other Monday am I right?**

 **AmethystPone: Later.**

 **luluvibritania: Nope, no portals for him.**

 **luluvibritania: Oh how wrong you are my good sir.**

 **luluvibritania: I know lots of fics that do that with there Omakes.**

 **luluvibritania: Yeah, it's not like there's a huntsmen that specifically does solo missions...certainly not one with the name of a bird.**

 **luluvibritania: I realize that now, and it's been established that Brandon isn't exactly what you would call intelligent. Clever sure, but not really intelligent. I'm also just going by what the games do.**

 **luluvibritania: Changes do eventually happen, they just take some time is all.**

 **luluvibritania: Actually, taking Jaune out of JNPR would change the story. Pyrrha and Jaune wouldn't have that connection, Jaune wouldn't have his teacher, and he would never have learned how to stick up for himself.**

 **Doing something as big as that just for the sake of laughs is bad story telling.**

 **SPDefender: Believe me, sometimes this shit is hard.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Interesting.**

 **Guest: As a pairing or parent/child chapter. If pairing then abosultely not, if the other than yeah, I can do that.**

 **Greatazuredragon: That's why I specifically referred to the WEST COAST.**

* * *

 **Omake: Best friends forever (Non-canon)**

"Guess Raven beat me to the punch." She said.

"Yeah." I said.

"So what did she say to you?" Summer asked.

"Well, she didn't really have a whole lot of time to say anything. She just said that we'd be talking again soon." I said.

"Sounds like her." She said.

"...What was she like?" I asked.

"Well, she was like a sister to me...in a way." Summer said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, she was very...skeptical towards some of my other friends." She said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well..."

* * *

 _25 years ago._

 _Today was Summer's birthday, so to celebrate she had invited over a group of her friends._

 _"Today was my birthday party._ _It was so moving I cried!" Summer sang._

 _"I had a super happy good time, u_ _ntil most of my best friends died." She sang as Raven stood over the corpses of her friends, Masamune dripping with blood._

 _"So I ran into the bedroom w_ _here there was still some folks alive!"_

 _"We had a pajama jammy pillow fight!_ _But tragically no one survi-ee-ived." Summer sang as Raven stood over the corpses of Summers friends with a bloodied pillow in her hands_

 _"Hey there Raven Branwen!"_

 _"We're awesome together!"_

 _"You know that I'm not lying!"_

 _"Best friends forever!" Summer sang as Raven pressed her sword against her throat._

 _"But if you wouldn't mind, there's..._ _One thing I'd like to request."_

 _"It'd sure be great if you could please stop m_ _urdering all of my other friends." She sang as Raven stood over the corpses of Summers other friends._

 _"That's a dick move, bro._ _Dick move." Summer said._

 _"This morning at the dog park,_ _I met a cool new bunch of guys!"_

 _"Now we're hanging out together a_ _nd everything...damn it, Raven!" She yelled as Raven killed all of Summers new friends._

 _"A few deaths I could look past, a_ _t three hundred I was concerned!" She sang as she looked through a list of Raven's kills._

 _"Fifty thousand murders later_ _I'm starting to think you will never lea-a-earn." Summer sang as Raven killed her psychiatrist._

 _"Hey there Raven Branwen!"_

 _"Just always remember!"_

 _"T_ _hrough the good times and the homicides, we're b_ _est friends forever!"_

 _"I think that I can solve our problem!" She sang._

 _"Meet your new friend, Tai Yang!" Summer sang._

 _"I know you guys will get along great, e_ _xcept for the fact you just murdered him." Raven said as she stabbed Tai Yang.  
_

 _"Really, Raven?_ _During the chorus?" She asked as Raven drove over Tai's corpse._

 _"Heh. I can't stay mad at you." She said._

 _"Our rock jams! w_ _e'll reign supreme!" Summer sang!_

 _"As long as you don't stab me, w_ _e'll be a legendary team!" She sang._

* * *

"And that's how Raven and I became best friends." Summer said.

.

.

"Wait, if Tai died then how did Yang come to be?" I asked.

"Some of the parts of that story might have been made up." She said.

Suddenly, Raven appeared behind Summer with her blade drawn.

"Raven, what are you doing? What is that?" She asked as she stared at Raven's sword.

"Is that a sword? Oh, it's a sword."

"I can tell by the way it's stabbing me." Summer said as Raven stabbed her through the chest.

"Sigh. Good talk buddy." She said as she died for the second time in her life.

* * *

 **Summer Rose**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 158 lbs**

 **Age: 38**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: A**

 **Semblance: Weapon Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Agnus and Lupus**

 **Appearance:**

 **Agnus: She** **wears a white trench coat with a hood of some sort with a blue aura coming off from the bottom of the coat, various jewelry dawning the coat.**

 **She wets long black dress jeans with boots of some sort, along with** **a pair of leather gloves.**

 **Though the most noticeable part was her outfit was curved top hat she wore on her head, and a mask of some sort covering her face.**

 **Lupus: Lupus wears a lot more armor than his sibling, his helmet looking like some sort of demon head, horns and everything.**

 **He dawns demon like armor on his chest, arms, and his lower legs, the center of his chest glowing with a blood red aura.**

 **He wears a pair of red loose clothed shorts with a belt wrapped around it, he also dawns some sort of sash around his waste.**

 **Agnus**

 **Destructive Power: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Lupus**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: D**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: D**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: D**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 77**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 55**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 41**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 22**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	50. The Mountain

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Mountain"

Thought: _'The Mountain'_

Flashback: _"The Mountain"_

 _(My POV)_

It's been at least a good thirty minutes ever since we left Vale, and so far Summer hasn't really said anything ever since we left the gate. All she's done is walk up and down various trees, rocks and hills in complete silence with her massive scythe resting on her shoulder.

Seriously, would have thought she would have told me what exactly we were doing.

 _ **"She did say that she would teach you how to properly use your new found powers."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, because that's clearly such a narrow spectrum of possible answers. I'd like to know what exactly I'm going to be doing for the next week.

 _ **"Be patient, my boy."**_ He said.

Fine, but I would at least like to know where exactly we're going. I mean why did she pick this mountain out of all the mountains around Vale?

 _ **"We will get our answers in time. The Reaper wouldn't have picked this location without a reason."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, I suppose your... wait, The Reaper?

 _ **"I thought it would have been fitting due to the massive scythe she wields and the cloak she bears."**_ He said.

Then why don't you call Ruby that? She has a bug ass scythe and wears a cloak.

 _ **"While that may be true, she does not go all across the vast continents of Remnant slaying Grimm, Outlaws, Bandits, and Rogue Huntsmen."**_ Caliber said.

...Okay you have a point there, I guess the name "The Reaper" is pretty fitting for her.

 _ **"Indeed. A mysterious cloaked figure wondering the world in search of sinners, carrying out justice wherever they may go."**_ He said.

Guess I can see why Ruby looks up to her mother in a way.

 _ **"I disagree."**_ Caliber said.

What do you mean?

 _ **"The Reaper that The Rose looks up goes by the name of 'The Mother', a kind, warm, gentle, and nurturing creature that will take care of her kin until it is time for them to leave the nest. The Reaper is a person that hunts down those who sin in this world, slaying them with out mercy."**_ He said.

So that means... what exactly?

 _ **"Just think of it like this, my boy. She has two spirits, the spirit of Mercy, Agnus, and the Spirit of Brutality, Lupus. She is the very embodiment of death itself. It can be soothing, peaceful, sometimes nurturing. But it can also be cruel, merciless, and terrifying."**_ Caliber said.

Wow...didn't really look at it that way. Wonder what Ruby would do if she ever found out that Summer was still alive.

...Actually, it's not really that hard to figure out. She'd more than likely look for her mother, even if it meant searching to the ends of the earth...or Remnant in this case.

"Hey, watch your step." I heard Summer say, breaking me out of my daze.

"Huh? What do you meaaAAAAAAAAN!" I yelled as I fell off of the edge of a near by cliff.

Though before I could get too far away from the edge of the cliff, Caliber's arm appeared from my shoulder and quickly grabbed the edge.

"Gah! Jesus!" I yelled as I stared at the far ground bellow.

 _ **"Fool! You could have gotten us killed!"**_ Caliber yelled.

"Hey! You were the one distracting me! Why the hell didn't you warn me that I was about to walk off of a freaking cliff?!" I asked.

Summer giggled and leaned over towards the edge of the cliff.

"Wow! That was some pretty fast reaction time! Only time I've seen speed like that is with Raven's spirit, Masamune." She said.

Though before I could say anything else, the stone from the cliff started to crack under Caliber's iron grip.

"Just help me up already!" I yelled.

"Okay, okay. Give me your hand." Summer said, holding her hand out.

I nodded and grabbed Summer's hand. I was expecting her to have some trouble pulling me up, but she pulled me up as if I were as light as feathers.

"Let's keep moving. Times a wasting!" She said.

"You know, you're pretty strong for someone your size...no offense." I said.

"None taken. I get that a lot. Also what did you expect from a woman who carry's a scythe the size of her body around all day long?" Summer asked.

"Can't argue with that logic." I said as I got up.

"Besides." She said as she put her hand on my head.

"I'm still taller than you." Summer said, walking down the path.

"I'm still taller than you." I mimicked as I followed Summer.

We continued to follow the path that led up to the top of the mountain. We were so high up that I could see all of Vale including Beacon from up here.

"Damn, now that's what I call a view." I said with a whistle.

"Yeah. I used to come here all the time while growing up in Vale." Summer said.

"You come here with the team?" I asked.

"You mean Tai, Qrow and Raven, right?" She asked.

"Well those were the people who were on your team, right?" I asked, causing Summer to nod.

"Then there's your answer." I said.

"Well, I used to come here with the guys all the time before we started to go to Beacon." Summer said.

"What about Raven?" I asked.

"She was...a little bit hard to convince. But she eventually came around during our time at Beacon." She said.

"Heh, guess two you two had a rough start, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah." Summer said, her smile turning into a frown.

Guess it's a bit to personal for everyone.

Summer just stood there in silence as she gazed upon Beacon tower that stood a top the hill top like a shining beacon of hope.

The hell do I say for a situation like this?

"Uh...S-sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or anything." I said.

"No. It's fine, it's just hard not to think about sometimes. Even after ten years." Summer said as she continued to walk.

.

.

"Okay, I know you're trying to be all mysterious and all that. But can you at least tell me where we're going?" I asked.

Summer turned around but still kept her steady pace and pointed up to the air.

"We're going to the top of the mountain." She said.

"Okay, but what exactly is at the top of the mountain?" I asked.

"It's a surprise." Summer said.

"...Okay, look. Training with Ozpin tends to give you a paranoia for any known surprises." I said.

"I know. Raven was my partner after all... then again she was always so uptight." She said.

"Well can you at least give me a hint or something?" I asked.

Summer pinched her chin for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, if you insist. We're going to go see an old friend of mine." She said.

"I thought you said you didn't want anyone knowing about your existence." I said.

"He doesn't really get out a whole lot these days." Summer said.

"When was the last time you saw him?" I asked.

"Hmm...about twenty years ago." She said.

"...Well how the hell do you know they're still even here?!" I asked.

"Oh trust me, I would have known if he got out." Summer said.

"The hell's that supposed to mean? You make it sound like he's a prisoner of some sort." I said.

"Well, you're not completely wrong." She said.

...Well this didn't help me in the slightest, if anything I'm even more confused.

"So, what kind of training will we be doing all the way up here?" I asked.

"You'll just have to wait and find out." Summer said with a smirk.

"Tch, fine. Be that way." I grumbled as I continued to walk.

After a good ten minutes, I was starting to get slightly impatient.

"Okay, how much further is this 'friend' of yours?!" I asked.

"Don't worry. We're almost there." Summer said.

Sure enough, we had finally reached the summit of the mountain.

"Jeez, it's about time." I said, walking up to the summit.

Though as I made my way to the top, the sight of a cave stopped me in my tracks.

"...We're going in there, aren't we?" I asked.

Summer nodded and started to walk into the cave with a lighter in her hand.

I sighed and ran after the white cloaked woman.

As I entered the cave, I could see Summer lighting various torches that lead down the cave.

"Hello?" I said, my voice echoing throughout the cave.

"Anyone home?" I asked.

Though before I could call out again, the sound of a loud snarl stopped me in my tracks.

"...Okay, I'm j-just gonna wait out here. Your friend clearly doesn't like visitors." I said nervously as I started to walk out of the cave.

"Don't worry." Summer said, halting my progress.

Don't worry? Yeah! No need to be worried about the loud ass snarl that just came from the inside of the cave.

"He won't hurt you." She said.

"Yeah? Well HE says otherwise!" I said.

"Okay, let me rephrase that, he CAN'T hurt you." Summer said.

"You sure about that?" I asked.

"Trust me. If he tries anything I'll see to it that it's the last move he makes." She said as she continued to walk down the cave.

Well, let's see who...or what Summer is keeping in here.

As we drew deeper and deeper into the cave, the cold snarling sound became all the more loader, each snarl sending shivers up my spine.

"We're almost here." Summer said with a serious look on her face.

"Y-yeah." I said.

We kept walking for a few more seconds before Summer came to a complete stop.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Hello old friend." Summer said, her left eye glowing with a silver aura.

As soon as she said this, a mixture of red and silver lights blinded my vision.

It took a few minutes for me recover from the light, but once I did, the thing I saw in front of me scared the living day lights out of me.

"W-what the hell?!" I yelled.

It was an enormous winged creature, with large red bat-like wings, a pair of legs and a tail. The red membrane of the wing is translucent. It had rough black skin, with white bone-like spines along its body, including an external skull, rib cage and rows of dorsal spikes.

It also had three bony spikes on its tail and large claws on its hind legs. Its skull has a pair of large prominent horns and six yellow-red eyes. Its jaw has teeth extending down along the creature's neck, beyond its skull, such that its entire neck also opens when it roars.

Though the most noticeable part was the stone body it had, it's upper head the only thing that wasn't stone.

The stone itself had strange silver patterns on it, the patterns were glowing with a silver aura.

"Brandon. Meet my old friend, the Grimm Dragon." Summer said.

"...What. The. Hell?!" I yelled.

"Must be quite the shock I assume." She said.

"Y-yeah, that's one way to describe it." I said as I got up from off of the ground.

The Dragon growled as it's eyes moved towards Summer's silver eye, the snarling itself making the cave shake.

"Jeez, someones angry." I said.

"Well, sitting in a cave a lone for twenty years tends to do that to a lot of Grimm." Summer said, her left eye still glowing silver.

"So...did you do this?" I asked.

"Twenty years ago. Still remember the incident like it was yesterday." She said as she sat down in front of the dragon.

"I'll tell you about it. Sit." Summer said, patting the spot next to her.

"No, I'll stand." I said.

"Fair enough." She said as she began to recall the tale.

"It was just supposed to be a regular old mission for team STRQ. We had all agreed to take a request from the village on the other side of the mountain we're sitting in." Summer said.

"It was after the Vytal tournament, it was supposed to be a way to clear Raven's mind." She said.

"I'm assuming Qrow told you about what happened at our Vytal tournament, right?" Summer asked.

"Briefly. He just told me that Raven saw the tournament as the perfect opportunity to pass Masamune's test." I said.

"Well, it goes a bit deeper than that." She said.

"Let me ask you something. Do you know what 'Evolution' is?" Summer asked.

"Uh, yeah? It's when something develops from it's earlier form and takes on a new form." I said.

"What would you do if I told you that this concept also applies to the Spirits?" She asked.

"...What?" I asked.

 _ **"Ah! So it's time for this conversation."**_ Caliber said.

"The hell are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, the spirits are able to undergo an evolution, allowing the spirits to gain new, unimaginable powers." She said.

"That so?" I asked.

"Indeed, it's what drove Raven to get stronger. She dreamed in one day achieving this evolution." Summer said.

"Even after twenty five years. No dice, huh?" I asked.

"Hah, yeah." She said.

"What about you? You seem like you've got your life together." I said.

"Heh, I guess I can see why Raven was having so much trouble." Summer said.

"So, even you?" I asked.

"Yep." She said.

Wonder what I have to do to achieve evolution.

"Hey, Caliber? What do I need to do to get this evolution thing going?" I asked.

 _ **"..."**_ He remained silent.

"Caliber?" I asked.

 ** _"Why not perfect the techniques you already have before moving onto more advanced lessons?"_** He asked.

"Fair point." I said.

"It was always Raven's dream to become the strongest, and she was certain that that power would be the key she needed to achieve that goal." Summer said.

"Her drive and passion in a way, was her greatest strength. But it was also her biggest weakness, and weakness is not a word Raven is particularly fond of." She said, her gaze saddening.

"So...the dragon." I said.

"Oh! Right, guess we got a little off topic there. Where was I? Oh yes, it was just supposed to be a simple patrol mission. Clear out some Grimm and make sure the citizens of the town stayed safe." She said.

"But then he showed up." Summer said as he gazed upon the Grimm Dragon.

"It was so sudden, we were barely prepared to face this beast in the first place." She said.

"We had called in reinforcements to assist us, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The Dragon would have killed everyone by then." Summer said.

"What about Raven? She was the wielder of Masamune at the time, right?" I asked.

"While that may be true, she was a far cry from what she is today when it comes to strength." She said.

"No matter how many Grimm we killed, ten more took it's place. We were out numbered." Summer said.

"It got to the point where we were all beaten. Our aura's were shattered, and we were low on ammunition." She said.

"People were dying, screaming. My teammates were dying. I just...snapped." Summer said.

"Snapped?" I asked.

"I'm sure you're wondering about my silver eye's." She said.

"That's one of the many questions I have, yes." I said.

"Well, Remnant is full of legends, stories, and folklore. Some were made for the sole purpose of inspiring children, while others are actual true tales." Summer said.

"Let me tell you one legend that goes back before the huntsmen, before the kingdoms." She said.

"You mean like the spirits?" I asked.

"Yes, like the spirits." Summer said before turning towards the dragon.

"It was said that people born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered were afraid of these silver eye'd warriors." She said.

"They were the ideal warrior. Strong, fearless, with a strong sense of leadership." Summer said.

"It was said that just a single stare from one of these warriors would be able to strike a Grimm down." She said.

"It's a ridiculous story, I know." Summer said.

"Well, we carry living fairy tales on our backs so...not so ridiculous." I said.

"I suppose that's true." She said.

"So...silver eyes AND an enchanted weapon. That's quite the arsenal you've got there." I said.

"Well, my eyes aren't what they used to be." Summer said.

"I lost my right eye during the mission where I supposedly 'died'. They were able to recreate the eye. But not the power." She said.

"So, what happened when you 'snapped'?" I asked.

"Well, while the power did help us a great deal, I wasn't exactly able to control the power. While I wasn't able to kill the dragon, I was able to completely freeze it. After that I fell unconscious and woke up back at Beacon." Summer said.

"What happened to the village?" I asked.

"Luckily we were able to evacuate the citizens before it got to out of hand. The huntsmen we called cleared the area of any remaining Grimm and the village was rebuilt." She said.

I stood there in deep thought for a moment before looking up at the Dragon.

"Wait, you said you completely froze it. So what's up with it's eye?" I asked.

"Well, that was when I had BOTH the silver eyes. Now I only have one. So naturally, the seal isn't as strong as it was before." Summer said.

"So, it's breaking out?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's breaking out of it's stone prison." She said.

"How long before it...you know?" I said.

"Not sure. But..." Summer began, only for the sound of stone cracking to cut her off.

"It's gonna be soon." She said.

Shit. Well at least I know why it stayed in the mountain for all these years.

Summer stretched her arms out and jumped up into the air, landing on the ground with an audible thud.

"Okay, let's go." She said as she started to walk out of the cave.

"Go? Go where?" I asked as I started to follow her.

"Outside. It's time to see what you're made of." She said as she started to walk faster.

It got to a point where I was barely able to keep up with her and eventually she faded into the light.

"Hey! Would it kill you to wait up already?!" I yelled as I ran after Summer.

I ran out of the cave and expected to see Summer in the field that was just outside of the cave.

"The hell?" I said.

Though before I could react, Summer appeared above me with her scythe reeled backwards.

"Jesus!" I yelled as I rolled backwards.

"Hmm, not bad. But not good enough." Summer said, pointing to my shoulder.

I looked at me shoulder to see that the cloth covering the shoulder had a visible cut in it.

"Tch, lucky shot." I said.

"Perhaps. Maybe I'm just that good." She said.

I growled and pulled out my sword.

"Don't you know it's rude to draw your blade at a woman?" Summer asked with a cocky smirk on her face.

"Don't you know it's rude to attempt to behead someone you intend to train?" I asked.

"Well, I can't argue with that. Okay, how about this." Summer said.

"I won't use either of my spirits throughout this fight. The only thing I'll use are the powers I acquired over the years." She said.

"Tch, fine by me." I said.

"Oh, and another thing. Loser has to buy dinner for the both of u-." Summer began, only to be cut off as I swung my blade at her body.

Though imagine my shock as I swung at thin air.

"The hell?!" I yelled.

"Hmm, maybe we should work on your manners while we're at it." She said.

"When did you-?!" I yelled.

"When did I get here? Well, that's part of the power I gained from Agnus." Summer said from behind me.

I swung my blade towards my back, though similar to before, I only swung at thin air.

"Want me to explain?" She asked as she peeked out of my chest.

.

.

Wait ,what?!

"What the fuck?!" I yelled as I started to swipe my chest, my hands going through Summer as I did.

"It's a rather convenient power. Makes sneaking around Grimm and assassinating targets pretty easy." She said as she walked through me.

"How-?! When did you-?! What the-?!" I said shakily.

"It's part of the power I gained from Agnus, with this ability I'm able to move through solid objects like walls, tree's, the solid ground, and even people. Unfortunately I'm not able to attack in this form." Summer said.

Great, how the hell am I supposed to attack something I can't even touch?!

"Think fast!" She yelled as she swung her scythe at me.

"Gah!" I yelled as I moved backwards, but Summer was right there to greet me.

She smiled and started to swing her scythe rapidly, though as I attempted to block the attack, her scythe was easily able to move through it and hit me directly towards the wall.

"You know you can use Caliber, right?" Summer asked.

"Fine. Caliber, let her have it." I said as I snapped my fingers.

Caliber appeared behind me in a blue inferno, placing his mask on his face before the flames died out.

"That's quite the entrance." She said.

Caliber snapped his fingers, blue sparks coming off of the two fingers.

As he did this, a blue and black aura started to form around my body until it eventually faded.

I moved towards Summer at blinding speeds, moving side to side to make my attacks pattern more unpredictable.

I went in to stab Summer, though she was easily able to catch the blade in between her fingers.

"W-what?!" I yelled.

 _ **"Hmm, she's good."**_ Caliber said.

Summer giggle and lifted her arm up into the air, causing my feet to leave the ground.

She threw me up into the air, though with blinding speeds she was able to appear above me and slam the blunt edge of her scythe down onto my abdomen.

I hit the ground with an audible thud, Summer landing only a few feet away from me.

I growled and summoned Caliber to my side.

Caliber appeared and snapped his fingers, causing a white and black swirl to appear around Summer.

Though what neither of us expected is for Summer to flip backwards, dodging the attack.

"...Okay, that hasn't happened before." I said.

Caliber clenched his fist and held out his palm, a larger black and while swirl appearing around Summer.

Though she was able to dodge each and every one of Caliber's attacks and sped towards Caliber with her scythe reeled backwards.

Caliber reeled his fist backwards and intercepted the attack, sparks coming off her blade as the two fought for domination.

Though Caliber's strength proved to be greater and he was easily able to parry the attack and swing his fist at Summer.

 _ **"ORA!"**_ He yelled as he swung his fist at Summer.

Though what neither of expected was for Summer to dodge the attack by side stepping to the right.

The hell?! She's faster than Caliber?!

"Whew! That would have hurt! Guess you and Raven have similar spirits." Summer said with a smirk.

Caliber started to rapidly swing his fists at Summer, though what she didn't expect was for Caliber to actually land a hit on her.

 _ **"While my brother may be stronger in terms of physical strength, my speed is superior."**_ He said with one arm behind his back.

"Heh, I can see that." She said with a smirk.

 _ **"Stand up, Reaper. You are not fighting the average warrior."**_ He said, motioning her towards him.

Summer nodded and jumped up into the air and shook of Caliber's attack as if it were nothing.

Caliber floated beside me, the flames hidden behind his mask starting to get significantly larger.

"Hmm, you sure?" Summer asked, her eyes moving towards the air.

She must be talking to one of her spirits.

Summer closed her eyes for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, let's do it, Lupus." She said.

Suddenly, Summer's scythe started to glow with a red aura, the blade becoming significantly more demonic looking.

"Uh...should I be-." I began, only for Summer to move charge towards me.

She reeled her scythe backwards and swung it at my blade, sparks emanating off of the blades as they made contact with one another.

This attack had a hell of a lot more force than her previous one. Summer and I exchanged blows for a few seconds, each strike causing red and blue sparks to come off of the two weapons.

Summer reeled her scythe backwards, the blade of the weapon glowing with a red aura. She swung her blade at the side of my abdomen, causing me to go flying across the summit.

"Ugh." I groaned as I got up off of the ground.

"Might have overdid it Lupus." Summer said.

"Ow. Gonna feel that in the morning." I said as I cracked my back.

"Are you alright? Nothing broken?" She asked.

"Yeah. Though it'll probably leave a mark." I said.

"Heh, well, Lupus was always the brutal one of the two." Summer said.

"I can figure that out." I said.

Summer giggled and put a slip of paper in my lap.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's an address, as well as a certain type of food." Summer said.

"...Wait, you were serious when you said the loser buys the winner dinner?!" I yelled.

"Of course! Don't worry, you can get a little something for yourself as well." She said.

"But it's all the way down the mountain! It'll be cold by then!" I said.

"Not where you're going." Summer said.

I looked at the address and read the name aloud.

"Mamma Sherri's?" I asked.

"Took the team here all the time." She said.

"So what's so special about there food?" I asked.

"Well, they use fire dust to make it so that the food never gets cold. Always stays piping hot!" Summer said.

"Is it safe to consume dust?" I asked.

"You're not very familiar with the culinary part of Remnant, are you?" She asked.

"Hey, I've only been here for two years. What did you expect me to be, a master chef?" I asked.

"Well, while swallowing dust whole isn't good for you in the slightest, there are certain techniques used so that the food is suitable to eat, and Sherri is most known for her expertise in fire dust." Summer said.

"Hmm, well now I'm interested." I said.

"Well, I'll wait up here. Can't exactly stay hidden in the town I saved, you know?" She asked.

"Yeah, that would be kinda awkward." I said as I started to move down the mountain.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"So...what are we doing again?" Yang asked as she walked down the fields of Beacon with her partner.

"We're going to help you get over your anger issues." Blake said.

"You don't have to say it like that." She grumbled.

"Come on, this will be good for you." She said.

"So why are we all the way out here? Why not just do it in our room or something?" Yang asked.

"Our room has to many distractions, it's why I took your scroll away from you before we went out." Blake said as she waved Yang's scroll around,

"Uh, just a quick heads up, don't look at my photos...or my browser history...you know what? Just don't turn on my scroll." She said with a nervous grin on her face.

"Believe me. I NEVER had any intention of looking at whatever you keep in here." She said with a shudder.

"Oh come on! It's not that bad!" Yang said.

"Yeah, I have my doubts." Blake said.

Yang sighed and threw her hands behind her head.

"So where exactly are we going?" She asked.

"We'll be going to the fields outside of the forest that surrounds the Kingdom." Blake said.

"You mean the Emerald Forest?" Yang asked.

"No, the forest around Vale isn't really home to a lot of Grimm really. It's mainly the Forever Fall, Mountain Glenn, and the Emerald Forest that are the cause of a lot of peoples problems." She said.

"Oh." She said.

"Don't you live around Vale?" Blake asked.

"Nah, Ruby and I grew up in Patch, it's not really home to a whole lot of Grimm." Yang said.

"Guess living on the island has it's perks." She said.

"Yeah, though it does get kinda boring after a while, you know?" She said.

"Well, I guess that's why people try to flock to these islands. Not a lot of Grimm to deal with." Blake said.

"Yep. Pretty ideal place to raise a family." Yang said.

"That why your dad picked it, right?" She asked.

"Yep. Said that he wanted us to have a pretty laid back life and not have to worry about Grimm our whole lives." She said.

"Guess dad's are like that." Blake said.

"What about you?" Yang asked.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"What about your family? Ruby and I told you all about our family...or at least what we know at least. What was it like for you growing up?" I asked.

Blake was taken back a bit but started to chuckle.

"Well, it was pretty chaotic I'll tell you that. But not in the bad way." She said.

"Really?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. My dad, Ghira Belladonna, was the former leader of the White Fang. So naturally he was always busy with work and missions, even now he's busy working as the chieftain of Menagerie." Blake said.

"Wow, leader of the White Fang and the chief of an island?! How old is he again?" Yang asked.

"Hmm...about forty two." She said.

"F-forty two?! The man hasn't even reached his mid life and he's already become the leader of the Fang and Menagerie?!" She asked.

"Yeah, he's really something." Blake said.

"He's the main reason why the Phantoms met each other in the first place." She said.

"What do you mean? Did he form the group or something?" Yang asked.

"No, my mother did that. He took all of the Phantoms in when they were about our age." Blake said.

"Dad took in Alerio and Aleria when they tried to steal his treasure." She said.

"They did what?" She asked.

"Yeah, it surprised me when I found out as well." Blake said.

"He took in Veronica when she had escorted my mom to the leader the Khans were having." She said.

"Dad took in Naomi when the lab when he had found her wondering the desert alone." Blake said.

"And he took in Ilia when she had lost her parents back in an Atlas prep school." She said.

"Wait, your friend, a Faunus, wanted to go to Atlas?!" Yang asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty shocking for me as well." Blake said.

"I can imagine...wait, what about Osvaldo?" She asked.

"Right...well dad hasn't actually met Osvaldo. He was taken in by Adam." She said.

"Do you think he would have liked Osvaldo?" Yang asked.

"Hmm...I'm not really sure. I barely know anything about him so it wouldn't be to fair for me to decide that." Blake said.

"Guess you're right. So what about your mom? What was she like?" She asked.

"Mom? Wow, she was...the best. Though she has a big mouth." She said.

"So you get everything from your dad. Good to know." Yang said.

"Anyways, she was the best mom I could have asked for. She's sweet, kind, compassionate, loving, even to humans, and she was the Faunus who got me into the books I read." Blake said.

"Though despite all that, she was the founder of the Phantoms of The White Fang." She said.

"But she sounds so nice! How can someone so nice be the founder of the Phantoms?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, it was a shocker to everyone, including my dad. But that's how we all came to be." Blake said.

"So, were you raised into the Fang?" She asked.

"Pretty much. Though my dad was a bit too eager to get me out there. Handed me a sword when I was only five years old." Blake said.

"Wow, my dad couldn't get me away from weapons at that age." Yang said.

"Yeah, needless to say, my mom was not happy with that decision." She said.

All of a sudden, Blake's look saddened.

"It was...hard for everyone when they left the Fang." Blake said.

"I said some pretty harsh things to them. I called them cowards, I...abandoned them." She said.

"Damn." Yang said.

"I would want nothing more than to make things right with them. All the time I missed. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for them." Blake said.

Yang put her hand on Blake's shoulder and gave her one of her signature grins.

"Well, at least you saw what they saw." She said.

"Yeah." She said with a grin on her face.

Though before they could continue there conversation, Blake spotted a familiar figure sitting below the tree.

"Oh! We're here." Blake said as she pointed at the tree.

"Really?...Wait, isn't that Sage?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, I called him here to help you with your anger iss-." She began, only for Yang's glare to cut her off.

"I mean, your anger management." Blake said.

"Better." She said.

The two started to walk to the seven foot tall of a giant, who seemed to be in a state of complete tranquility.

"So why did you call him here?" Yang asked.

"Well, out of all the members of Sun's team, he seems to be the calmest. Which is already commendable because even I have trouble handling there antics." Blake said.

"So what, you want me to sit under a tree all day?" She asked.

"No." She said.

"Okay, thank Oum. Here I thought you were gonna-." Yang began.

"I want you to sit under a tree all day with Sage." Blake said.

Yang groaned but kept walking to the tree.

"Hey, Sage." Blake said, causing Sage to open his right eye.

"Oh. Hello Blake. I see you've brought Yang with you." He said.

"Sup big guy." Yang said with a wink.

"Hello." He said.

"So...what do I do?" She asked.

"Sage. Do your thing. I'll make us some te-." Blake began, only to grab thin air in her pocket.

"Oh damn it. I forgot the tea. I'll be right back, you two just stay put." She said as she started to run back towards the direction of Beacon.

"Wait! What am I supposed to do?!" Yang asked, though it was too late, she was already gone.

"Greaaaat...so, what do you want me to do big guy?" Yang asked.

"Do what I'm doing." Sage said as he sat down this his eyes closed.

"...Is there any specific position I need to do?" She asked.

"Whatever you are comfortable with." He said.

Yang nodded and sat down with her back slouched.

So she waited.

.

.

And waited.

.

.

And waited...and wai-.

"Ugh! This isn't working. It's just making me anxious!" Yang yelled.

"Hmm." Sage said.

"It feels like we've been here for hours. How long is Blake gonna take?!" Yang asked.

"We've been here for five minutes." Sage said.

"...What?" She asked.

"We've been here for-." He began.

"No, I heard you the first time. It's just...it feels like an eternity." Yang said.

"Not used to this sort of thing, aren't you?" Sage asked.

"Yeah. I'm more of a girl of action." She said.

"Hmm." Sage hummed with a nod.

"So...what do you do to pass the time?" Yang asked.

"That's the key to meditation, Yang. The thing is to not think about anything. You must clear your mind and let the world move around you." He said.

"So I'm not supposed to think about anything?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sage said.

"But that's impossible! How the hell are you just supposed to be thinking about nothing?!" Yang asked.

"I know it can be difficult at times. Even I have trouble keeping a clear state of mind sometimes, especially with the recent events." He said.

"Then how-?!" She began, only for Sage to cut her off mid sentence.

"Don't think. Listen." Sage said.

"Listen? Listen to what?" Yang asked.

"Everything, listen to the wind blowing through the leaves. Listen to the birds singing, the grass flowing, the water flowing. Take it all in." He said.

"How is that gonna help me relax?" She asked.

"Well, unlike a quiet library, or the comfort of a bed, it can't offer you the one thing nature can offer. Purity." Sage said.

"What?" Yang asked.

"There is nothing to distract you. Nothing that will bring you harm. It's just nature in it's pure, natural form." He said.

"You become completely relaxed, and yet-." Sage began, only for the sound a twig snapping from above them.

A lone apple was moving towards Sage's head, though right as it was about to hit the green of his head, he caught it with his hand without even opening his eyes.

"You are in a complete state of concentration." He said as he bit into the apple.

"...How?" Yang asked.

"Hmm?" Sage hummed.

"How did you do it? How were you able to do all this?" She asked.

Sage started to chuckle and opened his eyes so that he could face Yang.

"Well, it was...hard to say the least." He said.

"I always had a temper, even now I still have one. It mainly comes out when I use my tattoos." Sage said.

"Wait. You had a temper?!" Yang asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"You?!" She asked.

"If you saw me back before I went to Haven then you would agree." Sage said.

"You before Haven? What happened before Haven?" Yang said.

"A lot of things happened before Haven." He said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"Hmm...sure, might help you." Sage said.

"I never had a whole lot of experience with the outside world. I don't even know who my parents are. I grew up in the forests of Mistral." Sage said.

"Who took care of you?" Yang asked.

"No one. I took care of myself. I never really knew how to fight, all I knew is that a big weapon would do a hell of a lot of damage. That's why my sword is so big." He said.

"I grew up all on my own, I slayed Grimm, beasts, and sometimes I would steal goods and treasures from traveling traders." Sage said.

"I wasn't a very good child growing up. But I had to survive, and fighting was the only way I knew how to survive." He said.

"People would always send mercenaries to attempt to kill me, though with my understanding of the forest around me I was easily able to beat them." Sage said.

"Eventually, people stopped coming to the forest all together. But I didn't care, that was the way I liked it." He said.

"I was always an angry child. Though I didn't know how to control it, the only thing I knew back then was how to fight. So I used my rage to help me in my fights. I would intimidate opponents with my war cries, and I would also overwhelm opponents with my aggressive battle style. I didn't control it, I let it consume me." He said.

"After a while, I gained these marks on my body that gave me weird unnatural powers." Sage said.

"I felt unstoppable, I was the king of the forest. That is until he came." He said.

"Who?" Yang asked.

"My former master." Sage said.

"He was just passing by on a trip through the mountains, carrying various supplies that would help me survive." He said.

"So naturally I went to go and steal the mans supplies... I wasn't even able to land a single blow on him." Sage said.

"Seriously?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. He just struck me down and went on his way. I've never felt as angry as I did that day. Every time he passed into the forest I would challenge him, and every time he would always come out on top." He said.

"How many times did you challenge him?" She asked.

"Heh, I lost count after fifty." Sage said.

"But I wasn't going to stop. Not until I beat him. Though from the looks of it, he had other plans for me." He said.

"I can still remember what he said that day. Young one, the way you fight tells me that you carry a lot of rage inside of your heart. But when I look into your eyes, I see great pain." Sage recited.

"That was the day I started to follow him. We traveled all across the continent of Amina for years. He taught me how to control my rage, he refined my fighting style, he taught me how to control my powers." He said before clenching his fist.

"That is before the incident happened." Sage said.

"W-what incident?" Yang asked.

Sage sighed and looked up into the trees.

"It was supposed to be a simple visit to an abandon temple. There weren't supposed to be as many Grimm as there were." He said.

"We fought, though my master was not the fighter he used to be and in the end he was taken by those beasts." Sage said.

"For the first time in a long time, I felt...enraged. I slayed the beast that killed my master without mercy." He said.

"I only wish I could have said I was sorry for how I treated him back then." Sage said.

Yang put her and on his shoulder, giving him her signature grin.

"I'm sure he knows." She said.

"Hopefully. Anyways, the last letter I ever got from him was his final goodbyes, and a transcript to a Haven prep school." Sage said.

"So I packed my things and headed for the city of Mistral." He said.

"I will admit, entering the city was a bit intimidating at first, but I eventually got used to the crowds of people." He said.

"It was all going fairly well, that is until the actual exam came up." Sage said.

"While I passed the exams with flying colors, I needed something almost everyone had. A name." He said.

"I've never had a name before. My master would always call me brat, boy, or my student." Sage said.

"Why didn't he just give you a name?" Yang asked.

"I think it was his final test in a way. If I picked my own name, I would have finally become somebody. I would finally be whole. So, I picked the first name that came to my mind. Sage, the occupation my master had, and Ayana, the name of my fallen master." He said.

"Then I met the guys. While they're a...rowdy bunch, they were the first actual people I had connected with. While I may not say it a lot, I truly do value the time we spend together and I treasure the bonds we share." Sage said.

"...Damn." Yang said.

"So, that's my story." He said.

"Wow, that's one hell of a story." She said.

"Heh, glad you enjoyed it." Sage said.

"Does your team know about your past?" Yang asked.

"Yes. They know of what I used to be, and I am grateful that I have found companions who accept me for what I am, and what I used to be." He said.

Yang sat there in silence for a few second before she started to move around on the ground.

"So I just need to relax, right?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Sage hummed.

"All I need to do is just clear my head, right?" Yang asked.

Sage was silent for a moment before he started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"It's a bit more complicated than that. But those are the basics of it, yes." He said.

"Okay, I'll give this a shot." Yang said as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes.

"Good." Sage said.

"...So, will I be able to do cool stuff like fight with my eyes closed?" She asked, opening her left eye.

"Yang." Sage groaned, placing his hand into his forehead.

"Right, right, not for combat." Yang grumbled, closing her eyes once again.

After a few minutes, Sage's ears perked up at the sound of rapid foot steps coming towards them.

"Sorry! I didn't think I'd be this late! Okay, let's get...started?" Blake asked as she stared at Yang who was sitting on the ground with her eyes shut.

"Hello, Blake." Sage said as he waved at his feline friend.

"What happened while I was gone?" Blake asked as she sat next to Sage.

"Well, I told Yang a little story." He said as he started to brew the tea.

"What kind of story did you tell her? I've never seen her this calm in...well ever!" Blake said, blowing into her cup of tea.

"It was a story about a sage and a beast." Sage said with a smirk, staring into the liquid in the cup.

"Must have been some story. I've never seen Yang sit still for this long." She said before taking a sip from her cup.

.

.

"She's sleeping, isn't she?" Blake asked, placing her cup down.

Though before Sage could respond, the sound of Yang snoring cut him off.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said with a grin.

"It's a work in progress." Sage said.

"There's a first time for everything. I'm just glad you got her to actually try this idea in the first place." Blake said.

"Well, it did take quite a bit of convincing." He said.

"That may be true, but Yang's quite the stubborn one." She said.

"Heh, yeah. I know, believe me I know." Sage said with a chuckle.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Wow, for a simple town it's sure got some advanced tech going around." I said as I arrived at the entrance of the town.

"Hopefully the people are as nice as Summer said." I said as I walked towards the gates.

"Hello young traveler!" I heard someone from the gate walls said.

Well I guess that answers my question.

"Hey." I said, putting up my left hand as a form of greeting.

"You're awfully young to be traveling the world of Remnant all by yourself! What's brings you all the way out here?" I heard the woman say.

"I can handle myself." I said as I twirled my blade in my hand.

"So you're a huntsmen in training?" She asked.

"Pretty much, and to answer your question I'm here to pick up some food." I said.

"Let me guess, Mamma Sherri's?" The woman asked.

"Guess it's pretty popular out here." I said.

"You have no idea. Mamma Sherri is the sweetest and most humble person you'll ever meet." The woman said.

"If she's so humble then why did she name a restaurant after herself?" I asked.

"Heh heh, well it wasn't her idea. It was the towns idea to name the restaurant that, we all called her Mamma Sherri so she decided to name the restaurant that." The woman said.

"Oh, okay." I said.

"So, who are you picking food up for?" The woman asked.

"A friend." I said, trying to keep Summer's identity a secret.

"Where does your friend live?" She asked.

I turned around and pointed at the mountain where Summer was currently staying in.

"Wow, they live all the way out there?" The lady asked.

"Pretty much." I said.

"They must really like the food if they're having you come all the way out here to get it." She said.

"Apparently." I grumbled.

"So can I come in or...?" I asked.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, let me get the door for you." The woman said, pressing a button on the console.

As she did this the metal doors started to open, the lights that lit up the town shining through the doors.

"Sorry about that. You must be exhausted if you came all the way down from that mountain." The woman said before looking at the mountain I was pointing at.

"...Wow, that sure brings back memories." She said.

"Right, this town got hit by that dragon." I said to her.

"Yeah, we were the first town in the recent generation to be hit by such a large Grimm attack and not only come back from it, but come back even better than before." The woman said.

"Yeah I've actually been meaning to ask you about that. Your town seems to be more advanced when it comes to technology. What caused this sudden development?" I asked.

Then again I've never really been out to far from the kingdom so what do I know?

"Well, after the incident Vale was nice enough to lend us a hand with the towns reconstruction. They let us use the left over technology so that we could improve our defenses in case the dragon ever got out again." She said.

"So...what did you add to the town?" I asked.

"I'm glad you asked, let me show you around." The woman said.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Ann, nice to meet you!" She said.

"Brandon." I said with a smirk on my face.

We started to walk into town and already I was noticing the difference between the town I saw at the beginning of volume four and the town I was seeing now.

"Right there is our armory." Ann said as she pointed to a large building.

"Damn, that looks like something you'd see in a military base." I said.

"Well, we have a good mechanic." She said.

The houses seemed to be more industrial than the ones in the town in volume four.

Though they weren't anything to particularly special, they seemed to be lie the average houses you would see in the residential district of Vale.

"Over there is our dust shop, licensed by the Schnee Dust Company of course." Ann said.

"That's pretty impressive for a small town. I heard the only trades the Schnee Dust Company would do is with the various kingdoms around Vale." I said.

"Well, this was before the recent owner of the Schnee Company. We got our dust from the founder of the Schnee Dust Company, Nicolas Schnee." She said as we continued to walk down the town.

"So this was before the company got it's infamous rep." I said.

"Yeah." Ann said with a nervous laugh.

We walked down various blocks and streets before coming to a stop at a construction sight.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Right here is our current project of construction. Sooner or later this will become Siren academy." Ann said.

"So you guys are opening up your own huntsmen academy?" I asked.

"Yeah, and your looking at one of the soon to be teachers in that said school." She said with a proud grin.

"Congrats." I said.

"Thank you! Maybe you could come to opening ceremony." Ann said.

"Maybe. My schedule isn't exactly loose." I said.

And it's not gonna get any better after the Vytal tournament.

"Well, let's move on." She said as she started to walk off.

I nodded and started to follow her down the street.

We walked past various land marks and a memorial for the people who perished during the incident.

Eventually, we arrived at the main attraction.

Mamma Sherries.

It was...a lot smaller than I expected.

"This the place?" I asked.

"Yep! Well, I'll leave you to your meal. I've got to get back to the gate." Ann said as she waved goodbye and walked off.

"Later." I said as Ann walked off.

Once she was gone, I stood in front of the restaurant and started to wonder how something so small can be so successful.

"Well, never judge a book by its cover." I said as I walked in.

As soon as I did, I was met with the sound of various voices in the restaurant.

Well it's certainly busy.

"Well you must be new." I heard a woman say in a strong voice.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I said, you must be new! You need a hearing aid or somethin?" The girl asked.

"Um, is this Mamma Sherri's?" I asked.

"Boy! You must be blind! Can't you read what's on the front of the building?!" She asked.

"Uh, right. So where is Mamma Sherri?" I asked.

"Ma! We've got a new one!" The girl said.

"I'm coming! Don't rush me!" I heard a raspy voice say.

From out of the kitchen came a woman who's probably in her late fifties coming out with various trays full of food.

"All right people! Fresh and out of the oven!" The woman, who I assume is the one they call Mamma Sherri, said as she walked over to the various tables.

For a lady that looked like she was in her late fifties she sure moved fast.

"Whew! Okay, what'ch you want child?" Sherri asked.

"We got a new one." The girl said as she pointed at me.

"Hi. I'm Brandon." I said as I went in to shake Sherri's hand.

Though what I wasn't expecting was for her to come up to me and bring me into a bone crushing hug.

"Why hello there child! I'm so glad you could come to my humble abode. Come and take a seat." Sherri said.

"Uh, yeah." I said as I walked around the various tables.

I eventually found an open table that I could sit in.

"So, what exactly do you serve here?" I asked.

"This." Sherri said as she put a menu in front of me.

I shrugged and picked up the menu.

From the looks of it, this would be the classic barbecue joint you would go to in Texas.

Only difference is that while they use firewood and coals, they also use fire dust.

Though as I looked over the menu, I was noticing something rather strange.

Summer's order wasn't on there.

"Uh, excuse me, Ms. Sherri." I called over.

"Oh just call me Mamma Sherri child, everyone here calls me that." Sherri said.

"Right. I was wondering if you guys still made this." I said as I handed her the slip of paper.

Sherri picked up slip of paper and started to laugh in a sad tone.

"Heh, you related to Summer?" She asked.

"You know her?" I asked.

"Know her? She created the dish you have here." Sherri said, pointing to the meal written on the slip of paper.

"Wow really?" I asked.

Sherrie chuckled and pulled out a photo.

"These children. I owe these children a debt I could never dream of repaying." She said as she placed the photo in front of me.

The members of team STRQ were all standing in front of a younger looking Sherri, various cuts, bandages and bruises on there bodies.

"That's such an old photo. What was Summer to you?" Sherri asked.

"Oh, she was my...savior." I said.

It's not completely untrue.

"Heh, that girl was always quite the dreamer. Is that why you carry the blade you have?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's one of the reasons. Want to thank her for what she did all those years ago." I said.

"Well, I'm afraid your a bit late for that, child. My child, Summer, has long passed." Sherri said.

"...Seriously?" I asked.

Kinda weird when people talk about a person who's supposed to be dead but is actually secretly alive.

"I'm sorry my child." She said.

"No, it's fine. Least I can have some closure now." I said.

Sherri smiled and picked up the slip of paper.

"Tell you what, how about I cook up this meal for you? It won't take long at all." She said.

"Oh! Sure go for it." I said.

"Alright, you stay put." Sherri said as she got up to go back to work.

"Heh, I kinda like it here. Pretty relaxing environment. I guess I can see why Summer would like it here." I said.

 _ **"...Hmm?"**_ Caliber hummed.

"What's up?" I asked.

 _ **"..."**_ Caliber remained silent.

"Caliber?" I asked.

 _ **"It's nothing."**_ He said.

"Alright." I said.

Though before I could continue to look over the menu, a male waiter put a glass of tea in front of me.

"Here." He said.

"Uh...I didn't order this." I said.

"Special request. Woman up top. Second room down the hall." He said.

"Uh...Okay?" I said as I got up.

"You're pretty lucky man, she's pretty hot." The guy said.

"...Well, about time my luck had a little change of pace." I said with a smirk, walking up the flight of stairs.

I walked down the hall like the guy said to the second room down the hall.

"Let's see what we've got here." I said as I gripped the door.

"Hello there! The man of the hour is he-." I began, only to stop at the sight of the woman who was sitting on the other side of the table.

The woman in question looked very similar to Yang, sharing the same youthful appearance, facial shape, and even the fringe of her hairstyle; though her hair is black with red highlights, her eyebrows are a little bit higher, her complexion is significantly lighter.

Though the most noticeable part of her face was her burning red eyes.

...I know she said that we would talk soon, but I didn't think she meant the next day.

"...Uh. Hello?" I said.

"Hey." Raven said.

"So...uh-." I began.

"Close the door." She said.

I nodded and closed the door behind me, though what threw me off guard was the sudden figure of Masamune standing beside the door with his sword unsheathed.

"Uh...Hey." I said.

Masamune simply raised two of his fingers as a form of greeting.

"Sit." She said, pointing at the chair on the other side of the table.

"R-right." I said, sitting in the chair like Raven had said.

"Show me." Raven said.

"What?" I asked.

"Bring him out." She said.

"...O-oh! You mean Caliber! Right." I said as I snapped my fingers, causing Caliber to appear behind me in a blue inferno.

"Hmm." Raven hummed as she stared at Caliber.

 _ **"Greetings, my lady. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."**_ He said as he tipped his hat.

"Like wise." She said.

 _ **"Brother."**_ I heard Masamune say, causing Caliber and I to turn around to face him.

 _ **"Ah! It has been to long, dear brother."**_ Caliber said as he floated over to his brother.

 ** _"Like wise."_** He said, holding out his hand.

Caliber gripped his hand and started to shake.

 ** _"That was quite the show you two put on yesterday."_** He said.

 _ **"Tch, it was barely a challenge."**_ Masamune said.

"So...you wanted to talk?" I asked, turning my head towards Raven.

"Yeah." She said as she sipped her cup of tea.

"...About what?" I asked.

"Well, first off I want to know how a little kid like you got his hands on a enchanted weapon." Raven said.

"...I took it." I said.

"So you stole it." She said.

"I didn't steal it! The owner never came back, there wasn't a contract bounding the weapon. It was just a weapon sitting on display on a wall." I said.

"Who was the original wielder?" Raven asked.

"...My father." I said.

"Hmm, well if the weapon wasn't bound by a contract then your father is either dead or he cut off the contract." She said.

"With any luck it'll be the first one." I growled.

"...Moving on. How long have you had your spirit?" Raven asked.

"Well, I had the weapon for about two years. I've been using Caliber's unrefined form for a year, and as for his fully manifested form...about a week." I said.

Raven just sat there with her usual expressionless look on her face.

"So, what powers does Caliber have?" She asked.

"Well, he's able to cause some sort of explosion with the snap of his finger, he's able to give me various buffs and put some sort of debuffs on his enemies." I said.

"...That it?" Raven asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Hey! I just got the guy fully up and running last week! The hell were you expecting?" I asked.

"Hmm, I suppose you have a point there." She said.

"Though if given the proper training you could be leagues above any of the other students in the academy." Raven said.

"Well, I'm basically one man with two souls." I said.

"Yes, but you two are connected. Kill the user and you kill the spirit." She said.

"What makes it difficult is the fact that spirits don't have an aura like humans or Faunus do. If they get hit it'll be like getting hit while your aura is shattered." Raven said.

"Wait, what happens if you kill the spirit before you kill the user?" I asked.

"While that's a very impractical and idiotic way of doing it considering how powerful they can be, if you do manage to kill the spirit then it's like shattering the users aura." She said.

"Though I'm sure you've seen before that killing a spirit isn't exactly an easy task." Raven said.

"Yeah, believe me I know how tough they can be sometimes." I said.

"Think of it like this. The spirit is your aura and soul put into physical form, so attacking it is like attacking your own soul directly. That's what causes the damage link between spirits." She said.

"Guess that makes sense." I said.

"I've seen the way you fight during your little brawl with the bull. I have to say...I was pretty disappointed." She said.

"What?!" I said.

"You rely on your spirit to much, rather than your own abilities." Raven said.

"When I fight, I use all of the experience I've learned over the years, I use Masamune's abilities to give my attacks more killing capability." She said.

"You rely on him too much. When it comes to actual combat skill your nothing very special." Raven said.

"What do you propose I do?" I asked.

"Learn how to not become so reliant on your spirit. While the spirits are powerful they aren't invincible. If Caliber is destroyed then your basically a sitting duck." She said.

"I'm working on it, okay?" I said.

"Well, your enemies will not wait for you to be ready." Raven said.

Believe me, I know.

"So, is that the only reason why you came to talk to me?" I asked.

"No. I want to make a proposal for you." She said.

"I'm not joining your tribe." I said.

"I can see that my brother can't keep his mouth shut about certain topics. But that isn't what I was going to propose. Trust me, I'm not stupid enough to let you into my tribe." Raven said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"While the people I lead may be well suited in combat...to an extent, they lack even an average intelligence." She said.

"So that means...?" I said.

"It means that more than likely they would want to take the weapon for themselves, but none of them would truly be able have the intelligence or the power to grasp the full potential of the spirits." Raven said.

"Can't argue with that." I said as I took a sip from my ice tea.

"Though perhaps we can help each other in the future." She said.

"What do you mean by 'help'? If you're gonna ask me to kill a whole village then count me out." I said.

"Trust me, I would not need your help for such a simple task." Raven said.

I don't know what kind of response I was expecting from her.

"I would contact you if there ever came a time where I would need more man power for a task. In return you can contact me for the same reasons." She said.

...Well, this turned out to work in my favor.

I now have Raven under my belt as potential back up.

Though I doubt she would fight for Ozpin after what happened during her time in Beacon.

Still, this seems a little to nice for Raven of all people.

"Though I don't want you to waste my time. If I find out that the task you assigned me is pointless then our deal is off." Raven said.

Ah, there it is.

"So, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" She asked.

"...Why did you leave Yang?" I asked.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Is there anything meaningful you wanted to talk about?" Raven asked.

"The hell?! She's your family!" I said.

"She's Tai's family." She said.

"He was your husband!" I said.

"Key word being 'was'." Raven said.

"She's your daughter! Your flesh and blood! How the hell can you just up and-." I began, only for Raven's cold glare to cut me off.

"Listen here. What Tai does isn't my problem anymore, what Yang does isn't my problem anymore, so quit trying to make it my problem." She said, her eyes glowing with a red aura.

...Jesus, guess I can consider that nerve struck.

Still, in the show she saved Yang from Neo, but in this time line that never happened because Neo never tried to kill Yang.

So if she doesn't care about her then why would she even try to save her in the first place.

Sure she said she'd only do it one time but still, she still did it.

Raven's glare eventually faded, signaling that she had calmed down.

I'll drop the subject for now, though it seems like this whole family situation is a hell of a lot more complicated than it looked.

"So, if we both agree to the terms of the deal, then there is nothing left for us to talk about." She said as she picked up her mask.

"...Wait!" I said.

"Hmm?" Raven hummed.

"Okay, look something bad is going to happen in Vale, something big." I said.

"Trust me, I know. Don't expect me to do anything about it." She said.

"I know. I know you won't help me when it comes to this situation." I said.

"Then why-?" Raven began.

"It's the aftermath. I'm doing my best to stop there plans, but if I can't, if Vale falls, I'm going to go around Remnant and seek out the rest of the Spirit users in hopes to unite them." I said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Look, you and I both know that this goes even further than Vale. It's all of Remnant. Vacuo, Atlas, Mistral, I have no doubt in my mind that after the enemy is done here, they'll go to the other kingdoms." I said.

"And we're gonna need all the help we can get if we want to stand a ghost of a chance against this threat." I said.

"...Vacuo." Raven said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"In the deserts of Vacuo is a prison. A very heavily guarded prison." She said.

"What the hell are you-?" I began.

"One thousand guards. One prisoner." Raven said.

Jesus how many guards do you need for one guy?

.

.

Actually, if they need one thousand guards just to keep one prisoner locked up then-.

"Who's the prisoner?" I asked.

"In Vacuo, there is a prison specifically designed to hold the wielder of Mjolnir." Raven said.

...Well. Shit.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"I have connections in all of the kingdoms underworlds. It's how I get most of my information." She said.

"Oh." I said.

"If you really do go through with uniting them, just know you'll be seen as a criminal." Raven said as she swung her blade, creating a red portal.

"You've got a lot of potential. Don't waste it on someone like Ozpin." She said as she walked through the portal.

"...Well, things just got more complicated." I said.

 _ **"So, Vacuo it is."**_ Caliber said.

"If we can't stop Cinder then yeah, we'll start heading to Vacuo." I said.

 _ **"The Blackbird is quite the interesting one, and now we have a set location for one of my brothers."**_ He said.

"Yeah, I just hope I can figure that whole ordeal o-...The Blackbird?" I asked.

 _ **"I thought it would be a more fitting substitute for her name. While the Raven's are a symbol of death, and while this name would be fitting for a woman such as her, the Blackbirds have a more mysterious nature."**_ Caliber said.

"Guess that's one way to describe her." I said.

Though before I could say anything else, the door leading to the room opened.

"What the hell you doin up here?!" Sherri yelled as she entered the room.

"Oh, sorry." I said.

"You best be. You have any idea how long I was looking for you?!" She asked with a plate in her hand.

"This is for you. Summers pride and joy." Sherri said.

"Thanks. Oh! Can I have another one? It's for a friend." I said.

"Fine. But you're paying for this one, ye hear?" She asked as she walked out of the door.

"Got it!" I yelled.

"And for Oum's sake don't move again!" Sherri yelled.

"Sorry!...Jeez, I guess I can see why they call her Mamma Sherri." I said.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"Oooh! Thank you for inviting me to learn more about Remnants cultures Ruby!" Penny said in an excited tone.

"Oh it's no problem! I just thought we should continue our little culture tour is all. You need it after what happened yesterday." Ruby said with a nervous grin.

"And thank you Ciel! We wouldn't have been able to go if it weren't for your help!" She said.

"Oh, it was no issue Ms. Polendina. It's rare that I get days off like this to begin with." Ciel said.

"Ciel, what have we talked about before?" Penny said with a giggle.

"There's no need for formalities." She said.

"That's right! You can just call me Penny." She said.

"Very well...Penny...Guess old habits die hard." Ciel said.

"Indeed." Penny said.

"So! Who's ready to learn about the history of...Okay when I say it aloud it doesn't sound as cool." Ruby said.

"Aye!" Penny said, pumping her fist up into the air.

"Finally! Finally somebody does it!" She said.

"If I may make a suggestion. Let us continue this conversation inside, the museum will not not remain open forever." Ciel said as she started to poke her watch.

"Oh! Right! I totally lost track of time! Come on!" Ruby said as she started to run towards the museum entrance.

"Onward's and upwards!" Penny said as she followed her red hooded girl.

Ciel sighed and started to walk towards the entrance to the museum.

Once they entered, Penny was already moving around to the various monuments of Vale's long history.

"Wow! What's that?!" Penny asked as she stood in front of a statue, her eyes turned bright green.

"Well, that's-." Ruby began.

"This is the former King of Vale! He was the man who brought an end to the Great War eighty years ago! He laid waste to countless men during his days in the war, earning him the title of Warrior King!" She said.

"...Uh, yeah." She said.

"Oh! What's this?!" Penny asked as she ran over to another monument.

"Oh! Well this is-." Ruby began.

"This was the original flag of the White Fang. This earned them the legal rights in the eyes of the counsel, though they are a far cry to what they once were compared to what they are now." She said.

"...Yeah." She said.

"Oh! What's this?!" Penny asked as she ran to a painting of some sort.

"This is-." Ruby said in a monotone voice, already seeing what was coming next.

"This is a painting of when the treaty was signed between the four kingdoms! They all united and our time of peace became all the more evident! This was the birth place of the famous Vytal tournament." She said.

"Does she already know all this?" She asked Ciel.

"Yes." Ciel said as she pulled out her scroll to take a picture of the paining

"Then why did she want to come here in the first place?!" Ruby asked.

"She wanted to, and I quote, know what a true museum experience was like." She said.

"But the whole point of a 'True museum experience' is not knowing any of the monuments or there meanings!" She said.

"That didn't stop her." Ciel said.

Ruby sighed but started to chuckle soon afterwards.

"Guess I should have expected this. She does have an A.I in her head. A.I's are supposed to know everything about everything, right?" She said.

"Sort of." Ciel said.

"Sort of?" Ruby asked.

"You see, an A.I's knowledge all depends on the knowledge of it's programmer. In this case, she knows all about combat, Grimm, and the history of Remnant." She said.

"So all she knows are the things on how to be a huntress?" Ruby asked.

"Correct." Ciel said.

"Wow." She said.

"Ms. Rose, there is something I wish to get clarification on." She said.

"Uh, sure?" Ruby said.

"It is about your friend, Brandon I think his name was." Ciel said.

"What about him" She asked.

"You see, my watch allows me to look at the files of anyone on Remnant. I can know who you are, where you originated from, and what your record is before you even talk to me." She said.

"Oh! That's...not unsettling at all." Ruby said sarcastically.

"It's only a safety precaution." Ciel reassured.

"Okay, so what does that have to do with Brandon?" She asked.

Ciel's only response was to type his name in her watch and show it to Ruby.

Though what Ruby was not expecting was for the words 'Not Applicable' to pop up onto the screen.

"Non Applicable? What does this mean?" Ruby asked.

"Non Applicable, a phrase used to indicate when information in a certain table cell is not provided, either because it does not apply to a particular case in question or-." Ciel began.

"What?! No! I know what it means! I'm asking what does it mean for the situation?" She asked.

"Oh. Well, the answer is rather simple. It means that your friend doesn't have any legal files in any system in Remnant, it's almost as if he does not exist." Ciel said.

"He doesn't exist?" Ruby asked.

"I was going to ask you if you knew of a possible explanation to this. Though from the looks of it, you are just as confused as I am." She said.

"He doesn't exist." She said once again.

"Is something the matter?" Ciel asked.

"No, it's just that...Brandon is a guy with a lot of secrets, and every time I feel he's starting to trust us more, another secret pops up." Ruby said in a saddened tone.

Ciel started to dart her eyes around the room, sweat starting to form on her forehead.

"Uh, I'm sure that there is a reasonable explanation to this." She said.

"...Yeah. I mean, Brandon isn't a bad person! He just...isn't exactly the most open person in the world." Ruby said.

"He's also pretty capable in the fields of battle for someone our age...Oh! There's one more thing I've been meaning to ask you." Ciel said.

"What's up?" She asked.

"When he stepped in to stop Penny's attack, there was that strange figure floating next to him. I've seen various semblances, each one having there own unique abilities. But I've seen very few semblance's that could create a physical being." She said.

"Well, that's the thing. That's not his semblance." Ruby said.

"Oh? Then what is his semblance?" Ciel asked.

"Well...I'm not entirely sure he actually HAS a semblance." She said.

"He's a huntsmen in training, yet he has no semblance? That seems very inefficient." She said.

"Yeah, but Caliber makes up for that." Ruby said.

"Caliber?" Ciel asked.

"Oh! Right, that was the spirit you saw before. That was Caliber, the Gentlemen Spirit." Ruby said.

"The Gentlemen Spirit?" She asked.

"Well, he calls himself the Spirit of the Fallen Kings, but we thought that the Gentlemen Spirit was a better fit." She said.

"He calls himself-?! Wait, you're saying that spirit was a sentient being?!" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, it was a surprise for all of us when we first found out...well, expect for Penny. She knew about Caliber when she saw his soul in Brandon's body." Ruby said.

"He has two souls?" She asked.

"Yeah, Caliber is a separate being after all, though he uses Brandon's sword as a vessel of some sort." She said.

"...Wait, this sounds awfully familiar to the-." Ciel began.

"Tale of Olaf and the Twelve Weapons?" Ruby said.

"Yes...wait, are you suggesting that the story holds truth to it?! Not only that but Brandon has one of those weapons in his possession?!" She asked.

"Pretty much. Trust me, this is a normal reaction. Pretty much everyone reacted this way when they first found out." She said.

Ciel just stood there, her eye's widened in surprise.

"You okay?" Ruby asked.

"Y-yes. This is just a lot to take in." Ciel said.

"So you believe me?" She asked.

"Well, as far fetched as it sounds it does explain the spirit and the multiple souls." She said.

"Yeah. But it's so cool! I mean, if that Fairy Tale exists, then who knows how many more could exist as well!" Ruby said.

Though before the two could continue, Ruby looked at the corner of her eye to see her friend, Scarlet, standing in front of a battle ship of some sort.

This wouldn't have concerned Ruby if it weren't for the fact that he had been standing there for the past ten minutes.

Ruby started to walk over to her pirate themed friend, Ciel following her.

"Scarlet?" Ruby called out, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Gah! Bloody hell Garnet, you scared me!" Scarlet said.

"It's Ruby!" She said.

"Oh, who's your friend?" He asked as he stared at Ciel.

"Ciel Soleil." Ciel greeted.

"Cheers, the names-." He began, only to be cut off by Ciel.

"Scarlet David. Age, seventeen, hails from Mistral, member of team SSSN. Status:...Also questionable." She said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scarlet asked.

"Nothing. Pleasure to meet you." Ciel said.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet ya, Ciel." He said.

"Why do you get her name right?!" Ruby asked.

"I see you have taken a liking to the sinking of the S.S Maynard." Ciel said as she stared at the model of the ship.

"Yeah. My Grandpa was the captain of that ship." He said.

"Cool...Wait, sinking?" Ruby asked.

"You do not know of it?" Ciel asked.

"Uh, no?" She said.

"Well then, allow me to enlighten you. The sinking of the S.S Maynard happened twelve years ago at the center of Remnants sea's. It was supposed to be a deference fleet to clear out some of the Grimm that reside within the oceans of Remnant. Though the ship never did come back." Ciel said.

"Two years later it was scavenged by Mistral's military, all of the remains of the previous members of the crew were dead, the treasure was stolen, and the other naval ships were never found." She explained.

"Though there has been one fact about this incident that never added up. The severed head of the previous captain, Edward David, was found on the front of the ship." Ciel said.

Ruby gasped, covering her mouth as she did. After she had recovered from the shock of this new information, she went over to Scarlet and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Scarlet." She said.

"It's fine. My gramps died doin what he loved. He went out the way he wanted to, like a true sailor." He said.

"The incident was written off as an accident by the government but-." Ciel began.

"It was no accident." Scarlet growled.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"It was a slaughter." He said.

"Scarlet?" Ruby asked.

"Sure everyone believed my Gramps kicked the bucket by some simple shipwreck, but I know the truth. He told me that he was after a beast, the monster that took his leg, his arm, and his wife." Scarlet said.

"Beast?" She asked.

"He was after the terror of the sea's, the Kraken." He said.

"The Kraken? But that's nothing more than an old folks tale." Ciel said.

"Well the Twelve weapons were supposed to be a Fairy Tale but..." Ruby said.

"Fair point." She said.

"It's real. It's real alright. But nobody would believe my gramps. They called him crazy, delusional, that he belonged in one of them nursing homes." He said.

"But I knew. I believed it in my heart." Scarlet said.

"I tried telling everyone what really happened, but no one would believe me. No one would believe my gramps story." He said.

"So I decided. If no one was going to believe me, then I'd just have to go out and kill that Kraken myself." Scarlet said.

"Scarlet." Ruby said.

"It's why I became a huntsmen. Once my training there is complete I'll be able to take some navel training. It was my gramps goal to kill this monster, so I'm gonna carry out his dying wish." He said.

The trio stood there in silence for a few seconds before Ruby broke the ice.

"Wow, that's pretty cool of you Scarlet." Ruby said with a smirk.

"Heh, thanks." He said.

"Hey! Maybe when I become a huntress I can give you a hand!" Ruby said.

"R-really?!" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah! I'm sure the rest of my team, along with Jaune's team and your own team would love to help you!" She said.

"Thanks Sapphire. I really appreciate it." Scarlet said.

"It's Ruby." Ruby said.

Though before the two could continue, the sound of metal moving towards them but them off.

"Ruby! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run off without you...oh! It's you!" Penny said.

"Oh! Hey, you're...Penny, right?" Scarlet asked.

"Correct!" She said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ruby asked.

"Is something the matter Ruby?" Penny asked.

"He just-! He never-! How come-?!...Never mind." She said.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap.**

 **So I've learned a few things today.**

 **One, I finally know how the Dragon got stuck in the mountain in the first place.**

 **Two, Summer's a pretty tough teacher.**

 **And three, the wielder of Mjolnir is in a prison in Vacuo.**

 **Not really sure what Summer has planned for me, but it can't be any worse than Ozpin's training.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Right?**

 **Review Responses.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:...I have several questions.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Yeah, there's some pretty crazy shit out there. Also the plot of the story is heavily influenced on the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, a series that so happens to be a Shonen anime...so yeah, quite a few Shonen elements here, though I don't plan to have the problems that come with the Shonen anime genre.**

 **I'm glad you don't want Adam to die in a hole. Let's me know I can write a likable villain.**

 **Glad you liked the Amber development, expect more in the future.**

 **As for your questions.**

 **1\. Probably a turn based R.P.G like Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door, or a street fighter based game like Blazblue.**

 **2\. I don't really know. Would have to think about that.**

 **CraazyReader: A reply within a reply...and this is a reply within a reply with in a reply.**

 **Anyways, I went back and fixed these issues cause I can kinda see why these would be a problem within the story.**

 **CraazyReader: Good to know.**

 **SPDefender: Oh you have no idea.**

 **Donovan: It's a drug called NSP...well it's a band but still.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: Well, I plan to change that in this story.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: True, true.**

 **And yeah, it makes sense when it comes to genetics.**

 **DragonLord501st: Thanks! It's been a long and fun road with you guys, and I can't wait to continue to ride it out.**

 **Also how much sanity IS intact?**

 **Summer: Sanity?**

 **Okay, none.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Glad you liked it.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Thanks!**

* * *

 **Omake: The Abomination (Non-Canon)**

"Yah!" Brandon yelled as he swung his sword at Ozpin who dodged the attack with relative ease.

"Hmm, you've improved." He said.

"Yeah well I've had time!" He yelled as he attempted to stab Ozpin with his blade.

"But still." He began as he appeared behind Brandon and chopped at his neck, knocking the air out of him.

"You've got a lot to learn." Ozpin said.

"Tch, lucky shot." He managed to say.

"Hmm, all this training has worked up quite the appetite. Shall we get...Hmm, Pizza?" He asked.

"Hmm, I want a pepperoni, and a sausage, and a ham." Brandon said.

"You mean a Meat Lovers?" Ozpin asked.

"No, I like to keep the meat separate. Wanna savor each animal, ya know?" He said.

"But they all have pig in them." He began.

"Don't judge me." Brandon said.

"Very well. Are you hungry now?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah...Hmm, by the way, do you guys serve Hawaiian Pizza here?" He asked.

"I am...unfamiliar with that variety." He said.

"That's a no. That's what that is, that's a no." Brandon said.

"I assume that it is a sort of Pizza from your world?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, it's got ham and pineapple on it." He said, the word pineapple moving in slow motion in Ozpin's mind.

.

.

"Pardon me, but could you repeat that?" He asked.

"Ham and pineapple." Brandon said once more.

"...Ha ha! I must be hearing things. I could have sworn you said that the humans in your world had the audacity to put pineapple on-." Ozpin began.

"I did. Ham. Pineapple." He said.

"...Oh. That is disgusting. Why would you ruin perfectly good pizza with pineapple?!" He asked in an angered tone.

"It's not that bad." Brandon said.

"It's an abomination and I now believe Salem did nothing wrong!" Ozpin yelled.

"Why would you ever put a sweet and juicy fruit on top of a salty delicious pizza?!" He asked.

"Isn't tomato a fruit?" He asked.

"That is not the issue here, Mr. Kim! The issue here is that your race had the audacity to put pineapple on Pizza! Next thing you'll tell me is that they put pineapple on hamburgers as well!" Ozpin yelled.

"About that." Brandon said.

.

.

"Where's Qrow when you need him?" He asked.

* * *

 **Adam Taurus**

 **Height: 6'1"**

 **Weight: 156 lbs**

 **Age: 26**

 **Strength: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Perception: B**

 **Semblance: B**

 **Semblance: Moonslice**

 **Summary:** **It is quite similar to that of Yang's Semblance, however the main difference is that Yang uses the added power to her own strength, while Adam seems to put it all into one blow.**

 **His Semblance appears to involve absorbing an attack with his sword, Wilt, and then cutting his opponent with countered force.**

 **In these instances when he absorbed attacks, everything red on him - such as his hair, his shirt, Wilt's blade and the markings on his mask and coat - begins to glow.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: B**

 **Endurance: C**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: C**

 **Range: A**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 76**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 57**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 41**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 22**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	51. Smile

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Smile"

Thought: _'Smile'_

Flashback: _"Smile"_

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"So we are simply supposed to hide in the shadows until that human says otherwise?" One of the White Fang lieutenants asked.

"That is what she said, yes." Adam said as he sat behind his desk.

"But why?! Why sit and wait in the dark when we are so close to giving the humans what they deserve?!" He asked.

"I don't know." He said.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" The lieutenant asked.

"I mean, I don't know what that human has planned for us, all she told me was to wait until she gave me further instructions and so far I haven't heard back from her ever since the we freed Veronica and Osvaldo from the transfer." Adam said.

"Then why wait?! Let's announce our declaration of war so that all may hear! We have the equipment, we have the soldiers, and we've just got the Phantoms back together! We could be unstoppable!" The lieutenant said.

"Not all of them." He said.

"The feline is no soldier of ours anymore. She is a traitor, she is no better than those pathetic hu-." He began, only to be silenced as Adam pressed his sword against his throat.

"I suggest you watch your tongue!" Adam growled, pressing his blade further onto his neck.

"You can call her a traitor, you can call her a coward, but do not, I repeat, do not even compare her to those scum! She was more than just a soldier, she was part of our family, and that is a bond that cannot be easily broken." He said.

"Are you becoming soft?" The lieutenant asked.

"No, she made her decision." Adam said as he lowered his sword.

"If we were ever to cross swords once again then I will show no mercy. It will be swift, painless, and graceful. That doesn't mean I have to like killing her." He said.

The lieutenant stood there in silence before speaking up.

"So, how are your wounds?" He asked.

Adam looked down at his bandages and gripped the handle of his sword in anger.

"They're healing. But the internal wounds that woman has inflicted upon me may never heal." Adam said.

"Who was that woman?" The lieutenant asked.

"I never saw her face, nor did I hear her voice. But our client did give me a name." He said.

"A name?" He asked.

"Yes, her name was Raven Branwen." Adam said.

"Branwen. Branwen. I've heard that name before." The lieutenant said.

"I would be surprised if someone with your rank didn't know the name. Yes, that woman shares the same name as the infamous Qrow Branwen." He said.

"Ah yes, now I remember." He said.

"Though while they share the same name, they're abilities in combat are very different." Adam said.

"You have engaged in combat with Qrow?" The lieutenant asked.

"Not directly, but I've heard tales of his abilities from other members of the White Fang in the various outposts we have scattered all across Saunus." He said.

"Yes, we've been having quite a lot of trouble ever since the counsel decided they would send Huntsmen and Huntress's to stop our revolution." The lieutenant said.

"But our of all the huntsmen reports I have gotten from our outposts, none of them even come close to the capabilities of that woman." Adam said.

"Is she really that much of a threat?" He asked.

"Let me ask you a question, lieutenant." He said.

"Oh, of course. What is it that you need?" The lieutenant asked.

"What exactly have you heard from the other members? I've heard that the incident has spread throughout all the branches of the White Fang." Adam said.

"Hmm, well I've heard that she was unlike anything you've ever fought before, that your battle could have been heard throughout the entire city of Vale." He said.

"Well, you're half right." He said.

"What do you mean?" The lieutenant asked.

"She was indeed unlike anyone I have ever fought, but calling that a battle would be quite the exaggeration." Adam said.

"Oh come now, you're to hard on yourself." He said.

"I wasn't even able to land a single hit on her, lieutenant." He said.

.

.

"W-what?" The lieutenant asked.

"During that whole battle, I wasn't even able to land a single strike on her. It wasn't a battle, it was a one sided slaughter." Adam said.

"Though the worst part about it? She was holding back." He said.

"You believe she is capable of more?" The lieutenant asked.

"I believe that if she were a huntress, our revolution would have ended a very long time ago." Adam said.

The lieutenant stood there in silence for a few seconds until he eventually spoke up.

"W-will she be a threat to our plan?" He asked.

"Our client said that as long as she doesn't interfere with our plans then everything should go fairly smoothly." Adam said.

"Are you really going to trust the word of a human?" The lieutenant asked.

"For now. I also have my own reasons to believe that she will not be a threat to us in the future." He said.

"And those reason would be...?" He asked, motioning for him to elaborate.

"During our brawl, she only seemed to be interested in the boy." Adam said.

"You mean the human that escaped from us during the breach?" The lieutenant asked.

"Yes, that's the one." He said.

"What in the world would drive her to show any form of interest towards him?" He asked.

"They both share the same powers." Adam said.

"...wait, you mean she has the same spirit that the boy in the cage had?" The lieutenant asked.

"Well, it's not the exact same. They both have different abilities and powers, but yes, they both have spirits." He said.

"Hmm, this could cause us some trouble." He said.

"Perhaps. For now let's focus on the task at hand. We must wait until we are given further instructions by our client." Adam said.

"What would you have me do until then?" The lieutenant asked.

"Make sure that everyone is prepared for that day." He said.

"Understood." He said.

"You are excused." Adam said.

The lieutenant was about to walk out of his office but stopped in his tracks before he could.

"...Why?" The lieutenant asked.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"Why put your trust in this human? Isn't our goal supposed to end with the eradication of humanity?" He asked.

"Yes." Adam said.

"Then why ask a human for help?!" The lieutenant asked.

"Believe me lieutenant, I don't like siding with this human either. But she has connections, resources, and powers beyond your wildest beliefs. She will help us reach our goal, despite what race she may be." He said.

The lieutenant stood there in silence before nodding and walking out of his office.

Adam sat in his chair for a couple of moments before the sound of a knock on his door broke him from his thoughts.

"Come in." He said.

The door to his office opened and Ilia walked into his office.

"You called?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you for coming." Adam said.

Ilia nodded and walked towards the chair that was in front of his desk.

"So, what do you need?" Ilia asked.

Adam's only response was to reach under his desk and pull out a file of some sort.

"Here." He said, handing it to Ilia.

The chameleon girl raised her right eyebrow and took the file from Adam's hand.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Read it." He said.

Ilia nodded and opened the file.

"Hmm, this is the recent White Fang member that went rogue, right?" She asked.

"Yes, the scouts have just recently found his location, though he does plan on leaving for Vacuo soon." Adam said.

"Seems like everyone's going to Vacuo." Ilia said.

"Well, I want you to make sure he never gets that opportunity." He said.

"Didn't that human say we had to lay low?" She asked.

"No, she said that we can't make any public appearances in Vale. You'll be going to a nearby town near the ocean." Adam said.

"Hmm, any specific ways you want him killed?" Ilia asked.

"Don't make a scene, keep to the shadows, if you have to make it public then make it look like an accident." He said.

"Hmm, says that he's a Rhino Faunus." She read aloud.

"Yes, while he won't be particularly hard to find, while I'm sure you'll be able to pull of a successful assassination, I recommend you engage him in a open area where there aren't any Faunus in the area." Adam said.

"Is he that tough?" Ilia asked.

"While he may not be to much of a problem for someone in the Phantoms, he's still a force to be reckoned with." He said.

"Besides, your strong suit is mainly for stealth assassinations so I recommend you avoid direct combat with him" Adam said.

"I can take care of myself you know." Ilia said.

"I know, I'm just taking a little extra precautions is all. I can't risk drawing more attention to the Fang then I already have." He said.

"Right...so how are you holding up?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"You know." She said, motioning her finger towards his bandages.

"Oh. That. I'll be fine, it'll just take some time to heal." Adam said.

"I wasn't talking about your physical wounds." Ilia said.

Adam just sat there in silence for a few seconds before eventually speaking up.

"I'll be okay. You just worry about getting the job done." He said.

Ilia was hesitant but nodded and started to walk out of the door.

Though before she could, Adam caught a glimpses of something large and square inside Ilia's pocket.

"Wait, what is that?" He asked.

"What is what?" She asked, turning towards her leader.

"That, in your pocket." Adam said.

Ilia reached into her pocket and pulled out Brandon's tape player.

"Oh, this. I found it when we were searching the human for weapons. I didn't really know what this was so I took it just in case it was a radio transmitter or something." She said.

"Well, is it?" He asked.

"No, Veronica already confirmed that it wasn't a transmitter." Ilia said.

"Then what is it?" Adam asked.

"It's some sort of music player." She said.

"Music player?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. No matter who I ask, no one has ever seen this type of technology, not even Veronica." Ilia said.

"Hmm, interesting. How does it work?" Adam asked.

"Well, first you take this thing." She said as she pulled out the tape from her pocket.

"Then you press this button to open it up." Ilia said as she pressed a button on the tape player, causing the front door on it to open.

"Put the tape in here." She said, putting the tape into the tape player.

"And press this button to start the music." Ilia said, pressing the button.

As she did, the gears in the tape player started to turn.

"Hmm, interesting." Adam said.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like this. Hopefully I can find someone who does." Ilia said.

"...Do you plan to seek out that human?" He asked.

"No, I'm not that desperate for answers. It's just something I'm curious about is all." She said.

"Hmm, very well. Though why do you have it? I would have thought Veronica would have relished in the opportunity to analyze foreign technology." Adam said.

"W-well. She needed to look though some papers of some past technology." Ilia said.

"But wouldn't she need the tape player to compare it?" He asked.

"..."

"...You just like the music, don't you." Adam asked.

"S-shut up." She said as she walked out of the room.

Adam sighed and took of his newly forged mask, placing it onto his desk.

"Hah, so we're just supposed to hide in the shadows for now." Adam said as he leaned in his chair.

As Ilia walked out of the room, she looked around to see if there were any other White Fang members around her.

Once she was certain that no one was around, she pulled out the headphones that came with the tape player and put them on her head.

She took out the tape player and pressed the play button, attaching it onto her waste guard.

After a few seconds, the music started to play and Ilia was now moving to the sound of the beat.

 **(AN: Play Liva La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin)**

 _"She's into superstition, black cats and voodoo dolls."_ Ilia started to move her feet to the sound of the rhythm.

 _"I feel a premonition, that girl's gonna make me fall."_ She spun around at the last part of the lyrics.

Ilia started to shake her leg at the sound of the guitar.

 _"She's into new sensation, new kicks in the candlelight."_

 _"She's got a new addiction for every day and night."_

 _"She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain."_ Ilia ran her hands through her hair.

 _"She'll make you live her crazy life but she'll take away your pain."_ She put her hands to her heart.

 _"Like a bullet to your brain."_ Ilia pointed her index finger at a nearby can and pretended to fire a gun.

 _"Upside inside out._ _She's livin' la vida loca"_

 _"She'll push and pull you down._ _Livin' la vida loca."_

 _"Her lips are devil red a_ _nd her skin's the color of mocha"_

 _"She will wear you out_ _Livin' la vida loca."_

 _"She's livin la vida loca."_

Her leg started to shake to the beat of the music _._

 _"Woke up in New York City i_ _n a funky cheap hotel."_

 _"She took my heart a_ _nd she took my money."_

 _"She must've slipped me a sleepin' pill."_

 _"She never drinks the water a_ _nd makes you order_ _French champagne."_ Ilia pretended to take a sip from a shot glass.

She didn't really know what a "New York City" was, or a "French" was, but she knew what champagne was.

 _"Once you've has a taste of her y_ _ou'll never be the same!"_

 _"Yeah, she'll make you go insane!"  
_

 _"Upside inside out_ _She's livin' la vida loca."_

 _"She'll push and pull you down_ _Livin' la vida loca."_

 _"Her lips are devil red a_ _nd her skin's the color of mocha!"_

 _"She will wear you out,_ _Livin' la vida loca."_

 _"She's livin la vida loca."_

Ilia started to move her feet to the sound of the guitar.

 _"She'll make you take your c_ _lothes off and go dancing in the rain."_

 _"She'll make you live her crazy life u_ _ntil you go insane."_

 _"No, you'll never be the same."_

 _"Upside inside out."  
_

 _"She's livin' la vida loca."_

 _"She'll push and pull you down."  
_

 _"Livin' la vida loca."_

 _"Her lips are devil red a_ _nd her skin's the color of mocha."_

 _"She will wear you out_ _Livin' la vida loca."_

Though as she spun around once more, she could see that Alerio and Aleria were right behind her, trying to suppress there laughter.

.

.

At this moment, every inch of Ilia's body turned pink.

Aleria pointed at her headphones and motioned for her to take them off.

Ilia slowly took of the headphones and hit the button on the tape player that would stop the music.

"Uh." She tried to say, though Alerio wasn't able to hold his laughter in, causing him to roll onto the floor in a laghing fit.

"A-Alerio!" Ilia yelled, her body starting to turn red.

"C-come on Alerio. D-don't embarrass her, she was just...Oh Monty!" She yelled as she fell into the floor.

"Come on!" She yelled.

"Ho ho! O-okay, just a minute." Alerio said, his hands on his knee's.

After a few moments, the two eventually calmed down.

"Are you done?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah, we're good now." He said.

"Good, so what do you two want?" She asked.

"We're here to give you this." Aleria said as she handed her a scroll.

"What is it?" Ilia asked.

"It's a new type of scroll that Veronica developed. Now instead of wondering aimlessly to find your target you can just scan a person and get a full bio on them. Try it with us." She said.

Ilia nodded and started to scan Aleria. After a few seconds, the scan was complete and a voice could be heard, signaling that the analysis was complete.

 **"Analysis complete."** It said.

Sure enough, an entire analysis of Aleria could be seen on the screen of the scroll.

"Well, this makes my job a hell of a lot easier." Ilia said.

"Glad to hear. So who's your target?" Aleria asked.

Ilia pulled out the file that Adam gave her and handed it to Aleria.

"Hmm, yeah I've seen this guy a few times. Shouldn't be anything hard." She said.

"Yeah, might make a few stops while I'm there." Ilia said.

Aleria looked confused for a second before her eye's widened.

"Oh. Right, you've got relatives in that town, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, my grandmother. She's the biological family I have left." She said.

"We've only met her once, nice lady." Alerio said.

"Yeah, been awhile since I last saw her." Ilia said.

"Well, we won't keep you. You should probably head out before it gets dark." Aleria said.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said as she put her mask on.

"Good luck, tell your grandma we said hi." She said.

Ilia nodded and ran out of the main base of the Vale district of the White Fang, jumping towards some trees as she left the building.

 _'Guess it couldn't hurt to pay a visit while I'm there.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she continued to jump from tree to tree.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Hah!" I yelled as I swung my blade at Summer who dodged the attack with relative ease.

"Hmm, the warrior chuckled as he gazed upon his long time rival, his mind full of confidence and the determination to come out on top." Summer read aloud as her eye's darted side by side down the pages of the book she is reading.

"Yah!" I yelled, swinging my blade rapidly at Summer, though she dodged these attacks as if she knew where the attacks were going to come from before I even threw them.

"Though there was a major difference between confidence and cockiness. A difference the man could not seem to see. As such he was frowned upon by his peers and equals due to his crude and selfish personality. He was what you would call a rough around the edges kind of guy." She said.

"The crowd gazed upon him with disrespect, as he showed no signs of honor or grace within his form or attitude." She said.

"Tch, yah!" I yelled, attempting to break Summer away from her book with a kick, though she simply leaned backwards to dodge the oncoming attack. She flipped backwards a bit, her eye's not leaving her book.

"The opposing side, however, was a man of great honor and grace. The way his blade sliced through the wind sang a melody that told the stories of countless battles." Summer said.

I rushed towards her with my blade at my side, preparing to strike at her when she was least expecting it.

"The man was fearless and valiant, many students of the next generation had looked up to his example. He was also the proud father of two sons." She said as she dodged the oncoming attack.

What the hell is she doing?!

 _ **"Hmm, she's quite the clever one, I'll give her that."**_ Caliber said.

Mind filling me in on the details here?

 _ **"I could, but where would the fun in that be?"**_ He asked.

Tch, fine. Be that way, I'll figure it out myself.

I ran towards Summer with my blade at my side and as I managed to close the gap in between us, Summer managed to catch the blade with her book.

"The hell-?!" I yelled as I attempted to pull my blade from Summer's grasp.

Though before I could, Summer quickly kicked me away, causing me to loose the grip I had on my blade.

Summer picked up my blade and started to flip it around with her hands before kicking it into the air with her feet.

"The two men stood there face to face, though while the opposing side was more focused on mentally preparing for his battle, our main character was more focused on putting on a show with flashy flips and tricks." She said.

"Tch, you gonna keep your head in that stupid book or are we going to actually take this seriously?!" I asked, frustration building up in my heart.

"The two men had started to engage in combat, our main character getting the first move." Summer said.

Guess that answers my question.

I shook my head and attempted to reach for my gun, though the only thing I managed to grab was the thin air where my gun was supposed to be.

Right, Summer told me that I couldn't use my gun while we were training because it would attract the attention of the Grimm.

"Well, good old fashion hand to hand it is." I said, cracking my knuckles as I ran towards Summer who kicked my blade towards a tree.

I started to throw various punches at Summer, though she was able to dodge the attacks I threw at her with little to no effort.

"The man begun his assault, while his moves weren't bad for someone of his age, his moves were sluggish and predictable to the opposing side." Summer said.

"Yah!" I yelled as I attempted punch Summer across the chin, though as my fist flew by her face, she quickly grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground.

"Though the man's moves were more refined and toned than the our hero's, making for an easy strike." She said.

"Shut your mo-!" I began to yell as I got up, though before I could continue my sentence, Summer punched me in the nose.

"Gah! Jeez this is just training!" I yelled, wiping the blood away from my nose.

"Though there was one that would always lead to the mans downfall. His short temper would always get the better of him during the heat of battle, causing his concentration to waver." Summer said.

I quickly started to run towards her before jumping into the air with my fist reeled backwards.

Though as my fist was just about to make contact, she grabbed my fist and threw me up into the air.

Summer jumped up into the air and started to rapidly kick me, though as I was right about to fall Summer grabbed my arm and kicked me across the face.

"Gah!" I gasped as my body was slammed onto the ground.

"The man kept a calm and cool composure throughout the entire fight, using the various cheers from his various followers and family as motivation to fight." She said.

"Hah, hah, hah." I breathed heavily as I got up from the ground.

"Though our hero had nobody. He had only ever known how to fight for himself, for his own survival. He had no one who looked up to him and nobody to look up to. His pride wouldn't allow him to follow the image of somebody else." Summer said.

"He had no family, nobody but himself to protect." She said.

What kind of story is she even reading?

"The battle continued, though the crowd could see a clear winner." Summer said.

"Tch." I started to charge towards Summer.

Summer was about to counter my attack, but I quickly rolled past her and started to run towards the tree where my sword laid.

"Don't mind if I do!" I yelled, pulling my sword out from the tree.

Summer blinked a couple of times before chuckling, her eyes going back to her book.

I charged towards Summer with my sword at my side, though as she attempted to dodge, I quickly slid to my side and attempted to stab her.

Though before the blade could make contact to her body, she motioned her body in the air so that the blade would miss.

As I attempted to go in for another attack, Summer kicked me across the face, causing me to go flying across the ground.

"Hah, hah, hah." I gasped as I laid on the ground, sweat dripping down my forehead.

"The warrior laid on the ground, beaten and broken. The noble warrior had, once again, come out on top once aga-." Summer began, only to cut herself off as sliced at her.

"Not yet!" I yelled.

"Excuse me, it's not nice to interrupt someone while they're ta-." She began, only to be cut off once again by the air being cut my blade.

"I'm not done yet!" I managed to say.

"I think you've had enough." Summer said.

"I can still...I can keep going!" I yelled, raising my blade.

"Just listen to yourself! Your so out of breath you can't even talk straight!" She said.

"Shut up!" I yelled, swinging my blade at her.

"Just look at yourself! You look like you were just coming back from a brawl!" Summer said.

"I said shut up!" I yelled as I swung my blade at Summer.

Summer grunted and manifested the arm of Lupus around her arm to catch the blade.

Though once the blade made contact with her hand, blue flames ignited as the blade clashed with the gauntlet of Lupus.

.

.

"W-what the he-?" I began, only to be interrupted as the handle of Summer's scythe made contact with my nose, causing me to go flying back.

I landed on the ground with a loud thud, small dust clouds forming around me as I made contact with the hard surface of the mountain's summit.

"Hah, hah, hah." I breathed heavily as I laid there on the ground, exhausted.

"I've seen a lot of stubborn people in my life. But out of all the people I've seen, you're the second most stubborn person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." Summer asked as she leaned down.

"Who's the first?" I asked.

Summer simply looked at me with one of her eye brows raised.

"Right, stupid question." I said.

"Here, let me help you up." Summer said as she held her hand out.

"Thanks." I managed to say as Summer pulled me up.

"So...what's in that book?" I asked.

"Nothing." Summer said as she turned the book over to reveal a full set of blank pages.

"...What?!" I yelled.

"The pages were blank. I wasn't actually reading anything, I was only giving the illusion that I was." She said.

"Um, why?" I asked.

"Think about what I was saying." Summer said.

"Hmm...wait, were you narrating our battle?!" I asked.'

"Bingo." She said.

"Why the hell were you narrating our battle?!" I asked.

"Well, it's supposed to be a lesson." Summer said.

"Lesson?" I asked.

"In the little story scenario I made up, the main hero, so to say, was you." She said.

"Oh...wait, that was me?!" I yelled.

"Yes, and the fearless and valiant master was me." Summer said with a smug grin on her face.

"Like hell your valiant!" I yelled, causing Summer to hit me with the book.

"Shut it." She said.

"So why did you make that little scenario up?" I asked.

"It's like I said, I wanted to teach you a lesson." Summer said.

"A lesson on what?!" I asked.

"Your flaws." She said.

"My...flaws?" I asked.

"Yes, it was my way of addressing them into our battle." Summer said.

"Tch, the hell are you on about?" I asked.

"Well, allow me to give you a lesson." She said.

"First, let's talk about your combat skills." Summer said.

"What about it?" I asked.

 _"You rely on your spirit to much, rather than your own abilities."_ I remembered Raven saying.

"Well, first off while your fighting style is fast and tricky, it's unrefined and sloppy." Summer said.

"Gee, thanks." I said.

"You have a rather unique fighting style, it's unlike few I've ever seen. It combines fast movements with strong heavy hitting strikes." She said.

"Let me take a wile guess about Ozpin's teaching methods, he believed that you would learn best if he sent you on missions and you learned from the experience?" Summer guessed.

"Let me guess, that's how he trained Raven?" I asked.

"Yeah, though I assume that it was more of a challenge for you because you had to learn everything from scratch." She said.

"Tch, I've been doing fine." I said.

"That may be true, but if you could refine your skill and truly adapt your combat style so that it fits your method of fighting, then you could be a real force of nature." Summer said.

"Hmm, guess it wouldn't' hurt." I said.

"Yeah, you need to truly think about what your fighting style can do for the enemy. For you, you're fast, tricky, and most importantly, unpredictable." She said.

"Yeah, people tend to call me the last one a lot." I said.

"If you can adapt your movement and strikes to your mind set, then you could be a real threat." Summer said.

"Heh, that so?" I asked.

"Though that brings me to my next issue." She said.

"Okay, lay it on me." I said.

"It's about your spirit." Summer said.

"Let me guess. I rely on my spirit's abilities rather than my own abilities." I said.

"You rely on your spirit to mu-." She began.

.

.

"Uh, yeah. That's exactly what I wanted to address." Summer said.

"Well somebody already beat you to the punch." I said.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. It...happened when I went to go and get the food." I said.

"...Wait, did you meet Raven?" Summer asked.

"Well, it wasn't my first time actually meeting her as you know. But it was my first legitimate conversation with her." I said.

"What did you two talk about?" She asked.

"Well, one of the topics we talked about is the topic about the flaw I just mentioned." I said.

"How does she know about that? She may know that you're a weapon user but as far as I'm concerned she hasn't actually seen you fight." Summer said.

"No, she saw my fight with Adam." I said.

"Adam Taurus?" She asked.

"The one and only." I said.

"Hmm, interesting. Though judging by her judgment I assume you didn't defeat the bull Faunus." Summer said.

"Yeaaah." I said.

"Well, besides that. What else did the two of you talk about?" She asked.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" I asked.

"She's my former partner. I haven't seen her in over ten years. Why wouldn't I be curious about her?" Summer asked.

"Fair enough. She wanted to make a little deal with me." I said.

"Hmm, what did she propose?" She asked.

"Well, she said that if I helped her with whatever she may need my help with, then as long as if it wasn't a waste of her time, she would help me with whatever I asked of her." I said.

"Hmm, interesting proposal. Are you going to accept her offer?" Summer asked.

"Well right now I'm not really in need of her help. But I'll keep the offer in my back pocket." I said.

"Good. While her attitude isn't exactly the best, I can't deny that her fighting capabilities are second to none." She said.

"Yeah...hey, mind if I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure, go right ahead." Summer said.

"Do you know why Raven left Tai with Yang?" I asked.

"...Wow, that's pretty personal." She said.

"If you don't want to answer it then you don't have to." I said.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to answer it, it's just that I can't answer it." Summer said.

"So not even you know why she left?" I asked.

"I don't think anyone but Raven knows." She said.

"Heh, figures." I said.

"Yeah, Raven wasn't exactly the most open person in the world." Summer said.

"Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out." I said.

"Heh, guess so." She said.

"So...what next?" I asked.

"Is that all she told you?" Summer asked.

"Well...she does know where the wielder of Mjolnir is." I said.

"Really? Why would you want to know something like that?" She asked.

"...Same reason you took me in, to fight some big threat." I said.

"Ah, I see. You want to see if the wielder of Mjolnir will join our side in this little war that nobody knows about." Summer said.

"Not just him. I want to gather all of them." I said.

"All of them?" She asked.

"Yeah, including you and Raven." I said.

"...Heh, that's quite the trip you'll have to make then." Summer said.

"Yeah, won't be easy either." I said.

"Yep. So where is the wielder of Mjolnir?" She asked.

"In a prison." I said.

Summer sat there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking up.

"I'm sorry, what?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, I was pretty taken back to." I said.

"So you still want the wielder of Mjolnir on your side, even though you know that he's a criminal?" She asked.

"Well, technically Raven's a criminal, and I still want her on our side." I said.

"Okay, fair enough." Summer said.

"Besides. If I've learned anything throughout my time in Remnant, it's that just because your labeled as a criminal doesn't mean you are one." I said.

"Sounds like you've been quite busy." She said.

"Yeah, I'll tell you all about it later." I said.

"Can't wait to hear about it." Summer said.

"Yeah...so anything else you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's about one more problem you have." She said.

"Tch, alright lay it on me." I said.

"That." Summer said.

"...I'm sorry what?" I asked.

"It's one of your biggest problems. Your attitude." She said.

"Believe me, you're not the first, and you won't be the last person to complain about my attitude." I said.

"I may not have known you for as long as other people. But I have been able to figure out a great deal about you from our fight yesterday." Summer said.

"So that's why you just randomly attacked me?" I asked.

"Yep, and I have to say. Your attitude is what's really holding you back." She said.

"Your quick to loose your temper, making your moves even more sluggish than before." Summer said.

"Not only that but you once you let your temper get the best of you, you lose that quick witted mind you have." She said.

"Though your temper isn't the only thing that holds you back. If anything, it's your overconfidence and your cocky attitude is what causes your down fall." Summer said.

"Once you get the upper hand, you start to get a bit to sure in your victory, leaving the opponent open for an attack. Not only that but your cocky attitude makes you over estimate your own abilities." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I said.

"You need to learn how to not be so over confident during your battles. Master all of the problems that I mentioned and you'll see just how capable you can be." Summer said.

"Hmm, guess it wouldn't hurt to try." I said as I got up.

"So, anything else?" I asked.

"Actually, I have a request for you." Summer said.

"A request?" I asked.

"Yeah, here." Summer said as she pulled out a map of the continent of Saunus.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"It's a map." She said.

"Well, yeah I can see that but why are you giving it to me?" I asked.

"I need you to go to this town right here by the ocean side." Summer said as she pointed at a specific location on the map.

"What for?" I asked.

"Well, this town has been receiving a great deal of Grimm lately. I need you to take care of that." She said.

"Wait, isn't that your job?!" I asked.

"Yeah." Summer said.

"Why the hell am I doing your job?!" I asked.

"Well, I've been drawing a bit to much attention to myself ever since our little talk in Vale. So I need to lay low for a little bit, but the Grimm won't wait for me to come out of hiding. So that's where you come in." She said.

"Tch, fine. I'll go to the stupid town." I said.

"While your there, try to work on these problems I mentioned. If what I've gathered from your training with Ozpin is correct then you learn best when you're in the field." Summer said.

"Yeah. So what path do you recommend I take?" I asked.

Summer simply started to walk towards the other side of the summit, pointing down the mountain.

I walked over to where she was and saw that she was pointing at a path on the mountain that led to the ocean side.

"Take this path. It's the fastest way to get to the town I mentioned." Summer said.

"Hmm, looks like I'll still have to deal with some forest." I said.

"Yeah, I won't promise you that the Grimm will stay out of your way on the trip there." She said.

"Well, what else is new?" I asked.

"So, you should probably head on out before it gets dark. With any luck you'll make it there before sundown." Summer said.

"Yeah, wish me luck. Hopefully the Grimm I have to deal with won't be to much of a problem." I said.

"Well, hope for the best, expect the worst." She said.

"Yeah, hope." I said as I started to walk down the path that lead down the mountain.

"Hmm, so once I make it down the mountain I just make a little right turn down that path then keep going till I get to the cross road." I mumbled to myself as I walked down the path.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

Ilia jumped from tree to tree as she stared at the map that was on her scroll. This scroll had the safest route towards the seaside town where the rogue White Fang member was hiding.

"Okay, almost there. Just need to go down this path and it should just be a straight trip there." Ilia said to herself as she jumped from tree to tree.

"Hmm, guess it wouldn't hurt to know what I'm dealing with right now." She said, flipping through her scroll until she came across the file that contained the bio and info of her target.

"Hmm, so I'm looking for a guy named Donovan Igneous. Well, if what Adam said is right then he shouldn't be to hard to find." Ilia said.

 _'Wonder how grandma's doing? It's been a while since I last saw her, not since I joined the White Fang.'_ She thought to herself as she continued to move through the forest.

 _'It's been a while since we last talked. It'll be good to see her again, she's the only family I have left. After...it happened.'_ Ilia thought to herself.

She spaced out for a bit but shook her head, her concentration going back to the tree's in front of her.

 _'No, I moved on. I got my revenge, and I'll make sure that humanity pays...well, most of humanity that is.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Heh, wonder how the Fang would react if they figured out my biggest secret. Well, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if the Phantoms or Adam found out about it. Still, no one can find out. Nobody can know that the only family I have left is a human.'_ Ilia thought to herself.

Ilia continued to jump from tree to tree until she made it to a cliff side.

She walked up to edge of the cliff and stared at the horizon in front of her with a rare smile on her face.

Not too far from the cliff was the vast ocean of Remnant, and on it's beach stood a decently sized town.

"Home." Ilia said to herself as she jumped off of the cliff.

As she continued to fall down the cliff at increasing speeds, her eyes darted around the area to see where she could land.

Her eyes eventually settled on a fairly large tree that was only a few feet from the cliff.

She pulled out her whip and cracked it at the tree so that it wrapped around the trunk of the tree.

Ilia swung herself towards a nearby tree, landing on one of it's various branches.

The chameleon girl took of her mask and started to jump to tree to tree, eventually arriving at the town she calls home.

Ilia inhaled deeply and exhaled, a smile forming on her face.

"Heh, missed the smell of the ocean." She said as she walked towards the town.

She started to walk towards a park that was home to countless memories from Ilia's youth.

 _'Still looks the same as before.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she stared at the park with a smile on her face.

Though before she could continue her walk down town, she was quickly stopped by a woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" She said.

"Uh, can I help you?" Ilia asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, there are children here, could you, oh how do I say this? Not wear something that's so skin tight?" The woman asked.

Ilia was confused for a moment before realization hit her like a truck.

A blush started to form on Ilia's face.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry, I just got here so I didn't really have time to change." She apologized.

"No, it's alright dear, you don't have to change out of your outfit if you don't want to, just try not to stand in front of the children. Though I do highly recommend you change into something less...revealing, you're starting to draw some eyes." The woman said, causing Ilia to turn around to see various men and women looking at her with widened eyes.

"What?! You got something to say?!" She yelled, causing everyone to shake there heads and walk away.

"Heh, guess you don't need to worry about that. You seem to know how to take care of yourself." The woman said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you can say that." Ilia said.

"Mommy!" She heard a little girl yell, causing her to look behind the woman.

What surprised her the most was a pair of wolf Faunus running towards the woman.

This wouldn't normally shock her if it weren't for the fact that the woman showed no signs of having any Faunus traits.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What's wrong honey?" The woman asked.

"My finger hurts." The girl said, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Oooh. You poor thing. I think I have a bandage in my-." The woman began, only for Ilia to lean down to the little wolf Faunus with a bandage in her hands.

"Hold still." She said, wrapping the bandage around the girls thumb.

"Wow! Thank you miss!" The girl said.

"Just be more careful." Ilia said as she got up to meet the woman face to face.

"Thank you, I really appreciate your help." The woman said.

"Yeah. Hey, quick question, what kind of Faunus are you?" She asked.

"Pardon?" The woman asked.

"Well, I don't mean to be rude. It's just that I don't exactly see any traits of a wolf on you." Ilia said.

"Oh! No it's fine. People make this mistake all the time, I'm not actually a Faunus. I'm a human." She said.

"...Wait, then you married a-?" She began.

"Yeah, I know humans marrying Faunus are pretty rare these days, but hey, it's not unheard of. Otherwise how would we have the biology we have today?" The woman asked.

"Guess I can't really argue with that." Ilia said.

"Yeah, my husband is the reason why my lovely little children have these cute little ears." The woman said as she scratched behind her daughter ears.

"Ha ha! Stop it that tickles!" The girl said.

"Aw, isn't she just the cutest?" The woman asked.

"Yeah." Ilia said.

"...Look, my apology may not be a whole lot compared to millions of humans. But I just want to say that I'm sorry for the way we treat you these days. It's just horrible." She said.

"Uh, thanks I guess." She said, only to realize what she just said, or more of who she just referred to.

"W-wait, how did you know I was a Faunus?!" Ilia asked.

"Well, I am married to a Faunus in a town that's mostly populated by Faunus, so I tend to have an eye for these sorts of things." The woman said.

"Oh." She said.

"Though you do look fairly human. Could have fooled anyone really." She said.

"Yeah, I tend to get that a lot, even from other Faunus." Ilia said.

"So what kind of Faunus are you?" The woman asked.

Ilia's only response was to change the color of her skin and hair.

"Hah! Wow! That's so cool! What other colors can you change into!" The girl asked as she stared at Ilia with stars in her eyes.

"Uh." Ilia wasn't really sure how to respond.

"Honey!" The woman said.

"Oh! Right, sorry miss." The girl said.

"No, i-its alright." Ilia said, a little sweat forming on her forehead.

"Though I have to say, being a chameleon is bound to have it's perks." The woman said.

 _'You have no idea.'_ Ilia thought.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you. But I really need to go, I'm pretty busy." She said.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you." She said.

"No, it's fine." Ilia said as she started to walk away.

"Wait! I didn't get your name." The woman said.

"Ilia." She said as she continued to walk away.

The woman and the girl waved goodbye, a little male wolf Faunus running up to the woman.

 _'Must be her son or something.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she continued to walk through her hometown.

.

.

Well, it wasn't where she grew up by any means, but it was the thought that counts to her.

She looked at the various stores and monuments she had seen during her brief times here during her youth.

 _'Hmm, wonder what's changed since I was last here?'_ She thought to herself.

 _'When was the last time I was here? Must have been...at least five years or so.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she walked down the streets of her home town.

She quickly glanced to her side to see a stand of some sort sitting on the edge of the docks.

"Huh, guess that's still there even after all this time." Ilia said to herself as she walked over to the stand.

"Thank you, and come again!" A fairly old man mustached man said.

"Ah! Welcome to-!" The old man began.

"...Well I'll be. Ain't this a familiar face." The man said.

"H-hey, Burt." Ilia said.

"Well if it ain't Ilia! It sure has been a long time! My how you've grown." Burt said as he took off his hat.

"Yeah, it's been a while." She said.

"Hey! Quit holding up the line!" One guy said.

"Can't ya see were closed!" Burt yelled.

"Uh, was this a bad time?" Ilia asked.

"No, no! It's been so long! Here, I'll make you some ice cream. Do you still like it the old way?" He asked.

"You still remember?" She asked.

"You had me make it into a unique type of ice cream cone I sell here." Burt said.

"Right. Yeah, I still like it." Ilia said.

Burt nodded and started to get to work on the cone.

After a few minutes, he handed Ilia the cone, a bowl of ice cream of his own.

"Here ya go! On the house." He said.

"Thanks." She said as she started to lick the ice cream.

"So, what have you been up to? It's been five years since I last saw ya." Burt said.

"Well, I've been busy." Ilia said.

"Busy? Busy with what?" He asked.

"...Work." She said.

"Must be some work if you're going around town dressed like that." Burt said.

"..What the hell's wrong with what I'm wearing?!" Ilia asked, her skin starting to turn red.

"W-what! N-no! It's lovely!...But maybe it shouldn't be so, ya know, skin tight." He said.

"It's fine." She said.

"It's just a thought...so what do you do these days?" Burt asked.

"I'm...part of the White Fang." Ilia said.

"Oh! Right! Your grandmother told me about that! Guess this old brain is starting to take it's toll." He said.

"Yeah." She said.

"...So, what made you want to join the White Fang?" Burt asked.

"Well, to gain equality. Though I'm sure you've seen that we haven't exactly been doing a good job in reaching that goal." Ilia said.

"Yeah, I heard about what happened in Vale. I think there actions are unforgivable, who knows how many innocent lives have died because of there clouded goals." Burt said.

.

.

"B-but you're not like them! You're a nice girl. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...I mean sure you've always had a temper but still-." He began, only to cut himself off as Ilia's deadpanned stare made contact with him.

"Uh, you know what I mean, right?" Burt asked.

"Yeah, I know you mean well." She said.

"...So what are you doing back here so suddenly?" He asked.

"Well, I decided to pay a visit to my grandmother." Ilia said.

"Then what's with the weapon?" Burt asked.

"Well Grimm aren't exactly going to not attack me if I don't have a weapon." She said.

"Well, knowing you, you probably found a method to avoid most of the Grimm that surround this area." He said.

"..."

"Let me guess. White Fang business?" Burt asked.

"Yep." Ilia said.

"Alright. Fair enough." He said.

"...Does it bother you?" Ilia asked.

"Does what bother me?" Burt asked.

"Does me being in the White Fang bother you? You know, as a human." She asked.

"Hmm, no. I mean, I never had anything against the White Fang or the Faunus, I mean, look at us! We're one of the very few towns that actually treat Faunus equally. Why do you think we have more Faunus in our town than we do humans?" He asked.

"Still, it seems like with Adam being the current leader, our goal has more or less turned from gaining equality to the complete eradication of humanity." Ilia said.

"Well, that's gonna be a pretty hard goal to achieve." Burt said.

"..."

"Look, you're a good kid at heart. From what I've heard from your grandmother, most of the Phantoms aren't half bad themselves. I know that no matter what comes your way, you'll make the right choice." He said.

"..."

"Well, it's been nice chatting with you. But I have a shop to run. Tell your grandmother I said hi, okay?" Burt said as he walked over to his stand.

Ilia nodded and finished the last remains of her ice cream cone.

"Hope to see ya again some time!" He said.

"Yeah, see ya." She said as she waved goodbye to him and started to walk away.

Ilia took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Okay, time to go home." She said as she started to walk down the street.

She walked down various monuments, stores, and houses until she came across a small house right near the forest.

Ilia took a deep breath before walking up to the front door, ready to face the only family she had left.

She stood in front of the door, her heart racing in her chest.

 _'Come on! You've faced worse than this, you can do this.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she knocked on the door.

A few seconds passed until the doors to her grandmothers house opened.

"Hello?" She asked, though once her eyes stop on Ilia's figure, she gasped.

"...Um, hi grandma." Ilia said.

"Well, you took your sweet time." She said.

"Yeah." She said.

Ilia's grandmother stood there in silence for a few seconds before rushing towards her granddaughter to embrace her.

"What took you so long ya little brat?" The woman asked.

"...Heh, sorry to keep you waiting." She said as she embraced her grandmother.

"Well, don't just stand there! Come on in, I was just about to make some tea." She said as she started to push her granddaughter into the house.

"Alright, no need to shove." Ilia grumbled as she walked into the house.

"So what have you been up to with the Fang business and all?" Ilia's grandmother asked.

"Oh you know...the usual." She said.

"You've been getting into trouble, haven't you?" She said.

"I'm in the White Fang, what did you expect me to do?" Ilia asked.

"I wasn't expecting to see that the White Fang were going around Vale causing a riot." Ilia's grandmother said.

"...So you saw." She said.

"I'm pretty sure everyone all around Vale saw it." She said.

"..."

"I'm not mad. You get orders and you've gotta follow em, it's how it goes. Doesn't make you a bad person." She said as she started to pour the tea into the cups.

"We...also caused the breach in Vale as well." Ilia said

"I know." Ilia's grandmother said.

"How did you-?" She began.

"Stolen Atlas technology, explosive charges, mountain Glenn. While the White Fang have never taken such a...direct approach, the other two have the Fang's claw marks all over it." She said.

"Right." Ilia said.

"Like I said, I'm not mad. Though I don't exactly agree with these methods your using, a lot of people are bound to get hurt." Her grandmother said as she pushed a tea cup in font of Ilia.

"Yeah." She said, taking a sip from her tea cup, only to flinch a second later.

"It's still hot." She said.

"Y-yeah, I can see that." Ilia said.

"So, how are the Phantoms these days?" Her grandmother asked.

"Well, Naomi finally found a piece to her past." She said.

"You mean besides the recordings of her past self?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's some sort of flute or something." Ilia said.

"Hmm, interesting." Her grandmother said.

"Yeah, Veronica went to prison." She said.

"Jeez, you kids can never stay out of trouble, can you?" She asked.

"Veronica's in her twenties." Ilia said.

"More like her IQ is in the twenties." Her grandmother said.

"Don't let her hear that." She said.

"Tch, what's she gonna do? I may be old but I still got some fight left in here." She said, waving her cane around in the air.

"Believe me, I know." Ilia said.

"Anyways, what about those two feather brains that are in your group?" Her grandmother asked.

"Well, Aleria's become a bit more...brutal than before. Though this might have to do with our leaders sudden change in our approach to gain equality." She said.

"Your leader's got a pretty skewed perception of that word." She said.

"Yeah." Ilia said.

"What about the other one?" Ilia's grandmother asked.

"Well, Alerio is...well Alerio." She said.

"That feather brain will never change, will he?" She asked.

"No, no he won't." Ilia said.

"So, what about your little friend, Blake?" Ilia's grandmother asked, causing Ilia to clench the tea cup in her hands.

"She...left." She said.

.

.

"Oh." She said.

"Yeah, her and Adam were going on a mission together. Then all of a sudden she just...left. She didn't even tell any of us she was doing it. She just ran." Ilia said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Don't be. It was her decision to make." She said.

"Are you angry?" She asked.

"Of course I'm angry. Why wouldn't I be angry at the fact that Blake just up and left us without saying anything to us?" Ilia asked.

"Well, what's done is done. So how's work these days? I'm sure you've been rather busy with what I saw on the news." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Yeah, though our troubles go a bit further than what you saw on the news." She said.

"I've got the time." She said.

"Well, it's a rather short explanation really. There's this...kid, who's been causing us so much more trouble than...anyone really." Ilia said.

"...A kid." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Yeah." She said.

"As in, a kid your age?" She asked.

"Yes?" Ilia said, slightly unsure where she was going with this.

"A kid, around your age, has been causing trouble for the entire Vale branch of the White Fang." She said.

"...Well when you say it like that it's embarrassing." She said.

"This either must be one tough kid, or the rookies these years really aren't cutting it." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Eh, it's a bit of both." Ilia said.

"So, what's so special about this kid?" She asked.

"I don't really know exactly. It's almost as if he's possessed or something." She said.

"What do you mean by, possessed?" Ilia's grandmother asked.

"It's like he's got this guardian angel protecting him. It's always there, and it's really powerful." Ilia said.

"Guardian angel, hmm?" She asked.

"Like I said, I'm not entirely sure what it is myself." She said.

"Sounds like an interesting kid." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Yeah." Ilia said.

"So." She began, setting tea cup down.

"Why are you here?" She finished asking.

"Can't a girl come and catch up with her grandmother?" Ilia asked.

"Maybe. But I can tell that that's not the only reason you came all this way." Ilia's grandmother said.

"...Am I that easy to read?" She asked.

"To me you are." She said.

Ilia sighed and pulled out her scroll, showing her targets bio to her grandmother.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"It's my target. He's a White Fang member gone rogue, the scouts have tracked him down to this exact location. I need to find him and take him out before he reveals any of the White Fang's secrets." Ilia said.

"Hmm, Donovan Igneous...yeah I've seen this guy around before." She said.

"Really?!" She asked, standing up from her seat, causing her tea cup to spill over.

"...I'm not cleaning that up." Her grandmother said.

"R-right. Sorry." Ilia said as she walked over to get a towel.

"Yeah, I've seen him around the market place a few times before. Though I didn't really think too much of him until now." She said.

"Do you know where he lives?" She asked.

"No, I've only seen him around town." Her grandmother said.

"He's a rhino Faunus, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's what his bio says." Ilia said.

"Hmm, from the looks of it he's gonna be one tough customer." Ilia's grandmother said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm gonna try to avoid direct combat with him." She said.

"Hmm, good idea. We don't want to start causing a ruckus in the town. We're already having enough problems as it is with the Grimm." She said.

"Wait, Grimm?" Ilia asked.

"Right, you just got here. The town's been having a bit of trouble keeping the Grimm at bay due to all the commotion in Vale attracting them to the area." Her grandmother said.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"Eh, nothing we can't handle." She said.

"Well, do you know what time he goes to the market?" Ilia asked.

"Hmm, not to sure. Though if we want to find him our best chance would be at the market place." She said.

"We?" She asked.

"What? I can't let my only granddaughter fight some rogue White Fang member now can I?" Her grandmother asked.

"I'm part of the Phantoms, an elite group of fighters specifically chosen by the leader of the White Fang." Ilia said.

"And yet you were bested by a kid." She said.

"That's not-! We weren't-!...Fine, let's just go you old hag." Ilia grumbled as she walked towards the door.

"Tch, glad to see your attitude hasn't changed in the slightest." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, lets go." She said as she started to walk out of the door.

* * *

"So, this is the town that Summer was talking about?" Brandon asked himself as he made his way down the towns streets.

 ** _"Hmm, this is a rather civilized place for a town dealing with a major Grimm problem as the Reaper calls it."_** Caliber said.

"Yeah, seems a bit to civilized in my opinion." He said.

 _ **"Indeed, you'd think there would be at least slight amount of tension in the air due to the recent attacks on Vale."**_ He said.

"My thoughts exactly." Brandon said as he continued to move around.

 _ **"So, what do you propose we do?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Well, first off we have to find out where the source of the problem is." He said.

 _ **"Good decision. Perhaps we should ask some of the townsfolk about this so called Grimm problem."**_ He said.

"Yeah, though who do we ask exactly? From the looks of it not a whole lot of people seem to concerned with Grimm. Can't really blame em, I mean not only do they live by the mountains, they also live by the ocean side." Brandon said.

 _ **"Yes, but this sort of relaxation can prove to be there undoing."**_ Caliber said

"Well, that's why we're here. To make sure that whole "Undoing" never happens to this town." He said.

"Though that brings up the question. Where the hell do we start?" He asked.

 _ **"Hmm, perhaps we should ask some of the towns local hunters."**_ He said.

"Yeah, that might be a good place to start. Though do you see anyone that fits that description?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Appearances can be deceiving."**_ Caliber said.

"Well, can't argue with that." He said as he started to walk around the town.

"Hmm, so if a were a hunter where would be the first place I would hang out after a long day of patrol?" Brandon asked himself.

After a few moments of deep thought, Brandon eventually came to a conclusion.

"Well, I'm sure they'd want to hit the local pub." He said.

 _ **"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my boy."**_ Caliber said.

"What do you mean?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Well, during this time of crisis I'm sure many of the local hunters would be more concerned with there loved ones, rather than going to the local bar in attempts to drink away there worries."**_ He said.

"Hmm, guess that would make sense." He said.

"Guess we should get looking. Maybe we should check out the-." Brandon began as he read the signs that acted as a directory of some sort.

"Market place, that sounds like a good start to our little search." He said as he walked to the right of the crossroad.

Meanwhile, Ilia and her grandmother had arrived at the market area in attempts to find the rogue White Fang member.

"So this was where you see him the most?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah, ya can't miss him. Tall, muscular, looks like trouble." Her grandmother said.

"You think everyone looks like trouble." She said.

"That may be true, but I'm pretty sure everyone can tell that this guy is trouble." She said.

"Hmm, seems like it's a crowded today." Ilia said.

"Well, more people have come in since the last time you came to visit. What did you think people would just stop trying to come to the town that's not only protected by the mountains, but also the ocean?" Her grandmother asked.

"Guess that makes sense. Though you guys are probably running out of room for all the people and Faunus that come here." Ilia said.

"Meh, we've been managing. Though ever since Vale got attacked people and Faunus alike have been flocking here. So yeah, we've been running low on space." She said.

Ilia nodded, a sad frown forming on her face.

"Don't give me that. It's a good thing to ya know? Now we've got more hands on deck working the shops and on expansions." Her grandmother said.

"Still, I'm sure Grimm haven't exactly been very helpful with your attempts on expansion." She said.

"Meh, Grimm were always a rowdy bunch of animals. It's just that they've become even more rowdy than before." She said.

"You think they'll get to the point where you'll all have to move out?" Ilia asked.

"Meh, doubt it. Worst we've gotten so far is a couple of Ursai really. Nothing to major." Her grandmother said.

"Still, never know with upcoming events." She said.

"Upcoming events?" She asked.

"It's...nothing." Ilia said.

Her grandmother looked skeptical for a second before nodding.

"Alright, I won't pry. Though I don't appreciate you keeping secrets from me." She said.

"Thank you. It's nothing you need to worry about." She said.

 _'The town shouldn't be hit too hard by the fall...I hope.'_ Ilia thought to herself.

The two continued there walk down the market place in attempts to find Ilia's target.

"Hmm, we should be getting close. I normally see him around this area." Ilia's grandmother said.

Ilia's eye's narrowed and her right hand was around the grip of her weapon.

"Not out here you idiot!" She said, whacking her hand with her cane.

"Ow! Jeez, I know. I'm not gonna kill him out in the public." Ilia growled.

"Good. We're trying to deal with our Grimm problem not make it worse." Her grandmother said.

"Yeah, yeah." She said as she continued to look around the area in attempts to find the rogue.

She looked around the area for a few moments before her eyes settled on a tall dark grey haired man in a brown tank top.

Ilia reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll, the bio of Donovan appearing on the screen.

"Found him." Ilia said, showing her scroll to her grandmother.

"Hmm, yeah that looks like him alright." She said.

"Then let's go." She said as she gripped her weapons handle, walking towards the man.

Meanwhile, Caliber and Brandon had just arrived at the market place.

"Hmm, this place is pretty crowded." Brandon said.

 _ **"Indeed. Even for a ocean side town it's rather populated."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, even Vale isn't this crowded...then again not a whole lot of people are staying around Vale these days." He said.

 _ **"That's a good thing. That means we don't have to worry about as many casualties when this fall happens."**_ He said.

"Well, the only casualty we really need to worry about is Pyrrha's and Penny's." Brandon said.

 _ **"Indeed, but we will turn the tables of fate in our favor. With this new found training we are bound to be strong."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah...hey quick question. How do you compare against Cinder?" He asked.

 _ **"Hmm, well in my opinion. It doesn't matter where I compare with her, it matters where you compare with her."**_ He said.

"...So you're stronger than her, right?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"At the moment, I hold the higher ground. Though if she gets the remains of the maidens powers, then even my power might not be enough."**_ Caliber said.

"Oh, well that's reassuring." He said sarcastically.

 _ **"Though my power does not lie in my abilities alone. No my boy it lie's in the centuries upon centuries of experience that I have, and that my boy, is something that the false maiden will never be able to replicate."**_ He said.

"Yeah, guess that makes sense." Brandon said.

As the two continued to walk through the crowd, Brandon quickly glanced to his right to see that Ilia was walking towards a man.

"W-what the-?!" He whispered.

 _ **"Hmm, interesting. It seems that we might run into some trouble while we're here."**_ Caliber said.

"Why the hell is she here?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"I'm not sure. Though I am sensing some hostile intent from her. Luckily for you it's not directed towards you in particular."**_ He said.

"Yeah, well I'm sure that'll change real quick if she knew I was right behind her." He whispered.

 _ **"Then let us avoid contact with her for the time being. For now we need to focus on preventing the town from being overrun by the creatures of Grimm."**_ Caliber said.

"Don't need to tell me twi-!" Brandon began, only to quickly catch a glimpse of his tape player that was attached to Ilia's belt.

 _ **"Hmm? What's the matter?"**_ He asked.

"She has it." He said.

 ** _"She has what?"_** Caliber asked.

"My tape player! I never got it back when I was trapped in the mountain!" Brandon said as he started to walk towards Ilia.

 _ **"What are you doing?"**_ He asked.

"What do you think I'm doing?! I'm going to get what belongs to me." He said, his walk turning into a run.

"Hmm?" Ilia's grandmother hummed as she turned around to see Brandon running towards her.

Brandon ran past her and started to dash towards Ilia.

"What the-?! What do you think your doing?!" She asked.

"Hmm?" Ilia hummed, turning around to see Brandon running towards her.

"Yeah, I think you've got something that belongs to me!" He yelled as he reached out to grab Ilia.

"What the-?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Ilia yelled as she moved out of the way.

"I'm here to take back what you stole from me!" He yelled.

"What are you talking abo-?!" She began, only to stop herself once she realized what Brandon was referring to.

"You mean this?!" Ilia asked.

"What the hell do you think I mean?!" Brandon asked.

Though before Ilia could continue, she quickly cut herself off at the sound of a gun cocking.

She spun her head around to see that Donovan was pointing his revolver at Ilia with a scowl on his face.

"Damn it! Everyone get down!" Ilia yelled as Donovan fired a few shots at Ilia.

 _'Shit! They're gonna hit the civilians! Caliber!'_ Brandon thought to himself, causing Caliber to appear in front of him to catch the bullets fired from the rogues gun.

.

.

Everyone stared at Caliber in complete and utter shock, even Ilia, who had seen the spirit before was shocked at it's fully manifested appearance.

Donovan growled and started to run in the opposite direction.

"Wha-?! Damn it! Get back here!" Ilia yelled as she began to give chase.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" Brandon yelled as he chased after the chameleon Faunus.

Donovan kept on running, only looking back to try and shoot his pursuer.

Ilia was able to dodge the bullets with relative ease, though Brandon had to have Caliber catch the bullets so that they didn't hit the civilians.

"Stop following me!" Ilia yelled.

"Then give me back my tape player!" Brandon yelled.

"It's just a stupid tape player! You can probably get something a lot better!" She yelled.

"It's got sentimental value so give it back!" He yelled.

Donovan kept on running, firing and reloading as he did.

"You're only making this more complicated!" Ilia yelled.

"Then give it back and I'll be on my way!" He yelled.

Donovan growled as he kept on running in attempts to escape.

He looked down the street to see if there wasn't anything he could use to his advantage.

His eye's eventually settled on some sort of truck that was driving down the street.

Donovan took a deep breathe and started to move faster, the ground starting to crack as his feet made contact with the ground.

The truck driver honked his horn in attempts to stop the rhino Faunus, though Donovan was showing no signs of stopping.

He roared and ran into the truck, causing it to go flying in the air.

Ilia's eye's widened before she ran out of the way and jumped onto a nearby building.

"Shit! Caliber!" Brandon yelled.

 _ **"On it!"**_ He yelled as he appeared in front of Brandon to catch the falling truck.

The ground cracked as Caliber caught the truck, setting it down gently.

"Sorry bout that!" Brandon yelled, his eye's not leaving Ilia's figure.

Caliber tipped his hat and disappeared from sight, leaving a very confused and terrified driver to sit in the car.

 _'Damn it! I'm losing her!'_ He thought to himself as Ilia started to fade from his vision.

 _ **"Forget about the object! We've already caused enough mayhem as it is!"**_ Caliber said.

"No! It's one of the few things I have left to remember home by! I'm not losing it here!" Brandon yelled.

 _ **"We've already lost sight of her! Attempting to continue our pursuit would be-!"**_ He began, only for Brandon to turn around the corner into a nearby alleyway.

Once he was in the alley way, he started to rapidly jump off of the walls until he jumped onto a roof of a building.

Sure enough, Ilia was now within his sights again.

 _ **"Foolish."**_ He finished.

Brandon growled as his eyes followed Ilia's figure, though soon enough, she had once again escaped from the sights of both Caliber and Brandon.

Though before Caliber could once again attempt to convince Brandon to stop his pursuit, Brandon jumped off of building and onto a nearby car.

Once the car had moved a few feet, Brandon jumped off of the car and onto the sidewalk.

His eye's darted all around the area before eventually they settled on another alleyway.

Brandon turned to run into the alleyway at speeds Caliber had never seen him go at.

He started to jump off of the walls until he eventually jumped onto the roof tops.

Eventually, he saw Ilia moving ahead on the roof tops, her head darting left and right.

Brandon smirked and started to run towards Ilia, jumping off of each building one by one until he eventually reached the building that Ilia was standing on.

He started to jump off of the various stands that surrounded the building, it making a loud banging noise as his feet made contact with the hard metal.

Eventually, he had reached the top of the building, breathing heavily as he stared at Ilia's back.

"Hey!" Brandon yelled, causing Ilia to turn around.

"Jeez, you really don't know when to quit, do you?" She asked.

"Apparently not." He said as he started to walk towards Ilia.

"How did you even get up here?" Ilia asked.

"Hmm?" Brandon hummed as he looked to see that he was atop a fairly large building.

"W-whoa! I didn't realize how high I was." He said.

 _ **"Interesting. I wasn't aware that you could move like that."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Move like what?'_ Brandon asked.

 _ **"You were able to replicate the movements that could rival that of a monkey. It was quite fascinating to say the least."**_ He said.

 _'I was? Huh, guess I can, wasn't really paying attention.'_ He said to Caliber from within his head.

"Uh, are you done spacing out?" Ilia asked.

"H-huh? Oh, yeah." Brandon said.

"So what are you even doing here?" She asked.

"I was sent here by a friend. What the hell are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well, I was supposed to assassinate a White Fang member gone rogue. But as you can clearly see, that wasn't what happened." Ilia growled.

"Yeah not my fault your not good at assassinating somebody." Brandon said.

"What was that?!" She yelled as she started to move towards Brandon.

"What?! You want me to repeat it?!" He asked, moving towards.

"At least I don't cause havoc where ever I go!" Ilia yelled.

"Yeah well you're little cult are the one's who mainly cause my problems!" Brandon yelled.

"Only because you keep ruining our operations, short stack!" She yelled.

"What the hell did you just call me?!" He yelled.

"You heard me! You're just as short as your temper!" She retorted.

At this point sparks could be seen coming from the duo's eyes.

"Alright, that's enough you two." Ilia's grandmother said as she pushed the two apart.

"Who the hell are you?" Brandon asked.

"I'm Ilia's grandmother, Iridis, thank you very much." The newly named Iridis said.

"You're Ilia's grandmother?" He asked.

"That's what I said? What your hearing kicking an early bucket?" She asked.

"But you're a human." Brandon said.

"Yeah, and so are you. See, I can state the obvious to." Iridis said.

"What are you doing here, grandma?" Ilia asked.

"Well, first off I want to know who this is." She said, walking towards Brandon.

"Remember that kid that caused the Fang so much trouble?" She asked.

"So this is the kid?" Iridis asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, this is the kid." Ilia said.

"I'm the same age as you." Brandon said.

"Hmm...was expecting something a bit more muscular." She said.

"I was expecting something a bit more muscular." He imitated bitterly.

"So how does a kid like you cause an entire organization trouble?" Iridis asked.

 _ **"I believe that would be my doing, madam."**_ Caliber said as he manifested beside Brandon.

Ilia on instinct jumped back and reached for her whip, only for a chill to go down her spine once Caliber blinked away from her field of vision.

 _ **"Don't think I forgot of our first encounter, girl."**_ He said.

 _'Jeez, guess Caliber can hold a grudge.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

"R-right." Ilia managed to say.

"Hmm, I've seen a lot of things in my life. But this? This is a first." Iridis said as she walked over to Brandon.

"So, why are you here kid? I seriously doubt you'd come all this way just to get something that was stolen from you back." She said.

"Well, you're half right. I'm here to deal with a Grimm problem my friend told me about." He said.

"Hmm, so it's that bad, huh?" Brandon said.

"What do you mean, "It's that bad" grandma?" Ilia asked.

"Well, this kids obviously capable of a lot more than he lets on. So if somebody sent him here to deal with our Grimm problem then it's obvious that it's more of a problem than we expected." Iridis said as she started to walk towards the stairs.

"Both of you, come with me." She said.

"Huh?" Both Ilia and Brandon asked.

"It's time we formed a plan that deals with both our rogue problem and our Grimm problem." Iridis said.

"We?" They asked again.

"Do I need to spell it out for you? You two are gonna be working together for this little plan of ours." She said.

.

.

"What?! You want me to work with him/her?!" Both Ilia and Brandon screamed.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap.**

 **So...I have to work with Ilia for the time being.**

 **Guess there are worse people to work with.**

 **But still, how the hell am I going to work with someone like her?!  
**

 **I mean, she's literally part of the organization that wants my head on a platter!**

 **And who the hell was that rhino guy anyway?**

 **If he's gonna cause us trouble in the future then this plan of ours is gonna have to be really well thought out.**

 **Let's just move onto the review responses.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Donovan: Okay, quick disclaimer, the Donovan in this chapter has nothing to do with you. Just wanted to clarify that before we moved on.**

 **Also what are you talking about?**

 **Something321: Also can I get a hamburger but with grilled pineapple on it?...as well as a Cal zone filled with raspberry jam?**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Brandon, Yang, and Ruby are all there own people. I think I've established in the story that Summer isn't just a carbon copy of Ruby. She's got her own unique ideals and beliefs.**

 **So as of now, and probably forever, there isn't any other version of Qrow.**

 **I really don't see those three characters as a next gen team STRQ.**

 **Ragnorak16: Rude.**

 **Cinderfall201:**

 **Brandon:...Do you think she's onto us?**

 **Caliber: Why do people always get my name wrong?! It's Caliber! CAL-I-BER! It's not Calibur, Caliburn, or any other name!**

 **Brandon: Never mind.**

 **Also no, post vol 3 will all be posted here.**

 **Danoxis: Well Jaune can technically control plants so...take that as you may.**

 **olTran: No, I like it when this person digs into the story. Just shows that they really like it.**

 **DragonLord501st: Yep.**

 **Andy021: Yeah, I shortened that fight so don't worry.**

 **fanficcyberman: Thanks.**

 **1\. That's Ozpin.**

 **2\. What if I told you...that Summer would actually teach Brandon things?**

 **3\. No! Bad! Bad!**

 **4\. BAD!**

 **5\. Come at me.**

 **6\. Sounds like something Summer would do.**

 **7\. I'll put a pin in it.**

 **8\. Hmm...Blake and Zwei?**

 **9.**

 **Brandon: SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHUT THE FUCK UP!**

 **11\. Rude.**

 **12\. I'm sorry?**

 **13\. What is this, Cinema sins?**

 **14\. Wouldn't be one without it.**

 **15\. Brandon: Shut it.**

 **16\. Summer: Silly. I'm not making fun of him. I'm simply keeping him here in my personal dungeon against his will, and if I hear any sexual comments about what I just said I'll rip out your rib cage and will proceed to smash your skull in with it.**

 **17\. Okay.**

 **18\. Sounds like a very weird version of the birds and the bees.**

 **19\. No, Caliber's evolution is something more...chaotic.**

 **20\. That's logic on it's own.**

 **21\. I know most of those but 4GK?**

 **22\. Summer: Shut up.**

 **23\. Nope.**

 **24\. Raven: I'm thirty eight.**

 **25\. Spooky.**

 **26\. Raven: Why is he shouting.**

 **Brandon: Ignore him.**

 **27\. Rude.**

 **28\. Boost?**

 **29\. Okay?**

 **30\. They're bad for your teeth though.**

 **31\. Okay?**

 **32\. I'm sorry?**

 **33\. Because I said so.**

 **34\. Yep.**

 **35\. Raven: Who are you?**

 **36\. Yes.**

 **37\. Okay.**

 **38\. Shocking.**

 **39\. Your disgusting.**

 **40\. Yang: Well I'm sure there isn't much down there either.**

 **41\. What?**

 **42\. Thanks.**

 **43\. Okay.**

 **44\. Stop.**

 **45\. Raven: I'M! THIRTY! EIGHT!**

 **46\. Stop.**

 **47\. Bad.**

 **48\. Caliber: I'm not a cat.**

 **49\. Spirit.**

 **50\. At least mines bigger, dip shit.**

 **51\. Corner. Now.**

 **52\. Uh, yeah?**

 **53\. Uhm...why?**

 **54\. No, no you don't.**

 **55\. Good.**

 **56\. Rude.**

 **57\. Rude.**

 **58\. Rude.**

 **59\. Rude**

 **60\. Rude.**

 **61\. Nope.**

 **62\. That's your problem.**

 **63\. No.**

 **64\. Can't be illegal if you've never existed.**

 **65\. Okay.**

 **66\. Or, you know...it's not.**

 **67\. Okay.**

 **68\. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! BAD! BAD! CORNER NOW!**

 **69\. -_-**

 **70\. Yes.**

 **71\. You've lost all of my respect.**

 **72\. Because I said so.**

 **RandoReader: Sort a mix of Kindred and Kayn.**

 **Shadowj6480: Yes.**

 **GOH426: I'll think about it.**

* * *

 **Omake: Attitude City (Non-Canon)**

Blake had been having a fairly good day.

She had just finished helping Yang with her meditation lessons, had her cup of tea, and she was now going to go and read a new book she had just got.

"Hmm, what a lovely day. It's so nice out. Day's like these are pretty rare now a days." Blake said as she walked over to a bench.

Though before she could sit down, Sun came by her in a leather jacket and sunglasses.

"Oh, uh hey Sun. What's with the new outfi-?"

He put his hand in front of Blake, cutting her off mid sentence.

Sun placed a boom box next to him and hit the play button, causing music to play.

"What's up baby? You're a very sexy lady. What's a good girl like you doing in a 'hood like this?" He sang.

As he did, the rest of team SSSN came from behind him wearing similar outfits.

.

.

"Okay one, when did you learn to sing? Two, we're in the park, and three, did you just call me sexy?" Blake asked.

"Your life's in danger every enemy's a stranger but good for you I rule this town with my iron fists." Sun sang as he punched Scarlet in the face.

"Check my sunglasses for proof that I kick some asses, no more classes, you've been schooled and now you know the deal."

"Everyone here has a black belt in "Amazing" and diplomas from The University of Fucking Keepin' it Real."

"Hey! Hey!" Neptune and Scarlet shouted.

"That's how we're living!" Sun sang.

"Welcome to Attitude City!"

"Hey! Hey!"

"No fucks are given! When you're in Attitude City!"

"Hey! Hey!"

"You made the right decision!"

"If your goal was to learn how to rock now sit back as I walk you through my life as the baddest fuckin' dude on the block!" Sun sang as a T.V fell from the sky and started to play Sun's daily routine.

"Every morning I wake up before the dawn and run a half a mile in forty seven minutes flat!" Sun said.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Then shit gets crazy, I water my grandma's daisies and sit down with her for biscuits and have a nice chat! Fuck yeah!" He sang as Sun's grandmother waved at Blake.

"Uh, hey." She said.

"Then I maintain this insane body with weight training can't contain me! Put five pounds up on that barbell rack!" He said.

"Just ask my mother, I am one tough fuckin' fucker and if I have scary dreams I can just go to sleep between her and dad!" Sun sang as Sun's parents waved at Blake.

"Is that Neptune in a blonde wig?...and is that Scarlet in a dress?" Blake asked.

"Hey! Hey!" They shouted, ripping off there disguises and went back into there uniforms.

"No one can faze me! When I'm in Attitude City!"

"Hey! Hey!"

"This shit gets crazy Daily in Attitude City!"

"Hey! Hey!"

"My rock is fuckin' tasty...but here come some tough guys from the town, trying to steal my crown!" He said as Brandon and Mercury walked by the group.

"What?" They asked.

"I'll take on your whole bitch-ass gang, now let's throw the fuck down!" He sang as he threw a smoke bomb onto the ground.

Once the smoke cleared, Sun was seen wearing a jesters outfit, Scarlet was in a unicorn outfit, Neptune was wearing a hat that said 'a really good boy' with a picture of Zwei on the center., and Sage was still in his leather jacket, but wore a hat of some sort.

"Sage, would you lay down a sick flute solo for me?" He asked.

"No." Sage said.

"Thank you." Sun said.

"Oh what a lovely spring day for you to visit our city!" Sun sang as he, Scarlet and Neptune skipped over to Brandon and Mercury.

"Here are some tasty gumdrops and rainbow colored lollipops." He sang, giving Brandon and Mercury gumdrops and lollipops.

"Do come again with your thugs but only if you like bro hugs!" Sun sang, causing Scarlet to embrace Mercury.

"Can I kill him?" Mercury asked.

"Here's my wallet have a nice-." Sun began, only to appear a second later in his gang outfit.

"Day!" He finished.

"Hey! That's right!" Scarlet and Neptune sang.

"We are the masters of fuckin' Attitude City!"

"Hey! We're much!"

"Harder and faster than you in Attitude City!"

"Hey! We are-!"

"Nightmare disasters!

"For anyone who shows disrespect, girl your life we'll protect and if you think we're awesome then you are extremely correct!" He sang.

Blake just stood there in silence before taking a deep breath.

"There are a lot of words I can use to describe you right now...awesome is not one of those words." She said.

"So do we get to keep the money?" Mercury asked.

"Do we get to keep the candy?" Brandon asked with a mouthful of gumdrops.

* * *

 **Original song by NSP.**

 **So I'm making an update to the BIO's, that's right, new info for you guys to consume.**

 **Let's start off with yours truly.**

 **Brandon Kim**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon:**

 **Sword: Forgotten Paradise.**

 **Revolver: The Judge**

 **Gender : Male**

 **Height: 5'7"**

 **Weight: 134 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Outfit: Black, white, brown, dark blue.**

 **Handedness: Right.**

 **Complexion: Slightly tanned.**

 **Hair Color: Brown/Black.**

 **Eye color: Brown.**

 **Aura Color: Platinum**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Caliber**

 **Appearance: Caliber wears knights armor like the ones they wore in the medieval ages, though there were some significant differences that set it apart.**

 **The shoulder pads were much larger than on the original armor they wore, and the chest plate had an open area which revealed a suit of some sort. The suit was a simple white dress suit with a black over coat on it. On the suit was a locket of some sort and a black tie that was neatly wrapped around the collar of the suit.**

 **Caliber wears an black overcoat of some sort as well, the coat somehow being attacked to the shoulder pads on his shoulders. The coat itself reached down to his knee, and the outline of the coat was glowing with a silver aura of some sort.**

 **He wears the average knights lower half, though there were some parts of the armor, specifically the thigh area, that were made of some sort of fabric, and his greaves looked more like boots than actual armor.**

 **Though the most noticeable part of the whole set was the head piece.**

 **Caliber still wears the same knights visor and mouth guard you would see on a knight, but that's about all he had in terms of a helmet. The back of the helmet was just flowing with some sort of blue aura, and to finish it all of, he wore a top hat with a black ribbon wrapped around it.**

 **Destructive Power: B**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: D**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 82**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 58**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 42**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 23**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	52. Smile, Part 2

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Smile, Part 2"

Thought: _'Smile, Part 2'_

Flashback: _"Smile, Part 2"_

 _(My POV)_

To say that the walk back to Iridis's house was awkward would be the understatement of the century. The entire time we were walking down the road towards her house, Ilia had this glare on her face the entire time.

Can't say I'm surprised though, I've kicked her little posies ass's more times than I can probably count. I also wasn't as strong as I was when we first met, so if she did try anything I can assure you that it won't be anything like last time.

It will be me...or Caliber really, punching her face in...really hard.

Though for now it seems that we're stuck together for the time being, though I really don't know what this old lady wants from us. From what she's seen we don't exactly get along to well.

Now she wants us to work together to not only stop a White Fang member, but to prevent this town from being completely overrun by Grimm.

So yeah, she's either really sure of this plan or her age is getting to her.

Though I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, I mean I'll definitely get some benefit out of all this, whether it be the short term affect or the long term affect.

Short term affect is that I can get this little town out of my head for the time being. It's also by the ocean so maybe I can get myself a boat for when the fall happens, makes getting to Vacuo a whole lot easier for the future.

Also beats crossing it's dessert in the near future...I mean sure we'll probably have to cross some desert but it beats having to cross all of it.

Now I'm sure you're wondering what I mean by 'We', this implying that there will be more than one person traveling with me. Well this might be wishful thinking, but I'm hoping that Neo comes along for the ride.

Though considering Roman will more than likely have to stay behind during this little trip of ours, then I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to stay with him, especially since he'll most likely be on Cinder's shit list due to his little betrayal.

Though a man can hope, though I can understand if she want's to hang back.

Makes things a little tougher than before, but hey, what else is new in my life?

As for long term affects, this will probably help me get the White Fang off of my back in the long run.

I mean, I'm literally helping them catch one of there members gone rogue, I'd be pretty surprised if this didn't get them off of my back for a week at least.

Though this is all reliant on Ilia actually telling them that I had involvement with this little hunt of hers.

...Now that I think about it, this might not help me in the long run when it comes to my relations with the White Fang.

It's not that I want them to suddenly switch over to our side or anything really, knowing them I know that they'd rather drink lighter fluid than do that. I just want them off of my back really because they've become pretty annoying lately.

But still, if they were to actually see the bigger picture of there situation then they'd make for some pretty useful allies.

I mean, while Adam got his ass handed to him back at the high way, he'd still be a pretty powerful ally to have in the future.

Sure what he did to Yang is pretty shitty but if he were to, oh I don't know, lend me a hand from time to time then I wouldn't be oppose to the idea.

With his skills with the sword and his influence on all Faunus kind it would be pretty stupid to pass up an opportunity like that.

Next we've got the twins of the Phantoms, Alerio and his sister, Aleria.

Those two, while I'm sure they would be able to hold there own without the other, are a force to be reckoned with when fighting side by side.

Plus if what Alerio told actually holds some water, then those two are some pretty good thieves.

I mean, they almost stole the treasure of the leader of the White Fang for crying out loud, and they would have succeeded if it weren't for Blake.

Besides, Alerio isn't all that bad. He seems like a pretty stand up guy...for a person who's in a group who's soul purpose is to hunt down important humans and either kidnap them or kill them.

So if anyone is gonna have a change of heart, it's that guy...though if his sister follows then I'm gonna have to give her a good fist to the nose for what she did back at the dumps.

Then we've got Naomi...boy where do I even start with that weird fish?

Everything about her is just weird.

The way she talks, walks, the way she interacts with people, and her extreme pain tolerance.

Seriously! The woman shrugged off a hit from Caliber as if it were a bite from a mosquito!

Hell, even her past, a point in her life where she was the most normal, is weird as it is!

Though in this situation, that's not what I'm looking at really.

What I'm looking at is her skill in the medical field of the world of Remnant.

While I'm not really one to talk bad about Peaches abilities, I don't think she would be able to do the things Naomi can do.

Though this is mostly due to her semblance.

Now that would be quite a useful semblance to have.

If what Blake told me is correct then Naomi can give anyone a completely new identity. Not only that but she can replace limbs!

So, if my little plan doesn't work in some area's, then I'll have a pretty good fall back.

You can probably figure out what I mean.

Then we've got that little mechanic Faunus...still don't know what Faunus she is so we'll just leave that up into the air.

I won't deny that she's a damn protege in the mechanical field, it's pretty obvious given her achievements.

The girl was able to hack an android for gods sake, those aren't exactly easy to take control of.

Not only that but she made her own implants, one of them being a radio transmitter and an E.M.P.

Though there's no telling what other implants she has, so she's definitely a girl I'd like to have in my pocket, just in case I need a few gadgets or something.

Next we've got the man himself, Osvaldo.

That guy is...complicated to say the least.

I thought that he was completely off the walls crazy.

That is until I learned about his wife, Scarlet.

Now I think he's just a little...lost. Yeah, that's the word I would use for him.

He's got a lot of shit that he's got to work out, a lot of pent up aggression that he needs to get out of his system.

While he does have his own little way of letting out that aggression, that way involves the eradication of all of humanity.

So yeah, he needs to find a new way to get out all that aggression in a much less...violent way.

Last, though it's up in the air if she's the least or not, Ilia.

The chameleon Faunus herself, former partner of Blake Belladonna, and my temporary partner.

I really don't know a whole lot about her, though considering that I'm in her home town I'm sure that'll change pretty quickly.

From the looks of it, she's got some family left, though I can't really pin down what kind of Faunus Iridis is.

I would naturally assume that she's a chameleon Faunus, but I don't see the spots on her body that Ilia has.

Hmm, I'm sure I'll find my answers soon enough.

I looked to my back to see that Ilia was still staring at me with the same glare on her face.

Well, looks like somebody's still bitter about this new arrangement.

"So, now that we have the chance to actually talk. Mind if I ask you something?" Iridis asked.

"Hmm? O-oh, sure. What's up?" I asked.

"What's with that little ghost you've got there?" She asked.

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain." I said.

"Kid, I'm over seventy years old, retired huntress. I've seen things that would be considered myth. So, I'll ask again. What's with that little ghost you've got there?" Iridis asked.

"You? A huntress? You're smaller than one of my frie-!" I began, only for Iridis to swing her cane at me legs, causing me to fall to the ground,

"Gah! What the hell?!" I yelled.

"Watch your mouth, brat. I may be old but I can still kick your ass!" She said.

"Alright! Jeez, I'm sorry!" I yelled as I got up.

As I did, I turned around to see Ilia trying her best to suppress her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up." I grumbled, dusting myself off.

"So to answer your question, Caliber is sorta like my little extension." I said.

"Your what?" She asked.

"Caliber is the extension of my soul. Before you ask who Caliber is, it's the name of the spirit you saw." I explained.

"Alright, continue." Iridis said.

"Well, you see, my aura and semblance, so to say, works a little bit differently when compared to the normal person." I said.

"How so?" She asked.

"Well, my aura works like any other persons. Though here's the catch, while I have one aura protecting me at all times, I have two souls in me." I said.

.

.

"Pardon?" Ilia asked.

"Well, look who decided to come out of there little hiding hole." Iridis said.

Ilia growled but the glare that was originally on her face was replaced with a look of curiosity.

"Well, I have two souls inside of me. Mine, and Calibers." I said.

"But how is that possible? It doesn't matter what race you are, human, Faunus, even animals have one soul. How can you have two?" Ilia asked.

"Well, it's a bit complicated. So I'll try to dumb it down a bit. I made a contract with a spirit, our souls became connected once the contract was made and the conditions were set." I said.

"Spirit? Contract? What in Monty's name are you talking about?" Ilia asked.

Okay, the whole, replacing god with Monty is something I'll never get used to.

"Well, to answer your first question, a spirit is the manifestation of a person's soul put into physical form. As for your second question, a contract is what bounds the spirit to its user, both sides get something out of this contract." I said.

"So, what was this contract you made with this spirit?" Iridis asked.

"That's a bit personal. I mean, the contract is forged based off of the users desires after all." I said.

"Fair enough." She said.

Though before we could continue our conversation, the sight of Iridis's house cut us off.

"Hmm, looks like we've arrived." She said as she started to walk up to the front door.

"Come on in. We'll go over our plan inside." Iridis said as she walked inside.

I slowly turned to Ilia who was simply staring at me with a deadpanned stare.

After a few moments of awkward silence, I eventually spoke up.

"Uh...after you?" I said.

Ilia didn't say anything, she simply started to walk towards the front door.

"Gee, you're welcome." I grumbled, walking towards the front door.

As I walked in, I could see various pictures that were hung up on the wall as I passed them. Most of them had people I wasn't familiar with...okay, there was only two photo's I really recognized out of all of them.

And that was the photo of Blake, Adam, and the rest of the Phantoms all standing in front of some large house, excluding Osvaldo that is.

Though there were two distinct differences about the photo.

One, all of the Phantoms, including Adam all looked a hell of a lot younger than they did before.

With the exceptions of Blake and Ilia, they all looked like they were in there teens.

Adam wasn't wearing his mask like he usually did, Alerio didn't have his little chin beard that he had, and before you say that it's a goatee, that little shrub on his chin wouldn't even be considered a goatee.

Aleria seemed a lot more...happy...then again the very few encounters I've had with her were all pretty violent so what do I know?

Naomi wasn't wearing her lab coat that I saw her in back at the mountain, she also had significantly longer hair than the last time I saw her at the mountain.

Veronica was...actually now that I think about it have we ever fought before? I mean sure you could argue that we did back at the ocean but that was really a chase more than anything.

Well, she doesn't look all that different than how she did ten years ago, guess ageing was nice to her in the long run. Either that or she found an implant that halted her body development so that she always looked young... Okay, now I really need her in my back pocket.

Then there's Blake, who looks significantly more different than the way she looks now.

Though that shouldn't be to much of a surprise, she was probably around seven, eight years old at the time.

But then there's those two other people behind the group, one being significantly more tall than anyone in that group.

The first one, was a tall, muscular man with black hair, a beard and yellow eyes. For his top, the man wore an open dark violet coat with white fur trim, exposing his hairy chest.

Over his beige pants was a matching sash that wraps around his waist and is secured with a large, silver metal buckle.

On the shoulder of his coat is a silver metal spaulder, which through a pair of curved strips across the chest attaches as a clasp on the opposite front panel of the coat.

The white toes of his black leather boots have a shape reminiscent of paws with claws at the tips.

The second one, this one being a woman, was a black haired Faunus woman.

She had short hair and three gold piercings on her cat ears - two on her right, one on her left.

.

.

Wait, cat ears?

Wait, now that I really look at the two they look really similar to that of Blake...I'll have to ask about this little photo later.

Moving on, she wore a black hakama and sandals with white tabi socks.

Over her outfit, she wore a black shrug with a long right sleeve and a short left sleeve, gold leaf trim adorning the opening on the front.

She wore long, black arm warmers that extend to the middle finger. The left warmer has a purple band tied around the top and a pair of gold bangles around the wrist.

Around her waist is a black and gold sash that trails behind her, with a gold flower-shaped buckle at the end.

...Yeah, I would be shocked if these weren't her parents.

Though there is one thing that's pretty odd about this picture, and that was the fact that Ilia was nowhere to be found.

She's part of the Phantoms, isn't she? Shouldn't she be in the picture?

Hmm, maybe they recruited her after the picture was taken.

Probably the most likely conclusion I can come up with at the moment.

"Hmm, wonder what this...one...is." I began, only to slowly stop myself as I stared at the contexts of the picture that was next to the group shot of the phantoms...well most of them that is.

This picture was of Ilia, her grandmother, and two other people I didn't really recognize.

"W-wait, that uniform." I said.

Sure enough, the Ilia that was in this photo was wearing a female Atlas uniform.

Wait, Ilia went to Atlas?! How the hell did she go to Atlas?! She's just about my age, I mean I know that Blake said she was a new addition but I seriously doubt she was that new!

Hmm, maybe she went to one of those prep schools that are around for the various academies around the world.

Though why the hell would she abandon the opportunity to become a huntress and join the White Fang instead?

I mean sure, Atlas isn't exactly the best places to go if you want to avoid racism, but still, Ilia could pass for a human if she really wanted to.

So why the hell-?

"Ahem." The sound of someone clearing there throat brought be back to reality.

I turned around to see that Ilia herself was looking at me with a deadpanned stare.

"Uh, don't mind me. Just browsing the family tree." I said.

Ilia rolled her eyes and went to see just what photo I was looking at.

Though once her eyes met with the photo of her in the Atlas uniform, she gave me the usual glare I get whenever we interact.

"Uh-." I began.

"Don't." She said as she started to walk towards a room.

I stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before shrugging and following the chameleon Faunus.

As I walked into the room that Ilia and Iridis walked into, I could see that it was some sort of lounging area, Iridis and Ilia sitting on opposite sides of the table.

"Well, you took your sweet time." Iridis said.

"I took a little detour." I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Quite the curious kid, aren't ya?" She asked.

"Meh, something like that." I said, moving towards one of the chairs.

"Mind if I sit?" I asked.

"Sure. You want tea?" Iridis asked.

"Well, don't mind if I do!" I said, reaching over to grab a cup and the tea pot.

"So, where do ya come from kid?" She asked.

"Hmm? Oh, well I come from Beacon." I said.

"I asked where ya live kid, not where you go to school." Iridis said.

"I just told you." I said.

"...Wait, are you telling me that you live in Beacon?" She asked.

"Well ever since my home got burned to the ground yeah, that's currently the place where I've been staying for the time being." I said.

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that kid." Iridis said.

"It's fine. It's in the past." I said.

"If you don't mind me asking, when was your home overrun? Assuming that's how it bit the dust that is." She said.

"Hmm...about two years ago." I said.

"Two years? How old are you again?" Iridis asked.

"I'm eighteen." I said.

"Jeez, to think a kid like you went through something like that at only the age of sixteen." She said.

"Meh, I got over it." I said.

"Really? That sorta thing isn't something you just 'get over'." Iridis said.

"Well, I guess moved on would be a better choice of words." I said.

"...Moving on. So, how exactly did you hear about this Grimm problem we have? We haven't exactly sent out a request for assistance to the huntsmen board." She said.

"Well, a friend of mine told me about this little town and it's Grimm problems." I said.

"Are they a huntsmen?" Iridis asked.

"Sort of." I said.

"Well, then why don't you call them over here? We can use the extra set of arms. I would help with the heavy lifting, but these old bones aren't what they used to be." She said.

"Sorry, but I don't think they'll be able to make it." I said.

"Why's that?" Iridis asked.

"Well..." I began, trying to come up with an excuse for Summer's absence.

"She's just suffered a recent injury and she can't come and fight. She'll need to recover first, but hey, Grimm won't wait for the huntsmen to recover. So that's why she sent me." I said.

"Hmm, so she's injured, is she?" Iridis asked.

"Yeah, that's right." I said, hoping she would take the bait.

After a few moments of silence, Iridis nodded and placed her tea cup on the table.

"Alright, fair enough." She said as she placed her cup down.

"Though I have to ask, how the hell does one kid cause trouble for all of the White Fang? Sure you have that little ghost of yours, but I doubt it's enough to take on an army." Iridis said.

 ** _"Heh, sure."_** Caliber chuckled.

Hey, keep the ego in check.

"Well, you're right about one thing. I'm not really strong enough to take on the entire White Fang. But I am strong enough to take on some of it's elite members." I said with a smug grin on my face.

"Yet I was able to take the both of you down with ease." Ilia said.

"Hey! You just got lucky and you know it! If it were a different situation I would have kicked your ass!" I yelled.

"You were over confident. So I used that over confidence against you." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, shut it." I said.

"Heh, seems like you two already know each others abilities to a certain extent. That makes things a little easier then." Iridis said.

"Well, I wouldn't say I know of all of his abilities. I mean, the last I saw of your ghost-."

"Spirit." I corrected.

"Whatever. Anyways, the last I saw of your spirit was when I took you in at the alleyway." Ilia said.

"Honestly, what's with you kids and alleyways? Why not just do it whenever and where ever is convenient?" Iridis asked.

"Anyways! The last time I saw your spirit, he was just a little cloud of smoke that sort of had the figure of a human being. It didn't look like what it looks like now when I saw it." Ilia said.

"Meh, looks are just looks." She said.

"Actually, Caliber did regain all of his power now that the contract has been forged. So Caliber isn't nearly as strong as he was before." I said.

"Also our fight was a little...short so to say." I said.

"Yeah, it only lasted a few seconds, so we really have no idea what the other can do." Ilia said.

"...Well, guess everything's a little complicated these days." Iridis said.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"Well, I was kind hoping that you two had at least a basic idea on the others abilities. Though maybe that was just wishful thinking." Iridis said.

"Yeah." Ilia and I both said.

"Well, I guess you two can figure it out in the long run." She said.

"Okay, so let's go over what we know as of now. We know that there's a White Fang rogue running around the town, most likely attempting to escape to Vacuo. That's where most of those rogues go these days, and considering that we have a boat that leads to the shortest route to Vacuo, we tend to get a lot of rogues here." Iridis said.

Well, hello ride to Vacuo, nice of you to join us!

"So, when do you think the next boat ride will be?" Ilia asked.

"Well, it's supposed to be next week. But he seems like a smart one, he'll most likely try to leave the town tomorrow." Iridis said.

"But wouldn't he have to cross the entire Vacuo desert?" I asked.

"It's better than dying." She said.

"More likely to die from dehydration." I said.

"While that may be possible, he'll have a better chance of living if he crosses the desert than if he tries to stay here for the next boat. Sixty percent chance of dying is better than a one hundred percent chance of dying." Iridis said.

"Alright, can't argue with that." I said.

"So, we know that he won't be going anywhere until the morning. Grimm are the most active in the night times, so we don't have to worry about him leaving until morning." She said.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Ilia asked.

"Hmm, I think it would be best if we go during the night. Not only would we have him in one single area, but we could keep a low profile so that we don't cause enough commotion to attract the Grimm." Iridis said.

"Though we won't have as much vision." I said.

Ilia simply looked at me with a deadpanned look, pointing at her eyes.

"...Oh! Right, Faunus night vision." I said.

"Jeez, how the hell did you manage to cause them trouble again?" Iridis asked.

"Meh, dumb luck." I said.

"That...explains a lot." Ilia said.

"Yeah, also I wouldn't try too hard to look for him. Knowing my luck he'll just come to me." I said.

"Sad thing is you're probably right." She said.

"Alright, so we need to find him and take him out by morning. Any questions?" Iridis asked.

"Yeah, I have one question." Ilia said.

"What?" She asked.

"Why do I have to work with him?" She asked.

...You know, I'm getting flashbacks from back at Atlas.

"Really? You're just asking this now?" Iridis asked.

"Well I didn't find any good opportunities to bring it up!" Ilia asked.

"Okay, so if you really want to know why I'm making you work with him is due to his immense agility." She said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"The kid has the movements of a monkey. I've seen very few people move like that, let alone being able to have some breath left over." Iridis asked.

"Oh! Right, yeah. What can I say, I just like moving my legs." I said.

"But I'm more than capable of taking this guy out!" Ilia said.

"Yet he managed to escape you today, even though his movements were very limited." Iridis said.

"That's because this asshole ruined everything! If he hadn't had opened his stupid mouth then I could have gotten this done and over with!" She said.

"Hey! I only started something with you because you stole my tape player!" I said.

"I only took it because we thought it was a radio transmitter!" Ilia said.

"Does this look like any sort of radio transmitter to you?!" I asked.

"It doesn't look like any sort of technology I've ever seen! Where the hell did you even get this?!" She asked.

"It was a gift from my grandmother! It was from her time!" I said.

"Well, can't you just get another one?! Why does it have to be this specific tape recorder?!" Ilia asked.

"It has sentimental value!" I said.

"Will the both of you just shut up already?!" Iridis yelled, silencing the both of us.

"Honestly, I don't see how we'll be able to get anything done if you two are always butting heads." She said.

"But-!" We both began to counter, only to be silenced by Iridis once again.

"Look, Ilia, I know that you believe that you can handle this all by yourself, and if it were just a White Fang rogue situation I wouldn't have had this kid go with you. But it's more than that. We have people to protect now, not just from that rogue but from the Grimm as well." She said.

"While you may be good at human and Faunus opponents, I can almost tell you with the utmost certainty that this kid and his little spirit are more capable to handle Grimm situations than you are." Iridis said.

"Not only is this kid fast and tricky, his spirit has more physical capabilities than the both of us combined. Even in my prime days I'm not sure how I would fair against an opponent that can catch bullets from the air and catch a falling car without breaking a sweat." She said.

"But we won't be able to make this plan work if the two of you are always butting heads." Iridis said as she got up.

"It's been a long day, and it's still far from over. I'm going to let the security know about this little rogue, and when I come back I want you two to make up. Do I make myself clear?" She asked as she headed for the front door.

The both of us were hesitant, but we eventually nodded.

"Good. Now I'm going to leave, and if I hear the sound of shouting when I do, I swear, there will be no god to help you for the things I will do to the two of you." She said as she walked out.

.

.

"Sooooo..." I began.

Ilia just sat there in silence with her usual deadpanned look on her face.

"Look, I'm sorry for causing you guys so much trouble." I lied.

"No you're not." She said.

"...Okay, I can't lie about that." I said.

"Yeah, if you're going to lie then at least make an effort to make it believable." Ilia said.

"...Look, your grandmother is right, we need to forget about what happened for the time being." I said.

"Easier said than done." She said.

"Tell me about it...hey, mind if I ask you something?" I asked.

"..."

"I'll take your silence as a yes. What was with that one photo on the wall of you in the Atlas uni-." I began, only for Ilia to get up and glare daggers at me.

"form." I finished.

"That's none of your business." She growled.

"Well, I'm just curious as to why you would turn down the opportunity to go to Atlas." I said.

"I had my reasons." Ilia said.

"...Alright, I'll drop it for now." I said.

"Why do you even want to know?" She asked.

"Well, it's like I said, I'm curious why you would turn down the opportunity to go to the city of dreams." I said.

"..."

"Fine, be that way." I said.

"..."

"One night." I said.

"Huh?" Ilia asked.

"One night is all I'm asking. Just one night, look past our little grudge so that we can take care of this situation before it gets to out of hand." I said.

"Do you really think I can just let go of a grudge just like that?" She asked.

"No, I'm not asking you to let go of it. I'm asking you to look past it for just one night." I said.

"..."

"Look, this isn't just about you, or me, or that one rhino dude you were chasing. This involves every citizen in this town right now. People will die if we let this situation get to out of hand because of our stupid grudge." I said.

"..."

"Are you really willing to risk the life of your grandmother just for the sake of some stupid grudge?" I asked.

"...Fine." Ilia said.

"Huh?"

"Fine. I'll cast it aside for the moment. Though don't think that for a second that this settles things between us!" She said.

"Heh, yeah I didn't think you would." I said.

"Though if we're going to work together, then I'd like to see both of my coworkers." Ilia said.

"Huh?...Oh! Right, sure." I said as I snapped my fingers, causing Caliber to manifest on the other side of the table.

 _ **"Good evening, milady."**_ Caliber said.

Ilia gulped and raised her right hand as a form of greeting.

"H-hey." Ilia said.

 _ **"Come now, there's no need to sound so nervous! I would never hit a fair maiden...without reason."**_ He said.

"That's not exactly reassuring." She said.

 _ **"Oh but do not worry, my dear. As long as you and my boy here are under this temporary agreement, then I am at your side in the fields of battle."**_ Caliber said with a bow.

"Uh, yeah...so your the humans spirit?" Ilia asked.

 _ **"Indeed. I am Caliber, while I go by many names, the name that has stuck to me the most by the common people is the 'Gentlemen Spirit'."**_ He said.

"The...Gentlemen Spirit?" She asked, putting more emphasis on the word gentlemen.

 _ **"At your service."**_ Caliber said, grasping Ilia's hand and bringing it up to the mouth guard of his visor as a form of kiss.

"Uh..." She attempted to say, a blush forming on her cheeks.

A few seconds passed before Ilia shook the blush away from her face.

"...Hold on. You're his spirit?" Ilia asked, pointing at me.

 _ **"That is what the boy said, is it not?"**_ Caliber asked.

"B-but you're so...well mannered! He's so...him!" She said.

"Hey! What the hell's that supposed to mean?!" I asked her.

 _ **"It means that you need a few lesson on manners."**_ Caliber said.

"Shut up you overgrown tin can!" I yelled.

 _ **"You're only proving my point."**_ He said.

I was about to argue back, but right as I was about to make a counter argument, the faint glimpse of Ilia smiling cut me off.

"...What?" She asked.

"A-are you smiling?" I asked.

"Yes? What am I not allowed to smile?" Ilia asked.

"Well, it's that normally the only look I ever see when you're around me is either a deadpanned stare or a glare." I said, causing Ilia to glare at me.

"Yeah, like that one." I said.

Ilia rolled her eyes and took a sip from her cup of tea.

A few minutes passed before we heard the front door open.

"Oh, hey." I said, raising my right hand to greet Iridis.

"Hey. So I just told the guard, though from the amount of security at the gate when I got there I guess I didn't need to walk all that way." She said.

"So, we in the clear?" I asked.

"For now. All that's left is to wait until midnight. I assume you two have decided to stop acting like brats?" Iridis asked.

"We made a temporary truce." Ilia said.

"Meh, good enough for me" She said.

"So what do we do until midnight?" I asked.

"I want you two to come up with a plan to find this rogue, take him down, all while causing as little trouble as possible." Iridis said.

"We can give you two of those things." I said.

"Fair enough. Just go and get ready, we've got a long night ahead of us." She said.

* * *

Hours had passed ever since Donovan had escaped from the blade...or whip I should say, of Ilia.

Now that I look at her weapon, what even is it?

Is it a whip? It was able to wrap her little weapon around the arm of Caliber, though the tip of the weapon has some sort of sharp edge to it.

Though then there's that little barren around the handle of the weapon has some sort of barrel around it as if it were some sort of gun.

Jeez, how many weapons does one girl need?...I mean sure Blake is no different from her, having like, how many weapons? Well, she's got her little sword, another sword, her weird scythe throwing thing, and her gun.

So I guess I shouldn't be to surprised at the fact that the two have similar weapons, or at least weapon concepts.

I'm sure it won't be the last time I see some weird and convoluted weapon.

I mean, I get having a unique weapon in your arsenal. But why over complicate things? Doesn't that just make it harder to manage?

That's why I like to keep it simple.

My sword kills people up close, and my gun kills people from a far.

Easy to manage, and pretty efficient in a fight.

Then again, I have a sword that will never dull and as far as I know, will never break. So what do I know about weapon management when I literally don't even need to any form of maintenance to my sword.

Though I do need to do a little maintenance with my gun from time to time but that doesn't even compare to the amount of maintenance that most of my friends do.

Hell, even Jaune has to do more maintenance than me.

Anyway's, I'm getting off track.

Ilia and I are currently standing on the roof of the building where we originally had our little confrontation from earlier.

We haven't really said a word ever since we left the house, though I'm not really complaining about that. She hasn't been giving me her usual glare at all so I guess that's a good enough start.

Though while we're up here, I gotta say that this view is pretty damn good.

Looking at the wide and vast ocean as the moonlight coming from Remnants shattered moon glistened on its' vast waters was quite the sight to behold.

While it may not be as good as the view that Beacon has, it's definitely a sight to see.

Though before I could continue to gaze upon the ocean, the sound of Ilia's scroll ringtone going off brought be back to reality.

Ilia stood up and took out her scroll, gazing at it's screen for a few seconds before nodding and putting it back into her pocket.

"So, is it time?" I asked.

Ilia nodded and pulled out her White Fang mask.

"You know what you need to do right?" Ilia asked.

"Sure I do." I said.

"Then tell me what we planned." She said.

"Sure, we find the guy and kill him." I said.

Ilia, once again, started to stare at me with her usual deadpanned stare.

"...I might have missed a few details." I said.

Ilia dug her hands into her face and walked over to me with her scroll in her hands.

"I'm only going to say this once more so pay attention this time." Ilia said.

"Right." I said, looking over at the screen of her scroll.

"Okay, so more than likely the rogue will recognize me more than anything. So I can't be seen in the public." She said.

"It's the middle of the night, why would you have to worry about not being seen?" I asked.

"People still go out during this time. This would be the perfect opportunity to plan his escape route in the morning. We need to make sure that he never gets the chance to plan that said escape route." Ilia said.

"Alright, guess that makes sense." I said.

"But he'll recognize me as soon as he see's me, so I can't confront him directly, at least not in the open." She said.

"That's where you come in." Ilia said.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I don't think he'll recognize you. Though I don't think he would forget about your little spirit there, so I try not to use it in the public. At least not unless you absolutely have to." She said.

"So, I'll take the lower ground while you'll be taking the higher ground, is that it?" I asked.

"Basically. But try not to draw too much attention to yourself, we're trying to remain inconspicuous." Ilia said.

"That might be a bit difficult knowing my luck." I said.

"Well, worst case scenario we have to take a more direct approach." She said.

"Fair point, but what about the Grimm? They're still a problem, remember?" I asked.

"Believe me, I didn't forget. Though the Grimm can wait for now, so long as this guy doesn't cause a scene then we should be good until tomorrow." Ilia said.

"Yeah, but he's gonna be extra cautious now that he knows you're here. So finding him isn't exactly going to be a walk in the park." I said.

"Believe me, I know." She said, putting on her mask.

"You better have gotten all that. I won't repeat myself again." Ilia said.

"I got it, I got it. Don't worry." I said.

Ilia stood there in silence for a few moments before nodding and jumping towards a nearby building.

"Okay, so she takes the high ground, and I take the low ground." I said as I started to move down the building.

So if I were a rogue White Fang member hiding from there assassin where would I hide?

"Hmm, well, hope for the best and expect the worst I guess." I said, landing on the ground of the town.

I dusted myself off and started to walk down the streets of the town, the lamps lighting my path as continued my walk.

"Hmm, well this town isn't really that big so it shouldn't be to hard to find the guy. Especially at this hour." I said.

I looked around the area in attempts to find the criminal, though due to the darkness of the town I was having no such luck.

"Caliber. You sense anything?" I asked.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ Caliber hummed, telling me that he was scanning the area for aura's.

After a few seconds of silence, Caliber eventually spoke up.

 _ **"At the moment, the only aura's I can sense are yours, and the chameleons."**_ He said.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up over my head to see Ilia crouching on one of the buildings.

"You know, you can go your own desperate way you know?" I said.

Ilia's only response was to throw a can at me, the aluminum can hitting me directly in the head.

"Ow! What the hell did you do that for?!" I yelled.

Once again, the only response I got was for Ilia to put her finger up to her mouth.

"Tch, fine. Be that way." I grumbled as I continued to walk.

I continued to walk down the streets of Ilia's hometown in attempts to catch this little rogue, though so far I wasn't having any luck.

"Jeez, you'd think there would be a few people out at this time. It's like this is some sort of ghost town." I said.

Hmm, then again I'm used to being in large area's like Vale, and that kingdom always has people walking around no matter what time of day or night it is.

Hey, you pick up anything?

 _ **"Hmm, no. I'm not sensing any form of hostile aura in the area."**_ Caliber said.

Jeez! How hard can it be to find one guy?! It seems like that whenever I'm actually looking for these assholes they're suddenly masters of stealth, but whenever I'm not looking for them I suddenly become a magnet for them?!

"You know son, it's awfully late for you to be out here." I heard someone say.

I turned around to see some old man standing behind some sort of food stand with a grin on his face.

"You're one to talk." I said.

"Yeah, well I got a food stand to run you know?" He said.

"Who the hell's gonna buy ice cream at this time?" I asked.

"For the right price, you can?" The man said, waving a ice cream cone in the air.

After a few moments of hesitation, I shrugged and walked over towards the food stand.

"Good choice kid!" He said.

"Yeah, yeah, so how much?" I asked.

"Meh, you seem tired. So it's on the house!" The man said, handing me the ice cream cone.

"Thanks...uh?" I tried to say.

"The names Burt! Burt Robins!" He said with a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Burt." I said as I started to lick the ice cream cone.

"Holy-! This is good!" I said as I started to inhale the cone.

"Ha ha! Glad ya like it, kid! People and Faunus a like come all across Remnant to eat here! It's one of the best ice creams around!" Burt said.

"Heh, I can see why." I said.

"Yeah...hey, I haven't seen your face around here. You new?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just got here today." I said.

"Heh, well you sure picked a weird time to visit our little town that's for sure." Burt said.

"Oh?" I asked in fake ignorance.

Maybe if I'm lucky I can get a better idea on what the guy I'm looking for looks like.

"Yeah, some strange things are going around. First there was this shooting in the market place, then there was this little car accident that happened down town. It's sure been an eventful day." He said.

"Actually, I was-." I began.

"Then there was this kid that had this weird ghost thing floating around him that managed to catch bullets! I mean, don't get me wrong I'm thankful for the guy but catching bullets? That seems a bit to far fetched." Burt said.

"Yeaaah." I said, continuing to eat my ice cream

"Well anyways, how was your stay so far?" He asked.

"It was...eventful to say the least." I said.

"So what brings you to our little town?" Burt asked.

Yeah, I'm just gonna leave the whole, your town is about to be overrun by Grimm part hidden for now.

"I'm looking for someone." I said.

"Really now? Who would this someone be? I know pretty much everyone in this town, I might know a thing or two about them." He said.

"Well..." I began, trying to describe the man as best I could from what Ilia and Iridis told me.

"He's a tall man, grey hair, brown tank top, tan complexion, some sort of Faunus though I'm not sure what kind." I said.

Burt stood there in silence for a few moments before responding.

"Yeah, I saw the guy. Not really sure where he went exactly, though I'm pretty sure he went down to the courtyard the last I saw him." I said.

"Great!...So where is the-?"

"It's just down that road, son! just keep on walking and you'll eventually get there." He said.

"Thank you. Have a good night." I said as I started to walk towards the road that Burt pointed me to.

"No problem son! Be sure to come back sometime!" He said.

I waved my right hand up in the air as I continued to walk towards the road.

Hmm, definitely gonna have to take Neo here. If she found out about this place before I told her then she would kill me.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ Caliber hummed.

What's up?

 ** _"It's faint. But I'm sensing a very hostile energy coming from up ahead. Though it's fading fast."_** He said.

Well then, let's go and greet this little rogue.

I started to pick up the pace, a grin on my face as I continued to run down the road.

I looked up to the roofs to see that Ilia was jumping from roof to roof.

Eventually, we reached the courtyard where the man should have been.

I say should have because the man was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, where the hell did he go?" I asked.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ Caliber hummed.

Though before Caliber could continue his response, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from behind me.

I turned around to see that Donovan himself was walking towards me with some sort of back pack on his back.

"Hmm, so if I leave in the morning then she won't be able to-." He began, only to stop himself as his gaze fell on my figure.

"Find...me." He said slowly.

.

.

Well, this just got awkward real fast.

"So, uh hey?" I said.

"Yeah, hey." He said slowly.

"...So what are you doing out here so late at night?" I asked.

"Packing. I could ask you the same thing kid." Donovan said.

"Oh you know, wandering." I said.

"Hmm, alright." He said as he started to walk towards a box that was on the fountain.

"Why are you packing in the middle of the town? Why not in a hotel or something? Isn't that the usual way people pack?" I asked.

"Yeah, well I'm not like most people." Donovan said.

"Fair enough." I said.

While he was looking through his little back pack, I quickly glanced over to my right to see that Ilia was jumping from building to building.

Should probably keep him distracted until Ilia gets into position.

"So...you seem like a man who's going places." I said.

"Yeah you can say that." He said.

"May I ask where?" I asked.

"No." He said.

Alright, worth a try.

"...Wait, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Donovan asked.

Shit! Quick, think of an excuse!

"Not that I know of. I only just arrived here today." I said.

"Hmm, you look really familiar." He said.

"I swear to god that we've never met before." I said.

"Hmm...maybe it's just a coincidence. Though you look a lot like this one kid that was chasing this one girl I know." Donovan said.

"Yeah." I said as I looked over my shoulder to that Ilia was walking towards Donovan with her hand on the handle of the weapon.

Though as I turned around to face Donovan, I could see him staring intently over my shoulder with his eyes narrowed.

Shit! Did he find out?! Damn it! Looks like we're gonna have to do this the-.

"Excuse me, you're stepping on my wallet." He said.

"Huh?" I asked as I looked down to my feet to see a wallet stuck under my foot.

"Oh! Y-yeah, sorry." I said as I backed up, though as I did, I accidentally stepped on Ilia's hand.

"Ow!" Ilia yelped as she reverted back to her original color.

.

.

"So...could you just pretend this never happened?" I asked.

"Ah, no." He said as he started to run.

"Seriously?!" Ilia yelled as she started to run after Donovan.

"Hey! You could have moved out of the way you know?!" I yelled as I chased after the rogue.

We started to run down the street in attempts to catch this rogue White Fang member.

"We were so close!" Ilia yelled.

"Didn't ya see me moving backwards?!" I yelled.

"Just use your stupid spirit thing!" She yelled.

Caliber, can you make the shot?

 _ **"He's too far away. I won't be able to reach him."**_ Caliber said.

Of course he is.

"He's to far! The blast won't reach him!" I yelled.

"Well then start-!...wait, blast?! I thought he just punched things and that's it!" Ilia asked.

"Remember when I said that Caliber regained all of his power after the incident in the mountain?!" I asked.

"Yeah?" She said.

"Yeah, well that's part of the power. Though we can only use it in a medium to short range!" I said.

"Oh well that's just great!" Ilia said.

"Can't you shoot him?!" I asked.

"Can't you?!" She asked.

...Actually that's a good point, I can just grab my gun and-.

Though as I reached over to my right pocket to grab my gun, the only thing I managed to grab was the thin air where my gun was supposed to be.

"Nope." I said.

"And why the hell not?!" She asked.

"I don't have my gun! You have a gun! Shoot him!" I yelled.

Ilia growled and grabbed her gun from the back of her belt, aiming the barrel at Donovan.

Though before Ilia could pull the trigger, Donovan made a quick right turn to the right.

"God damn it!" I yelled as I turned to the right.

Ilia growled and followed me in pursuit.

Though as we continued to chase after the rogue, the lights of the various houses started to light up.

"Yeah, I think we're waking up a few people." I said.

"Oh well isn't that just great. Because we clearly needed to get civilians involved in this." Ilia growled.

Donovan pointed his gun at the two of us and started to fire various rounds at the two of us.

Caliber!

 _ **"Yeah, I know."**_ He said as he manifested behind me and started to catch the bullets.

"What?! You again?!" Donovan asked.

"Yeah! The one and only!" I yelled as Caliber flicked the bullets back at him.

Donovan ducked under the speeding bullets in attempts to dodge the oncoming attack.

"Seriously?! How strong is that freaky ghost?!" He asked, shooting more bullets at the two of us.

 ** _"Is everyone in this world so ill mannered?"_** Caliber asked.

Welcome to Remnant.

As we continued to run down the streets, people started to come out of there houses.

"Everyone stay in your houses!" Ilia yelled.

"Unless you have a gun or something! In which case try to be useful!" I yelled.

Ilia just turned her head around to face me with a deadpanned look on her face.

"What? If they're gonna be awake then they might as well make themselves useful." I said.

Ilia shrugged and continued to run after the rogue.

Though as Donovan continued to run down the street, a smirk started to form on his face as he gazed upon a truck.

"Oh no, don't you do it you-." I began to say, only for the rhino Faunus to ram into the truck, sending it flying upwards, causing the driver to let out a familiar scream.

"Son of a-! Seriously it's the same truck to!" I yelled.

I summoned Caliber to catch the car, the driver looking at the spirit in complete shock.

"Once I can let pass, but twice?! Pay attention to the god damn road!" I yelled, continuing to run after the rogue.

...Wait a minute.

"Was that the Wilhelm scream?" I asked.

"The what?" Ilia asked.

"You know, the Wilhelm scream! The one in Star Wars?!" I asked.

"The hell's Star Wars?!" She asked.

...Right we're not on earth.

"It's a movie, don't watch the prequels just a couple of hours of wasted time." I said.

"...The hell are you on about?" Ilia asked.

Donovan made a quick turn to the right, the ground cracking as his feet made contact with the stone.

"I think we might want to take a different route!" I said as I started to jump onto some sort of stand in attempts to reach the top of a building.

Ilia nodded and jumped onto the same stand that allowed me to get to the top of the building.

"Huh, didn't know I could move like that...that's good to know." I said to myself as my eyes started to follow the figure of Donovan.

Though as we continued to follow him, Ilia noticed something that was ahead of the rhino Faunus.

"Wha-?! What is she doing?! She's gonna get herself killed!" She yelled as she ran ahead of me.

"What is she doing now?" I asked, looking ahead of Donovan to see that Iridis was standing on the other side of the road.

"Damn it! Move out of the way!" Donovan said.

Though Iridis was standing her ground, not moving from the street.

"Damn it! Don't say I didn't warn you la-!" He began, only for Iridis to sweep her cane under Donovan's legs, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Gah!" He yelled, skidding across the stone ground.

"Tch, kids these days." She said.

"Aw yeah, good job old lady!" I yelled.

"What the hell did you just call me you stinkin brat?!" Iridis asked.

 _ **"Honestly, is the term 'Manners' even in your vocabulary?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Come down here so I can kick your ass! These old bones are still enough to-!" She began, only for an audible cracking noise to cut her off.

"Gah!" She yelled as she dropped her cane and clenched her back.

Donovan saw this as an opportunity, causing him to rush towards the old lady and grab her with his right arm.

"Grandma!" Ilia screamed, a scowl starting to form on her face as she pointer her gun at Donovan.

"Don't move!" Donovan screamed, pushing the gun up to the temple of her head.

Ilia stopped dead in her tracks, but her scowl didn't leave her face.

"Take another step and I blow her fucking head clean off her torso!" He yelled.

"Gah!" Iridis yelled in pain.

"Let her go you bastard!" Ilia yelled.

"I said don't move another step!" He yelled.

After a few seconds, Ilia eventually lowered her weapon.

"Good, now, I'm going to go to the gate, I'm going to go leave this place forever, and nobody has to get hurt. But if you so much as take a step towards me, I will send this old woman to her grave." Donovan said.

"You bastard." Ilia growled.

"Once I'm certain you won't follow me, I'll let her go." He said.

"Yeah, and how the hell is she supposed to do that?! Can't you see that she's in pain?!" She asked.

"Tch, whether a human lives or dies isn't any of my concern. Even if they have relations with one of the Phantoms." Donovan said.

"H-how did you-?!" She asked.

"I picked up a few things while I was here. To think, you, one of the Phantoms would have been raised by the likes of a human." He said.

Ilia growled, gripping the handle of her weapon tighter.

"Though I guess what you all do isn't my concern anymore." Donovan said.

Shit, this isn't good.

I was currently watching the scene unfold from the roof of some sort of house.

First we fail the assassination, then we wake the entire town apparently, then we've managed to get ourselves in a hostage situation.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ Caliber hummed.

What's up with you? Got a plan?

 _ **"You come up with the plans. I make sure you survive through those said plans."**_ He said.

Well wouldn't hurt to chime in from time to time.

 _ **"We might want to get ready."**_ He said.

Ready for what?

Though before Caliber could respond, the sound of a loud banding sound coming from the front gate stopped our conversation.

 _ **"That, get ready for that."**_ Caliber said.

Donovan slowly turned his head towards the source of the noise.

After a few seconds of the loud banging noise, the door flew open and a loud growl could be heard coming from within the dust.

A large humanoid like figure started to walk into the town. It had two horns on it's head that curved down it's cheeks, as well as various armor pads on it's body.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" I said, unsheathing my sword and running towards the hulking beast.

The Grimm let out a massive roar, causing everyone in the area to start running the opposite direction.

"Seriously?! A Troll?! A fucking Troll?!" I asked.

The Troll in question roared once again and started to walk towards us.

"Oh wow, no that's cool. That's just cool, just give me the metaphorical middle finger!" I said.

Donovan growled and released Iridis, running away from the Grimm in question.

"Hey! Get back-!" Ilia began to chase Donovan, but she quickly stopped herself in her tracks.

She turned towards her fallen grandmother, then turned back at the rogue.

Ilia growled and ran over to her grandmother, picking her up in her arms.

"Come on! We need to go!" Ilia yelled at me, running away from the Grimm.

"Yeah don't need to tell me twice!" I said as I followed her.

* * *

We ran for a good few minutes, that's how much time had taken for us to reach Iridis's house.

Ilia placed her on one of the nearby chairs that were on the front of her house, Iridis breathing heavily as she sat.

"Just stay here." She said.

Ilia turned towards me, though instead of getting a glare or a deadpanned stare, she looked at me with a look of determination in her eyes.

"You needed to deal with a Grimm problem, right?" Ilia asked.

"Yeah?" I said.

Ilia pointed at the town, a loud roar coming from the distance.

"I'll make a deal with you. Help me take this guy down, and I'll help you with your little Grimm problem. Help me save my town." She said, extending her hand outwards.

I stood there in silence for a few moments before smirking.

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal, Il." I said, shaking her hand.

"Don't call me that." She said, walking away from her grandmother house.

"Tch, you're no fun." I said as we started to walk towards the source of the noise.

Though as we started to walk away, Ilia's grandmother was sitting there with a proud smirk on her face.

"About time." She said.

We continued to run down the streets, and from the looks of it, the Troll had already done some damage to the town.

Whether it be property damage or...you know, casualties.

"Did you know any of these people?" I asked.

"No." She said.

"Oh, well I guess that's good." I said.

.

.

"You know, you aren't as bad as I thought." I said.

"What do you mean?" Ilia asked.

"Well, I always saw you as this prideful, merciless, silent and rude." I said.

"Gee, thank. You're one to talk you know." She said sarcastically.

"Ignoring that comment, now I see that I was a wrong to judge you like that." I said.

"Really? You think you know me after just meeting me a few hours ago?" Ilia asked.

"Well, I don't know you all that well, though I did pick up a few things." I said.

"..."

"Well, I wasn't really wrong about two of those things I just mentioned." I said.

"Two?" She asked.

"Prideful and rude." I said.

Ilia started to grumble but kept her tongue to herself.

"Though you're actually pretty caring in your own way." I said.

"..."

"You care for a lot of people here. Your grandmother-."

"That's a given." Ilia said.

"Okay, good point. You care about the people of this town, and you care about the Phantoms." I said.

"Well, they're like a family to me." She said.

"Yeah...family." I said, my voice saddening.

Ilia and I continued to run down the streets, and while some of them had a few bodies here and there, it wasn't nearly as many as the amount of casualties that happened at Vale during the breach.

"Jesus." I said.

"Hmm?" Ilia asked.

"Nothing. Hey Caliber? You sense him anywhere?" I asked.

 _ **"I don't believe that the traitor should be the main focus here."**_ He said.

"While that may be true, he's the one who caused all this. He got everyone all riled up and that's what drew the Troll here." I said.

 _ **"Then let us take down the monster, and take out it's master last."**_ Caliber said.

"I wouldn't say he's really in command of it." I said.

 _ **"You know what I mean."**_ He said.

"What are you doing?" Ilia asked.

"Oh! Sorry, I can talk to Caliber inside of my head." I said.

"Then why are you speaking aloud?" She asked.

"It's a habit." I said.

"To talk to yourself?" Ilia asked.

"No! I just...It's just...Shut up." I said.

"Heh, whatever you say." She said.

Though before we could continue our search, the sound of a snarl cut us off.

"Seriously?" Ilia asked as she turned around to see that the Troll was standing right behind us.

"Well, guess it's better now than never." I said, drawing my sword.

Ilia growled and took out her weapon.

The Troll roared and started to charge towards us.

Ilia and I went our separate ways in attempts to throw off the massive beast.

The troll roared and swung his massive arm at me, though while it was able to hit hard, it lacked the speed needed to actually hit someone like me.

"Heh, nice try!" I yelled, jumping up into the air and landing on it's arm.

The troll roared and attempted to swing it's other arm at me, though I was easily able to dodge the oncoming attack with relative ease.

I attempted to dig my sword in it's head, though due to the tough shell around it's head.

Though before I could attempted to move off of the Grimm, the Troll grabbed me with it's massive hand and held me tight.

"Shit! Caliber!" I yelled as I attempted to summon Caliber.

Though the Troll's strength proved to be far greater to that of Caliber's, as Caliber was only able to slightly open it's hand.

The Troll roared and threw me towards a building.

"Gah!" I gasped as the rubble started to fall towards me.

"S-shit!" I said as I started to run out of the building, dodging the rocks as they fell down to the ground.

I managed to just barely escape the collapsing building, but just barely.

"Jesus, that was close." I said.

I looked over to my right to see that Ilia was cracking her whip at the Troll, electrical sparks coming off of the monster as it screamed in agony.

Damn it, this isn't good. That monster doesn't seem to be even phased by our attacks.

Not only that, but the monster is able to prevent Caliber from manifesting, and my sword only grazes the monsters shell.

 _ **"Then do what you always do."**_ Caliber said.

And what would that be?

 ** _"Toy with your opponents minds."_** He said.

Huh?

 _ **"Do what you do best. Play with the mind of your opponent."**_ Caliber said.

Huh...that gives me an idea.

"Hey! Fat ass!" I yelled, causing the Grimm to turn towards me, snarling all the while.

Looks like that got his attention.

"Yoo hoo! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" I said.

"What the hell are you-?!" Ilia began, only for the Grimm to roar and rush towards me.

Well, I wouldn't really call it rushing.

"Yeah, come on, right this way." I said.

The Grimm swung it's arm at me, though I was easily able to back flip away from the attack.

"Whew, that's one hell of an arm you got there. But your aim is lousy. What are you even swinging at?" I asked, causing the Grimm to roar in rage.

"What are you doing?! Are you trying to make it angry?!" Ilia asked.

"Something like that, yeah." I said.

.

.

"Wait what?" Ilia asked.

The Troll once again swung it's massive fist at me, though I quickly moved backwards to dodge the attack.

"Hah! Jeez, can you maybe give me a challenge or something? I'm not even winded." I said, yawning a bit.

At this point what, the red marks on the Grimm's body started to glow.

Ilia was about to run towards me in attempts to assist in my attack, though I held my hand out to tell her to stop.

"No, I've got this." I said.

"W-what?! What do you mean?! You're barely able to scratch it!" Ilia yelled.

My only response was to give her my usual cocky smirk.

The Grimm snarled at me, it's eyes burning with a red aura.

"What's the matter ya stupid Troll? I can't be that hard to hit now can I?" I asked.

The Troll's only response was to grab the ground below it.

"Hmm?" I hummed, raising one of my eyebrows.

The Troll picked up the massive rock with it's arms and started to charge towards me.

"So, tired of using your fists are we?" I asked.

The Troll roared and slammed the stone onto my head...or at least the area where my head was supposed to be.

The Troll looked around the area in attempts to find me, though little did he know I was casually standing on his back.

I climbed onto his head and stared him directly into his eyes.

"Sup?" I asked.

The Grimm's only response was to slam it's fist onto the area where I was, though I quickly moved out of the way, causing it to hit itself in the face with it's own fist.

"Oh come on! Now you're just embarrassing yourself." I said as I jumped in front of the Grimm.

The Grimm growled, it's armor starting to crumble to the ground.

"Jeez, I liked you better with the mask." I said.

The Grimm roared and attempted to slam it's fist onto my body, though I causally moved backwards.

The Troll attempted to remove it's fist from the ground, though it seems that the Troll put a little to much force into the punch.

"Yeah, I don't think you'll be needing this." I said as I moved towards it's elbow and summoned Caliber.

Caliber reeled it's fist back and started to punch the elbow of the Grimm rapidly.

This continued for a couple of seconds until Caliber reeled it's fist back once more, a blue aura surrounding the fist.

Once the fist came into contact with the elbow, the bone of it's arm started to stick out from the other side of the arm.

The Grimm reeled back in agony, clenching it's arm as black smoke started to ooze out of the wound.

"Jesus, that's disgusting." I said as I started to casually walk towards the Grimm.

The Troll attempted to swing it's fist at me again, but the only result he got was for Caliber to punch the wound, causing the arm to go flying off the Grimm.

"That's better. Was starting to get sick just by looking at it." I said.

The Grimm fell to it's knee's, it roaring in my face as it knelt on the ground.

"Hey." I began, pointing at the ground.

"What's that?" I asked.

The Grimm looked down at the ground, though he was only met by Caliber's palm grabbing him.

"Made you look." I said, causing Caliber to release one of his little explosion from his palm, blowing the Grimm's head clean off.

The Troll fell to the ground, black smoke starting to emanate off of it's corpse.

"So." I said, turning towards Ilia.

"I believe you owe me an apology." I said.

Ilia just stared at me in complete shock, seemingly still processing what just happened.

"I don't...how did you...what?!" She asked.

"Heh, speechless? It's natural don't worry." I said.

Ilia grumbled a bit and kicked a stone to a nearby building.

"Ow!" We heard someone say.

We blinked a couple of times before walking over to the source of the noise.

Sure enough, Donovan was laying on the ground, beaten to a pulp.

Most likely due to our little friend there...well little dead friend to be a bit more specific.

Ilia pointed her gun at the rogue, causing him crawl backwards.

"W-wait! I won't talk, I swear! I'll never come back! You'll never have to see my face ever again!" He said.

"Yeah." She began as she pulled the trigger to the gun, causing blood to come out of the mans head and for his corpse to hit the ground with an audible thud.

"And you never will." Ilia said.

* * *

After the Troll had been defeated, the towns folk were already on fixing the damages done to the town, as well as tending to the wounded and burying there lost ones.

"Well, that takes care of that." I said, sipping on a bottle of tea as I sat on the top of the building where Ilia and I had our little confrontation.

"But still. People died because of our actions today." Ilia said.

"People died because of that one dude. Not because of us. Just be thankful that we didn't have another breach on our hands." I said.

"Yeah." She said.

.

.

"Look, don't beat yourself up for something that you couldn't have prevented. Just be thankful the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been." I said.

Ilia sat there in silence for a few moments before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She said.

"Of course I am." I said.

"So, how's gramps?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, you mean my grandmother? The doctors are tending to her back, they said she'll make a full recovery." Ilia said.

"Well that's good to hear." I said.

"Yeah." She said.

"...Hey, is it true what that one guy said? That Iridis is actually a human?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's true." Ilia said.

"Well then, I would comment on the irony of that, but I'm pretty sure you already realize the irony of that situation." I said.

"Yeah." She said.

.

.

"Hey, you said that you wanted to know about why I was in an Atlas uniform, right?" Ilia asked.

"I'm curious about it, yeah." I said.

"Well, if I tell you that story, you have to answer a little question I have." She said.

"Alright." I said.

"Okay...where to begin?" She asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Ilia nodded and started to tell her little story.

"Okay, so I'm sure you've already noticed that my Faunus traits aren't exactly noticeable." Ilia said.

"Yeah, kinda hard to spot." I said.

"Well, you're not wrong. As a matter of fact, I actually did pass for a human for the beginning of my life." Ilia said.

I raised my eyebrow but let her continue.

"I know that I look like a human. I've been told by my parents, my grandmother, and some other close family friends that I look distinctively human, and for years that's how I was raised." She said.

"So, they raised you to think you were a human, that right?" I asked.

"Well, I knew I was a Faunus ever since I was born. But my mother always tried to raise me to act more like the humans." Ilia said.

"Your mother?" I asked.

"Yeah... my parents and I, we lived in Mantle with the other Faunus working in the mines. But my parents wanted something more. Something better." Ilia said.

"So they saved up enough Lien to enroll me into an Atlas prep school." She said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I know. Not the best place for a Faunus to apply, bite me." Ilia said.

"But despite that, it felt so good. I felt like a princess, but I had to follow a set of rules." Ilia said.

"Let me guess. No changing color?" He asked.

"That was one of them. No bringing friends home and no talking about my parents." She said.

"No one could know that I was a Faunus." Ilia said.

"Hmm, must have been tough." I said.

"It was...confusing to say the least. But it wasn't hard. Especially if it meant being in Atlas." Ilia said.

"Meh, was never a huge fan of Atlas. Never liked the cold." I said.

"Sometimes the other girls would say things about the Faunus. That they were animals, that they were dirty, that they lied, and I'd say those things with them." She said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it made me feel like I belonged. Like I had a place." Ilia said.

"Then, there was a cave in at the mines. I was at school when the news broke. Apparently one of the workers tripped while handling some unstable dust. The explosion caused a chain reaction, and my 'Friends' snickered." She said.

"Apparently?" I asked.

"That's really the only question you have?" Ilia asked.

"At the moment, yes." I said.

"..."

"So what do you think happened?" I asked.

"...Somebody sabotaged it." Ilia said.

"Heh, figures." I said.

"I lost control. Every inch of me turned blue as I wept. Then suddenly, all the girls that I had laughed and played with were scared of me." She said.

"Damn. Sorry to hear." I said.

"Don't be sorry." Ilia said as she stood up.

Ilia smirked as every inch of her body turned red.

"I broke there teeth." She said.

.

.

"So then what happened?" I asked.

"I...ran away to come here. This was the closest thing I had to a home." Ilia said.

"After that, I joined the Fang. I was gonna make the humans pay for what they did, and I'm gonna find out who sabotaged the mines." She said.

"Hmm." I hummed.

"Now, I kept my end of the deal, now it's time to keep yours." Ilia said as she turned towards me.

"Okay, so what's up?" I asked.

"Back before our fight with the Troll, I noticed your tone changed when I brought up the subject of family." She said.

"So, you noticed?" I asked.

"Yeah, so I want to know what happened to you?" Ilia asked.

"Why do you care?" I asked.

"I don't. But I want to know how someone can act so confident and cocky when they clearly lost someone or something close to them." She asked.

I chuckled and turned to face her.

"Well, the answers pretty simple. I got a little upset at the subject of family because, well, I don't have one anymore." I said.

"...W-what?!" She asked.

"Yep. No mother, no father, no siblings, no grandparents, no aunts, uncles, cousins, or any of that crap." I said.

"..."

"I lost all of them to the Grimm. You're lucky, you know that?" I asked.

"How?" Ilia asked.

"You still have family. Your grandmother, the Phantoms, and some of the Fang. But me? I've got nobody. I'm all alone." I said.

"..."

"As for why I act the way I do, I guess it's sort of a way to actually make something of myself." I said.

"I keep fighting because it's the only thing I can do. Because I know that if I don't, then a lot of people are gonna die." I said.

"Huh?" Ilia asked.

"It's noting. Doesn't concern you, or the Fang." I said.

Ilia was hesitant at first, but nodded and dropped the subject.

"You know, you aren't as bad as I thought." She said.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

Ilia walked up to the railing and sat beside me.

"I always thought that you were selfish, crude, and hot headed. But now?...Well, you're still all of those things." She said.

"Gee, thanks." I said.

"But, you're also...how do I put this?...You're unique." Ilia said.

"...Uh, thanks?" I said.

"You dodge everything the world has to throw at you like it's your destiny. Like you're always escaping from the clutches of death at the last second. I wanted to believe that it was just dumb luck, that everything that's been happening was because there was some sort of god smiling upon you." She said.

"No matter how many times we fight you, you always find a way to get out of the tricky situations you get yourself into." Ilia said.

"You're always one step ahead." She said.

"I wanted to believe that it was dumb luck. But after today, there's no working around it." Ilia began.

"You're really something." She said.

"

.

.

"Heh, thanks." I said.

Though before we could continue our little conversation, I felt my scroll vibrate.

"Ah, that must be my cue. Well, I gotta leave this joint. Duty calls." I said as I got up.

"...Thank you." Ilia said.

"Huh?" I asked.

Ilia got up and turned towards me with a smile on her face.

"Thank you for saving my home." She said.

* * *

 **And that is a wrap!**

 **We are done with out little 'Smile' side story.**

 **I finally was able to defeat a major Grimm with out the help of Caliber.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Well, he helped a little bit, but I did most of the work.**

 **Feels good.**

 **Though I actually got the chance to find out the story of Ilia.**

 **Who would have thought that she went to an Atlas prep school am I right?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Why are you looking at me like that?**

 **Review Response**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad you think so.**

 **SPDefender: Well, all's well that end's well.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: That doesn't seem like a reliable answer to everything about Raven.**

 **Donovan: Well, you're dead now so take what you will.**

 **GOH426: He was a bit too busy with saving the town to notice.**

 **TheoMidnight: Glad you think so.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE:**

 **Ilia: Brain Damage?!**

 **Something321: People like Ilia because she's interesting. People don't like Cinder because she's just another uninteresting, one dimensional villain...at least in vol's 1-3.**

 **Ragnorak16: Rude.**

 **fanficcyberman: Glad to hear.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: They almost did! But they pulled through in the end.**

 **Raidentensho: I'll consider it.**

 **JumpingToaster: Meh, it ain't for everyone.**

 **GOH426: Glad to hear.**

 **Energeia Aiegrene: That's where I got the original concept from.**

 **Also Raven is thirty eight.**

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

 _._

.

 _'He sure is taking a while. Wonder if I should go and help him out?'_ Summer thought to herself as she sat by the campfire.

 _ **"He'll never learn if he doesn't experience it for himself."**_ Lupus said.

 _'Yeah, but people's lives could be on the line.'_ She thought.

 ** _"You said it yourself, you must remain hidden from the ones in the higher ranks."_** Agnus said.

"But still-." Summer began, only for Brandon to appear from the mountains path.

"Whew! Sorry! Sorry! Things got a little crazy back there!" He said in between breaths.

Summer sat there in silence for a few seconds before giggling.

"It's okay. Why not take a seat? I'm cooking fish." She said.

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Brandon said as he walked over to the camp fire.

"You'll have to wait for a little bit. It's not done cooking yet." Summer said.

"I can wait." He said, sitting down on a log.

"So, how did it go?" She asked.

"Things got a little out of control at first, but I took care of your problem in the end." Brandon said.

"Good! I'm glad to hear!" Summer said.

"Yeah, everything turned out alright in the end." He said.

"That's good to hear...Hmm, you're getting a bit stronger. I can see it in your eyes." She said.

"You can tell something like that just by looking at someone's eyes?" I asked.

"Well, you know what they say. The eyes are the gateway to one soul." Summer said.

.

.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Brandon asked.

"Sure. Go right ahead." Summer said.

"How did you get Cronus in the first place? You said that you'd tell me the entire story once we were out of the public." He said.

Summer started to chuckle, stretching out her arms as she did.

"Well, it's a good thing we've got food. Because this is gonna take a while." She said.

"You've been patient. So I guess you're ready to hear my story. The story of how I 'died'." Summer said.

* * *

 **Ilia Amitola**

 **Race: Faunus**

 **Faunus Trait: Chameleon Skin**

 **Weapon: Wild Hunt (Whip/Gun)**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 126 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Outfit: Black and Gold.**

 **Handedness: Right.**

 **Complexion: Tan.**

 **Hair Color: Brown.**

 **Eye color: Gray.**

 **Aura Color: Red**

 **Semblance: Unknown.**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 83**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 59**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 42**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 23**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	53. The Fall of a Rose

Hello **readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Fall of a Rose"

Thought: _'The Fall of a Rose'_

Flashback: _"The Fall of a Rose"_

 _(Eleven years earlier)_

Patch, an island just across the coast that leads to the city of Vale itself. It was a fairly small island that didn't have a whole lot of issues with Grimm, bandits, and outlaws, making this the perfect area to raise a family.

Three of Vale's greatest huntsmen and huntresses resided on this little island, each with a family of there own.

Qrow Branwen, brother of the now gone rogue Raven Branwen, has been residing in patch for the past six years now. Though he really doesn't come to the island of Patch as often as he should be.

This is due to some very inconvenient circumstances that have been put on him. So to prevent his friends and family from suffering from these said inconvinences, he spends most of his time away from them in attempts to ease there suffering.

Though what could cause him to stay away from the one's he holds dear in his heart?

While having a semblance that caused the people around you to suffer from the misfortune of the world would come in handy when fighting the various outlaws or Grimm that occupy the continents, it has a very negative side affect to the ones you hold close to you.

So while it does make him a force to be reckoned with on the field, it doesn't exactly make him the best form of company.

Because no matter who lingers close, whether it be friend, foe or family, his semblance is sure to bring misfortune to whoever lingers close to him.

So, he spends most of his time away from his friends in family so that he can ensure they have a good life.

Ever since Raven left Tai over night, he's been doing his best to keep it together, especially now that his daughter, Yang Xiao Long, is six years old.

So he has enough on his plate, so he stays away from Tai, even though they have grown close over the years they have been partners in Beacon and step brothers since him and Raven got married eight years ago.

Not only that but Summer had a baby of her own to take care of, a four year old Ruby Rose.

It also didn't help that she couldn't exactly go on missions because of her new born baby.

While Tai could baby sit Ruby for her, he was already going through a lot during this time, so Summer let him go out to take his little missions as a way to get away from all of the stress.

Though he had been making a fairly smooth recovery, slowly turning back into his old self.

So he had to be away so that Summer could have an easier time raising Ruby, as well as getting the lien to pay the bills for her house.

Though he would always stay in touch with both her and Tai to see how they were holding up.

Especially Tai because he wasn't exactly in the best state of mind with his wife leaving him and a four year old kid to raise.

Speaking of which, Tai Yang, while he wasn't exactly a hundred percent due to Raven's absence, he was slowly recovering.

His daughter, Yang, was a big part in his recovery.

Her naturally strong and friendly personality reminded him of how he used to be in his youth.

Though sadly, she had inherited her mothers looks and temper.

While he was already used to dealing with the temper, it was difficult to look at his daughter without remembering the good times he had with Raven.

Though those good times also reminded him of the loss that Yang experienced, the loss of a mother figure in her life.

That's where Summer came in, she was the closest thing Yang had to a mother figure. So naturally, she got attached to her aunt.

So Tai, while slowly recovering, still is far from working out the sudden loss of his wife.

Though no matter how brutal the pain was, he would never result to physical violence to his precious daughter.

Unless it was training of course, then he wouldn't be pulling any punches with her.

Even at the age of six, Yang was determined to become a great fighter like her old man, her uncle, and her aunt.

Though for such a small child, she was sure packing a punch in her tiny fists.

Tai Yang could already see her becoming a great huntress if she took the time to refine the skills she had acquired from him, Summer, and sometimes Qrow.

Though if she desired to be something else, then Tai would support her in whatever career she wished to pursue in her life.

That being said, just because Yang had Summer doesn't mean that she never asked about her actual mother, Raven.

She would constantly ask her father, her aunt, and especially her uncle about everything they knew about Raven, but she always got the same answer.

It's better if you don't find out, Little Dragon.

Though that didn't stop her, she had inherited her mothers stubbornness after all.

Tai was proud of what his daughter was becoming, happy that he saw all of Raven's strengths in her, and only few of her weaknesses.

He wound never let his daughter go down the same dark path that Raven went down, he would make it his life goal.

No matter what, his Sunny Little Dragon would not become like her mother, at least not like how she currently is.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Summer Rose herself.

One year after Raven had left, Summer gave birth to Ruby Rose, her tiny little petal.

While she wasn't affected by Raven's disappearance nearly as much as Tai was, she still had to deal with the affects that came with her absence.

Taking care of a kid of your own, as well as helping a recovering father with his own child was difficult as it is.

What made things more difficult is that due to what she did back at the Mountain, she had received various requests that required her to be away from home for extended periods of times.

Though that's where she had Qrow to thank.

He took care of the higher jobs that she got, allowing her to be there for her daughter, Tai, and his daughter.

Though that doesn't mean she wouldn't go on missions from time to time.

Even Qrow needed a break from time to time, despite all of his protests.

Though as much as Qrow hated to admit it, Summer was still leagues above him in terms of strength.

Before, they were pretty equal on terms of strength, but ever since she had gotten a solid grip on her new found powers, the gap had become even wider than before.

Though she still wasn't ready to take on Raven.

While she had only had a few years of experience with her powers, Raven has had a decade of experience with her spirit.

But Summer wouldn't give up on Raven, no matter how many people she kills.

She was her partner, and she wouldn't let this path of hers lead to her demise.

Though she did have higher priorities at the moment.

Her daughter always came first in her life, no matter what she did.

While she may not be old enough to fight just yet, she inherited the one thing that could make her just as strong if not stronger than her.

Ruby had inherited her silver eyes.

Already this spoke volumes for the amount of potential she could have for the future.

Though ever since Summer had awoken her silver eyes, Ozpin had opened a whole new world up to her.

Fantasies she had once admired as a child became fact.

While she already knew that the legends of the enchanted weapons were true, Ozpin had revealed a whole bunch of fairy tales that turned out to hold some truth to them.

Though ever since then, Ozpin had told her of one single threat that could lead to the fall of everything the huntsmen had fought for.

Salem.

Ever since Ozpin had told her about Salem, and ever since she had her daughter, she had been doing her own research on Salem and who or what she is.

Though this came at the protest of Ozpin, who told her that she had no idea on what she was getting herself into.

Maybe she was in over her head, maybe this Salem would prove to be her demise. But she wasn't about to sit around and wait for this Salem to destroy everything she had worked to protect for so long.

She had a plan, though it wasn't exactly the safest plan she's ever come up with.

...Okay it was down right suicidal, but at the moment it was the only thing she could come up with.

If she succeeded, then she would be one step closer to stopping this Salem that Ozpin had told her about.

Though failing would mean that her story would come to a bitter end.

While she wasn't afraid of death by any means, she was more afraid of what this would do to her daughter down the line.

Not only her daughter but Tai, Yang, and Qrow would also have to lose another one close to them.

But it was just a chance she had to take in order to stop this Salem Ozpin had told her about.

She would not let the future of her friends and family be ruined because of this thing.

That didn't mean she had to like the odds that were stacked against her.

Though now was not a time to think of the consequences, now was a time for rest.

Summer was currently lying in her bed, all sprawled out on the beds ma tress as she made audible snores.

Her hair was a furled mess and her cloths were all sloppy.

"Heh heh heh." A light giggle could be heard from the other side of Summers door.

Slowly but surely, the door slowly started to open and a young Ruby Rose was seen walking into the room with a smile on her face.

She happily skipped over to her mother in her red footie pajamas.

"Mama! Time to wake up!" Ruby whispered.

The only response Ruby got was for Summer to continue snoring.

"Don't be such a lazy butt! It's time to go and play!" She said.

Summer's only response was to turn away from her daughter.

"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna do the thing!" Ruby said.

Once again, the only response she got was for Summer roll over again.

"Okay, you asked for it." She said, walking over to the stand that was in front of Summer's bed.

"You think you can get out of a day of playing with me? Your one and only daughter?" Ruby asked as she started to climb onto the various boxes surrounding the stand.

"Well, I'll tell you something, sleepy head." She said, climbing up onto the stand.

"You always got to start off the day with one big CANNONBALL!" She screamed as she dived onto Summer's stomach, causing her eyes to jolt open.

"Gah!" She groaned.

"Heh, heh! Rise and shine sleepy head!" Ruby said.

"Ruby! You know I hate it when you do that!" Summer said, a tic mark forming on her head.

Ruby's only response was to stick her tongue out and run for the door.

"Oh no you don't young lady!" She yelled, running after her daughter.

Ruby ran down the halls of their house, laughing all the while as her mother after her.

"Get back here young lady!" Summer said with a smile.

Ruby's only response was to make a sharp turn to the left, though what she didn't expect was for the stares leading to the lower level to be there.

"W-wha-?!" She yelled as she started to fall down.

"Ruby!" Summer yelled, quick to run in and catch her daughter.

She was able to land on the ground of the next floor safely with Ruby in her arms.

"Whew, now that was a close one." She said before looking at Ruby with a stern stare.

"As for you young lady. What in the world were you thinking! You could have been seriously hurt!" Summer said.

"Heh, heh! Wow! You looked just like a super hero! Do it again!" Ruby said.

"If you ever do that again then I won't make cookies for a month." She said.

.

.

"That's what I thought." Summer said.

"I'm sorry mama. I didn't mean to make you worry." Ruby said.

"Don't worry, petal. You just gave me a little scare is all. Besides-." She began, a dark look forming in her eyes.

"M-mama?" Ruby asked with a nervous laugh.

"You have other things to worry about." Summer said.

"L-like what?" She asked.

"Like the an attack from the tickle monster!" She yelled as she started to tickle Ruby.

"Wha-?! Whahahahaha! S-stop it! T-that tickles!" Ruby said in between laughs.

"That's the point of tickling, petal!" Summer said.

After a few more seconds of the tickle assault, Summer eventually set Ruby down onto the floor.

"Heh, so who's ready for breakfast?" She asked.

"Oo! Me! Me! I'm ready!" Ruby said.

"Now remember what I said?" Summer asked.

"Right, no cookies." She said with a pout.

"That's right." She said.

Ruby nodded and walked into the kitchen.

Though before Summer could walk into the kitchen, her scroll started to vibrate.

She quickly took out her scroll and opened the message.

Sure enough, it was from Qrow.

 **"Hey, I just finished the mission. Should be back in Patch by tonight."** The message said.

Summer smiled and started to type back.

 **"That's good to hear! I'll let Tai and Yang know! Ruby will be happy to see you to!"** Her message said.

 **"Yeah, well I wouldn't get your hopes up. Plan on picking up a mission as soon as I get back."** Qrow said.

 _'Are you kidding me?!'_ Summer thought.

 **"Seriously?! You just got back!"** Summer's message said.

After a few seconds of waiting, Qrow eventually responded.

 **"Hey, relaxation doesn't pay the bills. Ruby's still to young to get into a prep school, and she's still to young to be on her own. You know why I can't look after her. There's no telling what would happen to her if she hung around me."** He said.

Summer really couldn't argue with that, his semblance was quite the problem when it came to social interaction.

 **"Still, it's been a very long time since Ruby has seen you."** Summer said.

 **"She barely even knows that I'm gone."** Qrow said.

 **"But that's exactly the problem! She looks up to you, you're the kind of huntress she wants to be!"** She said.

 **"She wants to become a huntress?"** He asked.

 **"She's my daughter. What were you expecting?"** Summer asked.

 **"Fair point."** Qrow said.

 **"Can't you just take a break for one day? Just one day? It's been so long since I've been on a mission. I've missed the action, the adrenaline, the looks on the Grimm's faces as it begs for it's life!"** She said.

 **"...Yeah, you really need to get out of the house."** Qrow said.

 **"So does that mean you'll do it?!"** Summer asked.

 **"Yeah, but I'm not doing it for her, I'm doing it for you. You're starting to go all crazy again."** He said.

 **"Aw, aren't you the sweetest?"** She asked.

 **"Heh, I try."** Qrow responded.

 **"So, how goes the training with Yang and Tai?"** Summer asked.

 **"The kids still got ways to go, and Tai himself got rusty. I'll have to whip em into shape when I get back to Patch."** He said.

 **"Heh, that'll be fun to watch."** She said.

 **"Yeah, maybe I can give Ruby a few early pointers while I'm at it."** Qrow said.

 **"Aw, aren't you just a sweetheart!"** She teased.

 **"Yeah, yeah, shut it."** He said.

 **"You should look into teaching. You'd be good at it with the amount of teaching you do with Yang and Ruby."** Summer said.

 **"Heh, me a teacher. That'll be the day."** Qrow said.

 **"You never know~."** She said.

After a few seconds of silence, Qrow eventually responded.

 **"My flights here. I just have to make a quick stop to Vale and then I'll be back home."** Qrow said.

 **"Can't wait! Ruby will be ecstatic."** Summer said.

"Mama! I'm hungry! What's taking so long?!" Ruby complained.

 **"Looks like she's calling me. I've gotta go and make breakfast. See you soon."** She said.

 **"Yeah, later."** Qrow said, causing Summer to put her scroll back into her pocket.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Summer said as she started to walk into the kitchen.

"Sorry about that. I was just talking to someone." She said, tying her hair into a pony tail.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

Summer was about to respond, but decided that it would be fun to make Qrow's arrival a surprise.

"It's a secret." Summer said.

"What kind of secret?" She asked.

"A top secret." She said.

"Oooooh! That's the best kind of secret!" Ruby said.

"That's right, and you'll have to wait until tonight to find out what it is." Summer said.

"Aw." Ruby pouted.

"Don't worry. You'll be busy until then. Tai and Yang are coming over you know." She said, causing Ruby to jump out of her seat.

"Really?! Yay! Yang is coming to play!" Ruby sang.

"Yeah, yeah, so what do you want to eat today?" Summer asked.

Though before Ruby could respond, Summer interrupted her.

"And don't say cookies or chocolate chip pancakes." She said.

Ruby started to pout at this.

"How about eggs?" Summer asked.

"Bacon?" She asked.

"That's a given Ruby. I'd probably be arrested if I cooked eggs without bacon." She said.

"Yay!" Ruby said.

"...Wait, yay to bacon or yay to be being arrested?" Summer asked.

Ruby sat there in silence before speaking up.

"Yes." She said.

"Brat." She said with a giggle.

Summer had started to cook the food, the aroma lingering out of the window.

"Mmm, that smells good mama!" Ruby said.

"Thank you Ru-." Summer began.

"Yeah, that sure smells good, Sum!" She heard someone say, causing her to jump in surprise.

She turned around to see a man with blond hair that has two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes.

His facial hair consists of a soul patch and a small stubble along his jawline. On his right arm is a tattoo similar to a heart.

He wore brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandanna on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off.

For armor, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown finger-less glove, all on his right arm.

"Tai!" Ruby yelled, jumping out of her seat and running towards the blonde man.

"Jeez, Tai! Would it hurt ya to knock every once and a while?!" Summer asked.

"Heh, heh, sorry bout that." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ruby!" A younger yang shouted as she jumped through the open window.

"Yang!" Ruby said, rushing towards Yang with her arms stretched out.

The two embraced each other, though it appears that Ruby may have ran to fast for Yang to handle.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Yang said as she started to stumble back.

Tai rushed to catch his daughter, but Yang managed to stop herself from falling half way.

"Whew! That was a close one." She said.

"Wow, you've gotten stronger Yang." Tai said.

"Heh, what can I say? I'm awesome!" Yang said.

"Yeah, you area." He said with a smile.

"Well, since the two of you are here already. Why not stay for breakfast?" Summer asked.

"You sure you don't mind the extra work?" He asked.

"Of course not! Make yourselves comfortable." She said.

"Alright, you heard her sweetie!" Tai said.

"Okay!" Yang said, sitting in the chair next to Ruby.

After a few more minutes, the food was ready for eating.

"Here you go! Dig in!" Summer said.

"Thank you!" Ruby said as she started to chow down.

Yang was about to chow down, but Tai quickly stopped her.

"Ah ah! What do we say Yang?" He asked.

"Oh! Right, thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." Summer said with a grin.

"Thanks Sum!" Tai said.

As Ruby and Yang were busy chowing down on there food, Tai leaned in closer to Summer.

"Hey." He whispered.

"What?" Summer asked.

"Have you heard back from Qrow?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, he said that he was coming back tonight." She said.

"Yeah? For how long? A few hours then he's hitting the road again?" He asked.

"Actually, he'll be staying here for the next week." Summer said.

"Heh heh, funny joke." Tai said.

.

.

"Wait, seriously?!" He asked.

"Yep! But don't tell Ruby! I want it to be a surprise for her!" Summer said.

"Oh! Right! Got it!" Tai said.

"Hey, what's with the whispering?" Yang asked.

"Oh! Uh, we're just talking is all!" He said.

"About what?" She asked.

"Uh..." Tai began.

"It's a surprise!" Summer said.

"Oooh! A surprise?" Yang said.

"Yeah, a surprise!" She said.

"Yeah! It's gonna be awesome!" Ruby said.

"Really now?" Yang said with a mischievous grin.

"Hey, Yang! You wanna train after this?" Tai asked.

"Really?!" She asked, stars starting to form in her eyes.

"Yeah, just don't go snooping!" He said.

"Alright dad! I won't!" Yang said.

"Whew, thanks Tai. I know how Yang is when it comes to secrets." Summer whispered.

"No problem." He said.

Though as Tai turned to his food once again, Summer caught a glimpse of his arm.

 _'T-that tattoo!'_ She thought to herself.

"All done!" Both Ruby and Yang said.

"Huh? Already? Wow, that was fast." Tai said.

"So can we go and play now?" Ruby asked.

Though before Tai could respond, Summer spoke up.

"Sure! Just don't go too far." She said.

Yang and Ruby nodded, running out of the house to go and play.

"So...what's up?" Tai asked.

"It's about the tattoo." Summer said.

"Oh. This old thing? It's nothing." He said.

"It's not nothing Tai. You got that when you and Raven had your one year anniversary in Beacon." She said.

"Yeah...it was supposed to be in memory of that." Tai said.

"So why keep it?" Summer asked.

"Because getting a tattoo removed involves permanent scaring, and that's not exactly something I'm keen on doing." He said.

"Okay, fair point." She said.

"That, and...you know, I'm hoping that she just comes back someday." Tai said.

"Tai-." Summer began.

"And I know that it's pretty unlikely. Monty knows she's had the time to do so." He said.

"But I'm hoping that one day I wake up and I see her sitting on the couch watching something on T.V. Doesn't have to be anything specific, just whatever she can find." Tai said.

"You really think she would just come back without telling you?" Summer asked.

"Like I said, it's just wishful thinking. But it sounds like Raven. She would just do things without really telling anyone about it. She didn't tell any of you that she was leaving, right?" He asked.

"No, she didn't even tell Qrow." She said.

"I-I keep it in hopes that she might come back. That she'll come back to me." Tai said.

"...You're not over her, are you?" Summer asked.

"She was my wife. Of course I'm not over her. I loved her with all my heart, I can write an entire novel telling all of the amazing things about her." He said.

"What about her faults? How many novels is that?" She asked.

"That's not important. Point is, ever since she went rogue from the system, she's been disgraced by pretty much everyone. Hell, it almost seems as if Qrow doesn't have a whole lot of faith in her." Tai said.

"Well, he is her sister after all." Summer said.

"But I still see her as what she was, what she still is in my eyes. My wife, the love of my life." He said.

"I can't just let her go just like that." Tai said.

"Tai..."

"She may not have been the best person, hell, she still isn't. But she's still my wife, and no crime can ever change that fact." He said.

Summer just sat there in silence, taking everything Tai had said in.

"Well, I should go and see the girls. Yang was always an impatient one, especially when it comes to training." Tai said as he got up.

"Dad! Come on!" Yang said.

"My point exactly. So when exactly is Qrow supposed to show?" He asked.

"He said he'd be here in a few hours." Summer said.

"Well, we've got time. You should come up with a plan for the surprise." Tai said.

"Yeah, I already got one." She said.

"Heh, you haven't changed a bit, haven't ya?" He asked.

"Well, I've had a little girl to help me through the tough times." Summer said.

"Speaking of her, how does she feel about Qrow not being around?" Tai asked.

"She's fine. She sometimes doesn't even notice he's gone." She said.

"Well, how do you feel about it? He is her idol after all." He said.

"Yes, unfortunately." Summer said.

"...No way." Tai said as he started to laugh.

"What?" She asked.

"You're jealous of Qrow!" He said.

"W-what?! No I'm not!" Summer said.

"No way! You totally are! I can see it all over your face!" Tai said in between laughs.

"Yeah, well the only thing you'll be seeing all over your face is red if you don't shut the hell up!" She yelled.

* * *

After Summer and Tai's little dispute, they eventually defused the situation and Summer made her way to the harbor where Qrow would be arriving.

"Honestly, me jealous of Qrow. Why in the world would I be jealous of that feather brain?" Summer asked herself as she stood on the harbor.

 _'Though I wonder how Qrow will react once he's seen how rusty Tai got. Honestly he's a far cry from what he was in his prime.'_ She thought to herself.

People were crowded by the harbor, buying there own set of goods and resources that were needed for there own settlements.

Though some families were waiting for there family members to get home.

Summer, Qrow, and Tai weren't the only huntsmen in Patch.

Just the most notable ones in Patch.

Summer had been waiting at the harbor for Qrow's bullhead to arrive for a good twenty minutes now.

She was honestly wondering if Qrow was just messing with her and was secretly attempting another one of his elaborate pranks.

It wouldn't be the first time he would have pulled something like this with her.

Though Summer was prepared this time, he wouldn't get the jump on her this time.

That being said, the bullhead was taking more time than Summer would have liked.

"What the hell is taking that old crow so long?!" Summer asked herself.

Honestly, she had this whole surprise prepared and everything, then here's Qrow, late as usual.

"I don't even know what I was expecting from him." She said.

A few more minutes passed until the bullhead finally arrived.

"Finally, jeez I thought I would be here forever." Summer said.

The airship landed, causing the runway to extend outwards and the doors leading inside to open.

As the runway reached the bottom of the ground, various people and Faunus alike started to walk out from the bullhead.

Kids were running over to greet there parents, family were there to greet relatives, and people were saying hi to old friends.

Though the most worrying thing for Summer was that Qrow was nowhere to be found.

"He's probably just using the bathroom or something." She said to herself.

More time passed until eventually, everyone had left the area with there respective friends or family.

"Okay, he must really have to use the-." Summer began, only for the bullhead to fly off of the ground and up towards the sky.

"W-wait!" She called out, but it was too late, it had already flew away from the island.

.

.

"Okay, I'm calling him." Summer said as she pulled out her scroll.

After a few seconds of ringing later, Qrow eventually picked up the call.

"Where are you?! I've been standing here for nearly an hour!" Summer said.

"..."

"Qrow?" She asked.

"..."

"Q-Qrow. This isn't funny. Where the hell are you?!" Summer asked.

"Right behind you." She heard someone say from behind her, causing to instinctively jab them with her elbow.

"Yah!" She yelled.

"Gah!" The person groaned.

Summer turned around to see that Qrow was kneeling behind her with his hands around his stomach.

"That hurt." Qrow said.

"Serves you right! What were you thinking?! You had me worried sick!" She yelled.

"Jeez! It was a joke!" He said, slowly getting up from the ground.

"So, how exactly did you manage to get behind me without me noticing?" Summer asked.

Qrow's only response was to turn into a crow and fly up to Summer's shoulder.

"Oh, guess that makes sense." She said.

Qrow flew off of her shoulder and reverted back into his human form.

"So, what have you been up to these days?" He asked.

"Oh you know, the usual. Taking care of Ruby, helping Tai out with Yang. Not going on missions." She said.

"Jeez, are you still mad about that?" Qrow asked.

"Of course I am! It's not fun being cooped up on this island! I want to go out there and see the world! Do good deeds! You know, do the job I was trained for!" Summer said.

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry! You're going on a mission today! Quit your whining." He said.

"I'm not whining I'm complaining!" She said.

"Oh because that makes it so much better!" Qrow said.

The two stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Heh, sure has been a while, shorty." He said.

"Same to you, feather brain." Summer said.

Once Qrow had calmed down, he started to look around the Patch to see what had changed.

"Looks like not a whole lot has changed." He said.

"Well, you know Patch." She said.

"Yeah, but would it kill them to put a bar or two here? Would make people actually want to come here." Qrow said.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon." Summer said.

"That's dumb. Every town has to have a good bar." He said.

 _'Now that I think about it, I could go for a drink from time to time.'_ She said.

"Honestly, you could solve half of Tai's issues with a good drink from time to time." Qrow said as he pulled out his flask.

"That may be true, but you know how Tai was when he had his first drink." Summer said.

"First? He barely even made it through half of the shot glass before passing out." He said.

"Yeah, Raven had to carry him all the way home." She said.

"Heh, still cracks me up." Qrow said.

"...So how goes the search for Raven?" Summer asked.

Qrow's only response was to shake his head.

"Sorry, no dice." He said.

"Damn, Tai won't be happy at this." She said.

"Meh, he'll get over it." Qrow said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Summer said.

"...So how's the brat?" He asked.

"Ruby's fine." She said.

"She excited to see me?" Qrow asked.

"Well, she doesn't exactly know you're coming, neither does Yang. I want to keep it a surprise." Summer said.

"Heh, boy is she gonna be surprised." He said.

"Well then let's not keep her waiting!" She said as she started to move towards the direction of her house.

"So while we're walking, mind telling me what's been happening while I was away?" Qrow asked.

"Well, Yang is now officially stronger than everyone in her class!...including her teachers." Summer said.

"Heh, was only a matter of time. She's my niece after all." He said.

"She's also Raven's daughter." She said.

"I don't really describe her like that." Qrow said.

"Why's that?" Summer asked.

"Because if she were like Raven then she would have been kicked out already." He said.

"Raven went to middle school?" She asked.

"No but that's what I imagine it would be like if she went to middle school." Qrow said.

"Hmm...yeah I can see that." Summer said.

"Still, glad the little squirt is getting stronger. She keeps this up and she'll be a great huntress." He said.

"Just as great as her mother?" She asked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm sure that no matter how much training she does Raven will always be leagues above her." Qrow said.

"That's not very nice!" Summer said.

"Hey, it's the truth. We're still not caught up to the level we know about, and it's more likely she's gotten even stronger than before." He said.

"Still, it's not impossible." She said.

"Yeah, she has a Zero point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one chance of ever getting to Raven's level of power." Qrow said.

"It's still possible." Summer said.

"Yeah, but unlikely." He said.

"Does she even know about Raven?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah, let's tell her that her mother is a rogue huntress that killed a bunch of people. That will totally go over well with her sixsix year old mind." She said.

"It was just a question." He grumbled.

"Sorry, no. She doesn't know of Raven at the moment. Though there's no telling when that's going to change." Summer said.

"Hopefully not until she's at least graduated from her prep school." Qrow said.

"Yeah." She said.

"Well, that's enough about Raven. Let's talk about you guys." He said.

"Us?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, you. You guys better have not been slacking while I was away." Qrow said.

"And I thought I was the leader here." She said.

"Well, I gotta make sure my leader is in top condition." He said.

"Heh, well Tai's been to busy with taking care of Yang to be focusing on his training." Summer said.

"Tch, well we're gonna have to fix that." Qrow said.

"Oh come now, he has a kid to take care of." She said.

"That's no excuse to be slacking." He said.

"Well, he has been training Yang so that keeps his skills from faltering." Summer said.

"Yeah, well he won't get any better if he keeps on practicing with his kid." Qrow said.

"Don't be like that. I have a kid to you know?" She said.

"Speaking of which, you haven't been slacking, have you?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I'm good. I've been doing a lot of mental training to master my powers. Now I'm pretty much know how to use them as if it were second nature." Summer said.

"Cool...wait, doesn't that mean-." Qrow began.

"Yeah, I'm. Stronger. Than. You." She said slowy.

"...You're kidding." He said.

"Nope." Summer said.

"Seriously?!" Qrow asked.

"First your sister then a girl shorter than you. Must suck, right?" She asked.

"Can it short stack." He said.

"I could mop the floor with you." Summer said.

"Yeah? Well then let's see it." Qrow said.

"...Wait, now?!" She asked.

"Yeah, unless you're not telling me everything about your powers." He said.

"Dumb ass! I can't do it here! Ozpin told me that I need keep my powers under wraps!" Summer scolded.

"Oh, right. Forgot about that." Qrow said.

"Honestly, what were you expecting me to do? Fight your right here and now in the middle of Patch?" She asked.

"Jeez! I said I was sorry!" He said.

"Hmm, I see your manners haven't changed in the slightest." Summer said.

"Says the girl who wants all Grimm to plead for there lives as they die!" Qrow said.

"That's different! They're Grimm!" She said.

"You did that to a student in class once." He said.

"That was years ago and you know it!" Summer said.

"So nothing like that has ever happened recently?" Qrow asked.

"Of course not! That would be extremely unladylike of me!" She said.

"Then how did you handle the whole 'Ruby being pushed around' situation that I hear about?" He asked.

At this point, a nervous sweat was starting to form down Summer's forehead.

"...He had it coming to him." She said.

"Jeez Sum. I can't imagine what you're gonna be like when Ruby goes to school." Qrow said.

"Oh come now, I'm not that bad!" Summer said.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that shorty." He said.

"Quit calling me that!" She said.

"Then try growing a few feet." Qrow said.

"I've grown two inches since we last saw each other!" Summer said.

"Oh bravo! Ever heard of milk?" He asked.

"No! I refuse to drink that filth!" She screamed.

"You still don't like drinking milk?" Qrow asked.

"Shut up! I don't have to drink it if I don't wanna!" Summer yelled.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, the sight of Summer's house was in the distance.

Tai and Yang were currently engaging in one of there training sessions, Ruby watching in with stars in her eyes.

"So, what do you want me to do exactly?" Qrow asked.

Summer gripped her chin and scanned her surroundings.

One her eyes settled on the roof top, she smirked.

"Turn into a crow and fly up to the roof." Summer said.

Qrow looked confused for a moment, that is until he saw where Ruby was.

"Heh, I got it." Qrow said, flying over to the roof top.

Summer smirked and started to walk over to her house.

"Yah!" Yang yelled as she swung her fist at Tai.

Tai dodged her attack with ease and swung a fist of his own, though he applied enough pressure so that it would knock her back, but not enough to cause physical harm to her.

Yang brought her arms up to her face and blocked the attack.

"Heh, you're getting better sweetheart." Tai said.

"I'm only getting started!" Yang said, slamming her tiny fists together.

Though before the two could continue, the sound of Ruby gasping cut them off.

"Mommy!" Ruby yelled as she ran to her mother.

"Hey, petal! Are you having fun with Tai?" Summer asked as she picked up her daughter.

"Yeah! Yang is super cool!" She said.

"Heh, obviously!" Yang said with a cocky grin on her face.

"So, where did you go?" Ruby asked.

"I was just picking up a friend." Summer said, placing Ruby back onto the ground.

Summer motioned for Qrow to start moving, causing the crow to nod and fly towards Ruby.

"What friend?" She asked.

Though before Summer could respond, Qrow reverted back to his human form and placed his hands above Ruby's eyes.

"Guess who?" He asked.

.

.

"Uh, Rubes?" Qrow asked as Ruby started to shake.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Ruby screamed as she tackled Qrow to the ground.

"Oof!" He managed to say as he fell to the ground.

"AH! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! DID YOU MISS ME?! DID YOU MISS ME?!" Ruby asked.

"...Nope." Qrow said.

"W-what?!" Ruby asked.

"Kidding. Kidding. Come here you little squirt." He said, ruffling Ruby's hair.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang screamed, running towards her uncle.

"Hey there, firecracker. How's your training goi-." He began, only to cut himself off as Yang threw a punch at him.

Though knowing his niece, he saw this coming a mile away.

"Heh, nice try." He said, holding Yang's tiny fist in his hands.

"Darn it! I thought I would have had you for sure!" Yang said.

"Heh, give it a few more years." Qrow said as he turned to Tai.

"Hey Qrow." He said, raising his right hand.

"Yo." Qrow greeted back.

"So, do you like you're surprise, Ruby?" Summer asked.

"I love it! I'm so excited! Can you teach me some fighting moves this time?!" Ruby asked.

"Now Ruby, Qrow's combat techniques are a bit more advanced for someone as young as-." Tai began.

"Sure." He said.

"...Wait what?!" Tai yelled.

"R-really?!" Ruby asked.

"Yep." Qrow responded, causing Ruby to jump into the air due to excitement.

"Wow, I'm surprised Qrow, didn't think you were the type of guy to teach anyone anything." Tai said.

"Well, things change. Though before we start-." Qrow began, getting into a combat stance.

"How about a little spar?" He asked.

"Huh?" Tai asked.

"You're rusty Tai, Summer told me all about it. It's time I sharpen you up." Qrow said.

"W-what?" He asked.

"What, you scared you're gonna loose?" He asked.

"You kidding?! I thought you'd never ask!" Tai said, cracking his knuckles.

"Whoa! We get to see Dad and Qrow fight?!" Yang asked.

"Wow! Come on Yang! We need to make popcorn!" Ruby said, rushing into the house.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" She said.

After a few minutes of preparation, both Tai and Qrow stood in front of Summer's house with there respective tank top on.

"Kick his but dad!" Yang said.

"Heh, just you watch honey! Maybe you can pick up a few things while watching me!" Tai said.

"Hey! We gonna start this or what?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya." He said.

Ruby glanced to her right to see that her mother was walking into the house.

"Mama? Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready." Summer said.

"Ready for what?" She asked.

"You'll see." She said as she walked into her house.

Ruby tilted her head but shrugged and turned to the two men.

After a few seconds of silence, the two combatants charged towards each other.

"Yah!" Tai yelled as he swung his fist at Qrow.

Though just as Summer said, Tai had gotten rusty and was a far cry to what he was before.

While Qrow himself had been in the field constantly.

Qrow ducked under the attack and gave Tai a quick jab to the gut.

"Gah!" Tai gasped, stumbling backwards a bit.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Just give me a sec!" He said, clenching his gut.

 _'Jeez, I knew he's out of practice but I didn't think it was this much.'_ Qrow thought to himself.

"Whew! You got strong!" Tai said.

"And you're out of practice." He said.

"Well, it has been a whi-." He began, only to interrupted by Qrow's fist coming into contact with is face.

"Gah! What the hell?!" Tai asked.

"Heh." Yang said.

"Don't use that word!" He said.

"Sorry, but you were wide open." Qrow said.

"Okay, fair enough." Tai said.

Tai shook his head and started to run towards Qrow with his fists ready.

Qrow was about to give him another swift punch to the gut, but Tai quickly jumped over him and slammed his feet onto his back.

The drunken bird went a couple of feet away from him, but eventually regained his composure.

"Not bad." Qrow said.

"Heh, I've still got some fight in m-!" He began, only for Qrow to move towards him at blinding speeds, appearing right in front of him.

"But not good enough." He said, punching Tai directly in the nose.

"Ah! Damn!" Tai said.

"Heh, damn." Yang said.

"Yang!" He said.

"What? I didn't say anything." She said with a smirk on her face.

Qrow narrowed his eyed before getting out of his combat stance.

"Alright, we're done for now." Qrow said.

"W-what?! But we just started! You can't back out now!" Tai said.

"I think I just did." He said.

"But I'm barely even warmed up!" He said.

"Tai, if we kept going at the pace we've been going at then you won't even have the chance to get warmed up." Qrow said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tai asked.

"It means that you're out of shape. You need to practice more often." He said.

"Give me a break. I've been busy." He said.

"That may be true, but you're a huntsmen. If you're out of shape then you're in risk of dying on a mission." Qrow said.

Tai glanced down to his arms and frowned.

"I guess I have been slacking a lot recently." He said.

"Well, get ready for the week of your life." Qrow said.

"Wait, why are you staying for such a long time?" Tai asked.

"Summer made me. Said it's been awhile since she's been off of the island." He said.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

As soon as he said this, Summer came out of her house in her combat attire, her sword wrapped around her waist.

"Wait, Summer, you're going out?" Tai asked.

"Yep." She said happily.

"Wow mama! You look so cool!" Ruby said.

"Heh heh, thank your petal." Summer said.

"You sure you'll be okay? It's been awhile you know." Tai said.

"I'll be fine. Because unlike you, I've been practicing." She said, her eye's glowing with a silver aura.

"Whoa! That's cool!" Yang said.

"So you've mastered your powers?" Tai asked.

"Yep. I'll be good." Summer said.

Qrow cracked his knuckles and started to walk away from the house.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Well, I thought it would be nice to see you off." He said.

Yeah, come on girls, let's say bye to Summer." Tai said.

"Okay!" The two said as they started running down the path.

After ten minutes of walking, the group eventually reached the harbor where the bullhead that would take Summer to Beacon.

"Well, wish me luck." Summer said, turning to her two teammates.

"Good luck. Make sure to come back safely." Tai said.

"Don't worry. I will." She said.

Though before she could walk towards the bullhead, Ruby ran over to her mothers leg.

"What's wrong Ruby?" Summer asked, kneeling down to face her daughter.

"Do you have to go?" Ruby asked.

Summer nodded and placed her hand on Ruby's hand.

"Yes, how else am I gonna keep you all safe?" She asked.

"From the Grimm?" She asked.

"Yes, as well as other people who want to hurt you. People who want to destroy everything we've worked so hard to fight for." Summer safe.

"So, you're going to fight bad people?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, I'm going to fight bad people." She said.

Qrow and Tai looked at Summer with confused looks on their faces. Sure, they weren't surprised at the Grimm issue, but who or what could Summer be talking about when she referred to these said people.

"Okay! Go beat the bad guys mom!" Ruby said.

"Don't worry, I will." Summer said as she got up.

"I will." She said, moving towards the bullhead.

"Bye mommy!" Ruby waved goodbye.

"Bye sweetie! By Qrow, Tai!" Summer waved goodbye as she walked into the bullhead.

As the bullhead took off and flew away from the island, the two huntsmen stood on the harbor with serious looks on there faces.

"You heard it, right?" Tai asked.

"Yeah." Qrow said.

"I don't know about you Qrow, but I think Summer knows something, something she wants to keep hidden." He said.

"Everyone's got there secrets Tai." He said.

"I know, but this one feels...I don't know. I just got a bad feeling about all this." Tai said.

Qrow sighed and placed his hand on his partners shoulder.

"Have a little more faith in Summer. She's the second strongest member of team STRQ." He said.

"Yeah...wait, did you just admit that Summer was stronger than you?" Tai asked.

Qrow's only response was to pick up Ruby, placing her in his arms.

"Come on, brat. I'll show you a few moves." He said.

"Okay!" Ruby said cheerfully.

"Heh, same old Qrow." Tai said, walking behind his partner with Yang in tow.

* * *

"Wow, Beacon hasn't changed a bit since I was last here." Summer said, walking down the courtyard of Beacon.

 _'Everything is still here! The statue, the tower, everything looks the same!'_ She thought to herself.

She looked around to see that various students were walking around the campus, some doing maintenance and others reading books.

 _'Hmm, I wonder how my old teachers are doing.'_ Summer thought to herself.

"Summer?!" She heard someone ask.

Summer turned around to see a significantly younger looking Glynda looking at her in complete shock.

"Oh! Well isn't this a blast from the past! It's been a while Glynda!" Summer said.

"Awhile?! It's been years!" She said.

"Well, I've been pretty busy." She said, scratching the back of her head.

"You've grown so...actually you're pretty much the same height." Glynda said.

"Yeah, I know." Summer said bitterly.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!" Glynda said with a bow.

"Heh, guess you haven't changed a bit." She said.

"Well of course not! I looked up to you and your team during my first years of Beacon! You were the best of the best!" She said.

"Heh, well I wouldn't call us the best of the best." Summer said.

"Are you kidding?! You graduated at the top of your class!" Glynda said.

"No, Raven graduated at the top of our class." She said.

"Well, you graduated second and kept your career choice so as far as I'm concerned, you graduated at the top of your class." She said.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that logic." Summer said.

"Indeed." Glynda said.

"So, what have you been up to these days?" She asked.

"Well, I'm currently training to get my degree in teaching in hopes to become a teacher here at Beacon." She said.

"Really?! Wow! That's pretty cool!" Summer said.

"Oh it's not that cool. Maybe you should consider becoming a teacher, you would be really good at it." Glynda said.

"Hmm, me a teacher at Beacon." She said.

"Indeed! You would make for a wonderful teacher!" Glynda said.

"I'll pass." Summer said.

"Not only that but...Wait, what?" She asked.

"Well, Ozpin said it himself that he wouldn't want to imagine what would happen to the students if I were ever there teacher. Not only that but I have a kid to take care of." Summer said.

.

.

"You have a child?!" Glynda screamed.

"Uh, yeah, I've had one for four years now." She said.

"I know that this is a little late, but congratulations!" She said.

"Thanks. Only four years late." Summer said.

"I'm just...wow! Are you the only one with a child?" Glynda asked.

"No, Tai also has one." She said.

"...Oh." She said.

"Yeah, it's her kid too." Summer said.

"Honestly, to leave her only child and husband to fend for themselves. I knew that Raven was trouble but this exceeds my wildest expectations." Glynda said.

"Yeah." She said.

"Do you know why she went rogue in the first place?" She asked.

Summer shook her head and sighed.

"No, but I do intend to find out and drag her back here." Summer said.

"Why? She made her choice." Glynda said.

"I know that, but I feel as if it were more complicated than it really was." She said.

"Complicated how?" She asked.

"That's what I intend to find out." Summer said.

"So...what brings you to Beacon?" Glynda asked.

"Work." She said.

"Oh! Well I won't keep you. I have studies to attend to anyways." She said, pushing her glasses up.

"You should really learn how to take it easy Glynda. It'll help you with your career choice." Summer said.

"I'll look into it." She said, walking away from Summer.

Summer giggled and walked towards the tower of Beacon.

Once she reached the tower of Beacon, she started to walk to the elevator.

 **"Greetings! Where would you like to go today?"** Filis asked.

"Huntsmen's job board." Summer said.

 **"Certainly. Please place your I.D onto the console."** She said.

Summer pulled out her scroll and placed it onto the console.

 **"Identification complete. Hello Summer!"** Filis said.

"Hello. Can you take me down?" She asked.

 **"Certainly!"** She said as the doors to the elevator closed.

Summer waited in the elevator for a couple of minutes before eventually arriving at her destination.

 **"You have reached your destination! Happy hunting!"** Filis said as the doors opened.

Summer walking into a room filled to the brim with various huntsmen.

You see, the huntsmen's job board was more than a place where you could get a job. It was a place where you could connect and talk to your fellow huntsmen and huntresses.

Why they still insisted on calling a job board when it was so much more than that is beyond Summer.

Summer took a deep breath and walked over to the direction of the job boards.

As Summer arrived at the job board titled, search and destroy, she began to scroll through the various options that were available to her.

"No, no, no, no, oh!" Summer said as she finally found the one she had been looking for.

"Bingo." She said, clicking on the job.

 **Job: Search and Destroy.**

 **Objective: Eradicate all Grimm in the area and retrieve any artifacts you can find.**

 **Risk Level: Very High**

 **Reward: 500,000 lien.**

 **Location: The Devil's Grotto**

While Summer did like the reward, she was more focused on the location of the job.

The Devil's Grotto, that's where she would start her investigation for this Salem that Ozpin keeps talking about.

"Accept." She said.

 **"Are you sure you want to accept this job? The risk of death is approximately 73.2 percent."** Filis said.

"I'll take my chances." Summer said.

 **"While I strongly recommend you reconsider, it is your decision."** She said as she uploaded the data to Summer's scroll.

"Thank you." She said as she started to walk towards the elevator door.

Once she had reached the entrance, she started to walk out of the tower and towards the runway.

"So, the Great Forest, here I co-." She began, only to stop herself once she saw someone in front of her.

"...I would strongly recommend you take another job." An old and wise voice said.

"Hello Ozpin." Summer said.

"Why would you pick such a dangerous mission?" Ozpin asked.

"Because I have a little hunch that one of Salem's little buddies have a little nest in that area." She said.

"So why go all by yourself?" He asked.

"I can't risk endangering the lives of my friends." Summer said.

"So you go by yourself?" Ozpin asked.

"I can take care of myself." She said.

"And I have no doubt about it. But you are just one person, and there are bound to be hordes of Grimm nesting within that area." He said.

"Then I'll be sure to take them all down." Summer said.

"With what power? Your semblance isn't exactly one fit for long fights." Ozpin said.

"I don't plan on using my semblance during that little fight." She said, her eye's glowing with a silver aura.

"So you have mastered the power of the silver eyes?" He asked.

"Yep. I'll be good." Summer said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. You may have incredible power, but you are still one person. Not to mention that the silver eye's drain through more of your power than you can manage." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, I've been trying to work around that." She said.

"Yet you still intend on going, do you?" He asked.

"Yep." Summer said.

"Why? Why not take some of your comrades to aid you?" Ozpin asked.

"Ozpin, I understand the risk I'm taking and that my chances of dying are pretty high here. But this is the only chance I'll get, you know that. I need to do it now, or I'll never be able to do it." She said.

"..."

"Besides. If I don't make it back, if I die there. Then I'll need someone to watch after Ruby." Summer said.

"That's your daughter, correct?" Ozpin asked.

"Yep." She said.

"Then that's all the more reason not to go! She would be devastated if you were to be gone from her life." He said.

"I'm doing all of this for her! For Qrow, Tai, Yang, and even Raven!" Summer said.

"...So nothing I say will convince you otherwise?" Ozpin asked.

"No, I'm going. Even if I have to walk." She said.

Ozpin sighed and took of his glasses, rubbing temples as he did.

"You're just as stubborn as ever." Ozpin said.

"Well, I did have the definition of stubborn as a partner." Summer said.

"That is very true." He said with a chuckle.

"...Ozpin, promise something." She said.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"If I don't make it back, if I die to that thing, then look after my daughter. Make sure that she has a bright future, make sure that she's happy, and that she never has to suffer the way my team and I did." Summer said.

"I can only do so much." Ozpin said.

"Promise me!" She said.

"...I will look after her. But I will not hold her hand throughout life, she must make her own decisions, and learn from her own mistakes. Otherwise she will never grow as a human." He said.

"All I'm asking is that you look after her." Summer said.

"You have my word." Ozpin said.

"Thank you." She said as she started to walk off.

"Just...just be careful." He said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Summer said.

As Ozpin saw her walk off, he sighed and looked up into the sky.

"Ruby Rose, perhaps she can has the making of a great huntress." He said.

* * *

"You sure you want to be dropped of here?" The pilot said asked from the cockpit.

"Yeah! This is the place!" Summer yelled as she gazed upon the various tree's surrounding the grotto.

"You sure are far away from any form of civilization. Any injury you get is sure to be cause some sort of infection if not treated by a professional!" He said.

"Yeah, I know what I've gotten myself into. Believe me, I know it won't be fun." She said.

"...You know there's no shame in going back you know? I mean, they call it the Devil's Grotto for a reason." He said.

"Yeah, but I'm already here. I'm not going back now." Summer said, pulling up her hood.

"I'm serious lady! This isn't just your average Grimm nest! There's a reason why nobody comes here!" The pilot said.

"Yeah, because nobody went and lived to tell the tale, I've heard that phrase a million times." She said.

"So even knowing that, you still want to go through with this?" He asked.

"Yeah, trust me, I've had time to mentally prepare for the worst." Summer said.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya." The pilot said.

The bullhead started to land near a clearing close by the grotto, the grass flowing due to the wind the bullhead was producing.

"This is as far as I'll take ya." He said.

Summer nodded and jumped out of the bullhead.

"Good luck lady! Hope to hear back from ya!" He said as the bullhead took off into the air.

Once the bullhead was gone, Summer took a deep breath and took in her surroundings.

The air felt thick and the dark pressure could be felt from a mile away from the grotto itself.

"Okay, time to kill a demon." Summer said, running towards the grotto.

She started to jump from tree to tree, making sure that she didn't draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

Summer was going to need all of the strength she could get if she wanted to take this demon down.

Though as the gap between her and the grotto grew smaller, the dark pressure became even stronger.

 _'Damn, this thing must be one tough cookie.'_ Summer thought to herself as a cold sweat went down her forehead.

She continued to jump from tree to tree, the pressure not getting any weaker.

Though if there was one thing that concerned her is that there were no Grimm to be seen in the forest near the grotto.

 _'What's going on? Where are all the Grimm?'_ Summer asked herself.

Though before she could dwell on this question, the sight of the grotto cut her off.

As she stood in front of the entrance to the grotto, a strong feeling of blood lust could be felt coming from within the massive cave.

Summer gulped and gripped the handle of her sword.

She shook her head and pulled out the picture of her and Ruby.

"Don't worry. Mama's coming home, no matter what." She said, kissing the photo and walking into the cave.

As she walked into the cave, she activated her silver eyes as a way to illuminate her sight so that she could see where she was going though the darkness of the cave.

She continued to walk down the cave, but as she went deeper and deeper, she smelled a familiar scent.

"What's that smell?" She whispered to herself.

Though before she could attempt to identify the smell, the sound of liquid splashing under her foot cut her off.

"Huh?" She asked as she looked down to her feet.

Though what she saw caused her eye's to widen a bit.

Blood, and a whole lot of it.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who decided to come here." She said as she continued her walk, the blood splashing under her feet.

As she continued to walk down the cave's path, the puddle of blood started to become deeper.

At this point she had to walk near the walls in order to prevent her boots from getting soaked in blood.

Though the sight of light coming from around the corner caused her to smirk.

 _'Found you.'_ She thought to herself as she started to pick up the pace.

She unsheathed her sword and started to slowly walk around the corner of the cave.

Though once she turned the corner, though what she saw only sent a chill down her spine.

"W-what the hell is that?!" She asked herself as she gazed upon what was at the center of the cave.

It was like a throne made of bones of various people, guts handing off of the arm rests of the throne.

 _'What the hell kind of Grimm is this anyways?'_ Summer asked.

Once she got a better look at the room, she could see that there was some sort of walk way that had some sort of sticks that had skeletons impaled through the center of the said sticks.

 _'It's almost like a throne room. Though if this is a throne room, then where's the king?'_ She though to herself.

Though before she could continue to investigate the room further, the sound of growling could be heard coming from behind her.

She spun her head around to see three adult Beowolfs slowly moving towards her, there burning red eyes glowing within the darkness.

 _'Seems like I found the pawns.'_ Summer thought to herself as the Grimm roared and charged towards her with the intent to kill.

 _'Well, so much for saving my energy for the king himself!'_ She thought to herself, spinning her sword in her hand.

"Okay, who's first?" Summer asked the Grimm with a smirk on her face, the gap between them started to close.

The first Beowolf swung it's massive arm at Summer, but the white cloaked huntress was able to see this attack coming from a mile away.

She jumped back and started to fire the gun that was in the center of her sword at the Beowolf.

As the bullets impaled the Grimm, Summer ran towards the massive wolf and started to slash at it with her sword.

Though as she moved past it, she was met with yet another Beowolf who was attempting to maul her with it's massive claws.

"Not good enough." Summer said, jumping over the Grimm and slashing at it's arm, leaving a very deep cut.

The wolf howled in pain, though it was quickly silenced as Summer dug her sword into it's chest.

It attempted to swing it's claws at Summer, but Summer giggled and pushed her sword upwards, causing it to slice through it's upper half.

"One down, two more to go." She said, turning to the two remaining Beowolfs.

They started to circle around the White cloaked woman with there burning red eyes.

Summer looked at the injured Beowolf and smirked.

"Maybe you'd like to be next? Huh? What do you say?" She asked.

Though instead of charging in a fit of rage, the Beowolf started to slowly move backwards.

"Running? Now that won't do. I'm not even warmed up." Summer said.

The Beowolf started to run to the exit of the cave, though before it could get any further, Summer activated her silver eyes and shot a few bullets at the beast, causing the silver bullets to rip the Beowolf apart.

"Shame, you could have been fun." Summer said as she turned towards the last remaining Beowolf.

The Beowolf was about to charge at the White Cloaked woman, but as soon as it caught a glimpse of her silver eye's, it started to whimper.

"Seriously? You too?" She asked as she started to walk towards the Beowolf.

As Summer moved closer and closer to the beast, it started to move away.

"Honestly, I was hoping for a decent fight here. But it seems that you're nothing more than a pup it seems." She said, slicing at the Beowolf's leg.

It howled in agony as it fell to the ground, smoke coming out of it's leg as it laid there.

"While I would never actually kill a puppy, you're an exception." Summer said.

"You were just a pile of shit before, but now?" She began as she rapidly shot the Beowolf as it laid on the ground helplessly.

"You're nothing more than dog shit." Summer said.

As the remains of the Grimm cleared, she put her sword back into it's sheathe and walked over to the throne.

 _'Hmm, it seems to be hand made. So either some sadistic mad man created this before the Grimm came, or I'm dealing with one intelligent demon.'_ She thought to herself.

Though before she could continue her investigation, the sound of a snarl coming from the otherside of the cave could be heard.

 _'Well, it seems that the king has come to collect...his...whoa.'_ Summer thought to herself as she gazed upon the Grimm that was currently walking towards her.

No, this wasn't a Grimm she was seeing, this was something straight out of hell itself.

It was some sort of bipedal goat Grimm with red demonic eyes and two large horns a top of its head.

The Grimm let out a demonic growl, it sounding like the growl of various types of Grimm.

 _'W-well. I wasn't expecting this.'_ Summer said, a cold sweat starting to form on her head.

The Grimm slowly looked at Summer with it's red eyes, growling all the while.

"So, I'm assuming you're the one who runs this place?" She asked.

The Grimm just stood there in silence, not even growling at her.

"Well then, you're creator is going to cause us a lot of trouble for us humans." Summer said, pointing her gun at the Grimm.

"So no hard feelings." She said, firing various shots at the Grimm.

The Grimm reeled his head back as the bullets came into contact with it's head.

Though as soon as Summer lowered her weapon, the Grimm moved it's head forward and swatted away the bullets on it's mask.

"Okay, bullets aren't going to work, that's good to know." Summer grumbled to herself.

Summer charged at the Grimm with her sword at her side. Once she had reached the back of it's leg, she attempted to slice the back of it's legs in attempts to limit it's movements.

Though what she only managed to do was cut the fur on the Grimm.

"Oh that's not good." Summer said.

The Grimm turned towards her and reeled its fist backwards, attempting to punch Summer into oblivion.

 _'C-crap!'_ She thought to herself, jumping out of the way at the last second.

 _'For something so big it sure is fast!'_ Summer thought to herself.

As Summer landed on the ground, the Grimm slowly turned it's head towards Summer, it's burning red eyes drilling into Summer's soul.

The Grimm pointed at Summer and started to growl.

"Tch, looks like you do have some form of intelligence." She growled.

The Grimm's only response was to start growling, it's red tattoos glowing from within the darkness.

Summer's response was for her eye's to flare with a silver aura, her body being consumed by the same aura.

The Grimm started to snarl at the sight of the silver eye's power.

"Look familiar? Get a good taste of it, because this will be your undoing, monster." Summer said.

The beast snarled and started to reel it's head back.

"What? Calling for help? It won't put the odds in your favor, this power was made for the sole purpose of killing your kind. You loose this match, mo-." Summer began, only for the Grimm to shoot fire from it's mouth.

Summer's eye's widened as she quickly moved out of the way of the attack.

Though as Summer looked up, she could see that the Grimm was right above her with it's fist reeled backwards.

It roared as it's fist came into contact with Summer's body, sending her flying towards the stone walls.

"Gah!" She gasped, though she was able to gain her composure.

Summer growled, all of a sudden, the blade of her sword started to glow with a silver aura.

"Yah!" Summer yelled as she charged towards the Grimm at blinding speeds.

She started to slash at the Grimm's massive body, though this time she was actually able to cut through it's flesh.

The Grimm growled and attempted to burn Summer with it's breath.

Summer growled and swung her blade at the inferno, causing an arc to be formed in between the flames.

Though before Summer could start another attack, the Grimm quickly appeared in front of Summer with it's fist consumed with fire.

It punched Summer away, causing her to go through various rocks scattered across the room.

"Agh, damn pain." She growled.

The beast growled and started to fire rapid fire fire balls at Summer, though due to her speed she was easily able to dodge its attacks.

Summer yelled as she held her palm out and shot out a giant swirl of silver light at the beast.

This seemed to have affected it to a great deal. The Grimm was a bit dazed from the attack, though it only managed to scratch it's armor.

"Tch." Summer attempted to fire another blast at the Grimm, though the massive beast was able to regain it's composure, causing it to shoot more fire at the White Cloaked woman.

Summer jumped up in the air to dodge the attack, but the Grimm was right there to meet her.

 _'That trick won't work on me twice!'_ She thought to herself, holding out sword by the blade.

All of a sudden, the blade started to glow with a silver light and extended outwards so that it impaled the Grimm's chest.

"Yeah, you're not the only one with a few tricks up there sleeve." She said.

The Grimm started to growl at Summer, it's tattoo's starting to glow even brighter.

"Aw, does that hurt? Well now you know how the countless people you slaughtered in the past." Summer said.

The Grimm's only response was to grab the blade and crush it within the palm of its hand.

"W-what?!" She asked, moving backwards from the Grimm.

The Grimm roared towards the sky, fire leaking out of it's mouth.

 _'Tch, fine. How about this?!'_ She asked as two silver swirls started to form in her hands.

The Grimm screeched and started to charge towards Summer.

"Go! To! Hell!" She screamed, crushing the ball in between her palms, causing a silver swirl to form around the cave.

After a few seconds, the dust cleared and a hole could be seen from the top of the cave, causing the moonlight to shine into the cave.

"Hah, hah, hah." Summer breathed heavily, her face drenched in sweat.

"Finally. I've got-." She began, only for the face of the Grimm to appear in front of her.

"You." Summer said.

While Summer had managed to do a number of the massive Grimm, it was still standing.

Summer attempted to charge another one of her attacks, but her eyes suddenly started to pulse with a seething pain.

"Ah!" She yelled, clenching her eye.

The Grimm started to growl and picked up Summer by her arm.

Summer's breathing started to shake as she struggled to break free from the beasts grip.

The Grimm snarled and squeezed Summer's arm, causing it to shatter.

"Ah!" She yelled in pain.

The Grimm put it's shoulder near Summer's eye, digging it's fingers within her socket.

She screamed in agony as her eye was yanked out from it's socket.

"Ah! You son of a-!" She tried to say, only for the pain to cut her off.

The Grimm growled as it reeled it's free fist backwards.

Summer closed her eye and prepared for the pain she was about to feel.

The beast roared and punched Summer with all it's might, shattering her aura and severing her arm.

Summer flew out of the cave at rapid speeds, hitting various tree's as she sped down the forest.

Eventually, she managed to hit a solid stone pillar, causing some of her ribs to break.

"Ah!" She yelled as she fell onto the ground.

 _'Pain! Everything's in pain...well all for the exception of my right-.'_ She began to think, only for the sight of the stump where her arm should have been to cut her off.

"Well...shit." Summer managed to say.

Blood was flowing out of her fast, and she could feel the blood begin to fill her lungs up.

"J-just g-gotta c-call for e-eva-." She began as she attempted to pull out her scroll, though as she reached into her pocket she could only feel the shattered remains of her scroll.

"Of c-course." Summer said.

She started to cough violently, blood coming out during each individual cough.

 _'So...this is it.'_ She thought as she stared at her bloodied palm.

 _'I'm sorry Ruby. I won't be coming home this time.'_ Summer thought to herself.

 _'...Where did I even land anyways?'_ She asked herself as she turned around to see a temple of some sort.

 _'...W-wait, could this be-?!'_ Summer began to think.

 _"So where did you even find Masamune anyways?"_ She remembered asking Raven.

 _"I didn't find it. It was given to me, but the person who gave it to me said that his ancestors found it in one of the various temples scattered around Remnant."_ She remembered Raven saying.

 _'T-temple.'_ She thought.

Suddenly, Summer's will to live sprung into action and her legs managed to pick up her broken and beaten body.

 _'I may be grasping at straws here. But if Raven didn't exaggerate the power of the spirits then this is my best bet for survival.'_ She thought to herself as she started to walk into the temple.

As she walked into the temple, she started to rip her cloak up so that she could use them as bandages.

While it didn't stop the bleeding, it slowed it down.

Summer could feel her vision fading, her body was starting to go numb.

But she continued walking. She had to, otherwise death was certain.

 _'C-come on! Just a few more-.'_ She began, only for her to lose her footing due to a slope of some sort.

 _'Feet.'_ Summer thought as she went tumbling down the hill.

She laid there on the ground, her breathing starting to slow down and she was starting to become light headed.

 _'I-is it even here? How do I know that someone hasn't already taken-.'_ She began to think, only for the sight of a massive scythe to cut her off.

Summer gasped and started to crawl towards her only hope of survival.

 _'Come on! Come on!'_ She thought, the gap between her and the scythe getting smaller and smaller.

After a few seconds of crawling later, she had finally reached the pedestal where the scythe laid.

 _"How do you make your little contract?"_ Summer remembered asking.

Summer gripped the handle of the weapon with her remaining arm.

 _"Repeat after me."_ She remembered Raven saying.

 _"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."_ Summer managed to say, the scythe glowing with the same color aura as her own.

After a few seconds, the light died down.

.

.

Nothing.

 _'D-damn it.'_ She thought, collapsing to the ground.

 _'I-I'm so sorry Ruby. Tai, Qrow, Yang, Raven. I won't be making it back this time.'_ Summer thought.

.

.

 _ **"Why is she on the ground, dear sister?"**_ She heard a deep voice echo through her head.

As the voice finished it's sentence, a seething pain started to form within Summer's head.

"Ah!" She gasped.

 _ **"She is dying, dear brother."**_ She heard a soft voice say.

 _ **"Hmm, death you say."**_ He said.

 _ **"Yes, it is the tragedy of life. Anything that lives, must inevitably die."**_ She said.

 _ **"What about us? Do we die?"**_ He asked.

 _ **"No, we exist beyond life and death."**_ She said.

 _ **"Hmm, interesting. Human."**_ He called out.

"H-huh?" She asked.

 _ **"Why have you called upon us?"**_ He asked.

"I-I...want your help." She managed to say.

 _ **"And why should we help you?"**_ The sister asked.

 _ **"Yes, we are not bound by the laws of death. Your death is insignificant to us."**_ The brother said.

"I-I want to forge a contract." Summer said.

 ** _"Oh? So you know of the contracts?"_** He asked.

"Y-yes. I have a friend who wields one of your b-brothers. Masamune." She said.

 _ **"Interesting, and you wish for us to lend you our power?"**_ He asked.

"Y-yes." She said.

 ** _"Hmm...very well. We can forge a contract, if you can answer this question honestly."_** The sister said.

 _ **"What do you desire?"**_ She asked.

"W-what?" She asked.

 ** _"Your deepest desire. Tell me them."_** She said.

"I-I want to protect my family. My friends. I want to protect Remnant!" Summer said.

 _ **"Hmm, interesting."**_ The girl said.

"Huh?" She asked.

 _ **"You speak of chivalry and honor. Yet I sense the desire for chaos within your heart."**_ She said.

"W-what?!" Summer asked.

 _ **"I sense the need for battle, combat, the adrenaline that comes with near death situations."**_ She said.

"I-I don't-."

 _ **"You deny that feeling even though it is a part of you? Why not embrace it?"**_ The man asked.

"B-because I'm a huntress! We fight to protect! N-not destroy." Summer said.

 _ **"Huntresses fight for that cause. What cause do you fight for?"**_ The girl asked.

"..."

 _ **"It appears that you are unable to speak as of the moment. Though I do ask, will you continue to deny this need like you have for so long?"**_ She asked.

 _ **"Will you deny this desire for battle?! For bloodshed?! For glory?! Or shall you agree to our contract?"**_ The man asked.

"...Heh." Summer started to laugh.

 _ **"Hmm?"**_ The girl asked.

"It's f-funny. I'm on the g-ground d-dying. Y-yet I've n-never felt so alive." She said.

 _ **"Then you shall agree to our terms?"**_ The girl asked.

"Y-yeah." Summer said.

 _ **"Then let us proceed."**_ The girl said.

All of a sudden, the pain in Summer's head started to get worse.

"Ah!" She yelled.

 _ **"Your time to meet your demise has not yet come, dear master."**_ The girl said.

 _ **"Ah ha! Yes! There is battle to be done! Wars to be fought! Enemies to slaughter!"**_ The man yelled.

 _ **"It is time for you to go out and truly protect the ones who fall victim to the strong."**_ The girl said.

 _ **"And punish those who's power have blinded them!"**_ The man said.

 _ **"The world is full of both harmony."** _ The girl said.

 ** _"And chaos."_** The man said.

 ** _"Do not deny them both."_** They both said in unison.

 ** _"I am the spirit of Mercy, Agnus."_** Agnus said.

 ** _"I am the spirit of Brutality, Lupus."_** Lupus said.

 _ **"We look forward to serving you."**_ She said as Summer faded from consciousness.

Though right as she was about to fade from this world, two figures floated down to her and gently caught her.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh." Summer groaned as her eyes fluttered open.

Though what she saw around her almost put her back into the state of unconsciousness.

"W-what the-?!" She said as she stared at her surroundings.

The plane she was currently floating in could only be described as what scientists theorized the universe looking like.

She could see various galaxies, stars, suns and planets orbiting around her.

"W-where am-?!"

 _ **"Do not be alarmed, master."**_ Summer heard Agnus say, causing her to turn around to face Agnus and Lupus.

"It's you two." She said.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Agnus said.

"Where am I?" She asked.

 _ **"You are in the realm of the spirits."**_ She said.

"The...realm of the spirits?" Summer asked.

 ** _"Indeed. You now reside in a realm that exists beyond mind and matter, beyond dream and reality."_** Agnus said.

 _ **"You are in the realm where the spirits originated. Welcome to our home."**_ Lupus said.

Summer looked around and marveled at the beautiful sight.

"Wow, I never knew such a world existed." She said.

 _ **"Indeed, this is the plane of existence where you're body has been repairing itself for the past twelve months."**_ Agnus said.

.

.

"W-what?! I've been asleep for a whole year?!" Summer asked.

 _ **"Correct."**_ Agnus said.

"H-how?! And what about my daughter?!" She asked.

 _ **"You're offspring is alive."**_ Lupus said.

"B-but how is she?! I never came back!" Summer said.

 _ **"Indeed. After you died at the pedistal, you were sent to the realm of the spirits so you're body could make it's repairs."**_ Agnus said.

"S-so that means-."

 ** _"To the world of Remnant, Summer Rose is dead."_** She said.

"...N-no." Summer said.

 _ **"Though soon you will be able to return."**_ Agnus said.

"W-wait! Really?!" She asked.

 _ **"Indeed. Why would we have gone through the trouble of repairing your body if we did not intend to bring you back?"**_ Lupus asked.

"...Fair point." She said.

"...Wait, what did you mean, while my body is being repaired?" Summer asked.

 _ **"Look down."**_ He said.

Summer looked down at her torso, though what she saw completely shocked her.

Her right arm had been completely repaired, not only that but her right eye was also back.

Though there was one specific detail that caused Summer's face to go beat red.

She was completely naked.

"W-where are my cloths?!" She asked, covering her chest area.

 _ **"You don't die with your cloths."**_ Lupus said.

"W-well couldn't you have given me some?!" Summer asked.

 _ **"Do we look like tailors to you?"**_ He asked.

Summer grumbled and turned away from the two spirits.

Though as she stared around the realm of the spirits, she noticed various glowing spheres with flashing images within them.

"What are these?" Summer asked, grabbing one of the spheres.

 _ **"Realities."**_ Agnus said.

"Oh, okay...wait what?!" She asked.

 _ **"You have an entire reality within your hands. An entire universe filled with intelligent life."**_ She said.

"W-whoa." Summer said, looking at the sphere intently.

"So, what kind of reality is this?" She asked.

 _ **"Well, currently you are holding one of the various realities where humanity resides."**_ Agnus said.

"H-humanity? You mean there are other humans besides the ones on Remnant?" Summer asked.

 _ **"Indeed. Currently you are holding a reality that is being plagued with war and bloodshed."**_ She said.

Summer stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking up.

"W-war?" She asked.

 _ **"Indeed. Do you wish to view this reality?"**_ Agnus asked.

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Summer nodded.

 _ **"Very well."**_ She said, snapping her fingers.

All of a sudden, a bright light consumed Summer, blinding her vision for a brief period of time.

As she light died down, she could see that she was in a market area of some sort.

"G-gah!" Summer yelled, covering her chest again.

 _ **"What are you doing?"**_ Agnus asked.

"I'm not wearing any cloths! Why did you bring me all the way out here?!" She asked.

 ** _"Well, you weren't specific. Besides, nobody can see you while you're in this form."_** Agnus said.

Summer sighed in relief and started to look around.

"So where are we?" Summer asked.

 ** _"You are on one of the place of humanities origin. Earth."_** She said.

"Earth?" She asked.

 ** _"Indeed. Though this version of earth is plugged with war and bloodshed."_** Agnus said.

"War? How do they deal with the Grimm?" Summer asked.

 ** _"Grimm do not reside here."_** She said.

.

.

"What?" She asked.

 ** _"The enemy of humanity in your world does not exist within this one."_** Agnus said.

"G-Grimm don't exist here?" Summer asked.

 _ **"Indeed. Though while they do not have Grimm, they are far from peaceful."**_ She said

"How so?" She asked.

 _ **"Well, if the description of this reality is correct then today is the day humanity is forced to go underground."**_ Agnus said.

"Why would they have to go underground?" Summer asked.

 _ **"Because due to there actions, there is now planet unable to support life."**_ She said.

"...W-what?!" She asked.

Though before Summer could continue there conversation, the sound of a load siren could be heard coming from the giant poles scattered around the area.

"What's going on?!" Summer asked.

 _ **"Armageddon."**_ Lupus said.

"What?" She asked.

Though once again, she was cut off as a little girl ran through her body.

"M-mommy?! D-daddy?! Where are you?!" A blonde called out.

Upon instinct, Summer rushed over to the little girl.

"It's okay! I'll help yo-." She began, only to run right through the girl.

 _ **"She can't hear you."**_ Agnus said.

The little girl ran off towards a park of some sort in attempts to find her parents.

As Summer followed the girl, the girl asked for help from various people, though nobody would help her.

Summer clenched her fist in anger.

How could they just leave this little girl in the state she's in?! She's lost, scared, and alone!

"Mister?" The girl asked a teenage boy.

The boy turned around to face the girl.

"The he-heck you doing out here kid?" He asked.

"I-I'm looking for mommy. Do you know where my mommy is?" She asked.

"No, I don't know. But more than likely she's in the shelter, I'll take you there, though you'll have to ride on my shoulders, we can't afford to loose any more time than we already have." He said.

"What do you mean? What's happening?" She asked.

"Poor thing, she doesn't even know the gravity of the situation." Summer said.

"Something really bad is about to happen, and we need to make sure that we don't get in the way of that bad thing." He tried explaining as simply as he could.

"W-what?" She asked.

"Look, just come with me. I'll take you to where your mom is, alright?" He said.

"Really?! Thank you so much mister!" The girl said as she ran up to hug his leg.

"Alright, up and at em, we need to keep moving." He said as he picked her up and put her on his shoulders.

"Wee! It's so high up!" The girl said.

"Let's get moving." He said as he started to run.

"Whoa! So fast!" She said.

Summer was...shocked to say the least at the kid's actions.

She had went to various adults and they even wouldn't bother to help her, and here's this teenage kid, helping the kid without a second thought.

She followed the two kids until they eventually came to a pod of some sort.

"What is that?" Summer asked.

"What's wrong Mister? Are you okay?" The girl asked.

"Huh? What's going on?" She asked

"W-what? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." The boy said.

"Where's mommy? Isn't she supposed to be here?" She asked.

"You're a good kid. Stay that way for me, kay?" I said.

"What?" She asked.

Though before she could question him any further, he shoved her into the pod and closed the doors

"W-what the hell does he think he's doing?!" Summer asked.

"M-Mister?!" She asked.

"He's going to get himself killed!" She yelled.

"W-what are you doing?! Why did you close the doors?! You need to get in!" She yelled.

"Sorry kid, only one of us will be making it down." He said.

"What?!" Summer asked.

"W-what?!" She asked.

"Listen to me. You've got a bright future ahead of you, more so than me. Look for you mom and dad down there." He said, putting two of his fingers to my eyebrow.

"See you on the flip side, kid." He said as he pushed the button, causing the pod to go down.

The sighed and sat down on the ground.

"...I'm okay with this. Be good kid, be better than me." He said.

.

.

"No, this can't be the end for him! He's just a child!" Summer said.

 _'Come on Summer! Think! There has to be a way to save him!'_ She thought.

"...Wait! Agnus!" She said.

 ** _"Yes, master?"_** She asked.

"Can you bring him here?!" Summer asked.

 _ **"Hmm...it is possible."**_ Agnus said.

"Then do it! Bring him here!" She said.

 _ **"Master, please think about this. The damage that will be done to this boy will far exceed that of your own. It will take longer to repair the body. It will take ten years at the most. Not only that but he would not be able to return to this realm."**_ She said.

"W-what?! Why can't he return?" Summer asked.

 ** _"You will be the one to bring him to the realm of the spirits. You come from a different reality. Therefore if he is to live, then he must go back to your world."_** Agnus said.

"..."

 _ **"I already know of a realm where he can reside safely while his body makes repairs. Not only that but I can ensure that his chances of survival being increased by allowing one of my brothers to go with him."**_ She said.

"Do it." Summer said.

 _ **"Very well."**_ Agnus said, clapping her hands together.

Summer moved over the the teenager and knelt down so that they met eye to eye.

"You're going to be alright." She said.

* * *

 **So...that was the story of Summer Rose.**

 **Hope this cleared up a few things.**

 **I have a few questions for her, but that can wait till the next chapter.**

 **For now, let's move onto the review responses.  
**

 **Review Response**

 **Donovan: Well, happy birthday!**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Meh, he's not exactly that friendly with her.**

 **SPDefender: Nope. Another reason for the two to meet once again.**

 **GOH426: Well, he can't keep it a secret forever.**

 **V1DEOGAMER: Not yet.**

 **myfunvideos: I've considered it.**

 **fanficcyberman: Glad you like it.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Glad to hear.**

 **DragonLord501st: He saw no personal benefit in helping the man.**

 **Writen: Perhaps.**

 **jamcap145: Glad you like it.**

 **Vashne: I'm sorry?**

 **Now, it's time for something that's been in the making for years now.**

 **The trailers for the enchanted weapon users.**

 **First off, let's start off with the wielder of Carnwennan.**

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night in the city of Mistral, people were walking down it's streets with umbrellas in there hands.

On the side of one of it's various shops, a little girl was sitting on a piece of cardboard with a bucket in her hands.

"Excuse me, will you help me by-." She began, only for the stranger to brush her off.

"Oh. Okay." She said.

.

.

"How about you? Will you-." She began, only to be ignored once again.

"Oh. Okay." She said.

.

.

"How about you sir? Can you help...me?" She said as she gazed upon the man in the dark green trench coat.

 _'Who is that guy?'_ She asked.

Meanwhile, the man wearing the dark green trench coat was walking towards a fairly large building with a scroll in his hands.

His outfit was a bit unclear due to the massive coat, but he had clean green hair, slight hairs coming from his chin and dark blue eyes.

The man had two lines under his temples, implying that he was of old age.

He wore two black boots and a pair of black gloves.

Though the most noticeable part about his attire was the strange looking dagger wrapper around his waste, the trench coat hiding the weapon from the naked eye.

The weapon itself had strange markings on it and was in a sheath that was wrapped tightly around his waste.

The man looked down at his scroll and started to read a persons bio.

He nodded and continued to walk, putting his scroll back into his pocket.

As he came closer and closer to the building, he could see two guards standing in front of the gate.

The two were seemingly in a conversation with one another, though they quickly spun there heads towards the man in green with there guns pointed at him.

"Hey! Buddy! This is a restricted area! Nobody without authorized access can get in!" He said.

Though the man seemed un-phased by this threat and continued to walk.

"Hey! I said stop!" He said.

The man grunted and continued to walk towards the gate.

"Alright! I warned ya!" The guard yelled as he fired a few shots at the man.

Though as the bullets made contact with the man, he vanished into nothingness, as if he had just disappeared.

"W-what the-?!" The guard asked.

"Where the hell did he go?!" The other guard asked.

"Grr, search the area! If the boss found out we just let somebody go into his private building then we're fired for sure!" He said.

"R-right!" The other guard said as they searched the outside area.

However, little did they know, the man was right behind them the entire time with his hands in his pockets.

The man walked up to the door, causing it to automatically open.

Unfortunately, would prove to get more complicated as he walked into the building. As he entered, the receptionist lady behind the counter turned towards him.

This caused the man to growl in frustration.

"Oh! Sir, I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over. If you could come back tomorrow I would be more than happy to assist you in anyway you'd li-." The lady began, only for the man to disappear once again.

"W-what in the-?!" She began as she reached for the phone.

Attention all personnel! There is an unauthorized man entering the building! Repeat, there is an unauthorized man entering the building." The lady said.

.

.

"Hello?" She asked.

She looked down the see that the cable connecting the phone line was cut.

"When did he cut the line?!" She asked.

As she was continuing to panic, the man had already made his way towards the elevator.

The man clicked a button on the elevator, causing the doors to close.

Meanwhile, on the top of the floor, the man that was on the green coated strangers scroll was sitting behind a desk on the other side of the room

Though one of the various guards in the room noticed that the elevator was going up.

"Hmm?" One of them asked.

"What's wrong?" The boss asked.

"Were there any guests scheduled at this hour?" He asked.

"N-no. We're supposed to be closed at this hour." He said.

All of the guards turned towards the elevator, there hands on the handle of there guns.

"W-what the hell is going on?" The boss asked.

After a few seconds, the door to the elevator opened, causing all of the guards to point there guns in the direction of the elevator.

Though a feeling of confusion was spread throughout the room when they saw that the elevator was empty.

"T-there's no one here!" One of them said.

"W-what?! How is that possible?!" The boss asked.

"Everyone search the area! He couldn't have gone that...far." The guard said as he collapsed onto the ground.

As soon as he did, the rest of the guards fell to the ground.

"W-what the hell?!" The boss asked.

"Hey." He heard a deep and raspy voice say from behind him.

"Ah!" He yelled as he turned around to face the man.

Sure enough, it was the same man in green that had made his way though his building.

"W-who are you?!" He asked.

"..." The man just stood there in silence.

"I asked who you were!" The boss said.

"Why does it matter? You're going to die here." The man said.

"W-what the hell are you talking abo-!" The boss began, only to cut himself off as he clenched his chest.

"W-what...W-what did you do to...me?" He asked as he fell to the floor.

The man sighed and went over to the man, taking his gold necklace off of his body and putting it in his pocket.

"Target neutralized." He said as he disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, the little girl from before was having no luck with the people of Mistral.

The girl sighed and pulled a blanket over her head.

"No luck today, huh?" She asked.

Though just as she was about to give up, a golden necklace could be seen landing inside of the bucket.

"H-huh?!" She asked, scrambling for the necklace.

 _'T-this is-! This is solid gold!'_ The girl said.

She turned towards the man in green and waved to him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She yelled.

The man simply waved his right hand at the girl and continued to walk away.

* * *

 **Unknown Assassin**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Dagger**

 **Gender : Male**

 **Height: 6'1"**

 **Weight: 194 lbs**

 **Age: 40**

 **Outfit: Dark Green, Black, Gray.**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Pale.**

 **Hair Color: Dark Green.**

 **Eye color: Dark Blue.**

 **Aura Color: Green**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Carnwennan**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 87**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 60**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 44**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 23**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	54. Justice

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Justice For a Kindred Soul"

Thought: _'Justice For a Kindred Soul'_

Flashback: _"Justice For a Kindred Soul"_

 _(Present Time)_

"And that's how I died, came back, and brought you to this world." Summer finished her story as she sat in front of the campfire.

I didn't really have a response at first, I mean, I really didn't expect an full explanation as to why or how I was brought back to life. I mean, I could never have imagined that Summer of all people would be the one to bring me back from the dead.

Heh, a dead person bringing back another dead person.

Anyways, I now know how and why I was brought here, and that the energy that Ozpin felt when I first appeared in front of Beacon was Summer's energy.

Maybe that's why he got all freaked out during our first encounter, he most likely thought I knew something about Summer's death that he didn't know at first.

.

.

Well I mean I do know something about Summer's supposed death that he doesn't know but you know what I mean, at the time I didn't even know that Summer was alive, nor did I even consider the possibility.

Not only that but apparently the spirit realm is a lot more vast than I originally gave it credit for. I mean, I knew it was big enough to exist between all of the various universes in this world, but to exist between all realities? That's just insane to even think about.

Now that I think about it,Summer said that Agnus put me into a realm where my body could make it's repairs. If that's the case then where exactly did I go in the first place?

...Wait, Caliber when I woke up in that little void, did I really wake up in-.

 _ **"You catch on fast. Rather than being consumed by the void, you were placed in the plain where I resided for the past eighty years in order to recover from the damages you took from the blast."**_ Caliber said within my mind.

So I was sleeping in your home for the past ten years then?

 _ **"Yes, if you want to use the shorter version of it."**_ He said.

Okay, well what's your home like?

 _ **"It's quite beautiful, the vast blue seas, the lush green hills. If I had to describe it with a single word, then it would be what you humans describe as paradise."**_ Caliber said.

Wow, it sounds like it's a nice place to live. Wish I could have seen it before I was dumped into this world.

 _ **"Perhaps you may one day, my boy."**_ He said.

Hopefully... Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now.

 _ **"Very well. What troubles your mind?"**_ Caliber asked.

How old are you?

 _ **"...Pardon?"**_ He asked.

Well, it's just that you told me that you and your siblings existed even before the kingdoms were created, and that was a pretty long time ago. So how old are you?

 _ **"Curious fellow, aren't you? Very well, currently, I am over ten thousand years old."**_ Caliber said.

Caliber's response caused me to fall off of the tree stump I was currently sitting on.

"W-what the hell?! Seriously?!" I asked.

"Is something wrong?" Summer asked.

"Y-you're over ten thousand years old?!" I asked.

"Hey! I know I'm getting old but that's a bit harsh!" She yelled.

"What?! No, not you! I'm talking to Caliber!" I said.

"Oh... He's over ten thousand years old? Here I thought Ozpin was an old man, no offense Caliber." Summer said.

 _ **"It's quite alright, my dear."**_ Caliber said.

"He said it's cool." I said.

So anyways, when exactly did Olaf forge the contract with you guys?

 _ **"Hmm, let me think. When you have lived for as long as I, memories start to wither away and fade."**_ He said.

After a few seconds of silence, Caliber eventually spoke up.

 _ **"I believe that Olaf made his contract with the spirit realm one thousand years ago."**_ Caliber said.

"Wow, one thousand years, huh?" I asked.

 _ **"Yes, we spirits have had the privilege to watch the various kingdoms of Remnant grow and develop."**_ He said.

Heh, so you've had to privilege to watch the various mistakes that humanity had made over the years.

 _ **"Basically."**_ Caliber said.

Well at least the Grimm have them preoccupied, otherwise they would have already destroyed there own planet like Earth's humanity did.

 _ **"Well I wouldn't say that they destroyed it. They just can't live on it's surface anymore."**_ He said.

Yeah, sure, because that's so much better.

 _ **"Perhaps."**_ Caliber said.

Well, at least the race problems aren't nearly as bad as they are in earth. I mean, at least humanity here is racist against one specific race of people and not a wide variety of different races.

"So...I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Summer said.

"That's a bit of an understatement. It's not everyday the person who literally brought you back from the dead tells you how they brought you back in the first place." I said.

"Fair enough. Though I do have on little question before you start asking away." She said.

"Shoot." I said.

"Are you mad at me?" Summer asked.

"...Uh?" I began.

"Well, I did bring you here against your will. You never really had a choice in this matter. Not only that but there's no way for you to go back to your world due to the conditions that needed to be met in order for your revival." She said.

"...Well, no, I'm not mad." I said.

"Really?" Summer asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly happy that I was dumped into a world littered with monsters that want to rip you apart from the inside out. But that being said, I wasn't exactly to keen on the idea of dying." I said.

"Also, I wouldn't want to go back to my world even if I had the chance to." I said.

"Why? Wouldn't you want to see your friends and family again?" She asked.

"Well, that would be nice don't get me wrong. It's just that I'm not exactly to keen on living in the underground for the rest of my life." I said.

"Besides, I've got new friends behind me. So it's not like I'm completely alone here." I said.

"Though when it comes to family, that's where I fall short." I said.

"Hmm, ever consider starting your own family?" Summer asked, causing me to fall off of the tree stump again.

"W-where the hell did that come from?!" I asked.

"Well, you did say that you didn't have a family in this world." She said.

"Yeah! That doesn't mean I want to start one! Jeez, I'm only eighteen, bit early to be thinking about having kids don't ya think?!" I asked.

"Not really. When I was your age, I was already thinking of the names of my future children. I've always wanted to hear those little feet tapping against the floor as my kids ran towards me with a big smile on there face." Summer said.

"Well, that's you. I can't say that the idea has crossed my mind, let alone the idea of a relationship." I said.

"You never know. Love does sometimes bloom in the heat of the battle." She said.

"Yeah, if you're watching a movie that is." I said.

Still, with everything that's happened and everything that's about to happen in the future, the idea of managing a stable while attempting to stop Salem's plans sounds kinda hard.

So maybe after all this is over...though who knows, things might change in the future.

"So no, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorta glad that I came here. I can finally make something of myself." I said.

Summer smiled and threw some more fire wood into the flames.

"So, now it's my turn." I said.

"Right, so what do you want to know?" Summer asked.

"Well, first of all, where exactly did you appear after you died?" I asked.

"I appeared back at the temple. It was surprising to say the least. A year had past since my supposed death, though not a lot has changed." She said.

"Okay, next question. Why were you naked?" I asked.

"You don't die with your cloths on, that's how it works." Summer said.

"I did." I said.

"...What?" She asked.

"I died with my cloths on. Hoodie and everything, and my cloths were actually destroyed in the blast." I said.

"...You lied to me?!" Summer asked.

Seriously, I wasn't even wearing the hoodie I was wearing in the void before the blast.

"I was walking around a public town naked! Of course I'm going to be angry!" She yelled.

"...That doesn't matter! It was embarrassing!" Summer yelled.

Jeez, is that what I look like whenever I yell at you aloud?

 _ **"Yes."**_ Caliber said.

"Ugh, sorry. Carry on." She said.

"Anyways, why exactly did I appear in front of Beacon specifically? Bit of a coincidence that I just so happen to appear in front of the one place that would know how to teach me to use my spirit." I said.

"Well, there are also the other academies to, you know?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, but as far as I know, Beacon was the first one to ever have one of the twelve spirit users known to this day and age." I said.

"Hmm, that's true. Well, to answer your question, I sent you to Beacon in hopes that you would attempt to learn how to use your powers." She said.

"And what if I didn't?" I asked.

"Then oh well." Summer said.

"Next question, and this one is a personal one. Have you made contact with Raven as of recently?" I asked.

"..."

"Like I said, it's a personal one. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." I said.

"No, it's only natural to think that I would attempt to come into contact with Raven once again. She was my partner, and half of the reason as to why I was going on these dangerous missions. I wanted to find her, try to make things right once again." Summer said.

"Well what's stopping you?" I asked.

"I'm supposed to be dead. Like I said, you are currently the only person who knows that I'm alive." She said.

"Not even Raven?" I asked.

"Yeah, not even Raven." Summer said.

"How can you be certain for sure? Didn't she leave a year after Yang was born?" I asked.

"I saw her at my grave." She said.

.

.

Well, this just got awkward.

"You sure it was her?" I asked.

"Red and black dress, Grimm mask, spirit sword. Yeah, it was her alright." Summer said.

"Why would she go to your grave?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was to say sorry, to say goodbye, to say that she was right and I was wrong. Who knows." She said.

Summer stretched out her arms and got up from her stump.

"So, anymore questions?" Summer asked.

"None come to mind." I said.

"Okay, we should probably go to bed. We're going to start training by tomorrow." She said.

"Alright, but I'll warn you, I've gotten a little tougher." I said with a cocky smirk.

"Oh? Did you learn a few things back at the ocean side town?" Summer asked.

"You can say that." I said.

"Well, I'll look forward to it. For now, I need to sleep. Night." She said, walking towards her sleeping bag.

I nodded and reached into my back pocket for the tape player.

Though as I reached into my back pocket, a sudden realization dawned on me.

"I forgot to get it back...shit." I said.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

Meanwhile, the students back at Beacon were doing there own training for the upcoming tournament.

Everyone was excited to show there skills so that the entire world could see just what they were capable of dishing out.

Though this was more than an opportunity to show off there skills and give there family names a good reputation. No, this tournament could help them with the future of there work lines.

You see, all of the kingdoms will be watching this tournament, meaning that the great headmasters of the various academies will be watching the tournament.

Not only, but the members of the counsel will also be watching the tournament.

This could lead for future employment opportunities for our aspiring huntsmen and huntresses. Some offers will bring more opportunities for employment than others. If someone with a higher status hires you, than more likely than not, you will get more requests for jobs.

So the teams that will do well are the teams that the people in the higher ranks will be looking for.

The pressure was on, but this pressure would prove the be the thing that pushes them forward in there career as a huntsmen.

Though not everyone was training for the tournament. Others had higher priorities to attend to before worrying about the tournament.

One of these teams are the famous team CFVY of Beacon.

There leader, Coco, was currently sitting at her desk waiting for the rest of her team to arrive like she had requested.

"Honestly, how long does it take to get to the police station? I mean, it's not that far from the school." Coco said, twirling a pen in her hand.

Coco pulled out her scroll and scrolled down until she saw the number of Velvet.

She would have called Fox or Yatsuhashi, but Fox never picks up his scroll, and Yatsuhashi is always to busy meditating to even worry about calling people.

Hell, the only people he has in his scroll's contact list are Velvet, Fox, herself, and his family.

Coco sighed and pulled out the remote to the T.V.

"Let's see what's going on in the world of Remnant." Coco said, turning on the T.V.

As she did, the news channel immediately popped up.

 **"After the incident with the breach on Vale, and the jailbreak on the highway the tension within Vale is at an all time high. Though with the festival coming up, the people of Vale will be reassured that they are protected by Atlas's forces and the huntsmen of Beacon academy."** A man on the T.V said.

 _'Seen it.'_ Coco thought, switching to another channel.

 **"With preparations for the Vytal tournament, citizens from all over the world will be gathering to Vale to cheer there respective kingdoms on in hopes for them to bring glory to the names of there respective kingdom."** A lady said.

 _'I know, that's the point of the whole festival.'_ She thought, switching to another channel.

 **"Security has been at an all time high ever since the two incidents within Vale. Prototypes for some of Atlas's latest technology has made its way to the walls of Vale and the borders of our world."** A man said.

 **"Tragedy has been struck within the kingdom of Mistral as yet another assassination has been committed within the great city of art."** A lady said.

.

.

"Okay, this is new." Coco said.

 **"The assassination of the C.E.O of one of Mistral's various business corporations has the citizens of Mistral uneasy."** She said.

 _'C.E.O of Mistral, huh? Damn, most of the C.E.O's of the kingdoms are heavily guarded due to business reasons.'_ She thought.

 **"The company is working on hiring a new C.E.O to take over the corporation. But due to this assassination on the former boss, it has been proving to be quite difficult for the corporation."** The news lady said.

 _'Okay, but who killed him?'_ Coco asked herself.

 **"The identity of the culprit to the assassination has yet to be discovered, nor were any signs of a murder weapon found within the scene of the crime."** The lady said.

 _'Well, that answers that question.'_ She thought to herself.

 **"The motive to the assassination has also yet to be discovered. Though witnesses have said to have seen a man in a dark green trench coat going into the building."** She said.

 _'Man in a dark green trench coat, huh?'_ Coco asked herself.

 **"Though when looking through the security footage, no such man who fit that said description was found. Video footage has been recorded of the assassination, but authorities have yet to come up with a logical and sound reason as to how it happened."** The news lady said.

 _'Wow. They have all of the footage and they've still yet to figure out who did it. This must be one deadly assassin if he's able to pull this off.'_ She thought to herself.

 **"According to the autopsy, the victim died due to his internal organ's failing. Authorities have been attempting to track down the unnamed assassin, though no leads have come up. If you have any clues to the whereabouts of this man, please contact the Mistral police department."** The news lady said, causing Coco to turn the T.V off.

 _'Jeez, I'd hate to be head of that investigation. No leads, unreliable witnesses, and an unclear method of death. That's a nightmare wrapped in a neat little box for any investigator to come and take.'_ Coco thought.

Though before Coco could continue to think about this case any further, a knock could be heard coming from the outside of her door.

"Come in." She said.

As she said this, the door opened to reveal her team walking into the room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. We were just checking out the preparations for the tournament." Velvet said.

"Yeah? How's it all coming along?" Coco asked.

"Rather smoothly considering we've had two White Fang incidents within the span of two weeks." Fox said.

"Good point." She said.

"So, are you in need of our assistance?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Yeah, I need your help with a little something I want to do before the tournament." Coco said.

"Okay. What, you need help with some training or something?" Fox asked.

"Not exactly." She said, pulling out a file from underneath her desk.

"What's this?" Fox asked, taking the file out of her hands.

"Open it up and see for yourself." Coco said.

Fox shrugged and opened up the file, pulling out the piece of paper inside.

 **Scarlet Astria**

 **Race: Human**

 **Height: 5'8**

 **Weight: 112 lbs**

 **Age: 25**

 **Handiness** **: Right**

 **Complexion: Pale**

 **Hair color** **: White**

 **Eye color: Scarlet**

 **Status:** **Deceased**

"So...who is this?" Fox asked.

"You don't remember?" Coco asked.

"If I remembered then I wouldn't be asking who this was." He asked.

"Fair point. This is Osvaldo's former lover." She said.

"Hmm, oh yeah. Now I remember... Wait! Scarlet was a human?!" Fox asked.

"What?! She was?!" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, it came as a shock to me as well." Coco said.

"How?! Why?!" He asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure what Osvaldo was like before this woman kicked the bucket, but the papers don't lie. She's definitely a human." She said.

"Jeez, to think that Osvaldo was in love with a human." Fox said.

"Yeah, though if my little theory is correct then this is what caused Osvaldo's negative outlook on humanity." Coco said.

"What do you mean?" Velvet asked.

"Hmm." Yatsuhashi hummed.

"Seems like Yatsu here's catching onto my little theory." She said.

"What are you talking about now?" Fox asked.

"Ten years ago, the killing of Faunus weren't really an uncommon thing. Both people and Faunus didn't really bat an eye to it due to how common it was back then." Coco said.

"Yeah." Velvet said, her ears drooping.

"Though when a human kills a human, or a Faunus kills a Faunus, it wasn't exactly something that was smiled upon back in the day." She said.

"People were really passionate about Faunus being lower class citizens back in the times before the Menagerie was made. Some would go so far as to kill those who would question or appose the unspoken rule." Coco said.

"I see. So you think that when a human killed Scarlet, another human, this is what caused Osvaldo's view on humanity being the true animals to manifest." Yatsuhashi said.

"Bingo." She said.

"Still, he's got a weird way of going about avenging his lover. I mean, wouldn't he just want to kill the one guy and not all of humanity?" Fox asked.

"I don't think his resolve to destroy humanity stems from the death of his lover. Personally, I think it's personal payback for the pain the humans had inflicted onto his kind." Coco said.

"Still, humans weren't as bad as they once were. We're now able to get our own education in the schools that were once reserved for humans, we've even got our own continent... I mean sure it isn't very big and we can barely use most of it but we still got one!" Velvet said.

"Yeah, well he doesn't exactly have the same outlook as you Velv." She said.

"I guess that's true." She said.

"So, why exactly have you been going through her files?" Fox asked.

"Because I want to find her killer." Coco said, pulling out a case file.

"You mean they were never found?" He asked.

"As of to this date, no, they were never found." She said.

"Well, how do we know they're still in Vale to begin with?" Velvet asked.

"Because I already have my suspicions that the one who killed her is someone who works here." Coco said.

.

.

"What?" She asked.

"Think about it. The case never had a proper trial, nor a proper investigation. Things like this don't just happen, even back in the old days. I think someone in the police station had this set up." Coco said.

"I've looked into a few of the potential candidates for this case, though after doing some extensive research, I've narrowed it down to one singular person." Coco said.

"That being?" Fox asked.

"The head of the investigators office, Irene." She said.

"Irene?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, this woman has lead the investigations team for twelve years now. She's solved almost every case within the walls of Vale." Coco said.

"Almost all?" Fox asked.

"My sister was a close second. But there was one case that I found that never got a proper investigation." She said.

"The murder of Scarlet Astria." Velvet said.

"Yeah, and when did the murder of Scarlet take place?" Coco asked.

"Ten years ago." Fox said.

"So Irene still would have been in office at the time. So she could have just as easily hid this case from the public eye with the connections she has." She said.

"Not only that but the restaurant was destroyed recently. So any forms of evidence would have been destroyed." Fox said.

"Yeah, that's gonna make proving her guilty even harder than it already is." Coco said.

"So what are we going to do?" Velvet asked.

"That's simple." She said, putting on her sunglasses.

"We're going to make her confess her crimes with her own mouth." Coco said.

"Though I do have a question for you, Coco." Fox asked.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Why are you doing this? Why go through all this for somebody who wants to kill us?" He asked.

"Everyone deserves there own justice. No matter how society views them." Coco said.

* * *

After the meeting, Coco and the rest of her team had just arrived at the investigators office in attempts to get a confession out of Irene.

Though this would prove to exceedingly difficult due to the fact that all forms of physical deviance have been destroyed within the restaurant when it was destroyed during the breach.

Despite that fact, Coco and Co were determined to make Irene pay for her crimes, no matter what the cost.

However, this was the head of the investigators office they were going up against. This wouldn't be like any other fight they have fought.

Because this time, they couldn't use sheer force to get this woman to talk.

They had to outsmart her, something that would prove to be exceedingly difficult.

Being the head of the investigators office, she knew every trick in the book when it came to mentally tricking your opponent.

None the less, if Coco were to get this woman to talk, she would have to use a few tricks out of the best trickster she knew.

Brandon.

While Brandon's tactics were a little underhanded, they were unpredictable, something that Coco desperately needed if she were to prove this woman guilty.

Though even with Brandon's tricks up her sleeve, she would also have to get her to literally say that she killed Scarlet on recording.

If she couldn't find any evidence, then she would have to make her own.

Coco and the rest of her team stood in front of the investigators office with determined looks on there faces.

"You sure she's really Scarlet's killer?" Fox asked.

"Positive." Coco said.

"Alright. Then let's do this thing." He said.

"Just so you guys know, we need to stay sharp and listen to every little thing she says in hopes to get even the slightest hint of her guilt towards Scarlet's death." She said.

"Understood. I shall keep my senses up." Yatsuhashi said.

"You got it Coco." Velvet said.

Fox nodded and cracked his knuckles.

"Remember, we need to get her confession on recording so that we have at least one piece of evidence to take to court." She said.

"Right, we don't have anything to use against her except the fact she was still in office during the time of the murder, and the fact that the case never got a proper investigation." Fox said.

"Yeah, and I don't mean to raise the pressure, but we won't get another chance like this again. If we can't prove her guilty then I'll lose my job and we'll never get another chance to catch her again." Coco said.

"Tch, no pressure." He said.

Coco nodded and put on her sunglasses.

"Alright, let's do this team." She said, walking towards the doors of the office building.

Her team nodded and followed her into the building.

As they entered the building, they were greeted by a young lady working at the front counter.

"Ah! Ms. Adel! Welcome back!" She said.

"Hey." She said.

"What brings you back to the main office? You've been gone for a few days now!" The girl said.

"Oh you know, preparations for the tournament." Coco said.

"Right! I always forget that you're a student at Beacon academy." She said.

"Yeah. Say, do you think I can see the boss? There's something I want to discuss with her." She said.

"Oh! Let me just give her a call." The girl said, picking up the phone.

"What's the deal?" Fox asked.

"No one can enter the bosses office unless they have special permission." Coco said.

"That's weird. Aren't office owners supposed to keep there doors open?" Velvet asked.

"Not unless they've got something to hide that is." She said.

"Well, if she really wanted to cover her tracks, shouldn't she just burn the file containing the case?" Fox asked.

"The file is in the system. She can't get rid of it without drawing to much attention to herself. Not only that but she's in charge of keeping all the files up to date, so nobody but her can access the files." Coco said.

"Then how did you-?" He began to ask.

"I broke into her office." She said.

"...Oh." Fox said.

"Yeah." Coco said.

"Hmm, yes...okay!" She said.

"Ms. Irene said that you may enter her office." The girl said.

"Good. See ya." Coco said as she started walking down the massive hall.

"So, we've only got one shot at this, right?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, after this we won't get another shot. More likely than not she'll erase the case from the files due to how old it is." She said.

"I thought you said she couldn't delete the case." Velvet said.

"Yeah, that is if it hasn't been resolved in more then ten years." Coco said.

"...Oh." Velvet said.

"I looked at the date on the incident. This is the last day we have to prove her guilty." She said.

"So when you said we had one shot at this, you literally meant we had only one shot at this." Fox said.

"Yeah. We mess up even once, and it's game over." Coco said.

"Damn. The pressure just keeps on getting bigger and bigger, huh?" He asked.

"Tell me about it." She said.

"You seem pretty calm to me." Velvet said.

"Good. That means I'm doing a good job at covering my anxiety." Coco said.

"Yeah." Fox said.

Eventually, they reached there destination at the end of the massive hallway.

Coco took a deep breath and started to knock on the door.

"Yes?" A voice said from the other side of the door.

"It's me." Coco said.

"Ah! Ms. Adel! Come in, come in." Irene said.

"Well, now or never." She said, walking into the room.

As she walked into the office, she could see various book cases on the walls on the sides of the room. At the center of the room was a few lodging chairs and couches as well as a table directly in front of the chairs and couches.

The main attraction though was the massive desk on the other side of the room.

"Hey boss." Coco said.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting guests." Irene said.

"Yeah, sorry." She said.

"No, it's fine. Just a little surprise is all." She said.

Irene got up from her desk and picked up a tea pot that was sitting on her desk.

"Tea anyone?" Irene asked.

"You got any coffee?" Coco asked.

"Of course. Let me just brew some up for you." She said.

Irene walked over to the coffee maker on the other side of her desk and poured some coffee beans into it.

Meanwhile, the rest of Coco's team were starting to scatter across the room.

"I don't believe we've been introduced yet. My name is Irene." She said.

"My name is Velvet." Velvet said.

"Fox."

"Yatsuhashit, madam." He said with a bow.

"So, what brings you here, Ms. Adel?" Irene asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Coco said.

"Is this about what happened in Mistral?" She asked.

"Huh?" Fox asked.

"Oh, you didn't hear? There was another assassination in the kingdom of Mistral." Irene said.

"Another one?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, from the looks of it they were all being pulled off by the same person. All of the victims died the exact same way, organ failure." She said.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, though the police haven't been able to figure out who the culprit is. All witnesses they've had proved to be unreliable." Irene said.

"Hmm, peculiar." Yatsuhashi said.

"Yeah...though from the look on your face, I don't think you're here to talk about what happened in Mistral." She said.

"You can say that, yeah." Coco said.

"So tell me, what's on your mind?" Irene asked.

"Are you sure she actually did it?" Velvet whispered to Yatsuhashi.

"I trust Coco's judgement. Do you?" He asked.

"Of course I do! It's just that this woman is so nice! She doesn't seem like a killer." She said.

"Appearances can be deceiving. Though from the looks of it, this deception has no affect on our dear leader." Yatsuhashi said.

Velvet stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"I wanted to talk to you about this woman." Coco said, placing Scarlet's files down onto the table in front of her.

Irene stared at the files for a few moments, showing no signs of tension or suspicion.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"Scarlet Astria." Coco said.

"Hmm... Nope, not ringing any bells." Irene said.

Coco's eyes narrowed but nodded, putting her bio back into the file.

"Sorry I couldn't help you with her." She said.

"It's okay. That wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Coco said.

"What is she doing?" Fox asked.

"I don't know. Let's just watch." Velvet said.

Coco pulled out Scarlet's case file from her bag and placed it on her table.

"I wanted to go over these files with you." She said.

"Hmm... I thought I already said I didn't know this person." Irene said.

"You did. Take a closer look at what this is." Coco said.

Irene did as Coco said and read over the file in her head.

"...Oh! So this is a case file." She said.

"Yeah. A case file going over the death of Scarlet Astria." Coco said.

"Hmm, this file is quite o-." Irene began.

"A case that never got a proper trial." She said.

Irene stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before sitting down on one of the couches.

"Not only that but it also never got a proper investigation." Coco said.

"Strange. From the looks of it her body was found and everything! They've even got a time of death and everything! Who in the hell didn't authorize a proper investigation?!" Irene asked.

"You did." She said.

.

.

"I beg your pardon?" She asked.

"This incident happened ten years ago, and if my memory is correct then you were still on office at the time." Coco said.

"Yeah, I was in office at the time." Irene said.

"So that means that it your job to make sure all these cases got a proper trial and investigation." She said.

"Because it was a suicide, not a murder. There was no need for a case or an investigation." She said.

"Well, I have somebody who thinks otherwise. In fact, they know others wise." Coco said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"A certain man, I won't say his name to protect the innocent." She said.

 _'Yeah, innocent.'_ The remaining three members of team CFVY thought.

"He said that he saw somebody murder his beloved lover." Coco said.

"It was confirmed that she took her own life. Her fingerprints were on the weapon." Irene said.

"Weapon?" She asked.

"Yeah, the gun that was used to kill her." She said.

"What kind of gun did she use to take her own life?" Coco asked.

"I can't remember something like that at the top of my head." Irene said.

"Then go and search her file. You have access, don't you?" She asked.

Irene narrowed her eyes before nodding.

"Yeah, I do. Though I'm not entirely sure why it matters." She said, walking over to her desk.

After a few moments of typing at her computer, she walked back to the couch and sat on it.

"It was a .44 round that killed her. The gun that was found was semi-auto pistol." Irene said.

"Mind if I see the file?" Coco asked.

"Sure." She said as she walked over to print out the file.

After a few moments of waiting later, the file eventually printed and Irene placed it in front of Coco.

Coco sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before smirking.

"Got ya." She said.

"Huh?" Irene asked.

"Now I have a question for you. Why did you lie to me about the murder weapon?" Coco asked.

"I didn't. See? .44 pistol right here. Here are the pictures of the weapon lying next to the victim and everything." She said.

"Here's the thing Irene. That's not a .44, that's a .45 pistol." She said.

Irene narrowed her eyes for a moment before responding.

"How would you know that?" She asked.

"Because, the barrels of the guns are completely different." Coco said as she pulled out her scroll.

After a few moments of silence, Coco showed Irene a picture of a .44 gun and a .45 gun side by side.

"I don't see the difference." Irene said.

"Well, that would be the normal response considering we're only allowed to use .45 pistols when on patrol." Coco said.

"That's because they're more efficient in battle than a .44." She said.

"And I have every reason to believe that. I go to Beacon academy, I should know which weapons are more efficient in a fight." She said.

"However, I should also be able to tell difference between the two by just glancing at them." Coco said.

"So, how come the weapon found was a .45 weapon, while the bullet in the victims head were a .44 weapon?" She asked.

"..."

"I have no doubt in my mind that the weapon found belonged to the victim. Though when found, the gun had three bullets missing, when there was only one bullet in the victims brain. So, unless you want to tell me that she shot two random bullets for no reason and fired the last one in her head then go right ahead." Coco said.

"..."

"I think I already have an explanation that will explain the two missing bullets in the victim." Coco said.

"...Tch."

"There was a struggle of some sort. Small bruises could be seen on the victims body, not only that but a struggle would explain the two bullet gap." She said.

"..."

"That is, unless, you have an explanation as to how she got said bruises and a logical explanation for the bullet gap." Coco said.

"So it wasn't a suicide. It was a murder." Irene said.

"Glad to hear that we're on the same page here." She said.

"Though it's not like it'll mater. The case expires tomorrow, and unless you can find the killer today, then it really doesn't matter how she died." She said.

"Funny you should mention that." Coco said.

"Huh?" Irene asked.

"I, just so happen to have a suspect in mind for the case at hand." She said.

"You do?" She said.

"Yeah, I do, and I have believe that you know exactly who did it as well." Coco said.

"What are you implying, Ms. Adel?" Irene asked.

"Simple. I know your little secret. I know you killed Scarlet." She said.

"...Okay, riddle me this. Let's say I did kill this woman, a woman I don't know I might mention. Why in the world would I kill her in the first place?" She asked.

"That's what I intend to find out." Coco said.

"So let me get the straight. You're accusing me of murder without having the slightest idea as to why I would commit said crime?" Irene said.

"...Well when you say it like that you make me sound like an amateur." She said.

"That's because you do sound like an amateur!" She said.

"While I may not have an exact motive, some of your actions would point to you committing the murder." Coco said.

"Do I act like a killer to you?" Irene asked.

"No, but you committing the murder would explain why you never authorized a proper investigation." She said.

"..."

"It would also explain why you made the rule of you only being allowed to view and authorize case material, unless they had to go into court that is." Coco said.

"..."

"Then there's the little rule of nobody comes into your office without proper permission. You don't even allow our cleaner to go in there, you do all the dirty work yourself." She said.

"..."

"Need I mention you were in office at the time? As well as mentioning the fact that these rules were made right after the murder? That's pretty convenient if I do say so myself." Coco said.

"...Let me ask you something, Adel." Irene said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Do you know how rare it was back in the day for a human to embrace a Faunus?" She asked.

"..."

"Pretty rare." Irene said.

"You're right about one thing. I did know of Scarlet back in the day. As a person working in the law enforcement it was kinda hard not to hear things about her." Irene said.

"So naturally, the Faunus had a lot of respect for her. So how do you think the White Fang would react if they found out that we humans killed the one person who actually supported their cause?" She asked.

"..." Coco narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, so excuse me for not wanting to make the murder public." Irene said.

"I decided to write it off as a suicide for the sake of the whole relationship between humans and Faunus. This way the Faunus wound't be as angry as they could have been. As for the reason why she took her life, I said that it was for personal reasons that the victims family specially requested to remain hidden." She said.

 _'Come on Coco, don't let her pull that crap. You already caught her in her web of lies, so don't back down to bull like that.'_ Fox thought to himself.

"Sorry, but I'm not falling for that crap." Coco said.

"The hell are you on about now?" Irene asked.

"You just gave me a good motive you know?" She said.

"Hmm?"

"Why would you kill someone you barely even knew? Well, being an detective yourself, you of all people should know that it's your job to fill out the autopsy. So someone such as yourself would be able to twist a few details of the autopsy." Coco said.

"Also the death of someone as 'important' as Scarlet, would be one hell of a case to put under someone name. Who knows?" She began, leaning in closer to Irene.

"It might even warrant a promotion of some kind. Also when did the former head of the investigators office retire? Oh, it was a week after the murder took place." She said.

"So you're saying I killed Scarlet so that I could run the investigators office?" Irene asked.

"It does pay a lot of money." Coco said.

"Okay, so now you're saying I killed her so I could get rich?!" She asked.

"Yes that's exactly what I'm saying." She said.

Though before Irene could counter with an argument of her own, Coco spoke up.

"Though for some reason, the incident never made it to the news." Coco said.

"We didn't want rumors being spread." Irene said.

"That so? Well, I don't think that's the reason why you didn't want to make it public. Why you didn't just bask in all of the glory of solving such a case." She said.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"You're hiding." Coco said.

"Hiding? Really?" Irene asked.

"Yeah, and I know exactly who you're hiding from." She said.

"Then please, enlighten me." She said.

"Osvaldo Gervinho, former lover of Scarlet Astria." Coco said.

"..." Irene narrowed her eyes and started to clutch the cup in her hands more tightly.

"Osvaldo, a Faunus working outside of the law. He's part of the Phantoms of the White Fang, an elite group of fighters specially chosen to handle more dangerous situations." She said.

"..."

"You knew that if your face appeared in the public papers or on the local T.V, you're life would be in danger." Coco said.

"Implying that I was the one who killed her." Irene said.

"Good point." Coco said as she pulled out her phone and took a picture of Irene.

"The hell are you-?!" She began.

"Should I send this picture to him?" She asked.

.

.

"What?!" Everyone except Coco yelled.

"Well, if he did see who killed his lover like he said he did then I'm sure he'd be able to tell us if you're the person who killed her." Coco said.

"H-how the hell do you know-?!" Irene began.

"I met him a few times. Business and all." She said.

"Y-you're bluffing." She said, cold sweat starting to run down her forehead.

"Am I?" Coco asked.

 _'Is she?'_ The remaining members of team CVFY asked themselves.

Irene's breaths started to become more rapid then usual.

"Don't worry. If you're innocent like you say then you have nothing to worry about." Coco said.

"Though if you really are guilty, then oh boy, I don't even want to imagine how he's going to kill you." She said.

"However, if you were to, oh I don't know, come clean and confess your crimes, at least you would have a prison cell to keep you safe from him." Coco said.

"..."

"What's it going to be?! Huh?! You come clean, or I let the man you've been running from know that I found his lovers killer!" She yelled.

"Y-you're bluffing!" Irene said.

"Am I?! Is that a chance you're willing to take?! Are you willing to put your life on the line?!" Coco said as she reached over to hit the send button on her scroll.

"Stop!" She screamed.

After a few seconds, Irene eventually spoke up.

"F-fine. You win, okay? I killed her. I killed Scarlet Astria." Irene said.

Coco just stood there in silence for a moment before chuckling.

"You get all that?" She asked her teammates.

"Heh, every little detail of it." Fox said, pulling out his scroll.

Velvet and Yatsuhashi pulled out there scrolls and nodded.

"I shall notify the authorities." Yatsuhashi said as he began dialing the number of the police station in his scroll.

"Like I said, from her own mouth." Coco said, putting on her sunglasses.

* * *

"Jeez I'm bored." Alerio said as he grabbed a can of soda from the refrigerator.

"Quit your whining. Adam told us that we had to lay low after the little stunt we pulled at the highway. Not only that but if things were to get as bad as they did at the highway we wouldn't have Adam to come and clean up the mess." Aleria said as she continued to read the book that laid in front of her.

"So what are we supposed to do until then?!" He asked.

"Ever consider reading a book?" She asked.

"Sorry, but I'm not an egg head like most people in the Phantoms." Alerio said.

"Tch, and you wonder why your seen as the stupidest member of the Phantoms." Aleria grumbled.

"I heard that!" He yelled as he went to go and sit on a couch.

"Honestly! They even let Ilia go out on her own!" Alerio said.

"Yeah, because she didn't go into Vale, she went to her home town. Now that I think about it, she's been out for a good while." Aleria said.

"Should we go and check on her?" He asked.

"No, she'll be fine." She said.

"You sure? Because if there's a small chance that she ran into a high level Grimm then we should probably gather the Phantoms and-." Alerio began, only for the door to on the other side of the room to open.

"I'm back." Ilia said as she took off her mask.

"You were saying?" Aleria asked.

"Hey." She said.

"Ilia! So how did it go?" Alerio asked.

"It went...well." Ilia said.

"What do you mean by well?" Aleria asked.

"I mean that I killed the target...with complications." She said.

"What kind of complications?" She asked.

"...Grimm." Ilia said.

"What kind?" Alerio asked.

"Troll." She said, causing Aleria to fall out of her chair.

"W-what?! Those are B class Grimm! Why in the hell didn't you call for Evac?!" She yelled.

"Really now?! Here I thought I heard you say that she would be fi-." Alerio began, only for Aleria to quickly shut him up with a feather.

"What happened to your home town?!" Aleria asked.

"It's fine. Just a few damages is all." Ilia said.

"Casualties?" Alerio asked.

"It's a Grimm attack. Kinda hard not to have em." She said.

"Anyone you knew?" He asked.

"No, not really." Ilia said.

"Well, that's good. At least your grandmothers still kicking and all." Alerio said.

"Yeah." She said.

"Any more trouble along the way?" Aleria asked.

Ilia stood there in silence for a second, her eyes closed as if she were deep in thought.

 _'Should I tell them that the human helped me during the attack?'_ Ilia asked herself.

"Hey." Aleria said, snapping her fingers.

Ilia snapped back into reality.

"Any other complications?" She asked.

"Well, I did run into that human that always causes us trouble." Ilia said.

"You ran into that brat?! Why is it that whenever we have to go on a mission of some sort, that brat is always there somehow?!" Aleria asked.

"Actually. He..." She mumbled the last part.

"What?" She asked.

"I said he-." Ilia began.

"No, I heard you. Enhanced hearing is a trait all Faunus have." Aleria said.

"Yeah." She said.

"Why in the hell would he help you?" She asked.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Ilia said.

Ilia reached into her pocket and pulled out the tape player that she had gotten from Brandon.

 _'He never asked for this back, even after the incident. Though, before he was pretty determined to get it back before.'_ Ilia thought to herself.

"Tch, that's one bizarre kid. One day he's trying to kill us then the next day he's trying to help us. I know humans can do some weird things but this is a bit much, even for them." Aleria said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." She thought to herself.

Though before either of them could continue there conversation, someone unexpected walked into the room.

Osvaldo himself, was walking towards the couch with a can of beer in his hand.

"...Uh." Alerio began, clearly just as shocked as everyone else in the room.

Osvaldo merely grunted as a form of greeting.

"Uh...H-hey?" Aleria managed to greet.

The only response she got was another grunt.

"..So..what brings you here?" Ilia asked.

"This is the lodge, right?" Osvaldo asked.

"Y-yeah?" She said.

"Then I'm here to relax. Can't do anything till Adam gives me the word." He said.

"...What the hell is going on?!" Alerio whispered to his sister.

"I-I don't know!" She said.

Osvaldo picked up the T.V remote and turned on the T.V.

 **"Breaking news. Authorities have reported that the head of the investigators office, Irene, has been found guilty of murder."** Lisa Lavender said from the T.V screen.

Osvaldo rose his right eyebrow and started to stare intently at the screen.

 **"According to detective Coco Adel, Irene had used this case's importance as a way to be promoted up into the head of the office."** She said.

"Tch, humans. They never cease to surprise me." Aleria said.

 **"Due to Ms. Adel's efforts, the truth behind the murder of Scarlet Astria has finally been revealed."** Lisa said, causing Osvaldo to drop his beer can.

"Scarlet Astria, huh? Hey, wasn't she that one human who had a pretty big influence on the Faunus rights in Vale?" Alerio asked.

"Yeah, though reports said that it was a suicide." She said.

"Wow, to think that someone would use the life of a Faunus to climb up into the ranks of there job." Ilia said in disgust.

"You're telling me. What do you think Os?" Alerio asked.

.

.

"Os?" He asked once more.

 **"Due to Ms. Adel's efforts, the former head leader of the detectives office will now serve her time behind the bars of Vale's police station."** Lisa said.

"Hey! Os!" Alerio called out.

 _'S-Scarlet.'_ He thought to himself.

 **"Though due to this incident, the office has been doing there best to appoint a new boss for the company."** She said.

 _'I-Irene.'_ Osvaldo thought to himself.

 **"This concludes our most recent announcement. We will now get back to our regularly scheduled program."** Lisa said as the news network flickered away.

 _'...N-now I remember. How the hell could I forget her face?'_ He thought to himself.

"Hey!" Alerio yelled, causing Osvaldo to turn his head towards Alerio.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"Hey, you good?" He asked.

"Yeah, you're normally the most calm and composed out of the six of us." Aleria said.

"Oh. Yes, I'm fine." Osvaldo said as he got up from the couch and started to walk towards the door.

"Hmm, did you know her?" Alerio asked.

"Who?" He asked.

"Irene. You seemed pretty out there when the news mentioned her." He said.

"...We know of each other, yes." Osvaldo said.

"In what way?" Alerio asked.

"..."

"Well, what about Scarlet?" He asked.

"Yes, we...we were close." He said as he walked out of the door.

"Ah come on! You're just gonna leave us with that?!" Alerio asked from the other side of the door.

"Wait...wasn't Scarlet human?" Ilia asked.

"...What?!" Alerio and Aleria asked.

Osvaldo started to walk towards the end of the hallway his face devoid of emotion.

As soon as he reached the end of the hallway, he pulled out a pair of keys and opened one of the doors.

He entered the room and started to walk towards a desk on the other side of the room.

Osvaldo reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pair of keys.

"Hah, how long has it been? Ten years?" He asked himself as he pulled out a box and put the key in the key hole of the box.

He opened the box and pulled out the letter that he had found in the rubble of the restaurant that Scarlet had created.

Though at the bottom of the box, there was a picture of two figures standing in front of a building of some sort.

One figure had pure white hair and red eyes, and the other figure had brown hair and gray eyes.

"So, I finally found your killer." Osvaldo said as he kissed the photo and placed it back into the box.

"You will have justice soon enough, my love." He said.

"As for you, Irene. If you believe that a mere prison cell will keep you safe from me, then you are in for a very rude awakening." Osvaldo said.

"Then there's you, sister of the late Mocha Adel. While we may be enemies, I am forever in your debut. You have given me the opportunity to avenge Scarlet." He said.

 _'I am glad that you have not gone down the same path I have went down all those years ago.'_ Osvaldo thought to himself.

 _'Scarlet. While I may not be able to go to the plain where you rest, I will make sure that you can rest in peace knowing that Irene has been brought down.'_ He thought to himself.

 _'I love you, my dear Scarlet.'_ Osvaldo thought to himself.

Though right as he was about to walk out of the door, the sound of a familiar voice cut him off.

"Hmm?!" He hummed, getting into a combat stance.

Though as Osvaldo looked around the room, the only thing he was met with was silence.

"...Perhaps I am going mad." He said as he walked out of the room.

* * *

 **So...that was a thing.**

 **Guess Summer had similar problems to that of mine back in the days.**

 **She was to heavily reliant on her Silver Eye's rather than her raw power.**

 **Though now that she has not one, but two spirits, and the silver eyes I'm sure she's just an absolute monster when it comes to combat.**

 **Though I guess two spirits means twice the damage you could potentially take.**

 **Well, nobody's perfect.**

 **Let's move onto the reviews.**

 **Review Response.**

 **Donovan: Okay.**

 **SPDefender: Yeah, you'll see him again.**

 **GOH426: Never really thought of it like that.**

 **GOH426: Okay.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Thanks**

 **fanficcyberman: Yeah, our mysterious assassin is the adoptive father of Emerald.**

 **DragonLord501st: That was the plan.**

 **Well, that's who I based his character off of.**

 **Donovan: Sure...I'll put it on the fridge.**

 **hunter81095: Well, it wouldn't be the first time the writers have changed stuff.**

 **Raidentensho: Okay.**

 **Donovan: Okay.**

 **Cmndr. SWAG: That sounds like a good idea.**

 **Well, that's about it for the reviews, now it's time for the next spirit user to make her introduction.**

* * *

It was a cold night in the continent of Anima, the light of Remnants shattered moon lighting the continents various forests.

Traversing the continent of Anima itself would prove to be difficult for any experienced huntsmen or huntress.

Though there were some people who were brave enough to make the long trip through its various forests and it's large mountains.

However, there was a fairly big difference between brave, and stupid.

Due to how large Mistral's continent is, the military of Mistral has a much more difficult time paroling there land compared to other kingdoms.

Vale's residents are fairly close to one another, Atlas resides on the smallest continent in the world, and nobody is stupid enough to traverse Vacuo's desert.

That being said, people will still take this risk, despite how high the stakes could be.

"Hmm, it shouldn't be to far away." A woman said as she walked down a path.

The woman herself had long iris hair that was neatly tied into a pony tail.

Her outfit consisted a short sleeved dress shirt with a purple tie wrapped around it, a black corset vest, black leggings and short black dress pants.

A black over coat that was thrown over her shoulder, the coat reaching down to her waste.

She wore a pair of black boots with golden trimmings on the front of the boot, and a black belt with golden trimmings and a purple sash wrapped around it.

Though the most noticeable part of her attire was the sheath with strange markings wrapped around her waste, a Rapier sitting safely inside of the sheath.

"Why in the world does it have to be so far away? I mean, couldn't they have held the contest a little bit closer to home?" She asked as she continued to walk down the path.

After a few more minutes of walking, the great city of Mistral could be seen from a top of the hill she was standing on.

"About time." She said with a smirk.

The woman started to walk down the hill leading to the great kingdom of art, eventually reaching its main gates.

As she walked towards the main gates, she was quickly stopped by two guards.

"I.D." One of them said.

The woman nodded and reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of alcohol before pulling out an I.D.

The guard stared at the bottle of alcohol intently, specifically staring at the logo on the glass bottle.

She blinked for a few moments and stared at the logo that was on one of the straps of the woman's vest.

"Hey now, if you're gonna stare at em then at least buy me dinner first." The woman teased.

"W-what?! N-no! I-I-I wasn't staring at your chest! I-I was just-!" The guard attempted to defend, only for the woman to place her two front fingers on her lips.

"I'm just messing with you." She said with a chuckle, handing her the I.D card.

The girl nodded and took the I.D card out of her hands, scanning it with the devise in her hands.

"O-okay, you're free to go through." She said.

"Thank you!" She said as she started to walk through the gate.

"W-wait! You forgot your bottle!" The guard said.

"Keep it." The woman said as she started to walk deeper into the city.

The guard looked at the bottle before shrugging and opening the bottle, drinking the contents of the glass of alcohol.

The woman kept on walking through the city, eventually reaching a fairly large building in the more shady area of the city.

She nodded and walked into the building.

As she entered the building, she could see a large crowd of people gathered within the large room. In

the center of the crowd there was a small stadium of some sort, two combatants fighting on the arena with there weapons drawn.

"Excuse me." The woman said, making her way through the giant crowd of people.

"Yah!" The black haired man on the stadium yelling as he swung his weapon at the man, causing him to go flying off of the stadium.

"That's the match folks! It seems that our newcomer was beaten by our veteran fighter!" The announcer said, causing the crowd erupt with applause and cheer.

"Is there anyone who could beat our crowned champion?!" The announcer asked.

"I'll give it a go." The woman with iris said.

"...Oh? Who might this mysterious new fighter be?" He asked.

"That would be me." She said as she walked up to the stadium.

"Well? Who do we have here? Come! Introduce yourself!" He said.

"Clair." The newly named Clair said.

"Well, Clair. Do you think you can take down our crowning champ?" The announcer asked.

Clair's only response was to jump up into the air and land on the other side of the arena.

"I guess there's only one way to find out!" He said, walking to the center of the arena.

"Okay! We all know the rules! Only way to win is to shatter the opponents aura or to throw them out of the stadium!" The announcer said.

The black haired warrior on the other side of the stadium pulled out his sword and got into his combat stance.

 _'Seriously? That's his combat stance?'_ Clair thought to herself as she pulled out her rapier.

"Ready? Begin!" He yelled.

The warrior charged at Clair with his sword at his side.

Though as he swung his blade at the iris haired woman, she simply moved to the right to dodge the attack.

 _'W-what the hell?!'_ He thought to himself as he stared at Clair.

The woman was simply pointing her rapier at the man with a smirk on her face.

 _'I couldn't even see her move.'_ He thought to himself.

Clair simply smirked and started to twirl the weapon in her hand.

The man smirked and wiped his mouth with his right hand.

 _'This woman. Heh, maybe I can finally have a decent challenge for once.'_ The man said to himself as he ran towards Clair.

He tried to attack Clair once again, but she was easily able to dodge the attack.

Though Clair once again was able to dodge the attack, appearing behind the man with a smirk on her face.

 _'How in the hell?'_ He asked himself .

Clair simply raised one of her eye brows and started to twirl her blade in her hand.

 _'This woman. Is she a huntress?...No, a huntress wouldn't come to a run down joint like this. Who is she then?'_ He asked himself.

This continued for about a good twenty seconds and at this point, the black haired warrior was starting to get frustrated.

"Yah!" He yelled as he swung his blade at Clair, who simply dodged the attack.

Though after a few more swings, the man was starting to get a little tired after all of the back to back fights she had before.

 _'How...How is she so fast? I can barely see her move!'_ He thought.

He attempted to go in for another attack, though as he did Clair's eyes started to glow with a purple aura, causing a small shock wave of various colored aura to erupt from her body, sending the man flying off of the stage.

.

.

"You said ring out's count, right?" Clair asked.

"..." The announcer just stood there in shock.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said as she walked over to the man.

"Hey, I have a question for you." Clair said as she pulled out her scroll.

"Do you by any chance know who this is?" She asked as she showed the man a photo on her phone.

"Hmm...No, haven't seen someone like that around these parts." He said.

"No luck here either." Clair said as she walked towards the exit of the building.

 _'Who in the hell is she?'_ The man asked himself as Clair walked out of the building.

* * *

 **Clair**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Rapier**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 6'0"**

 **Weight: 164 lbs**

 **Age: 30**

 **Outfit: Black, White, Purple.**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Pale.**

 **Hair Color: Iris.**

 **Eye color: Gray.**

 **Aura Color: Magenta**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Joyeuse**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 89**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 61**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 44**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 24**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	55. Final Day

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Final Day"

Thought: _'Final Day'_

Flashback: _"Final Day"_

"Whew! Wow, Yang hasn't put me through that tough of a work out ever since she found out she got accepted into Beacon." Ruby said as she walked out of the gym completely drenched in sweat from head to toe.

Ever since Yang had found out that the tournament was right around the corner from now, two weeks to be more specific, she had been putting herself and the rest of the team through non stop training sessions.

That also meant that Ruby was back to her hand to hand combat lessons, a lesson that she oh so hated back in the days when Yang was attempting to teach her how to fight with her fists rather than her weapon.

Emphasis on the word attempting because no matter how hard she attempted to learn from Yang, she just couldn't get the basics down due to how acustomed she was to her very own Crescent Rose.

Not that she had a problem with that anyways.

I mean, it was a giant sniper rifle scythe, what more could you ask for in a weapon.

...Well, I guess the obvious answer would to be to have a very powerful spirit tied to the weapon but that's beside the point.

Though relying on a single form of combat has it's own set of weaknesses and strengths.

For one, you would get so accustomed to it that you would basically be able to perform the art of combat as if it were your second nature.

On the other hand, that also means sacrificing any room for development in your combat style.

This weakness is what causes Ruby to loose a certain amount of fights with certain conditions to them.

For example, let's say that she ran into an opponent that was basically a walking tank. It could endure so much damage that it would almost seem like you're not doing anything to them.

Due to how much Ruby relies on her weapon and mobility, if she were to loose her weapon during that fight, she would basically be a sitting duck.

So in turn, this is a habit that Yang is attempting to break out of Ruby.

Though it is proving to be a lot harder than expected, due to the red caped girls stubbornness to stick to her own weapon.

However, as she continues to fight more and more foes, the obvious fact of this weakness becomes all the more visible to her.

Not only that, but the development of her friends is sparking that drive to become stronger herself.

Jaune with his powerful aura semblance, Sage with his various tattoos, and Penny with her new and improved upgrades.

Though the most noticeable one out of the bunch would have to be Brandon himself.

While it took some time for these people to develop, Brandon was always developing, learning more and more about his powers as the days fly by.

She may not have seen the full capabilities of the spirits, but Yang and Blake have during there encounter with Adam and Yang's mother, Raven.

Blake had built Adam up to be this powerful warrior that struck fear into the hearts of so many people.

Yet from what the two of them said, Raven was able to absolutely dominate Adam in the field of battle while having reserves of her own in the end.

If all of the spirits had that much power, than there's no telling how strong Brandon could get during his time in Beacon.

So she needed to catch up.

That means no more comic books, no more video games, and no more cookies.

.

.

Well, at least not as many as before. I mean, a girl has to have her cheat days from time to time.

 _'Still, will I ever be able to get to a level of strength that could rival Brandon's?'_ Ruby asked herself, pinching her chin as she splashed water on her face.

 _'It'll be hard, really hard. Though Brandon has his weaknesses to. The most noticeable one is his short temper that can rival Yang's, maybe even surpass it.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'He's cocky, though not without good reason. I mean, the guy literally has a power house of a ghost inside of his sword. Who wouldn't get a little over confident from time to time?'_ Ruby thought.

 _'I wonder if I can get powers like him?...Nah, that's impossible. I mean, what are the odds of me having a power that could rival Caliber himself? I kinda would have noticed it if I did.'_ The red hooded girl mused to herself as she walked out of the training hall.

 _'...I know that we stopped the breach and prevented any serious damages to the city during the jail break. Not only that but Roman and his niece Neo have joined our side now, that's gotta put us at the advantage during this little battle with the White Fang.'_ Ruby thought, staring up at the sky.

 _'To make our odds even better, her and Brandon seem to have a pretty strong relationship...not in the lovey dovey sense. Just she seems to trust him to most out of all of us. So if she trusts Brandon, then more than likely she'll at least form a reasonable trust with one of us.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Though no matter how hard I try to convince myself that we have the advantage, I always feel like that the bad guys are hiding something from us.'_ Ruby thought to herself, walking over to a field of grass and sitting next to a tree.

 _'It's almost as if they have one more trick up there sleeve. Though what could it be? The White Fang have be relatively quiet recently, it's almost as if things just returned to the good old days.'_ She thought.

 _'While I don't have a problem with that, it was so sudden. No build up, just like that.'_ Ruby thought.

"You seem troubled." A young womans voice said, causing Ruby to jump from the spot she was sitting at.

"Gah!" She yelped, moving a few feet away from the voice.

She turned around to see an unfamiliar woman in a wheel chair of some sort.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that." The woman said.

"N-no, it's fine." Ruby said as she got up and dusted herself off.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. If anything I should be asking you that. I mean, you are in a wheel chair." She said.

"Oh, I've...Well, after the little incident of how I got in this state I guess I haven't had worse." The woman said.

"How did you get into the wheel chair to begin with?" Ruby asked.

"I'm...Not so sure. All the details are fuzzy and unclear." She said.

"Oh! So you're recovering from Amnesia?" She asked.

"Not exactly. I remember everything about my past. My name, home town, parents, everything except for that one incident." The woman said.

"Oh. Well what is your name them?" Ruby asked.

"I'm Amber. What is your name?" Amber asked.

"Ruby! Ruby Rose!" She said.

"Rose? You mean like the late Summer Rose?" She asked.

"...Y-you knew my mother?" Ruby asked.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. Though while I've never met her, I knew of her." Amber said.

"Oh." She said.

"...I'm really sorry." She said.

"No, it's okay." Ruby said.

"...Moving on. So what is someone like you doing all the way out here?" Amber asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you are a huntress in training. Right?" She asked.

"Of course I am! Why else would I be here?" Ruby asked.

"Fair point...though now that I look at you. You seem quite young for your age." Amber said.

"That's because I am! I'm fifteen!" She said, puffing out her chest with pride.

"Ozpin accepted you despite being two years younger?" She asked.

"Yeah, I still don't know why he did that. I mean, I know I stopped a robbery, but I'm sure any other student at signal would have done the same." Ruby said.

Amber narrowed her eyes and stared intently at Ruby's silver eyes.

 _'Hmm, it must be because of her silver eyes. But has she shown any symptoms of it's power yet?'_ She asked herself.

"Tell me something, Ruby." She said.

"What's up?" Ruby asked.

"Have you been experiencing any...strange developments as of recently?" Amber asked.

"What kind of developments are we talking about?" She asked.

"You know. Have you been discovering things about yourself? Things you never thought possible?" She asked.

"Um...Nothing out of the ordinary." Ruby said.

"Hmm, okay. What about trauma." Amber said.

"Like physical?" She asked.

"Emotional." She said.

"Oh, okay. Well...I'd say that I'm pretty happy. I mean sure, my team and I have been through a lot recently, but nothing to major." Ruby said.

 _'So, she hasn't even shown any symptoms of the power awakening. I suppose I should be glad. The way the power awakens would be quite a tragic experience for a girl her age.'_ Amber thought to herself.

"Why do you ask? Do you know why Ozpin let me in?" She asked.

 _'She doesn't even know about her powers. What are Ozpin's plans with this girl?'_ She thought to herself.

"Hello?" Ruby called out.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I wouldn't be able to tell you that, Ruby. Ozpin is just one big mystery." Amber said.

"Yeah, you can say that again." She said.

"So, you seem to know Ozpin fairly well. Were you a student of Beacon?" Ruby asked.

"Well, not exactly." Amber said.

"Then what were you to him?" She asked.

 _'...No, she doesn't need to know of the dangers that may befall. At least not yet.'_ She thought to herself.

"It's complicated. It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with." Amber said.

"Hmm...Okay then." Ruby said.

"So, what about you? The Vytal festival is coming up, as well as the big tournament." She said.

"Yeah! My team and I were one of the few selected teams chose to compete!" She said in an excited tone.

"Well shouldn't you be training hard so that you can carry home the victory for your kingdom?" Amber asked.

"I know! I'm just taking a little break is all. My sister can be a tough teacher when it comes to training though." Ruby said.

"Hmm...Perhaps I can help you with your training?" She asked.

"W-what?! Don't be ridiculous! You're in a wheel chair! You're in no condition to fight!...Who's cooking pork?" She asked.

She looked up to see that one of the hairs on her head was completely consumed by flames.

"Ah! Fire! Fire!" Ruby screamed as she frantically looked for the nearest source or water.

Eventually, she came across one of the small ponds that inhabited the courtyard of Beacon.

Out of panic, she ran towards the pond and jumped head first into it's cold waters.

"Ah!" She gasped as she emerged from the water.

"So, I'm in no condition to fight am I?" Amber asked, rolling the chair up to the fountain.

After shaking the water out of her hair, she looked at Amber with an expression of disbelief.

"That was you?!" Ruby asked.

Amber's only response was to hold up her index finger, causing a small flame to appear on the top of the tip of her finger.

"I may be in a wheel chair, though that doesn't mean that I can't use my powers." She said.

"Wow! That's so cool!" She said.

"Thank you. Besides-." Amber began, slowly getting up from her wheel chair.

"I need to get my strength back anyways." She said.

"Alright! Let's do it!" Ruby said, jumping out of the water and running towards the field.

Amber giggled for a bit before her look of amusement was replaced by a more serious look.

 _"Are you sure that I can use my powers in public?"_ Amber remembered asking to the four people who have been keeping her safe from the enemy.

 _"Well, I recommend you use one specific element rather than using all of them. It can give the illusion of you having a fire manipulation semblance."_ Ozpin said.

 _"What if the enemy finds me?"_ She remembered asking.

 _"In terms of power, you two are equal to one another. Our enemy only has half of of your powers, making them equal to you. However, you have more experience with the power, while at this time, they would have had only two years of experience with there powers."_ Ozpin said.

 _"Not only that but we will have Qrow keep his watchful eye on you just in case the enemy decides to make a move on your life. So rest assured, you will be safe so long as you stay on campus."_ He said.

Amber looked to her right to see Qrow in his bird form watching Amber intently.

 _"That being said, I'd recommend attempting to regain your former strength. If the enemy does have bigger plans for this kingdom in the future than you will need to be prepared to defend it as one of it's guardians."_ Ozpin said.

 _"Will I still be able to access the relic?"_ Amber asked.

 _"Unfortunately, no. You will need to regain the other half of your power to gain access once again. Though on the bright side, the enemy does not have access to it either."_ He said.

Amber looked at her wounded arm and slowly clenched it, her fingers twitching as she closed her hand.

She growled and grabbed her arm to stop it from twitching.

"Hey! Come on slow poke! Let's go!" Ruby called out.

Amber giggled and sat back down onto her wheel chair, rolling over to the red hooded girl.

* * *

"Rha! Yang yelled as she swung her fist at one of the punching bags, causing a small shock wave to appear in the area where she hit.

"Hah, hah, not good enough." Yang said to herself as she started to rapidly hit the punching bag.

After a few more seconds of this, she reeled her fist backwards and punched the punching bag off of it's hanger, the sand falling out of the bag.

"Filis!" Yang called out.

 **"Yes Ms. Xiao Long?"** The A.I unit asked.

"How many bags was that now?" She asked.

 **"According to my calculations. Approximately twenty six bags in total."** Filis said.

"What's my record for how many punches it took to destroy the thing?" Yang asked, wiping her face with a towel.

 ** _"Ten punches."_** She said.

"Not good enough." She said.

 **"You mustn't push yourself so hard, Ms. Xiao Long. According to my timer you have been at this rigorous training routine for about five hours. I recommend taking a forty five minute break so that you may regain your stamina."** Filis said.

"Yeah? Then how am I gonna test my limits?" Yang asked, a smirk growing on her face.

 **"This is unwise"** She said.

"Next bag, let's go." She said.

 **"Very well."** Filis said, causing another bag to be lowered from the ceiling.

Yang cracked her knuckles and started to rapidly punch the punching bag, sweat flying off of her body.

 _'I'll get stronger.'_ Yang thought to herself, giving the bag a left hook.

 _'I will get stronger.'_ She thought, giving the bag a right hook.

 _'I finally met you, after all these years you finally decide to show up.'_ She punched the bag in the center.

 _'You walk into Vale, beat the ever loving crap out of the toughest Faunus in Vale and you don't even have a single thing to say to your own daughter?!'_ Yang's eyes were starting to turn red.

 _'Then what do you do next?! You just up and leave again!'_ She internally yelled.

 _'Well, now Uncle Qrow and dad can't avoid this topic anymore now that I've seen her. Maybe now I can get some solid information on her so that I can find her.'_ Yang thought.

 _'And I will find her, no matter what.'_ She thought.

 _'Then I'll beat the crap out of her.'_ Yang thought, punching the bag once again.

 _'After that I'll drag her back home and make things right.'_ She thought.

 _'Though I need to get stronger. She was able to beat Blake's mentor without even breaking a sweat.'_ Yang thought as she punched the bag, the leather starting to break.

 _'I knew Uncle Qrow said that she was strong, stronger than him, though I didn't think she'd be like that.'_ She thought.

 _'Can I even fight power like that?'_ Yang asked herself, sand starting to fall out of the bag.

 _"Get lost."_ She remembered Raven saying, causing her muscles to freeze up.

"...Rgha!" She cried out as she delivered the final punch to the bag, causing it to fall off of the ceiling.

Yang started to breathe heavily, staring at her shaking palms.

 _'...Damn it! Pull yourself together Yang! She's just one woman!...one really strong woman.'_ Yang thought to herself as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

Though before she could tell Filis to get her another bag, the sound of foot steps cut her off.

"Jeez, you took your sweet time. So, how about we get back to our hand to hand-." She began, only for the sight of a certain ice cream themed girl to cut her off.

She was wearing a sleeveless brown top and white training pants.

.

.

"You." Yang growled.

Neo just raised one of her eye browns and threw the towel that was wrapped around her neck on one of the nearby benches.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

Her only response was to take out a hair band that she had in her pocket.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Yang said.

Neo reached to the back of her hair and started to tie her hair into a pony tail.

Yang growled and started to walk over to her former enemy.

The multi colored girl rolled her eyes and pulled out her scroll, her fingers moving across the screen.

"What are you-?" She began, only for Neo to shove her scroll into Yang's face.

 **"I don't like talking."** She said.

Though before Yang could counter, she scrolled down the screen.

 **"Before you even ask, no, I don't even talk to Brandon."** Neo said as she started to walk towards the training area.

"Then why does he keep you around? He loves to run his mouth about pretty much everything, you'd think he'd want someone who's easier to hold a conversation with." Yang said.

Neo's only response was to wave her scroll up in the air, a new message appearing on the screen.

 **"We still talk. I talk to him like I talk to every other person, including you."** She said.

"Oh...you still haven't answered my earlier question." Yang said.

 **"Gee, what could I possibly be doing at the gym? It couldn't possibly be for training purposes."** Neo said with a deadpanned stare.

"Okay, fine. You've got me there." She said.

Neo rolled her eyes and walked over to the computer tablet that was on the other side of the room.

She pinched her chin for a moment before tapping her fingers on the screen.

As she did this, a punching bag came down from the ceiling, landing right across from Neo.

Neo walked up to the bad and started to eye it.

 _'What is she doing?'_ Yang asked herself.

She took a deep breath and got into her combat position with her eyes closed.

After a few seconds, her eyes shot open and she swung her leg at the sand bag, causing the sand bag to break.

"W-wha-?!" Yang gasped, shocked that someone as small as Neo could destroy the sand bag with a single swing of her leg.

Neo looked at the sand bag with a look of disappointment.

"H-how did you do that?!" She asked.

She looked over to Yang and pulled out her scroll, her fingers lightly tapping on the screen.

 **"I kicked it."** Neo said.

"I can see that! How could someone as small as you get so...strong?" Yang asked, only for the glare of Neo to quickly cut her off.

 _'Well, consider that nerve struck.'_ She thought to herself.

 **"Well, if you must know, my uncle put me through years upon years of training to get this good at combat. As for my physical strength, I'm not really sure how to explain that. Ever since I was a child I was told that I was unnaturally strong for my age and...height."** Neo said.

"So you mean to tell me that you've always had this kind of strength?" Yang asked.

 **"Basically."** She said.

 _'Are you kidding me?!'_ She thought to herself.

 **"You have anything more dense than this?"** Neo asked.

"You try hitting the wall?" Yang asked.

 **"I would but my uncle says that he doesn't want the guy who runs this place to charge him for the damages."** She said.

 _'I was being sarcastic but whatever.'_ She thought.

"So, how the hell does someone with your background make it into Beacon? To be honest I thought the headmaster would launch you off of the cliff the second he learned about your criminal background." Yang said.

 **"That seems a bit over the top."** Neo said.

 _'You have no idea.'_ She thought to herself.

"Seriously, you two are some of Vale's biggest criminals and instead of spending the rest of your life behind bars you get a spot her at the academy. What's so special about you two?" Yang asked.

 **"Umm, have you met me? Who wouldn't want someone like me in there school?"** Neo asked with a smug grin.

 _'Okay, now I can see how Brandon would get along with this girl.'_ She thought to herself.

 **"Besides, Brandon has his way little way with his words. He's part of the reason why my uncle got out in the first place."** She said.

"Why in the heck would Brandon let one of the most dangerous criminals in Vale into the school?" Yang asked.

 **"Hell if I know, I never know what goes on in that brain of his."** Neo said.

 _'Wow, something we can actually agree on.'_ She thought to herself.

"So, how exactly did you two kick it off to begin with?" Yang asked.

Neo pinched her chin and started to type her message on her scroll.

 **"Well, as soon as I laid my eyes on him, I knew that he wasn't exactly normal compared to most men. Even now I've yet to come across anyone who has his charm."** She said.

 _'Charm?'_ Yang asked herself.

 **"To be blunt, the only reason I even associated myself with him is because he amused me."** Neo said.

"He...amused you?" She asked, slightly confused at what she meant by that.

 **"Yeah, he always had this little way of drawing in trouble. It made it so that there was always something going on in his life that would provide me with some form of entertainment."** She said.

Yang stared at Neo with her eyes narrowed but let her continue.

 **"Though over time, he managed to wiggle his way into my life. He managed to help me with a lot of my troubles, and even offered me a chance to get my life in check."** Neo said.

"So are you his new partner or something?" She asked.

 **"That's what I've gathered."** She said.

"Huh, two man team. That's new. What would your team name even be?" Yang asked.

 **"I don't know. Don't really care either."** Neo said.

"So, what do you mean he helped you with your troubles?" She asked.

After a few moments of silence, Neo started to type her response into her scroll.

 **"Well, let's leave it at this. He gave me a purpose, a goal that I want to fulfill."** She said.

 _'...Wait.'_ Yang thought to herself.

"Do you like him?" She asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Neo started to type her message into her scroll.

 **"Yeah, though not in the way you think."** She said.

"Oh yeah? How do I know you're not lying?" Yang asked.

 **"You don't."** Neo said.

"Tch, you've got an attitude on you, ya know that?" She said.

 **"Have you met me?"** She asked.

"Tch, can't argue with that I guess." Yang said.

 **"Now, if you really want to talk to someone who will freak out about this topic then just talk to the mint about the topic."** She said.

"Who?" Yang asked.

 **"You know, green hair, dark skin, red eyes. Am I ringing any bells?"** Neo asked.

"Hmm...you mean Emerald, right?" She asked.

 **"Yeah, her."** She said.

"Right...wait, Emerald likes Brandon to?" Yang asked.

 **"It's obvious. The dance, the way she acts around him, it's pretty obvious that she has a thing for him."** Neo said.

"...How the hell did I not see it at the dance?!" She asked herself.

 **"You should tell Brandon about Emerald."** She said.

"Why would I do that?" Yang asked.

 **"I'll find it hilarious."** Neo said.

"You're just a little devil, aren't you?" She asked.

 **"I don't appreciate the small comment but yeah."** She said.

"So, do you think he'll ever feel the same way about her? I mean, she'll eventually get impatient and make a move on her, you know?" Yang asked, her gossipy side starting to come out.

 _'Trust me. I'll make sure she doesn't.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 **"Doubt it. He seems more focused on beating up criminals than picking up girls."** She said.

"You're a criminal though." She said.

 **"That may be true. Though who could hurt such a pretty face?"** Neo asked with a smug grin.

"I could." Yang said.

 **"Like you could even touch me."** She said.

"Is that a challenge?" She asked.

 **"No, it's a fact."** Neo said.

"Hmm...maybe you're right." Yang said.

Though before Neo could type her message into her scroll, Yang spoke up with a big grin on her face.

"How could I hit something that's so short?" She asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Neo started to glare at Yang.

 **"Arena. Now."** Neo said as she started to walk towards one of the doors.

"Arena's that way." Yang said with a grin.

Neo silently growled and started to walk towards the direction where Yang was pointing at.

Yang chuckled to herself and followed the ice cream themed girl.

After a few minutes of walking later, the two eventually arrived at the arena.

"So, you wanna use weapons or...?" She asked.

Neo's only response was to get into her hand to hand combat stance with a serious look on her face.

"Ah, the good old fashion way, or in other words, my way." Yang said, slamming her fists together.

 **"Please place your scrolls onto the console."** Filis said.

The two lady's pulled out there scrolls and placed them onto the console.

 **"Analysis complete. The match between Ms. Politan and Ms. Xiao Long will begin shortly."** Filis began as the pictures of Neo and Yang appeared onto the screen above.

"Just so you know, it won't be like the last time we fought." She said.

"..."

"Right, you can't exactly talk anymore, now can you?" Yang asked.

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She said.

 **"Begin!"** Filis called out, causing Yang to charge head first at Neo.

She reeled her fist back and prepared to punch the ice cream themed girl across the face, though as her fist came into contact with Neo's body, she shattered into glass.

"Okay, guess I never said anything about semblances." Yand said, her eyes darting around the arena in attempts to find Neo.

Once a figure of Neo appeared across from Yang, she started to charge at it.

Though before she could even reach her, another copy of Neo appeared right next to her.

Then another one appeared from across the room.

Soon enough, there were at least six copies of Neo scattered across the room.

 _'Focus Yang. Only one of them can be the real one.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'Aaaand the lucky winner is...you!"_ Yang internally yelled, rushing towards one of the copies.

Though as she punched the copy, it shattered into tiny pits of glass.

"Damn it." She cursed.

However, before she could go one the offensive once again, Neo appeared right behind her and swept her leg under her feet, causing Yang to fall into the ground.

 _'She's quick. Though I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from the niece of Roman.'_ Yang thought.

She quickly looked around the room to see only one singular figure of Neo at the center of the room.

 _'Heh, now that has to be the real one!'_ She thought as she ran towards her opponent.

Though as her fist made contact with Neo, she shattered into little pieces of glass once again.

"W-what the-?!" She began, only for Neo to kick her across the back, causing her to go flying across a few feet.

 _'Damn it! I was sure that she was the real one!'_ Yang thought.

Neo raised one of her eye brows and motioned her opponent forward with her right hand.

Yang growled and charged at Neo once again, though instead of shattering into glass, Neo punched Yang in the throat with her right hand.

"Gah!" She gasped, moving a few feet away from Neo.

 _'Calm down Yang. You can't let her get to you now.'_ Yang thought to herself as she took a deep breath and exhaled, causing her eyes to revert back to there original color.

Once she opened her eyes, she could see that various copies of her opponent were scattered across the room.

 _'Well, if we're gonna use our semblances.'_ She began as she slammed her fists together, causing a bright gold aura to form around her.

 _'Let's see how you like this!'_ Yang though, jumping up into the air and reeling her fist backwards.

Though before she could hit the ground, Neo was right there to meet her with another kick of her leg.

Yang grunted as she landed on the ground, clenching the area where Neo had struck her.

 _'Kicks. Why is it always kicks?'_ She asked, shaking her head violently to regain her composure.

 _'Okay Yang, think. She has some sort of illusion semblance that allows her to make multiple copies of herself. Not only that but she has some sort of teleportation semblance. That would explain how she was able to react to my strikes so quickly.'_ Yang thought.

 _'So, let's try this.'_ She thought as she rushed towards Neo.

Though as soon as she was face to face with her, she closed her eyes.

Neo went in for another kick, though what caught her off guard was the fact that Yang was actually able to block this one.

"Surprised?" She asked, throwing her fist at Neo, causing her to jump back a bit.

 _'Now I've got her!'_ Yang thought as she swung her fist at Neo, causing a little scratch mark to appear on her cheek.

Neo's eyes narrowed, causing her to give Yang another swift kick.

Though once again, Yang was able to block it this time with her own leg.

Neo attempted to teleport to her right, though Yang was right there to meet her with an attack of her own.

The punch landed, causing Neo to move back a bit.

"Heh, I've got you all figured out now." Yang said.

Neo looked up at Yang and started to silently growl, her hand covering the area on her arm where Yang had struck.

 _'That was only after a few attacks. Guess that means even little miss smug over here has weaknesses of her own.'_ Yang thought.

The two stood there for a few moments before Yang charged at Neo once again.

As her fist made contact with her body, she shattered into glass, causing Yang to spin her head behind her to block the oncoming attack.

Once Neo was in plain view, Yang swung her fist at her opponent. Though Neo used her semblance again to get behind her.

She punched Yang in her spine, causing Yang to cringe a bit.

Though she was able to recover quickly, swinging her fist at Neo once again.

Neo used her semblance once again, though Yang was able to quickly turn around to counter her attack.

Yang shouted and punched Neo across the face, causing her to slide across the ground.

 _'That had to have done some damage.'_ Yang thought as she glanced over to her right to see that she had the advantage in aura.

"So how's that? Gonna start taking me seriously now?" She asked.

Neo's only response was to wipe away the dirt that had started to form on her cheek.

"Heh." Yang chuckled.

Neo closed her eyes, taking a deep breathe before exhaling. Once she opened her eyes, Yang could see that both of her eyes were gray.

 _'What's with her eyes?'_ She asked herself.

Neo reeled her fist backwards, though she was nowhere near Yang for the attack to reach.

 _'Does she expect to hit me from that far awa-!'_ She began to think, only for her thought process to be cut off as Neo suddenly appeared in front of her and punched her across the face.

Yang swung her fist at the girl, though instead of using her semblance, she simply dodged the attack with her own reflexes.

Neo grabbed Yang's arm with both of her hands and threw her to the ground, Yang feeling the full force of the fall in her back.

Yang growled and quickly moved backwards to avoid any further punishment from her opponent.

Though Neo used her semblance to appear behind her before kicking her at the top of her neck with her right leg.

Yang clenched her teeth a bit but swung her fist at the area where Neo had attacked.

However, Neo was able to quickly move behind Yang once again with the power of her semblance.

Seeing this before, Yang turned around and swung her fist at her opponent.

Though what she didn't expect was for Neo to teleport again, appearing behind her and slamming her fist onto her back.

 _'S-she's getting faster.'_ Yang thought to herself as she swung her fist behind her once again, causing Neo to appear behind her.

Though instead of landing another attack, Yang was able to swing her leg at Neo, causing her to move back a couple of feet.

 _'Guess that means I need to step up my game.'_ She thought, wiping away the dirt on her lips.

Once the dust had cleared up, Neo stared at Yang with a serious look on her face.

Yang started to chuckle, causing a faint smile to appear on Neo's face.

"Come on." Yang challenged as she charged towards Neo once again with a grin on her face.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Jeez, how hard can one woman be to find?!" I asked, pushing the various branches and bushes aside as I continued to look for Summer.

Seriously! She was there this morning, now all of a sudden she's just gone!

Don't tell me she just bailed on me at the last second! I swear to god I'm gonna have a few choice words for her if I ever meet her again.

 _ **"Calm yourself. Let us not jump to conclusions. Perhaps she is merely taking a morning stroll before she trains you once again."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, well she better have one hell of a training plan for today, because I'm running out of time at the moment. The Vytal festival is right around the corner and I can't be under prepared, especially for when I have to fight a certain individual.

 _ **"Ah, right, the False Maiden. If I remember correctly she kills two of your friends during the events of the festival. Not only that but the blonde one became crippled after her hasty actions against the Bull."**_ He said.

I wasn't talking about Cinder.

 _ **"Oh?"**_ Caliber said.

.

.

 _ **"Ah, so you intend to fight the Spartan."**_ He said.

Words won't get to her, so I have to use brute force in order to stop her from making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

 _ **"While this would be the best method in order to ensure her survival, this method will be frowned upon by your allies, especially the one who holds her affections."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, well I'm used to pissing people off. What's a few more times gonna do? At least this way she'll live and hopefully learn from the little experience.

 _ **"And if she doesn't?"**_ He asked.

Then I'll beat it into her again and again until she finally gets it.

 _ **"Hmm, and what exactly do you hope for her to learn from all of this?"**_ Caliber asked.

Live.

Live and fight another day. By living you prevent your loved ones from truly suffering.

 ** _"After that, we go and search for the rest of the wielders, correct?"_** Caliber asked.

That's the plan as of this moment, hopefully I can get Emerald and Mercury to see that Cinder will more than likely kill her after the fall is over before they bite the dust.

 _ **"Hmm, well if my memory from one of your memories is correct then the Thief and the Butcher survive even after the fall."**_ He said.

That's because she more than likely needed them for her own survival. Remember that Ruby beat up Cinder pretty badly when the death of Pyrrha caused her powers to awaken.

If my plan doesn't get flipped upside down, then Pyrrha won't ever die and Ruby would have no reason to run up the tower.

Meaning Cinder would have no reason to keep Mercury and Emerald around.

Even now it's not exactly certain that Pyrrha will have to go up the tower in the first place, she doesn't know about the truth behind the maidens anymore.

Now that Amber's awake Ozpin has no reason to find another host for her powers.

The only way Pyrrha will ever know about Cinder or the maidens powers is if Amber flat out told her.

To make a long story short, the awakening of Amber guarantees that a few of the events of volume three won't go down the same way as they did in the show.

A lot is riding on Roman and convincing Cinder that he's a double agent in the academy of Beacon. Not only that but he actually needs to get Cinder to admit that she will just flat out kill Emerald and Mercury.

As much as it's going to hurt Emerald, she and Mercury have to know that Cinder see's them as nothing more than disposable tools for a goal she wants to reach.

 _ **"Though learning the truth will spark the flame of rebellion in there hears, eventually turning into a raging inferno, and quite soon our dear False Maiden will realize that her greatest assets will now be her greatest adversaries."**_ Caliber said.

That's the plan. You know, I've been meaning to ask you, why do you want to help me in the first place?

 ** _"I don't follow."_** He said.

I mean, when you made the contract with me, you said that you would help me reach my desire for freedom. Though in exchange I had to let you wreck havoc to your hearts content.

What exactly does that mean to you anyways?

 ** _"You wish to know my motives?"_** Caliber asked.

If you want to shorten it down then yeah, I want to know why you even want to stick with me in the first place.

 ** _"Well, if you are expecting a complicated motive on my part then I may disappoint you in the end. My motives are rather simple when you break it down."_** He said.

Okay, and those motives would be...?

 ** _"I, am a gentlemen. If you are going to be rude, then it is my job as a gentlemen to teach you some manners. Whether you see it or not, and I'm sure that you of all people know that you tend to attract people who tend to be short on manners. It is my job to be there teacher."_** Caliber said.

So you just want teach people some manners?

 ** _"That's the gist of it, yes. I did say that it was rather simple."_** He said.

Yeah, I know. I just didn't expect it to only take a few sentences to explain is all.

Though before we could continue our conversation, I could see Summer's pure white cloak in the distance.

"Finally! Jeez you could at least warn me before you just up and...leave?" I said, only for the feeling of confusion to wash over me as I saw just what Summer was doing.

She was in some sort of meditation position, her legs crossed and her hands on her knees.

Though that's not what confused me. What started to confuse me was the fact that Summer was floating in the air, a white aura surrounding her entire body.

Her hair and cloak were also flowing like they were being blown by some sort of wind.

How the hell is she doing that?

"Is something wrong, Brandon?" Summer asked.

What?! How did she...You know what? I don't care.

"How are you doing that? Is it part of the power of your spirits?" I asked.

"Nope." She said.

"Then how are you doing that?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure as to why the floating happens, though I do know how it happens." Summer said.

"Okay, so how do you do this?" I asked.

"Meditation." She said.

.

.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's basically it." Summer said.

"That can't be it, there has to be more to it than meditation." I said.

"I don't know what to tell you. All I did was sit and think." She said.

"...So, you think I can do that?" I asked.

"If you spend ten years by yourself then maybe." Summer said.

"Oh, great." I said sarcastically.

"Though with you, it would most likely take more time. You have a lot of tension on your shoulders." She said.

"Oh, well isn't that fantastic?" I asked.

"Hmm...twenty, maybe thirty years at least." Summer said.

"Anyways, what do you think about anyways?" I asked.

"Well, when you spend ten years with the only company being two voices in your head, you tend to think about a lot of things." Summer said.

"Can you give me an example?" I asked.

Summer took a deep breath and exhaled, turning towards me without hitting the ground.

"Over the past ten years, I've had the chance to think about...well everything." She said.

"Everything that's happened. Raven leaving, Ozpin, Salem, and my little girls life before I...died in a sense." Summer said.

"I've been reflecting on the past, about everything that's happened with our team, and it's falling out." She said.

"Now, I know people say that it's not good to dwell on the past. Though a decade of solitude get's a person thinking about there past experiences." Summer said.

"Okay, so what exactly were you attempting to find through remembering the past?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." She said.

After a few moments of silence, I eventually spoke up.

"So, is the past the only thing you were thinking about?" I asked.

"No, of course not. I've also been thinking about the future. I always wonder how everyone back at home is doing." Summer said.

"I wonder how exactly Ruby handled my death. I wonder whether or not she was able to cope with it in a proper and healthy way." She said.

"...Well, Ruby and I are pretty familiar with each other. So if you'd like, I can tell you about how Ruby has been holding up over the years." I said. "I mean sure, I may not know everything about her, but I can try to give you as much detail as I can." I said.

Summer chuckled and nodded.

"I would appreciate that very much." Summer said.

"Alright, so where do you want me to start?" I asked.

"Hmm...well how about you tell me about how Yang is doing these days?" She asked.

"Wait, I thought you wanted to know about Ruby?" I asked.

"I do, though if my math is right then she's still not old enough to get into Beacon. So the only way you would have known about my daughter Ruby is through Yang." Summer said.

...Right, she doesn't know yet.

"Heh, about that." I began.

"What is it?" She asked.

"You see, Ozpin let Ruby in two years earlier than originally intended." I said.

"...What?" Summer asked as she lowered herself to the ground.

"I'm assuming this is due to the Silver Eye'd power, right?" I asked.

"That's the only reason I can think of." She said.

"How come I wasn't accepted a few years earlier due to my Silver Eyes?!" Summer asked.

"Well you didn't wield a giant sniper rifle scythe like she does." I said.

"Still! That doesn't excuse the fact that...wait, did you just say scythe?" She asked.

"Yeah, not exactly like Qrow's but fairly similar." I said.

Summer blinked a couple of times before she started to chuckle.

"She would take after him. Ruby did idolize Qrow when she was a child." She said. "Though I doubt that his semblance made it easy for everyone back home." Summer said with a saddened expression on her face.

"Uh, okay. So what do you mean he couldn't stick around Patch? What was up with his semblance?" I asked.

...What? I was only around for the beginning of volume four, excuse me for not knowing.

"His semblance...it isn't like other semblances in the world of Remnant. It isn't something that he uses, it's always there. No matter how much he wishes he can turn it off." Summer said.

"He brings misfortune." She said.

"That's a bit mean, don't ya think?" I asked.

"No, that's literally his semblance. He brings misfortune to those around him, even friends and family." Summer said.

So is that why you told me to keep my guard up around Qrow?

 _ **"Yes, while he may not have any hostile intent towards you, his semblance is another case entirely."**_ Caliber said.

"Didn't think a semblance like that could exist." I said.

"Neither did I. That is until I met Qrow." She said.

"Guess it makes sense why he's always out on solo missions." I said.

"Yeah. It's both a curse and a blessing at the same time." Summer said.

"Are you mad at him for not being there to support Tai and all that?" I asked.

"Of course I am. Though I understand why he would want to keep his distance from them." She said.

"Yeah. Now I get why Ozpin keeps him in close contact." I said.

"Heh, so anyways. How is my daughter's training going?" Summer asked.

"Well, when it comes to combat she's in the top ten when it comes to the first years." I said.

"Really? That's good to hear. Glad to hear that my daughter is a successful fighter." She said."Anyways, do you have any pictures of my daughter on your scroll? I'm dying to know what she looks like after all these years!" She said.

"You haven't seen her?" I asked.

Summer shook her head as a response, causing me to shrug and pull out my scroll from my pocket.

"Okay let's see here...no...no...need to delete that one later." I mumbled the last part.

"Ah! Here we go." I said as I gave Summer my scroll.

She quickly grabbed the scroll and stared at the picture.

While in terms of dignity, it wasn't exactly the greatest picture in my gallery.

It was a photo of all the members of team RWBY gathered around the couch, pointing at me while I was asleep with various markings on my face.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Everyone else does." I said.

.

.

"Summer?" I called out, turning towards Summer.

I looked up to see that Summer was covering her mouth, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Are those tears of a proud parent of tears of laughter?" I asked.

Summer giggled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Sorry about that. It's just that...my baby girl is growing up to be a beautiful young woman." She said. "Oh! Is that Yang?! My goodness I knew she would look like Raven growing up but that's piratically a spitting image of her!...Actually, her hair is more curlier than Raven's." Summer said.

"And from what I can see, they're quite the artists." She said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, laugh it up." I grumbled.

"Though I don't recognize these two. Are these there teammates?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, this one over here is Blake Belladonna. That's Yang's partner." I said.

"Blake, huh? Lovely name. I hope the two are getting along." She said.

"Well...they had a rough start. Though they're fine now." I said.

"That's good. So who is this girl with the white hair?" Summer asked.

Oh here we go.

"That's Weiss...Weiss Schnee." I said, causing Summer to drop my scroll.

"I'm sorry did you just say Schnee?" Summer asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"...Ho boy, I can already picture Qrow's reaction to that." She said.

"Same here." I said as I picked up my scroll.

Though before we could continue our conversation, the sky started to get darker.

We looked up to see a giant flying stadium hovering directly above us.

"Ah, right. It's that time of year again." Summer said.

"That's the stadium they're using for the tournament, right?" I asked.

"Yep, that's the same one they used for years." She said as she got up.

"Come on, let's hit the road." Summer said.

"Wait, what do you mean 'let's hit the roar'? Where are we going?" I asked.

"To your final training session with me. The one that will put the full extent of your powers to the test." She said.

"Final Training?...What are you on about now?" I asked.

"I'm saying I'm going to do as I promised, I'm going to turn you into a real force of nature." Summer said as she continued to walk.

"Okay, but where are we going?" I asked.

"To Vytal." She said.

"...Like the tournament?" I asked.

"No, not the tournament. I'm trying to stay hidden, remember?" She asked.

"Okay, though that can only mean that we're-." I began.

"Going to the continent Vytal." Summer said.

"Isn't it like across the ocean or something?" I asked.

"It's not that far." She said as she pulled out a map.

"See, we're right here." Summer said as she pointed at the mountain that was directly next to the ocean side that bordered Sanus and Vytal.

"We should be able to get there by night fall if we move now." She said.

"Okay, but why are we going there in the first place?" I asked.

"To visit an old friend of mine." Summer said, her eye's starting to flare with a silver aura.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"Yah!" Ruby yelled as she dodged another one of Amber's flames.

 _'Hmm, she's fast for someone her age.'_ She thought to herself as she shot another fire ball at Ruby.

Though Ruby was able to dodge the attack, causing a small fire to start in a small patch of grass.

"Oh! My bad." Amber said as she closed her eyes.

After a few seconds, the flames eventually withered away and died.

Amber started to breathe a little heavier than usual, her right hand starting to shake once again.

She growled and gripped her arm, causing it to stop shaking.

 _'Come on Amber. You need to get it together. How are you supposed to stop the one who took half of your powers when you're starting to lose control of it yourself?'_ She asked herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Amber looked to her right to see that a bird formed Qrow watching over her with his head tilted sideways.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's keep going." She said.

"You sure? If you're getting tired then we can take a little break." She said.

"Trust me, I'm okay." Amber said.

"Hmm, okay. Though just tell me if you're starting to get tired." Ruby said.

She nodded and started to form a ball of fire in the palm of her hands.

 _'Okay, let's try this again.'_ Amber thought to herself as she started to fire more fireballs at Ruby.

The red hooded girl was able to dodge the flames at increasingly fast speeds, Amber controlling the flames so that they didn't set the entire field of grass on fire.

She fired another fire ball, Ruby dodging the attack once again.

 _'Hmm, her fire balls are getting bigger. Maybe this is a sign that she's regaining her strength.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

While Amber was indeed helping Ruby control the level of speeds that she uses with each leap forward, she was also helping Amber regain her former power.

It was a win win for her, she was able to help someone in need while developing her own skills in the process.

Amber stood there for a couple of seconds before firing another fireball at Ruby.

Ruby dodged this attack, leaving a few rose petals behind her as she dashed to the side.

 _'Okay, I'm starting to get the hand of this now.'_ Amber thought, firing another fireball at Ruby.

Or at least she attempted to form a fire ball, instead forming a full on blast of fire that went speeding towards Ruby.

"Whoa!" Ruby yelled, dashing to the side.

Amber started to breathe even more heavily, her hands falling to her knees and sweat dropping down her head.

"Wow! That was awesome! It's like your a human flamethrower! Though, it would be nice if you could warn me before you decided to do that." She said.

"R-right. S-sorry." Amber said.

"Uh...maybe we should take a little break for now." Ruby said.

"Y-yeah." Amber said, walking back over to her chair.

Meanwhile, Qrow had landed to a near by tree so that he could transform back into his bird form.

 _'Looks like Amber's starting to get her powers back. Though from the looks of it she doesn't have the stamina to handle it quite yet.'_ Qrow thought to himself.

 _'Glad she ran into Ruby. She at least has a general idea on what's going on in the world right now.'_ He thought.

 _'Still, if Amber is going to go up against the False Maiden, then she's gonna have to step up her game.'_ Qrow thought.

The sound of Qrow's scroll ringtone broke him from his thoughts however.

"Hmm?" He hummed, pulling out the communications device.

A message was seen on the screen, causing a small grin to form on Qrow's face.

"Heh, about time he showed up." He said, typing his message into his scroll.

 _"You know, if these guys were able to beat Amber at her full strength then I'm not so sure if it would be smart to have just one huntsmen guarding her."_ Qrow remembered telling Ozpin.

 _"What do you propose we do? All of our staff will be too busy preparing the tournament."_ He remembered Ozpin saying.

 _"How about I call in another huntsmen? He may not be what he was like in his prime, but hey, he's better than nothing. At least I'll have a better chance if he's around."_ He said.

 _"Here I thought you preferred to work alone."_ Ozpin said.

 _"Well the situation calls for a little more fire power and he's the strongest huntsmen I can think of at the moment."_ Qrow said.

 _"Hmm, very well. If you believe that he will be capable of handling this job then by all means, see if he can assist us in Amber's protection."_ Ozpin said.

 _"Yeah, from what he's told me he's been training ever since Yang and Ruby left for Beacon. Hopefully he's getting closer to what he was like back in his prime."_ He remembered saying.

Once Qrow had finished typing his message, he leaned on the tree he was hiding under and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes of waiting, the sound of a familiar voice brought him back to reality.

"Hey! Over here!" He heard someone say.

Qrow looked up to see a man with blond hair that had two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes.

The mans facial hair consisted of a soul patch and a small stubble along his jawline.

On the right arm of the man was a tattoo similar to a heart.

He wore brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandanna on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off.

For armor, he wore a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown finger-less glove, all on his right arm.

"Heh, been a while, Tai." Qrow said with a chuckle.

"Sure has." He said, as he held out one of his hands.

Qrow gripped his hand and started to shake it, the grip between the two men getting tighter.

"Well, looks like someone's been catching up for lost time." He said as he opened and closed his hands.

"Yeah, I've got a lot of time on my hands now that I don't have to house two teenage girls." Tai said with a chuckle.

"...It's good to see you." Qrow said.

"Same, you know, I was genuinely surprised when you asked me for help. Reminds me of the good old days." He said with a grin on his face.

"Heh, you got that right." He said.

"So, where is this person you were telling me about?" Tai asked.

Qrow pointed in the direction where Amber and Ruby were taking there little break.

Tai looked behind the tree to see Ruby sitting on the railing of the fountain as she talked to Amber.

"Hey! Ruby!" Tai called out, causing Ruby's head to shoot up.

"Dad?" She asked.

After a few seconds, a large smile could be seen on Ruby's face as she saw her father walking towards her.

"Dad!" Ruby yelled as she ran over to Tai.

"Hey! How's my little girl doi-!" He began, only to be cut off as Ruby slammed her body onto his stomach.

"Oof!" He breathed as he stumbled back a bit.

Though he was eventually able to regain his footing once again.

"Whoa, you sure pack more of a punch since the last time I saw you." Tai said.

"This is so awesome!...and Uncle Qrow is here to?!" She screamed.

"Hey kiddo." Qrow said as he extended his right arm, causing Ruby to run up and attach herself to her uncle's strong arm.

"Ah! This is amazing!" She said, kicking her feet as she dangled from her uncle's arm.

"I know! All we need now is for Yang to come here and it'll be like one big family reunion." Tai said.

"Did you miss me?! Did you miss me?!" Ruby asked.

"I saw you yesterday." Qrow said.

"I know, but that felt so long ago! That's way to long to be away from your favorite niece, don't you agree?" She asked.

Tai and Qrow looked at each other and nodded with smirks on there faces.

"Nope." They both said in unison.

"W-what?!" Ruby asked.

"...Kidding." They both said as Qrow ruffled Ruby's hair with his free hand.

"Hello...Umm, I'm so sorry, what was your name again?" Amber asked Qrow.

"Qrow. I'm one of your body guards." He said.

"Body guards?" Ruby asked.

"This here is Tai, starting today he's going to be another one of your body guards." He said.

"Hi there! Taiyang Xiao Long! Pleasure to meet ya!" He greeted, extending his right hand so that he could shake Amber's.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Tai." She said as she shook Tai's hand.

"So is that why you're here? Your her body guard?" Ruby asked.

"That's right. Qrow here told me that he needed a little hand with this job." He said.

"Wow, the guys that are after you must be pretty strong, huh Amber?" She asked.

"...W-wait! How do you know about what happened?!" Tai asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that to." Qrow said with his eyes narrowed.

"Amber told me." Ruby said.

"Did she now?" He asked.

"Uh...sorry." Amber said.

"Yeah, honestly why go through all the trouble of keeping this all a secret when you're just going to flat out tell everyone?" Qrow asked.

While both Qrow and Amber knew why keeping this all a secret was important, Tai and Ruby were confused as to why she was so important in the first place.

"So, why exactly are people after her in the first place?" Tai asked.

"I'll explain that later. Somewhere more private." Qrow said.

Tai shrugged his shoulders and turned towards his daughter.

"So, where's Yang anyways? I would have thought you two would be training for the tournament and all." He said.

"Oh! Last time I checked she was back in the training room." Ruby said.

"Well, how about we go and surprise her?" Tai asked.

"That sounds awesome! She'll be so excited that our dad is...you're staying for the tournament, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. That way I'll get to see how much you two have grown." He said.

"Great! Let's go tell her!" Ruby said as she started to run towards the gym.

"Hey! Ruby!" Tai called out.

"Hmm? What's up dad?" She asked.

"Would you mind pushing Amber for us? I wanna have a little talk with Qrow." He said.

"Oh! Sure thing dad!" Ruby said, walking towards Amber's chair and taking the handles.

As soon as Tai was certain that Ruby was far enough away from the duo, he turned to Qrow with a serious expression on his face.

"So...was she actually here?" Tai asked.

"Was wondering when you would bring that up." Qrow said.

"Yeah, well it's better to get it out of the way." He said.

"Right, and to answer your question, yes, she was here." He said.

"Where is she now?" Tai asked.

"Not sure, I didn't actually see her." Qrow said.

"Then how do you know-?" He began.

"Yang, on the other hand, finally met Raven." He said, causing Tai to freeze on the spot.

"S-she did?" He asked.

"Yep, after Monty knows how long." Qrow said.

"Did she say anything to her?" Tai asked.

"Not really. She wasn't really interested in having a chat with her." He said.

"Right. Well, I'm glad to see that some parts of her haven't changed." He said.

"If it does help, she did at least say a few words to Yang...sure they weren't exactly nice words but it was something." Qrow said.

"What did she say?" Tai asked.

"Get lost." He said.

"...Oh." He said.

"Yeah, like I said, not exactly the nicest choice of words." Qrow said.

"Is she okay?" Tai asked.

"She's a tough one, though she's bound to have questions for you now that she's finally met Raven." He said.

"Heh, well I guess it was only a matter of time." He said.

Though before the two could finish there conversation, they had arrived at the front of the gym.

"Wow, guess they remodeled it since the last time I was here." Tai said.

However, as the two were about to enter through the front door, Ruby came out from the gym with Amber.

"Where's Yang? I thought she was supposed to be in the gym." He said.

"Well, she was supposed to but I can't seem to find her anywhere." Ruby said.

The red hooded girl was about to call her sister, though the sound of an explosion quickly cut her off.

"...Found her." She said as she pointed at the arena.

The four made there way over to the arena, the noises starting to get louder and more frequent.

"Jeez, who or what is she fighting?" Ruby asked.

As soon as they walked into the arena, Ruby's eye's widened as she saw who exactly Yang was fighting.

"Yah!" Yang yelled as she swung her fist at Neo, though before it could make contact the girl blinked away.

Though as Neo appeared behind Yang, she swung her fist at the tiny girl, causing her to blink away once again.

"Oh are you-? Why is she fighting her of all people?" Ruby asked.

"Who is that Ruby?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, bit lost here as well." Qrow said.

"You know how Roman got a job here at Beacon?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, what?!" Tai yelled.

"Dad?!" Yang called out, causing Neo to appear behind her and kick across the face.

"Gah! Hey! That was a cheap shot!" She yelled, rubbing the area where Neo had hit her.

"Yeah, I knew about that. Not sure what was in Oz's coffee when he made that decision." Qrow said.

"And you know how he brought his niece with him?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, so that's her...not seeing the resemblance." He said.

"Wait, Roman has a niece?" Tai asked.

"Apparently." Qrow said.

Neo appeared behind Yang and swung her foot at her back, though Yang was able to catch the attack and throw her body across the room.

"So why are they fighting exactly?" Tai asked.

"Let's just say that the two don't exactly get along to well." Ruby said.

Neo appeared in front of Yang and attempted to strike once again, though Yang countered with an attack of her own.

The small girl growled and appeared above Yang in attempts to kick her in her collarbone.

Though Yang was quick to counter by doing a pele kick, hitting Neo across the face.

"Huh, that's new." Qrow said.

"Should I stop her before she...you know, destroys the entire arena?" Ruby asked.

"No. Not yet." Tai said.

"...Uh, dad, are you feeling okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetheart. Though take a good look at Yang." He said.

Ruby looked over at Yang to see that she was still parrying, dodging, and tanking every hit that Neo had given her.

"Okay, not really sure what to look for here." Ruby said.

"Look at her eyes." Tai said.

Ruby tilted her head and stared intently at Yang's eyes. Eventually, she saw exactly what her father was seeing.

"They're not turning red." Ruby said.

"Yeah, and if what you said about that girl is true, then she should have plenty of reasons to get mad." She said.

"Though right now, she's keeping a level head and not letting her anger get the best of her." Tai said with a proud smirk on her face.

Qrow stood there in silence for a moment before he started to let out a light chuckle.

"Heh, well look at that. She's finally getting the hang of it." Qrow said.

"The hang of what?" Ruby asked.

"She's finally learning how to control her anger." Tai said.

Yang swung her fist at Neo, though the small girl was able to dodge the attack and kick Yang straight across the face.

"Heh, is that all you...got?" Yang asked, though her tone got dangerously low as she saw a small strand of hair fall down from the air.

"...You...You bitch!" She screamed, launching herself towards Neo.

Though Neo merely smirked blinked above Yang, digging her feet into her back and sending her flying towards the ground, causing her aura to shatter.

A loud siren rang throughout the room and the words winner could be seen on the screen with a picture of Neo above the golden words.

"Well, baby steps I guess." Tai said with a chuckle, moving towards the arena's railing and jumping over it.

"Ugh...damn it. Just when I was finally getting the hang of her semblance." Yang said as she laid on the hard ground.

"I gotta say, you did really well out there." He said as he stood over his daughter.

"Heh, the hell are you doing here, old man?" She asked with a chuckle.

"I'm here for a job. Also here to watch my two favorite girls kick ass in the tournament." Tai said.

"Well, you're in for a treat then." Yang said.

The blonde brawler stood up and faced Neo with a grin on her face.

"Don't think I'm through with you yet. Next time we fight, I'll be the one coming out on top." Yang said.

Neo raised her right eyebrow and smirked, picking up her scroll as she walked out of the arena.

"So, it's been nearly a whole year since I last saw you two. So how about you catch me up to speed?" Tai asked.

"Heh, you might wanna sit down. A lot has happened ever since Ruby and I left for Beacon." Yang said.

Though as the duo started to go back and forth, Neo was standing right around the corner with her scroll in her hand.

She stood there looking at the messages she had been sending Brandon ever since he had left.

 _'Why the hell hasn't he been responding? It's as if he just flat out disappeared once he left Vale.'_ Neo thought to herself.

 _"Do you like him?"_ Yang's question rang through Neo's mind, causing a slight blush to appear on her cheeks.

 _'What kind of trouble are you getting yourself into now?'_ Neo asked herself.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"What kind of trouble did we just get ourselves into?" I asked as the boat we were taking had made it to the land of the island of Vytal.

"Trust me. What we're about to face is going to be unlike anything you have ever fought before." Summer said, jumping out of the boat and onto the land.

"Normally I would just take that as a challenge, though this isn't one of those cases." I said, staring intently at the island.

"Oh? Is that so?" She asked.

"Yeah, I don't really know what it is about this island. I've faced down the White Fang, it's elite members, it's leader, and various kinds of Grimm, some even being mutated." I said.

"What?" Summer asked.

"Long story." I said. "Though there's something about this island that puts me on edge, like there's an ominous feeling to this island." I said.

"Well, that's only natural. I had a similar feeling when I came to the island eleven years ago." Summer said.

"Yeah...wait, eleven years ago?!" I asked, realizing what Summer was implying.

"That's right. Brandon, welcome to Vytal, my grave." She said.

"So...why exactly did you take me here in the first place?" I asked.

"It's like I said back at the mountain, we're here to test your strength." Summer said.

"Okay, but how exactly are we going to do that?" I asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed, but we're running short on time here." She said.

"Yeah, I've noticed." I said.

"So the only way we're going to know how far you've really come is to put you to through my little test I've had in mind ever since day one of our training." Summer said.

"Test?" I asked.

"Yes, if you pass the test then you should be strong enough to fight whatever threat is lurking in Vale...hopefully." She said.

"Hopefully?" I asked.

"Yeah, hopefully. I did train you so that you can fight these big threats you know?" Summer said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So what happens if I fail the test?" I asked.

"Then you'll die." She said.

.

.

"Pardon?" I asked, not sure if I heard her correctly.

"Didn't think it was that complicated. You either fight like you've never fought before in your entire life, or you die. Simple as that." Summer said.

"Uh, don't you think putting my life on the line like this is a bit extreme?!" I asked.

"No, not really." She said.

"Oh? And why the hell not?!" I asked.

"Because I know you won't die." Summer said.

"How the hell can you be so sure about that?!" I asked.

"Brandon, if I wasn't one hundred percent certain that you would be able to survive this, then I wouldn't have brought you here to begin with." She said.

"...Really? You have that much faith in me?" I asked.

"Of course I do! Besides, you won't be the only one fighting. I'll be helping you as well." Summer said.

"Uh, why? I thought this was supposed to be a test?" I said.

"Oh! It still is. Though I would have sent you to your death if you to faced that beast all on your own." She said.

"...Wait, beast?" I asked.

"Yes. Besides, this is more than just a test you know. It's payback." Summer said as she walked off into the forest.

"Payback?" I asked, following my temporary mentor into the forest.

We've been walking through the forest for a good thirty minutes now, and so far Summer wasn't showing any signs of explaining what exactly the test was going to be.

She just walked through the forest in pure silence, an unsettling silence.

Speaking of which, as we went deeper and deeper into the forest, the unsettling feeling was starting to get stronger and stronger.

Where the hell is she taking me?

"Hey, I know you're trying to be mysterious and all that. But can you at least tell me where we're going?" I asked.

"..."

"Okay then, never mind." I said as we continued to walk.

Eventually, Summer had stopped in front of a cave of some sort, an ominous and dark aura emanating from the cave.

"So, I'm assuming that's where this little test will be held, right?" I asked.

"..."

"Uh, hello? Earth to Summer...well I guess it would be Remnant to Summer but whatever." I said.

Summer's only response was to pull out her massive scythe, a look of determination plastered across her face.

"So, what is this place?" I asked.

"The Devil's Grotto." She said.

"Oh...I'm sorry, what?!" I yelled.

"Keep it down! The Grimm might hear you." Summer said.

"W-why the hell did you take me here?!...No, do not fucking tell me that you expect me to fight the Grimm that killed you all those years ago!" I whispered.

"Of course not." She said.

"Oh, okay. Whew, you got my heart beating there for a sec." I said.

"I'm saying that we're going to fight it. Together." Summer said.

"...Greaaat." I groaned.

Summer started to walk into the cave, a silver aura emanating around her.

"Well, I guess we're doing this now. You ready Caliber?" I asked, pulling out my sword.

 _ **"After you, my boy."**_ He said.

I took a deep breathe and followed Summer into the cave.

It was just as Summer described it when she told me about the grotto during her story.

Puddles of blood, dried up blood staining the walls, weapons and skeletons everywhere.

"Jesus." I said.

"Who?" Summer asked.

"Uh, religious stuff back at my world." I said.

"Oh. I didn't take you for the religious type." She said.

"I tend to not dabble in those waters." I said.

"Well, we're all to have our own beliefs." Summer said.

Eventually, we reached to the end of the grotto, the throne looking exactly as Summer described.

Summer put a hand on her chest and started to take deep breaths.

"Hey, you gonna be okay here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just bringing back some unpleasant memories." She said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We haven't even fought the thing and I'm already getting nervous." I said.

After a few moments of silence, I eventually broke the ice.

"So is it going to be like last time where you had to fight a couple of Grimm before eventually fighting the-." I began, only for the sound of an audible growl to be heard from the other side of the cave.

Both Summer and I slowly turned towards the source of the noise to see the demon like Grimm himself, it's burning red eyes drilling deep into our souls.

I let out an audible gulp and pulled out my sword.

"Hello old friend." Summer said, her eye starting to flare with a silver aura.

The beast tilted it's head and pointed at Summer.

Guess she wasn't just over exaggerating, this thing has one hell of an intellect.

"What's the matter? Surprised? Well, I guess that's only natural. Any normal person would have automatically assumed that they had killed me when they rip of my arm and eye." She said.

The beast growled, it's tattoo's starting to flare with a red aura.

"Allow me to introduce you to my friends." Summer said as she summoned Agnus and Lupus.

"These two are Agnus and Lupus. Those two over there are Brandon and Caliber." She said, pointing her index finger at me.

"Uh...hey." I said.

The beast growled and started to get into a combat stance of some sort.

"I see you've picked up a few things through the countless huntsmen and huntresses you've slaughtered." Summer said.

The beast snarled, the wind around us was staring to pick up.

"Let's go." I said, summoning Caliber to my side.

 _ **"We shall return you to the hell which you never should have left."**_ He said.

After a few seconds of stand off, Summer and I charged towards the beast with our weapons raised and our spirits at our sides.

I was the first one to make a move, causing Caliber to shoot some sort of ball of white and black aura at the beast.

"Whoa. Never knew you could do that." I said as Summer dashed past me with Lupus at her side.

The demon like spirit charged at the beast, his fist surrendered by a black and red swirl of aura.

Once the beast was in his range, he swung his fist at his skull, creating a swirl of red and black aura around him.

 _ **"My boy. Ever since you have forged your contract with me, I have been suppressing my strength."**_ Caliber said.

"What?! Why?!" I asked as Caliber fired another ball of aura at the beast.

 ** _"Because up until now there was never a situation that required that level of power."_** He said as he turned towards the Grimm.

I looked to see that even after those blasts and that strike from Lupus only managed to scratch the massive beast.

 _ **"This is not one of those situations."**_ He said in a low tone.

Summer growled and summoned Agnus to her side.

She started to run at the massive beast, though as the Grimm raised it's fist to squash Summer, she dived right through the Grimm.

Summer appeared right above the beast and swung her scythe at the shoulder pad of the Grimm, leaving a very visible crack in it.

I wiped my forehead and started to charge at the Grimm myself.

It attempted to shoot one of it's fire balls at me, though I quickly jumped up into the air and attempted to stab it in it's eye.

Sure enough, the blade went right through the eye of the Grimm, causing it to shriek in agony.

"Alright!" Summer said as she swung her scythe at the Grimm, causing a very visible cut to appear on it's chest.

The beast roared and swung it's massive arm at Summer, though she quickly switched over to Agnus, causing the attack to go right through her.

I yelled and swung my sword at the beast's arm, causing a white aura to appear around the blade, as well as black sparks.

"Huh, that hasn't happened in a while." I said, staring at the blade.

Though before I could examine it further, the beast was right there to meet me.

Shit.

"Yah!" Summer yelled as she swung her red and black scythe at the massive beast, though this time, it was able to dodge the attack.

The beast roared and started to shoot various fire balls at the both of us.

Summer growled and summoned Lupus to her side, causing the spirit to hover up to where the fire balls were located.

Once had had made his way up, he let out a demonic war cry, causing the fire balls to disappear from the air.

"Hey, how come you keep on using Lupus?" I asked.

"That's because Agnus isn't fit for large scale fights like these. She's more of an assassination spirit rather than a brawler like Lupus." Summer said.

"Well, guess you can't have the perks of both worlds at the same time." I said.

 _ **"Ah ha ha! Is that all you got, devil?! Come! I shall show you how a real beast fights!"**_ Lupus yelled, as he and Summer both ran towards the beast.

I grunted and ran after the two, Caliber right behind me.

Caliber snapped his fingers, blue and back sparks coming off of his fingers.

As he did this, a blue aura started to appear around both Summer and I, blue sparks emanating around the aura.

Summer yelled and swung her scythe at the beast, leaving a large cut on it's armor plate.

The beast swung it's massive fist at Summer, though unlike last time, Summer wasn't able to switch back to Agnus in time, causing the fist to make contact with her body and for her to go flying backwards.

"Damn it." I mumbled as I ran towards the the beast with my sword out.

It swung it's massive fist at me, though due to Caliber's power I was easily able to dodge the attack and jumped onto the beasts arm.

"Eat on this, ass hole!" I yelled as I swung my fist at the beasts cheek.

Though what I didn't expect was for Caliber to appear right behind me with his fist consumed with a white and black aura.

As my fist made contact with the beasts face, the swirl started to get even larger, causing the beast to stumble back a bit.

"Huh, that's new." I said.

Though before I could react, the beast swung it's massive fist at me, causing me to go flying out of the gave at high speeds.

"Brandon!" Summer yelled, only for the beast to grab Summer and throw her out of the cave.

He apparently was able to throw Summer at a higher speed, so instead of hitting a large rock, we both collided with one another, going in separate directions.

"Gah!" I yelled as I landed in a nearby field.

"Ow. That hurt. That really fucking hurt." I said.

Though before I could call out for Summer, the demon Grimm was walking towards me, flames spilling from it's mouth.

"And now I'm alone with this thing. Great." I said, moving away from the beast.

"So, I don't suppose you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" I asked Caliber, a cold sweat starting to form on my head.

 _ **"Hmm, there is one technique that might be able to do the trick. Though be warned, there is a fairly large risk to using such a move."**_ He said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, the beast starting to close the gap between us.

 _ **"I mean that you do not know how to properly regulate my power. The power is burning through more power than your body can supply."**_ Caliber said.

"So is that why I feel so tired?" I asked.

 _ **"Yes. Though while the risk to using this move is fairly heavy, it is our best chance of survival."**_ He said.

"Then let's do it." I said, preparing to do the attack.

 ** _"Okay, put your hand behind you."_** He said.

I nodded and did as what Caliber said.

Okay, so what now?

The only response I got was for a ball of white and black aura to form in my hand.

Though the only difference was that the ball was starting to get bigger and bigger, black sparks starting to form around me.

I looked forward to see that the beast was starting to charge at me with it's jaw wide open.

I glared and put my palm outwards, causing a massive blast of aura to shoot out of my hand, completely consuming the beast.

After a few seconds, the blast eventually died down.

My entire body felt like it was on fire, steam emanating off of my body due to the effects of the attack.

 _ **"Are you alright, my boy?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Pain. Everything's in pain." I groaned.

 ** _"Well, this is better than death."_** He said.

"...You mean I could have died?!" I asked.

 _ **"I did say that there was a fairly large risk to the attack."**_ Caliber said.

"I didn't think death was the worst case scenario!" I yelled.

 _ **"Well, that just means the training with the reaper has paid off. If you were to use that attack in your fight with the Bull you would have torn your own body apart."**_ He said.

"J-Jesus! Would have been nice to know what I was getting into before hand!" I said.

 _ **"Like I said, using my power requires a certain amount of strength. Both physically and mentally."**_ Caliber said.

"W-well. At least we finally killed that-." I began, only for the sight of red to cut me off.

.

.

"Oh you can't be serious." I said.

Sure enough, the beast was still standing. While it did look like it was severely injured, it was still able to stand.

"How strong is this thing?!" I asked.

The demon Grimm growled and started to walk towards me, fire leaking out of it's mouth.

I attempted to reach for my weapon, but the pain throughout my entire body prevented me from doing so.

"Gah!" I yelled, falling to my knees, the only thing preventing me from falling to the ground was my right arm.

"Wow, now that's what I call a light show." Summer said.

I slowly looked up to see Summer walking towards the Grimm with a dark look in her eyes, a red aura surrounding her entire being.

"So, how about I return the favor you demon?" She asked.

The beast roared and ran towards Summer, swinging it's massive claw at her.

Though Summer was quick to react, dodging the attack and moving towards the massive Grimm.

Suddenly, Summer disappeared and the Grimm was now surrounded by a blood red and black aura.

"Go to hell." I heard Summer's voice echo as she suddenly appeared behind the Grimm, the head of the beast being severed from it's neck.

The corpse of the Grimm fell down, the remains of the body turning into ashes and cinder.

"You know. You could have done that before." I said.

Summer giggled as she picked me up and threw me over her shoulder.

"So...how did I do?" I asked.

"You survived, didn't you?" Summer asked.

"Heh, hell yeah I did." I said.

Then my entire world went black as I faded out of consciousness.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode one of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the first episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 1 thoughts**

 **So now that volume five has officially rolled around, I'm going to start giving my thoughts on the episode over all.**

 **Keep in mind that this is my own opinion, it is not an invitation to start something.**

 **Anyways, review time.**

 **I think that this was a really good way to start off volume five of RWBY. It picked up right where it left off at volume four, seeing team RNJR exploring the beautiful kingdom of Mistral.**

 **We are finally introduced to Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven academy. So far, I do like how his character is being written, and I'm looking forward to see how he is handled throughout the rest of the volume.**

 **Not only that but now we know why the Maidens are so important to the story, and how they tie into the relics.**

 **Yang, from the looks of it, is looking for her mother, Raven.**

 **I was pleasantly surprised Raven came back so quickly after her temperance in volume four. I don't know if this is just me, but I think that the guy who attempted to flirt with Yang is part of Raven's tribe.**

 **Reason I think this is because of his reaction to Yang's red eyes.**

 **Anyways, Blake. From the looks of it, we're finally getting more into the relations between her and Ilia. Hopefully we can get some more flashbacks as to what it was like for her in the Fang.**

 **Then there's Oscar, who is already starting to grow on me.**

 **From some of the line said in the trailer, he seems to be very overwhelmed at the huge responsibility placed on him so suddenly.**

 **Hopefully we can get some teacher Qrow moments, or maybe even some of the members of team RNJR teaching him a few things.**

 **If there's one thing I'm really looking forward to this volume, it would have to be how they handle the spring maiden and her story.**

 **And if there were any hopes I have for this volume is that Ruby get's some good development, because in my opinion, while it was only slightly, I was kinda expecting more from the post fall Ruby in terms of development.**

 **Either that or give us a backstory for Ozpin, or at least a hint on how he and Salem are connected.**

 **Overall, I really like this episode.**

 **Review Response**

 **rocketmce: Oh no, he's not pulling any punches, and I already stated my thoughts on volume five in the review above.**

 **SPDefender: Glad you liked the trailer.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: My goal for volume three is to develop the volume three teams more, and to develop Amber more.**

 **DragonLord501st** **1\. Basically, wanted to get it out of the way so that I don't get accused of not bringing it up again.**

 **2\. Yes, you will see all of them, one in each chapter.**

 **3\. It's another OC that I have in stock, though don't worry, we'll get some interactions between our fellow enchanted weapon users.**

 **4\. Well, I do plan on expanding on the tribe post vol 3, though as for another weapon user being in her ranks, that's gonna be a no go. I already have all of them planned, each one with at least a decade of experience under there belt.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Yep, Karma is such a heartless bitch, isn't she?**

 **polarpwnage: Uh...okay?**

 **Donovan: I did. Not really sure what kind of a response you were expecting from me.**

 **Donovan: I'll let you know in the next chapter if I want to use him or not.**

* * *

"Hmm." A girl hummed as she started to check out the various fruits in one of the local market places of Anima's various towns.

She was in her casual attire at the moment, as picking fruit didn't really require any flashy clothing or fancy armors.

She had had golden hair with a black streak on one side of her hair and her eye's were a crystal blue.

Though the most noticeable part of her attire was the black headband she dawned on her head.

"So, what do you think little miss? Some of the best fruits in all of Anima!" The man said with pride.

The girl picked up a lone apple that was in one of the various baskets that were in front of her.

While she was doing this, a group of well-armed men were watching her from a far with serious looks on there faces.

"We've got more if these apple's aren't enough. We've got pears, pecans, pomegranate's, berries of all kind, and-." He began, only for the girl to break the apple in half with her hands.

"H-hey! If you're gonna break it at least pay for it!" The man said.

"Sorry. I wanted to see how good the seeds were." The girl said as she gave the man a handful of lien.

"This should cover it." She said.

"Well, at least you're paying." He said.

"I'll take all of these, and these, and these." She said, picking up all three barrels at once.

"W-wow. You sure are a strong one." The merchant said.

"This? It's not that much." The girl said, her muscles flexing as she tightened her grip around the barrels.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Really, it's okay. I do this all the time!" She said with a smile.

"Y-yeah. Well have a nice day!" He said.

The girl nodded and started to walk away from the market place with the barrels in her arms.

The group of men narrowed their eyes as the girl walked towards the path that led to the forest.

"You saw that, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, girl created an apple with the touch of her hands." One of the men said.

"So, you think she knows where it is?" One of them asked.

"Only one way to find out." The leader said as he started to follow the girl, causing the other men to follow him.

As the girl kept on walking down the path, she quickly glanced over her shoulder.

Though as she did, she saw that the path she was walking on was completely empty.

The girl narrowed her eyes and placed the buckets on the ground.

After a few moments, the girl started to sniff the air as if she were an animal of some sort.

"The hell is she doing?" One of the men asked from within a bush he was hiding in.

"How the hell should I know?" He asked.

"Uh, guys?" One of the men called out.

"I thought you did research on the girl!" He said.

"No, that was your job!" The man said.

"G-guys."

"Not now!" They both said.

"How are we supposed to get anything done if you can't even follow the simplest of instructions?!" He asked.

"Me?! It was your job! Don't pin this on us! You're the guy with the plans! We're the guys who just make sure the plan's work!" He said.

"Guys!"

"What?!" They both yelled, though as they spun their heads towards the girl.

Or where the girl should have been that is.

The girl that they were pursing was no longer there, rather, she was right in front of them with a fairly calm look on her face,

"W-when did she-?" They began, only for the girl to quickly cut them off.

"Excuse me, why are you following me?" She asked.

Before the leader could respond, one of the men took out a gun of some sort and pointed it at the girl's head.

"Alright, listen here sweetie, we know what you're hiding. So why don't you make this easier on all of us and-." He began, only for the woman for the sound of an audible growling noise to come from behind them.

"..." All three of the men slowly turned around to see some sort of large beast staring down at them with its yellow eyes.

"Um-." The leader began.

"Leave." She said, causing the men to scream in a rather high pitch tone.

The three men fled the forest and went back towards the town the girl just came back from, leaving the said girl to stand in the middle of the path.

"Well. That was eventful." She said as she continued to walk down the path.

* * *

 **Unknown Girl**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: None**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 145 lbs**

 **Age: 28**

 **Outfit: Black, White, Brown, Gold, Red.**

 **Handedness: Left**

 **Complexion: Slightly Pale.**

 **Hair Color: Gold with a Black Streak.**

 **Eye color: Blue.**

 **Aura Color: Gold and Black**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Rhongomiant**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 90**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 61**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 45**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 24**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	56. The Crow and The Dragon

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Crow and The Dragon"

Thought: _'The Crow and The Dragon'_

Flashback: _"The Crow and The Dragon"_

"And that's basically what happened over the past year." Yang said as she sat on one of the couches in the lodging area in there dorm rooms.

Ruby was sitting right next to her sister telling her side of the story, while Qrow and Tai were both sitting on a pair of chairs that were across the table.

.

.

"Well, it seems you two were certainly busy for the past year. I mean, I wish our first year was as eventful as yours is." Tai said.

"Gotta hand it to ya. You two have definitely gotten more capable than you were last year. I mean, you were able to go head to head with Roman of all people. That's not something a lot of people can say you know?" Qrow said.

"Heh heh, it was nothing. He wasn't all that tough." Yang said.

"Oh yeah?" Ruby asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Don't think you can fool me, Yang. Dad and Uncle Qrow may not have been there, but I was there the entire time. You twisted some of the details in that story to make yourself sound more awesome." She said.

"Hey, there's nothing twisted about that story." Yang said.

"Oh yeah? I can name a hand full of things that weren't true about that story." Ruby said.

"Alright, name one." She said.

"That one detail about how you swooped in to save Blake and Sun all while beating up every White Fang member in the area." She said.

"..."

"Or that one detail on how you were able to destroy an entire Atlas Mech with just one punch." Ruby said.

"..."

"Then there's that one detail on how you were able to beat a horde of Grimm with nothing but your fists." She said.

"..."

"Need I mention the time you said you were able to beat one of the Phantoms of the White Fang without breaking a sweat?" Ruby asked.

"...I said name only one." Yang said.

"So you admit it!" She said, pointing her finger at her sister in an accusing matter.

"Ruby, it's not nice to point." Tai lectured.

"Oh, right. Sorry dad." Ruby said.

"It's okay. We all make mistakes from time to time." He said.

"Still, not all of those details were entirely wrong." Yang said.

"Really now?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I mean, we all did come to help out Blake in the end." She said.

"You came when the fight ended. I came when she was getting pummeled by Roman." She said.

"Meh, details. We all did fight the Mech though, even you can't deny that." Yang said.

"Yeah, that may be true. Though Sage was the one who destroyed it in the end, and he didn't even do it with one hit." Ruby said.

"I know, I know. Though the fact that I fought one of the Phantoms still remains." She said.

"You didn't win." She said.

"W-what?! W-who told you?!" Yang asked.

"Blake told me." Ruby said.

Yang attempted to defend herself, though ended up crossing her arms in a defensive manner.

"It was a close match. He just got one lucky shot." She said.

"Well, I think that the fact you were able to go head to head with one of the members of the Phantoms is impressive on it's own." Tai said.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Yang asked.

"Well, I'm impressed with the both of you, you've already accomplished a lot more than either Qrow or I did in our first year." He said.

"Thanks dad." Ruby said with a sheepish grin.

"Though that doesn't excuse some of the actions you've taken. They were reckless, you could have gotten yourselves killed." Qrow said.

"But we've managed, right?" She asked.

"That's not the point. Sometimes you won't be so lucky. Sometimes you won't have two fully trained huntsmen looking after you, and sometimes you won't have multiple huntsmen in the area to get you out of a jam like the breach." He said.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Qrow on this one. You both could have been seriously hurt during the breach and the jail break on the highway." Tai said.

"Oh come on, we totally saved Vale while you two were away." Yang said.

"Funny, because I heard Vale suffered a heavy Grimm attack after you almost managed to stop a train." Qrow said.

"Yeah, and as far as I'm concerned the two Phantom members that were originally in jail were able to break out due to the rest of the Fang's efforts." Tai said.

"Oh come on, nobody got hurt." She said.

Qrow's only response was to pull out his scroll and pull up a file downloaded onto the screen.

"Well according to this file that old Jimmy gave me, there were a total of thirty six confirmed casualties, and eighty four found injured." Qrow said.

"..." Both Ruby and Yang sat in silence as there uncle gave them the numbers.

"Not only that but I heard there was some serious damage done to the highway due to the jail break." Tai said.

"..."

"Though, to give you some credit, you did manage to give us a pretty powerful ally." Qrow said.

"Right, the day after the breach, Roman became one of our instructors here in the academy." Ruby said.

"Yeah, it's a mystery to me why Oz would give someone a position here in our school, let alone let him in here at all is beyond me." He said.

"I know. It's weird. We were just fighting him the other day, and now he's one of our instructors." Yang said.

"I've been meaning to ask about that. How are his classes to begin with?" Tai asked.

"Well, one of his assignments he gave us was to quote on quote, assassinate him." Ruby said.

"...What?" Both Qrow and Tai asked.

"We basically have to stab him with one of these." Yang said as she pulled out the rubber knife that Roman had given the class.

"Or shoot him with one of these." Ruby said, pulling out the BB gun they were given in class.

Qrow and Tai both took the weapons and began to inspect them carefully.

"It's made of rubber. No matter how hard you swing or stab the thing it won't kill a person." Qrow said.

"Yeah, and these BB's are pretty soft. Won't punch through anything." Tai said.

"Well, we're not actually trying to kill him. We're just supposed to hit him with an attack from one of these things." Yang said.

"Guess that makes sense. Though hitting him with an attack is gonna be tough, especially when his guard is constantly up." Qrow said.

"I already did." Ruby said.

"What?!" Yang asked.

"Yep. I did it during the jail break." She said.

"How?! There's no way you got him to lower his guard!" She said.

"I did it when he was basking in the glory of his victory." Ruby said.

"...Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Yang asked.

"Hey, good on ya, pipsqueak." Qrow said.

"Don't call me pipsqueak!" Ruby yelled.

"Well, back to the topic at hand. We were able to turn in Torchwick, even if he got out the very next day. Not only that but crimes have been down ever since the incident at the highway. That's basically a bounty mission." Yang said.

"Sure, you may be acting like huntsmen, but you're not thinking like one. You really think four girls and their friends can end all crime in the kingdom?" Qrow asked.

"I mean...I did until you said that." Ruby said.

"Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed. It's stopped. Completely." He said.

"Really?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, no White Fang activity anywhere around the city. You know the saying, right Tai?" Qrow asked.

"It's the first lesson you and Raven were taught. You cut off the head of a King Taijitu, but now the second head's is calling the shots." Tai said.

"That's right. It's what Ironwood can't get through his thick, metal head of his." He said.

"You...Know the general?" Yang asked.

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent." Qrow said.

"Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest teams to ever graduate Beacon." He said.

"That's right." Tai said as he puffed out his chest with pride.

"Heh, team STRQ. That's where it all began." Qrow said.

"Yep, we were pretty well known back in the day." Tai said as he leaned over to his two daughters.

"You didn't hear this from me, but Glynda looked up to us like we were the greatest set of warriors on the planet." He said.

"No way! Ms. Goodwitch?!" Ruby asked.

"That's right. Makes me laugh every time." Qrow siad.

Yang shuffled around in her seat for a few seconds before eventually speaking up.

"Hey, dad?" Yang called out.

"What's up?" Tai asked.

"What was mom like back then?" She asked.

The entire room went silent, Tai getting a rather serious look on his face.

"Uh..." Ruby began, feeling slight awkward with the sudden tome shift.

"You met her, right?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, I met her during my fight with Adam." Yang said.

Tai sighed and started to rub his temples.

"I'm assuming she didn't come all this way just to see you." Tai said.

"All this way? Is she far away or something?" Yang asked.

"Gee Qrow, you didn't even tell her where her own mother was?" He asked.

"Hey! You knew where she was to! You're just as guilty as I am!" Qrow said.

"You told me she was in Mistral! You know her specific location. Something you intend to keep from me for some reason!" Tai said.

"Don't play dumb with me, you know that if I told you where she was you would go straight to where she was without a second thought." Qrow said.

"She was my wife!" She said.

"I know! That's why I can't tell you." Qrow said.

"..."

Qrow sighed and walked over to his partner.

"Look, I'm just looking out for you. You know that, right?" He asked.

Tai sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, it's just...hard not to think about it." He said.

"I know. It never is easy." Qrow said.

"...So." Yang said.

"Sorry about that. Yeah, I'll be happy to tell you everything you want to know about Raven." Tai said.

"Okay...how exactly did you fall in love with her?" She asked.

"Heh, wow. Personal already?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck with his right hand.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard this from Qrow, but we all go way back, even before Beacon." Tai said.

"Yeah, that's what I heard. You guys went to the same prep school, right?" Yang asked.

"That's right. Though the moment I laid eye's on your mother, something sorta clicked. I wouldn't really describe it as love at first sight, though I never really knew I needed someone like her in my life until I actually met her." He said.

"Sure she wasn't exactly the best with manners, and she had a lot to learn when it came to common curtsy. Though it was her ambition, her passion to get stronger that really pulled me in." Tai said.

"Though I'm not sure why she wanted more than she already has. I mean, she was already stronger than...well everyone in Beacon. With the exception of Ozpin of course." He said.

"Yeah, I saw." Yang said.

"I never thought that she would ever feel the same way for me. Though one day, out of nowhere, she just comes up to me and says that we're gonna start dating now." Tai said.

"...That's it? No build up? No romantic speech?" She asked.

"You're mother isn't really one for words." He said.

"Yeah...I know that to." Yang said.

"Don't worry. You don't have to tell me, Qrow already filled me in with the encounter you with Raven." Tai said.

"..."

"Don't worry, she was like that with everyone." He said.

"She wasn't like that with Brandon." Yang said.

"Who?" Tai asked.

"Remember when I said that there was a kid that had one of the enchanted weapons?" Qrow asked.

"Oh! So that's him?" He asked.

"Yep." He said.

"So where is he now? Maybe him and I can have a little chat." Tai said.

"He's out." Ruby said.

"Which district?" He asked.

"Oh! I guess I should have been a bit more specific. He's not in the kingdom at the moment." She said.

"He's not?" Qrow, Tai, and Yang asked.

"I thought the kingdom was on lock down until the festival was over." Tai said.

"Yeah, they are." Qrow said as he started to pinch his chin.

"Then why did he sneak out?" Yang asked.

"Hmm...if I had to take a guess, it's probably because of Raven." He said.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"Being a weapon user himself, she probably wants to have him in her back pocket in case she ever needs him. So in order to do that, she needs to have a little talk with him." Qrow said.

"So that's why he left? So that he can talk with Raven?" Tai asked.

"That's the only reason I'm thinking of." He said.

"Why can't she just talk to him in Vale?" Ruby asked.

"Well she's not exactly welcomed in Vale anymore ever since she went rogue from the system." Qrow said.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." She said.

"So if I had to guess. She probably gave him a location and told him to meet her there." He said.

"Yeah, but still. He's been gone for about a week now. How long does it take to talk to one person?" Yang asked.

"That's true. Knowing Raven, she would have kept it as short and simple as possible." Tai said.

"Hmm...Guess it's training then. The tournament is right around the corner." Ruby said.

"Brandon can't participate though. He only has one team member not three." Yang said.

As the trio went back and forth, Qrow pinched his chin.

 _'Hmm, if what Oz said was true, then he had a pretty large involvement with Roman's release. Then there's the Amber, while he seemed to not know what was going on, he was able to come up with a plan right off the bat.'_ Qrow thought.

 _'Ozpin did say that he was known for his quick thinking, though when we mentioned the concept of war, he shrugged it off as if it were just something that happened every other day.'_ He thought.

 _'There's the possibility that Caliber told him about the Maidens. Though there's no way he would be able to know about what happened with Amber.'_ Qrow thought.

 _'...Unless someone told him about it. Someone who knows something that we don't.'_ He thought.

Qrow closed his eyes and leaned on the wall of the lodge.

 _'There's no way the kid's working for the enemy. If that were the case he wouldn't have gotten so involved with the Fang. Not only that but he wouldn't have removed the Grimm from her brain, the only thing allowing the enemy know her exact location.'_ He thought.

 _'Though I don't think the kid and Oz are on the exact same page here.'_ Qrow thought.

"Qrow." Tai called out.

 _'There's no doubt in my mind about it.'_ He thought.

"Qrow!" He called out once more.

 _'That kids working for a third party of some sort. One that's working against the enemy, but one with an agenda of there own.'_ Qrow thought.

"Qrow!" Tai yelled, causing him to break out from his state of thought.

"Huh?" He asked.

"We asked you a question." Tai said.

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a moment." Qrow said.

"It's okay." He said.

"So, what did you want to know?" He asked.

"Well, we wanted to know if you wanted to come to Summer's grave with us." Tai said.

"...Why?" Qrow asked.

"It's been a year since Ruby and Yang have last talked to her. So the girls were wondering if you wanted to come with us." He said.

Qrow stood there in silence for a few moments with his eyes closed.

 _'Well, it has been awhile.'_ Qrow thought.

"Sure." He said.

"Great! Let's get going!" Ruby said as she ran out of the lodge.

"Hey! Wait up!" Yang yelled, running after Ruby.

"Well, we should get going. You know how much ground Ruby can cover." Tai said as he walked out of the lodge.

Qrow nodded and followed his partner.

 _'So, I'm gonna assume that due to the kids possible knowledge of the enemy, he's working for a third party of some sort. Though I can also assume that they have an agenda of there own due to the fact that the kid hasn't disclosed any information on the enemy yet.'_ He thought.

 _'Though if that kids working for a third party, who exactly is this said third party?'_ Qrow asked himself with his hands in his pockets.

 _'Meh, I'm sure the kid and whoever he's working don't have the intention of helping the enemy. So if we have a common threat, I guess that makes us allies in the end.'_ Qrow thought as he walked out of the building.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"You know, I never really had a problem coming here. Though every time I do I always feel...strange." Summer said.

"Well you are standing in front of your own grave." I said.

"Though I do have to admit, if you actually did bite the dust during that fight with the demon Grimm, you sure would have had a good view." I said as Summer and I stood over the tombstone that had her name on it.

"Yes, well while the view is quite a sight to be hold, I think I'll pass." Summer said with a chuckle.

I started to rub the bandages that Summer had placed onto my face, the wounds stinging as my finger came into contact with them.

"Ah." I seethed, quickly moving my fingers away from my face.

"Your wound's haven't cleared up yet. While it's nothing ground breaking, I'd reccomend not fighting for a few days. We don't want to re-open them after I went through all the trouble of patching them up now do we?" She asked.

"Yeah. I didn't expect to get as banged up as I did." I said.

Summer just stared at me with a deadpanned look on her face.

"Okay, I knew I would get thrown around a little. I mean, this was the thing that killed you ten-."

"Eleven."

"Whatever. Point is, it was the thing that killed you, a veteran huntress. I wasn't exactly expecting to come out of there unscathed, but still, it felt like that thing broke every bone in my body." I said.

"Well, that's not really due to the Grimm, it has more to due with your inexperience with your new powers." Summer said.

"What do you mean by inexperience?" I asked.

"I knew that when we first started training that you wouldn't be able to access the power of the spirits right off of the bat. I mean, it took me two year's to master the powers I was given." She said.

"So you're saying I was able to do it in under a week?" I asked.

"Well, not really. You were able to get access to it's entire arsenal of powerful attacks, and I have to admit, it's quite the destructive power." Summer said.

"Heh, what did you expect?" I asked with a smug grin on my face.

"Though that doesn't mean you know how to properly control the power." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let me ask you something. What hurt you more, the Grimm, or Caliber's attack on said Grimm?" Summer asked.

"Hmm...Well if I had to narrow it down, I'd say that Caliber's attack hurt more than anything the Grimm threw at me, and the after affects weren't exactly pleasant." I said.

"Yeah, I had to carry you all the way back to the mountain because you couldn't move your own muscles at the time." She said.

"I know. After I woke up it felt like I pulled every single muscle in my body." I said.

"You see what I mean? Sure that was one powerful attack, any human hit with an attack like that would surely die, or at least suffer some serious injuries." Summer said.

"Okay." I said.

"Though after the attack, it took you hours for you to recover from the affects of the attack." She said.

"So what are you saying?" I asked.

"I'm saying that while you have a lot of power right now, though that power now opens up a new set of challenges you must overcome." Summer said.

"Challenges?" I asked.

"Think of it like this. You don't know how to properly regulate the power you were given, and while it may pack a punch, your body is taking quite a heavy toll." She said.

"Yeah." I said to myself.

"Did Caliber say anything to you after you used that one attack that tore a hole in the forest?" Summer asked.

"Wait, it did what now?" I asked.

"Did he?" She asked.

"Hmm...well, he did say that if I tried using all of his power during my fight with Adam, an attack like what I used back on the island would have torn my body apart." I said.

"Exactly. When using attacks like that you run the risk of causing permanent damage to your own body." Summer said.

"So what, I finally got all of this amazing power and now I can't even use it?" I asked.

"No, you can use it. It's just that the power of the spirits will burn through more power than your body can supply." She said.

Hmm...So it's like that one saying back on earth.

"Candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long." I said to myself.

"Huh?" Summer asked.

"Oh! I said that aloud, didn't I?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"My bad. It was a phrase back on earth." I said.

"Hmm, yeah I can see how that phrase would also apply to the subject at hand." Summer said.

"So basically I just need to find a way to keep the candle from burning out." I said.

"Basically. It's actually good that you gained the power at such an early age. Your body will have more time to develop and adapt to handle the power." She said.

"Well, that's a good thing I guess." I said.

Though considering that the fall is right around the corner from today, I seriously doubt I can manage to regulate this power in the span of a few days.

Not like that'll stop me, if I intend to save my friends and kill Cinder then I need to be willing to make a few sacrifices.

"Is something the matter?" Summer asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no. It's nothing." I said.

Summer narrowed her eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"Well, if you say so." She said.

"So, where do you intend to go now that our little week together is up?" I asked.

"Back to what I was doing before. Seeking out bandits, outlaws, and other criminals, all while looking for clues as to where Salem is." Summer said.

"Any luck so far?" I asked.

"Well, as for where she is, I'm not exactly sure. Though as for what she is, she seems to have some sort of connection with the Grimm." She said.

Well she looks like one so no surprise there.

"What are you gonna do if you do find her?" I asked.

"..."

"Do you intend to go after her? If she's really as strong as Oz said she was, then going after her alone would be suicide." I said.

"Oh don't worry. I won't go after her the second I find out where she is. Even with the combined powers of the spirits and my remaining eye I know that going after her alone would be suicide." Summer said.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you biting the dust for a second time." I said.

"Aw, my little disciple is worried about me." She teased.

"H-hey, don't get the wrong idea! I just don't want to be short a weapon user is all!" I said.

"I'm just teasing you is all. Besides, if I really do find her, I'll make sure to come and grab you." Summer said.

"...What?!" I yelled.

"I mean, us spirit users have to stick together, right?" She asked.

"I'm eighteen! What the hell do you expect me to do against someone like Salem?!" I asked.

"Oh don't worry. We won't be the only ones after all." Summer said.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"Well if your plan goes well then we should have all twelve." She said.

"...Oh. R-right." I said.

"Until then, I'll keep up my search. Though if you just so happen to find out where she is before me then I won't hold it against you. Just make sure you contact me when you do." Summer said.

"How would I even do that? You don't even have a scroll." I said.

Summer's only response was to give me a slip of paper of some sort.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Just in case you ever need to find me once again. This is a slip of paper that will give you the means of achieving that." Summer said.

I raised one of my eyebrows and unfolded the piece of paper.

"It's a location of some sort...what is this place?" I asked.

"My base of operations." She said.

"Wait, I thought you said you were always on the move." I said.

"Not always. I need to keep my findings somewhere." Summer said.

"Ever heard of a scroll?" I asked.

"My old one was destroyed a long time ago, and the only place they're made and sold are in the kingdoms." She said.

"...Right. Guess that would make things complicated." I said.

"Yeah. So if you ever need my help again, come to this location." Summer said.

"Okay, shouldn't be to ha-." I began, only for Summer to cut me off.

"Though there are a couple of rules that you need to follow." She said.

"Alright, shoot." I said.

"One, if you ever decide to come, you need to come alone." Summer said.

"Two, you cannot show this location to anyone. Not even Ozpin." She said.

"Last, and by far the most important. Never, I repeat. Never! Ever tell anyone I'm still alive. Not Ruby, Yang, Qrow, Tai, or Ozpin. You're the only one who can know." She said.

"What about for if I need you to fight Salem?" I asked.

"That'll be different. We would have the means and resources of fighting her, giving me no further reason to hide." Summer said.

I stood there in silence for a few moments before nodding my head.

"Got it." I said.

"Good. Well, I'll be counting on you to gather the spirit users. I eagerly wait for the day when we all come together." She said.

"If we come together. Remember, Raven is also one of those users." I said.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." Summer said.

Though before we could continue our conversation, the sound of a bark came from the forest.

"Come on Zwei! It's this way!" A male voice said from within the forest.

"S-shit! Someone's coming! You need to-!" I began, though as I spun my head around to face Summer, I was only met with the empty space where Summer should have been.

"Leave." I finished.

How in the hell does she do that? I get that she can move through solid objects but jeez, she can work fast.

"Hmm? I someone there?" I heard Ruby's voice ask.

Well...this going to be one awkward meeting, that's for sure.

After a few more seconds, Ruby emerged from the bushes, Yang not to far behind.

"Jeez Ruby. I get that you have a speed semblance, but you can at least wait for us to...catch...up." Yang said slowly as she and her sister Ruby made eye contact with me.

"...Uh, hey?" I said.

"Brandon?!" They both yelled, running up the hill where Summer's grave resided.

Couldn't they have waited for, what, a few more minutes?

"Hey! Fancy meeting you here!" I said in a nervous tone.

"What are you doing here?!" Ruby asked.

"Oh you know...walking." I said.

"Next to our mothers grave?" Yang asked.

"Oh, this was your mothers grave? Sorry, I didn't know." I said in fake ignorance.

"It has Ruby's surname on it." She said, pointing to the tombstone.

I slowly turned to face the tombstone before turning back to the two sisters.

"Oh..." I began.

Damn it, I can't tell them the real reason why I was here without telling them Summer is still alive.

Come on Brandon, think, think.

"Look, we're not really angry at you, just surprised is all. I mean, how did you even find this place?" Yang asked.

Well hello there opportunity, we were expecting your visit.

"Well it's like I said. I was just walking in the area for my little training trip I said I'd be on. I'm assuming Ruby told you about that." I said.

"Yeah, she told me." She said.

"So I saw that there was some sort of stone in the distance, a well carved and crafted one at that. So I thought it was pretty weird for some random stone to be all the way out here in the mountains. I got curious and went to check it out." I explained.

"Hmm...alright." Yang said.

"I had just gotten here when you two had arrived so I didn't really get a chance to get a good look at the stone." I said.

"Okay, sorry if I seemed a little hostile. This was meant to be a private place for close members of our family." Yang said.

Though before we could continue our talk, the sound of bushes rustling cut us off.

"Jeez, you two know how to cover some ground." A tall blonde man said.

Hmm, he looks familiar...yeah, I can vaguely remember seeing this guy at the end of the third volume.

What was his name? Tai? Yeah, I think it was Tai.

"Hey dad." Yang said as she started to walk towards him.

Tai was about to say something, but he quickly cut himself off as his gaze fell onto me.

"Who's this?" Tai asked.

"Oh, right. This is our friend, Brandon." Ruby said, causing Tai's eyes to widen.

What's up with him? Has he heard of me before?

"So you're Brandon?" Tai asked as he started to walk over to me.

"Yeah? Who are you?" I asked as I raised one of my eyebrows.

"The names Taiyang Xiao Long. Though everyone just calls me Tai." He said as he held his hand out to greet me.

"Nice to meet ya." Tai said with a grin on his face.

"Likewise." I said as I shook his hand.

Tai was once again interrupted by the sound of leaves rustling in the forest.

"Jeez, would be nice if you could give me a heads up when you all intend on running off like...that." He slowly said as his eyes slowly made contact with my own.

"Uh, hey." I said.

"What are you doing here?" Qrow asked.

"You know...walking." I said.

"He came across the grave while he was on his little camping trip. Brandon didn't know it was our mothers until we told him." Yang said.

"...I could have said that, but thanks anyways." I said.

Qrow narrowed his eyes and put his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, come here kid. I want to have a little chat with you." Qrow said.

Shit.

"About what?" I asked.

"Few things I want to know." He said as he started to walk towards the forest.

I stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before eventually following the drunken Qrow.

Tai was about to follow the two of us, but Qrow quickly stopped him.

"In private." He said, causing Tai to stop in his tracks.

Tai gave Qrow a serious look before nodding.

I looked back at the three of them as they huddled around the tombstone.

"Hey." Qrow called.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I said as I followed Qrow into the forest.

We kept on walking until we eventually reached a clearing of some sort.

After a few moments of complete silence, I eventually spoke up.

"So-." I began.

"How about we just cut to the chase here?" Qrow asked as he took out his flask from his pocket.

I gulped but nodded reluctantly.

"I want to know, why did you go on this little training mission despite the fact you won't be able to participate in the tournament?" He asked.

"..."

"Well, I already have a little theory of my own, so tell me if I'm right." Qrow said.

"Alright." I said.

"Raven made you come all the way out here, didn't she?" He asked, causing me to sigh in relief.

Good, he only wants to know about Raven. I can easily leave out the parts with Summer.

"Yeah, before she left she said that she wanted to meet in the town outside of Vale. Said that she wanted to talk about a few arrangements." I said.

"What kind of arrangements?" Qrow asked.

"Well you were right about her not wanting me to join her tribe." I said. "She basically wants me to be in her back pocket just in case something that required a little extra fire power came up." I said.

"So, what did you say?" He asked.

"I said that I would do it as long as it didn't involve slaughtering a bunch of towns." I said. "Though she made sure that I didn't get nothing out of the deal." I said, causing Qrow to raise one of his eyebrows.

"If I helped her with some of her problems, then she had to help me with some of my own." I said.

Qrow did a double take before responding to me.

"Raven, offered to help you?" He asked, putting emphasis on the word help.

"Yeah, I was a bit surprised myself. Though I gotta admit, having someone with skill like that in my back pocket will certainly come in handy in the future." I said.

"Wait, you actually intend to take her up on her offer?" Qrow asked.

"Be kinda stupid not to. Sure she may not be the best when it comes to morality and all that. Though I've never seen anyone as tough as her, and if she's willing to lend me a hand then who am I to complain?" I asked.

Qrow narrowed his eyes before giving me a nod.

"Alright, it's you call kid. Just try not to get yourself killed out there." He said.

"I make no promises." I said.

Qrow chuckled and took a sip from his flask.

As we finished our conversation, we could hear Ruby, Yang, Tai and Zwei walking towards us.

"So this is where you two ran off to." Tai said.

"Yeah, I just needed to clear a few things up with the kid. So how'd it go?" Qrow asked.

"It was nice. I told mom all about what happened back in Vale and Beacon, though this time I gave her the actual story instead of Yang's version of it." Ruby said.

"Tch, mine was so much better anyways." She grumbled.

"So, what's the plan now?" Qrow asked.

"We head on back to Beacon. You and I still have a job to do." Tai said.

Job? What job?

"Hey, are you finished with your trip Brandon?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just about finished." I said.

"Then how about to catch a ride with us? We'll be heading back to Vale as well." Yang said.

"Sure. Better than going by foot." I said.

"Heh, you got that right." Qrow said as he started to walk away, though Tai quickly grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hold on." Tai said.

The drunken crow turned his head towards Tai with one of his eye brows raised.

"What now?" He asked.

"Once we get back to Beacon, I want to have a little spar with you." Tai said, causing Ruby and Yang's eyes to light up.

"A little?" Qrow asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could use some of our weapons as well. You know, like how we used to do it in the old days." He said.

"Heh, you sure you're up for the challenge? Last time didn't go so well you know." He said with a cocky smirk.

"I've been training non stop ever since Ruby and Yang left for Beacon. I'm finally getting my old strength back." Tai said.

"Heh, don't say I didn't warn you." Qrow said as he and Tai walked off.

.

.

"What in the hell just happened?" I asked.

"Let me ask you a question, Brandon." Yang said as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Have you ever wanted to see two veteran huntsmen fight each other?" She asked.

Though before I could answer, she quickly stopped me by pressing her finger against my lips.

"Trick question. Of course you do." Yang said as she ran after her father and uncle.

* * *

"Heh, this is gonna be awesome." Ruby said as she watched her uncle and her father get ready to fight each other.

"Yeah, it's been so long since we last saw dad and uncle Qrow fight." Yang said.

Hmm, I already know what Qrow is capable of due to Summer telling me full extent of his semblance. Not only that but I did see him fight a few times while I was watching the show...okay sure it was only once but his style doesn't seem all that complicated.

It'll be nice to see what Tai is capable of considering that I've only seen him once in the entire show, and he's never actually fought on screen.

I don't even know what his weapon is.

Well, judging by the fact that Yang was most likely trained by him, it might have something to do with hand to hand combat.

Though I don't see any kind of weapon that would allow him to utilize that skill to it's fullest.

Maybe it's his semblance that allows him to use a hand to hand combat like style.

"So, you said that we were using weapons, right?" Qrow asked his partner.

"That's right. I want to have an all out battle like in the good old days." Tai said as he started to crack his knuckles.

I noticed that there was some sort of weapon strapped to his back. I wasn't able to get a good look at the weapon due to my lack of vision.

Though as I glanced over at Yang, I could hear an audible gulp coming from her.

What's gotten into her?

"Hey, you know that you're not the one fighting, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's just that whenever I was training with dad, it was always a rough day whenever he brought out his weapon." Yang said.

"Jeez, was it that bad?" I asked.

"Yeah, there's a reason why I have such a high pain tolerance today." She said.

I raised one of my eyebrows as a response to Yang's statement.

"Yeah, it was rough training with him. He wasn't really one to hold back, and that weapon of his isn't really capable of pulling punches." Yang said.

"Alright, if you say so." Qrow said as he pulled out his weapon and activated it's sword form.

Tai chuckled and pulled out a black and gold shotgun of some sort, the golden parts glistening in the light of the sun.

A shotgun huh? Guess I know where Yang got her inspiration from.

"What's it called?" I asked.

"His weapon? It's called Megido Fire." She said.

"Why did he name it that?" I asked.

"Well, that's the name it was given after a little reputation he got from his time in Beacon. People just started to call his shotgun that after awhile, so he just went with that name." Yang said.

"What made people settle for that na-?" I began, only for Tai to fire one of the rounds from his shot gun at Qrow, the bullet being completely consumed by a red flame.

Qrow jumped up into the air to dodge the attack, causing the area where the bullet did land to explode.

"That. That's how it got the second part of it's name." Yang said.

As Qrow started to descend towards the ground, Tai aimed his shotgun at the falling Qrow.

"Doesn't he know that a shotgun typically doesn't have a lot of-." I began, only for Tai to shoot another round at Qrow, the bullet speeding towards the drunken swordsman.

Qrow raised his sword to block the attack, causing the explosion to send him flying across the fields of Beacon.

"...You know what? I'm just gonna shut up now." I said.

Qrow grinned and pointed his sword at his old partner.

"Heh, I still got it." Tai said as he cocked his shot gun, causing the shell of a bullet to fall to the ground.

The drunken swords man charged at his opponent with his sword at his side and a grin on his face.

Tai grinned and started to fire various shots at his former partner, though Qrow as able to dodge these shots with relative ease.

Eventually, Qrow had eventually gotten Tai in range of his sword, causing him to swing it at the blonde man.

Though Tai quickly stepped back and shot another round at Qrow, causing him to dodge the attack.

He quickly attempted to fire another round at Qrow, though he was quick to react and moved to the side, causing the bullet to go speeding past him.

Qrow ran towards Tai and prepared to swing his sword at his old friend.

Once Tai was in range of his attacks, he swung his sword at his partner, though Tai was able to dodge the attack.

Qrow quickly followed up with another swing of his sword, causing Tai to raise his shotgun up to counter the attack.

He pushed back his partner and swung his shotgun as if it were a baseball bat of some sort. He landed a solid blow on Qrow's cheek, causing him to stumble back a bit.

Tai smirked and pressed a button on the handle of his shotgun, causing it to transform into a baseball bat of some sort.

He reeled the bat back and swung it at Qrow, causing him to go flying towards the courtyard of Beacon.

Tai switched his weapon back into it's shotgun form and ran towards the area where Qrow had landed.

"Guess we're moving." Yang said as she ran after her father and uncle.

Qrow groaned a bit as he got up off of the ground, shaking his head in attempts to regain his composure.

As he shook Tai's attack off, he could see that Tai had hit him over to the pillars of the courtyard in question.

Though before Qrow could start his climb down, he could see a red spark coming towards him at an alarmingly fast pace.

He quickly ducked down to dodge the attack, looking to see that Tai was running towards him with his shotgun aimed at him.

Qrow chucked and started to run across the stone structure, explosions coming from behind him as Tai's attacks failed to meet there target.

The drunken swords man pressed a button on his weapon, causing the blade detach from the handle to reveal a shotgun of his own.

Qrow started to fire a few shots of his own at Tai, though similar to his partner, they all failed to meet there target.

Eventually, one of Tai's shots landed directly below Qrow's feet, causing a massive explosion to appear from under him.

Tai narrowed his eyes and started to scan the area for a surprise attack from Qrow.

Sure enough, Qrow's bird form started to fly towards Tai.

Once he saw an opening to strike, Qrow flew towards his partner, turning back to his human form right before he made contact with his partner.

Tai spun his head around to face Qrow but it was already too late, Qrow kicked Tai across the face and sent him flying towards a stone pillar.

Qrow quickly changed back into his bird form and flew directly behind Tai and kicked him towards the solid ground.

Tai quickly recovered from the attack and got up from the ground, his weapon in his bat form.

The two started to exchange blows for a few seconds, Qrow landing a few solid shots on Tai.

Though after a few seconds, Tai was able to get the upper hand.

He shoulder charged Qrow and hit him with his bat, sending him tumbling down the courtyard and towards a stone pillar.

Tai quickly switched to his shotgun and started to fire various rounds at the drunken swords man, each bullet making an explosion of it's own as it hit Qrow's body.

The blonde warrior smirked and threw his shotgun over his shoulder, a confident grim plastered on his face.

However, the sound of turning gears quickly wiped this smirk off of his face.

"Heh, gotta admit. That hurt." Qrow said, his weapon now in it's infamous scythe form.

Tai chuckled and pressed another button on his weapon, causing to revert to it's baseball bat form.

Though as the transformation finished, the golden parts of the bat started to glow with a golden aura.

The twp combatants stared each other down, each side waiting for the other to make a move.

Though after a few seconds, Qrow smirked and sheathed his weapon.

"Huh?" Tai asked.

Qrow pointed his finger behind Tai, causing him to turn around to face Glynda and Ozpin themselves.

"Ah...shit." He said as put his weapon back over his shoulder.

"What in the name of the gods themselves do you two think you're doing?!" Glynda yelled.

"Uh...sparing?" Tai said.

"You call this sparing?! You nearly destroyed most of the courtyard!" She yelled.

"What Glynda is trying to say is that we are very thankful for coming, Tai." Ozpin said.

"Heh, it was no big deal. From what Qrow told me you guys need all the help you can get." Tai said.

"Oh? So he as already filled you in on all of the details then?" He asked.

"Well, he didn't give me specifics. He just told me that the woman we were protecting was really important. What was her name again?" He asked.

"Amber." Qrow said.

"Right! Amber. Though I'm not entirely sure why she's so important." Tai said.

"Ah, I see. No worries, we'll fill you in on the details once we get back to my office." Ozpin said as he took a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Well, let us not waste any time. I'm sure you have a lot of questions." He said as he started to walk towards the C.C.T tower.

"Right. Later girls. Brandon." Tai said as he walked off.

Qrow raised one of his hands as a form of goodbye.

Glynda grumbled to herself as she followed the three men to the tower.

.

.

"Well. That was kinda underwhelming." Yang said.

"Yeah, it was just getting good to!" Ruby said.

"So...what I miss?" I asked.

"Oh, well I guess you really didn't miss all that much." She said.

"Yeah, we really just trained for the tournament is all." Yang said.

"Oh." I said.

"Well, I did get to meet and train with this Amber person." Ruby said.

"W-what?! You trained with Amber?!" I asked.

"Yeah. Wait, you know her?" She asked.

"To an extent yeah." I said.

"So do you know why she's so important in the first place?" Ruby asked.

"Well..." I began.

...No, they don't need to know about the Maidens power, at least not yet.

"It's a bit complicated. I don't really know all of the details myself. I just know that she's important, and that she used to be really strong." I said.

"Used to be?" Yang asked.

"Like I said. I don't know all of the details myself." I said.

"Hmm, weird." Ruby mumbled to herself.

"So did anything else happen while I was gone?" I asked.

"Hmm...well I fought Neo, so that was a thing." Yang said.

"Wait, you fought Neo?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what I just said." She said.

"And you're still alive?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Yang said.

.

.

"Wanna play video games?" Ruby asked.

"Sure." Yang and I said as we walked back to our dorms.

Though little did we know, someone was watching the fight between Qrow and Tai from a distance.

Upon further inspection, it was none other than Mercury Black himself.

"Damn it. The boss isn't gonna like this." He said to himself as he walked away from the courtyard.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

"We should be here shortly." Ozpin said as the four of them stood inside of the elevator.

After a few seconds, a ding could be heard from within the elevator.

As the doors to the elevator opened, both Ironwood and Amber could be seen in the room waiting patiently for the four to arrive.

"What's the general doing here?" Tai asked.

Qrow sighed and took a sip from his flask.

"Welcome to the club." He said as he walked into the room.

"Ah, Mr. Xiao Long. Glad to see you could make it." Ironwood said as he walked over to Tai and shook his hand.

"Well, if Qrow's calling me for help then it's bound to be important." Tai said, causing Qrow to grumble to himself.

"Well, now that we are all here, shall we get onto the task at hand?" Ozpin asked.

"Right." Ironwood said.

"So...why exactly have you called me here?" Tai asked.

"To guard Amber of course." Ozpin said.

"Well, yeah. I know that. But why though? I mean, you already have Qrow guarding her. Isn't he enough?" He asked.

"Under normal circumstances, that would be true. However, the situation is now beyond the boundaries of normality." Ozpin said.

"What do you mean?" Tai asked.

"Please, take a seat." He said.

The blonde man nodded and sat in the chair that was in front of Ozpin's desk.

"What is your favorite fairy tale?" Ozpin asked.

"Amber is the Fall Maiden." Qrow interrupted Tai before he could answer.

.

.

"Wait what?" Tai asked.

"Qrow!" Ironwood and Glynda yelled.

"What? He already knows that some fairy tales in Remnant aren't exactly fairy tales. He knows about the spirits, and he knows about the silver eyed warriors. So let's just cut to the chase already." Qrow said.

"Huh, so the Maidens are real. Well add that one to the list." Tai said.

"See? Let's just tell him about the actual important stuff." He said.

"Very well. As Qrow has already said, Amber here is the Fall Maiden...well, I should say the current one at least." Ozpin said.

"Hmm?" Tai hummed.

"Let's say that things have gotten a little more complicated as of recently" He said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, the Maidens are the key to accessing the relics that lay under the school." Qrow said.

"Relics?" Tai asked.

"May I?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah sure, go ahead." He said.

"Tell me, Tai. Are you familiar with the tale of the two brothers?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, I used to read these kinds of stories to Yang all the time when she was little." Tai said.

"Would you mind telling me this story?" He asked.

"Sure. Before humanity came into existence, there were two gods, two brothers to me specific. The older sibling was the god of life, while the younger brother was the opposite of his elder sibling, being the god of darkness." He said.

"While the older brother enjoyed creating life, the eldest found the same kind of joy in destroying it." Tai said.

"The two argued constantly about how there world should run. The oldest one created plants, wild life, and water for the world of Remnant. Though during the night, the younger brother would be disgusted by what his brother had created, creating fire, drought and famine to the world." He said.

"Though no matter how hard the younger sibling tried to destroy his older brothers creations, life would always come back to the world." Tai said.

"One day, he decided to create something. Something that would carry out his desire for destruction and chaos." He said.

"The creatures of Grimm." Ozpin said.

"Yep. So one day, the older brother finally had enough. Knowing that the feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they made one final creation. Something they can both be proud of. There so called, master piece." Tai said.

"Their last great creation would be given the power to both create, and destroy. He would be given the gift of knowledge so that he may learn about the world around him. Though most importantly, he was given free will. The power to choose." He said.

"And that is how humanity was born." Tai finished telling his tale.

"Hmm, excellent story telling, Tai." Ozpin said.

"Well, I did raise two kids." He said with a grin.

"Now what would you do if I told you that these supposed gods were real?" He asked.

"...Wait, seriously? I mean, I can believe the spirits, the silver eye'd warriors, and even the Maidens. But gods? Actual gods?" Tai asked.

"I know that this is a lot of information to take. Though trust me, they are indeed real."

"Wow...but wait, what does this have to do with the Maidens?" Tai asked.

"Well, this is where things start to get complicated." Ozpin said.

"The four gifts to humanity, knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice, are not metaphorical." He said.

"...What?" He asked.

"Yes, each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, and each one is extraordinarily powerful." Qrow said.

"If someone were to collect all four, then they would have the power to bend the world to there own will." He said.

"That's why the huntsmen academies were created. To train the generations of humanities protectors, all while guarding there respective relic." Ironwood said.

"When my predecessor founded this school, he built it around the relic to act as a fortress of some sort. This way they would not only be easier to defend, but they would also be constantly surrounded by trained warriors." Ozpin said.

"Our hope was to keep the relics under wraps so that humanity doesn't use their power to shoot themselves in the foot." Qrow said.

"And the Maidens are the only one's who are able to access these relics." Glynda said.

"Just one problem. We only have half of a Maiden." He said.

"Half?" Tai asked.

"Amber was attacked two years ago, losing half of her power to a woman we now know is named Cinder Fall." Qrow said.

"She's been in a coma ever since that attack, and her strength has yet to return." Ironwood said.

"So naturally, this is a pretty big problem if we want to access the relics. Amber needs all of her power to access the relic hidden within the school." He said.

"That's where you come in, Tai." Ozpin said.

"Currently the only thing we have to go off on is a name and a location." Ironwood said.

"We have searched the systems, and we have yet to find anyone with the name of Cinder Fall." He said.

"As of this moment all we know is that she's in Beacon, so our next best option is to keep the current one alive." Qrow said.

"If the enemy was strong enough to take down a Maiden, then we're gonna need a little extra fire power." He said.

"So that's why you needed me." Tai said.

"Yeah, considering you were already familiar with the concept of Fairy Tales not being Fairy Tales, you were our best option." Qrow said.

"So what do you say? Will you lend us your aid?" Ozpin asked.

"Be warned that you will be required to leave home whenever something involving the enemy pops up." Ironwood said.

"So is that why you're always on missions?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, these missions may keep you away from home for a good while." Qrow said. "Think about it this way, Tai. We're not trying to save our world, we're trying to save theirs." He said.

"Though if you do choose to join, then you cannot tell anyone outside of this room about the secrets we hold. We are trying to protect the world from a threat that they don't know of." Ozpin said.

"So, you in Tai?" Qrow asked.

Tai sat there in silence for a few seconds before getting up from his chair.

"Well, I guess Ruby and Yang are growing up." Tai said as he turned towards his partner.

"You can count me in." He said as he extended his hand outwards.

Qrow chuckled grasped the hand with his own.

"Try not to hold me back, okay?" He asked with a chuckle.

* * *

"And you're certain that's what you saw?" Cinder asked as she paced around her room.

"Bad hair, used a scythe, smelled like my dad after a long day? Yeah, it was him." Mercury said.

"And this other man was also with him?" She asked.

"Yeah, not really sure who he is. Blonde hair, used some sort of shotgun baseball bat, also heard something about Megido Fire or something." He said.

"Hmm, this is...troubling." Cinder said.

"Why? He can't be that much of a threat, right?" Emerald asked.

"Do not underestimate your opponents, Emerald. If what you saw was true, then not only do we have the infamous Qrow Branwen to deal with, we also have to deal with his partner, Taiyang Xiao Long." She said.

"Xiao Long? You mean like that Blondie?" Mercury asked.

"I see you have been paying attention. Yes, Taiyang is also the father of both Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long." Cinder said.

"But they both have different last names." He said.

"Just because they have different last names doesn't mean they can't be related." Emerald said.

"Yes. Rose decided that she would take her late mothers name instead of her fathers." Cinder said.

"So what's the deal with these two? They seemed to know each other to a certain extent." Mercury asked.

"Well, I'm sure you two know of the connection between Qrow and Raven Branwen." She said.

"Kinda hard not to put two and two together." Mercury said.

"Though what's the connection with Tai?" Emerald asked.

"Well, it just so happens that these three twenty years ago formed at team here in Beacon academy. A team named team STRQ, led my the infamous Summer Rose herself." Cinder said.

"I've heard of her before. People called her the Silver Warrior due to a little incident back in the Mountains." Mercury said.

"Yes, though she was confirmed dead ten years ago, dividing the team." She said.

"Do you think they're coming back together?" Emerald asked.

"Well, I do believe that Branwen and Xiao Long are reforging their partnership. As for Raven, I doubt that she would assist Ozpin due to their past troubles with one another." Cinder said.

"Still, two huntsmen in Beacon won't exactly be a walk in the park. Not only that but Amber finally woke up, and it's only a matter before she's able to remember who we are." Mercury said.

"She only knows of our faces, not of our identities. We must simply keep out of her sights until the end of the tournament." She said.

"What about Roman and Neo? They switched over to the enemies side, and he knows both our faces and our names." Emerald said.

"Yes, it is quite...troubling that Roman chose to side with the fools in the end. Though this only makes our plan slightly more challenging. They have no idea that we are here, and I made sure to tell Roman nothing of the Maidens, nothing about the Fall, and certainly nothing about the tournament." Cinder said.

"So what, we just keep following the plan?" Mercury asked.

"Yes, while the arrival of those two huntsmen and the betrayal of Roman will put a damper in things, we still have all of the resources needed for our plan to succeed." She said.

"What about Neo? She was our forth team member, and without her we can't participate in the tournament." Mercury said.

"Oh don't worry about that. We are already signed up for the tournament, according to the rules, as long as we still have three members on our team we will not be required to forfeit the tournament." She said.

"Remember, we only need the two of you to move onto the semi finals, and for the Mercury here to put the first step of our plan into action." Cinder said.

"Unless you two aren't certain that we will not be able to handle whatever team comes our way that is." She said.

"Heh, you kidding me? You should just have me participate in all the matches alone. I'd wipe the floor with anyone that comes into the ring." Mercury said with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Mercury, we've talked about this." Cinder said.

"Yeah, I know." He said.

"It was the first thing I was taught by my mentor, and it was the first thing I taught the two of you." She said. "There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." Cinder said.

"So what do we do now?" Emerald asked.

"It's as I said. We stay the course, though we must take a little extra caution with the new circumstances that have popped up." She said.

"So how exactly are we gonna be able to hack into Ironwood's system? Without that bug that Phantom member made we won't be able to make it look like that Ironwood was the one who fired the first shots." Mercury said.

"That part of the plan has changed, my dear Mercury." Cinder said.

"...What?" Both Emerald and Mercury asked.

"Yes, unfortunately I will not be able to turn Ironwood's machines against him. However, that is not our goal. Our goal is to reclaim the other half of the Maiden's power, how we achieve that said goal is entirely up to us." She said.

"And due to these unfortunate circumstances, it seems that we must take a more...direct approach." Cinder said.

Emerald and Mercury looked at each other with looks of caution and concern on their faces.

"You two head back to your rooms. You will need all the rest you can get for the upcoming events." She said.

"Yes Ma'am." Emerald said.

"Got it." Mercury said as he and Emerald walked out of the room.

Cinder was about to tuck in for the night, however, the sound of her scroll vibrating cut her off.

 _'Who's calling me?'_ Cinder asked.

It was an unknown number, much to the suspicion of Cinder.

She narrowed her eyes and answered the call.

"Hello?" She said.

 **"Hey! Cinder! How ya doing? Been awhile!"** Roman's voice said through the scroll.

It took a lot of will power for Cinder not to just snap her scroll into tiny pieces.

"Roman." Cinder said.

 **"It's been quite the while since we last saw each other. I was beginning to think we had something special."** He said.

"Why are you calling this number?" She asked.

 **"Straight to the point are we?"** Roman asked.

"What are you talking about? Do you have any idea how much I had to alter the plan due to your little betrayal?!" Cinder whispered.

 **"Calm down, I haven't betrayed anything."** He said.

"...I'm listening." She said.

 **"You're not gonna believe this, but I just got the opportunity of a life time."** Roman said.

"Yes, I know all about your little recruitment into Ozpin's circle." Cinder growled.

 **"Yeah, though I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get some inside info on our enemy."** He said.

Cinder raised one of her eyebrows and continued to attempt to see if Roman was deceiving her.

"So you are simply deceiving them in attempts to attain some of their secrets?" She asked.

 **"Yep, think of it as like one of those spy flicks you see in the theaters."** Roman said.

"I don't watch movies." Cinder said.

 **"What do they not have cable where you're from?"** He asked.

"I don't have a T.V." She said.

 **"How in the hell do you not-? Never mind, I'm sure you get the point."** Roman said.

"And how do I know that you are not double crossing me? What reason have you given me to trust you?" Cinder asked.

 **"Cinder, honey-."** He began.

"Don't call me that." She said.

 **"Do I-?"**

"Ever." Cinder said.

 **"...As I was saying. Do I seem like the kind of guy who would be stupid enough to betray you of all people? I mean, you've got the entire Fang wrapped around your little finger."** Roman said.

"Hmm." She hummed.

 **"Come on. What would I have to gain through betraying you?"** He asked.

"...Fair point. Very well, I would like reports on anything that may be of use to our plan. Also I would appreciate it if you could inform me the next time you decide to deviate from the plan." Cinder said.

 **"Alright, alright. I won't do it again."** Roman said.

"Good. I expect results in a few days. You've come up with an interesting plan, Torchwick. Please, do not disappoint me." She said.

 **"Don't worry, it won't be like last time."** He said as he cut off the connection.

Cinder sighed and placed the scroll back onto her desk.

 _ **"What do you want, child?"**_ She remembered her master asking.

 _ **"...Power. I want power."**_ Cinder said to her.

 _'I will become strong, and I will never feel weak again.'_ She said.

* * *

"Don't worry, it won't be like last time." Roman said as he cut off the connection.

"Because this time? You won't be the one stabbing me in the back." He said with a grin on his face.

"Well, that's step one completed." Brandon said as he and Roman stood in his classroom.

"Yep. I had my doubts kid but so far it seems that your little plan is working." Roman said.

"Well I wouldn't get to confident. We still need to complete the rest of the steps." He said.

"Right. So what's the rest of this little plan involve?" He asked.

"Well first of all, you need to tell Cinder believable information so that she doesn't suspect that you're double crossing her." Brandon said.

"Kid, have you met me? I am the king of con artists." Roman said.

"Then this part should be a walk in the park for you." He said.

"How about part three?" He asked.

"You need to get Cinder to trust you." Brandon said.

"Um, did you not just hear what Cinder just-." Roman began.

"She's cautious. I can tell, even through the call. You won't be able to just up and ask her what her view on Emerald and Mercury are right off of the bat, at least not without drawing to much suspicion to yourself." He said.

"Why do you even care for those two anyways?" He asked.

"They're friends of mine. I'm not gonna let Cinder just thrown them away like trash. Besides, if they're gonna put there abilities to good use, it might as well be using them to fight against Cinder and not us." Brandon said.

"Guess you have a point there." Roman said.

"So you need to get Cinder to trust you, or at least get her to trust you with the information of her view on Emerald and Mercury." He said.

"Okay, after that what then?" He asked.

"I give Mercury and Emerald the truth. After that all we can do is hope that I'm telling the truth on this one." Brandon said.

"And if they don't?" Roman asked.

"I tend not to think about the worse case scenario." He said.

"Okay, what then?" He asked.

"We send Cinder straight to hell." Brandon said.

Roman blinked a few times before speaking up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You didn't say anything about fighting Cinder, kid. I agreed to get a get out of jail free card, not a one way ticket to the devils door." He said.

"Guess I should have been more specific. I'll send Cinder straight to hell." Brandon said.

"..."

"I know, it's a stupid idea. I can easily just book it after I finish what I need to do." He said.

"But I may be the best chance we have if Ozpin bites the dust." Brandon said.

"She only has half of the Maidens power, and with any luck it will stay that way." He said.

"And what if she gets the rest of the Maiden's power? What then?" Roman asked.

"All that means is that killing her will be more of a challenge than I originally intended." Brandon said as he walked out of the room.

"Good luck out there Roman. There's a lot riding on you." He said.

Roman sat at his desk with his scroll in his hand.

He sighed, got up from his desk and started to head towards the door.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Roman asked himself.

* * *

 **So now we finally get started with the volume three arc.**

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode two of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the second episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 2 thoughts**

 **So RWBY volume five, episode two is here.**

 **To begin, let's just get the White Fang scene, because out of all the scenes, this one was shocking, good, and bad at the same time.**

 **I don't think it was a bad scene when it comes to writing perspective, I thought it was a good scene to develop Adam's character so I have no problem with that.**

 **Though as for why I'm a little disappointed here, I feel like the leader of the White Fang's character design was just wasted. It was such a good character design, a design that obviously took a lot of time to make.**

 **It's not like one of those designs that can be just thrown together like the background characters in RWBY.**

 **Not only that but the voice acting for her character was just unbelievably good. So it kinda sucks to see all of that wasted. Though I am glad that Rooster Teeth isn't afraid of going into the darker elements of the show, and I also like how they aren't shying away from character death.**

 **So I am pleased with the direction the story is taking so far, hopefully it keeps this sort of tone.**

 **As for Adams betrayal, I knew that he wanted to over throw the leader of the White Fang, I just wasn't expecting it to me as soon as it was.**

 **Now here's the most interesting part of the episode, at least for me.**

 **Hazel's introduction.**

 **Now I don't really know what it is about his character, but it seems really...complex. Almost as if he didn't really feel like a bad guy. He was attempting to avoid deaths of the White Fang members.**

 **He really didn't want anyone to die in this episode, and I could tell that he was really trying to prevent anyone from dying.**

 **Considering that he's part of Salem's circle, this is really interesting to me. Out of all the villains Rooster Teeth has written for this show, I'd say that this might be there best one yet if they do choose to dive into his character more.**

 **And after Adam did kill the Sienna Khan, you could tell that he was actually upset of this outcome, he was really not happy with Adam right there.**

 **So is he against killing, and the only time he would ever kill someone is if it were absolutely necessary? If so then why is he part of Salem's group? Her goal is to literally kill thousands of people in attempts to get the relics.**

 **When I saw Nora and Ren fighting Hazel, I was pretty concerned for their safety. Though if Hazel didn't even want to kill Sienna Khan, then I don't think he will kill children.**

 **Anyways, let's move on.**

 **So Cinder is finally getting her confidence back, she seems to be getting her strength back and all that. I'll reserve my thoughts on her character when we see more of her in the field.**

 **Same can be said for Watts.**

 **So the scene where Weiss was fighting off the bug Grimm was a really well animated fight, really liked it.**

 **Though Raven is back! Glad to see that she won't disappear for another volume and then come back for one episode.**

 **Didn't expect to see her as soon as we did but hey, I'm not complaining.**

 **Overall, I really liked this episode.**

 **Review Responce**

 **SPDefender: Yep, now Brandon is finally ready to put his plan into action.**

 **Donovan: Still thinking on it. Trying to find a place for him in the story that would actually make sense.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Don't worry, they're sold in Remnant as well so he's not missing out on anything.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Hey, if that's how you see it, that's how you see it.**

 **myfunvideos: Uh...no.**

 **CraazyReader: Yep, I really want him to have more of a role in this story.**

 **Clutchvm: I plan to close the polls eventually. I don't have a set date really.**

* * *

"Hah! Jeez, what time is it?" One of the White Fang asked as he walked down one of the cable cars of a train that was making it's way towards the mountains.

"Hold on, I can tell you in a few seconds." He said as he pulled out his scroll.

"Hmm...wow, it's almost midnight." He said.

"Ugh, I hate the night shifts. How come we have to spend the entire night just walking around the train while everyone else gets a good nights sleep?" He asked.

"Hey, you know the rules." His partner said as the train made its way through a tunnel.

"I know, it's just stupid is all." He said.

As the train made it's way out of the tunnel, Vale could be seen from the distance, the various lights in the town making it shine within the moonlight.

"Wow, though I can't argue with this view." He said.

"Yeah, you're telling me." One of them said.

All of a sudden, the sound of a scroll ringtone broke them out of their daze.

"Ah, I guess it's my turn to run the train. You gonna be okay without me?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. Go and do your job." He said.

The White Fang member nodded and started to walk towards the front of the train.

Though little did they know, there was someone eavsdroping on them in a neighboring mountain.

They were completely concealed within the darkness of the forest, the only thing lighting their way being the lights within there mask.

The stranger put down the binoculars that they had in there hands and picked up a bow of some sort.

They pulled the bow backwards, causing a bright yellow line to appear where the string to the bow should have been, as well as an bright yellow arrow.

After a few seconds of silence, the stranger fired the arrow.

"Jeez, where is that guy?" The conductor asked.

As soon as he said this however, the doors leading to the front of the train opened.

"About time you got here!" He said.

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake everyone up." The White Fang member said.

"Yeah, well it took a lot for me not to just flat out pass out on the controls. It'll be good to finally get some shut eye." The conductor said.

"Heh, I'm sure we all feel the same way. Though this cargo is important. Weapons, resources, dust, food, and basically everything else that will help keep the Fang well fed and rested." He said.

"Yeah, I was kinda honored to be given the honor of escorting this cargo to Vale's branch of the White Fang. It'll be nice to see a few friends that decided to stay in the Vale bra-." Though before he could continue his sentence, an arrow was shot through the window of the train and pierced through the head of the conductor.

"Gah! What the hell?!" The White Fang member asked as he jumped back a bit.

After a few seconds, the White Fang member went to go and investigate the arrow that had just killed his friend.

Though what he didn't expect was for a masked stranger to appear near the corpse.

"W-what the-?!" He began, only for him to meet the same fate as his friend.

The masked figure put there bow over their shoulder and walked over to the main controls of the train.

They pressed a few buttons and pulled a lever, causing the train to change tracks.

The stranger started to walk towards the exit, only for the sight of a White Fang member holding two cups of coffee to cut them off.

.

.

The soldier slowly turned his head towards a large red button that was right next to him.

The stranger reeled back the string of their bow and shook their head.

After a few seconds of silence, the White Fang member launched himself towards the button, to which the stranger countered by shooting a arrow at the man.

Though while the arrow did manage to kill the White Fang member, his corpse made it's way towards the red button.

The stranger ran towards the falling corpse in attempts to prevent him from falling onto the button, though it was too late.

An alarm rang through the entire train, causing the stranger to rub the temples of their mask and run towards the exit with their bow out.

They quickly made there through the different cars of the train, eventually coming across a group of White Fang members.

"There he is! Open fi-!" He began, only for the stranger to shoot an arrow in his head.

The stranger created three more arrows and shot them at the other members of the White Fang killing them instantly as each arrow shot through their heads.

They rolled on the ground and shot an arrow at the ceiling where the door leading to the outside of the car lead.

After the door opened, there was a moment of silence before the corpse of a White Fang member fell to the floor of the cart.

They ran out of the door to an open area of the train.

Various White Fang members were seen gathered on the train with their weapons pointed at the stranger.

The figure cracked there shoulders and summoned three arrows in their hand.

Each White Fang member charged at the figure, though as the first three made their way towards the figure, they jumped up into the air and fired the three arrows at the White Fang members, killing them instantly as each arrow found its target.

They rolled under another White Fang member and shot another arrow in front of they, killing the two that were in front of them. The White Fang member behind them roared and swung his sword at the figure, though they quickly countered by hitting them with the bow itself, knocking him under the train.

They ran up to anther White Fang member and grabbed them by the neck, the arrow in there hands glowing with a red aura and emanating red sparks.

After a few seconds the figure jumped up and fired the arrow, causing the arrow to explode, killing ever White Fang member caught in the blast.

Once the two had landed, the White Fang member hit the figure with the back of his head, causing there mask to crack.

"You...You no good son of a-!" He began, only for the stranger to pull of there mask, allowing there dark hair to flow in the night sky.

"Are you-?! Do you have any idea how long it took to get this fixed?!" A feminine voice asked as they turned towards the White Fang member.

"...Wait wha-?" He began, only for the woman to shoot another arrow at the solider, killing him instantly.

The woman growled and started to make her way towards the front of the train again.

She climbed up to the top of the train and stared at Remnants night sky.

Meanwhile, rather than heading towards the Forever Fall Forest, the train was making its way towards another forest of some sort, one with a fairly large tree in the center of all of it.

* * *

 **Unknown Archer**

 **Race: Faunus**

 **Trait: Unknown**

 **Weapon: Bow and Arrow**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 152 lbs**

 **Age: 30**

 **Outfit: Black Blue, White, Red.**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Pale.**

 **Hair Color: Dark**

 **Eye color: Green**

 **Aura Color: Green**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Indra**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 91**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 63**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 46**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 24**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	57. Round One

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Round One"

Thought: _'Round One'_

Flashback: _"Round One"_

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy Crap! Can you guys believe this?! We're actually going to be fighting in the tournament!" Ruby yelled in rapid succession as she, her team, team JNPR and SSSN were all sitting in the first waiting room, waiting to get their match up's for the tournament.

"Will you calm yourself Ruby! We need to make a good first impression! This won't just be Vale watching us, the entire world will be watching our matches." Weiss said.

"No pressure am I right?" Yang commented.

"She's right though. Our families will all be watching us back at home. Well, with the exception of you two. Your dad is already here." Blake said.

"Well, not all of our families." Weiss mumbled to herself as she looked down.

 _ **"As for your offer, I am pleased to say that I will be able to visit, though only for a brief period of time."**_ She remembered Winter saying in her letter to Weiss.

 _'What's taking you so long? I was hoping you would at least be in the stadium to watch my match.'_ She thought to herself.

"Weiss?" Ruby called out.

"Huh?" She asked.

"You look sad. Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, no. It's fine. I'm okay." Weiss said.

Ruby was hesitant at first, but eventually took Weiss's word for it and nodded.

"We've really gotta put on a show out there Rubes. Dad and Uncle Qrow will be watching us." Yang said.

"I know! It's kinda nerve wrecking now that I think about it. All those eyes...staring at us...judging u-." Ruby began, only for Weiss to whack her over her head with her hand.

"Ow! What the heck Weiss?!" She asked.

"Don't you get start getting stage fright now! We need all four members out there if we want to have any hopes of winning." Weiss said.

"Actually, we technically only need enough members to move onto the second round." Ruby said.

"That doesn't matter! You are our leaders strategist, a crucial part to our victory for the first round." She said.

"Yeah Rubes. We're gonna need you out there." Yang said.

"Besides, we only need to get through the first round. Afterwards you can sit out for the rest of the tournament." Blake said.

"Y-yeah. Right." Ruby said.

"What's wrong sis? I thought you were all excited to participate in the tournament." Yang said.

"I am!...It's just that, I'm nervous as well. It's like Weiss said. It won't just be Vale watching us, it'll be the entire world of Remnant. Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas and Menagerie will all be watching us." Ruby said.

"Well, it is a big tournament. Only happens once every two years." Blake said.

"Yeah, doesn't that make you a little nervous?" She asked.

Yang started to chuckle and looked at her shaking hands.

"Course it does. Though this is what living is all about. This adrenaline is what I look for in life." Yang said.

"I will admit, it is a little nerve wrecking. Especially since I have to honor my family name." Weiss said.

"What do you mean? I wouldn't think the Schnee Dust Company would be to concerned about the worlds view on there potential to create warriors." Blake said.

"You would think that. However, I'll have you know that the Schnee Dust Company has produced some exceptional warriors." She said.

"...Like?" Yang asked.

"My sister, Winter Schnee, not only graduated at the top of her class in Atlas academy, but she is currently one of the few students privileged enough to be recruited into the Special Operatives unit." Weiss said with pride.

"Is that a good thing?" She asked.

"Is it a-?! Of course it's a good thing!" She yelled. "They don't just let any average huntsmen into the special operatives, only the best of the best can be recruited into the unit." She said.

"They are meant to handle situations that the regular military cannot handle." Weiss said.

"Your sister must be pretty strong then." Yang said.

"Of course she is. If anything, I'm sure she can even mop the floor with your uncle." She said, causing Ruby to jump from her seat.

"What?! No way! Uncle Qrow would make your sister Winter into a snow cone!" Ruby said.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss yelled.

"Yeah! You heard me! My uncle is the second best their is!" She said.

"The nerve of-...wait, second?" She said.

"Mom still holds that title." Yang said.

"Wait, your mom or her mom?" Blake asked.

"...Uh." They both attempted to answer.

"Well, if I had to take a guess, I'd have to say it would be my mom. I did see her mop the floor with Afam after all." She said.

"I'm sure mom could have done that to." Ruby said with a pout.

"Maybe, though I doubt in the way that my mom did it. I mean, she made the guy look like a total novice." Yang said.

"Yeah." Blake said.

"Anyways, my sister wasn't the only one who trained in the arts of combat." Weiss said. "I'll have you know that our mother, Willow Schnee, is one of the greatest warriors I know." Weiss said.

"Then why isn't she a huntress like your sister?" Yang asked.

"Well, while she's really good at the arts of combat, she was the first born child of my grandfather, Nicolas Schnee. That means there was a lot of pressure for her to take over the business." She said.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't my mother that took over the business. It was my father." Weiss said.

"Yeah, you don't need to talk about how shitty your old man is for the fiftieth time." Yang said.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she shoved the swear jar in her face.

"Right. Sorry about that." She said as she put some lien in the jar.

"So instead of becoming a huntress, she helped my father run her company." Weiss said, putting more emphasis on the word her.

"Though at least she was able to pass down her skills to Winter and I." She said.

While team RWBY was having there little pep talk, the two other teams in the room were also having a talk of there own.

"Breathe in." Pyrrha said as Jaune inhaled.

"Breathe out." She said, causing Jaune to exhale.

"Breathe in."

"Breathe out."

Jaune was...doing his best to handle the situation at hand.

"So, how do you feel?" She asked.

"...I'm good. I'm okay now." Jaune said.

"That's good." Pyrrha said.

"You know what? It's not so bad now that I think about it. Yeah! We've got this guys!" He said.

"Yeah! I mean, we've got a world renowned fighter on our team, what's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, and we've got deadliest gardener in the world...you know now that I say it aloud, it doesn't sound as cool." Nora said.

"You gonna take that?" Ren asked.

"Well it was better than what she was originally calling me." Jaune said.

"Oh it wasn't that bad. I just called you Jaune." She said.

"Yeah, in what's gotta be the most doubtful voices I've ever heard!" He said.

"...I said I was sorry when you unlocked your semblance." Nora said.

"So yeah, I'll take what I can get." Jaune said.

"We've trained all year our weapons are awesome, Glynda is more focused on yelling at Brandon than she is yelling at us, and we've basically got an entire forest in our hands." She said.

"You did remember to bring those seeds and dust crystals we've talked about, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, hopefully it'll be enough to win this." Jaune said.

"Oh come on, don't be so nervous. The worst that happen is we lose. Then it's just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures."Our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status we won't be able to show our faces in class nobody will want to sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents so we have no home left to go back to, and we'll officially be renamed to ream LOSE-iper. Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" She said, her laughs slowly turning into sobs.

.

.

Pyrrha slowly turned towards Jaune to see that his head was pressed against the table they were sitting at.

"Don't fret you two. We'll be perfectly fine." Pyrrha said. "If anything we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines and not...well you know, murderers." She said.

"Yeah, I suppose it will be nice to have a break from all that for once." Jaune said.

"That's the spirit." She said.

"...Jaune." Ren called out.

"What's up Ren?" Jaune asked.

"Why do I have a feeling that it goes a bit deeper than failing the school?" He asked.

Nora and Pyrrha turned towards Jaune who simply started to chuckle nervously.

"Well...it's my family." He said.

"What about them?" Pyrrha asked.

"They didn't even expect me to make it this far." Jaune said, causing his friends to widen their eyes.

"W-what?! Why?!" She asked.

"Like I said before. My transcripts weren't real. Anyone would expect someone like that not to make it very far." He said. "You guys were the first group of people to ever believe in me, you know that?" Jaune asked.

"The first?" Nora asked.

"Yeah. Even when I told my parents I was going to Beacon, they told me not to worry if I ended up having to move back home." He said.

"S-seriously?" She asked, her fists starting to ball up in anger.

"Yeah. How depressing is that?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune, I'm sure that they didn't mean it to sound as bad as it did." Pyrrha said.

"No, it's fine. This is my chance to show them how far I've really come. To show them that I'm not the coward I once was back at home." He said. "I guess what I'm really trying to say is that you guys have always been there for me. Even after you found out about the transcripts." Jaune said.

"...And we you." Ren said as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"Aw! Come and give mama Nora a hug!" Nora yelled as she started to walk over to Jaune with her arms spread out.

"Wait, Nora wait wait wait wai-!" He began, only for Nora to wrap her unnaturally strong arms around Jaune.

"We love ya to!" She said.

"Nora! Choking! Not breathing!" Jaune managed to say.

"N-Nora! Please! We need him conscious for our match." Pyrrha said.

"Ren! Help!" He said.

Ren's only response was to give him an salute.

"It was an honor." Ren said.

"Ren!" He attempted to yell.

As Pyrrha desperately attempted to pry Jaune away from Nora's iron grip, team SSSN was also having there own little pep talk.

"Whew, this is gonna be fun." Sun said as he started to throw a few practice punches.

"Yeah, can't believe we were chosen to fight in the Vytal tournament." Scarlet said.

"Is it really that surprising? I mean, we were able to fight some of the Fang's elite members. I mean, I was able to throw Adam Taurus, the Adam Taurus, like he was a ball." Sun said as he puffed out his chest with pride.

"Yeah, then you passed out due to loss of stamina." Sage said as he sat on the floor cross legged.

"Psh, details are overrated. Point being, if I can actually maintain that giant ape that I made, I might actually have a decent chance against him next time." He said.

"Gotta admit. What you did was pretty awesome." Neptune said.

"Heh, yeah it was. That'll be my trump card during this tournament." Sun said.

"Well, I wouldn't rely on that to much. Remember, you can only maintain the ape for at least ten seconds, afterwords you would be out of commission for the rest of the match." Sage said.

"Still, ten seconds is a lot of time when it comes to fighting." Neptune said.

"While that may be true, it's not like we don't have a powerful arsenal of our own." He said.

"Yeah, we've got Sage's tattoos, our team attacks, and your monkeys." Scarlet said.

"I know that. It's just...this is probably the only opportunity I'll get to prove myself." Sun said.

The four sat there in silence for a few seconds before Sage eventually spoke up.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"Oh. Right, I guess I never told you guys huh?" Sun asked.

"Told us what?" Scarlet asked.

"The reason I want to become a huntsmen." He said.

"Oh...well what is the reason?" Neptune asked.

"It's like I said. I want to prove myself. Not just to the people back at Vacuo who looked down on me, but to the entire world." Sun said.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly taken entirely seriously back at Vacuo. People said that a semblance like mine should belong in a circus instead of an actual combat school." He said.

"That's why I'm here, why I went to Haven instead of Shade. I'm gonna show everyone back in Vacuo just how wrong they were." Sun said.

"So that's your reason for fighting? Respect?" Sage asked.

"I know it sounds selfish, and yeah, it is kind of a selfish goal for a huntsmen." He said.

"But it's my goal, a goal that I'll reach no matter what I have to go through. So this tournament is the perfect opportunity to show just how wrong those assholes were." Sun said.

"You do know that you won't automatically gain the respect of the people just by winning a tournament, right?" Sage asked.

"Course I know that. Though at least with this, they'll know that I'm not just a joke." He said.

Neptune smiled, walked up to Sun and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Well, whether or not you win or lose, we'll always have your back." He said.

Both Sage and Scarlet nodded to Neptune's statement.

"Heh, thanks guys." Sun said.

Before anyone could continue their pep talks, the sound of Professor Goodwitch's voice coming from the speaker cut them off.

 **"Attention students. The team battles are about to start, your match up's will be sent to your team leader's scroll."** She said.

Ruby, Jaune, and Sun all pulled out their scrolls, checking to see which team they would be going up against.

"Hmm, team ABRN huh?" Yang asked.

"From what it say's, they reside from the academy of Haven. Their team consists of Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, Nadir Shiko, and finally, their leader, Arslan Altan." Weiss read aloud.

"Heh, they don't look so tough." She said with a grin on her face.

"You never know. Remember that we're fighting unfamiliar opponents, we don't know what their semblances are, or what weapons they wield." Blake said.

"Right, and if they were chosen to compete in the tournament then they're bound to at least have above average skills when it comes to combat." Weiss said.

"...Uh." Ruby attempted to say, not really sure what to add onto the conversation.

Meanwhile team JNPR was looking at their own opponents, team BRNZ.

"So Jaune. Who do we got?" Nora asked as she started to crack her knuckles.

"From what it say's here, we have to go up against team BRNZ of Shade academy." He said.

"Ah, so they reside from Vacuo." Pyrrha said.

"That's where Shade academy is, right?" Jaune asked.

"Yes Jaune, Shade academy is the main huntsmen academy in Vacuo," She said.

"So, who are their members?" Ren asked.

"Well, their leader is Brawnz Ni, his teammates are Roy Stallion, Nolan Porfirio, and May Zedong." Jaune said.

"Interesting. Perhaps this shall be quite the fun match." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, I hope these guys are ready, because we're about to show them just what team JNPR can do." He said with a confident smirk on his face.

Finally, team SSSN would soon be fighting team NDGO, the polar opposite of team SSSN.

"Whew. Looks like we've gotta fight team NDGO, from Shade." Sun said.

"NDGO huh?" Neptune asked.

"That's right. From what I'm reading they're quite popular back in Vacuo, and have quickly gained popularity points here in Beacon." He said.

"So who exactly are these women anyways?" Sage asked.

"Hmm, we've got the leader, Nebula Violette, and her teammates Dew Gayl, Gwen Darcy, and Octavia Ember." Sun said.

Though before the team could come up with their strategy for their respective fights, Glynda's voice could be heard from the speakers.

 **"Will team's RWBY and ABRN please report to the battle grounds immediately. Repeat, w** **ill team's RWBY and ABRN please report to the battle grounds immediately."** She said.

The members of team RWBY got up and nodded at each other.

"Well, wish us luck." Ruby said.

Everyone gave there respective cheers for team RWBY as they started to walk out of the door.

"So, what do you think this team ABRN is like anyways?" Yang asked.

"Who knows, though they're bound to be strong." Ruby said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

* * *

 _(My POV)_

"Mind reminding me again why you dragged me all the way out here?" I asked Neo as she dragged me through the festival grounds

 **"I told you, this will be the first ever festival that I've ever gone to. I never really cared for these kinds of things before, though now that I'm actually here, it's kinda exciting."** She said.

"Okay, but why do you need me? Can't you take Roman around or something?" I asked.

 **"Yeah, let me take the former crime boss of Vale around to the festival that is bound to have mostly everyone in Vale. That will go so well in the long run."** Neo said with a deadpanned stare.

"Okay, okay, you made your point." I said.

 **"You know, it amazes me how someone can be so smart yet so stupid at the same time."** She said.

"I can just leave right now, you know that right?" I asked.

 **"True, but I know you won't."** Neo said.

"Tch, let's just look to see what they have already." I said as I started to follow Neo.

We started to walk through the various attractions that were posted around the festival grounds, though every time I suggested trying a attraction, Neo just kept on walking with a look of boredom on her face.

This continued for a few minutes until eventually we had almost checked out every single attraction there was.

"Hey, so mind if I ask you something?" I asked.

 **"Sure, go for it."** Neo said.

"Why the hell did you drag me all the way out here if you're not gonna do anything?!" I asked.

 **"Hey, this is my first time doing something like this. I don't know how these festivals work. If I knew it would be this underwhelming I wouldn't have come anyway."** She said.

"It's a festival. What were you expecting?" I asked.

 **"I don't know. It's just not what I was looking for. Most of these just feel like kids games."** Neo said.

"Well, this isn't like the tournament where you can get away with beating the ever loving crap out of your opponent." I said as I turned towards Neo.

Though as I turned around, Neo was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Hey! Where the hell did you go?!" I yelled, jolting my head to my left and right in attempts to find her.

After a few seconds of searching, I could see that Neo was walking over to a fairly large crowd.

Hmm? What's with the commotion?

"Step right up! Step right up! Who thinks they can take on the champ?!" I heard someone ask.

Huh? What is this some sort of brawl? I thought fighting outside of arena was prohibited.

Though as Neo and I continued to move deeper and deeper into the crowd, we could see that it wasn't a little fight club that was being hosted, rather a casual arm wrestling competition.

"Come on! It's only a five lien entrance fee! Anyone that can beat the champ in a arm wresting match can reap all the rewards that we collected!" He said.

I slowly turned towards Neo to see that a mischievous grim was starting to form on her face.

"So who wants to take on the champ?" He asked as he started to look around the crowd.

Eventually his eyes settled on Neo who was currently waving a wallet around in her hand.

.

.

Wait, wallet?!

I started to scramble through my pockets in attempts to find my own wallet. Sure enough, it was no where to be found.

What is it with you women and stealing my money?!

"Hmm...No, I couldn't possibly ask this short stack to take on the champ." He said with a cocky grin, causing a dark look to form in Neo's eyes.

She responded by pulling out her own wallet with her left hand.

"Ooh! Double or nothing I see!" He said.

"Neo!" I yelled.

"Well, who am I to deny a challenge? Come on up little lady!" He said as he motioned Neo towards the table.

She's gonna loose our money!

 _ **"Do you doubt your companions skills?"**_ Caliber asked.

Okay one, don't ever refer to Neo as "My Companion" ever again, it makes it sound like we're dating.

Two, she may be very agile and is able to outclass Yang when it comes to close quarters combat. Though her physical strength isn't exactly the best in the world.

"Are you two ready?" He asked as Neo gripper her opponents hand.

Neo had a look of determination in her eye's, her hand firmly grasped around the hand of her opponent.

"Let me hear that countdown!" He said.

"Three!" He began.

"Two!" He said, halfway through the countdown.

"One!" He finished.

Though as the man pushed his arm forward, something that no one in the crowd expected happened.

Neo was actually able to hold her ground, despite the glaring difference in size and muscle mass.

"H-huh?!" Neo's opponent asked.

"Whoa, how is she doing that?" I heard someone in the crowd ask.

"Yeah, this guy was absolutely dominating before. Though this girl is giving him a run for his money." I heard a girl say.

I quickly looked back at the two to see that not only was Neo actually holding her ground in the test of strength, she was pushing him back.

"Grrr!" The man growled as he attempted to push Neo back once again.

Though the ice cream themed girl simply smirked and with one final push, slammed the man onto the ground.

From the looks of it, everyone, including the ref and myself were absolutely shocked.

I mean, I know that Neo was a force to be reckoned with but she was seriously lacking in the muscle department.

Though here she was, taking down a man that was twice her size and had twice the amount of muscle mass.

Just what the hell happened while I was gone?

Neo grinned and walked over to the ref with her hand held out.

He stood their in silence for a couple of seconds before he started to chuckle, eventually turning into full blown laughter.

"Ha ha! I gotta hand it to ya kid! You're a hell of a lot stronger than ya look! Well, a deal's a deal, here's the lien." He said as he handed her the money.

Though instead of everyone leaving with their money, everyone started to request to challenge Neo.

"Well, looks like you really riled up the crowd. So how bout it? Wanna be the new champ?" He asked.

Neo smirked and started to crack her knuckles.

"You heard her folks!" He said.

Another man started to make his way towards the table, a handful of lien in his hand.

The two grasped each other's hands and the ref placed his hands on the two.

After he finished the countdown, Neo wasted no time slamming his fist onto the table with a grin on her face.

"We've got a winner!" He said, causing the crowd to cheer.

Eventually, a woman from the crowd came to the table and gave the lien to the ref.

Sure enough, the woman met a similar fate tot that of Neo's previous opponents.

"And the champ rains supreme!" He said.

Neo smirked and took of the coat she was wearing, allowing her arms to move freely.

"Looks like the champ is getting serious!" The ref said.

The matches continued for a few minutes, Neo taking down her opponents with the same smile on her face.

After at least twenty more minutes, Neo was standing their in the middle of the crowd completely drenched in sweat.

"Well, looks like that's all of them. Thank you all for coming! We're gonna be here all week." He said.

After a few seconds, everyone except for Neo and I had left the area.

I walked over to Neo with a bottle of water in my hand.

"Here." I said, handing her the bottle.

Neo nodded and grabbed the bottle of water, undid the cap, and started to chug the bottle of water.

"Jesus, it's not going anywhere you know." I said.

Neo kept on downing the drink until their wasn't a single drop left in the bottle.

"So what was up with that?" I asked.

 **"Up with what?"** She asked.

"Back there. How did you become so physically strong so suddenly?" I asked.

Neo stood there in silence for a couple of moments before typing in her scroll.

 **"I'm not entirely sure to be honest. It just sorta happened."** Neo said.

"Something like that doesn't just happen over night." I said.

 **"Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. I started feeling the change after the whole breach in Vale."** She said.

"You mean when we fought Osvaldo?" I asked.

 **"Yeah, that's the one."** Neo said.

Hmm, maybe it had something to do with that glitching thing that she did in the middle of the fight.

I walked over to where Neo had thrown her coat and handed it to her.

"Here." I said.

Neo grabbed the jacket and threw it back on.

"So, you've got a hell of a lot of money on you. What exactly are you gonna do with it?" I asked.

 **"Hell if I know. I always took money that I never really used."** Neo said.

"Then why did you take it in the first place?" I asked.

 **"Hey, we all need to live somehow."** She said.

"Okay, can't really argue with that." I said.

After a few moments of silence, Neo started to type into her scroll again.

 **"So, you'll be going to Vacuo after this whole thing is over, right?"** Neo asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan." I said.

 **"Why? What do you hope to find there?"** She asked.

"Well, I learned from a certain little bird that there is a prison in Vacuo that is specifically designed to hold the wielder of Mjonir." I said, causing Neo's eye's to widened.

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised to." I said.

 **"What exactly's your plan there?"** Neo asked.

"Well, I haven't gotten all of the specifics down yet. Though the whole plan is to break the wielder of Mjolnir out of prison and hope that they'll help us out with this little war that Cinder is so hell bent on starting." I said.

 **"What if he doesn't?"** She asked.

"I'll improvise." I said.

Neo sat there in silence for a few seconds with her eye's closed before nodding to herself.

 **"I'll go with you."** Neo said.

"Why? What happened to wanting to find out about your past?" I asked.

 **"All I have to go on is this little rag I was wrapped in as an infant."** She said as she pulled out the rag her mother had given her.

 **"That's not exactly a lot to go off of. So going with you will be better than wandering around Remnant aimlessly."** Neo said.

"Suppose that's true." I said.

 **"Besides, if you went alone, you'd most likely die in the desert."** She said.

I grumbled to myself for a bit before turning towards Neo.

"Well, for whatever it's worth. Thank you, I'm grateful that you're willing to come along for this crazy ride." I said.

 **"Don't be."** Neo said. **"You saved me, as well as my uncle. I'm just returning the favor."** She said with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, I could feel heat starting to rise up into my head.

"Tch, y-yeah whatever." I said.

Neo silently chuckled for a bit before she started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

 **"It's like you said, I have a lot of money. Might as well spend it on something."** Neo said as she continued to walk away, leaving me to stand in the middle of the festival grounds.

.

.

Wait a minute.

"She never gave me my money back!" I yelled in realization.

Well, guess their's nothing I can really do about it now. Might as well browse the festival grounds to see what they've got. We never really did get to see what the actual festival was like in the show.

Their were a lot of people gathered from across the sea's coming for this festival, bringing their cultures along with them.

It was interesting to say the least, I mean I've never really been to any other kingdom besides Vale. Well, their was that one time I headed over to Atlas, though that was for buisness reasons really. Didn't really have time to study it's culture.

So this was fairly good way to education myself on the cultures of Remnant.

I looked at the various cloth and accessories that the various kingdoms made for it's citizens. I mean, I can't exactly go to Vacuo in the attire I'm wearing right now, I'll die of heat stroke before I get to the actual kingdom.

While I wasn't actually able to buy anything due to a certain little shit stealing my wallet.

Though it was always good to browse.

"Hmm, yes this blend will do nicely." I heard a familiar voice say.

I looked to my right to see a man in a black haired man with white collared shirt and black pants looking at the various Vacuo blends of coffee.

"Oh, but perhaps this one will be better." He said to himself.

...Wait a second, isn't that-?

"Oz?" I called out, causing the man to freeze.

The obvious professor Ozpin ran towards me and pulled me in so that we met eye to eye.

"You must be quite Mr. Kim, you'll blow my cover." He said.

I simply stared at him with a deadpanned stare on my face.

"What?" Ozpin asked.

"Don't quit your day job Oz." I said as I lightly pushed him off of me.

"Why are you all the way out here to begin with? Shouldn't you be watching the tournament from within your little tower?" I asked.

"Now why would I want to watch the tournament from within a cramped tower when I can instead watch it in the very arena my predecessors had made?" He asked.

"So you're bored." I said.

"Pretty much." He said, putting the coffee blend he had taken into his bag.

"Though what are you doing all the way down here, and what's with the...disguise?" I asked.

"Mr. Kim. Do you have any idea how rare it is that I get free time these days?" Ozpin asked.

"Uh-."

"Very. It is very rare that I ever get days like these, and this was before the breach had happened. Now, my free time has only shortened since then, which is why we didn't have as many training sessions back in your earlier days of Beacon." He said.

"So is that why you made sure every single training session we did was like hell on earth?" I asked.

"Yes, it is also why I sent you on those missions to face Merlot." Ozpin said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You have a very...unique learning style Mr. Kim. When it comes to actual knowledge, while you do posses a average intelligence, you were severely lacking in the combat department." He said.

"Gee, thanks." I said in a dry tone.

"That is until you first tapped into the power of Caliber. You were face to face with a fairly powerful Grimm, at least for someone with your experience at the time. If you did not tap into his power when you did, then you would have surely died." Ozpin said.

"W-wait. Seriously?!" I asked.

"Yes, and yet you were able to come through and survive." He said.

"Ever since that day, your combat skills had been growing exponentially. At first I wrote it off as progression with your classes, though I did have a sneaking suspicion in my mind." Ozpin said.

"So I sent you on patrol duty. That is when you fought the Death Stalker, while the odds were stacked against you, you managed to climb out on top." He said.

"After that your skills had developed so much that you were able to go toe to toe with a White Fang lieutenant." Ozpin said.

"Once I heard of the events of the expedition on Atlas, I was convinced." He said.

"About what?" I asked.

"You learn best if you are put through a near death situation. It is how you were able to grow at such a rapid pace, you were always getting yourself into trouble." Ozpin.

"Huh, that so?" I asked.

"It is also why your development slowed during the beginning years of Beacon, you stopped getting put in those near death situations. That is until you made enemies of the Phantoms." He said.

"Though despite this new danger, the Phantoms were the key for you and Caliber to forge your contract." Ozpin said.

"Even now as I look at you, I can see that you have reached even greater heights." He said with a smirk.

"That must have been one eventful camping trip." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, something like that." I said. "So anyways, you were telling me about your free time, or lack of and all that?" I asked.

"Ah yes, I suppose we did get a bit off topic. As I was saying, it is rare that I ever get a day off from the duties as a headmaster." He said. "So I relish the times when I do actually have time to spare to enjoy the simple things in life." Ozpin said.

"It's what make's life worth living for. While I do enjoy what I do at the academy, I will admit that sometimes it can be...draining." He admitted.

"So I truly do enjoy the days where I can act as Ozpin, and not Professor Ozpin." He said.

"Though why the disguise?" I asked.

"Well, you can imagine what the general would do if he saw the headmaster of Beacon academy walking through the festival grounds playing games and eating goods." Ozpin said.

"...I suppose you have a good point." I said.

"So, since you are already here. Would you care to go and watch some of your fellow classmates matches with me?" He asked.

"Not like I've got anything better to do." I said as I started to walk towards the bullheads that were taking people to the arena.

Ozpin chuckled and started to follow close behind me.

 _'I don't have to worry about the enemy getting their hands on the relic at the moment. They only have half of the Maidens power, and they'll need the other half if they intend on gaining access to the relic.'_ He thought to himself.

 _'I trust that Qrow and Tai will keep guard with Amber, she is to valuable to the enemy to be unguarded. With Tai now working to aid us against this new enemy, I can at least be assured that the two of them would be able to take on the false maiden on their own.'_ Ozpin said.

 _'With Qrow's semblance and Tai's weapon, the enemy will have an even more challenging time obtaining the other half of Amber's power.'_ He thought to himself.

 _'Though I suppose I can worry about that in a later time. All I can do at the moment is put my faith in those two. It seems that everyone is partaking in the events of the festival, I might as well enjoy myself as well.'_ Ozpin thought.

* * *

 _(3rd Person POV)_

Thousands of people had gathered around from all across the world of Remnant to watch this tournament with their own eyes. Men, women, children, and elderly, had come to cheer on their respective kingdom on during these series of fights.

So after two long years of waiting, it was finally here.

The Vytal tournament had finally begun.

 **"Hoho! It seems that the start to what's sure to be a series of astonishing bouts and battles has finally begun! Wouldn't you agree, Professor Oobleck?"** Port asked through the mic.

 **"That's Doctor Oobleck, and yes, Peter, we do have some promising contestants this year. I'm sure that these matches will be forever remembered throughout the history of this tournament."** Oobleck said.

 **"Oh ho, where are our manners? For those of you watching at home, or watching in the stands, allow out to be the first to welcome you to the Vytal Festival Tournament! Broadcasting live from the Amity Colosseum."** He said, causing everyone to erupt in cheers and applause.

 **"Now, before we get into our first match of the day, allow us to break down the rules for those of you who are watching this from the first time."** Port said.

 **"The Tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds. Teams, Doubles, and Singles. Age and School year are irrelevant."** Oobleck said. **"In this tournament, the only thing attribute being tested... is skill."** He said.

 **"Correct! The winners of our upcoming battle will elect two of their members to represent them in the Doubles round. Followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again!"** Port said. **"The Remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket, in the hopes of achieving victory for their kingdom!"** He said.

 **"And yes, Peter, these certainly are some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on, and I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that!"** Oobleck said.

 **"Ah, and why would they?"** Port asked. **"Now, let's get right into the match!"** He said, causing everyone to cheer.

 **"First off, we have team RWBY, of Beacon!"** He said, causing team RWBY to walk out from one side of the arena.

"Yeah! That's what I like to hear!" Yang said as she pumped her fists up into the air.

"Well, looks like someone is having fun." Blake said with a smirk on her face.

"Honestly would it kill her to be at least a little bit professional in the arena. This isn't exactly a simple brawl like in our classes, we're fighting for the honor of Vale." Weiss said.

"Though you don't live in Vale." She said.

"Neither do you." She countered.

"Fair point. Though menagerie wouldn't really be considered a kingdom, more like a small city or something." Blake said.

"Just need to make it past the first round. Just need to make it past the first round." Ruby said to herself as she continued to breathe in and out.

"You okay?" Blake asked as she put her hand on her leader's shoulder.

"Well, I'm not as nervous as I was before, that's a start. It's just a little nerve wrecking to see all of these eyes on us." She said.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." Blake said.

 **"Next up we have team ABRN of Haven!"** Port said, causing the members of team RWBY to look to the other side of the arena.

Their were a group of four teenagers walking towards them, each one looking at the members of team RWBY with a look of determination in their eyes.

The first one, who was assumed to be the leader of the group, was a girl with a dark complexion, platinum blonde hair and olive green eyes. She wore a yellow robe with only one wide, loose fitting sleeve over a black tube top. She also had black pants and shoes and a red sash embroidered with a white "endless knot" on it.

She had bandages on her legs and arms, as well as a red necklace and what appears to be two matching red sticks on the back left side of her head.

She wore both sleeves, which hung loosely at her side, exposing her shoulders. Her tank top also had straps. She wore boots instead of shoes and lacked the pins in her hair and necklace. In their place, she had red bands in her hair.

The second member of team ABRN was a lightly-tanned boy with amber eyes, and black hair. He wore a yellow sash over a dark blue vest and gray pants with yellow lacing up the sides. He also wore black boots and black fingerless gloves, and a dark gray necklace.

The third member of team ABRN appeared to be a young girl with light green hair swept to her right, with green eyes and fair complexion. She also wore two black facial markings on her cheeks.

Her attire reflects a skater motif. She wore a dark purple hooded sweater over a mauve sweater. She also wore black shorts, as well as knee pads and elbow pads on her arms and legs. She also wore black shoe laced sneakers that go all the way to her ankles.

The final member of team ABRN was a young man that had long pink hair tied back into a short ponytail, with an undercut, and the undercut portion of his hair is black. He had a dark complexion and blue eyes.

His outfit consisted of a cream-colored short-sleeved jacket with yellow details and a black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt, with cream colored fingerless gloves. He wore black medium-length pants and cream colored sneakers.

"So this is team ABRN, huh?" Yang asked.

"They seem like capable fighters. Though I doubt it'll be anything that we can't handle." Weiss said.

"Hey." The supposed leader of team ABRN called out.

"Yeah? What's up?" Yang asked with a cocky look in her eyes.

"Who's the leader of your team?" She asked.

The members of team RWBY were a bit confused as to why she wanted to see Ruby, though eventually, Ruby stepped forward to face her.

"Um, I'm the leader of team RWBY. Who are you?" Ruby asked.

The girl narrowed her eyes and started to examine Ruby a little more closely.

After a few seconds, the girl nodded, pushed her fist up against her palm and bowed to her.

"Hello Ruby. My name is Arslan Altan. A pleasure to meet you and your team." She said.

"Oh! Uh, yeah! It's nice to meet you!" Ruby said.

"Allow me to introduce you to my teammates. The one in yellow is Bolin Hori, my partner." Arslan said as she pointed to the boy in yellow.

"Hey." Bolin greeted.

"The girl over there is Reese Chloris." She said, pointing at the girl in green.

"Heh heh, yo!" Reese greeted with a smile on her face.

"That last one over there is Nadir Shiko." Arslan said, pointing at the pink haired boy.

"Hi." He greeted.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you all! That's my partner and B.F.F Weiss!" Ruby said, pointing at Weiss.

"Don't call me that." Weiss said.

"That's Blake." Ruby said as she pointed at Blake.

"Hey." She said.

"And that's my sister, Yang!" She said.

"What's up?" Yang asked.

"Sister? I'm sorry, but I don't see the resemblance." Nadir said.

"We're half sisters." Yang said.

"Oh, guess that makes sense." He said.

"Well, I wish you all the best of luck in this match." Arslan said as she extended her hand outwards.

"Yeah, no hard feelings." Ruby said as she shook her hand.

 **"Ah ha! What a sight to be hold! A true display of sportsmanship among warriors!"** Port said.

 **"Well, it's time to get the match underway. Though first, it's time to select the environments they will be fighting in."** Oobleck said, causing a wide variety of screens to appear around the arena.

After a few seconds, both stage hazards were determined. Team RWBY would be getting an ice hazard, and team ABRN will be getting a fire hazard.

"Ice huh? Looks like you've got a home field advantage here Weiss." Yang said.

"That's what it looks like." Weiss said.

 **"3!"** Port began, causing the members of team RWBY and ABRN to get out there weapons. With the exception of Arslan who simply got into a combat stance of some sort.

 _'Does she intend to fight us without her weapon?'_ Weiss asked herself, the rest of her team having similar thoughts.

 **"2!"** He was halfway through the countdown, causing Reese to connect her two weapons together.

 **"1!"** Aslan raised her fist up into the air, a calm look on her face.

 **"Begin!"** Port yelled, causing Aslan to slam her fist to the ground, causing a massive shock wave to appear below the feet of team ABRN, sending team RWBY flying backwards due to the massive wind.

"W-whoa! That's one hell of an arm!" Yang commented as she and the rest of her teammates flew into the air.

Arslan flew past Ruby, Weiss, and Blake, moving towards Yang at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Alright, I guess you're first!" She yelled as she swung her fist at Arslan, causing her to counter with an attack of her own.

The two pushed each other back due to the sheer impact of their strikes.

Eventually, the remaining members of team RWBY landed on opposite sides of the arena, Blake landing on the ice, while Weiss and Ruby landed in the volcano area.

 _'Wow, that girl is definitely strong.'_ Blake thought to herself.

Though before she could run to her teammates aid, the sight of a green and black board of some sort cut her off.

While she was able to dodge the first attack, she wasn't able to dodge the kick that Reese threw at her.

Blake slid across the ice for a few seconds before coming to a stop due to a nearby ice berg.

She looked at her opponent to see that she was hovering around the ice with her weapon.

 _'Well then. That's new.'_ Blake thought to herself as she started to move across the ice and towards Reese.

The purple hooded girl smirked and detached her weapon into two pistols of some sort. Though what Blake didn't expect was for Reese to start skating on the ice as if she were wearing ice skates.

 _'How is she-?!'_ Blake thought to herself, only for the sound of Port's voice to cut her off.

 **"Oh ho! It seems that young Reese has just activated her Semblance!"** Port said.

 **"Yes, while it may lack in physical power, it makes up for it with sheer mobility. With her Semblance, Reese may freely skid across any solid surface, including ones at an angle like a wall."** Oobleck said.

Reese smirked and started to fire various bullets at Blake, causing her to move across the ice.

She eventually switched back into her hover board and started to move towards Blake at great speeds. Once she had gotten close to Blake, she flung her board at Blake, causing her to fall to the ground.

Reese smirked and kicked her board towards Blake once again, causing her body to go sliding down the arena.

 _'Tch, this field couldn't have been any better for her.'_ Blake thought to herself.

 **"What will Ms. Belladonna do now that her opponent has the upper hand when it comes to mobility?"** Port asked.

Blake started to follow Reese with her eyes as she slid across the ice cheerfully.

She smirked and switched her weapon into it's scythe mode, throwing it at Reese's legs.

The ribbon wrapper itself around her legs, causing Blake to start pulling on the rope with all of her strength.

Reese started to move towards Blake, causing her to get out her sheathe and slash at Reese with it.

She slid across the ice, she was able to regain her movements by sliding across the ice with her hands and jumping back onto her feet.

"Not bad! This is gonna be fun!" She said with a smile on her face.

Blake's only response was to switch back into her blade form.

Meanwhile, Yang was charging at Arslan with her weapons ready to fire.

Arslan's eye's darted around the area, eventually settling on the ground. She slammed her foot onto the ground, causing various rocks to break off of the ground due to the sheer force of the strike.

She started to kick the hot rocks towards Yang, causing her to loose her sense of movement.

Arslan took this opportunity to run towards Yang with her fist reeled backwards. Once she closed the gap between the two, she slammed her fist into Yang's gut.

Though before she could go hurdling across the arena, she wrapper her weapon around her leg, pulled her back in and kicked her away.

Yang growled and yanked on the weapon, causing Arslan to come flying towards Yang.

She reeled her fist back and punched Arslan directly across the jaw, causing her to move in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Ruby was currently engaged in a gun fight with Nadir and his trusty assault rifle. The red hooded girl was attempting to get close to Nadir, though every effort she had was only met with a barrage of bullets to her feet.

 _'Darn it! I can't even get close to this guy!'_ Ruby thought to herself.

She attempted to launch herself towards Nadir, though he was able to dodge the attack, switch his weapon into it's sword form and hit Ruby away from him before unleashing another flurry of bullets towards her.

Lastly, Weiss was currently dealing with Bolin Hori of team ABRN. He was currently swinging his staff around, blocking any attacks that Weiss could throw at him.

He eventually attempted to jab at Weiss with his staff, though she was able to quickly move out of the way. Bolin smirked and pressed a button on his staff, causing it to extend and nail Weiss right in the gut.

Before she could regain her composure, she was quickly met by a flurry of jabs and hits from his staff before he pushed her away with the palm of his hand.

Weiss growled and summoned a glyph below her feet, causing her to move toward Bolin at a rapid pace. She smirked and summoned even more Glyphs around him so that she could keep on her attack.

Though over time, he was able to quickly adapt to her movents, eventually hitting her away with his staff.

 **"Oh ho! It looks like this fight can go either way!"** Port said.

Reese was currently moving towards Blake as she easily maneuvered around the ice bergs. Once she was in range of her attack, she kicked her board at Blake, though this time, Blake was able to parry the attack.

Though she wasn't done yet. She quickly punched her board at Blake, though she was able to parry the attack again, causing her to move in for the assault.

Blake delivered a flurry of attacks at Reese, though she was able to block and parry each one.

She got back onto her board and sped towards her, causing Blake to smirk.

Blake used an ice clone to throw off Reese, giving her a clear opening for an attack.

Reese went flying up into the air, shooting various shots at Blake with her pistols.

Though instead of landing on her feet, she lost her footing and landed directly onto the ground.

"Ooh! Are you okay?" Blake asked.

"Yep! J-just fine!...Damn, that's gonna leave a mark." Reese groaned as she slowly got up from the ground.

Yang charged towards Arslan, though she was able to dodge her oncoming attack. She swung her fist at Arslan's body, though she was able to quickly regain her composer, causing her to sweep her leg under Yang's feet.

The two exchanged blows for a bit before eventually clashing fists together once again, creating another shock wave that sent to two girls backwards.

They charged towards each other and started to exchange blows once again, though Arslan was able to wrap her weapon around her ankle, throwing her off balance and kicking her towards Nadir.

She attempted to get up, though Arslan was right there to meet her with a fist to her face.

Nadir attempted to shoot Yang with his machine gun, though Ruby quickly countered by firing a ice dust crystal at him.

"Aw man." He said.

"Ha! Got you!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, but who's got you?" She heard Bolin ask. Though before he could start his assault, Weiss kicked him away.

"My B.F.F!" She said.

"What did I say about calling me that before the fight?!" Weiss asked as she ran towards Bolin.

She dashed past him with her glyph before back flipping over him, though he was able to block her over head attacks.

Weiss used a glyph to propel Ruby up into the air. Ruby swung her scythe at Bolin, though he was able to block the attack with his staff.

He narrowed his eyes and pushed Ruby off of him. After that he started to run towards the duo, causing Weiss to send a few icicles at him, though he was able to dodge her attack.

Ruby swung her scythe at Bolin, though he jumped over the attack and moved past the two.

"...Uh, where is he going?" Ruby asked.

Bolin eventually stopped at a nearby fire crystal and smashed a piece of it off with his staff.

"Reese! Catch!" He yelled, causing Reese to catch the dust crystal, pressing it against her board.

This caused her hover board to glow with a fiery red.

Reese moved onto her hover board and melted Nadir from his icy prison.

Once she did this, she moved towards Blake and pressed her board up against her sword, causing a shock wave of some sort to send her flying backwards.

She swung her board at Blake, each blade catching fire as they moved around.

Blake growled and switched her sword back into it's scythe form.

She threw it at a nearby ice berg and moved behind it.

Reese followed her around the ice berg, eventually coming face to face with the feline warrior.

She smirked and went in for the final blow, though was shocked when she went right through her.

Blake attempted to kick her out of the arena, though a yellow cloud blocked her path. Suddenly, another cloud appeared below Reese's feet, moving her away from the edge of the arena.

"Whew! Nice save, Bolin!" She said.

"Yeah, just try not to knock yourself off next time." He said.

Meanwhile, Arslan was skidding across the ice, using her weapon as a way to maneuver herself around the ice.

Though Yang was already closing in behind her, using her own weapon as trajectory.

Nadir attempted to fire a clip of bullets onto Weiss, though she used her glyph to throw Bolin and Reese at him.

"Ow." She said.

"Ugh, you okay guys?" Nadir asked.

"We're fine. This isn't over yet!" Bolin yelled.

Weiss smirked and rammed her rapier into the ground, causing the trio to be encased in a ball of ice.

"You were saying?" Reese asked.

"Uh, Arslan! Little help here!" He yelled.

"Seriously?" She asked as she moved towards the ice ball that her teammates were in.

"Honestly, how did this even happen?" She asked.

"Just get us out of here!" He yelled.

"Alright, alright." Arslan said as she prepared break her teammates out of the icy ball.

"Yang!" Weiss called out as she made an icy ramp.

"On it!" Yang said as she and Blake started to move towards the ramp.

"So, you guys ready?" Arslan asked.

"Uh, guys?" Nadir called out as he pointed at the ramp.

Yang slid across the ramp, causing Blake to throw her scythe at Yang. As she caught her weapon, Blake jumped on Ruby so that she could get the extra height and speed needed.

Yang reeled her fist backwards and went in for the finishing blow.

"Aw son of a-." Bolin began, only for Yang to punch all four of them towards a fiery mountain, shattering their aura's upon impact.

 **"And that's the match! Team RWBY is victorious!"** Port said.

"We...did it?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

Yang and Blake nodded with happy smiles on their faces.

.

.

"We did it!" Ruby shouted.

"Whew! Gotta say, that was pretty cool!" Reese said as she moved towards the team with her hover board.

"Okay, you have got to let me try that out." Yang said.

"It's harder than it looks. Though I can teach you the ropes if you'd like." She said.

As she said this, the rest of her team made their way towards team RWBY.

"Gotta hand it to ya. You're better than I expected." Bolin admitted.

"That was a good match. Yang, was it?" Arslan asked as she went up to the blonde brawler.

"Yeah, that's me." She said.

"I want to continue to fight against you while I am still in Beacon. You are the only person I've met that has come close to having the same fighting style I have." She said.

"Heh, feelings mutual. Sure, why not? I love a good challenge." Yang said.

Though before anyone could continue, the sounds of growling could be heard throughout the group.

"Though maybe we should get some food first. It's always good to regain your strength before fighting again. You know what happened last time when you skipped dinner for training, Arslan." Nadir said.

Arslan grumbled to herself and started to kick the ground below her.

Team RWBY was about to ask what they were taking about, though Reese quickly stopped them.

"How bout we share stories during food?" She asked.

The sounds of the growling stomach's of team RWBY caused them to get sheepish looks on their faces.

"I guess that would be okay." Ruby said as she started to walk out of the arena with her teammates and new found friends.

"Yeah, I'm starving. Come on guys, we're going out." Nadir said.

Arslan and Bolin nodded, following their teammates out of the arena.

* * *

"Ugh, I didn't realize how hungry I was until I actually got here." Ruby groaned.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Blake groaned, causing her stomach to let out a fairly audible growl.

"Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." Weiss said.

.

.

"Oh wait." She said.

"Did she just now realize that we're in the fair grounds, right?" Nadir whispered.

"She was being sarcastic." Reese whispered back.

"Oh." He said.

"I was being facetious." Weiss said to Ruby.

"That to." She said.

"Wh- Well, if you were hungry, why didn't you say so?!" Ruby asked.

"Well, can we pick a place already? I feel like I'm gonna pass out from hunger?" Bolin said.

"Don't worry, tough guy. I know just the place." Yang said.

Suddenly, Weiss's ringtone to her scroll started to ring, causing her to take out her scroll from her pocket.

 _'Ugh.'_ Sure enough, it was her very own father.

 _'I don't know how many voice mails it'll take for him to get the hint.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"Hey! Might be hard to eat without this!" The voice of Emerald said, causing Ruby to rapidly tap her pockets.

"Huh? Oh, no, no, no!" She started to panic.

"Ha ha ha, good to see you, Ruby." Emerald said as she waved her wallet around.

"Oh, thanks Emerald! Guess I dropped it. Guh, girl pocket's are the worst!" She said as she took her wallet back from Emerald.

"What's up Em?" Yang said.

"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight. You guys were awesome." She said.

"Aw stop it, shut your stupid little face." Ruby said with a blush on her cheeks.

"I heard your team progressed to the next round, too." Blake said.

"You know, I feel like we never see your other teammates." Weiss said.

"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked.

"Uh..." She began, not really sure how to respond.

"Well for one, we're short a team member. She had a last second thing to do back in Mistral and couldn't fight in the tournament." Emerald said.

"Oh, I hope it wasn't to tough for you guys." Ruby said.

"Are you kidding? We mopped the floor with those suckers." Mercury said as he started to walk up to the group.

 _'What is he doing?'_ Emerald asked herself.

"Ooh! Cocky aren't we?" Yang asked Mercury.

"Hey, what can I say? I'm just naturally talented." He said with a smug grin on his face.

"Well, I guess you can say you really gave them the...boot!...Eh? Anyone?" Yang asked.

"Yang, come on. I know you're jokes are bad, but that was just-." Ruby began, only for Mercury to start laughing his ass off.

 _'What?'_ Everyone, including Yang thought to themselves.

"Ha! I get it, because of my fighting style. Ho! Finally, someone who gets real humor." Mercury said.

 _'Oh crap.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

 _'You can't be serious?'_ Weiss and Blake thought to themselves.

 _'...No, one of them was hard enough! I will not deal with two of them!'_ Emerald thought to herself.

"Sure jokes these days can be funny, though I always had an appreciation for the-." Mercury began, only for the sound of Yang sniffling to cut him off.

Upon further inspection, everyone could see that tears were starting to flow out of Yang's eyes.

"Classics." Mercury finished as he backed up a bit.

"What are you doing?!" Emerald asked.

"I don't know! I'm used to making people cry but not like th-!" He began, only for Yang to bring him in a bone crushing hug.

"Ooh!" Everyone cringed as they heard a loud pop coming from Mercury's back.

"Gah!" He yelled out.

"You...You are the only person...besides my dad, who has ever laughed at one of my jokes!" She yelled, tears of joy starting to pour out of her eyes.

"C-choking! N-not b-b-!" He attempted to say, only for Yang's bear hug to get even tighter.

"Come here you big lug!" She yelled.

At this point, Mercury's face was starting to turn a shade of purple.

"Should we-?" Weiss began.

"No. Let this happen. I feel like they both needed this." Emerald said.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, it's not everyday Yang finds someone who laughs at her jokes." Ruby said.

 _'I mean I was referring to Mercury and I but sure, that works to.'_ She thought to herself.

"You know what Merc? I was wrong about you. I always thought you were this hot headed show off who thought he was all that...why are you all looking at me like that?" Yang asked as she stared at her teammates deadpanned stares.

"No reason. So, do you two want to get some victory lunch with us?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it's our treat. Least I can do for a guy with such a great sense of humor. So how bout it Merc?...Merc?" She called out.

As Yang let go off the metal legged boy, he collapsed to the ground in a state of unconsciousness.

"Uh, did I over do it?" She asked.

"Just a bit, yeah." Ruby said.

"Oh, it seems that I need to take him to our dorms. Our leader wants him in top condition for when the two of us move onto the doubles round. Speaking of which, who did you guys pick to move onto the next round?" Emerald asked.

"Well as the leader of this team, I thought long and hard about the decision." Ruby said.

"We put it to a vote." Weiss said.

"Uh yes but I decided that we should put it to a vote." Ruby said.

"We voted for Weiss and Yang." Blake said.

"I will happily represent team RWBY." Weiss said.

"Yeah, we're gonna kick some butt." Yang said as she smashed her fists together.

"Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." Emerald said.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Yang said.

"Right, well I'm gonna see if Mercury will actually be able to fight tomorrow. Catch you guys later." She said.

"Bye! Hope he gets better!" Ruby said.

"Oh! Wait." Yang said as she slipped a slip of paper into Mercury's pocket.

"What's this?" Emerald asked.

"That's for me to know and for him to find out." She said as she started to walk away.

Emerald chuckled nervously before walking over to a nearby food stand.

"Excuse me, can I have a water cup?" Emerald asked.

The person behind the counter nodded and handed her a cup of water.

"Thanks." She said as she dragged her partner over to a nearby table.

"Wake up." Emerald said as she splashed him with cold water.

"Gah! Jeez! I just saw my life flash before my eyes!...It was mostly killing and playing video games. Man, I really need to get out more." He said.

"Ugh." She groaned, rubbing her temples with her hands.

"So, how are the new "friends"?" Mercury asked.

"I hate those three." Emerald said.

"Orders are orde-. Wait, three?" He asked.

"The Blondie got some bonus points in my eyes for nearly crushing you to death." She said.

"Great to know. Jeez, that girl's really got a grip on her." Mercury said.

"Well, now you know what we're dealing with. We're fighting the blonde and the heiress." Emerald said.

"I don't get why you're so angry about them. They aren't that bad." He said.

"It's just-! How can they be so happy all the time?!" She asked.

"Well, at least we know who we're dealing with." Mercury said.

"Yeah. You remember you're role, right?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah, I remember it." He said in a low tone.

"...What's up with you? You didn't have a problem with the plan before." Emerald said.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Mercury said.

"By the way, the blonde one gave you that." She said.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he looked at the slip of paper in his pocket.

As he opened it, a cocky smile started to appear on his face.

"You still got it Merc. You still got it." He said as he stared at the scroll number of Yang Xiao Long.

Meanwhile, teams RWBY and ABRN had arrived at the food stand Yang said was really good.

"So...what do they sell at this place?" Nadir asked.

"Noodles." Yang said.

"Oh. Well noodles aren't so bad. Reminds me of Mistral." He said.

After a few seconds of waiting, an old man came out from the kitchen.

"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." Yang said, causing a bowl to be put in front of her.

"I'll take a same." Ruby said, causing another bowl to be put in front of her.

"Do you have anything with a low salt?" Weiss asked, causing a low salt bowl to be put in front of her.

"I'll have spicy." Arslan said.

"I'll have a regular." Nadir said.

"Spicy." Reese said.

"Same." Bolin said, causing three spicy bowls and one regular bowl to be put in front of them.

Blake's simply nodded at the old man, causing him to rush back into the kitchen. After a few seconds, he emerged with an entire bowl filled with fish and noodles.

Weiss handed the old man her credit card.

"Aw, Weiss what's the occasion?" Yang asked.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round. As well as you four, I thank you for an amazing match." Weiss said.

"Thank you!" Reese, Arslan and Nadir thanked.

Bolin was about to dig into his bowl, though Arslan whacked him over the head.

"Ow! What the hell?!" He asked.

Arslan's only response was to point at Weiss with her right thumb.

"Oh, right. Thank you for the mean." He thanked.

Though right as the eight were about to dig in, the old man threw Weiss's card back at her.

The eight looked up to see that Weiss's card had been denied.

"What? How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance." Weiss said.

Blake attempted to steal the bowl for herself, though the old man quickly took it away from her grasp.

"Nooo..." She cried in anguish.

"...So. I don't suppose any of you come from rich families?" Yang asked team ABRN, causing them to shake their heads.

"Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby cheered.

"Aw, you don't have to!" Yang said.

"But she could!" Blake said.

"Well, I think you all earned it after that battle." Pyrrha said.

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked.

"Sure thing! Grab a seat!" Ruby said.

"I don't believe we've met yet. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. I assume you are the team that our dear friends fought in the previous round?" She asked.

"Yeah, my name is Arslan. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"Names Reese." Reese said.

"Bolin." He said.

"My name is Nadir. Pleasure to meet you." He said.

After a few minutes, team's RWBY, JNPR, and ABRN had all finished their bowls.

"Are you sure it was wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asked.

"Of course! It will give us energy." Pyrrha said.

"Ugh, if I barf I'm blaming you." Jaune groaned.

"Oh! Aim it at the enemy!" Nora said.

"Nora! That's disgusting. But if you do feel the urge..." Ren said.

"Got it." He said.

"Well, we should be off." Pyrrha said.

"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. We're-Urp!...We're totally ready." Jaune said.

Though before they could continue their conversation, the voices of Port and Oobleck could be heard through the speakers.

 **"Would team JNPR please report to the battle grounds immediately."** Port said.

 **"Yes! Like they were scheduled to several minutes ago!"** Oobleck said.

"Well, it looks like this is it." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, wish us luck." Jaune said as he and his teammates got up and started to walk towards the arena.

"Go get 'em!" Ruby said.

"...So, who were you guys talking to before?" Nadir asked.

"Oh, you mean Emerald and Mercury? They were just a couple of friends we made. Said that they were coming from Mistral for the tournament." Yang said.

"You guys are from Mistral, right? Haven't you seen them around campus?" Ruby asked.

Team ABRN looked at one another before Arslan eventually responded.

"We've heard of them. Headmaster Lionheart said that four contestants would be competing with us in the Vytal Tournament. Mercury, Emerald, Ember, and an un-named fourth team member. Those were the four people participating in the tournament." Arslan said.

"Though the weirdest thing was the fact that they just came at the very last second. Right before we left for Beacon he told us all about this last team." Bolin said.

"Last second? What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"It mean's that this team was never seen or heard of on campus until Lionheart told us about them." Arslan said.

"Yeah, almost as if they came out of the blue in the last second." He said.

The members of team RWBY looked at one another with expressions of confusion and concern.

 _'Something strange is going on.'_ The members of team RWBY thought to themselves.

* * *

"So...who do you think's gonna win?" Mercury asked.

"Do you really need to ask that?" Emerald asked.

"True. Guess having a world renowned fighter in your team will do that for ya." He said.

"Oh come now. Even if you know how a story ends, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." Cinder said.

"Well, you seem cheerful today. Something happen?" Mercury asked.

"Let's just say that I believe we've finally gotten the source on Intel that we've been looking for." She said.

Meanwhile, Ozpin and Brandon were sitting on the other side of the arena, Ozpin digging into a bucket of popcorn.

"I must say, that was an exceptional performance done by team RWBY. They've come a long way ever since they started attending Beacon." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, they sure did." Brandon said.

"I'm quite looking forward to see how much Mr. Arc has developed. He has quite the powerful semblance on his side after all." He said.

"You got that right. Guy can literally control plants." He said.

"Well, he can only control the plants he's created. With any luck they'll get an environment that is perfect for plant life." Ozpin said.

"Fingers crossed." Brandon said.

Suddenly, he could feel his scroll start to vibrate in his scroll. He took it out of his pocket to see that Roman was messaging him.

 **"I got a little meeting with Cinder tonight. Be ready to send those two brats the recording if I wind up getting the info you want out of her."** He said.

 **"Remember, you can't make it look like you're to pushy about it. Try to find an opening in the conversation that would make sense for the topic to appear."** He said.

 **"I know. Jeez, you think I'm a novice or something?"** Roman asked.

Brandon closed off the conversation and put his scroll back into his pocket.

"And who might you be messaging at a time like this." Ozpin asked, causing Brandon to jump a little.

"Gah! Jeez! Will you quit doing that already?!" Brandon asked.

"Terribly sorry." He said.

"I was just texting a friend if that's what you're wondering." He said.

"Oh? Would this friend of yours happen to have pink hair?" Ozpin asked.

"Okay, one, no I'm not messaging Neo. Two, we're not like that." Brandon clarified.

"Heh, if you say so." He said.

Brandon grumbled and slouched in his seat.

"Shame that the two of you could not enter the tournament. Ironwood was less then willing to let the niece of Roman Torchwick fight his students." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, well I wasn't really interested in fighting in the tournament anyways." Brandon said.

"I never said you wouldn't be fighting." He said.

.

.

"Wait, what?!" He asked.

"Well, you do technically have another soul residing within you. Not only that but it does have a physical form." Ozpin said.

"So what?! Because Caliber counts as another teammate, I suddenly qualify to fight entire teams?!" Brandon asked.

 **"Team JNPR of Beacon, vs Team BRNZ of Shade!"** Port announced.

"Oh look, the match is starting." Ozpin said.

"Don't change the subject!" Brandon yelled.

After a few seconds, the stage hazards were selected. On team JNPR's side was a rocky mountain, and on team BRNZ's side was a deep forest.

 **"3!"** Port began the countdown.

 **"2!"**

 **"1!"**

 **"Begin!"** He finished.

"Come on guys! Let's go get em!" Jaune yelled as he raised his sword up high.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode three of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the third episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 3 thoughts**

 **Well then, this was definitely a good episode of RWBY. Not to say that the others weren't good, though in my opinion, it's currently the best one out of season five so far.**

 **Details, world building, characterization, what to expect, we got it all in one episode.**

 **So from the looks of it, we will be getting a training arc in this season of RWBY. Now, RWBY is not the first anime to use a training arc, it happens a lot in various anime and manga.**

 **Though I believe that this training arc was needed because I believe team RNJR really needs it at the moment. They're gonna need to get stronger if they want to hope to stand a ghost of a chance against the opponents that Ozpin is worried about.**

 **I really liked that Ozpin was pointing out the major flaws in Ruby and Jaune when it comes to combat. Ruby is way to reliant on Crescent Rose, and Jaune still hasn't unlocked his semblance.**

 **Now, will I change Jaune's semblance once the canon Jaune's semblance is revealed**

 **No. I will not, because I may have not stated this before, but everything after this volume will basically be a completely new form of events, with a few exceptions of course.**

 **With the Yang short and with Ozpin's words to Ruby, I believe that this is sorta a foreshadow that Ruby's weapon will eventually be destroyed, and if she doesn't know any other ways of combat by then, she will get absolutely slaughtered.**

 **I could be wrong, though I think that's the reason why Rooster Teeth is suddenly bringing this all up.**

 **So now the world building part.**

 **We now know for a fact that curses do indeed exist, and Ozpin also has one of these said curses.**

 **So in a way, Ozpin was cursed with semi immortality. Every time he dies, he merges souls with a light minded individual, someone fairly similar to himself.**

 **Now, we don't really know the full extent on how the curse actually works, so we'll save our thoughts until I get a greater grasp of things.**

 **Moving onto other things, I can't be the only one who thought that Ghira was gonna be assassinated. I have read and watched to many series where the a man giving a speech dies because of a rogue faction.**

 **I'm glad that it didn't happen, though this only further nails in that death flag for Ghira.**

 **So Weiss also got captured by Raven's tribe, we got to see where exactly the camp is.**

 **Weiss is on her own...well at least at the moment. I'm fairly certain that Yang will run into Weiss and the two will formulate a plan or something.**

 **Overall, it was a really good episode.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Fiction Fan 369: The fight wasn't meant to be very long. Still wanted to keep people guessing about the full extent of Tai's abilities. Also who know's, Brandon could have Cinder right where she wants her, and someone could just go in and mess it all up.**

 **Donovan: I wouldn't count on it...Sienna Khan's double that is.**

 **SPDefender: Like I said before, wasn't meant to be as long as some of the other fights in this series. Also who knows? She could be anywhere.**

 **LordChaos1317: Glad you liked it.**

 **DragonLord501st: No, Brandon is currently the only one who knows that Summer is still alive. Maybe he could have, though he was still more focused on his interactions with Raven. Though that doesn't mean he's dropped the subject about her grave entirely.**

 **Before the end of volume three? Probably not, though definitely after. He can't really stop the fall entirely, it's him against an entire army of White Fang. Only thing he can do is attempt to take Cinder's life.**

 **Also yeah, he's playing favorites at the moment, and it will have dire consequences in the future.**

 **myfunvideos: Oh! Okay then.**

 **myfunvideos: No, Roman was the one talking to Cinder. As of this moment, I have no plans of having anyone else from earth come to Remnant. Though it might change in the future. Also sure, I'll take the ice cream.**

 **GOH426: So would it be a kid who was born on earth and raised in Remnant? Or potentially the other way around. It's an interesting idea, maybe you should do it.**

* * *

"Come on boss, it's been days and we still haven't found a single scrap of treasure to sell." A man complained to his short boss as they walked through a town near the mountains that bordered the kingdom of Vale.

"And with that attitude we'll never find any!" He said.

"Though every lead we've gotten has been one bust after another. At this rate we'll never get any lien." A tall and large man said.

"Don't worry men! I can feel it! This time we've struck a gold mine for sure!" He said.

"You say that all the time, yet every time we go to one of your gold mines, it always ends up with us running away from Grimm, bandits, or in some cases, both." He said.

"Though I know that we've struck it good this time! I've heard that there's a man that has a secret treasury hidden somewhere within the mountains. If this rumor is true then we'll be even richer than the Schnee's!" He said, causing the two men to reel back in shock.

"W-whoa! Even the Schee's?!" They asked.

"Yes! Now if my sources are correct then the man will be passing through this very town!" He said, causing the two men to lower their heads in sorrow.

"Ah come on, your sources are never reliable. I mean, what are the odds of a man walking through town with a pile of gold in tow?" The man asked.

As if on cue, the sound of laughter could be heard coming from around the corner.

The three men ran down the alleyway and peered around the corner of the building they were currently hiding in.

"No! Please don't leave!" A woman cried out.

"Don't worry my sweets! If you keep giving me the drinks and services I got tonight then I should be back in no time!" The man said.

He was a fairly tall, well built man with messy black hair, gray eyes and a tanned complexion.

He wore a white shirt with a black over coat of some sort, dark brown pants and a belt. On the best was a few black pouches, one of them being attached to his thigh area.

He wore a pair of black boots, two leather bands wrapped around his chest, some armored shoulder pads, knee pads, and a pair of black gloves. The armor he was wearing in question had markings on them that resembled a dragon of some sort.

Though there was only really one thing that really stuck out to the men in question.

The massive bag of gold that he was carrying on his back.

"H-holy shit! Do you boys see that?!" He asked.

"I-I know what I'm seeing! Though I can't believe it!" He said.

"W-wow! That's a lot of gold." The big man said.

"Come back soon!" The woman said.

"What did I tell you boys! I knew we struck the jackpot this time!" The boss said.

"You said is boss!" The big one said.

"Though how are we gonna take the gold away from him?" The scrawny man said.

The boss looked around the town for a bit until his eyes eventually settled on a bar of some sort, and if there was one thing he picked up while traveling with his partners, where there was a bar, warriors weren't close behind.

"I got an idea." He said, a smirk starting to form on his face.

* * *

The man carrying the bag of gold in question was walking down the dirt path of Sanus's forests. While he was carrying a bag of gold on his back, there was also something fairly large on his back as well.

Though little did he know, there were a fairly large group of men waiting for him on a cliff side of some sort.

"See! What did we tell ya!" The boss man said.

"Hmm, gotta admit, when you told us about this guy I thought you were just wasting my time. Though low and behold, there he is, and damn is that a lot of gold." A man said with a smirk on his face.

"So, you remember our deal?" The boss man asked.

"Yeah, we take half and you take half. I haven't forgotten about our deal." He said with a smirk on his face.

All of a sudden, the men that surrounded the three brothers pointed there weapons at him.

"What you didn't tell us is that he was a warrior." He said.

"H-huh?!" The boss asked as he got another good look at the man in question. Sure enough, there was a massive sized sword with markings that resembled that of a dragon strapped to his back.

"H-hey now! We didn't know he knew how to fight!" The boss said.

"Cut the crap! The second the fight started you three were going to just run off with the gold, were you?!" He asked.

"W-what? I wasn't intending to start a fight at all! I just wanted take the gold and go! See?! No one hurt and no had to die!" He said.

The mercenary growled and pulled out his gun.

"C-come on now! Let's be reasonable!" The boss said.

The only response he got from the mercenary was for a gun to be pointed in between his eyes.

"We're done being reasonable." He said, cocking the gun back.

Though before the brothers could rush to the eldest's aid, a black blur zoomed past the mercenary leader in question.

"You know, for someone who's trying to ambush someone, you're really not good at shutting up." He said, causing the upper half of the mercenary leader to slide off of the lower half, a fountain of blood pouring out from the lower part of the body.

"W-what the hell?!" One of the men asked as all of the lower mercenaries pointed their weapons at the man.

"How was he able to move so quickly?" One of them asked.

"How is he even able to carry that sword?! It's as big as his own body!" One of them exclaimed.

"So-." The treasure hunter began, swinging his sword a little bit.

"Who wants to go?" He asked.

The only response he got was for all of the men to open fire on the lone treasure hunter.

He smirked and jumped into the air. All of the men attempted to shoot him out of the sky, though two of them were soon to meet quite the unfortunate fate as the man came down and sliced the two in half with his massive sword.

He continued to move past all of the men, dodging and blocking their attacks all while slicing them in two.

"H-hey. Is is just me, or is it starting to get hot in here?" One of the men asked.

"Heh, looks like this is the end of the line for you assholes." The man said as he ran towards the cliff, picking up the tree brothers as he ran past.

"What are you waiting for?! Shoot them down!" One of the men yelled.

"Wait! No! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Don't...s-shoot?" The boss said slowly as the head of a dragon suddenly appeared from behind the man.

.

.

"W-what in the name of-?!" One of the mercenaries began.

"Lights out." He said, causing the head of the dragon to unleash a mighty inferno, scorching what remained of the mercenaries.

Though what boggled the brothers the most was how not a single tree was seen on fire.

"Whew! That was fun. I needed a quick workout." The treasure hunter said as he cracked his knuckles. "So-." He began as he turned towards the brothers, causing them to crawl back a bit.

"You wanted this, right?" He asked.

The men slowly looked at the bag of gold and slowly nodded.

"Okay." The treasure hunter said as he started to walk away.

The three brothers sat their in silence before the eldest spoke up.

"Wait! Why?! We were gonna take this from you! Why are you just giving it to us?!" He asked.

"Well for one, I already have enough gold as it is. Any more and I won't be able to see the floors of my treasury." He said.

"Two, you don't seem all that bad. Just a group of guys trying to get by, nothing wrong with that." The treasure hunter said.

"Besides, if you really were that bad, you could have just taken the bag during my little warm up." He said.

"W-warm up?!" The three brothers asked.

"So take it. I already have a boat load of gold back at my place, doubt one little bag's gonna make a difference." He said as he started to walk away.

"...W-what just happened?" The scrawny one asked.

"Who cares! Do you know what this means?! We're rich! Rich I tell you!" Tall and large one said.

"...You're right! Holy shit you're right! We did it! We actually did it!" The scrawny one said.

Though as the two were celebrating their new found riches, the eldest brother just stared off into the road with only one question on his mind.

 _'Who the hell is that guy?'_ He asked himself.

* * *

 **Unknown Treasure Hunter**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Long Sword**

 **Gender : Male**

 **Height: 6'2"**

 **Weight: 163 lbs**

 **Age: 30**

 **Outfit: Black, White, Brown, Silver.**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Tanned**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Eye color: Gray**

 **Aura Color: Fiery Red**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Dgraig Goch**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 93**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 64**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 47**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 25**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	58. Round Two

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

 **Update: Sage's Semblance was changed.**

 **New Semblance**

 **Semblance: Earth, Wind & Fire (Earth, Wind & Fire - Band)**

 **Summary: Due to intense years of mediation and a deep connection with nature, Sage has developed various zodiac spirits that give him animal-like powers. The amount of spirit's he can withhold is unknown at this moment. Though to make up for it's sheer versatility, Sage must meditate for thirty seconds without interruptions.**

 **Destructive Power: E-A**

 **Speed: E-A**

 **Endurance: E-A**

 **Precision: B**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: E-B**

* * *

Speech: "Round Two"

Thought: _'Round Two'_

Flashback: _"Round Two"_

 **"Team JNPR of Beacon, vs Team BRNZ of Shade!"** Port announced.

After a few seconds, the stage hazards were selected. On team JNPR's side was a rocky mountain, and on team BRNZ's side was a deep forest.

 **"3!"** Port began the countdown.

 **"2!"**

 **"1!"**

 **"Begin!"** He finished.

"Come on guys! Let's go get em!" Jaune yelled as he raised his sword up high.

"May! Go!" The supposed leader of the team said as he pointed at the tree's behind him.

The leader in question was a young man with dark purple eyes and short black hair with his hair slicked toward his left side.

He wore a top that consists of gradients of gray and purple, scarf, black pants with bronze kneecaps and a dark purple scarf that wraps around his right leg and black boots.

"On it!" She said as she started to run towards the tree's behind her.

May was a young girl with light tan skin, dusky rose hair and gray-blue eyes.

She wore a red and white jacket over a white shirt with blue tracksuit pants and a distinctive black beanie that covers her left eye. She also wore a large black scarf and red canvas sneakers.

As she ran in the opposite direction of her team, the rest of the members of team BRNZ charged towards the four members of team JNPR.

As Pyrrha ran in front of the group, the leader of team BRNZ was their to meet her, attempting to knee her across the chin.

Though Pyrrha was quick to react and blocked the attack, though stumbled back a few feet.

He attempted to punch Pyrrha with his claw like weapon, though Pyrrha was able to block the attack with her sword.

She attempted to slash at the leader, though he was able to swiftly dodge the attack.

 _'Hmm, he's quite agile if I do say so myself. Though I have dealt with worse.'_ She thought to herself.

"I don't believe we've met." Pyrrha said with a confident smile on her face.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." She said.

"Brawnz Ni." The newly named Brawnz introduced as he swung his weapon at Pyrrha.

Meanwhile, Nora and Ren were face to face with another member of team BRNZ, a young male with messy dark red hair and pink eyes.

He wore a deep sky blue jacket with a black hood and rolled up black sleeves, open over a white shirt with long, rolled up sleeves. A pair of sunglasses with pink lenses hang from his collar. He also wore a pair of ripped burgundy jeans, black shoes and black finger-less gloves.

Nora swung her hammer at the boy, though he was able to quickly move under the attack, attempting to hit Nora with his Cattle Prod.

Though Nora was easily able to dodge the attack.

Ren was about to come in for the assist, though the sound of a sniper bullet hitting the rock directly behind him cut him off.

Jaune was currently fighting the last member of team BRNZ, a young man with green eyes and brown hair styled in cornrow dreadlocks tipped in gold clasps.

He wore a green vest buckled closed on his left shoulder, over a black T-shirt and loose white pants rolled up to his knees. He also wore a pair of fingerless gloves with white armor parts that are the holsters for his weapon and olive canvas sneakers.

He swung his fists at Jaune, though the blonde knight in question was easily able to block the attacks with his shield.

Seeing an opening, he swung his blade at the boy before hitting him over the head with the blunt end of the sword.

"Gah! Jeez, you pack more of a punch than I thought." The boy said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Name's Jaune Arc by the way." He said.

"Roy Stallion." He said as he threw his saw like blades at Jaune, though he was easily able to block the attack.

Though while he was tanking Roy's assault, he quickly caught a glimpse at May's sniper scope.

"Get behind the rocks!" Jaune ordered his team, pushing Roy away and running towards the rocks.

Both him and Pyrrha were using their shields as cover for Ren and Nora.

"Snipers. It just had to be a sniper!" Jaune groaned.

"What do we do?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune looked over the rocks and narrowed his eyes, eventually nodding and pulling out a bag of seeds from his pocket.

"We need to stall them if we want this plant to really give us the win. Make sure they don't make it past these rocks!" Jaune said.

"You heard him! Let's move!" Nora yelled as she charged at the enemy.

"Okay! I'll just-!" Jaune began, only for the fist of Brawnz to cut him off.

"Looks like you'll be dealing with me now!" He yelled as he started to rapidly punch Jaune's shield.

"Pyrrha!" He called out, causing Pyrrha to turn her head to face Jaune.

"Trade me!" Jaune yelled as he pushed away Brawnz with his shield.

Pyrrha nodded and kicked Roy over to Jaune, causing the blonde knight to punch him across the face.

As he did, a golden aura started to envelop the fist before disappearing after Roy stumbled a few steps back.

"Ugh." He groaned, holding his head with his right hand.

"Sorry about this." Jaune apologized as he started to repeatedly whack Roy with his sword.

After a few blows, Jaune eventually kicked Roy away.

Meanwhile, the last member of team BRNZ started to walk towards Ren with a cocky smirk on his face.

 _'You ready?'_ He asked.

After a few moments, the sound of static could be heard from within the mind of the boy.

 ** _"Loud and clear. I'll give you an opening."_** He heard May say from within his head.

He nodded and started to continue his walk towards Ren.

"How about I introduce myself." He said as sparks started to come off of his weapon.

"Names Nolan Porfirio." The newly named Nolan said.

"Lie Ren." Ren introduced himself.

He was about to go in for the attack, though May started to shoot various sniper bullets at Ren, forcing him to dodge the attack and leave himself wide open for another one.

Nolan whacked Ren across the face with his Cattle Prod, causing him to stumble backwards a bit.

As Nolan charged towards him, Ren attempted to kick him with his free leg. Though Nolan was able to dodge the attack and what at Ren's lower leg.

Before Ren could attempt another attack, Nolan jammed his Cattle Prod onto Ren's lower torso, causing him collapse to the ground.

"Ren!" Nora yelled in concern, causing a face of anger to appear on her face.

She swung her hammer at Nolan, though he was able to dodge that attack and jam his Cattle Prod onto Nora's stomach.

Though what threw him off guard was the fact that Nora was seemingly unfazed by the attack.

 _'W-what the-?!'_ Nolan asked himself.

 **"Looks like one of my favorite student, Nora Valkrie is charging up to use her Semblance."** Port said.

"What?" Nolan asked.

 **"Yes, Ms. Valkrie's Semblance let's her produce, as well as channel electrical energy straight to her muscles. This is allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"** Oobleck explained.

"What?!" He asked.

Nora grinned as purple lighting surged from her body.

"Uh, look. I didn't mean to hurt your friend as bad as I did. Can we start over? My name is Nolan." He said nervously.

"Names Nora, and this is Magnhild." She said as she whacked Nolan away with her hammer.

Jaune looked behind him to see that there was a lightning cloud coming from the top of the mountain.

"Nora! Get to the mountains!" Jaune yelled.

Nora turned towards the mountain in question and smirked.

"You got it!" She said as she ran towards the mountain.

"Ren! Pyrrha! Keep it up! It's almost ready!" Jaune said.

"Got it!" Pyrrha said.

Roy threw his saw blades at Jaune, though he was able to block the attack with ease.

 _'Seems like the affects of my semblance wore off.'_ Jaune said.

As the saw blades came back to Roy, he started to hit Pyrrha's shield with them.

Jaune smirked and kept guarding the area where he had planted the seeds.

"What's he doing?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure. Though I'm certain that he and the rest of JNPR and plotting something." Weiss said.

Pyrrha kicked Brawnz in the gut before blocking and dodging Roy's attacks.

She threw her spear at Roy before kicking Brawnz away.

 _'May. What do you see?'_ Brawnz asked.

 _ **"It seems like the girl with the hammer is moving towards the lighting on the mountain."**_ She said to her teammates as she started to fire her rifle at Ren.

 _'Great. Because we clearly need that at the moment. She sent my flying with just a hundred volts! There's no telling how strong she'll be if she absorbs the lightning.'_ Nolan said as he attempted to whack Ren with his cattle prod.

 _'I wouldn't be so worried about her. We should be more worried about the blonde.'_ Roy said.

 _'What in the hell are you talking about?! Did you not see her send my flying with just one attack?!'_ He asked as Ren caught his weapon and started to rapidly kick him with his legs.

 _'I know, but that guy's semblance is freaky. After he hit me with just one attack, I started to feel strange.'_ He said.

 _'Strange how?'_ Brawnz asked.

 _'Like every hit he landed on me was twice as painful as it should have been.'_ Roy said.

 ** _"Yeah I have to agree with Roy here. We should keep an eye on the blonde one."_** May said as she aimed her scope at Nora.

Though as she fired her weapon, Pyrrha was right there to block the attack.

"Damn it." She muttered under her breath.

 _'What do you see May?'_ Brawnz asked.

 _ **"When they were behind that rock, the boy did something to the ground. I'm not sure what it is, and I certainly know that I don't want to find out."**_ May said.

Nora raised her hammer and absorbed the lighting into her body. She switched her weapon into it's grenade launcher mode and fired all six grenades at May.

"Ah crap." She said as she jumped away from the blast.

Nora charged towards the other members of team BRNZ and slammed her hammer into the ground, causing Nolan, Brawnz and Roy to move towards May.

 _'Dang it. It still hasn't been enough time yet. I need to stall until it's ready...I know!'_ Jaune thought.

"This is it guys! Let's finish them off with team attacks! Ren! Nora! Flower power!" He yelled.

"Wait, what?" Nora asked.

"...Flower power." Jaune said once more.

 _'Come on, take the bait.'_ He said.

"That's your team attack name." He said.

"Since when?" Ren asked.

 _'Yes! I got them to ask about the name! All I have to do is stall for time and we'll have victory in the bag.'_ Jaune thought.

"Guys! We went over this! Flower power is Ren and Nora! Ren brings the flower and Nora brings the power!" He said.

"How do I bring a flower?" Ren asked.

"No silly, not a flower. Flour! Like in baking!" Nora said.

"Why would I bring that?" He asked.

"No! It's your symbol!" Jaune said.

"So what are we?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pyrrha!" He said.

"Sorry! I just wanna make sure it's clearly defined." She said.

 _'Crap! I was to busy improvising with Nora and Ren I forgot to come up with a back up for Pyrrha! Come on, think!...Ah! I got it!'_ Jaune thought.

"Pyrrha! You and I are Arkos!" He said.

"...?" Pyrrha just looked at Jaune with mild confusion.

"You know! That thing where we take our shields, remember?" Jaune asked.

"Arkos?" She asked.

"Yeah! It's our last names put together!" He said.

"R-right! No, I get it." Pyrrha said.

"What do you not like it?" Jaune asked.

"No, no! It's...good?" She said, slightly unsure herself.

"Ooh, I sense hesitation." Nora said.

"Hey!" Brawnz yelled.

Though little did the members of team BRNZ know, a small wooden trunk was appearing from behind them.

"Huh?" The members of team JNPR hummed.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He asked.

 _'Stalling.'_

"Trying to have a team meeting! Thank you very little!" Jaune said as he narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, the seeds he had planted had made there was all across the arena.

"Yeah! Team ears only!" Nora said.

"We're in the middle of a fight!" He yelled.

"And we're in the middle of a conversation! What don't you get about that?!" Jaune asked.

"Um, Jaune?" Pyrrha called out.

"Yes, Pyrrha?" He asked.

"I think he means that we're all in the middle of a fight." She said.

After a few seconds, Jaune sighed and started to chuckle.

"Whew! Who knew improvising would be so hard." He said.

.

.

"What?" Everyone, including Jaune's team asked.

"As for you guys! You really weren't making that easy! Do you know how hard it was to come up with a team name for Pyrrha and I on the fly?" He asked.

"Uh, I'm sorry?" Pyrrha asked.

"Thank you." Jaune said.

"Wait, so we don't have team attacks?" Nora asked.

"No...well, not yet I guess." He said.

"Though what do you mean by improvising?" Pyrrha asked.

As if on cue, a tall wooden tree sprouted from the ground and wrapped May around it's wooden bark.

"What the hell?!" Nolan asked.

"That. That's what I was stalling for." Jaune said.

 **"Oh ho! It appears that this battle is getting exciting!"** Port said.

"H-hey! Put me down!" May yelled.

"Okay." Jaune said as he flicked his wrist to the left, causing the massive plant to throw her out of the stadium.

"You guys might want to stand back. Things are about to get messy." Jaune said.

The rest of team JNPR nodded and started to walk on over to the rocks.

Jaune flicked his wrist once again, causing the giant plant to move towards the rest of team BRNZ.

"Move!" Brawnz yelled, causing Nolan and Roy to dodge the attack.

Jaune chuckled and flicked his other wrist, causing another plant to sprout out from the ground, wrapping up Nolan in it's process.

"Aw son of a-!" He began to yell, only for the tree to throw him out of the arena.

"Nolan!" Roy yelled.

The boy growled and threw one of his saw blades at one of the tree's, though due to the sheer size of the tree, it only managed to cut the bark.

As if the tree's weren't enough, small bud like beings started to pop out of the tree's and started to run towards Roy and Brawnz.

"What are these?" He asked.

"Bombs." Jaune said.

"...Wait wha-?" Roy began, only for the bombs to blow up near his feet, blowing him out of the arena.

"All that's left is you. Hope you don't take this personally. I'm just doing this for my team is all." Jaune said to Brawnz.

The leader of team Brawnz stood there for a couple of seconds before he started to chuckle, eventually turning into full blown laughter.

"Ha ha! Yes! This is it! This is the fight I've been looking for!" He yelled as he pointed at Jaune.

"Thank you, Jaune Arc! You've given me the fight I needed! The fight that will truly push me to my limit!" Brawnz said as a purple aura started to surround him.

"So come on! Give me everything you've got!" He yelled, causing his aura to flare and his eyes to glow a bright purple.

Suddenly, the claws on his hands started to extend, the blades glowing with the same purple aura.

"Let's go!" Brawnz yelled as he charged towards Jaune.

The blonde knight flicked his wrist, causing the plants to move towards Brawnz at a rapid pace.

Though what Jaune didn't expect was for Brawnz to slice up the plants with his newly extended claws.

 _'Aw crap! Not good! Not good!'_ Jaune said to himself.

"Come on! Don't tell me this is all you got!" He yelled as he started to rapidly slash at Jaune's shield.

The blonde knight was struggling to keep his ground, eventually succumbing to the pressure.

"You're mine!" He yelled as he started to rapidly slash at Jaune.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she went in to assist her teammate, though was quickly stopped my Ren.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She asked.

"Look." Ren said as he pointed at Jaune.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, eventually seeing what Ren was seeing.

"He's...smiling?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's right. He's actually enjoying this fight, he respects Brawnz wish of a one on one battle. So who are we to step in?" He asked.

Pyrrha was a bit hesitant at first, but eventually stepped back.

"Rah!" Jaune yelled as he punched Brawnz in the gut, causing a golden aura to wash over him.

"Gah!" He gasped.

"Sorry about this! This was a fun fight, but I'm putting an end to it!" Jaune said as another plant appeared from behind him, a red bud of some sort appearing from the top of the plant.

He grabbed the plant and rammed it into Brawnz's gut, causing the bottom of the plant to ignite with an inferno. The plant sped down the arena as if it were a rocket, eventually exploding once it reached it's limit.

 **"And Brawnz Ni is eliminated due to aura depletion, making team JNPR the winner!"** Port said.

"...I-I did it?" Jaune asked.

"You did it Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she wrapped her arms around Jaune.

Though after a few seconds, she realized what she was doing and quickly let go.

"Uh, good job." She said.

"That's our Jauney boy!" Nora said as she slapped Jaune on the back.

"Heh, thanks guys. Though I couldn't have done it without all of you. You all played a big role in our victory today." He said.

"Oh stop!" Nora said with a smug grin on her face.

Jaune chuckled and started to make his way over to the fallen team BRNZ.

"You okay Brawnz?" May asked.

"Okay? I'm more than okay." He said with a chuckle, only to be replaced with a groan.

"Hey!" Jaune called over as he started to run towards team BRNZ.

"Oh, it's you. What is it?" He asked.

Jaune's only response was to take four fruit from his belt pouches, handing them to team BRNZ.

"Here, eat these." Jaune said.

The four members were a bit skeptical at first but eventually took a bite out of the fruit.

"Whoa! What is this fruit! I feel better already!" Roy said.

"Yeah! My aura feels like it's already come back!" May said.

"Heh, it's a little recipe I threw together. Unfortunately it only regenerates aura, not actual wounds." Jaune said.

"Well good thing none of us actually sustained physical injury...well, most of us." May said.

"Gah! I'm sorry did I over do it?! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you as bad as I did!" He said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's alright, it's nothing he hasn't had before." Nolan said.

"Still, I feel like I need to make it up." Jaune said.

"Seriously, we're fi-." Roy began.

"Just take it." Nora said.

"Yeah, he'll never stop until you do. He's stubborn like that." Ren said.

"You should have seen him when he accidentally hurt Pyrrha with his semblance. Ho boy was that a mess." She said.

"...Well, I suppose if you insist, sure." May said.

Suddenly, Brawnz jolted up and started to pat Jaune on his back.

"That was awesome! Over the years I've been in Vacuo, I've never fought anyone so strong!" He said.

"Hey!" The three members of team BRNZ yelled.

"Oh stop it. Pyrrha is so much stronger than I am." Jaune said as he started to scratch the back of his neck.

"No, he's right Jaune." Pyrrha said.

"Ever since you first started attending Beacon, your development has been extraordinary. Even I sometimes have trouble with that semblance of yours." Pyrrha said.

"R-really? You mean you weren't just faking that?" He asked.

"Now why would I do such a thing?" She asked.

"...Okay, I guess you got a point there." Jaune said.

"You're stronger than you think Jaune." Pyrrha said.

"Well, if you want to talk about strength, then you'll wanna face the guy who was helped me get onto the starting point of what I am today." Jaune said.

"What do you mean?" Branwz asked.

"There's this guy, he's probably in the crowd. He was the one who put me on this path, my own path, rather than just following the path of another." He said.

"Well, I guess I'll have to fight him sometime. Though considering we lost the match I doubt that will be any time soon." He said.

"Aw don't worry about it. Hey, how about we go and show you around Vale? It's a lot of fun." Jaune said.

"Hmm, yeah I guess we have time to kill. What do you say guys?" Branwz asked, causing the rest of team BRNZ to nod their heads.

"Well, let's not waste anytime." Pyrrha said as she started to walk out of the arena.

"Looks like we'll be moving onto the doubles round." Ren said.

"Hey, that reminds me. Who are you guys picking to move onto the doubles round?" May asked.

"Hmm...I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it." Jaune said as he, along with the rest of team BRNZ walked out of the arena.

Meanwhile, both Ozpin and Brandon were watching from the crowd with smirks on their faces.

"Heh, look at that." He said.

"Indeed. Mr. Arc has made rapid progress in his training." Ozpin said.

"Yeah, bit of an understatement." Brandon said.

"It looks like keeping him here despite his forged transcripts paid off in the end." He said.

"...Wait, you knew about that?!" He asked.

"Of course I did. What did you think the headmaster of Beacon would be so easily fooled?" Ozpin asked.

"So why did you let him in despite knowing about his forged transcripts?" Brandon asked.

"Because I saw potential in him. The potential to reach heights beyond his wildest imagination." He said.

"...You're a real mystery Oz, you know that?" He asked.

"I get that a lot." Ozpin said as he pulled out his scroll and started typing something in it.

"What are you doing?" Brandon asked.

"Oh, just a little something for the tournament." He said with a grin on his face.

Though before Brandon could question him any further, the sound of Oobleck's voice booming across the arena cut him off.

 **"Ah well Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one. But this next round will have them on the edge of their seats."** Oobleck said.

 **"Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite. Though these lovely ladies are going up against some of the toughest, testosterone filled teammates we've seen so far. I'm of course talking about team SSSN!"** Port said.

 **"Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and all though he'll be representing the Mistral academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him on."** He said.

"Hmm, NDGO and SSSN. I wonder who will come out on top?" Ozpin said with a amused look in his eye.

Brandon narrowed his eyes but shrugged and started to watch the match between team SSSN and NDGO.

* * *

Cinder was currently waiting under a tree in the fields of Beacon with an impatient look in her eyes.

 _'Honestly what is taking that fool so long?'_ She asked.

"So you came after all." Cinder heard Roman say.

She turned her head to her left to see Roman walking towards her with the same arrogant smile she grew to dislike.

"You better not waste my time, Torchwick. If I find out that the information you have given me doesn't hold true then I will not hesitate to end your life during the fall." She said with a glare on her face.

"Glad to see you're still all sunshine and Rainbows." He said dryly as he sat down on the bench.

"So? What did you find? You know how I don't like to be kept waiting." Cinder said.

"I know, I know. I just got here, jeez." Roman said , taking off his hat. "I know about the Maidens you know." He said, causing Cinder to tense up.

"Now if you're wondering how exactly I found out about the maidens, Ozpin told me about it when I decided to infiltrate their ranks." He said.

"That brings up a question that has been plaguing my mind. How is it that you were able to infiltrate their ranks so easily?" She asked.

"How were you able to do it?" Roman asked.

"Ozpin does not know of my true identity, thus allowing me to slip in between the cracks of his system." Cinder said.

"Yeah...about that." He began.

"I'm already regretting this." She sighed.

"Calm down, calm down. He knows what your name is, not what you look like. From what you told me you haven't been using your actual name here in Beacon. So as long as you keep that up we won't have any issues." Roman said.

"Why does he even know my name in the first place?" Cinder asked.

"Well, I had to tell him something in order for me to gain his trust." He said.

"I seriously doubt that all it took for you to gain his trust was my name." She said.

"I did tell them about what really happened in the incident in Mountain Glenn, as well as why the White Fang have been so active lately." Roman said.

"What else have you told him?" Cinder asked.

"That's all I told them. I didn't really know a whole lot because you're so insistent on keeping me in the dark!" He said.

Cinder sat there with her eyes closed for a few moments before eventually nodding to herself.

"Very well, what has Ozpin told you about the Maidens?" She asked.

"He told me that they were these all powerful guardians that protect their respective kingdoms. I even met the actual Maiden." Roman said, causing Cinder to spin her head towards him.

"What?!" Cinder asked.

"Well, that got your attention." He said.

"Where is she?! How did the bug I planted in her get destroyed?! Who destroyed it?!" She asked.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! One at a time! Jeez!" Roman said.

Cinder blinked a few times before clearing her throat.

"R-right." She said.

"Well as for your first question, I know that she's on campus, though I wouldn't try getting to her. She's got Qrow Branwen and Taiyang guarding her around the clock." Roman said.

"Please, as tempting as it is, I do not intend to make a second attempt on Amber's life quite yet." Cinder said. "Still, Branwen on his own would cause trouble for me, now Taiyang has gotten into the mix. This is a...troubling development." Cinder said.

"Anything ground breaking?" He asked.

"It's to early to tell. If I cannot attain the rest of the Maidens power then yes, it will be ground breaking." She said.

"Heh, looks like shit's going south pretty fast." Roman said.

"It's unfortunate, though it's nothing I can't work with." Cinder said. "What about my second and third question?" She asked.

Roman's only response was to shrug his shoulders, pulling out some sort of fried pastry from his pocket.

"Figures." Cinder said

"So, what's the deal with these Maidens anyways? Why do you need their power so much? Speaking of which how did you even take her power? Is there a whole process or something? Did ya steal it or...?" Roman asked.

"The Maidens power is the whole reason why this plan exists in the first place." She said.

"Why exactly are we after the Maidens power anyway?" He asked.

"They are the key to our actual goal." Cinder said.

"What?" Roman asked.

 _'Well, he already knows of the Maidens. Might as well.'_ She thought to herself.

"There are four relics, one hiding under each school of Remnant, and each one containing immense power." Cinder said.

"Relics?" Roman asked.

"Yes, the Relic of Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, and Choice. We are currently looking for the relic of choice." She said.

"So why are we even getting these anyway?" He asked.

"Were you not listening? I said that each one contains immense power, power beyond your wildest imagination." Cinder said.

"Yeah, I heard all that, but what I want to know is what exactly do these relics do?" Roman asked.

"I...I don't know." She admitted.

"You mean to tell me, that we've been going through all this shit, risking all of our lives to get some supposedly all powerful relic, and you don't even know what the damn thing does?!" He asked.

Though before Roman could continue his questioning, he was quickly cut off by Cinder's glare.

"I recommend you watch your tongue, Torchwick." She growled.

"Tch." Roman said as he took a bite of his pastry.

"No, I don't know what they do. Though I do know someone who does." Cinder said.

"Who?" He asked.

"That is none of your concern." She said. "All you need to know is that this person requires these relics in order to change the world for the better." She said.

"Wait...you mean that you don't need the relics?" Roman asked.

"All I need is power. The person in question will help me attain the power that I dream of." Cinder said.

"So you're actually working for someone?" He asked.

"If that's what you want to call it yes, I am working for someone." She said.

Roman just sat there in silence, baffled at this new set of information.

 _'Well ain't this a surprise? I thought Cinder was just looking out for herself and no one else. Who the hell could she possibly be working for?'_ She asked himself.

"Though who they are is none of your concern." Cinder said.

"Are you the only one?" He asked.

"Of course not. Counting myself their are a total of twelve of us." She said.

Roman growled under his breath, clenching the paper that contained his snack in his right hand.

 _'As if our job wasn't already hard enough. Now we've got to worry about eleven other guys?'_ Roman thought to himself.

 _'Can't a guy get a break? Well anyways, the kid will want to know about this.'_ He thought.

"So I'm gonna assume that all of them are after these relics." He said.

"Yes, that is our goal. To gather the relics." Cinder said.

"Moving on, how did you manage to take away Amber's power? I seriously doubt she just gave it to you." Roman said.

"There were some...complications when it came to acquiring her power." She said.

"What kind of complications we talking here? Physical or something more?" He said.

"A bit of both. She put up a decent fight, though with the help of those two we were able to get her into a corner, allowing me to use this." Cinder said a bug like Grimm appeared in the palm of her hand.

"I've seen a lot of Grimm before, though none like this." Roman said.

"I'd be surprised if you had. They're quite rare." She said.

"With this I was able to successfully transfer half of her power into my own body. Though due to some unfortunate set backs I wasn't able to get the other half of the power." Cinder said.

"Is it that important to get the other half?" He asked.

"Without the other half of the relics power I don't have access to the relic. Only a maiden can access them to begin with, and I'm only half of one." She said.

"You said that there were also some other complications when obtaining the power." Roman said.

"Yes, it was critical that Emerald and Mercury did not kill her." Cinder said.

"Why? Wouldn't just taking the power from her corpse be even easier?" He asked.

"The Maiden's power doesn't work like that. If the current maiden dies then the power is transferred into the last person in her thoughts before death. Though there was also an even bigger risk using this method. If Amber just so happened to be thinking of a male during her final breaths then the power would be given to someone random." She said.

"Well that's dumb." Roman said.

"That's why it was imperative that she remained alive during the process. Though now that I have the other half of the power I don't have to worry about this anymore. Once I kill her the remaining half of the power will just go to the person with the other half of the powers." Cinder said.

"Though mow that she's guarded by Qrow and Tai, an attempt on her life will be more difficult than I expected." She said. "Though that's enough about me, I want to hear what I came for." Cinder said.

"Right, I've got some info on ya." Roman said as he pulled out his scroll.

"Well for one, I already told you that Amber was still on campus. So that's a start. Though here's where things get interesting." He said.

 _'While telling her some of these thing will cause some unwanted commotion, the kid did say do whatever you had to do to gain her trust.'_ Roman thought.

"This kid, Penny Polendina I think her name was. From what I saw during the jail break this girl isn't exactly human." He said, causing Cinder to raise one of her eyebrows.

"What do you mean, not human?" Cinder asked.

"She's like this...Android or something." Roman said.

"You mean to tell me that our enemies were capable of creating a machine with a soul? I've heard a lot blasphemy from you, Torchwich but if you actually expect me to believe that their is a girl here that is an actual machine with a soul then-."

"Ask Adam." He said.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"Ask Adam, he did go head to head with her back on the highway. Either that or ask the Faunus with the plane, she was able to hack her systems and have her attack her own." Roman said.

Cinder narrowed her eyes but eventually nodded.

"Very well. Though you better not be lying to me." She said.

"Heh, does this look like a lying face?" He asked with a, quote on quote, innocent smile on his face.

Cinder merely rolled her eyes before looking back at Roman.

"Anything else?" Cinder asked.

"Sorry hun. They aren't exactly up and arms to tell me every little secret they have." Roman said.

"Fair enough. I must admit Roman, you are proving yourself far more useful than I originally expected." She said.

 _"So you need to get Cinder to trust you, or at least get her to trust you with the information of her view on Emerald and Mercury."_ He remembered Brandon saying.

 _'Well-.'_ Roman began to think as placed his scroll to the side, pressing the record button as it touched the ground.

 _'Better now than never.'_ He thought.

"So why tell me all this?" Roman asked.

"Pardon?" Cinder asked.

"About the relics, about your boss, and about your goal. Why tell me all this when I can easily just rat you out for all this?" He asked.

"I think we both know what will happen if you open your mouth." She said with a glare. "Besides, you could be useful to our cause later in the future. You have the connections, the smarts, and the cunning needed for our cause. You didn't just get the name of most feared criminal in Vale for nothing." Cinder said.

"We have common goals, you and I. We both want to see this world change for the better." She said.

"Do the two brats know about all this?" Roman asked.

"They don't need to know about the relics. Nor do they need to know of who I am working for." She said.

"Well, you told me all that just a second ago. Why not tell your two henchmen or whatever you call them?" He asked.

"Because they are only temporary." Cinder said.

 _'There we go.'_ Roman thought to himself.

"Their skills and abilities are only required to obtain the Maidens power. The day we took half of Amber's power was supposed to be their last ones, I wasn't intending to keep them around after that. Though as you can see things didn't go as planned." She said.

"Mercury is to rebellious for my liking. If he rebelled against his father then their was a chance he will rebel against me as well. That is a gamble I do not intend to make." Cinder said.

"Not only that but he lacks drive, he merely fights because he get's a certain level of enjoyment out of it." She said.

"What about Emerald? She's pretty loyal to you." Roman said.

"You forget one thing Roman. I don't need anyone. All I need is to become powerful." Cinder said.

"The hell's the deal with your obsession with power?" He asked.

"Is it wrong for one to desire strength?" She asked.

"No, but you have a borderline obsession." Roman said.

"My reasons are none of your concern." Cinder said.

"Fine, though what about those kids? After this is all over what are you gonna know with them?" He asked.

"Since when were you ever concerned with their well being?" She asked.

"I'm not. Though I am curious as to what you're gonna do to them after you get the other half of the Maidens power." Roman said.

Cinder narrowed her eyes for a moment before responding.

"I'll kill them. They already know to much as it is, leaving them alive with the information I have given would be foolish." She said. "They are but mere stepping stones for me in order to gain my rightful power." Cinder said.

Roman smirked and ended the recording.

"So I gave you what you wanted. What's next on the agenda?" He asked.

"The day where we will put our plan into action is fast approaching. I'll give you further instructions tomorrow night. Meet me here so we can discuss." She said as she got up and walked away from the bench.

 _'You're right about one thing, Cinder. We both want to change this world. Though your definition of change is a bit different than mine.'_ Roman thought.

The former criminal pulled out his scroll and started to scroll down his contacts list, eventually making to Brandon's name.

After his scroll rang for a few seconds, Brandon eventually picked up,

 **"Hello?"** He asked from the other side of the scroll.

"Kid! Hey, how ya doing? Enjoying the festival that I'm not allowed to go to?" Roman asked.

 **"Did you just call me to vent out again?"** Brandon asked.

"As much as I'd like to, no. I just got finished with a little talk with Cinder." He said.

 **"Okay, what did you get?"** He asked.

Roman's only response was to send Brandon the recording he got from Cinder.

After a few seconds, the sound of the boy struggling to catch his scroll could be heard from the other side of the call.

 **"The hell?! You already got it?!"** Brandon asked.

"What did I say kid? Worlds. Greatest. Con Artist." Roman said.

 **"I know but jeez! I didn't think it would be this fast! This is great Roman! Now I can finally show Emerald and Mercury just what they've gotten themselves into."** He said.

"Hold the phone kid. I wouldn't got playing messenger quite yet." He said.

 **"Why not?"** Brandon asked.

"Well, what if Cinder just so happened to walk in on the two while they're listening to the recording I gave you?" Roman asked.

 **"...Okay, good point."** He said.

"Yeah, though luckily for you, you're gonna have the perfect opportunity to give them the message tomorrow." He said.

 **"What're you on about?"** Brandon asked.

"Well, tomorrow night Cinder wants to meet me so that she can give me the details for the final step of the plan. That should give you a large window of opportunity to give them the news." Roman said.

 **"Well that's good to know. Did you find anything else about her plans?"** He asked.

"Not her plans so to say but I do know that her goals reach a little further than we expected." He said.

 **"What do you mean?"** Brandon asked.

"For one, she's not just out for herself. She's working for someone. Don't ask me who, she wouldn't tell me." Roman said.

 **"Weird. Didn't think Cinder was the kind of woman to work under anyone."** He said.

"Neither did I until she told me about it. Not only that but it seems that her plans go a bit beyond the Maidens." He said.

 **"...Pardon?"** Brandon asked.

"Yeah, she's really after these things called the relics of Knowledge, Choice, Destruction, and Creation or something like that." Roman said.

 **"Relics?"** He asked.

"Yeah, threw me for a loop as well. From what Cinder said, she and the people she's working with are all after the relics for this boss of theirs." He said.

 **"You mean Cinder's not the only one?"** Brandon asked.

"That's right. If we counted her their are a total of twelve people who we have to worry about." Roman said, causing the sound of Brandon dropping his scroll to come from the speaker of his scroll.

 **"T-Twelve?! You've gotta be kidding me!"** He asked.

 _'Out of all the things I've told him why is this the one thing that surprised him?'_ Roman asked himself.

"Yeah, that's what she said." He said.

 **"As if our job wasn't hard enough."** Brandon said.

"You said it kid." Roman said. "So what's the plan?" He asked.

 **"When you meet Cinder tomorrow, stall her. I'll message you when Mercury and Emerald finished listening to the tape."** He said.

"And if you're plan doesn't work?" Roman asked.

 **"We'll improvise."** Brandon said.

"...Fair enough." Roman said as Brandon cut off the connection.

 _'He's really riding on this, isn't he?'_ He asked.

"Torchwick." A familiar voice called out, causing Roman to turn his head, facing General Ironwood himself.

"Ah, well if isn't the good general himself? What's the matter? Getting paranoid that I might be planting bombs in the school?" He asked.

Ironwood sighed and started to rub his temples with his right hand.

"Look, please don't make this harder than it has to be." Ironwood said.

"Heh, but where's the fun in that, Jimmy?" Roman asked.

"I came here to...apologize." He said.

.

.

"I'm sorry but could you repeat that?" Roman asked.

"When you were brought into Ozpin's office and told us that you would fight for us now, I did not believe that your intentions were sincere. I had constant surveillance on you just in case you showed any signs of double crossing us." Ironwood said.

"Though now I see that I was wrong about you. Though when one of the member of the Phantoms had me in a corner you could have easily allowed them to take my life." He said.

"You had more than enough opportunities to double cross us during the jail break. Though instead you fought by our side." Ironwood said.

"I didn't know what Ozpin saw in you when he gave you a spot in this academy. However, I do believe that I have the general idea down." He said.

"You and I, we have a common enemy. While we may have come from different sides of the battle, we've managed to put aside those differences to fight against a common enemy." Ironwood said.

"So I must apologize for my behavior towards you." He said.

"Meh, I'm a criminal. Only natural you would have been a little skeptical to let me into your ranks and all that jazz." Roman said.

"I suppose that's true. It was all in the past. We may have been enemies once before, though now we are united against a common threat." Ironwood said.

"...So does this mean I can-."

"No, you still can't go to the festival. While you may have proven yourself trustworthy, I don't think the people would be to fond of the idea of the most feared criminal in all of Vale walking around the festival grounds." He said.

"Well, you can't win em all I guess." Roman said.

Ironwood chuckled as he pulled out his pocket watch. After a few seconds, he nodded and placed it back into his pocket.

"Well, I should be going. I have a few things I need to take care of." Ironwood said as he started to walk away.

 _"We may have been enemies once before, though now we are united against a common threat."_ That statement lingered in Roman's mind for a few minutes now.

 _'Heh, guess on paper it ain't so bad after all.'_ Roman thought to himself.

* * *

"Heh heh! Yeah! That's what I like to hear! Team SSSN is in the house!" Sun yelled as he pumped his fists in the air.

The rest of team SSSN, even Sage were doing their own respective nods to the crowd.

"I've gotta admit. I was a bit skeptical about all this attention, though now that I'm actually out here it isn't so bad." Sage said.

"I know right!" Neptune said.

"So who are we fighting again?" Scarlet asked.

Their only response was for four girls to walk up to them, each one of them holding their respective weapons.

The one to the right, the supposed leader of the group, was a young girl who had lightly tanned skin, indigo hair brushed over to her left side, and olive eyes. She wore a high-necked, tight-fitting gray shirt, along with a long, light blue coat. She also wore a leather bandoleer with a shoulder pad on the right, which also appears to hold her weapon. She also wears gray pants and dark gray boots.

The one behind her was a young female with fair skin, brick red hair left loose and olive green eyes.

She wore a blue waistcoat with two long tails and brown bodice detail. A blue crop vest of the same color is worn over the top. Her skirt is cream underneath an orange open-front layer. She wears a pair of dark blue belts crossed in the front and back, and a pair of silver pauldrons, held in place by a leather belt across her chest. Her shoes are a pair of simple, dark brown boots with a folded top.

Right next to her was a young female with olive skin, curly black hair pulled back from her face into ringlets, and brown eyes.

She wore a black corset dress with a dark gray front, purple hem and purple laces on the back. The upper part of her dress is light gray, with a high gray collar and elbow length sleeved with black cuffs. Her belt is a long purple ribbon edged in gray, with a bow in the back and tied in the front, and connected to the belt are a pair of armor tassets that also act as storage for her weapon.

She also wears light gray stockings and pale gray ballet flats with ribbons around her lower legs.

The last member of the team was a young female with tanned skin, dark blonde hair swept to her left side, and violet eyes.

She wore a sleeveless green dress with an asymmetrical hem, what appears to be golden scale armor underneath her dress that covers her chest, neck and left arm, a lighter green sarong tied around her hips, and a golden pauldron. Two thin chains loop from the front of her pauldron and around her torso to the back.

She also wore a pair of over-the-knee scale leggings, the same as her chest armor, armored boots with a small heel matching the pauldron, and a simple chain bracelet with a ring connected to it on her right hand.

"So, you guys must be team...team-." Sun began, trying to remember the team name of their opponents.

"NDGO, it's NDGO Sun." Sage said.

"Right! Hey team NDGO! Name's Sun Wukong! Nice to meet ya!" He greeted with a smile on his face.

The members of team NDGO looked at one another before nodding.

"Hi, my name is Nebula Violette." The newly named Nebula said.

"Hey, name's Octavia Ember." The girl behind Nebula said.

"Hello. My name is Gwen Darcy. A pleasure to meet you." Gwen said.

"I'm Dew Gayl." She said.

"Hello, names Neptune Vasilias. Pleasure to meet you ladies." He said.

"Name's Scarlet David." Scarlet said.

"Sage Ayana." Sage greeted.

"Well, best of luck." Nebula said.

"I should be saying that to you." Sun said.

"Oh, cocky one aren't ya?" She asked.

"You have no idea." Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet said at the same time.

As the screens on team NDGO's side came to a halt, the picture of a few mountains with a large sun over it appeared, causing a desert arena to appear behind the girls, as well as an artificial sun of some sort.

"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nebula said.

"Don't get to cocky. That's my turf too." Sun said.

"Oh, so you're from Vacuo to?" Gwen asked.

"Yep, was born and raised there." He said.

"So what made you want to attend Haven and not Shade?" Octavia asked.

"Well, it's a bit personal. Let's just say I'm looking to make a better name for myself." Sun said.

"I hope I don't get sand in my shoes." Scarlet said.

"Hey, the ocean!" Gwen said.

.

.

"H-huh?!" Neptune asked.

"Oh come on!" Sun, Sage, and Scarlet yelled.

Meanwhile in the stadium, Weiss was holding her mouth with her hand in an attempt to not burst out laughing.

"Uh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asked.

"N-Neptune's afraid of the water." She managed to say.

"...What?" The three members of team RWBY asked.

 **"Three! Two! One! Begin!"** Oobleck said through the speakers, causing Neptune to run towards the desert side of the arena in speeds that would put Ruby to shame.

"Neptune! What are you doing?!" Sage yelled.

"Oh, you know, just, uh, getting to higher ground!" Neptune yelled.

"On the enemies side?!" Sun asked.

"They would never expect it!" He said.

"...He's not wrong." Dew said.

"Are we seriously doing this right now?!" Sun asked.

"Doing what?!" Neptune asked.

"Oh come on! It's obvious to anyone watching that you're afraid of the-!" He began.

"Hey look! The match is starting!" He said as he pointed at team NDGO.

"Guess it's time for plan B! Improvise and hope for the best!" Sun said.

As Scarlet ran down the sand, Octavia jumped form behind a hill and started to slide on the sand as if she were surfing on water. He attempted to swing his sword at the red haired girl, though she was easily able to slide past the attack.

"Missed me!" She taunted.

Scarlet narrowed his eyes and smirked, forming a bubble on the tip of his finger.

 _'She can't navigate these waters if she doesn't' have her eye's to guide her.'_ He thought as he threw the bubble at her.

Once the bubble made contact with her, her eye's became pitch black.

"W-what the heck?!" She yelled, struggling to keep her balance.

"Got ya!" He yelled as he kicked her across the arena.

After a few seconds, Octavia eventually gained her eyesight back.

"What did you just do?" She asked.

"I just stole your eyesight." Scarlet said.

"You can do that?!" Octavia asked.

"That's right. I can also do this." Scarlet said as he threw another bubble at her.

Though instead of popping, it started to expand, eventually enclosing her within the bubble.

"Wha-?! Hey! Let me out!" She yelled.

"Well, if that's what you want." Scarlet said as he shot the bubble, causing it to explode.

"Gah!" She yelled as she slid across the sand.

Meanwhile, Sage was currently dealing with Dew while the rest of his team kept the others busy.

 _'I don't think I'll have to use my tattoo's yet. Though I should keep my guard up with them.'_ Sage thought to himself.

Sage swung his massive sword at Dew, though she was able to block it with her staff.

 _'Tch, that must be one strong staff if it's able to take a hit from my sword like that.'_ Sage thought to himself.

Dew smirked and started to move her staff in a circular motion, causing a few mini tornado's to move towards him.

 _'Some sort of wind manipulation Semblance.'_ He thought as the tornado's came closer and closer.

Though as they started to spin around him, Sage yelled and slammed his fist onto the ground, causing him to create a shock wave of some sort that blew the tornado's away.

"Whoa!" She yelled as she covered her face from the sand that was being blown her way.

Sage yelled and punched Dew right across the chest, causing her to move back a few feet, the wind preventing her from moving to far away.

"Wow, you must be really physically strong to blow away my tornado's with just the strike of your fist." She said.

"I've had time to practice." He said, gripping his sword tightly.

The two charged at one another with their respective weapons at their sides. Once Dew was in Sage's range, he swung his sword at her, though what she didn't expect was for her to just zoom past him in the blink of an eye.

"Huh?" He asked.

"What's the matter? Having trouble keeping up?" She asked as she stood atop a ball of wind of some sort.

Sage's only response was to put his sword back on his back, getting into different combat position.

Dew raised one of her eyebrows and charged towards Sage on her ball of wind.

Though what she didn't expect was for Sage to dig his palm into her stomach, causing all the air to leave her lungs.

He wasn't done however, he clenched his fist and punched her away, a green aura shock wave coming off of Sage's fist.

Dew got up from off of the ground and shook her head in attempts to get the sand out of her hair.

"Yah!" Scarlet yelled as he swung his sword at Octavia, causing her to flip backwards.

"Hey, need some help?" Sun asked, sliding across the sand.

"How do you do that?" Scarlet asked.

"It's something most kids in Vacuo know how to do. It's a easy way to traverse the more sandy parts of the desert." He said.

Seeing an opening to attack, Octavia swung her sword at the duo, causing a yellow energy wave of some sort to come out of the blade.

As it hit the ground, it created a tiny sand storm of some sort, causing Scarlet to become temporarily blind.

"Heh, that trick won't work on me!" Sun said as he jumped across the desert plain.

"Neptune! Go!" Sun yelled.

Neptune nodded and jumped off of the mountain he was standing on.

Octavia swung her sword once again, creating another sand storm of some sort.

Neptune smirked and quickly slid on his goggles, preventing the sand from getting into his eyes.

He shot one of his laser beams at Octavia, though she was easily able to block the attack.

"Scarlet!" Sun yelled.

"On it!" He yelled as he threw one of his bubbles at Octavia.

Sun jumped off of a sandy hill and right as the bubble popped, he gave Octavtia a swift kick to the chin.

Due to the friction from the ground being stolen by Scarlet, Octavia slid down the arena, eventually landing in the water.

"Good job guys!" Neptune yelled.

Though before the blue haired boy could react, a few knifes flew past him, hitting the wall behind him.

"Whoa!" He said, the last knife barely missing him.

He looked ahead to see Gwen moving towards him in a rather unusual fashion. Rather than running, it was almost as if she were dancing.

Neptune smirked and aimed his weapon at the dancer, though before he could react, Gwen threw another knife over Neptune.

Though instead of hitting Neptune, it hit one of the various knifes behind him, causing a chain explosion to occur.

As Neptune flew through the air, Gwen jumped up in the air with a twirl before raising her leg and kicking him towards the ground.

As the blue haired boy got up, Gwen stood across from him with a handful of knives in her hand.

Neptune smirked and switched over to his trident, charging at Gwen with a determined look in his eyes.

Gwen attempted to strike Neptune with one of her knifes, though each attempt was either met by Neptune dodging the attack or blocking it with his weapon.

He attempted to stab Gwen with his trident, though she elegantly moved over his head. Neptune smirked and quickly swept his weapon under her feet, causing her to lose her balance.

He quickly switched to his gun and held down the trigger, causing the blue lights on his weapon to get even brighter.

After Gwen got back up, he released the trigger and fired a massive blast of energy at the girl.

"Hot! Hot hot hot hot!" Neptune said as his weapon emanated steam.

"Rah!" Sage yelled as he swung his sword at Dew, causing the girl in green to move back a bit.

She quickly glanced over to her right to see Scarlet and Sun running towards Octavia.

"Nebula! Gwen! Go!" She yelled as used a gust of wind to escape Sage's range.

The two looked over to Octavia and nodded, running to aid their partner.

"Neptune!" Sage yelled.

The blue haired boy's only response was to pretend that his friends weren't in any actual trouble.

"Never mind." He said as he ran after the girls.

Dew sent a gust of wind over to the two boys, though while Sun was able to dodge the attack, Scarlet wasn't so lucky and was flung towards a ship of some sort.

He managed to catch his footing, though Nebula and Gwen were right on his tail.

The leader of team NDGO fired a arrow at one of the various mast's. Once the arrow hit the wooden poll, she jumped onto the arrow and landed right next to Scarlet.

"Looks like it's just you and me." Nebula said, switching her weapon over to it's sword form.

She attempted to strike Scarlet off of the mast, though he was quick to block the attack with his blade.

The two exchanged blows for a while until Scarlet was eventually able to get the leader of team NDGO off of the mast.

As the pirate themed boy scanned the area, he noticed that Gwen wasn't paying attention to him, giving him an opening to attack.

He smirked and shot his grappling hook at Gwen, causing the hook to wrap around her leg.

Scarlet jumped off of the mast and landed onto the ground, causing Gwen to hang from the wooden pole upside down.

To prevent the contents under her dress to revealed, she quickly held her skirt down, causing the knifes to fall out of the various pockets on her dress.

"Look out!" She warned.

"Well, don't mind if I do." Scarlet said as he held his hand over his head.

Though instead of the knives landing on Scarlet, they instead were concealed in various bubbles that he had created with his semblance.

"Sun! Duck!" He yelled as he snapped his fingers, causing the bubbles to pop and for the knifes to shoot towards Dew and Octavia.

While Sun and Dew were able to dodge the attacks, Octavia wasn't as lucky and the knives detonated upon impact, causing her aura to shatter.

"Alright! Good job Scarlet!" Sun yelled, giving his red haired friend a thumbs up.

Dew eventually landed on a tiny piece of land right in front of Sun. The monkey Faunus looked over to his right to see a coconut tree sitting right next to him.

"Hey! You like coconuts?" He asked as he punched the tree, causing the fruit to fall from the tree.

"Uh, kinda?" Dew said.

"Well, these one's are on the house!" Sun yelled as he threw them at Dew.

Though the girl in green was quickly able to react and she hit the coconuts back at Sun.

While Sun was able to dodge the attack, Scarlet was nailed in the face with the first coconut and nailed in the family jewels by the second one, causing the arena to go deathly silent.

.

.

"Uh, sorry?" Sun said.

Scarlet groaned and fell to the ground, his aura shattering in the process.

As he collapsed to the ground, Gwen was safely placed back onto the ground. The dancer dusted herself off and moved towards Scarlet with a look of concern in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

His only response was to let out an audible wheeze.

"Uh, Sage! I think we're gonna need your tattoo's for this one!" Sun said.

"Got it! Cover me!" Sage said as he sat down, crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

"Oh no you don't!" Nebula yelled as she and Dew started to move towards where Sage was.

"Neptune! We're gonna need a little help here!" Sun yelled as he ran towards Sage.

"Uh, ya know, it would be better if he meditated over here! You know! Where it's safe and not close to the water!" Neptune said. "I can guard this...sector! We're on lock down mode!" He said.

"What are you even talking about?! There's nothing to lock down!" Sun said.

"Lock down! Right! Got it!" Neptune said.

"Look, I know you're afraid of the water but we need to-!" He began, only for Neptune to shoot Dew down with a blast from his gun.

"There, I helped! Are you happy now?!...Also, I am not afraid of the water and I have no idea what you are talking about!" He said.

"Will you two be quiet! I need to concentrate!" Sage yelled.

"Dew! Gwen, let's do it!" Nebula said.

The two nodded, causing Gwen to bend down to pull a fairly large knife from within her boot. She threw it near the trio, causing it to land right in front of the piece of land they were guarding.

Dew started to spin her staff around in a circular motion, causing a wind of various colors to form around the knife.

"Oh hit the deck!" Sun yelled as he jumped out of the way.

"Huh?" Both Neptune and Sage asked, though it was too late, a giant dust tornado consumed to two boys, shattering their aura and throwing them out of the arena.

"Ah crap." Sun said as he slowly turned towards the tree girls who were slowly making their way towards Sun.

 _'Damn it! Sage is out, Scarlet is out, Neptune is out! Are you telling me I have to fight all three of them at once?!'_ Sun asked himself.

 _'Is it time? Do I already need to bring out my trump card?'_ He asked himself as he looked at the aura levels of his opponents.

From the looks of it, Dew and Gwen were already below forty percent, and Octavia was at fifty percent of her aura.

 _'No, not yet. I've still got one more trick up my sleeve. I'll have to end it quickly though if I want to have any hopes of winning this round for my team.'_ Sun thought to himself as he clapped his hands together.

All of a sudden, a very bright golden aura started to form around him.

"What is he doing?" Nebula asked.

After a few seconds, Sun's aura flared, causing a massive ape to appear from behind him.

"W-what the heck?!" She yelled.

"Look, I can't hold this thing for very long, so do me a favor and hold still!" Sun yelled as the ape swung it's massive fist at the three girls, though while it was fairly large in size, that meant it was lacking in the speed category.

Though before the remaining three members of team NDGO could react, the massive ape was already in front of them. It swung it's fist at Dew, knocking her towards the waters of the arena, shattering her aura.

It turned towards Gwen and grabbed her with it's massive fist, throwing her to the ground immediately afterwards, causing her aura to shatter.

The massive beast attempted to grab Nebula, though she was able to dodge the attack and rush towards Sun with her sword at her side.

Sun simply stood there with a serious expression on his face. Just as Nebula was about to strike Sun down, the tail of the ape hit her and sent her flying towards a rock, putting her aura in the red zone.

 **"...Well! With this sudden turn of events, team SSSN will be advancing to the doubles round!"** Port announced, causing the aura to fade away and for Sun to collapse onto the ground.

"Hah, hah, hah." He gasped.

"Sun!" He heard Neptune and Sage yell as they ran over to there leader.

"H-hey guys. We won!" Sun said weakly.

"That was awesome dude!" Neptune said.

"If not a little reckless. There was no telling what would have happened to you if you had pushed yourself any further." Sage said.

"Well, we won didn't we?" Sun asked.

"Hey!" They heard Nebula say. "Congrats on winning this round. Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting a giant ape to suddenly appear and punch most of my team into the ground." Nebula said.

"Well, it's not exactly easy to pull off." Sun said as he clenched his stomach.

"It looks like that technique took a really toll on your body. Are you sure it's even safe to use?" Octavia asked.

"Well-." He began.

"It takes a toll on his body. Though while it may cause damage to his muscles, it's nothing life threatening." Sage said.

"Well, I guess that's good." Octavia said.

"Say, what exactly were you guys trying to do with him before we knocked him off?" Dew asked.

"Well, we were supposed to give him time to use his semblance, though that clearly wasn't what happened." Neptune said.

"Huh, you must have one powerful semblance if you guys were putting that much faith in it." She said.

"You have no idea." Sun said.

"Say, I thought there were supposed to be four of you? Where's your fri-?" Neptune began to ask, only for the sight of Gwen holding Scarlet over her shoulder.

"That's it. Just one step at a time." Gwen said as she helped Scarlet out of the arena.

"...Is she always like that?" Neptune asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. While she may know how to hold her own in a fight, she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet." Nebula said.

Neptune walked over to Sun and extended his hand outwards.

"Here, let me help you up." He said.

"Thanks." Sun said as he grabbed his hand so that Neptune could pull him up.

"I'm not gonna lie, when I first heard that we were going to be fighting the toughest, most testosterone filled team out of all the schools, I kinda thought you were all gonna be a bunch of tools." Nebula said with a nervous laugh.

 _'Gee, thanks.'_ Sun, Neptune, and Sage thought to themselves bitterly.

"Though I guess you're not all that bad." Nebula said as she slapped Sun on the back.

"Agh!" Sun yelled before glaring daggers at the leader of team NDGO.

"Ah, right. Sorry." She said.

 **"Thus concludes the matches for today. Please leave the coliseum in a calm and orderly fashion!"** Oobleck shouted into the microphone.

"Aw, that was so close!" Ruby said.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round." Yang said.

"Yeah, though I have to admit. I'm surprised that Sun did as well as he did. I knew that his Semblance had some extraordinary capabilities, but that we beyond my wildest expectations." Weiss said.

"I know. Didn't think monkey boy had it in him." Yang said.

Blake smiled as she watched the members of team SSSN and NDGO walk out of the stadium.

 _'I did.'_ Blake thought to herself.

"Heh, I knew team SSSN would whoop some serious butt. I mean, they were trained in our academy after all." Reese said with a cocky grin on her face.

"Still, they performed really well today. Those guys had really come a long way ever since they first started Beacon." Nadir said.

"Yeah, I forgot you guys went to the same academy. What were they like when they were first starting out?" Yang asked.

The members of team ABRN looked at one another with nervous looks on their faces.

"They were...uh." Reese began.

"Colorful." Nadir said.

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly." Bolin said, causing Arslan to lightly jab at his arm.

"Ow!" He said.

"Don't be rude." Arslan said.

"What?! It's true!" Bolin said.

"Still, that doesn't mean we should think any less of them." She said.

"Come on, let's go congratulate em." Yang said as she got out of her seat, along with the rest of her team and team ABRN.

Though as they were walking down the stone pathway, Weiss quickly glanced up to see a familiar airship flying towards Beacon.

She gasped and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Ruby to bump into her.

"Gah! Uh, what are you looking at?" Ruby asked.

Weiss didn't really respond, she just stared off into the distance with one of the brightest smile's Ruby has ever seen on Weiss.

"She's here." Weiss said happily.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

Weiss didn't respond, she only started to run towards the exist of the Colosseum.

"W-Weiss! Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby asked as they gave chase.

"What's up with them?" Reese asked.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode four of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the forth episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 4 thoughts**

 **This was a very informative episode, to say the least.**

 **We learned a lot about Semblances.**

 **For me, it is very apparent that with the way rooster teeth is building it up, Jaune will be getting his semblance this volume. Like I said in the chapter before, this does not mean that the Jaune in this fic will have his Semblance changed.**

 **I wanna bring up something that I saw in this episode. From what I have seen, there are too many cases throughout this episode and throughout other characters from previous seasons.**

 **Each character had gotten their Semblance, through serious trauma.**

 **Ruby got it while training, I'm sure it was something that happened during her training.**

 **We all know how Ren got his, and Nora got struck my lightning.**

 **I believe that Jaune will unlock his semblance when he eventually comes face to face with Cinder.**

 **With all the hints of Semblance's being unlocked through trauma, and all of his pent up rage towards her, I think that's when he will unlock it.**

 **It would also explain why Roman never got his. I'm fairly certain that with his profession, he never really experienced any emotional trauma. I feel like if he were to get a semblance, it would have come out after Neo got blown into the wind in volume three.**

 **Now I'm sure you're gonna ask me how I'm going to explain how Jaune got his semblance during volume one of all things.**

 **Simple, if he didn't unlock his semblance, Jaune would have died. It's like with Nora, if she didn't unlock her semblance during that lighting strike, I'm almost certain that she would have died.**

 **Though unfortunately, that wasn't the case.**

 **Now let's talk about my personal favorite part of the episode. The talk between Raven and Yang.**

 **Personally, this is something I have been waiting for a long time. Did it go like I expected? No, I was actually surprised at how they handled this encounter, especially how Yang handled herself as a character.**

 **I wasn't expecting Yang to go to Raven for the reasons she did. I really like how Yang was basically using Raven as a means to actually get to Ruby a lot faster than if she were to do it the old fashion way.**

 **So from the looks of it, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang will all be meeting up really soon.**

 **I really did like the insight we got on Raven's character. Will it change the future of this story? I don't really know, I'll have to look more into it.**

 **Also I really like the scene with Weiss and Yang at the end.**

 **Speaking of which, really liked how Weiss got out on her own and wasn't just the damsel in distress. Really liked that.**

 **Review Responses**

 **Donovan:... I think that's actually gonna happen...Ruby getting development, not Sienna coming back.**

 **CraazyReader: Fixed it.**

 **DragonLord501st: It's the European one, and that wasn't just a little power he has. His spirit is an actual dragon.**

 **myfunvideos: The hell is this Dragon Ball Z now?**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Thanks, I plan to do the same for al of the teams of volume 3. Well, Neo won't because Ironwood doesn't want the niece of Roman Torchwick anywhere near his students.**

 **Don't worry, she won't be biting the dust in this fic.**

 **1 Yes, though not as a part of the tournament.**

 **2\. Very all around character. No glaring strengths or weaknesses, though you would have to be on your A game if you want to play him to his full potential.**

 **Very combo heavy as well.**

 **GOH426: Possibly.**

 **SPDefender: Glad to hear.**

 **Donovan: Wasn't what I was going for but I guess they do kinda act like someone in Fallout.**

 **rocketmce: Okay.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Glad to hear.**

 **Guest: I don't know. How about it readers? Thoughts on a Brandon and Ilia ship?**

 **darkifiedluis: Glad yo hear that you think it's that epic.**

 **BloodyAngelWolf: Thanks**

 **alertpoet91: Here ya go.**

 **Smashgunner: Yes I did.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: Not currently. I don't have plans of doing it either.**

 **EMIYA KURO: Wonder why?**

 **EMIYA KURO: It does in the Brandon Language.**

 **EMIYA KURO: Possibly.**

 **TheTrueWrath: This...is by far the best analysis I have ever seen on Brandon.**

 **GOH426: I mean, if anyone wants to make a RWBY Reads of this series then go for it.**

* * *

"Hmm, we should be close to the Vacuo border. We just need to cross this bridge and we'll be in the clear." A man said as he lead a series of trucks down a tunnel leading to the Vacuo border.

"Got it." The guy in the passenger seat said.

After a few seconds had passed, the group of criminals had eventually reached the bridge that lead to the border of Vacuo, a waterfall to the left of the bridge, and the massive forest of Sanus to the right.

"Stop the truck." The man in the passenger seat said.

The man to stopped the truck, causing the other trucks full of loot to stop in their tracks.

"What now?" The man driving the truck asked.

"Look." He said as he pointed his finger at a strange figure sitting on a pillar on the other side of the bridge.

"What the hell?" The man behind the wheel asked.

"Want me to go check it out?" The passenger asked.

"Yeah, tell them to get out of the way. Other wise we'll throw them into the waterfall." The driver said.

The man nodded and climbed out of the truck, his hand on the handle of the weapon wrapped around his waist.

As he got closer and closer the the figure, he was able to determine that they were indeed, female. The woman brown hair that was wrapped into a pony tail, slightly pale skin, and brown eyes.

She wore dark pants with a pair of brown boots that went past her ankles. She wore a brown belt with various pouches attached to it and a red sash of some sort that was neatly wrapped around the belt. To wrap it all up, she wore a dark leather jacket.

Though the two most noticeable part about her attire was the strange looking weapon's she had on her right arm and left hand, as well as a strange lantern that sat right beside the woman.

 _'Who the hell is she?'_ The man asked himself.

"Hey!" He called out, causing the woman to look down to face the man.

The woman quickly took out her scroll and quickly looked at the information on the screen. After a few seconds, she nodded her head and jumped off of the stone pillar she was sitting on.

"We're carrying some seriously valuable cargo here, move it or we'll make you move." He threatened.

The woman's only response was to start walking towards him, cracking her various joints as she closed the gap between the two.

All of a sudden, the man noticed that the air was starting to get noticeably hot.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! I said move i-!" Though before he could finish his threat, the woman punched him across the jaw, flames eminiating off of her fist as the man's body fell onto the stone ground.

"One down." She began, as she turned to the other men.

"Nineteen more to go." The woman said.

Meanwhile, the driver was just watching the entire scene unfold in complete and utter shock.

"Get the guns! We're under attack!" He yelled.

The woman that had just captured their friend was now walking towards them with a serious look in her eyes.

"Is that thing ready yet?!" One of them asked.

"Yeah! We got it!" The criminal said, pointing a mounted gun at the woman walking towards them.

The woman in question simply raised one of her eyebrows and pointed the front of her lantern at the group of bandits.

"What the hell is she doing?" One of the men asked.

"I don't care what she's doing! Just shoot her!" He yelled.

Though before the man behind the gun could even pull the trigger, the lid of the lantern opened, causing a blast of fire to shoot straight towards them.

The bandits attempted to escape, though they were quickly consumed by the raging inferno the strange woman had shot out of her lantern.

After a few seconds, the flames eventually died down and any trace of the bandits had been completely destroyed.

All that remained were the fire balls where they originally were.

The woman held out her lantern, causing the front door to open. Inside the lantern appeared to be the mouth and eyes of a demon of some sort. It opened it's mouth, causing the fire balls to move towards the lantern. After a few seconds, the beast consumed each of the fire balls.

Once she has gathered the bandits, she walked over to the man and kicked him across the jaw.

"Gah!" He yelled.

"Wake up." She said.

"H-hey. I-I didn't want to cause any trouble for anyone. I was dragged into this whole mess by those guys! P-please! You gotta let me-!" He began, only for the glare of the woman to cut him off.

"Don't care." The woman said as she pulled out her scroll.

"I'm gonna make you a deal. You tell me where this man is, and I'll let you go." She said.

The man narrowed his eyes as he attempted to figure out who this man was. Unfortunately for him, the man on the screen was not someone he knew or even heard of.

"T-Tyrian Callows?" He asked.

"I'm assuming by your confused look that you don't even know him." The woman said.

"N-no. B-But I may know a few people who might know where he is! I can t-take you there if you just-!" He began, only for the woman to point her lantern at the man.

"No thanks. I'm good." She said as the lid to the lantern opened, causing a burst of fire to consume the man, turning him into a small fire ball.

The demon within the lantern opened it's mouth and consumed the fire ball.

"Tch, still nothing." She said, closing the lantern door.

She sighed and put the scroll back into her pocket.

"Well, guess it's time to go and collect the bounty." The woman said as she started to walk towards the tunnel of the bridge.

* * *

 **Unknown Bounty Hunter**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Lanturn**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 156 lbs**

 **Age: 30**

 **Outfit: Brown, Black, Red**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: White.**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Eye color: Brown**

 **Aura Color: Fiery Red**

 **Semblance: Spirit**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 95**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 65**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 47**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 25**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	59. Winter is Coming

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Winter is Coming"

Thought: _'Winter is Coming'_

Flashback: _"Winter is Coming"_

"Now that was a match! Didn't really expect that one kid to summon a giant monkey. It's always something new with these matches." The bartender said.

"Tch, you call that a match? That was a mess." Qrow said as he downed his next shot of alcohol.

"Yeah, while that semblance may have been one's of the more powerful one's I've seen in my days, it looked like a pretty costly one." Tai said.

"What do you mean?" The bartender asked.

"From the looks of it, the kid can only maintain the giant ape as long as he's got the stamina to supply it. Using it that late in a fight when your stamina is low would minimize the already little time the ape has." Qrow said.

"But wouldn't using it at the beginning of the fight put you out for the rest of it?" The bartender asked.

"Yeah, that can also happen as well. Which is why the kid's gotta learn when to use it, and for how long he should use it." He said.

"Well, at least they managed to move on." The bartender said.

"Barely. While that ape may be big, it's not exactly what you would call "fast". Any veteran huntsman would just try to wait until the kid exhausted all of his stamina. Not knowing what his semblance did really put his team at an advantage going into the fights." Qrow said.

"Yeah, though I guess that's what's so overwhelming about the first rounds of the tournament." Tai said.

"You two fought in the tournament?" The bartender asked as he poured another shot of whiskey into Qrow's glass.

"What you never heard of us? We were the best team to ever graduate Beacon!" Qrow said as he downed another shot.

"Really?" He asked.

"Team STRQ." Tai said, causing the bartender's eyes to widen.

"Oh yeah! I remember hearing about you when I was a kid! Wow, to think I'd be meeting the legendary team STRQ." He said.

"Come on. I knew we were good, though I didn't think we were legendary." Tai said.

"Are you kidding? We were the best of the best!" Qrow said, his voice starting to slightly slur.

"You guys were awesome in the tournament. You're Taiyang, right? The man with the legendary weapon Megido Fire?" The bartender asked.

"Yeah, that's me." Tai said.

"I've been meaning to ask you. How exactly did you come up with the name for that?" He asked, filling up his glass.

"Well, I didn't really come up with the name. It's just what people started to call it after awhile. I could never think of anything better so I just stuck with Megido Fire." He said.

"Nice, and I know you too." The bartender said.

"Yeah? What sorta things have you heard about the one and only-." Qrow began.

"You're Qrow Branwen, the Bad Luck Charm." He said.

After a few seconds of silence, Tai slowly turned his head towards Qrow who just sat there with a frown on his face.

"Tch, so that nickname stood the test of time, now did it?" He growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." The bartender said as he filled up Qrow's glass.

"Nah, it's fine." He said, downing the shot he was just given.

"Another one." Qrow said.

"Uh, I think you've had enough." The bartender said.

"And I say that I can go for more. Hit me." He said.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya." He said, filling up the glass.

"So, where's the rest of the team at these days?" The bartender asked.

"Well...things sorta got complicated. We all thought it was for the best that we went our own separate ways." Tai said.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Though from the looks of it you got at least one member back on the team." He said.

"Yeah, I guess I did." He said.

"So what's a legend like you doing these days?" The bartender asked.

"Well, originally I was spending most of my time taking care of my two kids." Tai said.

"So you're a dad now, huh? What're their names, if you don't mind me asking of course." He said.

"No, of course I don't mind. Their names are Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long." He said.

"Hmm? Well that's mighty confusing there. What's with the two not having the same last name?" The bartender asked.

"It's a bit personal. Ever since Ruby's mother, Summer, died ten years ago, she wanted to go by her last name rather than my own." Tai said.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry for your loss there, Mr. Xiao Long." He said.

"It was ten years ago. We've all moved on, for her sake." He said.

"Would you like some more?" The bartender asked.

"Oh, no thanks. Not much of a drinker." Tai said.

"Suit yourself. Hey, now that I think about it, I remember hearing those names during the first half of the tournament." He said.

"Yeah, well it just so happens that being a skilled warrior runs in the family." He said with a look of pride in his eyes.

"You must be awfully proud then. I mean, those two are practically huntsmen already." The bartender said.

The two huntsmen looked at one another for a few moments before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Uh, was it something I said?" He asked.

"D-don't get us wrong. The two are tough, but they're not that tough!" Tai said through fits of laughter.

"Yeah, those two have got a long way to go before they're ready to be put into the field." Qrow said.

"Well, if you say so...who's your friend by the way?" The bartender asked as he pointed at Amber who was wearing a disguise of some sort.

"Oh, this is Amber. She's one of the newer huntresses of her generation." Tai said.

"Really now?" He asked.

"Hello. My name is Amber, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said, extending her hand outwards.

"Nice to meet ya Ma'am. Care for a drink while you're here?" He asked.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm not much of a drinker myself." Amber said.

"Alright then." The bartender said.

"So, how exactly did you go about hanging around two legends like these two?" He asked.

"Well-." Amber began.

"It's part of a test the headmaster wants her to take. Would allow her to go on special missions." Qrow said.

"Special missions?" He asked.

"Yeah, missions that he wants to be kept under wraps." He said.

"Ah, I get it. Don't worry. I won't tell a soul about these special missions." The bartender said.

"Good." Qrow said.

 **"Well that wraps up our matches for the day. Though don't go anywhere yet folks, because we're about to reveal the two combatants from each team that will be moving onto the doubles round!"** Port said from the T.V.

"Hmm, wonder who's gonna be moving on." The bartender asked.

 **"Yes indeed! Not only that but we will be revealing the match ups for tomorrows matches as well."** Oobleck said.

 **"Coming straight from team RWBY, of Beacon, Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee will be moving on to the doubles round, fighting off against the two members of team FNKI, Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from Atlas!"** Port said

"Ugh." Qrow growled as the name Schnee met his ears.

 **"Following them will be Coco Adel, the leader team CFVY, as well as Yatsuhashi** **Daichi,** **both of which are also from Beacon! These two second year fighters will be going up against Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai of Haven!"** Oobleck said.

"Hmm, team CFVY, huh? I heard those guys were the most promising first years that Ozpin chose this year." The bartender said.

 _'Mercury and Emerald. Why do those names sound so familiar?'_ Amber asked herself.

 **"Coming up next we've got team COPR, more specifically, Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil of Atlas! They're going up against the two team members of team CRDL, Russel Thrush and Sky Lark, both hailing from Beacon."** Port said.

 _'That's that weird ass android girl that Ironwood created. Why the hell she's even allowed in the tournament with her advanced arsenal of weapons is beyond me.'_ Qrow thought to himself.

 **"Up next we've got team JNPR, hailing from Beacon. The fighters chosen from this team are none other than the famous Pyrrha Nikos, and Jaune Arc, a young boy quickly making a name for himself."** Port said.

"Ah, those are the other two Beacon kids that played in the first half. Gotta admit, they aren't half bad." The bartender said.

"Are you kidding? I could count multiple miss ups that Blondie made during the tournament." Qrow said.

"Sure he may have had a powerful Semblance, but the biggest problem was how much faith he was putting into that one plan. He even had to stall for time in order for the plan to work." Tai said.

"What's the problem with that?" The bartender asked.

"If you have to stall for time in order for the plan to work, chances are it wasn't a very reliable plan to begin with. Sure it may have got them the victory, but things aren't as clear cut in the real world. Pulling a stunt like that will only put yourself and the lives of others in danger." Qrow said.

"I suppose you've gotta point there." He said.

 **"Next up on our line up is the testosterone filled team from Haven, team SSSN! Though the two chosen for this match will be none other than Sage Ayana, and Sun Wukong!"** Port said.

"Yeah, I don't need to comment on that team." Qrow said with a chuckle, downing another shot.

"Come on man, they're doing their best." The bartender said.

"Well they're gonna have to do a lot better if they want to become huntsmen. Though I've gotta hand it to that monkey kid, he's smarter than people make him out to be." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"The kid hasn't revealed all of his cards. Still got a few surprises and tricks up his sleeve." He said.

"How'd ya know that?" The bartender asked.

"When you've been out in the field for as long as I have, you tend to look at the smaller details." Qrow said.

"Shame that Ruby wasn't chosen to move onto the doubles round. I was looking forward to seeing her fight in the tournament." Amber said.

"Well, the team made their choice. Qrow here wasn't chosen to move onto the doubles round either back when we were fighting in the tournament." Tai said.

"Tch, neither were you." He said.

As the group continued to chat while sipping on their drinks, Qrow quickly turned his head around to see a air craft of some sort heading straight for Beacon's runway.

Though what caught his attention the most was the familiar logo on the side of the ship. One logo that caused his blood to boil.

 _'Oh you've gotta be kidding me.'_ Qrow said to himself.

"Hmm? What's up Qro-...Oh that's not good." Tai said to himself as he stared at Qrow nervously.

"What's up with him?" The bartender asked.

"Well, looks like it's time I hit the road and head back to Beacon." He said as he wobbled up from his chair.

"Where are you going?" Amber asked.

"To greet and unwanted guest." Qrow said, taking out a handful of lien from his pocket and throwing it at the counter.

"Happy Vytal Festival." He said as he wobbled out of the bar.

"Well, we better go after him." Tai said as he got up and placed a few lien on the counter.

"Why?" Amber asked.

"To prevent Qrow from being arrested by the Atlas Military." He said as he walked out of the bar.

"...Wait, what?!" She asked, following her body guard.

* * *

"Weiss! Will you just wait up already?!" Ruby yelled as she ran after Weiss who was currently making her way to the runway of Beacon.

Though Ruby's words weren't reaching Weiss. She was so focused on the ship that had just arrived at Beacon.

"Okay, will you just tell me what the big deal is?! Who is it?! Who is she?!" She asked.

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks as the ship landed on the ground, causing various soldiers to walk out of the door leading to the inside of the ship.

"Winter." She simply said.

As she said this, one figure stood out to Ruby. While she wasn't able to get a very good look at her, she was able to determine that she was female.

"...Wait." Ruby said, realizing where she had heard that name before.

"Your sister?!" She asked.

"Winter!" Weiss called out, causing Winter to turn to face her.

Weiss smiled and ran over to her dear sister.

"Winter! I'm so happy to see you!...I mean, your presence honors us." She said with a bow.

As the Winter walked over to Weiss and Ruby, the red hooded leader was able to get a closer look at Weiss's sister.

Winter was a tall young woman, with a fair complexion, white hair and slate blue eyes. Her hair is tied up in a bun at the rear left corner of her head, causing her bangs to fall towards the right side of her face, and leaving a small curled lock of hair that reaches below her left ear.

Her attire is blue, white and gray colored. It consists of a white coat with a red brooch, exposed upper arms and black gloves. Her pants have garters incorporated into them.

"Beacon...it's been quite a while since I've stepped foot on it's grounds." Winter said as her eyes moved around the campus.

"Though the air feels a little different from when I last came here." She said.

"Well it is Fall so obviously the air is a little bit cooler and-." Ruby began, only for Weiss to whack her across the arm.

"Ow!" She yelled.

"Anyways. So what are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"Classified." Winter said.

"Oh, right. Well, how long are you staying?" She asked.

"Classified." She said.

"Of course." Weiss said.

 _'...Is it me or did things just get really awkward?'_ Ruby asked herself.

"Well...this is nice?...I think?" She said.

"Excuse me for just a moment." Weiss said as she pulled her leader away from her sister.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She asked.

"I don't know! I'm just following you!" Ruby said.

"What you're doing is embarrassing me right in front of my sister! I told her that you were a predigested leader, capable of making decisions in the heat of battle. So start acting like one!" She said.

"How am I supposed to do that?! I don't even know what predigested means!" She said.

"Just act formal! Show some respect!" Weiss said as she started to walk back to her sister.

"Are you two done?" Winter asked.

"Yes. We were just making plans for our next match is all." She said.

"Good." She said.

"...So-." Ruby began, though it appears that Weiss wasn't able to contain her excitement for any longer.

"Oh you are going to love it here! I know you travel all the time, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale to! The government and school are completely separate can you believe it? I-!" Though before Weiss could continue to ramble, her sister Winter cut her off.

"I am more than familiar with how this kingdom handles it's bureaucracy." Winter said. "Besides, that isn't why I came in the first place." She said.

"Right! I'm sorry." Weiss said.

"Nor did I come here to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears I have no choice in the matter." Winter said.

"But we won." She said.

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least three strikes missed." She said, causing Weiss to flinch a bit.

"Leave us." Winter said, causing the robots to walk backwards.

"So, how have you been?" She asked.

"Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm actually ranked in the top five category in our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I'm-." Weiss tried to say, only for Winter to whack her on the head.

"Silence, you boob! I don't recall asking about your ranking. I've asked how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you...Wait, top five?" Winter asked.

"Yes! It was only natural that I would be placed in the top five of my class. I was trained by our one and only-." She began.

"Which rank are you in?" She asked.

"...I just said-." Weiss began.

"You said the top five. Meaning that you can be placed from anywhere up till numbers five through one. So which one is it?" Winter asked.

"...Three." She said, a disappointed tone in her voice.

"Who would number one be?" She asked.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss said.

"Nikos? Why in the world would she come to this school? It would make more logical sense to attend Haven. Then again I suppose you did travel half way across the world to attend school so I suppose it isn't completely out of the norm." Winter said.

"Indeed. She's one of the best fighters in our class." She said.

"And who is right above you in the rankings? Surely you must be close to over coming them." She said.

"Well, it's another one of my friends. He's quite the exceptional warrior. Every time I think of a strategy to over throw him, he always seems to have a new trick up his sleeve." Weiss said.

"Hmm. Well, these two sound like very skilled and honorable warriors." Winter said.

Weiss and Ruby looked at one another for a few seconds before bursting out into a laughing fit.

"...Um?" She began.

"Well, Pyrrha yes. She is both very honorable, and a skilled warrior. The other one however...well, I guess one out of two isn't as bad as it seems." Weiss said.

"Meaning?" Winter asked.

"While he may have a lot of skill when it comes to combat, his attitude isn't exactly one worthy of a role model like Pyrrha." She said.

"I see." She said. "Anyways, I was about to ask if you have been making any friends, but it seems like I didn't have to worry in the category." She said.

"Indeed. I've met so many wonderful people here in Beacon." Weiss said.

"I'm glad to hear. Now, who might this be?" Winter asked.

"Oh! This is Ruby Rose. My team's leader." She said as she looked at Ruby.

After a few seconds, Weiss hit Ruby on her back, causing her to move closer to Winter.

 _'...Oh! Right!'_ She thought, remembering what Weiss told her to do.

"Ahem. Hello and good afternoon Ms. Schnee. I'm Ru-. I mean, my name is Ruby, Ma'am, and it is a honor for you to meet me... I mean for me to meet you! Sorry!" Ruby quickly corrected.

"I see. So this is the leader you spoke so highly about. How appropriately...underwhelming." Winter said.

"Wow! I didn't know you've been saying good things about me to your sister! Thanks Weiss!" Ruby thanked.

"Anyway's, greetings Ruby Rose. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister." She said.

.

.

"Wait wha-?" Ruby began, only for the sound of Weiss's screams to cut her off.

"W-w-what in the world are you talking about?! She has done no such thing!" Weiss yelled.

"Really? I could have sworn that at least one of you haa a one sided interest in the other due to how close you two seem." Winter said.

"What are you talking about? Weiss and I are the closest two people can get! We're like to bullets in a magazine!" Ruby said as she wrapped her arm around her partner.

"Unhand me right this instant!" She screamed.

"While that is an...interesting choice of words. It seems that you two have gotten rather...close, during your time here in Beacon." Winter said.

"Yep! Weiss and I are the closest two B.F.F's can get!" Ruby said.

"...Oh, I see." She said as she walked over to her sister to envelop her in a hug.

"What do you think you're-?!" Weiss began.

"Do not fret dear sister. I shall help you through this time of sorrow." Winter said.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Ruby and I have no such feelings towards one another! We're just-." She began, only for the sound of Winter's chuckle to cut her off.

"You're just messing with me, aren't you?" Weiss asked.

"Well, a woman must find a way to find some form of entertainment in her life." Winter said with a chuckle.

"Heh, I missed you Winter." Weiss said.

"As did I, dear sister." She said.

"Oh, there's so much we need to catch up on. A lot has happened since we last saw one another." She said.

"While I would want nothing more than to spend make up for lost time, I'm afraid that business with the general and headmaster will prevent me from doing so." Winter said.

"Oh. I see." Weiss said with a disappointed tone.

"...Though since I am early, why don't you take me to your quarters?" She asked.

"Really?!" The heiress asked.

"Yes, I wish to inspect them and make sure that they are up to my personal standards." Winter said.

"Of course...just so you know, the bunk beds only look unstable." Weiss said as she walked side by side with her sister.

"...Pardon?" She asked.

"I'll catch u-! I mean, I will reconvene with you both at a later...juncture!" Ruby said as she started to walk away, only for her to bump into someone while she was walking.

"Gah!" She yelled as she fell backwards.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't see you there." She heard Amber's voice say.

"Oh, hey Amber...Wait, Amber?!" Ruby asked in a surprise tone. She wasn't surprised to see her so to say, she was more surprised at the fact that she was out of her wheel chair.

"You're walking!" She yelled.

"Yep, the doctor with the pink hair said that I should be good to go." Amber said.

"You mean Professor Peach?" Ruby asked.

"So that's what her name was! Goodness that's been bothering me all day." She said.

"What brings you all the way out here though? I thought you'd be with uncle Qrow and Dad." She said.

"I am." Amber said, pointing at Tai who was looking around the courtyard in attempts to find Qrow.

"Oh! Hey dad! Over here!" Ruby yelled, causing Tai to look over in the direction of the duo.

"Ruby! Thank goodness. Maybe now my job will be a little bit easier." Tai said.

"What's up?" She asked.

"No time to explain. Tell me, have you seen Qrow anywhere recently?" He asked.

Though before Ruby could answer her father, the sound of metal being torn a part could be heard from across the courtyard.

"Hey!" Qrow called out, causing Winter and Weiss to turn to face the drunk.

"Found him." Ruby said, pointing her finger at Qrow.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen." He said, throwing the broken robot aside.

"Halt!" Winter ordered, preventing the robots from engaging in combat.

"Excuse me?! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?! I'm-!" Weiss began, only for Qrow to press his hand up against her face.

"Shh. Not you." Qrow said, shoving Weiss aside.

"Hey!...Have you been drinking?" She asked.

Qrow walked over to Winter with a glare on his face. Winter also had a similar look on her face as the drunken crow made his way towards her.

"You." Qrow said. "Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here to." He said.

"I'm standing right before you." Winter said, causing Qrow to narrow his eyes.

"...So it would seem." Qrow said.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas military property?" She asked.

"Ohhh I'm sorry. See, I mistook this for some sort of...sentient garbage." He said.

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow." Winter said.

"Wait. you two know each other?" Weiss asked.

"Unfortunately." She said.

"Geez, you Atlas specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow asked.

"It's in the title." Winter said.

"Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sellouts. Just like you're boss." He said.

"I'm not sure what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough." She said.

"Oh, I heard to. Believe me, I did. As a matter of fact, I saw it. Looks like ol' Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin." Qrow said.

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked.

"Weiss, it's time for you to go." Winter said, pushing her sister aside.

"What?" She asked.

"Listen to big sister Weiss! She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?" Qrow asked.

"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter threatened as she pulled out her blade.

"Alright, then." He began as he pushed his hair back.

"Come take it." Qrow challenged.

The two stared each other down for a few seconds before Winter charged at the drunk with blinding speeds.

As soon as Qrow was within her reach, she started to rapidly stab and slash at the man, though Qrow was dodging all of her attacks with ease. Qrow bowed as he dodged another one of her attacks.

Winter growled and attempted to strike at the huntsmen, though what she hit was the metal of his weapon.

He threw his weapon up into the air before catching it in his dominant hand.

Winter extended her sword outwards, causing the two to cling swords together. Once they had finished honorifics, Qrow swung his sword at Winter, though she was able to parry the attack.

The drunken crow started to rapidly slash at the Ice Queen, though she was gracefully dodging each attack with ease.

As the two started to exchange blows with one another, Ruby made her way through the crowd in attempts to get a better view.

"Ruby! Thank goodness you're here. Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss said.

"Oh, that's my uncle." Ruby said.

"...I'm sorry what?!" She asked.

"Yep. That's my uncle Qrow." She said.

"Well maybe he'll listen to you! Tell him to stop this madness immediately!" Weiss said.

"Sorry. When my uncle is drunk, he won't listen to anyone." Ruby said.

"He's drunk?!" She asked.

"Yep. He's always like this." She said.

"So...what do we do?" Weiss asked.

"Kick her butt uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered.

"Wha-?! How dare-! Teach him respect, Winter!" She said.

The two darted around the circle that was made by the crowd they had drawn in, clashing swords with one another in attempts to gain the upper hand.

After a few blows later, Winter had adapted to Qrow's fighting style, allowing her to parry his attack and hit him across the jaw with the handle of her blade.

"Heh! What's the matter?! Don't tell me that's all you got!" Qrow yelled as he raised his sword up into the air, a loud engine noise could be heard from the massive weapon.

Quick to react, Winter summoned a glyph and jumped into the air.

"Why don't you come and find out?!" She taunted.

Qrow growled and ran towards the area where she would land. He swung his sword at Winter, though she was easily able to dodge the attack. She flipped over him and swung her sword at him.

The drunken crow blocked the attack and attempted to strike at Winter.

The specialist smirked and back flipped up into the air, landing on his blade and kicking him across the chin.

She landed a top one of the lamp post's, though Qrow got on her tail quickly, firing a blast from his weapon at her.

Winter jumped up into the air to dodge the attack, landing on the wall of a pillar. To prevent herself from falling to the ground, she dug her blade into the stone of the pillar.

As Qrow started to run towards her, she quickly made her way up the pillar. Qrow started to fire a series of blasts from his weapon, keeping Winter on the move.

In attempts to be on equal ground, he jumped up to one pillars. Once he landed on the pillars, he started to fire various shots from his weapon, eventually hitting below Winter's feet.

 _'Hmm...no, that would have been too easy.'_ Qrow thought to himself.

Sure enough, Winter emerged from the smoke and charged straight for Qrow. As she flew in the air, she pulled a trigger on her weapon, causing a smaller blade to come out of the handle of her sword.

The two clashes swords, the stone beneath them giving away. As the two landed on the ground, they wasted no time clashing swords with one another once again. Though this time, Winter had the upper hand, and was eventually able to push Qrow back.

"Is this all the great Qrow Branwen has to offer?" Winter taunted.

Qrow dug his massive blade into the ground, preventing him from hitting the crowd of students.

"Heh, I can do this all day!" He challenged.

Winter narrowed her eyes and dug her blade into the ground, causing a glyph to appear, as well as various violet petals to appear around her. After a few seconds, the petals started to turn into small Nervermore's. Qrow brought his sword up to his face as the birds came rushing towards him, slashing at any summon Winter could throw at him.

He growled and started to turn the handle on his weapon, causing a motor like noise to emanate from the weapon. After a few seconds, the blade was glowing red due to the extreme amounts of heat the engine had produced.

"Yah!" He grunted as he swung his sword in the direction of Winter, causing a fire like slash to make it's way to Winter.

To prevent it from hitting the students, Winter took her blade out of the ground and slashed at Qrow's attack.

Winter glared and summoned a glyph from behind her. As she did this, Qrow started to rev up his weapon, the sound of a motor coming from within the gears of his weapon.

"Uh, what's going on with Qrow's weapon?" Ruby asked.

"Right, I forgot to tell you, Qrow recently made a few upgrades to his weapon. With this new one, he's able to heat up his weapon in a way, putting more power into his attacks." Tai said.

Sure enough, Qrow was standing in the courtyard with his weapon glowing dark red, heat emanating off of the metal of the blade.

"Come on!" Qrow challenged.

Winter glared and got into a combat stance of some sort. The two yelled as they charged towards one another, though before they could clash swords, the sound of the general cut them off.

"Qrow! Schnee!" He yelled, causing the two to stop dead in their tracks.

"Whew! Good thing the general stepped in. Those two would have destroyed the entire courtyard with how they were fighting." Tai said.

"Well, looks like the parties over." Qrow said, his blade starting to cool down.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter saluted.

"What in the world do you two think you're doing?" Ironwood asked.

"He started the altercation, sir." She said.

"That's actually not true, she attacked first." Qrow said.

"Is that right?" Ironwood asked.

Reluctantly, Winter nodded her head.

"And you." He began.

Qrow looked around the courtyard before pointing his finger at his face.

"What in the world were you thinking, attacking an Atlas personnel like that?" He asked.

"I was thinking why the hell is she even here to begin with. There was no warning, no message, she just shows up and starts yammering about how the general called her in for a 'special mission.' or something." Qrow said.

"Will you keep your voice down?!" Ironwood asked.

"Well with your actions we might as well just announce it to the whole world!" He said.

"What are you talking about? You know why the general has called me here?" Winter asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Qrow said.

"You said that we needed operatives, it's what we all agreed to once we heard Roman's story." Ironwood said.

"Since when were you two on a first name basis?" He asked.

"That's not important right now. You got Tai, and I got Winter." He said.

"Out of all the possible soldiers you could have picked from, you chose her?" Qrow asked.

"I can assure you that I am more than capable of handling whatever you have in store for me." Winter said.

"Yeah, keep talking. You won't be so confident once we tell you what we've been dealing with as of recently." He said.

"What are you-?" She began, only for the sound of Ozpin's voice to cut him off.

"Now, now everyone." The professor said as he walked over to his two associates, Glynda repairing the damages that Qrow and Winter had made.

"There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner of the Colosseum that I can assure you has better seats, and popcorn." Ozpin said.

"Break it up everyone! We will take care of this mess." Glynda said.

"Let's go." Ironwood ordered.

Winter nodded and followed the general towards the C.C.T.

"Tch, always ruins the fun." Qrow said.

"What was that?!" Ruby squealed as she ran up to her uncle.

"Oh, that? Just a little something I did with my weapon. No big deal." He said.

"No big deal? No big deal?! You were literally shooting fire from your sword!" Ruby said.

"...Yeah, it was kinda cool, wasn't it?" Qrow asked.

"Still trying to pick a fight with the Schnee's, huh Qrow?" Tai asked.

"Hey, not my fault they've always got constant sticks up their a-, butts." He corrected.

"Qrow, Tai. Come with me. It's time." Ozpin said.

"I think I'm in trouble." Qrow said.

"You did kinda tear up our courtyard." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I did." He said.

"Come on Tai." Qrow said.

"Wait, shouldn't we bring Amber with us?" Tai asked.

"Hmm...Ms. Rose, would you please look after Amber until I am done talking with your father and uncle?" Ozpin asked.

"What?!" Tai and Qrow asked.

"Sure thing!" Ruby said.

Both Qrow and Tai walked up to Ozpin, leaning in closely to his ears.

"Are you crazy?! You're having Ruby guard Amber?! She doesn't even know why she's guarding her!" Tai said.

"I have to agree with Tai on this one. What if the enemy decided to make a move?" Qrow asked.

"Then we would know about it. Amber has recovered most of her strength, so if the enemy did decide to strike, she will be able to fight them off." Ozpin said.

"Hey Amber, have you been to the festival?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I can't say that I have. It's actually the first festival I've gone to." Amber said.

"What?! Then we need to get you to the festival grounds! I'm gonna show you how to have fun like a pro!" Ruby said.

"See? They'll be on the festival grounds, it will not be easy to find an opening to strike. Besides, Ms. Rose is quite the fighter as well. She has inherited her mothers will to fight...as well as her eyes." Ozpin said.

"...Oz, you know exactly what needs to happen if Ruby wants to awaken her powers." Qrow said.

"She must experience mental trauma. I am aware of the conditions. Though I doubt that it will ever come to that. With the combined forces of Amber and Ms. Rose, as well as the advantage of the festival grounds being right around the corner from here, I'm sure that Amber will be safe in her hands." He said.

"...Fine." Qrow and Tai said.

"Terribly sorry about that you two. You may carry on to the festivities." Ozpin said.

"Awesome! Come on Amber! This is gonna be so much fun! I'll be like your tour guide!" Ruby said as she started to pull Amber to the festival grounds.

"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming." Amber said.

"Well, let's go welcome the newest addition to our team." Ozpin said with a smirk.

"Yay, I'm so excited." Qrow said bitterly as he and Tai followed the headmaster towards the C.C.T.

* * *

As Winter and Ironwood stood waiting for Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow and Tai to arrive at the tower, the white haired specialist was pacing around the room.

"Schnee." Ironwood said.

"Yes general?" Winter asked.

"You don't need to be so tense." He said.

"With all due respect sir, I strongly disagree." She said.

Though before Ironwood and Winter could continue their conversation, the elevator doors opened, revealing the four awaited huntsmen in question.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter yelled.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood yelled.

"If I was one of your men I would shoot myself." Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask.

"While I wouldn't condone his behavior, especially how we already had a discussion about this in the past, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Glynda said.

"He was drunk!" Winter said.

"He's always drunk!" She countered before turning to Qrow.

Qrow shrugged his shoulders and started to drink the remains of what was in his flask.

"So, you're the one Ironwood was talking about." Tai said as he walked over to Winter.

"Winter Schnee. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Xiao Long." Winter said.

"Yeah, I kinda figured you were a Schnee with how Qrow reacted. You don't have to be so formal with me you know? Just call me Tai, we'll be working together for awhile." He said.

"...Wait, what?" Winter asked.

"Did you not tell her why she was even coming here, Jimmy?" Qrow asked Ironwood.

"General." She corrected bitterly.

"Whatever." He countered.

"I thought it would be best if we told her in person." Ironwood said.

"...Tch, alright, I'll give you that." Qrow said reluctantly.

"What are you talking about?" Winter asked.

"Please, Ms. Schnee. You might want to take a seat for this." Ozpin said.

While that didn't really answer her question, she nodded and sat in the seat in front of Ozpin's desk.

"So, you are Ironwood's prime candidate for this job." He said.

"I suppose so. This job is the reason why I am here, correct?" Winter said.

"Yes, though this job so to say isn't like the other operations that you have done during your time in the Atlas military." Ozpin said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"If anything, this will potentially be the longest mission you will ever have to undergo." He said.

"What is the exact length of this mission?" Winter asked.

"That's the issue here, we don't exactly have a set date." Qrow said.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"It will all depend on the events to come. It could last for the next five to ten years or until the day you die." Ozpin said.

"T-ten years?!" Winter asked.

"It's as I said, it's not going to be a very short mission." He said.

"...What exactly are the details of this mission?" She asked.

"I'm glad to see that you are still willing to accept the mission despite the...large time gap." Ozpin said.

"If it will help better Remnant, then I will devote my life to this mission." Winter said.

"Good to hear. Now, before I get to the details of the situation, I must ask. What is your favorite fairy tale?" He asked.

"...I'm sorry what?" She asked.

"Oh come on Oz, we've done this already twice already." Qrow said.

"While I understand that this process has gotten repetitive with the recent events, Winter must know all of the details is she is to understand the gravity of the situation." Ozpin said.

"Tch, fine, do your thing." He said.

"Well, as I was saying, I'd like to know what your favorite Fairy Tale was growing up as a child." He said.

"...With all due respects, professor Ozpin. What do Fairy Tale's have to do with the situation?" Winter asked.

"More than you'd think." Ozpin said.

"Hmm, well if I had to narrow it down, I'd say the Tale of the Two Brothers is one of my personal favorites." She said.

"Are you familiar with the Tale of the Four Seasons?" He asked.

"Of course I am. A old hermit met four young girls when they came to his cottage. The kindness of the four girl warmed his heart, and he gave those four the powers of nature itself." Winter said.

"What would you do if I told you that I was as old as that story?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm...unsure of what you mean by that." She said.

"What would you do, if I told you that everything in that story, as well as the Tale of the Two Brothers, were true?" He asked.

"...I-I beg your pardon?" Winter asked.

"You heard me. What would you do if I told you that the Maidens, the Wizard of old, the Relics, and the gods that abandoned Remnant, were all true?" Ozpin asked.

"Surely you jest?" She asked.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He asked.

"...T-this is madness. This can't be-." Winter began.

"It's true." Ironwood said, causing the specialist to turn and face the General.

"General?" She asked.

"I've seen them myself. I've seen the relics and the Maidens with my own two eyes." Ironwood said.

"..."

"I know that this is all hard to believe, and to be honest, none of us truly believed Ozpin entirely until we actually saw the Maidens and the relics with our own two eyes." He said. "Well...almost all of us." Ironwood said as he turned to face Qrow and Tai.

"We were kinda already familiar with the concept of Fairy Tale's being real way before Ozpin told us all about the Maidens and the relics." Tai said.

"Meaning?" Winter asked.

"Ever read the tale of the Enchanted Weapons?" Qrow asked.

"Anyone with the goal of becoming a huntsmen or huntress has read the tale of the Enchanted Weapons...Wait, you mean to tell me that the enchanted weapons are real as well?!" She asked.

"Well, not exactly. The weapons themselves are just vessels for these spirits that roam Remnant." Qrow said.

"Yeah, you know how Raven was so strong back in the days of team STRQ? Well that was the reason. She had the power of Masamune on her side, the katana containing the spirit of Masamune." Tai said.

"..."

"So yeah, Qrow and I kinda already knew what to expect with this kinda idea." He said.

"I know that this must be very overwhelming for you. If you wish for a moment to breath then-." Ironwood began, only for Winter to quickly stop him mid sentence.

"No, it's fine. It's just...this is a lot to take in. Though you would not bring such a childish subject up without reason." Winter said.

"So you believe us?" Ozpin asked.

"I would like to see these supposed Maidens and Relics for myself, though for now, I will choose to trust in your word." She said.

"Well, we can do one of those things. The second one is part of our little problem." Qrow said.

"Hmm?" Winter hummed.

"Unfortunately things have gotten a little complicated with the recent events. It wasn't as bad originally, though things have started to get out of hand, that's why we called in you and Tai." Glynda said.

"You see, the Relics and the Maidens all have a connection to one another. The Maidens of each season have the capability of accessing their respective relic, Fall having access to the relic of choice, Spring having access to knowledge, Summer destruction, and finally, Winter has access to the relic of creation." Ozpin said.

"All four of these relics hold unimaginable power. Which is why they are held within the huntsmen academies." Ironwood said.

"Usually, the headmasters here would all gather together once another maiden was chosen. The Maidens would be trained so that they would be the guardians of their respective kingdoms, as well as the key's to accessing the relics." Qrow said.

"Though things have gotten complicated with the current Fall Maiden, Amber." Ironwood said.

"What do you mean, complicated?" Winter asked.

"Due to an attempt on her life two years ago, she only has access to half of her powers." Glynda said.

"The other half was stolen by this woman named Cinder Fall, the False Maiden." Tai said.

"And in order to actually access the relics, we need all of it." Qrow said.

"So that's why you called me here? To get back the other half of the Maidens power?" Winter asked.

"Not exactly." Ironwood said.

"Getting the other half of the Maidens power is part of it. The big picture is fighting an enemy that goes beyond that of the events in Vale." Ozpin said.

"If anything, this could affect all the kingdoms of Remnant. Vale, Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral will all be affected by what's going on behind the scenes." Qrow said.

"That's why we need people we can trust. I asked both Qrow and Ironwood to get candidates for such a responsibility. Qrow brought us Tai, and Ironwood brought us you." Ozpin said.

"So, how bout it, Schnee? You up for this or not? Just so we're clear, these missions may keep you away from home for a good while." Qrow said.

"If you do choose to join our cause, then you must not tell anyone outside of this room about the secrets we hold. Our entire purpose is to protect the world from a threat they know nothing about." Ozpin said.

Winter sat their in silence for a few seconds before standing up from the chair she was sitting in.

"If I must put aside all ties that I currently have in order to keep Remnant safe, then so be it." Winter said as she stood tall. "Besides, I'm not exactly keen on returning home any time soon." She said.

"I will gladly accept your offer, professor Ozpin. Know that I will not let you down." Winter said.

"Excellent." Ozpin said.

"Sir, now that I am aware of the truths of Remnant, I must ask. Why not gather the twelve weapon users in order to combat the enemy?" She asked.

"Tch, if only if it were that simple." Qrow said.

"You see Winter, finding the spirit's user's isn't as simple as finding the Maidens. With the Maidens, we have a good idea on who the next one will be due to the connections and relations of the last Maiden." Ozpin said.

"Hmm?" Winter hummed.

"The whole process of picking the next Maiden is already stupid as it is." Qrow said.

"Explain." She said.

"Here's how it works, the person who was in the maidens thoughts during there final breathes of life will be the most likely candidate for the powers. That is, if it's a girl. If their thoughts just so happen to be of a man or some old hag, then it's completely random on who gets it." He said.

"That system seems...stupid and convoluted." Winter said.

"See?! I told you!" Qrow said to Glynda.

"So when a Maiden eventually bites the dust, we're able to narrow down all of the potential candidates. That's not how it works with the spirits." Qrow said. "Anyone, and I mean anyone can wield a spirit. It can be some old hag, or some little brat. As long as the user has at least some form of intelligence, then a contract can be made." He said.

"Contract?" Winter asked.

"That's another difference between the Maidens power and the spirits power. The Maiden's power is a collection of power that has been passed down through the past generations. Typically, each user has at lease one form of connection to the previous user." Ozpin explained.

"Though with the spirits case, they aren't just some power than can be passed down from user to user. The spirits are sentient beings. They have a say in who they forge their contracts with, meaning that not all of the weapon users have a connection to one another." Qrow said.

"Believe it or not, it gets even more complicated from here." Glynda said.

"From what we've learned from the spirits, the weapons aren't a part of a spirit, they're just vessels to serve to control the spirits power. That means the spirits can jump between objects if their user so pleases." Ironwood said.

"So to make a long story short, finding the spirit users would be damn near impossible." Qrow said.

"...Though to be fair, we do have confirmed the confirmed identities of two of the current spirit users." Ozpin said.

"Yes, I remember you saying that your sister, Raven Branwen, is Masamune's current user. Though who is the second one?" Winter asked.

"That would be Ozpin's little pupil, Brandon Kim, the wielder of Caliber." Qrow said.

 _'Brandon Kim?...Hmm, I've heard that name somewhere before.'_ She thought to herself.

"Yes, if the worst is to come into light, then he will more than likely be our chance of beating the enemy." Ozpin said.

"You sure it's alright to put that much faith in him? I mean, he's just a kid." Qrow said.

"While Mr. Kim doesn't exactly have the experience that most of the other students in the tournament, he makes up for it with raw power." He said.

"Yeah, if he can control the power to begin with. I grew up around a spirit user, I know how costly using the spirits powers can be." The drunk said.

"Well, hopefully it will not have to come to that." Ozpin said.

"And if it does?" Glynda asked.

"Then I will put my focus in developing his technique and craft." He said.

"Hmm." Winter hummed.

"Is something wrong Schnee?" Ironwood asked.

"Well, it's just that I've heard that name before. Though I'm not entirely sure where." She said.

"Perhaps you've heard your sister talk about him. The two seem to have a fairly solid friendship." Ozpin said.

"Is that so?" Winter asked.

 _'It seems that Weiss is scouting out for potential candidates. Very good Weiss, that will show father.'_ She thought to herself.

"I can't say that I've seen his name in the letters she wrote." Winter said.

"Who the hell writes letters these days?" Qrow asked.

"I constantly tell her that electronic communication is the most reliable form of communication, though she insists that we use letters." She said.

"Well, he was a temporary body guard for her during the dust expedition in Atlas." Ozpin said, causing the gears to turn in Winter's head.

 _'Now I remember! So he was the boy that Weiss told me about. To think that he would be a spirit user. If I would have known that I would have insisted that I meet him sooner...then again I didn't really believe they actually existed until today.'_ She thought to herself.

"Yes, now I remember. Perhaps I can have a little talk with this boy, it's not everyday that you get to talk to one of the twelve spirit users of Remnant." Winter said.

"It's nothing special." Qrow said.

"We're kinda biased in that category Qrow." Tai said.

"...Fair point." He said.

"Well, you are so eager to meet him, you might want to watch tomorrow's matches. I have something very special planned for the tournament." Ozpin said.

"I know that look Oz. What are you up to?" Qrow asked.

"Let's just say, I wish to see just how much he has developed over his little training trip." He said with a smirk.

"...Sometimes I feel bad for that kid." He muttered.

"So what do you want us to do?" Tai asked.

"You two will continue to guard Amber." Ozpin said.

"Winter, I want you to stand by until further instructions." Ironwood said.

"Yes sir!" Winter said with a salute.

"Very good. You are all dismissed." Ozpin said, causing everyone on the room to nod and walk towards the elevator.

Though as Qrow and Winter walked side by side, the sudden realization of their situation hit them like a truck.

 _'I have to work with him/her?!'_ They both mentally yelled to themselves.

* * *

 _'Wow, I knew that the festival was a time of peace and happiness, though this exceeded all of my expectations.'_ Amber thought to herself as she sat on a bench in the festival grounds.

Due to her duties as a Maiden, she normally didn't have time for festivities like this. She heard that the festival was where humans and Faunus could put their differences aside and live in harmony.

The festival truly symbolized what the creators of the treaty were trying to do. True peace and equality, no matter the race, gender, status, or age.

"Amber!" She heard Ruby call out, causing her to turn her head to her right.

"Oh, hello Ruby. Where did you run off to?" Amber asked.

"I went to give you this!" Ruby said as she handed Amber an ice cream cone with an unusual amount of toppings on it.

"Uh, what is this?" She asked.

"What? Have you never seen ice cream before?" She asked.

"N-no! I have. It's just...this seems like a bit much." Amber said.

"Well, they don't do refunds so eat up before it melts." Ruby said as she started to eat the ice cream cone.

Amber looked at the cone nervously before going in to take a bite. Though before she could eat the delicious treat, the sound of light sobs cut her off.

"Aw, what's wrong sweet heart?" She heard a light voice ask.

The child didn't really answer her, she only continued to lightly sob. Amber looked at the child's feet to see the remains of a fallen ice cream cone.

Amber looked at her own and started to walk over to the child.

"Oh, don't worry honey. I'll buy you another-." The mother began, only for Amber to hand the child her cone.

"Here, you can have mine." Amber said.

The child slowly stopped crying as she looked at the ice cream cone.

"R-really?" She asked.

"Sure. I'm not really that hungry anyway." She said with a smile.

"C-can I mom?" The girl asked.

"Of course you can sweetie. Thank you very much." The mother thanked Amber.

The girl giggled and quickly took the ice cream cone from Amber.

"Now you be careful with this one. Okay?" Amber said.

"Thank you old lady!" The girl said as she ran off.

"..." The maiden just stood there with a very deadpanned stare on her face.

"I'm sorry about her. She's quite the feisty one already." The mother said as she ran after her daughter.

"I'm only in my mid twenties." Amber said.

"That was really nice of you." Ruby said with a mouthful of ice cream in her mouth.

"Ruby! Didn't Tai ever teach you not to talk with your mouthful?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry." She managed to say, a little bit of ice cream dribbling out of her mouth.

"Ruby! That's disgusting. Here, let me get that for you." Amber said as she lightly started to tap her mouth with a cloth she had.

"So, what else do you want to do?" Ruby asked, shoving the remains of the ice cream into her mouth.

"Well, I don't really know anything about the festivities here. So why don't you show me around?" She said.

"Good idea! There's plenty to do here!" Ruby said as she started to walk around the festival grounds.

"Hmm, over here is where they have most of the games. The only one's really worth noting are the shooting one's. Though I guess that can all come down to personal preference. It's actually really fun though! You can win some pretty neat prizes there" Ruby explained.

"Hey! Why don't we try it out? I'm sure it will be fun! What do you say?...Amber?" The red hooded girl asked as she turned around to face Amber, only to realize that she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Amber?!" She yelled.

 _'Geez! How to uncle Qrow and dad deal with her?! Look away for one second and she's gone!'_ Ruby thought to herself.

Though after walking a few feet, she could see Amber kneeling down to a girl on the ground, the girls leg firmly wrapped around Amber's arm.

"Okay, just wrap this up and...there! All fixed!" She said.

The girl got up, much to her surprise.

"Wow! You're right! It's like nothing ever actually happened to my leg!" The girl said.

"Please be more careful from here on out. I can't always be here to patch you up." Amber said.

"Got it! Thanks...uh, what was your name?" The girl asked.

"My name is Amber. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"Nice to meet ya!" The girl said, though before she could introduce herself, she felt her scroll vibrate.

She took her scroll from out of her pocket and gasped.

"Crap! I'm late! Sorry, but I gotta get going. It was nice to meet you!" She said, running off into the distance.

"Hey! What did I just say about being more careful?!" Amber yelled.

"Uh." Ruby began, causing Amber to turn her head towards the girl.

"Oh, sorry about that Ruby. I got a little side tracked. What were you saying?" She asked.

"Um...Oh! Right, follow me!" Ruby said as she started to pull Amber's arm.

After a few seconds, Ruby had pulled Amber over to the shooting game that she was talking about.

"What's this?" Amber asked.

"It's a little shooting game that people participate in. Shoot the targets and you can get a prize!" Ruby said, walking up to the front of the stand.

"I'll show you what to do first." Ruby said, putting a couple of lien onto the counter.

"One game please!" She said.

"Sure thing. Here's your weapon." The man behind the stand said, handing her a rifle of some sort.

Ruby smirked and picked up the gun with her hands.

 _'It's no Crescent Rose but I don't think people would be to happy with me if I carried a giant sniper rifle scythe with me in the fair grounds.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"You know the rules of the game, right?" The man asked.

"Shoot the Grimm, not the civilians. Each Grimm you kill is a point, each civilian you kill is minus a point." She said with a confident smirk on her face.

"Right. Well, let me know when you're ready." The man said.

Ruby knelt down and aimed the gun at the back of the stand.

"Ready." She said.

The man nodded and pulled the lever, causing various cardboard cut out's of Grimm, humans, and Faunus to come out from the sides.

Ruby smirked and pulled the trigger, hitting one of the Grimm in the back. She started to rapidly shoot down each individual Grimm that came out, barely missing the civilians that came out.

After a few minutes, Ruby had managed to take down all of the cardboard Grimm that the man had created.

"Whew! That was easy. So what do I win?" Ruby asked.

The man looked at the score in absolute shock. Ruby had managed to beat the highest score by a landslide.

"Uh, mister?" She called out, causing the man to break out of his daze.

"Huh? Oh, sorry kid. Yeah, pick whatever you want." The man said, pointing at the back of the stand.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, eventually settling on a dragon of some sort on the back of the stand.

"That one! I'll take that one." Ruby said, pointing at the Grimm dragon.

"Hmm, the Grimm dragon, huh?" The man asked as he went over to the back of the stand to retrieve Ruby's prize.

"Gotta say kid, you've got a good pair of eyes on ya." The man said.

"Well, one of my primary weapons is a sniper rifle so it's only natural." Ruby said.

"Hmm...Now I remember you. You were one of those kids that fought in the tournament. Gotta say, you're team did really good." The man said.

"Aw stop it." She said with a blush.

"Well, here ya go kid. Wish you luck in the future of the tournament." The man said, handing her the dragon.

"Thanks. See, it's easy Amber. All you have to do is-." Ruby began, though as she turned around, Amber wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Uh-." The man began.

"Ugh! Are you serious?!" She yelled in frustration.

"You looking for that woman? She walked off over in that direction." The man said, pointing to Ruby's left.

"Thank you. Have a good night sir." Ruby said, running in the direction where the man had pointed.

After a few seconds of running, Ruby eventually found Amber standing on a stage.

From the looks of it, she was using her fire powers to put on some sort of fire works show. A lot of people were gathered around the stage, marveling at what Amber was creating.

After a few seconds, Amber shot a fire ball up into the air, causing it to burst into tiny little flares.

"That's the show." She said with a bow, causing the crowd to erupt in applause.

The crowd eventually went their separate ways, some going back to engaging in the festivities, and some heading towards the air ships.

Ruby walked over to Amber, who was currently walking down the stage with a smile on her face.

"Amber!" She called out.

"Oh, hello Ruby. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly. I just saw that the people running the fireworks were having trouble getting the fireworks to work, so I offered to make some of my own." Amber said.

"Thanks again!" One of the men sad.

"Anytime! Glad to help!" She said.

She turned back over to Ruby who was looking at her with a tired look.

"What's wrong Ruby? You don't look so well." Amber said.

"What? No, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." Ruby said.

"I didn't think a caravel game would be so intense." She said.

"No, it's not from the game. It's just been tiring running around the fair grounds all day." She said.

"Oh...I'm sorry." Amber said.

"No, it's fine...though I've kinda been meaning to ask. Why did you help them even though you barely even got a thank you from anyone?" Ruby asked.

Amber looked at Ruby in silence for a few seconds before chuckling.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Well, that's just it. I don't help people for the praise. I help them because I am able. It's what I've always been doing and will continue to do until the day I die. I will travel around Remnant, helping anyone and everyone I can." She said.

Ruby just stood there in silence, not really sure what to say to Amber's statement. Though eventually, she responded with a single question.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, I'm just a young woman with a strong desire to help people." She said. "Say, is that ice cream stand still open?" Amber asked.

"Uh, it should be." She said.

"How about you and I get some ice cream before the day ends? My treat." She said as she started to walk in the direction of the stand.

Ruby smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, sure thing." She said as she started to follow Amber.

* * *

"Alright! It's time for the doubles round!" Yang said as she and the rest of team RWBY started to walk through the colosseum.

"Please try to keep a level head. We're representing all of Vale here." Weiss said.

"Cone on Weiss. Aren't you just a little bit excited? I mean, we're moving onto the doubles round." She said.

"While that may be true, that does not give us an excuse to act unprofessionally." She said.

"Alright, though don't blame me for what happens for when we actually get into the arena." Yang said.

"So, how do you think they're gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"Well with Yang's confidence, they're bound to at least do well against whoever they're up against." Blake said.

"Yeah, but that can easily turn into over confidence knowing Yang." She said.

"Yep. Though I think she knows not to go underestimating her foes." Blake said.

"Hopefully." Ruby said.

"Sup dudes." Team RWBY heard Reese say as she rode over to them on her hover board.

"Reese? What are you doing here? You know that this part of the arena is only supposed to be reserved for the people moving on." She said.

"Why do you think we're here?" They heard Arslan ask.

"I thought you guys got knocked out of the tournament." Yang said.

"So did we. Guess they're adding something new to the system. Said something about giving the losing teams a chance to gain some glory for their respective kingdoms." Bolin said.

"You hear anything about this?" Yang asked.

"This is the first I am hearing of such an opportunity." Weiss said.

"Yeah, I think this is the first time they're doing this in the tournament." Blake said.

"So we are not the only one's unaware of this event." Arslan said.

"I mean, I'm glad that we get a second chance to prove ourselves, but I can't say I'm not the least bit curious why they're doing this." Nadir said.

"What's up guys?" The group heard Jaune ask.

They turned to see not only Jaune, but the rest of team JNPR in tow.

"Hey Jaune." Ruby said.

"Hey guys." He said.

"So, what'cha talking about?" Nora asked.

"Well, we were all talking about these set of bonus rounds that will be taking place in today's events. From what I've heard, there will be a total of four competing today. Each fight making way for the doubles matches." Arslan said.

"Bonus rounds?" Jaune asked.

"So you guys haven't heard about it either." Ruby said.

"Can't say that we've had. Though it does sound interesting to say the least." Ren said.

"You guys talking about the bonus round?" They heard Brawnz ask.

"Yeah, it's weird. I mean, they never did something like this before, why do it now all of a sudden?" Jaune said.

"You're guess is as good as mine." He said as he glanced over at Arslan.

"Hey, names Brawnz." He introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Arslan Atlan. These are my teammates, Reese, Bolin, and Nadir." She introduced.

"Sup." Reese said.

"Hey." Bolin said.

"Hello." Nadir said.

"May, Roy, and Nolan." Branwnz said, causing the members to give their own forms of greeting.

"So, are you one of the teams that were called to participate in the bonus round?" Arslan asked.

"Yep. You?" He asked.

"You would be correct. I look forward to doing battle with you, if we do just so happen to cross swords that is." She said.

"Yeah, good luck." Brawnz said.

"Oh, this is team RWBY by the way." Jaune said.

"Hello!" Ruby waved at team BRNZ.

"Sup dudes." Everyone heard Sun said.

"Hey Sun." Ruby said.

"Jeez, all we need is for that one team SSSN fought to come and we'll have the whole gang here." Yang said.

"So, what're you guys all huddled here for? The bonus matches are gonna take place out their." Sun said.

"Wait, how do you know about that?!" Weiss asked.

"What? I get around a lot." Sun said.

"Actually, we were the one's who told them." They heard a female voice say.

They turned to see team NDGO walking towards the group.

"...I knew before they told me." Sun said.

"Sure. Anyways, hi, I'm Nebula." She said, waving her right hand.

"Name's Octavia." The red haired girl said with a wink.

"Greetings. My name is Gwen, it's a pleasure to meet all of you." She said as she bowed.

"Dew." The girl in green greeted.

"So, who exactly are the other three teams that are competing in the tournament?" Nebula asked.

"That would be us." Arslan said, walking up to Nebula.

"Hey, nice to meet ya." She said with a smile.

"We're also gonna be part of this whole bonus round gig." Brawnz said.

"Hey." Nebula said.

"Pleasure." He said.

"...Wait, you said that there were four teams competing today, right?" Ruby asked.

"That's what I said, yes." Arslan said.

"Then who's the fourth one?" She asked.

"I'm sure it was one of the other teams that were knocked out of the tournament." Sun said.

"Probably. Though I don't see them anywhere." Jaune said.

"Probably got a head start or something." Reese said.

 **"Will team ABRN please come to the stadium immediately. Repeat, will team ABRN please come to the stadium immediately."** Everyone heard Port say.

"Well, looks like that's our cue." Bolin said.

"Wish us luck dudes." Reese said as she and the rest of her team headed for the stadium.

"Let's go cheer em on. Wonder who there gonna be fighting." Yang said as she started to walk towards the stadium, along with the rest of the group.

Once again, the crowd was completely filled to the brim with people from various kingdoms. Though their were a few suspicious characters in the audience as well.

Some have been under the nose of the public the entire time, while others were making a new appearance.

One of these unexpected characters was a certain chameleon Faunus watching from a top of the stadium. Though while everyone in the stadium were enjoying the festivities, the White Fang member was less than pleased to be in the crowd of people.

"Remind me why I'm here again?" Ilia asked, her scroll pressed up to her ear.

 **"I told you, you need to place the beacon I made so that we can carry out the bosses plan, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to remind you about the other reason as to why you are there."** Veronica said through the scroll.

"Alright, but why me? Couldn't you have just flown your little plane into the stadium and placed the beacon here yourself?" She asked.

 **"Okay, one, it has a name. Two, D.S.M.N can't get through the barrier around the stadium. The only way the beacon was going to get into the stadium was if someone placed it there, and you're the only one who specializes in infiltration so we naturally picked you for this job."** She said.

"Tch, fine." Ilia said.

 **"Hey, boss's rules."** Veronica said.

"I know, I know." She said.

 **"Well, I should probably get back to handling the equipment for the big day. Stay safe out there."** She said.

"Yeah, bye." Ilia said as she cut off the connection.

She sighed and walked out from the hallway she was standing in, the light of the stadium guiding her path.

 _'I suppose it isn't to bad. With any luck some of these fights will at least somewhat entertain me.'_ Ilia thought to herself.

Meanwhile in the actual arena, team ABRN were making their final preparations in order to combat this unknown foe.

"Good luck you guys!" Ruby yelled to the team.

"Hmm, the other team still hasn't showed up yet." Blake said.

"Yeah, what did they get cold feet or something?" Yang asked.

"Hmph, how unprofessional." Weiss said.

Down in the actual arena, team ABRN were having similar thoughts of their own.

"So...where are they?" Reese asked.

"Beats me." Bolin said.

 **"Ah it feels good to be back into the ring. The sweat, the hardships, the bonds of the teams, it's all absolutely beautiful!"** Port said.

 **"Indeed, and for what we have in store for today will sure to excite even the people who are already familiar with the tournament rules and system."** Oobleck said.

 **"Ah yes, for those of you just finding out, the four headmasters of the academies have decided to host a bonus round in the middle of the matches of the doubles round."** He said.

 **"Now, these battles with work quite differently from the matches you see toady."** He said.

 **"Allow us to explain, rather than having the classic system that we use today, we've decided to spice things up a bit."** Port said.

 **"For the bonus rounds, skill is not the only thing that will be taken into account. For these set of matches, stamina and adaptability will be taken into account here."** Oobleck said.

 **"Rather than having the classic system, we've decided to make a brand new system for these matches alone."** He said.

 **"The fights will continue like any other fight you see in the tournament, though instead of giving you a day to rest and recover, the winner of this match will have to fight the two remaining teams within a minutes notice."** He said.

"What?!" The members of team ABRN yelled.

 **"Yes, it will truly put the winners skills to the absolute test. However, it seems that the match will not be starting soon. The team going up against team ABRN has yet to come."** Port said.

"It says just start the randomization." Oobleck said away from the microphone.

"But the other team hasn't showed up yet! We cannot just start the randomization without all fighter present!" He said.

"I know, but I am reading specific instructions from Ozpin himself, and it says to start the randomization." He said.

 **"...Uh, it appears that a few things about this match are rather strange. Anyway's, let the randomization commence!"** Port said as he started the randomization.

"They aren't even here yet!" Bolin said.

"Jeez, these bonus rounds are weird." Reese said.

"Hmm." Arslan hummed to herself.

After a few seconds, the staged were selected.

 **"Ah, an ice field and a rocky terrain. This...match, is sure to be-."** Port began.

"So! You're team ABRN?!" A male voice yelled, causing the members of team ABRN to spin their heads around to the rocky terrain.

"The hell?!" Bolin yelled.

"What was that?" Nebula asked.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." The members of team RWBY said in unison.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Ilia said.

After a few seconds of searching, the mysterious male voice was seen jumping from the mountains.

Upon further inspection, the mysterious fighter was none other than loudmouthed swordsman himself.

"Name's Brandon." He said with a confident smirk.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode five of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the fifth episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 5 thoughts**

 **This episode can be described in two words.**

 **Three. Conversations.**

 **That's really all this episode was, just three conversations happening in a single episode.**

 **So I've been hearing from some people that they thought that this episode was very slow and that it didn't really accomplish anything. Do I agree with them?**

 **...Meh?**

 **I've seen much slower, I've seen much worse. Personally, I liked this episode. Did I like it as much as I liked the other episodes? No not really, though it was still a good episode over all.**

 **The only real slow parts of the episode was the Blake part, and the conversation between Blake and Sun.**

 **The rest of the moments between Ruby and Oscar, also the scene with the brothers and Ilia were very important to progress the plot as a whole. So I don't think this episode is bad as some people make it out to be.**

 **So not a whole lot to say about this episode. I liked the episode, I liked the moments between the characters, even if some were pretty slow.**

 **Review Response**

 **myfunvideos: Fixed it.**

 **myfunvideos: Wasn't the intention but okay.**

 **SPDefender: Trust me, if it wasn't already evident enough, things are gonna change from here on out. For better or for worse.**

 **trftails: Don't know what that is.**

 **Donovan: Technically she can't run...she's dead.**

 **Guest: Glad to hear, was kinda worried about writing that scene. She didn't lose it, she transferred the spirit into the lantern. Also it goes up until episode one of volume four.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad to hear.**

 **CraazyReader: Glad you liked it. Wanted to make Jaune look competent. It's fitting for the spirit, Flamberge's focus is fire based attacks, so a lantern would be perfect for it.**

 **GOH426: Currently, she's 19. A year older than Brandon.**

 **Hitler's Moustache: Cool.**

 **Ditman25: Well Sun's character was based on the character Sun Wukong, and Goku's character was also based off of Sun Wukong. Also Cinder isn't exactly what you'd call a unpredictable character. Also no, the eleven spirit users don't work for Cinder. That would imply that Summer and Raven are working with Cinder.**

 **BloodyAngelWolf: A very powerful sleeping pill.**

 **Dragon of Creativity: Kinda, I mean in Fallout they can still traverse earth. The earth in this universe is basically unlivable.**

 **alertpoet91: Here ya go.**

 **darkifiedluis: They happen when Caliber throws a heavy punch.**

 **BloodyAngelWolf: That was an intentional writing move. Sorta like how Ruby relies to much on crescent Rose.**

 **BloodyAngelWolf: I state in the story that this is a problem that he needs to overcome. It was for writing purposes. He's not going to be OP, he'll be versatile just like you said.**

 **Brandon being to reliant on the spirits power was meant to develop him as a character.**

 **Grammar Police:...Yeah, sure.**

 **playedllama: Thanks, glad you like it.**

* * *

"..." A guard was currently fast asleep in his chair. He was currently in charge of watching over the prison that he was guarding, along with an army of other guards.

Now, sleeping on the job of security of all things would be cause for an immediate boot out the door. Though considering that their was only one prisoner in the entire prison, and pretty much everyone would know if the prisoner were to break out of their cell, then yes, he can afford to get in a few z's.

Though as he was in the middle of his beauty nap, his partner walked into the door with two cups of coffee in his hand.

"Hey, wake up." The guard said, causing the man in the chair to jolt awake.

"Wha-?" He asked.

"My shift now. You take over my shift." He said.

"Why? Nothing ever happens with your shift." The man said.

"Nothing ever happens with any shift. The prisoner makes no attempts to escape, despite being told by the headmaster of Vacuo numerous times that he has the physical strength to slaughter everyone in this facility." He said.

"You ever think she exaggerates what she says? I mean, there's no one on earth who can be that strong." He said.

"Well, apparently the prisoner is. This whole facility was built for the sole reason of keeping that man locked away from the world." The guard said.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you. Why exactly is this guy in jail? Who is he?" The man asked.

"Must be new here. Well first of all, from what I've heard, his name is Klaus Von Reinhardt. The headmaster built the prison and started to hire people to make sure he never got out." He said.

"Why though?" The man asked.

"Beats me. This prison was made twenty years ago, and I only started working here about five years ago." He said.

"Hmm, weird." He said.

"Though it's not our job to know the reasons as to why each individual person gets sent to prison. Our job it to make sure that the prisoner stays here until the day he dies." The man said.

"Though why would the headmaster build a prison for the sole purpose of holding him?" He asked.

"Like I said, I don't really know." He said.

"Then there's anther thing that really strange about this place. It's not just a prison, it's a research facility." The man said.

"Yeah, it's not exactly like the other prisons in the world." The man said.

"But what exactly are they even doing research on in here?" He asked.

"From what I've gathered, it's about the water phenomenon that happened a long time ago. Believe it or not, Vacuo had a whole lot of water back in the old days. Though suddenly, one day all the water just dried up. Most of the oasis's have been completely dried up, making finding water in Vacuo damn near impossible." The man said.

"Wow, really?" The man asked.

"Though that's not the only thing they do research on. They're doing research on this weird hammer that the guy had before he was put behind bars and all that." He said.

"Hammer?" He asked.

"Yep. It's unlike any hammer anyone's ever seen before. It's got these strange markings and has weird reactions to the tests the scientists do to it." The man said.

"Reactions? You mean like it's alive or something?" The man asked.

"Something like that. There's been a rumor going around the prison that the hammer is actually the enchanted hammer from that old fairy tale." He said.

.

.

After a few seconds of silence, the two men burst out into laughing fits.

"Yeah, as if that would be the case." He said as he got up from his chair.

"Well, I better get to my post before the boss drills into me again." The man said as he got up and walked out of the door.

The man taking over his post leaned on the chair and took a sip from his mug of coffee.

While the idea of the hammer being the legendary Mjolnir, there was one question that lingered in his mind.

 _'If the headmaster thinks that we need this many guards and soldiers to guard one guy, who the hell are we even keeping locked up?'_ He asked.

* * *

 **Klaus Von** **Reinhardt**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Hammer**

 **Gender : Male**

 **Height: 7'1"**

 **Weight: 286 lbs**

 **Age: 50**

 **Outfit: Unknown**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Slightly Tanned.**

 **Hair Color: Gold with a Black Streak.**

 **Eye color: Grey**

 **Aura Color: Bronze**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Mjolnir**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 101**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 69**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 50**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 27**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	60. Lesson Learned

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Lesson Learned"

Thought: _'Lesson Learned'_

Flashback: _"Lesson Learned"_

"Yo." Brandon said as he jumped onto the stage floor.

After a few seconds of silence throughout the arena, Port and Oobleck eventually spoke up through the stands they were sitting in.

 **"Uh, it appears that our fighters...or fighter I should say, has finally made their appearance to the stage. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Brandon Kim of** **Beacon."** Port said through the microphone.

The people in the stadium started to murmur and talk with one another at the strange line up when it came to this match.

"Are they seriously going to let that boy fight?" One of the spectators asked.

"Yeah, I mean he's just one guy going up against an entire team." Another one said.

"And what's with that entrance? He literally appeared from inside of the arena."

"Well, looks like Brandon's got everyone talking." Yang said as she over heard some of the conversations going on through the crowd.

"Can you blame them? I mean, he's one guy going up against an entire team. It's not exactly something you see everyday." Weiss said.

"Um, can you guys fill us in on all this?" Nebula asked.

"Yeah, who is that guy?" Octavia asked.

"That right there, is Brandon Kim. He's one of our friends that's been attending Beacon." Ruby said.

"Okay, though why is he in there alone? Doesn't he have a team?" Gwen asked.

"Well, it's a bit complicated." Blake said.

"How so?" Brawnz asked.

"During the initiation, there was an odd number of people that passed. So that meant one person was going solo through their school year. That is unless they can recruit some team members." Yang said.

"So I'm assuming he was the one who got the unlucky number?" May asked.

"Well, I wouldn't really say he's unlucky so to say...well, at least not in this category." Blake said.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked.

"If anything, it was actually pretty good that Brandon works alone. He's not exactly what you would call a team player. So going as a solo team really worked in his favor." She said.

"Though I'm not sure why he's alone now. I mean, he does have a teammate now." Yang said.

"Well, considering she's the niece of Roman Torchwick I doubt she would have been allowed to be put in the same arena with students from other academies." Ruby whispered.

"Fair point." She said.

"Is he strong?" Brawnz asked.

"Oh heck yeah he is! He's the one I was telling you about during our match." Jaune said.

"Wait, really?! That's the guy?!" He asked.

"Yeah! Though why do you sound so surprised?" He asked.

"Well, it's just that I was expecting someone more...tough looking." Brawnz said.

"Appearances can be deceiving." Pyrrha said.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He said.

Meanwhile, Brandon was walking towards team ABRN with a nonchalant look in his eye.

"So, you're team ABRN, that right?" He asked as he threw his sword in the air.

"...Yes, we are." Arslan said as she started to walk towards Brandon.

"My name is Arslan Altan. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said as she extended her hand outwards.

"Yeah, pleasure." Brandon said as he grabbed Arslan's hand and shook it.

"That was quite the entrance tough guy. How did you get under the stadium in the first place?" Reese asked.

"Well, go through a couple doors you know you're not supposed to go through and there ya go. You've got yourself a grand entrance waiting to happen." He said as he attempted to catch his sword, only for the sword to fall to the ground.

"...I meant to do that." Brandon said, picking up Caliber's vessel.

"I like this guy." Reese whispered over to Nadir.

"He seems kinda...weird." He said.

 _'I'm right here but whatever.'_ Brandon thought dryly.

"If you don't mind me asking, where is your team? Are they late for the match? We would have no problem waiting if that is the-." Arslan began.

"There isn't one." He said.

"...I'm sorry what?" She asked.

"You're looking at the team right here." Brandon said.

"But you're just one guy!" Bolin yelled.

"Well, technically I'm two guys." He said.

"...Wait what?" The members of team ABRN asked.

"Wait what?" The members of team BRNZ and NDGO asked.

"Yep, that's the normal reaction people give us when we tell them about Brandon." Yang said.

"What does he mean he's two guys?" Nebula asked.

"He means exactly what he says. He's two guys." Ruby said.

"...What?" She asked.

"A more understandable explanation would be that he has two souls within his body." Weiss said.

.

.

"What?!" The members of team BRWZ and NDGO yelled.

"What do you mean he has two souls?! That shouldn't even be possible!" Dew said.

"Trust us, we didn't really believe it until we saw it. Just watch the fight, more likely than not he's gonna use that extra soul in the fight." Yang said.

The teams that weren't aware of Caliber were a bit skeptical but eventually turned their heads towards the arena.

"What does that even mean? You trying to pull something on us or what?" Bolin growled.

"Bolin!" Arslan yelled.

"No, it's alright. Most people are a bit skeptical to the idea of a man having two souls in his body." Brandon said.

"...T-two souls?" Nadir asked.

"That's what I said." He said.

 _'Two souls...I've heard of something like that before. Though where?'_ Arslan thought.

"So, let's say that you do have two souls. Does that mean we're fighting two guys and not just one?" Bolin asked.

"That's right. Though I doubt I'll need his help for this fight." Brandon said with a cocky smirk.

"Ooh, a cocky one aren't ya?" Reese asked.

"Maybe so, maybe so. Why don't you come and find out for yourself?" He asked.

 **"It seems that both sides are ready for combat! Let's start the countdown!"** Port said.

Team ABRN got into their respective combat positions, each one pulling out there respective weapons.

 **"3!"** Port began, causing Brandon to crack his shoulders.

 **"2!"** Oobleck said, causing Brandon to point his revolver at the team.

May narrowed her eye and griped the right part of her hat and pulled it up, revealing a rather strange looking eye.

"What's up May?" Roy asked.

"Hmm, from the looks of it he's charging some of his aura and putting it into his revolver." May said.

Sure enough, the marks on the revolver started to glow with a platinum light.

"How did you know that?" Ruby asked..

 **"1!"** Port said.

Arslan raised her fist up into the air, ready to use the same strategy they used against team RWBY.

"It's my eye. It allows me to physically see aura. Though if what I'm seeing is correct then you guys weren't lying when you said he had two souls." May said.

"Wait, seriously?!" Nolan asked.

"Yeah, that's not his aura coming from reolver. It's someone...no, something else's aura." She said.

 **"Begin!"** They both said, causing Brandon to shot a charged shot from his revolver, a loud crack echoing throughout the arena. The charged shot nailed Arslan right in the gut and sent her tumbling backwards.

The members of team ABRN looked at their leader before turning their heads towards Brandon.

What? You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" He asked as he started to shoot various bullets at team ABRN.

"Scatter!" Bolin yelled, causing Reese to get onto her hover board and for Nadir to run to the left of Brandon.

"Yah!" The staff wielding boy yelled as he swung his staff at Brandon, though he was easily able to dodge the attack.

"Extend!" He yelled, causing the staff to extend outwards and hit Brandon right in the gut.

Brandon grunted but quickly regained his composure.

Bolin attempted to swing his staff at the swords man, though Brandon moved to the right and dodged the attack.

Though before he could attack again, Brandon kicked him straight in the gut.

He pointed his gun at Bolin and started to shoot him repeatedly.

 _'Damn it, what the hell is up with these bullets?!'_ Bolin asked as he started to twirl his staff to block the tiny attacks.

Brandon quickly glanced to his right and to his left to see Reese and Nadir getting ready to shoot him down.

The swords man smirked and in rapid succession, fired two bullets at the two members of team ABRN.

Nadir started to run away from the bullets that were heading his way, while Reese was easily able to maneuver around Caliber's bullets.

"Bolin! Let's go!" Arslan yelled as she started to charge at Brandon.

"Right!" He yelled, following his leader.

Brandon smirked and pointed his gun at the duo, though he was quickly interrupted by Reese and Nadir firing their weapons at Brandon.

Before the swords man could react, Bolin extended his staff and hit him across the face.

"Rgha!" Arslan yelled as she started to throw various punches at Brandon, though Brandon was able to dodge each one of her attacks.

Though just as Arslan was about to deliver the final punch, Brandon kicked her straight across the chest, causing her to move backwards a bit.

Bolin and Nadir were both right behind her with their respective weapons in their melee form.

As Brandon kept dodging both of their attacks he wasn't aware of the mountain behind him.

Bolin quickly turned his head towards Nadir and nodded.

Though right as he was about to hit the wall, he quickly jumped off of the wall, kicking away Nadir and punching Bolin right across the jaw.

"Wow, for someone who's fighting a one on four battle he sure is holding his own fairly well." Octavia said.

"No. It's not a four on one battle. If we've learned anything from watching Brandon it would have been a two on four battle." Ruby said.

"...Wait, you mean to tell us that the second soul in your friend's body actually has a body of his own?" Brawnz asked.

"Yep." She said.

"Then why isn't he coming out to help?" He asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Blake said.

 _'Though what was that just now? He couldn't have known about the wall behind him. How was he able to counter?'_ She asked.

Arslan threw her string at Brandon, and due to how thin the piece of string was, he wasn't able to see the attack.

Once the string was wrapped around his ankle, she pulled Brandon in.

The swords man growled and cut the string with his sword, causing Brandon to go flying into the air.

"Bad move tough guy!" Reese yelled as she hovered above Brandon and hit him straight towards the ground.

"Tch, this is harder than I thought." Brandon muttered to himself as he shot a revolver shot at Nadir, the bullet nailing him right in the head.

Arslan went in for another attack, though right as she swung her fist at Brandon, he quickly blinked away from sight.

"W-what in the-?!" She began, only for Brandon to appear behind her and shoot another platinum bullet at her back, causing a fairly large explosion to appear once the sphere made contact.

"Whoa. That's new." Yang said, raising her eyebrows in response.

Bolin attempted to whack Brandon with his staff, though the swords man simply punched the boy with the back of his hand.

"Gah! Nadir! Reese!" Bolin yelled, causing the two to nodded and started to charge towards Brandon.

Reese jumped up into the air and punched her board at Brandon, though he was easily able to block it with his sword.

Though what Brandon didn't expect was for Nadir to open fire on Brandon, and while he was able to dodge some of the bullets with his sword, Arslan quickly punched him across the face, sending him flying backwards.

"Nice! That looked like it did some damage!" Dew said.

"Yeah, keep it up guys!" Octavia yelled.

Though while the members of team BRNZ and NDGO were cheering on team ABRN, there was one question plauging team RWBY's, JNPR's and SSSN's minds.

 _'Why isn't he using Caliber?'_ They asked themselves.

As Brandon flew backwards, he pulled out his revolver and started to rapidly fire various shots at team ABRN.

"Let's go!" Arslan yelled, causing her team to run after Brandon, dodging and blocking the various shots that were being thrown at Brandon.

After a few seconds, Brandon eventually ran out of bullets in the chamber.

"Alright! Quickly! While he's-!" Arslan began, only for Brandon to throw a chamber of six bullets up into the air, opened the chamber, shook out all of the shells and put all the bullets into the chamber in the matter of seconds.

"Whoa! Those were some fast movements!" Roy said.

"When did Brandon learn how to do that?" Sun asked.

Though eventually, both Bolin and Arslan jumped in opposite directions, making a pincer attack of some sort. While Brandon was able to dodgle Bolin's attack, this left him open to Arslan's attack.

Reese smirked and punched her board towards Brandon, though he was easily able to shoot it out of the air.

Arslan rushed forward and started to rapidly punch Brandon, though instead of being kicked away by Brandon, she was able to move to the side and hit him across the cheek.

During Brandon's daze, Arslan grabbed Brandon by the collar and threw him at her teammates.

Both Nadir and Reese pulled out strange looking clips from their pockets and started to open fire. The bullets were surrounded by a green and purple aura, each one moving towards Brandon.

A large explosion was made once the bullets, causing the crowd to cheer. Once the dust had settled, Brandon wiped the dust from his cheek and cracked his shoulders.

 _ **"Are you sure you don't want my assistance?"**_ He asked.

 _'No. I need to learn how to not be so reliant on you. I'm going to win these fights with my own power, skill, and wits. I'll only call you if I really need it.'_ Brandon said to Caliber.

 ** _"As you wish."_** He said.

 _'Besides. I'm still looking for that opening.'_ He said. _'Still, this isn't exactly gonna be easy.'_ Brandon thought as he moved his hand towards Arslan's incoming attack, blocking it in the process.

"Tch, you're sharp, I'll give you that!" Arslan yelled as she quickly swung her fist at Brandon, though Brandon moved to the side to dodge the attack.

"What the-?! Whoops! Come on!" She said as she attempted to regain her balance after that powerful punch.

Reese charged towards Brandon on her hover board and kicked it towards the swords man, though he quickly dodged the attack in response.

"Gah! My board! Time out!" Reese said.

"Reese! You can't just call time out in the middle of a-!" Arslan began.

"Kay." Brandon said.

 _'What?!'_ The rest of team ABRN thought.

"Thanks dude. You're a life saver." She said as she walked over to her board.

She dusted it off and got back onto the top of it.

"You good now?" He asked.

"Yeah, okay, time in." Reese said.

Arslan sighed and charged towards Brandon, swinging her fists wildly, though just like last time, she wasn't able to hit Brandon for the life of her.

She smirked and quickly swept her leg under his feet, causing him to lose his balance. She slammed her palm into his stomach before punching him across the arena.

Though out of the dust various bullets started to fly towards team ABRN, causing them to scatter where they stand.

As Reese flew through the air, a bullet engulfed in strange flames nailed her right in the stomach.

"Aaand." Brandon said as he snapped his fingers, causing a massive explosion to appear around Reese.

 **"Oh and it looks like Reese is out of bounds, knocking her out of this match."** Port said.

"Reese!" Her teammates yelled.

"Hey!" Brandon called out, causing the members of team ABRN to turn to face Brandon. Though what they saw completely put them in a state of shock and awe.

"Finally. Jeez, took him long enough." Yang said.

Sure enough, Brandon was standing there with Caliber floating right beside him, tiny bits of aura starting to store themselves inside Brandon's revolver as if he were charging some sort of strong attack in his gun.

"...W-what the heck is that thing?!" Nebula asked.

"That, right there, is Caliber. The gentlemen spirit." Ruby said.

 _ **"Good day."**_ Caliber said as he tipped his top hat.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Bolin yelled.

 _ **"Quite rude. It's impolite to refer to someone as a "thing"."**_ He said with a bow.

"Yeah, yeah, you can lecture em later. For now, let's just win this thing." Brandon said as he pointed his revolver at team ABRN. "See ya." He said.

"Wait wha-?!" The members of team ABRN started to say, only for Brandon to shoot Caliber's attack at team ABRN, causing a massive explosion to appear in the area where they were hit.

 **"My word! Arslan, Bolin, and Nadir have all been knocked out of the competition! This makes Brandon Kim the winner of this match!"** Port said, causing everyone to cheer.

"...Was Brandon ever able to do that before?" Sun asked.

"I don't think so. Wow! He was seriously awesome out there!" Ruby said.

"Though remember, Brandon still has two more fights after this, and from the looks of it he already seems a little worn out." Weiss said as she pointed at Brandon.

Sure enough, Brandon was breathing heavily, sweat dropping down his forehead.

"It's not surprising really. With how much he was moving around during that fight it was only natural that he would lose a bit of stamina." Blake said.

Meanwhile, Ozpin was watching Brandon's match through the screen in his tower with a smirk on his face.

 _'It seems my methods are finally paying off.'_ Ozpin said, also referring to Brandon's movements.

"Hey, you okay Blake?" Yang asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Just thinking is all." Blake said.

"Whew. That was a lot harder than I thought." Brandon said.

 _ **"Though you did what you were setting out to do. Even if you had to use my powers in the end."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, yeah. Baby steps." He said.

 **"Will the victor please make their way to the waiting room for the next match. Repeat, will the victor please make their way to the waiting room for the next match."** Port said thought the microphone.

"Well, guess that's our cue." Brandon said as he started to walk towards the waiting room.

"Jeez, we have to fight him?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah, and fair warning, he's not the one to pull punches." Yang said.

"...Greaaat." He groaned.

"So, what's the plan Brawnz?" Roy asked.

.

.

"Brawnz?" He called out.

The only response was for Brawnz to smirk.

"It's official. This is the best festival of my life." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Oh boy." May said.

"You seriously wanna fight that kid after seeing what he did?" Roy asked.

"Course I do." Brawnz said.

"Guess we better think of a plan to fight Brandon and his spirit." Nebula said.

"Not exactly gonna be easy." Octavia said.

"I'm sure we'll win though. We've seen him fight, all we have to do is come up with a strategy." Gwen said.

"Not to mention he's still gonna be pretty worn out after that fight he had with ABRN, and if team BRNZ is next then he'll be even more exhausted." Dew said.

"Yeah, let's just hope he doesn't have any more tricks up his sleeve." Nebula said.

 **"Now, let's start the randomization process for our first doubles round match!"** Port said, causing the randomization process to begin on the screen. After a few seconds, the slots eventually stopped on Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, going up against Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi.

 **"The randomization process is complete! Ladies and gentlemen, your doubles tournament line-up!"** He yelled.

 **"Our first match will be Mercury and Emerald of Haven, going up against Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon."** Port said.

 **"Will our fighters please make their way to the stadium."** Oobleck said.

After about ten minutes of waiting later, the combatants had made their way to the stage.

 **"Please welcome Emerald and Mercury of Haven, versus Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!"** Port said.

"Good luck you two!" Velvet said as the four stage hazards were selected for the fight.

"Hey...Love the outfit kid." Coco said.

"I'll try not to get blood on it." Emerald said.

"I can't promise you'll leave without a scratch." Yatsuhashi said.

"I won't be the one bleeding." She said.

"Oh, I like her." Coco said.

 _'Though where have I heard her name before?'_ She asked herself.

 **"Three, two, one, begin!"** Port yelled, causing Emerald and Mercury to move into the grass.

After a few seconds, Coco activated her mini gun and started to shoot a barrage of bullets into the grass.

Eventually, she had cut all of the grass that we keeping Emerald and Mercury hidden.

"...Uh, where are they?" Coco asked Yatsuhashi, who merely shrugged in response.

"Look out!" Blake yelled, causing both Coco and Yatsuhashi to look upwards to see Mercury moving towards them at an alarmingly fast pace.

Yatsuhashi pushed Coco out of the way and blocked Mercury's attack, pushing him off once he had recovered from the affects of the impact.

Coco pointed her mini gun at Mercury and pulled the trigger, though Mercury was easily able to dodge all of bullets with ease.

"He's good." Sun said.

"Yeah, but where's the girl?" Scarlet asked.

Mercury kicked Coco's mini gun away and kicked Yatsuhashi across the face. Before the giant could recover, he kicked him on the head.

Coco attempted to mow Mercury down with her weapon, though the assassin jumped up into the air and landed on the barrel of the gun. Yatsuhashi eventually recovered and swung his sword at the assassin, though he merely dodged the attack with ease.

The giant hit Mercury across the chest, though instead of going flying backwards, he attempted to grab the shoulder of Coco.

The detective smirked and shrunk herself down by a few feet in attempts to dodge the attack. As Mercury flew through the air, Coco unloaded a barrage of bullets into the assassin, sending him flying backwards.

As Mercury landed onto the ground, he shot two wind rockets at the duo, though they were easily able to parry the attacks.

The assassin started to shoot various wind rockers around him before sending all of them speeding towards the duo.

Before they could react, Mercury appeared behind Coco and Yatsuhashi, grabbed them by the arms and started to repeatedly kick them.

He eventually kicked Coco away towards the area where Emerald was.

Sure enough, Emeralds chains came from the forest and wrapped themselves firmly around Coco, pulling her into the forest area.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi called out as his leader was pulled away.

The giant was kicked across the face by Mercury, though before the assassin could react, Yatsuhashi grabbed him by the neck and threw him towards the geyser area.

Yatsuhashi jumped up into the air and attempted to use his semblance to knock Mercury out with a single strike, though what surprised him the most was the fact that Mercury blocked the attack with his legs.

 _'W-what?! There's no way he could have blocked my attack. Not without shattering his legs that is.'_ He thought.

Mercury pushed Yatsuhashi off of him and attempted to sweep his leg under his feet, though the samurai was quick to react and jumped into the air.

 _'Tch, for someone so big you sure are agile.'_ Mercury thought.

The giant attempted to strike at Mercury with his sword, though the assassin was easily able to block each of his attacks.

The assassin struck at the ground, causing various rocks to come up into the air. Mercury quickly kicked the rocks towards Yatsuhashi and kicked him into one of the geysers.

Once the giant landed on the geyser, it erupted, causing him be dazed for a few seconds.

 _'Ugh, I didn't think I had to use this yet. But so be it. Forgive me, child of Haven, but what happens next will be your own doing.'_ He said, causing his aura to flare with a green light.

 _'Tch, hardening your aura won't save you this time big guy.'_ Mercury said as he kicked Yatshuhashi in the face.

Though what he didn't expect was the for the giant of a man to be non affected by the attack.

"Huh?!" He yelled.

Though before he could question Yatsuhashi's sudden power, the giant gave Mercury a quick jab to the stomach. Though to Mercury, it felt like being hit with a hammer.

"Gah!" He yelled.

"Now, the real battle begins." He said as he slowly started to walk over to Mercury.

Meanwhile, Coco was being pulled into the forest by Emerald's chains. Though before she could come into contact with the tree she shrunk down to the size of an ant.

 _'Whew. That was close.'_ Coco thought to herself.

As she was hiding in the grass, Emerald was seen walking down the forest looking around to see if she could find Coco anywhere.

"Tch, where are you hiding now?" She asked.

 _'I can't use my semblance on her if I can't see her.'_ Emerald thought to herself.

Though before Emerald could react, Coco appeared from the grass and unloaded a barrage of bullets at Emerald.

The thief jumped up into the air and started to fire a barrage of bullets of her own, though before she could use her semblance, Coco shrunk back down to size.

 _'Grr, I really hate this semblance.'_ Emerald thought to herself as she started to jump from tree to tree.

"Yah!" Mercury yelled as he hit Yatsuhashi in the ribs, though the giant seemed to be unaffected by the attack as he just continued to walk.

"Stop. You are merely wasting stamina." The giant said.

"Yeah? Well what if I hit you right here?!" The assassin began as he kicked Yatsuhashi's knee, though just like last time, he was unaffected by the attack.

 _'This guys like some sort of juggernaut. I can't even lay a scratch on him.'_ Mercury thought to himself.

Though before Mercury could react, Yatshuhashi punched him in the gut once again, sending him flying across the arena.

"Hah, hah. Alright, I guess you're tougher than you look." He said.

"I get that a lot." Yatsuhashi said.

Mercury started to shoot various wind rockets around him, though what started to confuse him was the fact that Yatsuhashi wasn't attempting to stop him. He just kept on walking towards him.

 _'...Wait a minute.'_ The assassin though, starting to see a weakness in the giant's ability.

Mercury shot the rockets at Yatsuhashi, though Yatsuhashi merely walked through the barrage of attacks seemingly unaffected.

"Jeez, you're like a walking tank there buddy." Mercury said.

Emerald was currently slowly walking through the forest, each one of her senses were heightened to the absolute limit.

After a few seconds, Coco emerged from above Emerald and kicked her on the head.

"Gah!" She yelled as she started to shoot Coco, though she quickly shrunk back down to the size of an ant.

"Wow, Coco and Mercury are really turning this around." Ruby said.

"No, I wouldn't be so sure. They're using some pretty risky moves." Fox said as he walked behind the seats the group was sitting in.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Who are these guys?" Nolan asked.

"Fox." The blind fighter greeted.

"Velvet. It's nice to meet you." Velvet said.

"So, what exactly do you mean by they're using risky moves?" Yang asked.

"Well, while Coco can shrink whatever she likes, shrinking herself is a whole different story." Fox said.

"Coco can't shrink herself without putting a lot of physical strain on her body." Velvet said as she pointed at the screen.

Sure enough, the screen showed Coco shrinking back up to size behind a tree, breathing heavily.

"You're right." Weiss said.

"Then there's Yatsu." Fox said. "While using his semblance makes him like an unstoppable force, it comes with the cost of speed. He's basically as slow as a tank." He said.

"What's the other one?" Yang asked.

"There's a limit to what he can take. It's just that Mercury's attacks aren't really doing a whole lot. Though they are doing something, just take a look at his aura." Velvet said as she pointed at the largest screen in the colosseum.

Sure enough, with every attack Mercury dished out at him, a bit of his aura was chipped away.

"Gotta hand it to ya big guy, you're doing a real good job at tanking my attacks. If this were a fight with different conditions I think I'd have a little trouble with your semblance right there." He said as he started to fire various rockets at Yatsuhashi.

"Though this isn't that kind of fight." He said as he fired one last rocket at the giant, causing his aura to go into the red zone.

 **"Oh and Yatsuhashi is eliminated!"** Port said, causing Yatsuhashi to fall to the ground, breathing heavily as he sat on the ground.

"Better luck next time." He said with a smirk.

Moving back to Coco and Emerald, Coco was currently traversing through the grass in her shrunken down state.

 _'Come on, come on! Just keep it up for a few more-.'_ She began, only for her to revert back to her original size.

"Feet." Coco finished, causing Emerald to spin her head towards Coco.

"...Uh-." She began, only for Emerald to whack her across the face with her scythes, causing her to go flying towards the center of the stadium.

Yatsuhashi raised one of his arms up to catch his leader.

 **"And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!"** Oobleck said.

"Damn, that was rough." Fox said.

"We should go see if they're alright." Velvet said. "We'll be right back." She said as she and Fox started to walk towards the waiting rooms.

"Wow, those guys were sure something." Nebula said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. It seemed like they had the upper hand throughout the entire fight." Octavia said.

"I hope those two are alright." Gwen said.

"I'm sure they'll be alright." Brawnz said.

"Anyways, it's time for the next bonus round, right? Who's up next?" Nolan asked.

"Well, whoever it is, you guys are sure in for one hell of a fight." They heard Reese say as she jumped to a seat next to May.

"Sup." She said.

"Oh, hey guys. You just missed the first doubles round." Jaune said.

"Meh, oh well." Reese said.

"So, where were you guys?" Roy asked.

"We were just recovering after that fight with that dude." She said.

"Recovering?" Nolan asked, sweat starting to form on his forehead.

"Yeah, for a guy that short he sure as hell packs a punch." Bolin said as he sat beside his teammates.

"Indeed. Though the strangest thing about that boy was that thing that appeared behind him as he was charging that attack." Arslan said.

"You mean Caliber?" Sun asked.

"Caliber? You mean it has a name?" Bolin asked.

"Yeah. Though I wouldn't really compare Brandon's strength to Caliber's." Yang said. "Brandon may be strong, but the difference in strength between the two is just...jeez." She said.

"Great. I'm just so enthusiastic to fight him now. Why don't you just call our names now?" Nolan said.

 **"Will team BRNZ please make their way to the stadium. Repeat, will team BRNZ please make their way to the stadium."** Oobleck said.

May and Roy merely looked at Nolan with a deadpanned stare.

"I was kidding!" He yelled.

Though while Roy, May, and Nolan were all skeptical when it came to fighting the foe that took down all of team ABRN by himself, Brawnz was absolutely thrilled to fight such a strong opponent.

"Well, wish us luck." Roy said.

"Yeah, you'll need it." Yang said as team BRNZ walked away from the group.

"...So, how do you think they'll do against him?" Yang asked.

"Well, they might actually do pretty well." Blake said.

"How so?" Arslan asked.

"Well, they basically cover most of the two's weaknesses. Though for future reference, we're going to tell you the one weakness that you might want to avoid explointing.." She said.

"That is?" Bolin said.

"Any damage Caliber takes Brandon will take as well." Yang said.

"And it would be more of a problem for them if Brandon is seen bleeding in the stadium." Sun said, causing the members of team ABRN and team NDGO to look at them in shock.

"W-wait. Blood?" Gwen asked.

"Caliber doesn't have aura. So any damage he takes will go right through Brandon's aura. We're not sure what the extent of the damage is though." Sage said.

After a few minutes of waiting, the combatants arrived at the stadium.

 **"Now, let us get into the next bonus match of the day. This match will be team BRNZ vs the previous victor, Brandon Kim."** Port said.

"So, you're Brandon, huh?" Brawnz asked.

"The one and only. You are...who again?" He asked.

"Names Brawnz Ni." He introduced.

"Names Roy Stallion." Roy said.

"Nolan Porfirio." He said.

"May Zedong, nice to meet you." She said, causing the field randomization to start.

"Right." Brandon said. "Quick unrelated question, you guys are from Vacuo, right?" He asked.

"...Uh, yeah?" Brawnz said.

"Okay, then we might meet again in the near future." Brandon said.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"I plan on going to Vacuo really soon. Got a few people I'm looking for." He said.

After a few seconds, both fields were selected, one being a desert terrain and the other being the forest terrain.

"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nolan said.

"Don't get to cocky, he's also got a home field

"Yeah. Anyways, who exactly are you-?" Roy began to ask, only for the sound of Port and Oobleck starting the countdown cut them off.

 **"3!"** Port began.

Team BRNZ broke out of there daze and got into their combat positions.

 **"2!"** Oobleck said.

Brandon got into some sort of running position, much to the confusion of team BRNZ and the teams in the crowd.

 **"1!"** Port said.

 **"Begin!"** They both said, causing the respective teams to charge at one another.

Though what team BRNZ wasn't expecting was for Brandon to run right past them, moving towards the desert terrain.

"What is he doing?!" Weiss asked.

"Uh, you do know that your side is that way, right?" May asked.

"Yep!" He yelled as he started to jump from rock to rock.

"Then shouldn't you be running to that side?" She asked.

"Is it a rule?" He asked.

"No, it's more just-!" She began.

"Then I don't care! Doesn't this mean you have the advantage anyway?!" He asked.

"Yeah, but isn't that something you'd want to avoid?!" Roy asked.

Brandon merely shrugged in response and motioned them to come towards him.

"...Well alright then. It's all your's May!" Brawnz said as he started run towards their opponent.

May nodded and ran towards the forest area, loading a clip into her sniper.

 _ **"Hmm, quite a few issues on this team. The sniper will be especially hard to deal with."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, well we'll deal with that in time.'_ Brandon said to Caliber.

After a few seconds, Roy and Nolan managed to make their way up the mountain.

"So, where's your leader? He taking a nap or something?" Brandon asked.

"We'll be your opponent right now. We have a plan." Roy said.

"That being?" He asked.

"Wouldn't be much of a plan if we just up and told you now would it?" He asked.

"True." Brandon said as he pulled out his sword and threw it up in the air.

Roy and Nolan looked at one anther with confused looks in their eyes but eventually charged towards Brandon.

The swordsman smirked and snapped his fingers, causing his eyes to turn a shade of blue.

Roy attempted to strike at Brandon, though he merely moved to the side before the punch could connect, leaving behind a blue silhouette of his body.

"The heck?!" Roy yelled as he attempted to strike at Brandon once again, though it only lead to the same result.

Nolan swung his cattle prod at Brandon, though he was also able to dodge that attack as well.

The two continued to attempt to strike at Brandon, though each attempted strike was met with the same result.

Roy swept his leg under Brandon's feet, though Nolan quickly whacked him across the chest with his cattle prod.

"Gah, hate this feeling." Brandon said as sparks started to come off of his body.

"Hey, we're not supposed to let him leave the mountain." Roy whispered.

"Yeah, I know. Didn't hit him that hard jeez." Nolan said.

Brandon narrowed his eyes and attempted to move to another rock, though May stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Whoa!" He yelled as he attempted not to fall off of the mountain.

 _'Hey! What the hell are you doing?! We're trying to keep him on the mountain not make him fall off of it!'_ Nolan said to May.

 _ **"I know! I didn't think he'd almost fall off!"**_ She yelled.

 _'Gah! Don't yell when you're using your semblance! Gives me a headache.'_ Brawnz said.

 ** _"Sorry. Anyways, how close are you right now?"_** May asked.

 _'Well I'm don't exactly have an eye like you but I'd say I'm about halfway through the mountain.'_ He said.

 _ **"Good. Just keep him on the mountain."**_ She said.

 _'Got it.'_ Both Roy and Nolan said.

Though before either of them could react, Brandon punched Nolan across the face and gave a swift kick to Roy's side.

"Gah! You son of a-!" Nolan began, only for Brandon to punch him in the teeth.

"Hey, they're kids watching this tournament." He said as he pulled out his sword and started to slash at Nolan, though he was able to quickly block the attack with his cattle prod.

The two started to exchange blows, though eventually Roy joined in on the fight. Though even with the combined forces of Roy and Nolan, Brandon was easily able to hold his ground with the two.

 _'Tch, this guy's good. He's even better than what we saw during his fight with ABRN.'_ Nolan said.

 _'Well, considering he might be a bit warn out he's obviously using a few more tricks than before.'_ Roy said.

 ** _"Hmm...I'm gonna try something."_** May said.

 _'Mind filling us in?'_ Nolan asked.

May's only response was to fire a bullet near Brandon's head, though he was able to barely dodge it.

 _ **"Hmm, yeah I think I've gotten a good idea on what this little trick is."**_ May said.

 _'It's some sort of speed enhancement, right?'_ Roy asked.

 _ **"Yes, but it caters more to helping him dodge attacks rather than going faster**_ _ **.**_ She said.

 _'Oh, I get it. Rather than just speed like the physical kind, it's reaction speed, right?'_ He asked.

 _ **"Bingo. Think of it like this, Ruby is able to go faster due to her speed based semblance, though this doesn't really help her ability to dodge attacks. It just makes her a bit harder to hit in general. With this guy, it's his reaction speed that's being affected. But there's no actual change to his physical speed."**_ May said.

 _'I'm right under him!'_ Brawnz said.

As soon as he said this, the ground underneath Brandon's feet started to crack.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

Brawnz appeared from under the ground, his fist making there way towards Brandon's face.

As Brawnz's fist made contact with Brandon's chin, he was sent flying up into the air and went off of the cliff of the mountain.

 _'He can't dodge an attack coming at him from mid air!'_ Nolan thought as he jumped off of the cliff, Roy following him close behind.

The two attempted to attack him with a combined kick, though the boy merely pulled out his revolver, summoned the legs of Caliber so that they would wrap around his own legs, and dug them into the rock of the mountain.

 _'W-what the-?!'_ They both thought to themselves.

"Later." Brandon said as the aura shot out from his revolver and completely blew away both Nolan and Roy.

 **"Both Roy and Nolan go down!"** Port said.

"I'll admit. It was a fairly good plan. Though you're gonna have to do a lot better than that." He said as he landed on the ground with a cocky smirk.

Branwz landed on the ground with a wild grin on his face.

"Uh, you okay?" Brandon asked.

Brawnz's only response was to activate his claws and stare at Brandon with a determined look in his eyes.

"I've never been more okay in my life." He said.

"Well, if that's the case." Brandon said as he started to motion his opponent forward his right hand.

Brawnz smiled and charged towards Brandon.

Though what Brandon didn't expect was the sheer speed of Brawnz, as he managed to close the gap between the two in the matter of seconds.

 _'The hell?!'_ Brandon thought to himself.

Brawnz quickly started to rapidly swing his claws at Brandon, though the swordsman was able to block some of his attacks with his sword, landing a few strikes in himself.

The brawler started to jab at him with his claws, though he managed to push him off and push him away with his sword. Though Brawnz was right on his tail and pushed him back with a shoulder charge.

As Brandon slid across the sand, he snapped his fingers, causing his blade to glow with a platinum aura.

The two charged at one another, though Brandon was able to speed past Brawnz, his empowered blade easily striking through his defenses.

He started to rapidly slash at Brawnz before bringing his sword over his head and swinging it down, a silhouette of Caliber holding a blade pf his own appearing behind him.

Brawnz was able to get out of the rock and started to crack his shoulders. The boys eyes started to glow with a purple light and in the matter of seconds, he closed the gap between the two.

He started to rapidly slash at the swordsman's abdomen before grabbing him by the color and throwing him in the air.

To prevent being knocked out of the ring, he dug his sword into the rock of the mountain.

 _'Damn. This guys a lot tougher than he looks.'_ Brandon thought to himself as he looked over the edge of the cliff.

Though what he wasn't expecting was for Brawnz to be right on his tail, using his claws as a way to climb up the mountain.

"What?!" Brandon yelled as the brawler struck Brandon with his claws.

He wasted no time charging towards Brandon, swinging his claws violently. Though the swords man was able to maneuver past all of his attacks. He was able to parry one of his attacks and sent him flying up into the air.

Brandon pulled out his revolver and started to shoot various aura bullets at Brawnz, each one creating a slight smoke cloud upon impact.

Though through the smoke, Brawnz's eyes could be seen glowing with an unsealing shade of purple. All of a sudden, Brandon could feel the air leave his lungs as Brawnz punched him right in the gut, sending him flying across the arena.

As Brawnz landed on the ground, he started to walk towards Brandon.

The swordsman took out his revolver and started to rapidly shoot at the brawler, though he was seemingly unaffected by the impact of the attacks.

 _'Tch, it's like he can't even feel my attacks.'_ Brandon thought to himself as he put away his revolver.

Branwz roared and charged at the swordsman, causing Brandon to make an assault of his own.

The two started to exchange blows for awhile before it all came down to one final strike, Brandon swinging his sword at Brawnz and Brawnz slashing his claws at Brandon.

After a few seconds, the brawler collapsed to the ground, causing the buzzer to go off in the stadium.

 **"And Branwz goes down!"** Port said, causing Brandon to fall to the ground, breathing heavily as he sat on the sand of the arena.

"Holy hell. You. Are strong, you know that?" Brawnz asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Same to you." Brandon said, his revolver starting to glow with a platinum aura.

"You know, you still have one more person to-." He began, only for Brandon to shoot the tree where May was hiding, causing the bullet to explode as it made contact with the tree.

"No I don't." He said as May flew out of the arena.

 **"And the last member of team BRNZ, May Zedong, goes down! Making Brandon Kim the winner of this match!"** Port said.

"Well, congrats." Brawnz said with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, it was a good fight." Brandon said as he got up from off of the ground.

"Heh, thanks." He said as he got up from off of the ground.

"Good luck with the next match." Brawnz said as he held his fist out.

"Doubt I'll need it." Brandon said as he pressed his fist against his before walking away.

"Heh, guess they forgot to leave out cocky when they told us about his weaknesses." He chuckled to himself as he started to walk towards his teammates.

"Hey! You guys okay?!" He yelled down.

"Ugh, we're okay! Just...I think we need to lie down for a bit." Roy said.

Brawnz chuckled and looked back at Brandon who was currently walking in a nonchalant matter.

 _'That kids really something.'_ He thought to himself.

Though as the group was sitting in the stadium waiting for Penny and Ciel to arrive for their doubles match, Weiss's scroll started vibrate.

 _'Hmm? I swear if this is father again.'_ Weiss thought as she pulled out her scroll.

Though much to her surprise, it was actually her sister, Winter Schnee that was messaging her.

 **"Meet me at this location. I wish to speak with you before your next match."** Winter's message said.

 _'What in the world could she possibly want me for?'_ Weiss asked herself as she got up from her seat.

"Weiss? Where are you going? The match with Penny is about to start." Ruby said.

"I just need to go and talk with my sister. Don't worry, I'll be here for our match." She said.

"You better. Normally I'm the one who's late for e everything. I've got a reputation to uphold." Yang said.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! That's not a good reputation!" Weiss said.

"You're just jealous." She said.

The ice queen merely rolled her eyes and walked away from the group.

 **"Now that the second bonus round is completed, let's move on to our second doubles round of the day!"** Port said.

 **"Our second match of the day will be Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil vs Russel Thrush and Sky Lark!"** Oobleck said.

"Weiss better hurry. This won't take very long at all." Yang said.

* * *

 _'Just need to make a left turn here and...Here we are!'_ Weiss thought to herself as she arrived at the location Winter had sent her.

As she got closer and closer to the location Winter had sent her, she could see the specialist in question in the distance.

"Winter!" Weiss called out, causing Winter to turn her head towards her sister.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you decided to call me here. We have so much to catch up on!" She said.

"Yes we do. A lot has happened as of recently." Winter said as she started to walk inside the stone area of some sort.

As Weiss walked in, she could see that it was a rather fancy area, probably an area reserved for the V.I.P or staff.

"Come. Sit." She said.

Weiss nodded and sat in a chair directly across from Winter.

"So, how have you been? Our last conversation was cut short due to some...unfortunate events." She said.

"Well, I've been very well if I do say so myself." Weiss said.

"Is that so? Well, I'm dying to hear about your time here." Winter said.

"Anything specific?" She asked.

"Hmm...what about the friends you've made?" She asked.

"Well, there's my partner and leader, Ruby Rose. She was...interesting to say the least. I'll admit, I may have been a little...hard on her when we first met. Though I handled it like a mature woman." Weiss said.

 _'I'm just going to assume she threw one of her fits when she first met her.'_ Winter mused to herself.

"She may have grown a lot as a leader ever since our first days in Beacon, though she still has a long way to go before she could ever be considered a huntress." She said.

"I see. So what of your other teammates?" She asked.

"Well, there's my teammate Blake, and I will admit that things between us were a bit tense for a while." Weiss said.

"Why?" Winter asked.

"She...she was a Faunus." She said, feeling a little bad that she had to reveal Blake's secret.

"I see...though I'm sure that there is more to it than race." Winter said.

"That's a bit to personal. Let's just say we both had conflicting ideals." Weiss said.

"Hmm, very well. I will not force you to reveal the secrets of your comrades." She said.

"Thank you. Moving on, we have Yang, Ruby's older sister." She said.

"Older sister?" Winter asked.

"Right, I forgot to tell you, Ruby is only fifteen. Though I think she'll be turning sixteen fairly soon." Weiss said.

 _'Fifteen?! How in the world did she get into one of the most predigested academies two years early?!'_ She asked herself.

"She's...a bit of a loud mouth. She's more focused on how good she looks in a fight." She said.

"I see. So, what other friends have you made?" Winter asked.

"Well, there's Pyrrha. Who's the most patient person I've ever met. I mean, her partner and leader wasn't exactly the greatest fighter in the world." Weiss said.

"She was not selected to become team leader? Strange. If she is not the leader of her team then who is?" She asked.

"Jaune Arc. A rather...strange boy." She said.

 _'Strange. Let's go with that.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"At first I was baffled as to how he even got into this academy to begin with. Though over time I started to see his training with his partner, Pyrrha, pay off." She said.

"He was the one who had manipulation over plant life, correct?" Winter asked.

"Well, it's more of he can control the plants he creates. He can't control plants period." Weiss said.

"I see. What of the other two members of that team?" She asked.

"Well, there's Lie Ren, who's probably the most calm person I've ever met. Though he doesn't really have a lot of common sense. Then there's his partner, Nora, and she's...a person." She said.

"I see...and what of the other category?" Winter asked with a mischievous grin.

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.

"I'm talking about the more...romantic side of things." She said, causing Weiss's face to turn just as red as Ruby's hood.

"W-w-what?! What in the world makes you think I'm even looking for a relationship?!" Weiss asked.

"Well, I seriously doubt that most of the people you've come into contact with have been all female." Winter said.

"O-of course not! It's just that I haven't given much thought to it." She said.

"Well, who are some of the boys you have met during your time here in Beacon?" Winter asked.

"...Alright, I'll tell you. Though you have to promise me that you won't go and try to start something with them." Weiss said.

"I won't do anything to affect your friendship with these men." She said.

 _'...Well, not to much at least.'_ Winter said to herself.

"Well, there's team SSSN. A team I'm sure you've already seen in the tournament." Weiss said.

"I see. So you're more into the muscular type." She said.

"Winter!" She screamed.

"I'm joking. I'm joking." Winter said.

"Anyways. I wouldn't really deny that some of them are appealing to the eye. Though I wouldn't really see myself as anything more than friends with them for now." Weiss said.

"For now?" She asked.

"W-well I can't speak for my future self!" She said.

"True. Very true." Winter said.

"So, how long will you be staying?" Weiss asked.

"Originally I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale, as well as speak to Ironwood about a...special mission." She said.

 _'Special mission?'_ She asked herself.

"Our last shipment was lost to an ambush. I believe you had a run in with it's cargo actually. It was fortunate that those paladins were still in the prototype stage. Otherwise your team may not have so well." Winter said.

 _'Oh. They were just prototypes.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"Weiss." Her sister said as she placed her hand on her own. "You've done...well out here on your own. You should be proud." She said.

"Anyway's to answer your question. Due to this special mission I have accepted, I will be in Vale for a little while longer." Winter said.

"Really?!" Weiss asked.

"Yes. Though that means I won't be able to come home as often as I did back when you were still training." She said.

"Oh. Is that so?" She asked sadly.

"Well, orders are orders." Winter said.

"Yeah...so how have things back at home been?" Weiss asked.

"Same old same old I suppose. Though I will admit that it was quite amusing seeing fathers face the day you left for Beacon." She said.

"I can't wait to show him what I've learned." She said.

"Oh? And what do you think you've learned?" Winter asked.

"What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyph's, I've even started time dilation." Weiss said.

"And what of your summoning?" She asked.

"I...you know I can't." Weiss said.

"Don't be ridiculous. Every Schnee has the ability to summon. We have for generations." Winter said.

"I've tried! It's just...it's the one thing I'm having trouble with!" She yelled.

"We Schnee's are unique. Unlike many, our semblance is hereditary. But that doesn't mean it will come easily." She said as she summoned a glyph in her hand.

"Your semblance is like a muscle. The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it, then you will fail to test the limits of what you think is possible, and if you do that you will never truly grow." Winter said as she summoned a Beowolf behind her.

The glyph disappeared from the palm of her hand, as well as the Grimm she had summoned.

"Show me." Winter said.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Show me your summoning." She said.

"But I-!" She began.

"Weiss." Winter said sternly.

After a few seconds of silence, Weiss sighed and got up from her seat.

She unsheathed her weapon and summoned a glyph on the stone floor.

"Excellent form!" Winter complimented as she walked beside Weiss.

"Now think to your fallen foes! The ones that forced you to push yourself past who you were and become who you are now." She instructed.

"Think of them, and watch as they come to your side." Winter said as Weiss struggled a bit.

After a few seconds, the glyph started to flicker in and out of existence.

"I can't!" Weiss yelled as the glyph disappeared.

Winter whacked Weiss over the head with her right hand as a response.

"Stop doubting yourself!" She shouted.

"I'm trying!" She defended.

"If this is what you call trying, then you have no hope of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a Huntress!" Winter said.

"Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure father will give you a nice job as a receptionist." She said.

"I don't need his charity." Weiss said.

"But you do need his money, don't you?" Winter asked.

"What?! How did you know about that?!" She asked.

"Lucky guess." She said. "I may have been in a similar situation when I joined the military." Winter admitted.

"So what have you done this time?" She asked.

"Well, that's the thing. I'm really not sure. I went to pay for lunch the other day and my card didn't work." Weiss said.

"How embarrassing." Winter said in a dramatic tone.

"I know!" She said.

Winter's only response was to shake her head.

"...Well, it was! Why would he cut me off like that?!" Weiss asked.

"Perhaps so you'd stop avoiding him and call home." Winter said.

Weiss's only response was to scowl and attempt to summon her familiar once again.

Winter sighed and walked up to her sister, placing her hand on her shoulder.

"Emotions can grant you strength, but you must never let them overpower you." Winter said, causing the glyph to disappear.

"It sounds to me like you have two choices in front of you. You can call him, beg for his money back and explain once more why you want to study at Beacon over Atlas." Winter said.

"Either that or you could continue to explore Remnant. Discovering more about the world, and honestly, more about yourself." She said.

Though before they could continue the conversation they were having, the sound of Port's voice coming from the speakers cut them off.

 **"Will team NDGO please make their way to the stadium. Repeat, will team NDGO please make their way to the stadium."** He said.

"Hmm, it seems that the next bonus round is about to start." Winter said.

"Seems like it. Wonder how team NDGO will fair against Brandon." Weiss said.

"How would you make his name into a team name?" She asked.

"Wha-? Oh, no. It's just him and Caliber. Though I guess it would be just him considering Caliber hasn't been doing a whole lot ever since Brandon started to fight in the bonus rounds." She said.

"...You mean he's fighting teams all by himself?" Winter asked.

"Trust me, I was shocked to see it as well. Though he's actually been doing very well. Though I doubt he'll be able to keep up this winning streak for very long. He's already had to fight two tough matches back to back." Weiss said.

"Hmm, interesting. I will have to watch the recordings of the match once I get some free time like this." She said.

"It was good to talk to you again, dear sister. Though I'm afraid I must cut this conversation short." Winter said as she got up from her seat.

"We wouldn't want you to be late for your match now would we?" She asked.

"R-right. Of course not. It was good to see you again Winter." Weiss said.

"Indeed. Till next time, dear sister." Winter said as the two went there separate ways.

* * *

 **"And victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!"** Oobleck said.

"Like I said, won't take long at all." Yang said.

"Well, I guess we better start heading to the waiting rooms. Wish us luck with your friend down there." Nebula said as she and the rest of team NDGO walked off.

"Good luck! I'll be right back, I'm going to go and congratulate Penny!" Ruby said as she ran off.

After about ten minutes of waiting later, Yang started to get impatient.

"Hmm, wonder when Weiss is getting back. I don't want her to miss our match." Yang said.

"Sorry for the wait everyone." They heard Weiss's voice say.

"Jeez, it's about time you got here." She said. "What took you so long anyways?" She asked.

"Well, my sister just wanted to make up for lost time. I wasn't keeping track of the clock so I was a bit late." She said as she sat down in a chair next to Yang. "So what did I miss?" Weiss asked.

"For one, Penny and Ciel completely dominated Sky and Russel." Yang said.

"Big surprise." Weiss said.

"Yeah, and team NDGO just left to go and fight Brandon as well." She said.

"Hmm, well if the match really did end as fast as you said, then Brandon might be at a disadvantage here." She said.

"Yeah, he's probably still beat up after his fight with Brawnz." Blake said.

"Hey guys!" Ruby called over, Penny and Soleil right along side her.

"Oh! Hey Ruby! Hey Penny." Yang said.

"Salutations!" Penny said with a salute.

"Hmm, I think we've met before. Though I'm not sure where." Yang said.

"Ciel Soleil. We met at the highway." She said.

"Ah, right. Names-." Yang began.

"Yang Xiao Long. Seventeen. Hales from Patch. Member of team RWBY. Status...questionable." Ciel said.

"...Nice to meet you." She said.

"Pleasure." She said.

"That's-." Yang began.

"Blake Belladonna. Hales from Menagerie. Member of team RWBY. Status..." She began as she looked at Yang and Sun.

"Complicated." Ciel said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake asked.

"Do you have files on everyone you meet?" Yang asked.

"Well...almost everyone." Ciel said as she stared down at the stage.

"No, seriously. What does she mean by "complicated"?" Blake asked.

"Right, there's that weird thing with Brandon." Penny said.

"Wait, what weird thing with Brandon?" Weiss asked.

"Does she think I'm single or something?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter how hard or how long I look. I can't find any records of a "Brandon Kim" existing in Remnant." Ciel said.

"Wait, what?" Yang asked.

"Seriously! What does she mean by complicated?!" Blake asked.

"How is that possible? He had to have had some files to get into Beacon." Weiss said.

"That's just it. He has transcripts. Those are the only things I was able to find when it came to legal files. Anything else is just a mystery." Ciel said.

"I don't like how she looked at me, then at Sun, then at Yang, and then said complicated!" Blake said.

"Blake, _**come**_ on. It doesn't really matter." Yang said.

"Easy for you to say!" Blake said.

"Oh look! The match is about to start!" Ruby said as she sat down in one of the seats.

Blake grumbled to herself as she slouched down into her chair.

"She wants to know if you have unsolved sexual tension with those two." Penny whispered to Blake.

Blake's only response was to dig her hands into her face.

 **"Now it's time for the final bonus match of the day! Team NDGO vs the the victor of the last two matches, Brandon Kim!"** Port said.

"So, you must be Brandon." Nebula said.

"Uh, yeah?" He asked.

 _'Seriously. My name's been said twice now.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

"So, is it true that you actually have two souls?" Octavia asked.

"How'd you know about that?" He asked.

"Your friends told us about it." Dew said.

"Oh did they now?!" Brandon shouted as he turned his head towards the group, causing the people who knew about Caliber beforehand to whistle nervously.

"Jesus, I go through all the trouble of keeping it a secret and the people I do actually tell yammer about it to the whole world." He said dryly.

"If you don't mind, may we meet this second soul?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah? Can you guys like switch who controls your body or something?" Octavia asked.

"No, he has a physical body." Brandon said.

 _ **"Shall I introduce myself?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Sure. Go for it." He said.

Suddenly, Caliber appeared right beside Brandon in a burst of platinum flames.

"Whoa!" Nebula yelled as she stumbled back a bit.

 _ **"Good afternoon Madam. My name is Caliber. It is a honor to meet your acquaintance."**_ Caliber said with a bow.

"O-oh! Hello." Nebula said.

 _ **"What's the matter, my dear?"**_ He asked, causing a slight blush to form on Nebula's face.

"I-It's just that I didn't really expect you to come out of just like that. Just caught be off guard." She said.

 _ **"Terribly sorry. I did not mean to startle you with my entrance."**_ Caliber said.

"It's okay." She said.

"Hey, you guys are from Vacuo, right?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah?" Nebula said.

"Cool. I might give you a call in the near future." He said.

"Ooh, you're pretty bold with your approach. I like that in a man. No pickup lines, no suave and subtle things. Just straight to the point." Dew said.

"...Wait, what?! No that's not what I meant!" Brandon said.

"It's a nice change of pace. Most guys are always so flirtatious and try way to hard to be cool." Nebula said.

"I just said that isn't what I meant!" He yelled, his face starting to turn red.

"Oh, look! He's blushing. You know, it takes a real man to show his emotions the way you do." Gwen said.

"I'm not-! I don't-! S-shut up!" Brandon yelled, his face turning the same color as Ruby's cape.

"Hmm." Octavia hummed as she walked towards Brandon and narrowed her eyes.

She grabbed one of his arms and gave it a good squeeze.

"...Not bad. Not bad at all." She said.

 _'...Caliber. Remember how I said I don't want your help during these fights?'_ Brandon asked.

 _ **"Yes?"**_ He said from within his head.

 _'Well I'm tired from the last two fights. So I guess two out of three isn't so bad.'_ He said.

 _ **"Indeed."**_ Caliber said.

Though before they could continue there conversation, the stage hazards were selected for both sides.

On Brandon's side, it was a desert savanna, while team NDGO had a pure desert terrain.

"Alright! We've got a double advantage for this round!" Nebula said as she pulled out her weapon.

 _'Yeah, that won't last very long.'_ Brandon thought.

 **"3!"** Oobleck began.

 **"2!"** Port said.

 _ **"May the best combatant win, milady."**_ Caliber said with a bow.

 **"1!"** Oobleck said.

 **"Begin!"** They both yelled.

Brandon ran up to Octavia and whacked her across the chest with his sword.

As she went soaring through the air, Caliber appeared right above Octavia and struck her down with the chop of his arm.

"Octavia!" The remaining members of team NDGO yelled.

"Whoa! That was one hell of a hit!" Reese commented.

"It's about time he used Caliber." Yang said.

"Well, he is rather exhausted after two straight fights in a row. It's only natural that he would bring out Caliber to finish it up quickly." Blake said.

"Gah! Whew! That hurt!" Octavia said as she got up from the sand.

Though before the other members of team NDGO could react, Brandon shot one of his aura shots from his revolver at the center of the group, a platinum silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him.

"Scatter!" Nebula ordered, causing the members of team NDGO to go there separate ways.

Brandon charged towards Octavia with his sword at his side and the silhouette of Caliber behind him.

Octavia smirked and swung her blade, creating a small dust storm of some sort.

To avoid being blinded by the attack, he covered his eyes with his jacket, giving an opening for Caliber.

Brandon clenched his fist and punched Octavia across the cheek, the silhouette of Caliber appearing right behind him doing a similar attack motion.

 _'Jeez, how strong is this kid?!'_ Octavia asked herself as she sent another energy slash his way, though Brandon was able to counter the attack with a shot from his revolver.

Brandon quickly looked to his left to see Gwen throwing some of her knives at the swordsman.

"Caliber. Take care of that." He said.

Caliber appeared by his side and slashed all of the knives away with a sword of his own.

Brandon slashed his sword at Octavia, the silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him doing a similar motion.

As Octavia went sliding down the Brandon pulled out his revolver and shot a bullet at the girl, the silhouette of Caliber doing a similar motion with a revolver of his own.

Though the girl in red wasn't done with him yet. She came from a top of the sand dune and swung a her sword at the boy multiple time, creating multiple energy slashes his way.

While he was able to shoot the three down, this meant he had used up all of the bullets his gun had, leaving him open for an attack from Octavia.

The two started to exchange blows with one another, each showing expertise in their craft. Though Brandon had a few more tricks up his sleeve. He wasn't just good in swordsmanship, he was also good when it came to hand to hand combat.

As Octavia went to strike down Brandon, he quickly parried the attack and dug his fist into her chest, the silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him.

 **"Ooh, what a well executed counter by Mr. Kim. Octavia is knocked out of the tournament due to aura level."** Oobleck said.

"Heh, nice one hot shot." Octavia said as she collapsed to the ground.

"Don't make me throw you out of the arena." Brandon said as he walked away from the red headed girl.

"Damn! Dew! Gwen! With me!" Nebula ordered.

"On it." She said as she started to run beside her leader.

The swords man looked to his right to see the three women forming some sort of position for an attack.

"Ready?" Nebula asked.

"Ready!" They both said.

"Go!" She ordered.

Gwen threw one of her special knives onto the floor, the center of the blade glowing with various different auras due to the various different types of dust infused into the knife.

"Already bringing out the big guns aren't we?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, let's see you counter this attack." Nebula challenged.

"I'll take that challenge." He said with a cocky smirk.

Dew started to form a small tornado around the knife, the wind starting to turn various colors.

After a few seconds, Dew formed a massive dust tornado with the help of Gwen's dust knife.

The girl in green swung her staff towards the swords man, causing the tornado to slowly move towards him.

Brandon covered his eyes in attempts to prevent the sand from getting into his eyes, though this left him open for the tornado's attack.

He was sucked into the tornado and was thrown across the stadium, sparks and flames emanating off of his body.

While the three remaining members of team NDGO were certain that this would throw him out of the ring, Cailber appeared behind him and caught him with his right hand.

"Damn it." Nebula swore.

Brandon dusted himself off and ran towards the tall grass of the savanna, cutting off the vision of the remaining three members of team NDGO.

"Split up. He couldn't have gone far." Nebula said as she and the rest of her team started to run into the tall grass.

They slowly started to walk around the grass, each of their senses honed to the core.

"Damn, where'd he go?" Dew asked.

Team NDGO were hoping to find at least a small trace of their enemy from within the grass. Though it almost seemed as if he disappeared from sight.

"He could strike from anywhere." Nebula said before an idea struck in her head.

"Gwen! Use one of your knives to burn the grass away!" Nebula said.

"Are you sure that would be safe?" She asked.

"If he's smart he'll get out of the grass before the fire can spread." She said.

Gwen was a little hesitant but nodded and pulled out a fire dust knife from her dress.

Though before she could throw it at the grass, Brando quickly emerged and had Caliber grab the leg of Gwen.

"Wah!" The dancer yelped as she held her dress down, preventing the contexts of what was under from being revealed.

"Gwen!" Dew and Nebula yelled as they pointed there weapons at Brandon.

"Let her go!" Dew ordered.

"Okay." Brandon said as he started to swing Gwen around at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Catch!" He yelled as he threw Gwen at the members of team NDGO. While Nebula was able to dodge the oncoming attack, Gwen hit Dew directly in the gut.

"Gah!" She gasped as the two were sent flying out of the arena.

 **"It seems that Gwen and Dew have both been knocked out of the arena!"** Oobleck said.

Nebula looked back at her fallen teammates then back at Brandon.

The leader chuckled and fired her crossbow at the mountain, a rope appearing from the other end of the arrow.

She pulled another trigger and started to move towards the area where she had shot her arrow.

Brandon narrowed his eyes and ran after the leader of team NDGO.

The swordsman eventually made it to the top of the mountain and met the leader of the team face to face.

With the click of a button, her crossbow immediately switched into it's sword form.

"So...hey there." Nebula greeted as she swung her sword at Brandon.

"Yo." Brandon said as he dodged the girls strikes.

"Yeah, sorry about earlier. We didn't really mean to embarrass you the way we did." She said as she started to rapidly swing her sword at Brandon.

"Meh." Brandon said with a shrug as she dodged another flurry of strikes Nebula threw at him.

"So you're not angry?" Nebula asked.

"Bit annoyed. Though not angry." He said.

"Really?! That's a relief." She said as she swung her sword at Brandon once again, though he pulled out his own blade to block the attack. "So if you don't mind me asking, why exactly did you want to know if we were from Vacuo?" Nebula asked.

"I'm looking for a few people." Brandon said.

"Really? Who? I might know where they are." She said as she swept her leg under Brandon's feet.

"Doubt it." He said as he jumped up in the air to dodge the attack.

"Oh come on. I might." Nebula said as she threw her fist at Brandon.

"Well, you ever see someone else with powers like mine?" Brandon asked as he blocked the attack.

"You mean there are other people with spirits like you?" Nebula asked.

"I'll take that as a you don't know." He said.

"Yeah. Sorry. You're the first guy I've met with two souls." She said as she fired a few arrows at Brandon.

"It's fine. Didn't think you'd know, and to answer your question, yes, there are a total of twelve of us." He said as he dodged her attacks.

"Wow, twelve?" Nebula asked.

"Yep. Besides, that isn't the only reason I'll be calling you." Brandon said as he punched Nebula across the face.

"Ow! Then why did you ask then?" She asked, rubbing the area where Brandon had punched her.

"I'm gonna need a few extra fighters for the future, and you girls seem pretty capable." He said.

"Oh! Well thank you." Nebula said.

"I can also tell that you didn't use every card you had in this tournament." Brandon said.

"Heh, that obvious huh?" She asked.

"Yeah. So we'll definitely see each other in the near future. Though for now, we'll have to go our separate ways." He said.

"Wait, wha-?!" Nebula began, only for Brandon to punch her directly in the gut, Caliber appearing behind him doing a similar motion.

 **"And that's the match! The final member of team NDGO, Nebula, has been eliminated from the tournament due to aura level! Making Brandon Kim the winner of the bonus rounds!"** Port said.

Caliber appeared above Nebula and picked her up bridal style.

 _ **"Allow me, milady."**_ Caliber said as he started to float down the mountain.

Brandon rolled his eyes and followed the spirit down the mountain.

Once they were on the ground, Caliber placed Nebula gently onto the ground, the other members of team NDGO running towards their leader.

"Later." Brandon said as he started to walk away from the group.

"You okay Nebula?" Dew asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit sore from that punch." She said, rubbing the area where Brandon punched.

"So, how was your talk with your boyfriend?" She asked.

"Shut it Dew." Nebula said.

"Though I don't think that this will be the last time we see him. When it comes to after this tournament that is." Nebula said.

"Why's that?" Octavia asked.

"I'm not really sure. Just a feeling is all." Nebula said.

"Well, looks like Brandon won the bonus rounds." Yang said.

 **"Will Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long of Beacon, and Neon Katt and Flynt Coal of Atlas please make their way to the stadium?"** They heard Port request.

"Well, guess that's our cue." Yang said as she and Weiss started to head towards the stadium.

"Jeez, was that seriously the same guy we fought?" Reese asked.

"I know, it was almost as if there was an entirely different force behind his blows." Arslan said.

"So he was holding back some of his strength. Next time we meet I'm gonna make him go all out." Brawnz said.

"I wouldn't if I were you. You don't really feel to well afterwards." Jaune said, causing the group who had hands on experience with Caliber to nod.

"Heh, that's what makes fighting so much fun. No matter what pain you take, you always get stronger afterwards." He said.

"Well, guess you have a point there." He said.

 **"The final match of the day will begin in fifteen minutes."** Port said.

After five minutes of waiting, team NDGO eventually met up with the group.

"Hey guys." Nebula said.

"Hey! You're back!" Sun said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sage asked.

"Well, we are a bit sore after that fight, though overall we're fine." Dew said.

"Yeah, that kid may be tough but that spirit is on a whole different level." Octavia said.

After about ten more minutes of waiting, Yang and Weiss arrived at the arena.

"Well, now it's our turn." Yang said.

"Just remember to keep proper form." Weiss said.

"Alright. You're from Atlas, what should we expect?" She asked.

"Well, seeing as their kingdom, academy, and armed forces are all merged as one. I think we can expect strict militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies." Weiss said, though before she could continue to tell Yang about what they could expect, a rainbow flew past them, a long with an unfamiliar Faunus girl.

She was a young girl with a light complexion. She had green eyes and moderate red-orange hair done up in four ponytails with light blue streaks in her bangs. As a feline Faunus, her physical trait is that of a cat tail covered with pink fur that becomes lighter toward the tip.

The girls outfit has a large range of bright colors. She wears a light blue cropped tank top on top of a dark purple bra, dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt and white belt with a yellow winking smiley face on the buckle. Two buttons are fixed to her tank top above her right breast, one purple with a cat design and another green one with a heart.

She also has a white cat bell collar around her neck, a pair of bracers on her arms and pads on her shins and knees. She wears red roller blades, which she also uses to move around. A tattoo of a shooting star with a red, green and yellow trail winds around her right arm.

She skated right next to her supposed partner, a young, dark-skinned man with dark brown eyes. He wore rectangular sunglasses and a dark fedora with a blue trim on his head, as well as an earring on his right ear.

He also wore a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt, with a loose tie wrapped around the collar. Completing his attire is a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes and a dark glove on his left hand.

"Or...whatever they are." Weiss said.

"Hey." The boy called out, causing Weiss to turn towards the man.

"You're Weiss Schnee right? The heiress." He said.

"I am. You are?" She asked.

"Flynt Coal." Flynt said as he tipped his hat as a form of greeting.

"I take it you're pretty good with dust." He said.

"I do my best." Weiss said.

"Yeah, my dad was good to. Owned a little dust shop of his own. Until your fathers company ran him out of business." Flynt said.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." She said.

"Sure you are." The well dressed boy said in a dry tone.

"Hey! Why don't you just-!" Yang began.

"Hey! Why don't you just!" The girl mimicked.

"...Uh?" She began.

"That's what you sound like!" She said.

"...Who-?" Yang began.

"I'm Neon. You know I've gotta ask, where did you get your hair extensions?" Neon asked.

"This is just my natural hair." She said.

"Oh really?" She asked.

"Yeah, is that a pro-?!" Yang began, starting to get slightly annoyed at the girls antics.

"You should try rollerblading sometime. It's super fun! It'd probably take you a while though since your so...you know, top heavy." Neon said.

 _'...Oh she did not just go there!'_ Yang thought to herself.

Though before Neon could throw any more taunts at the girl, the stage hazards were selected.

 **"3!"** Port began, causing Weiss and Yang to get into their combat positions.

 **"2!"** Oobleck said.

 **"1!"** Port said, causing Flynt to take a deep breath and for Neon to get into a running position.

 _'What are they doing?'_ Both Yang and Weiss asked themselves.

 **"Begin!"** They said, causing Flynt to blow into his trumpet, sonic waves coming out of the instrument.

Weiss and Yang had to cover there ears due to the sheer volume of the blast.

Neon dived into the sound waves and kicked Yang across the arena, while Weiss used a glyph to keep herself on the ground.

Flynt blew into his trumpet once again, causing Weiss to use even more glyph's in attempts to close the gap.

The boy stopped playing his trumpet, causing Weiss to stumble forward.

Flynt took this opportunity to kick Weiss across the back and into the lava area.

Meanwhile, Yang was attempting to shoot down Neon with her weapons, though she was having little to no effort due to how fast and mobile she was. **  
**

As Neon started to dodge each of Yang's attacks, she started to taunt her by making various faces at her.

Yang growled and took a deep breath before exhaling.

 _'Just don't let it get to you.'_ She thought to herself.

Neon started to jump from building to building as she dodged each and everyone of Yang's shots.

"Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat." She muttered to herself as she charged towards Yang.

As she zoomed past the blonde brawler, she started to rapidly whack her with her weapon.

 _'Just don't let it get to you!'_ Yang thought to herself as she cocked her weapons.

Neon smirked and bent her weapons, causing them to turn a light shade of blue.

As she zoomed past Yang, she formed a little ice block around her leg.

"Heh heh, look! Now you're bottom heavy to!" Neon taunted.

 _'...Just! Don't! Let it! Get to you!'_ She internally seethed as she broke free from the ice.

Though just as she broke free, Neon whacked her arm, freezing it in the process.

Before Yang could react, Neon dug both of her skates into Yang's stomach, sending her flying towards a building.

"You should cool off...get it? Because you're angry." Neon said.

 _'...Okay. Baby steps I guess.'_ Yang said as she broke the ice block that was formed on her arm.

Meanwhile, Weiss was using her glyph's to summon various icicles to throw at Flynt.

Though the trumpet playing boy blew his instrument at an erupting volcano, causing the icicles to melt in mid air.

"To bad all that money can't buy you skill." Flynt said, causing Weiss's anger to rise.

She switched her element to wind and a mini tornado started to come out of her rapier, though Flynt was easily able to block the attack with an attack of his own.

Weiss summoned various glyph's around the boy, causing numerous icicles to shoot out and hit the poor boy. Weiss was also using the trajectory of the glyph's to maneuver around his attacks.

Flynt smirked and started to play his trumpet once again, though this time, four Flynts of various colors came out.

Weiss, overwhelmed by the sudden attack, was blown back into the desert area.

 **"What this?"** Port asked.

 **"It appears young Flynt has just activated his Semblance, and it's quite the remarkable one at that. Ladies and Gentlemen, feast your eyes on Flynt Coal's** **Killer Quartet."** Oobleck said.

As Flynt started to walk towards Weiss, the three clones that appeared next to Flynt started to disappear.

Meanwhile, Yang was still doing her best to strike down Neon, though she was having no luck.

"Ooh! Flashy eyes! You know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry." Neon said.

"Will you just shut up already?!" Yang yelled as she launched herself in the direction of Neon.

Flynt was about to deliver the final blow to Weiss, though he looked to his right to see that Yang was wide open for an attack.

"Get back here!" Yang yelled.

"I wasn't trying to say you should go on a diet. I was saying you really need to go on a diet!" Neon said.

"You son of a-!" Yang screamed.

"You're fat." She said.

"...That is it!" She yelled.

Flynt used his semblance and aimed each one of his clones at Yang.

Weiss growled and tacked the boy into a near by volcano, causing it to erupt.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Weiss!" Ruby, Neptune and Blake yelled.

 **"It appears we have a double knockout on our hands!"** Port said.

 **"In fact it looks as though Ms. Schee's aura has been completely depleted! She sacrificed herself to take out Flynt."** Oobleck said.

 **"Wait a minute... what's this?!"** He asked.

Sure enough, Flynt was still standing even after the affects of the blast.

 **"Ladies and Gentlemen! Flynt Coal remains standing!"** Port said.

"You did it, Flynt! Don't worry about her, she's easy." Neon said.

"But kinda annoying." She whispered.

 **"Ooh, it looks like Yang's angry! And you wouldn't like her when she's-."** Port began.

"Rghaa!" Yang screamed.

 **"Upset."** He said.

Yang started to fire attack after attack at the duo, each one making a small explosion.

"Yo, Neon, go!" Flynt said as he blew into his trumpet.

Yang used her weapons to project herself forward, throwing punch after punch at Neon as they clashed in the wave of sound.

She managed to escape the sound wave and shot a shotgun bullet at Flynt's feet, making him lose his balance and catching Neon off guard.

As Neon attempted to regain her momentum, Yang rushed forward and charged at Flynt.

The boy used his semblance in attempts to shatter the blonde's aura, though she was able to get him into his range before he could.

Yang stuck her finger into the trumpet, causing the sound to come out of the other end.

 **"Ouch! A sour note for Flynt!"** Port said.

 _'Don't really know how that worked but whatever.'_ Yang thought to herself as turned towards Neon.

The cat attempted to regain her balance, though she eventually fell down the rocky hill and into a geyser.

Yang smirked and fired one last shot at Neon, causing her aura to hit the red.

As soon as Yang calmed down, she ran over to her fallen friend.

"Weiss! Are you okay?" Yang asked.

Weiss started to cough, smoke coming out of her mouth as she did.

"I may not be singing for awhile." She said in a dry and raspy voice.

"...You know, I'm not sure that was proper form." Yang said.

"Oh, ha, h-!" She began, only to go into another coughing fit.

"What?!" They heard Neon yell.

"We lost?! We lost?! Team FNKI lost?!" She asked herself.

"That was... That was... amazing!" Neon said.

"Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy awesome! We should definitely party together sometime! Right, Flynt?" Neon asked.

"That was a gutsy move, Schnee. I dig it." Flynt said.

"T-thank yo-!" She began, only to once again go into another coughing fit.

"Weiss!" They heard Ruby yell.

Yang and Weiss turned their heads to see Ruby, Blake, and Neptune running towards them.

"We should party after this! You in?" Neon asked as she held out her hand.

"...Yeah." Yang said as she as she gripped the Faunu's hand tightly.

"Ow! You're hurting my hand!" Neon yelled as she gripped Yang just as tightly.

"I'm hurting your hand?! You're hurting my hand!" She yelled.

"Let go!" She yelled.

"I'm trying! You let go!" Yang yelled.

Flynt walked up to Weiss and held out his hand.

"Here, let me-." He began, only for Neptune to pick up Weiss bridal style.

"N-Neptune?!" She asked.

Neptune merely handed Weiss a bottle of water and started to walk away from the group.

Though he quickly looked back at Flynt and mouthed the words "I'm watching you.".

"...Was it something I said?" Flynt asked.

* * *

"Well, this was certainly an eventful day." Cinder said as she sat on a bed while Mercury and Emerald were busy doing there own little thing.

"Yeah, felt good to be in the ring again." Mercury said as he kept doing his push ups.

"Then it will certainly feel good when the first phase of our plan goes underway." She said.

"You know it." He said with a cocky smirk.

"And with the new information I've gather from our little spy, this will be much more easier than I though." Cinder said.

"Easier? How so?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, you'll find out. It will just take a little...alteration to the current plan." She said.

"Jeez, with all these alterations you'd think we'd have a whole new plan." Mercury said.

"While we may have run into some...unfortunate complications. It is nothing that couldn't be fixed. We just had to get our hands a little dirty is all." Cinder said.

"So, how exactly did Roman manage to convince the headmaster to give him a job here?" He asked.

"He had to reveal a few things." She said.

"Anything major?" Emerald asked.

"Hardly. Even if he had told them now it would be too late. Our plan is mere moments away from succeeding." Cinder said.

"So, still going through with our regularly scheduled program?" Mercury asked.

"Yes. Though this time, there will be a few surprises for our enemies." She said.

Though before Emerald and Mercury could continue to question their boss, her scroll started to vibrate.

"Who's that?" He asked as Cinder took out her scroll.

"It's Roman. We're supposed to meet tonight. It's a message saying he has arrived at the meeting point." She said.

"So what do we do?" Mercury asked.

"For now, I want you two to return to your quarters." Cinder said.

"Alright. Been wanting to hit the sack ever since that fight with the big guy." He said as he got up and walked towards the door.

"Good night." Emerald said, following her partner out of the door.

"So, days coming fast. Exciting isn't it?" He asked.

"I guess so. It's a bit nerve wrecking. I mean, what if we mess up?" Emerald asked.

"Meh, I don't like to dwell on the what if's, the more you think about it, the more likely you are to fail." Mercury said.

"Guess so." She said.

Though as they arrived at the door to their room, Brandon was standing there with a serious look in his eyes.

"Oh, sup dude. What are you doing he-?" Mercury began, only for Brandon to place a scroll against his chest and walked away.

"Here." he finished.

.

.

"What just happened?" Emerald asked.

Mercury shrugged and walked into the room of their dorm room.

"What did he give you?" She asked.

"Hmm, it's a scroll. Though there's a note attached to it." Mercury said as he pulled the note off of the scroll.

 **"Play this if you want to know the truth."** Was all it said.

"The truth? The truth to what?" Emerald asked.

Mercury looked at the scroll with a suspicious look in his eyes, though eventually opened the scroll.

"It's a recording." Mercury said.

"Of what?" She asked.

"How the hell should I know?" He asked.

"Hmm." Emerald hummed.

"...Should we play it?" Mercury asked.

"...Sure. Why not. Brandon wouldn't just give us something and just walk away." She said.

"Yeah, guess that's true." He said as he pressed the play button.

 **"So why tell me all this?"** They heard Roman's voice say.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode six of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the sixth episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 6 thoughts**

 **So, this episode starts off with Qrow looking for extra huntsmen, though from the looks of it he wasn't able to find even one. So I think that it is safe to assume that the huntsmen that Qrow was trying to find are already long gone.**

 **It was a very depressing start to the story. At first it looks like Qrow was just hunting down people and they we're either just to busy, or just didn't want to put up with him at all.**

 **That is, until the scene with the little girl and her father.**

 **That's when all the pieces come together.**

 **To explain, Qrow was trying to seek help. Going around to house to house in attempts to find the huntsmen that were listen in his little list. Eventually, that led him to the house and he learned the truth.**

 **So when he went to the message board, or the job board, he saw that all the huntsmen that were sent out have been sent to their deaths. This is most likely thanks to Salem and Leo, and how Salem has been manipulating Leo to do these things.**

 **Now let's talk about my personal favorite part of the episode. Raven and Yang's talk...and I guess Weiss was there to.**

 **Anyways, while I didn't get all of the questions answered, I was satisfied with what I got.**

 **For one, I think I can get more of an idea as to why Raven and Qrow can turn into birds.**

 **It's not apart of their semblance's, it was stated in this episode that it wasn't part of their semblance.**

 **Due to what Ozpin said a few episodes back, I think that this is a curse that Raven and Qrow got.**

 **From what Raven was saying, Ozpin had at least some involvement with how they got this curse.**

 **Then there's the scene with Ruby, Weiss and Yang...I'll leave that for your own viewing pleasure. It was very heartwarming.**

 **Review Response**

 **GOH426: Glad to hear. I do want the volume three teams to have more of a role in the story.**

 **GOH426: Total, ten have been revealed, making this the second to last trailer.**

 **Aragon365: Well he's not here yet. Though he will be eventually.**

 **Donovan: Well, I think it would be pretty sad...because Sienna Khan couldn't enjoy it...because she's dead.**

 **myfunvideos: No. Not Reinhardt from overwatch. They may have similar names, though they are two entirely different characters. Just because they have similar names doesn't mean I'm mixing elements.**

 **Donovan: Unfortunately, he couldn't appear in this tournament, though that doesn't mean he won't appear in the future of this story.**

 **SPDefender: No, they're two separate people, just with similar names.**

 **alertpoet91: Well, here's another cliff hanger because I know how much you guys love those.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Probably not.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Not Thor.**

 **CraazyReader: Perhaps. Perhaps.**

 **Raidentensho: Nope. No Semblance for Brandon. He uses contracts instead.**

 **DragonLord501st: No, different guy.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Thanks.**

 **Terminatis: Here ya go.**

 **Bulletproof Vanguard: Okay.**

 **BloodyAngelWolf: Well I've been meaning to refine the other chapters when it comes to quality.**

 **GOH426: Yep. Brandon is the only one.**

* * *

"Hmm, two hundred and ninety eight, two hundred and ninety nine, and, three hundred." A man said as he sat in a chair behind the counter.

The person sitting was completely wrapped in some sort of gear designed to traverse the sand of Vacuo, so every part of the figures skin was completely concealed.

"Here ya go." The boss said as he handed the figure a bag of some sort.

"You know, they don't normally sell these in the markets. These things aren't exactly safe for the public if you catch my drift, so the price is mighty-." He began, only for an axe to fly past his face.

"What in the-?! Are you trying to kill me or something?!" He asked.

The figure merely opened the bag to reveal a half filled bag of the materials they asked for.

"Alright, you made your point. Give em the rest of it." The man said, causing the two guards to nod and hand the figure two more bags.

"There, you got what you asked for. Now go already." The man said, causing the figure to nod and walk out of the office.

"Bring in our next client." The man ordered.

As the figure walked down the street corner, a group of men were watching them from the background.

"Looks like they got the material." The man said.

"Good. They'll catch a high price in the markets. You got the men ready?" The man behind him asked.

"All set boss. Just waiting on you." He said.

"Heh heh, good." He said as he pulled out a revolver of some sort.

"Let's go." He ordered.

The figure in question started to sniffle, gripping the pair of axe's they wielded. They quickly turned a corner, causing the group of men to follow the figure in question.

"I think he knows we're here." He said.

"Corner him. There's ten of us and only one of him. We out number him by default." He said.

The man nodded and took out his scroll.

The figure sniffled once again and turned another corner, causing the men waiting for them to move forward.

Once they were retain that they had cornered, they all charged forward with their weapons unsheathed and ready.

"Ha! We've got you...now?" The boss said, though as he turned the corner the figure was nowhere to be seen.

"W-what the-?! Where did he go?!" the boss asked.

Meanwhile, a couple of yards away from the city of Vacuo, the figure could be seen coming out of a hole they had dug so that they could escape from the trap the men had laid for them.

The figure took of the gear they were wearing on there head, short brown hair falling down as the woman dusted the sand out of her hair.

Once all of the sand was off of her cloths and hair, she snapped her fingers, causing a armored spirit to appear in an inferno of fire from the spirit realm.

The spirit wrapped itself around it's user and tunneled deep into the underground.

* * *

 **Unknown Faunus**

 **Race: Faunus**

 **Trait: Mole**

 **Weapon: Axe's**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 184 lbs**

 **Age: 28**

 **Outfit: Unknown**

 **Handedness:** **Ambidexterity**

 **Complexion: Tanned**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Eye color: Grey**

 **Aura Color: Sand**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Perun**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 103**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 71**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 50**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 27**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	61. Assassins Pride

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World.** **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Assassins Pride"

Thought: _'Assassins Pride'_

Flashback: _"Assassins Pride"_

Mercury held the scroll in his hands and pressed the play button, starting the recording that Brandon had given them.

 **"So why tell me all this?"** They heard the voice of Roman ask through the recording.

"Torchwick?" Emerald asked.

 **"Pardon?"** They heard the voice of Cinder ask, causing the two to look at the scroll in shock.

"C-Cinder?!" Emerald said.

They weren't even a couple of seconds into the recording, and they were already confused beyond belief.

 _'What the hell is going on?'_ They both thought.

 **"About the relics, about your boss, and about your goal. Why tell me all this when I can easily just rat you out for all this?"** He asked.

"...Okay, I only know what one of those things are. What's this about relics and bosses? I thought Cinder was only in this for herself." Mercury said as he turned towards Emerald.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what she's talking about either." She said.

 **"I think we both know what will happen if you open your mouth."** She said with a glare. **"Besides, you could be useful to our cause later in the future. You have the connections, the smarts, and the cunning needed for our cause. You didn't just get the name of most feared criminal in Vale for nothing."** Cinder said.

"I thought Cinder was gonna off Roman once we were done." Mercury said.

"That's what she told us." Emerald said.

 **"We have common goals, you and I. We both want to see this world change for the better."** She said.

"Right. The utopia that Cinder speaks of. The new world." Emerald said.

"Weird that she never talks about it. You'd think she'd tell us about the idea we're fighting for." Mercury said.

 **"Do the two brats know about all this?"** Roman asked.

"Apparently not, for some reason." Mercury growled, not to happy that he was being held in the dark.

"I'm sure Cinder has her reasons for not telling us." Emerald said.

 **"They don't need to know about the relics. Nor do they need to know of who I am working for."** She said.

"See? She has her reasons." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. There's still more, let's keep going." Mercury said.

 **"Well, you told me all that just a second ago. Why not tell your two henchmen or whatever you call them?"** He asked.

"We're her trusted comrades, not some mercenaries for hi-." Emerald began.

 **"Because they are only temporary."** Cinder said.

.

.

"Rewind that." Mercury said.

"I-I think we should just move on." Emerald said.

"Like hell I'm just gonna move on after hearing that!" He said as he snatched the scroll out of her hands.

 **"Because they are only temporary."** Cinder said.

"J-just let the recording-." She began.

 **"Because they are only temporary."** Mercury played again.

"S-stop it." Emerald said.

 **"Because they are only temporary."** The assassin played once again.

"S-stop it!" She yelled.

 **"Because they are only-."** He began to play, only for Emerald to smack the scroll out of his hands.

"I said stop!" She screamed, Cinder's words echoing in her mind over and over again.

Mercury clenched his fist and walked over to the scroll.

"There's more." He said.

After Emerald got herself together, she looked over at Mercury.

"P-play it." Emerald said.

The assassin nodded and hit the play button once again.

 **"Their skills and abilities are only required to obtain the Maidens power. The day we took half of Amber's power was supposed to be their last ones, I wasn't intending to keep them around after that. Though as you can see things didn't go as planned."** She said.

Mercury growled, his fist getting even tighter than before.

Emerald on the other hand refused to believe what she was actually hearing, wanting to believe that this was just some sick joke that Brandon was playing on them.

 **"Mercury is to rebellious for my liking. If he rebelled against his father then their was a chance he will rebel against me as well. That is a gamble I do not intend to make."** Cinder said.

 _'After hearing this? You can bet your ass I am.'_ Mercury thought.

 **"Not only that but he lacks drive, he merely fights because he get's a certain level of enjoyment out of it."** She said.

 **"What about Emerald? She's pretty loyal to you."** Roman said.

 **"You forget one thing Roman. I don't need anyone. All I need is to become powerful."** Cinder said.

 _"You will question everything you know."_ She remembered Cinder telling her that day.

 _"This...This is impossible."_ Emerald remembered saying when she saw the things that Cinder was capable of.

 _'It's not true.'_ She said to herself.

 **"The hell's the deal with your desire with power?"** He asked.

 **"Is it wrong for one to desire strength?"** She asked.

 **"No, but you have a borderline obsession."** Roman said.

Mercury was close to breaking the scroll in his hand.

 **"My reasons are none of your concern."** Cinder said.

 **"Fine, though what about those kids? After this is all over what are you gonna know with them?"** He asked.

 **"Since when were you ever concerned with their well being?"** She asked.

 _"I wish to take on an apprentice. If you'd like, you could come with me. Help me achieve our utopia. You can be a part of the new world."_ Cinder offered her.

 _'After everything we've been through. After everything we've done?'_ Emerald asked herself.

 **"I'm not. Though I am curious as to what you're gonna do to them after you get the other half of the Maidens power."** Roman said.

 **"I'll kill them. They already know to much as it is, leaving them alive with the information I have given would be foolish."** She said. **"They are but mere stepping stones for me in order to gain my rightful power."** Cinder said.

 _"Follow me, and you'll never be hungry again."_ She remembered her saying.

The recording cut off after that, leaving the two to process what they had just heard.

"...So, that's it huh? We were just tools is all. She wasn't interested in saving us. Only using us." Mercury said.

"It-it can't be true. After everything we've done?" Emerald asked.

"Then what was that we just heard? Some sort of joke?!" He asked.

"It has to be. Why would-?" She began.

"Wake up!" Mercury shouted.

"You heard what she said! Every word we just heard was out of her own mouth, and have you heard of Cinder ever making a joke before?!" He asked.

"..." The green haired thief was on the verge of tears at this point.

"Every word, every promise she made to us. It was all just part of one big lie." Mercury said.

"..."

"You heard it, she was just using us to gain the other half of this Maidens power. The only reason we're alive today is because she didn't get all of it." He said.

"..."

"Nothing?" Mercury asked.

Emerald just sat on her bed, her legs up against her chest.

"So, what now?" He asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Her muffled voice ask.

"Because I'm drawing blanks here." Mercury said.

"..."

"The finals are coming around. That's when the plan really starts." He said.

"Yeah, I know. The White Fang member was able to hack into the randomization system. So now you'll be fighting the blonde one, and Nikos will be fighting the android." Emerald said.

"Yeah, that's the plan." Mercury said.

"We're supposed to trick the blonde one into thinking you're attacking her, and knowing her she's gonna retaliate." She said.

"I know what the plan involves, I'm just wondering whether or not we should go through with it or not." He said.

"What?" Emerald asked.

"What's the point? I mean, if what the recording Brandon gave us is true then she's just gonna kill us in the end." Mercury said.

"But why? Why would she do this? After everything we've been through. I though...I thought." She attempted to say.

"Hell if I know." The assassin said.

"After everything, all the promises she made to us. We were supposed to be apart of the utopia she was going to build." Emerald said.

"...Hold on, you actually believe all that crap?!" He asked.

"Why wouldn't I? She showed us the impossible before, and we've only continued to be shown the impossible more and more." She said.

"Look, I believe in a world with magical Maidens, Grimm controlling super humans, and spirits, I do. Though this, a utopia?" Mercury asked.

"What makes you think she's lying about this of all things?" Emerald asked.

"I don't think she's lying! Though the concept of a utopia, a place where everyone is happy and sings kumbaya is impossible!" He said.

"Well do you have any better idea's?! You and I weren't exactly in the best of places when Cinder found us, and we've only been making our own grave deeper! So if you have any better suggestions then I'm all ears!" Emerald yelled.

"Yeah! Hit the road before she get's the chance to off us!" He said.

"As if she'd let us live then. It would basically be the same as signing the death warrant." She said.

"So what?! We're just supposed to fight for her?! Even though we know that we're just going to die in the end!" Mercury said.

"It's better than running away like a coward!" Emerald said.

"So what, you'd rather fight for her knowing that she's just gonna throw us aside like trash?" He asked.

"I'd rather live fighting for something than live another day fighting for nothing!" She yelled.

"Well, I'd rather fight for nothing than fight for a lie." Mercury said.

"So, this is it huh? You just gonna up and leave without saying a word?" Emerald asked.

"Heh, I'm not stupid. I know that if I run now, I won't get very far. I'd say I'd have a few days before Cinder sends someone to either capture or kill me." He said.

"Then what now?" She asked.

"How should I know? It's not like I've got anywhere else to go. Destroyed the only home I ever had. Sure it may have been a piece of crap, but it was the best I was gonna get." Mercury said.

"So what are you saying?" Emerald asked.

"I'm saying that it doesn't really matter what we do. In the end she's just gonna off us." He said.

"..."

"Yeah, sucks doesn't it?" Mercury said.

"So, what now?" Emerald asked.

"Hell if I know. The plan starts tomorrow, so does my fight with Yang." He said.

"So, we still go with it?" She asked.

"Until I can think of something else then I guess." Mercury said.

"You really think there's a chance of survival?" Emerald asked.

"No, but we're already in pretty deep. Might as well finish what we started." He said as he started to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm going for a walk. I need some air after all this." Mercury said as he started to walk out of the door.

Emerald just stood there in silence, while she wanted to believe that there was a chance that what Cinder said about them was a lie, with what she heard from the scroll, it wasn't looking good for her.

* * *

 **My POV**

Well, step one is complete. What step two will involve will all depend on what how Mercury and Emerald respond.

If they choose to join me, then automatically that makes two of the major events leading up to the Fall a lot less likely to happen.

Though if they choose to stay with Cinder, for some reason, then first I would seriously question there intelligence, and secondly, I would have to make sure that at least one of those events didn't happen.

Sure it involves throwing Yang under the bus here, though to be honest, Emerald isn't one to fall for the same trick twice. So I would absolutely have to make sure Pyrrha didn't kill Penny.

That is, if the two managed to get chosen to fight against one another.

After that, I need to make sure that Pyrrha doesn't just go and get herself killed.

Sure she may not know about Amber and the maidens anymore, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't happen period.

Time has this special and frustrating way of having certain events happen one way or another.

So I need to absolutely make sure that Pyrrha doesn't go and fight Cinder.

After that, I'm coming for Cinder's head.

I sighed as I laid under a tree, the moon light lighting the night sky.

"Come on guys. I don't want to fight you. Not after all this." I said.

"...Why?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

I jolted up from the bottom of the ground and pulled out my revolver.

Unlike Ruby, I didn't really carry my main weapon everywhere I go. Though a revolver isn't exactly hard to move around with.

"Tch, relax. I'm not here to kill you." I heard a familiar voice say.

Oh you've gotta be kidding me! How do I keep running into this chick?!

"Though I will admit, you've got some good senses on you. Though don't let that go to your head." A familiar chameleon girl said as she sat on a tree branch.

"You again? Jeez, quit following me already. I'm not interested." I said dryly.

"I-I'm not following you, and as if I'd ever want to be in a relationship with a human! Let alone you!" She yelled, a blush starting to form on her face.

Or is that just her skin changing color? I really don't know with her, she's really confusing.

"Tch, your loss." I said.

"You still haven't answered my question." Ilia said as she took off her mask.

"Oh, right. You mind elaborating? Just saying the word "why" doesn't exactly tell me what you want to know." I said.

"Fair enough. I want to know why you want to help us." Ilia said.

"...Yeah, because using the term "us" really narrows it down to a few options." I said sarcastically.

"I want to know about why you want to help us! Your enemies! The people who have been trying to kill you for the past year!" She said in a frustrated tone.

"...What's it to you?" I asked.

"I want to know why someone would help people like them. A thief and a killer." She said.

"Oh, you mean Mercury and Emerald. I wouldn't say that they tried to kill me so to say. Sure they put me in quite a few situations that turned out to be life threatening, but hey, I'm still kicking." I said.

"Well, we go back. I had a plan in the beginning, things got complicated, now I want to save those two from getting themselves killed." I said.

"In the beginning? You mean you know about our plans before?" Ilia asked.

"I've known about your plans for a long time now." I said.

"How?" She asked.

"...Let's just say an good man told me about it with a little story." I said

"What was his name?" Ilia asked.

"Trust me, with your vocabulary, I highly doubt you would believe me." I said.

Ilia narrowed her eyes but eventually moved onto bigger things.

"What do you hope to gain from saving those two?" Ilia asked.

"Well for one, I sorta got attached to the two over time, though originally it was just so that they couldn't use there abilities to aid Cinder. If they're gonna help anyone, might as well be anyone but the one person that wants the destruction of Vale." I said.

"So you just want them for their abilities and skills then." She said, her eye's narrowing.

"No, that was the original intent. I got attached and now it's a bit more to keep the personal attachment I've made with them." I said.

"Then if you did it for nothing more than personal attachment, then why help Torchwick?" Ilia asked.

"Well for one, having him on my side makes convincing those two to switch sides a hell of a lot easier." I said.

"...What about us? The White Fang and the Phantoms? Why help us?" She asked.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"Well, you helped Naomi uncover a piece of her past. You also could have easily killed me back at the ocean side. You had plenty of opportunities, and after seeing the power you displayed in the arena, you could have killed me." Ilia said.

"Because my little chameleon-." I began.

"Don't call me that." She growled.

"Anyways, I sympathize with you all." I said.

"...W-what?!" Ilia asked.

"You all have goals and ambitions for wanting to fight for the White Fang. The mechanic wanted to get back at the humans that left her for dead in the mountains, the twins want to steal there equality that's been taken from them by humanity, Osvaldo want's to avenge his fallen lover from the human that killed her, Naomi wants to uncover the remnants of her past, and you want to get back at humanity for taking your parents away." I explained.

"..." The chameleon Faunus just looked at me with an expression of shock on her face.

"None of you are completely bad. Which is why I'm going to help you with your little cause in getting your equality." I said.

"What makes you think we need your help?" She asked.

"Well, considering your going to be attacking all of Vale and Beacon in a few days, I'd say your methods might be on the...extreme side." I said.

"So what do you hope to gain from helping us?" Ilia asked.

"Numerous things. One, I hope to get you off my back, two, I hope to gain a handful of really powerful allies, and three, I want all of our focus to be on a single common enemy, and not each other." I said.

"I'd like to avoid killing you. You don't seem like a bad person." I said.

"...It doesn't make sense." She mumbled.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I said that it doesn't make sense!" Ilia yelled.

"You know, for someone who's supposedly good at stealth, you're doing everything you can possibly do to blow it right now." I said.

"It doesn't make sense! Why?! We tried to kill you on multiple occasions! We tried to kill your friends on multiple occasions!" She yelled.

"I thought I just-." I began.

"You don't make sense! Everything about you just doesn't make sense! You're a selfish person, yet you some how manage to be a selfless person at the exact same time!" Ilia said.

"Uh...thank you?" I asked, not sure whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"How?! How can you sympathize with us?! We've all lost something in our lives! Something we all loved! What have you lost?! No-!" She began, only for the sight of Brandon's glare to cut her off.

"...Uh." She began, slightly caught off guard.

"Don't. Don't think you know the reasons why I do the things I do." I growled.

"You think I do this out of the goodness of my heart? You think I do this because it's the right thing to do?" I asked. "No, I do this because I have nothing left to go back to." I said.

"You don't think I've lost things?!" He asked. "You and the Phantoms have it easier than you'd think! You at least have someone you can call family!" I shouted.

"You have your grandmother, the twins have each other, Naomi may have a family waiting for her somewhere in the world, though even if she doesn't she has you guys to lean back on. Veronica has you guys, and so does Osvaldo." I said.

"All of you have a place you can call home. Me? I've lost everything." I said.

"I've lost my home, my friends, and my family. There's nowhere left for me to go. No other road to go down but this one." I said.

"...How did you...you know?" Ilia asked.

"It wasn't due to normal means. My home didn't fall to Grimm or anything like that. No, my home was destroyed because a few people couldn't settle a little grudge they had with one another." I said.

"My home was destroyed by it's own residents. Every man, woman and child paid for the actions of a small group of people. They didn't have anything to do with it. Some were just being born into this world. But clearly they didn't care. All they cared about was settling their little grudge." I said.

"I am the only survivor of the destruction of my home. Everyone else was gone, burned in the remains of what was left of my home." I said.

"It wasn't a feud between Faunus and Humans. No, it was just a group of humans fighting another group of humans." I said.

"Being the only survivor, I had nowhere left to go. Everyone I knew and loved was dead. I only have one desire pushing me forward." I said.

"The knowledge of what Cinder was going to do was the only thing that gave me purpose. A reason to live, and I will spend the rest of my life if I have to making sure that I stop Cinder." I said.

"So, Ilia. I don't do this because I think I'm some noble hero waiting to save the day on a noble stead. I do this because this is the only thing that gives me any real reason to keep pushing forward." I said.

Ilia just stared at me in silence, unsure as to how to respond.

"Yeah, I'm not as simple as I look, right?" I asked as I turned around, putting my gun in it's holster.

"I'm outta here. It's already late as it is." I said as I started to walk away.

"Do my a favor and try to make my job a little bit easier." I said, leaving Ilia behind.

Ilia just stared off into the direction where I was walking, only one question on her mind.

 _'What...what just happened?'_ She asked herself.

Though she was quickly broken out of her daze by the feeling of her scroll vibrating in her pocket.

She pulled out her scroll and opened it up, answering the call.

 **"Hey, Veronica here."** The mechanic said from the other end of the call.

"Ilia." She said.

 **"Glad to hear your still okay. Have you completed the objective yet?"** She asked.

"Yes. It's all ready." Ilia said.

 **"Good. Adam says to come back to base."** Veronica said.

"Got it. I'll head over as soon as possible." She said.

 **"Any complications?"** She asked.

"...No. Everything went smoothly." Ilia said.

 **"Good to hear. The team is waiting for you back at the base. Be safe, okay?"** Veronica said.

"Got it." She said as she cut off the call.

 _'Brandon Kim...what a strange human.'_ Ilia thought to herself as she put on her mask and she disappeared from sight.

* * *

After Mercury had left the room, he went straight for the one place he knew where to live a little.

"Look kid, I was willing to give you at least one shot, not...you know, ten." The bartender for the Crow Bar said as he cleaned another one of his cups out.

"Hey, I didn't ask for your thoughts. Just give me another shot, now." He said as he downed another thing of alcohol.

"I'm serious. This much alcohol isn't good for your health. Especially at your age." The man said.

"Tch, fine. Be that way." Mercury growled.

The bartender nodded and took the cup away from the assassin, cleaned it out and filled it with some fresh water.

"Here, to prevent the hangover." The man said.

"Thanks, I guess." Mercury said as he started to chug the cup of water.

"So, what's your story kid?" The bartender asked.

"Hmm?" Mercury hummed.

"Well, when you've been in the business for as long as I have, you tend to get an eye for folks like yourself." He said.

"Meh, doesn't matter. Let's just say that I've gotten myself in one hell of a mess and I don't really see a way out of it." He said.

The bartender looked at the boy with a concerned look in his eyes before nodding.

"Aw come on, don't be like that." A female voice said, causing Mercury to turn his head around to see who was talking to him.

Yang Xiao Long was standing at the front of the bar with her helmet in her arms and a smirk on her face.

"You give us a little hint like that and you don't even go into detail? That's not cool." She said as she walked over to the seat directly next to Mercury.

"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas." Yang said.

The bartender nodded and started to make Yang's drink.

"What are you doing here?" Mercury asked.

"What? Can't a girl have a little fun from time to time?" She asked.

"..." Mercury merely sighed and continued to drink his cup of water.

"Jeez, I've seen people get drunk before but damn, you look like a mess." Yang said.

"Gee, thanks." He said bitterly.

"Heh, guess that isn't really appropriate right now, huh?" She asked.

"Ya think?" Mercury asked.

The man brought back the drink, with the little umbrella and everything.

"Thanks." She said as she started to sip on her drink. "So, what are you doing all the way out here at this time of night?" Yang asked.

"Same as you I guess." Mercury groaned.

"Yeah, if I wanted to have fun for one night I wouldn't have done it by downing ten shots of alcohol." She said.

"That obvious huh?" He asked.

"Yep." Yang said. "So, what's got ya so down in the dumps?" She asked.

"Like I said before, I got myself into one hell of a mess and I don't see a way out." He said.

Yang frowned, not to happy to see Mercury so down. He always seemed like a laid back guy, though here he was, drinking his problems away.

"...Hey, how about we ditch this place? I know a few places where we can have some fun." Yang said.

At first, Mercury didn't really see the point in going with the blonde brawler, though after a couple seconds of thinking, he eventually decided to go with her.

 _'Might as well, not like I have anything to lose any more.'_ Mercury thought to himself.

"Sure. Let's hit the road." He said as he started to wobble his way towards the front of the bar.

"Whoa, easy there. Don't want to get a concussion before the big fights." Yang said.

"Guess you're right." Mercury said as he wobbled out the door.

"...Uh, he didn't-." The bartender began, only for Yang to down the rest of her drink and place a handful of lien onto the counter.

"Keep the change." Yang said, walking after Mercury.

The assassin wobbled over to the blonde's motor cycle, his footing slowly coming back to him as he continued to walk.

"Whoa, this is one nice bike." He complimented.

"Thanks, her name is bumblebee." Yang said as she put on her helmet.

"Bumblebee?" Mercury asked.

"Because-." She began as she revved up the engine, it's roar echoing throughout all of Vale.

"She buzzes like a bumblebee." She said, sliding her goggles down to her eyes.

"Damn." Mercury said.

"Right?" Yang asked as she started to pat the open space on her motorcycle.

"Let's hit the road." She said.

Mercury nodded and sat down behind Yang.

"Do you have another helmet?" Mercury asked.

"Eh heh, been meaning to do that. Sorry, you're gonna have to just hang in there." Yang admitted.

"Alright." He said.

"Now, no wondering hands." She teased.

"Just drive." Mercury said.

Yang giggled and started to drive down the road, the tires screeching across the walk way as they sped down the road.

The feeling of the wind going through Mercury's hair was one of those feelings that you couldn't replicate. It felt good, it made Mercury feel free, like there wasn't a thing in this world that could stop her.

Eventually, the two stopped at a night club of some sort in the more run down part of town.

"Well, we're here." Yang said, parking her bike next to the arcade and putting helmet on the handles.

"What is this place?" Mercury asked.

"It's a night club I sometimes go to. Don't tell Ruby I still go here." She said.

"Ruby's your...sister, right?" He asked.

"Yep, little sister...well, half sister I guess. We come from different mothers." Yang said. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?" She asked.

"Uh, no. Only child." Mercury said.

"Hmm, so what's your family like?" Yang asked.

"..."

"That complicated huh?" She asked.

"Something like that, yeah." Mercury said.

"Meh, guess no family's perfect. Come on, I've got connections with the boss of this place." Yang said as the two walked towards the nightclub.

Mercury raised one of his eyebrows in confusion, but eventually shrugged and followed the blonde brawler.

"Hey boys." Yang said as she walked over to the front door.

"Are you-?! Come on!" One of them yelled as the two men ran inside the building.

"Playing hard to get are ya? Well, I always loved doing things the hard-." She began, only for a wind rocket to zoom past her head and hit the door in front of her, busting it open.

She turned around to see Mercury with his foot in the air, his weapon emanating steam from the barrel.

"After you." He said.

"Well, aren't you the gentlemen." Yang said with a chuckle.

"I try." Mercury said as he walked into the club.

Yang chuckled and followed the assassin inside.

"So, I assume you're pretty well known here." Mercury said.

"Something like that yeah." Yang said.

The two eventually made it towards the entrance to the night club, the music being heard from the other side of the door.

"Sounds like a party in there." Mercury said.

"Well, let's see if we can't crash it." Yang said as she punched the door with weapons.

"Guess who's back?!" Yang asked as she went through the door, causing various men to point there guns at the blonde.

"Oh for-! How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't shoot!" Junior yelled as he started to make his way through the crowd of guards.

"Junior." Yang said.

"Blondie...you're here...again...why?!" He asked.

"Can't a girl just have a little fun?" She asked.

"Can't you just do it somewhere else?! Why do you have to do it here?! I already bought you that drink!" Junior said.

"...Uh?" Mercury began to ask.

"It makes more sense with context." Yang said.

"Got it." He said.

"What? Are you just gonna have a new man every time you decide to break down my doors?" Junior asked.

Yang raised one of her eye brows and activated her gauntlets, heat emanating off of the shells.

"Tch, what do you want?" He asked.

"Just thought I'd have a good time before I win the tournament." Yang said.

"...Fine. Though don't break anything." Junior said.

"No promises." She said. "Come on." Yang said to Mercury.

"Got it." The assassin said as he followed Yang through the club.

The blonde brawler and the assassin both walked up to the counter and sat down.

"Ugh." Mercury groaned.

"You okay?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, guess I drank too much. I've got one hell of a headache right now." He said.

"I'll see if they've got any pain meds. Be right back." She said as she walked over to the bartender.

Mercury chuckled, rubbing his temples in attempts to ease the pain.

 _'Heh, guess this isn't so bad.'_ Mercury said.

"Hey." Mercury heard Junior call out, causing the assassin to turn his head towards the man.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"To have a little fun, nothing wrong with that." The assassin said.

"Yeah, if you weren't the son of an assassin that is." Junior growled, causing Mercury to freeze.

"...H-how did you-?!" He began.

"I've got a lot of connections in this town. Reason why people say I know everything that goes on in these walls." Junior said.

The assassin growled and cocked his weapons, ready to strike down the man.

"Calm down kid, I may be a lot of things, but I'm not one to rat someone out." He said.

"Then why did you-?" Mercury began.

"Because I don't want this place to be known for the go to hang out for killers." Junior said.

Mercury clenched his fist, gritting his teeth in anger.

 _'Even dead my dad's still a pain in my ass.'_ Mercury thought to himself.

"You seem pretty alright, at least when compared to your old man. So I'm just gonna give you one chance. Leave, and don't ever-." Junior began, only for a bottle to be thrown at his face.

"Gah! Son of a-! Mother-!" Junior swore.

"I leave for a few seconds, and you're already causing trouble." Yang said as he threw the pain killers at Mercury.

"Thanks." He said.

"Then again, I guess some things never change now do they?" She asked.

"Look Blondie, I'm going to do you a favor. You don't want to get involved with this kid. He's-." Junior began, only for Yang's fist to meet the mans face, sending him flying across the club floor.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that." Yang said, activating her gauntlets.

Junior growled, slowly recovering from the sudden hit Yang landed on him.

"I let you off easy the last two times, three is where I draw the line! Now you're gonna-!" Junior began once again, only for a wind rocket to nail him right in the face, knocking the man out.

The guards started to surround the two, each one with their respective weapons pointed at the duo.

"So, you dance with these guys before?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah, they're nothing special. Just a bunch of street thugs." Yang said.

"Then this shouldn't even be a challenge." He said with a cocky smirk.

"You take the twenty on the right, and I'll take the twenty on the left." The blonde brawler said.

"Sounds good to me." The assassin said.

"Get em!" One of the guards yelled, causing the guards surrounding the two to charge towards the duo.

The two smirked and launched themselves into the air, each one using their own respective attacks to knock back the guards.

Yang slammed her fist onto the ground, creating a shock wave that knocked the guards off of their feet, while Mercury created some sort of wind bomb to send each guard flying up into the air.

As the blonde brawler landed on the ground, she ran up to one of the guards and kicked them on the head. She quickly turned around and gave a swift uppercut to the guard behind her before kicking the two guards charging towards her in the face.

Mercury shot himself towards one of the air born guards and shot them towards the counter, allowing him to maneuver in the air with relative ease. He jumped from guard to guard, kicking them a few times before sending them hurdling down to the ground.

One of the guards attempted to shoot Mercury down, but Mercury simply shot another wind rocket at the guard, stopping his attack and sending him skidding across the floor.

"Yah!" Yang yelled as she punched one of the guards with her weapons before kicking the one behind her away.

The blonde brawler swept her leg under one of the guards and shot him into the air, shooting him right down immediately afterwards. She jumped off one of the other guards and punched one of the men into another, sending a flurry of punches towards the two.

She shot herself towards the men behind her, countering each and everyone of their blows before sending the two flying into some glass pillars.

The guards attempted to get the assassin off of his feet, though he was easily able to quickly dart around the area with his semblance, adding a little extra kick to his attacks as he sent the two guards flying with some wind rockets.

The DJ behind up on the higher floor pulled out some sort of automatic machine gun and started to open fire on the two.

"Merc!" Yang shouted, sending a few more guard flying towards the glass pillars.

Mercury nodded and started to make his way over to the DJ. After a few seconds, the assassin was able to land on the DJ's gun with his metal legs, shattering the weapon. He grabbed the mans collar and slammed him into the railing before kicking him up into the air, firing a wind rocket at the flying man.

"Hell yeah!" Yang said, though her instincts quickly kicked in as two girls slashed their respective weapons at her.

"Melanie, who is this girl?" One of them asked.

"I don't know, Militia, but we should teach her a lesson." Melanie said.

"Well aren't you two just two stereotypes given faces." Mercury said, mimicking their way of speaking.

"Heh heh, I know right." Yang said, doing a similar tone as she reloaded her weapons.

"..." The right eye of the two girls started to twitch with anger, the two charging at Mercury and Emerald.

Yang smirked and started to fire shot after shot at the two girls. The two dancers back flipped in attempts to dodge the attack, charging forward in order to close the gap between the two.

Melanie slashed one of Yang's shots away, giving her sister, Militia an opening to attack. Yang dodged the attack and was about to take a blow to the ribs to the hands of Melanie, though Mercury quickly jumped over the blonde brawler and kicked the girl across the jaw.

Yang fired a shot at Melanie as she slid across the floor, sending her flying towards a glass pillar.

Militia started to slash at Yang with her two blades, though hand to hand combat was Yang's specialty. After recovering from the affects of the attack, Melanie charged towards Yang in attempts to aid her sister, though Mercury was right there to meet her.

The girl growled and attempted to get past Mercury, though the assassins senses were sharp as a knife, allowing him to easily kick her away again.

Yang started to rapidly punch Militia before she punched her into the air and towards a wall, shattering her aura.

"Militia!" Melanie cried out, giving Mercury an opportunity to attack. The assassin kicked away the dancer and started to rapidly fire various wind rockets around him.

Mercury grabbed the girl by her arm and dug his foot into her gut, causing the wind rockets to speed towards the dancer, exploding upon impact and shattering her aura.

"Well, guess that takes care of-." Yang began, only for the lights around the two to shut off.

The two turned around to see Junior walking towards the two with his rocket launcher rested on his shoulder.

"Now it's time to pay." Junior said.

Yang growled and prepared to attack the boss of the club. Junior shot various rockets at Yang, though she was easily able to shoot them out of the air with her own weapons.

Junior attempted to strike Yang with his own weapon, though the blonde started to rapidly punch the man in the gut, each blow taking a good chunk of his aura away. As she punched the man away, she charged forwards and punched him through the wall, shattering his aura.

The blonde started to breathe heavily, her eyes returning back to there original color.

"Damn. You've got one hell of an arm on you." Mercury said.

"Thanks. You've got a pair of legs on you yourself." Yang said.

"Yeah, thanks." He said.

"...Hey. Mind if I ask you something?" She asked.

"Sure." Mercury said, wiping the dust away from his cheek.

"Why did Junior want you out of here so badly?" Yang asked.

Mercury grunted and clenched his fist tightly.

"He never really kicks anyone out of his bar. He didn't even want me out until now, and I've threatened to tear this place a new one twice now." She said.

"It's...a bit complicated." Mercury said.

"Want to talk about it?" Yang asked.

"...Let me ask you something. You ever heard of Marcus Black?" He asked.

"Can't say that I have." Yang said.

"Well, he was a pretty well known assassin outside of Vale." Mercury said.

"Oh...okay...wait, is he-?!" She began.

"Yep. He's my old man...well, was my old man so to say." He said.

"What do you mean was?" Yang asked.

"Well, he's not exactly alive anymore." Mercury said.

"Oh...I'm sorry?" She asked.

"Don't be. That asshole got what was coming to him. Only regret I have was not doing it sooner." He said.

.

.

"W-wait. You killed him?!" Yang asked.

"Damn right I did." Mercury said.

"Why?! What the hell made you think killing your own father would be a good-!" She began.

"He killed my mother." He growled, silencing the blonde.

"...Oh." Yang said.

"Guess I should start from the beginning, huh?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah, that would be nice." She said.

"Alright. Might as well." He said.

* * *

 ** _3 years ago_**

 _'Well, that could have gone better.' A younger Mercury thought to himself as he walked down the path leading to his home._

 _'Though I did take out the guy that I was supposed to kill, so whatever.' He thought._

 _'Wonder how moms doing. She wasn't looking so good when I left.' Mercury thought to himself. ._

 _After a few more minutes of walking, he eventually arrived at the small house that he, his mother, and Marcus lived in._

 _Though as Mercury started to walk towards the door, he could hear the sobs of his mother coming through the other side of the door._

 _'M-mom?' Mercury asked as he turned the door knob, though to his surprise, it was locked from the other side._

 _'What the hell? Mom knew I was going out today, why did she lock the door?' He asked himself._

 _"I can't." He heard a muffled cry come from the other side of the door._

 _Mercury pressed his ear up against the door in attempts to get a better idea on what his mother was saying._

 _"I just can't do it anymore. Everyday I feel like I'm going mad. I can't see anything else but his father, it's driving me crazy. I-I just can't do it anymore." She said._

 _'The hell is she talking about?!' Mercury asked himself._

 _"Mom?! Mom open up!" The assassin shouted, desperately trying to open the front door to their house._

 _'Damn it!' He internally shouted._

 _Mercury stepped back a few feet and charged the door, causing it to break down under the pressure._

 _The assassin got up and dusted himself off, desperately looking around the house in attempts to find his mother._

 _He eventually made his way to the living room, though what he saw sent a chill down his spine._

 _His mother was standing in the corner of the room, holding what looks like a pistol in her hand, tears falling down her cheek as she shook violently._

 _"Mom?" Mercury called out, slowly walking towards his mother._

 _"Stay back!" She screamed, pointing the gun at Mercury._

 _"Mom, put the gun down!" He said._

 _"I said stay back you bastard!" She screamed once again._

 _"Mom, just calm down, okay? It's me." Mercury said._

 _"I said get the hell away from me, Marcus!" His mother screamed, causing the assassin to freeze where he stood._

 _"...W-what?" He asked._

 _"You won't hurt me anymore, asshole!" She said._

 _"Mom, it's me. Mercury." Mercury said, starting to get a little chocked up._

 _His mother pointed the gun at Mercury's head and pulled the trigger, causing the assassin to dodge the attack._

 _"Holy-!" He yelled._

 _"Don't come any closer! I'll kill you!" She screamed._

 _"M-Mom! Will you just quit it already!" He yelled._

 _"J-Just leave me and my son alone." His mother begged._

 _"I am your son! Look at who you're shooting!" Mercury yelled as he started to walk over to his mother._

 _"I said stay away!" She screamed, shooting another bullet at her son._

 _"Will you just calm down already?!" He yelled, grabbing her mothers wrist._

 _"No...no no no! Not again! Please! Just let me go!" She screamed, breaking out of her sons grasp and accidentally pulled the trigger to her gun, the bullet going through her head._

 _._

 _._

 _"M-mom?" Mercury called out, his breaths starting to become rapid._

 _"No. No no no no no!" He yelled, clenching his mother corpse as blood came out of the wound in her head._

 _'Why? Why did this happen?' He asked himself, tears starting to form in his eyes._

 _"What's all the ruckus?" He heard the voice of his father ask, causing him to tense up._

 _'...Him.' Mercury said to himself._

 _"Oh, so you're back. I take it you dealt with that problem I told you to deal with?" He asked._

 _'He did this to her.' Every bit of sadness in Mercury was quickly replaced with pure rage._

 _"Hey. Didn't you hear me? I asked you a question you damned brat." Marcus said._

 _"You." Mercury began._

 _"Huh?" He asked._

 _"You son of a bitch." He said, slowly getting up, his aura flaring to life._

 _"The hell?!" Marcus said, getting into a combat stance._

 _"I'll kill you! Do you hear me! I'll kill you old bastard!" Mercury roared as he charged towards his father._

* * *

 **Present day**

"And that's it. That's what happened the day my mom died." Mercury said as he and Yang sat outside of Juniors bar.

"..." Yang just stood there in complete shock and silence, not even sure what to say to Mercury's story.

"It's also how I got these." The assassin said as he rolled up his pants, revealing his prosthetic's.

"Whoa!" Yang said.

"Yeah, pretty cool. After the battle my legs were pretty injured. So I got these as a replacement. Not only am I able to hit harder, but I can now use my semblance with no downsides holding me back." The assassin explained.

"So, what did you do after that?" She asked.

"A group of people decided that they could use my skills for a little job they had." He said.

"That's what lead you to Beacon, right?" Yang asked.

"Basically." Mercury said.

"So...what are you gonna do from here?" She asked.

"Hell if I know. At this point I'm just...waiting." The assassin said.

"Waiting for what?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. Just waiting for something. Something that might actually be worth fighting for." He said.

"..."

"Let me ask you something Yang." He said.

"Sure." Yang said.

"If you only had a day to live, what would you do?" Mercury asked.

"...Where did that come from?" She asked.

"Like I said before, I'm in a pretty big hole and I'm not really seeing a way out." He said.

"...Well, I guess I would spend the time trying to find a way out." Yang said.

"Why?" Mercury asked.

"I like to look at things from a glass half full point of you, if there's a way out of that hole, then I'm gonna do whatever I can to climb out of it." She said.

"But what if it was a hole so deep that climbing out is basically impossible?" He asked.

"Mercury, if there's anything I've learned during my time here in Beacon, it's that nothing is completely impossible. Just that some things are a bit less likely to actually happen." Yang said.

"But it's possible. Even if it's just a small chance, it's possible. Besides-." The blonde said as she turned around to face Mercury.

"I'll be damned if I just roll over and die." Yang said. "If I'm going to die, I'm not going down with out a fight." She said.

"..." Mercury just sat there in shock, not sure how to actually respond to Yang's statement.

"Well, it's getting late. My team's probably gonna chew me out for being out this late again." She said as she put on her helmet.

"Need a lift?" Yang asked.

"...Huh? Oh, no I'll just walk." Mercury said.

"Suit yourself." She said, starting up the engine to her motorcycle.

"I had fun tonight. Give me a call sometime. You do have my number." Yang said with a wink.

"...Right." Mercury said with a smirk.

"Hope you find a way out of that hole." She said as she drove off.

"Yeah." The assassin said as he stood up.

Mercury sighed and looked off into the distance, the light of Beacon's tower could be seen from the distance.

"...Well, time to fine that way out." The assassin said as he started to walk down the side walk.

* * *

 **"Now it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one on one finals!"** Port said through the speakers, causing the crowd to erupt with various cheers and chants for their respective kingdoms.

 **"Are you in position?"** Cinder asked through a special ear piece she had given Mercury and Emerald.

 **"Yes. I'm in position. Ready to start the illusion."** Emerald said.

"In position."Mercury said.

 **"I must say Mercury, I'm impressed. You seem rather focused on the mission this time around. Now remember, no matter what, you cannot leave the stadium."** Cinder said.

"Yeah, I got it, I got it." He said.

 **"Barty, why don't you explain the rules."** Port said.

 **"Ah, it's quite simple Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place."** Oobleck explained.

 **"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare."** Port said.

 **"Ah, yes yes. Now let's see who our first match will be!"** Oobleck said, starting the randomization process. After a few seconds, the randomization process stopped, revealing both Yang and Mercury.

 **"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!"** Port said.

"Break a leg sis!" Ruby said.

 **"Would all other combatants please leave the stage."** Port said, causing the other fighters to leave the stadium.

"Don't screw this up, Merc. We only have one shot at this." Emerald said.

.

.

"Mercury?" The thief called out once more.

 _'Why isn't he answering?'_ Emerald asked herself.

As Mercury started to walk towards his side of the arena, he took out the earpiece that Cinder had given him and crushed it under neath his foot.

"You better not go easy on me." Yang said with a smirk, getting into her combat stance.

"Heh, you wish." He said as he got into his combat stance.

 **"3!"** Port began as the two started to move closer to one another.

 **"2!"** Oobleck said.

 **"1!"** Port said.

 **"Fight!"** The two said, causing Yang to throw a punch at the assassin, though Mercury countered her attack with a swift kick to her fist, creating a shock wave that swept through the arena.

Mercury charged towards Yang and attempted to kick in the gut, though the blonde brawler easily dodged the attack by jumping into the air.

Yang shot one of her shotgun shells at Mercury, causing the assassin to move to the side to parry the attack. Yang started to rapidly punch Mercury, though he was able to parry each one of her attacks.

Eventually, she was able to get a solid blow on him, pushing him back a bit.

To avoid falling onto the ground, Mercury used his semblance to propel himself up into the air, landing safely onto the ground. He used his semblance to dart around the ring, dodging each and every one of Yang's attacks.

He launched himself at Yang, attempting to kick the brawler with his weapon, but Yang was able to block the attack before it reached her head.

Yang pushed him off and attempted to get him into one of her punching barrages, but the assassin was quick, allowing him to kick the blonde in the chin and send her flying backwards.

Yang shot herself towards Mercury, rapidly punching him. Though the assassin was able to parry her attacks one again and swept his leg under her feet, causing her to lose her footing.

Mercury attempted to dig his heel into her, though she quickly jumped into the air and brought her fist down to the ground in attempts to crush the boy. Mercury jumped into the air and started to kick Yang before attempting to crush her under the his foot.

The two exchanged blows for a bit before Yang eventually pushed him back. As he recovered from the attack, Yang started to shoot bullet after bullet at the assassin. As he was dodging the attack, he accidentally lost his footing and started to fall off of the edge.

To prevent this, he used a full power thrust to get back onto the stage. Once he landed in front of Yang, he started to kick the blonde brawler before kicking her away, sending a wind rocket towards her.

The assassin smirked and started to fire rocket after rocket around the stadium. Yang attempted to stop him from doing his signature attack, but Mercury gave her a quick kick to the chin and sent her flying down onto the ground, the rockets speeding towards Yang.

Mercury stared at the steam that was emanating from the area where Yang had fallen victim to the attacks.

"Come on. I know that didn't bring you down." Mercury said.

Sure enough, a burst of fire flared to life in front of him, Yang looking at Mercury with a smirk on her face.

"That obvious huh?" Yang asked.

"Kinda, yeah." He said.

The blonde smirked and attempted to punch Mercury with her gauntlets, though the assassin quickly dodged the attack. Mercury started to fire rocket after rocket into the air, though instead of waiting around the arena, they started to move towards Mercury's right leg, the core of his right leg starting to glow with a white light.

"How about we end this?" Mercury asked, his body completely consumed by a wind like aura.

"With pleasure." Yang said with a smirk.

The two charged at one another, Yang's hair crackling like fire, and Mercury's leg howling like the wind. The assassin's and the brawler's attack's eventually connected with one another, causing a massive explosion to appear from the stage.

"Yang!" Ruby, Weiss, and Blake cried out.

After a few seconds, the smoke cleared and revealed the two fighters standing across from one another.

Yang almost fell to the ground, though quickly regained her footing.

Mercury on the other hand fell to the ground, completely exhausted from the attack.

 **"The winner is Yang Xiao Long of Beacon! What a way to kick off the finals!"** Port said.

"Gotta say, you almost had me there." Yang said as she walked over to the assassin, holding her hand out to him.

"Good job." She said.

"Thanks. You to." Mercury said, grasping Yang's hand as she pulled him up.

"Better luck next time." Yang said as she started to walk away.

Though as the blonde brawler started to walk away, she heard a strange noise out of nowhere.

"There's not gonna be a next time, Blondie." Mercury said.

"What?" She asked as she turned to face the assassin. Though what caught her off guard was the fact that Mercury was charging towards her, readying an attack.

The assassin saw that Yang's eyes were completely dilated, signaling that she was under the affects of Emerald semblance.

 _'Shit. Well now or never.'_ Mercury said to himself.

 _'Alright. Now all Mercury has to do is-.'_ Emerald began, only for the assassin to run towards the edge of the stage as fast as his metal legs could take him.

 _'What is he doing?!'_ She mentally screamed to herself.

Yang was having similar thoughts as the fake Mercury that Emerald had created with her illusions started to close the gap between them.

 _'I don't know what the hell your deal is but if I have to knock some sense into you then oh well!'_ Yang thought as she swung her fist at the fake Mercury. Though instead of making contact with him, her fist phased right through him.

"Wait, what?!" Yang asked as she rubbed her eyes.

To the crowds perspective, Yang had just swung her fist at thin air.

Yang stared around the stage in utter confusion, completely dumbfounded as to what just happened.

"W-what the hell?" She asked.

 _'Whew. Glad that worked.'_ Mercury thought to himself as he dusted himself off.

 _'You're right Yang. I'm not just gonna roll over and let Cinder kill me. If she wants my life, she can take it, but she will never have my pride.'_ He said to himself.

Though as he stared around the stadium, something, or rather someone caught his eye. Brandon was standing near the exit of the arena with his signature smirk on his face. He motioned his head in the direction of the exit, as if telling Mercury to meet him outside.

 _'Now, it's time to get some answers.'_ Mercury said to himself, making his way towards the exit.

 _'This is bad! This is really really bad! Cinder's gonna kill us for sure now! We messed up one of the most crucial parts of the plan!'_ Emerald internally panicked.

 _'What am I going to do?! What am I going to-?!'_ She attempted to continue her panic attack, but the feeling of someone touching her head cut her off.

"Gah! Okay who the hell-?!" Emerald began, only for the sight of Brandon walking past her to cut her off.

The swordsman turned towards the thief and motioned his head towards the exit, telling her to meet him outside alongside Mercury.

 _'...Brandon, I think it's about time you and I had a talk.'_ Emerald said as he got out of her seat and followed the swords man.

* * *

The assassin ran out of the arena as fast as he could, not wanting to risk in the possibility of Cinder meeting him at the outside of the arena.

Mercury kept on running, even after he got off of the bullheads that took him to Beacon. He wanted, no, he needed to know who exactly Brandon was.

After a few more minutes, the assassin eventually arrived at his destination, meeting his friend face to face under a tree just outside of Beacon.

"Hah, hah, hah." He huffed, putting his hands on his knees as he regained his breath.

"So, I assume you have a lot of questions, yeah?" Brandon asked.

"Kinda, yeah." Mercury said.

"Well, where do you wanna start?" He asked.

"Do you know?" He asked.

"About?" Brandon asked.

"You know what I'm talking about. I want to know if you knew about the plan when you gave us that message." Mercury said.

"Oh, yeah. I knew." He said.

"How! Did that clown tell you?!" He asked.

"Clown? Oh, you mean Roman? No, he didn't have to tell me, I knew way before he did." Brandon said.

"...Wait, how long have you known about our plan?" Mercury asked.

"Merc, I knew way before I met you and Emerald." He said.

"...H-how?! Who told you?!" He asked.

"A good man told me about Cinder's plan long before she arrived at Vale." Brandon said.

"What was his name?" Mercury asked.

"Heh, trust me Merc, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said.

"What does that-? Never mind, how much do you know?" He asked.

"I know the general concept of it. Cinder wants to destroy Vale so that she can get some sort of relic that's in the school. That's about all I know, I didn't think you and Em would be involved in all this." Brandon said.

"So you know about that to. I knew about the whole destruction of Vale bit but what's up with these relics?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not so sure myself. I only know that they're really powerful." He said.

"So why did you tell us? What made you want to help us?" He asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly to keen on seeing one of my friends die." Brandon said.

The two stood in silence for a few seconds before Mercury spoke up.

"So, you've known about Cinder's plan for a while, right?" He asked.

"I've known about the main plan, yeah. This is really only part one so to say." Brandon said.

"Part one?" Mercury asked.

"So she didn't tell you about that part either. Well, basically Cinder along with a handful of people she works with have been going around Remnant attempting to retrieve the relics that are hidden in the schools." He said.

"You mean Cinder's boss, right?" The assassin asked.

"That's the one. Not really sure who they are though. I just know that they want the relics for some big change they want to make to the world." Brandon said.

"Jeez, are the relics really that powerful?" Mercury asked.

"Probably. I've never actually seen one with my own eyes so I don't exactly know what they really do exactly." He said.

"Sounds like your friend wasn't very specific about what was going to happen." He said.

 _'Something like that yeah.'_ Brandon thought.

"That's why I've been training, it's the whole reason why I even fight to begin with. To stop Cinder from taking the relic." He said.

"...Wait, are you actually considering fighting Cinder?" Mercury asked.

"That's the plan." Brandon said.

"You can't be serious! If you're friend told you anything about her then you should know that she's crazy strong! What the hell makes you thing you could beat her alone?!" He asked.

"Heh, trust me Merc. What you saw in the arena was only a taste of what I'm capable now." He said.

"The hell do you mean by that?" Mercury asked.

"I'm finally getting the hand of Caliber's power. I finally made it entirely my own." Brandon said.

"Besides, I don't have to be alone." He said.

"...What?" Mercury asked as Brandon extended his hand outwards.

"Come with me Mercury, help me with my own little side of this war." Brandon said.

"...Why?" He asked.

"Well, you're strong, I can trust you, you're willing to do a few lawfully questionable things, what else more do I need?" He asked.

Mercury looked at his friends hand, staring at it intently.

"...My arm's getting tired." Brandon said.

The assassin slowly walked over to his hand, though instead of grabbing his hand, he grabbed his wrist and gave him a swift punch to the cheek.

"Gah! Okay what the hell was that for?!" He yelled, rubbing the area where Mercury had punched him.

The assassin got into his combat stance, looking at Brandon with a determined glare.

"So, you think you're on Cinder's level?" Mercury asked.

"Well, I don't know for sure, though I do know that with the training I just went through, I might actually stand a chance against her, even if she has the other half of her powers." He said.

"Then show me. No holding back like you did in the arena. Give me everything you've got. Beat me, and I'll believe that we can take her on." He said.

"You don't believe me?" Brandon asked.

"It's not that. I just want to see it with my own eyes." Mercury said.

The swordsman stared at the assassin for a couple of seconds before nodding to himself.

"Alright. If that's what you want." Brandon said as he closed his eyes.

Mercury started to slowly circle his friend, ready for any attack that he could throw at him.

If there was anything he had learnt about Brandon over the years they had known each other, is that Brandon was not the kind of guy you would want to drop your guard around.

 _'Ready, Caliber?'_ Brandon asked.

 ** _"I'm at your command, my boy."_** Caliber said.

"You ready or what?" Mercury asked.

"Alright, alright. I'm ready." Brandon said as he opened his eyes, the pupils glowing with a platinum fire.

"Whoa. What's with the eyes?" He asked.

"Let's just say that it's a sign that I'm finally getting the hang of this." Brandon said with a smirk, getting into a combat position of his own.

"It's been a couple of years since we last fought." He asked.

"I'm not the same fighter I was before." Mercury said.

Brandon chuckled and motioned the assassin to come at him.

Mercury charged towards Brandon, using his semblance to close the gap in the matter of seconds. Though Brandon used one of Caliber's aura shields to block his path. Though before the assassin could even touch the ground, Brandon lowered the shield and punched Mercury in the gut, the silhouette of Caliber appearing as the strike made contact with the assassin.

"Gah!" He gasped as he went flying across the fields of Beacon.

 _'Jeez, I don't know what he did but that hurt.'_ Mercury thought, getting up from off of the ground.

"That was some punch you had there. I can still feel the affects of the impact." He said. "Though I'm not done yet!" The assassin yelled, firing two wind rockets at the swords man.

Though right as the rockets were about to hit, Caliber appeared from Brandon's body and smacked them away from his user.

Mercury was right about give the two a swift kick from his prosthetic leg, but Caliber quickly blocked the attack with his arm.

 _'Damn it!'_ Mercury cursed, sending a flurry of kicks in the direction of the duo.

Brandon was able to block, parry and dodge Mercury's attacks, causing the assassin to become more aggressive.

The swordsman got into a strange combat position as the assassin started to close the gap between them. Though right as Mercury was about to hit him, the swordsman back flipped in the direction where Mercury was kicking.

Though he went back a bit further than he expected.

"Whoa!" He yelled, regaining his footing.

 _'Jeez, I didn't think I'd go so far.'_ Brandon thought.

Mercury charged towards Brandon, jumping up into the air to attempt to crush him under his boot. Though Brandon was easily able to counter by putting up another shield and punched him in the cheek, sending him flying towards a water fountain.

After a few seconds, the assassin emerged from the water with a wind like aura around him.

"Ready to go again?" Brandon asked with a cocky smirk on his face, though before he could react, Mercury charged towards the swordsman at blinding speeds, kneeing Brandon in the chin as he closed the gap between the two.

 _'What the hell?'_ He asked himself as he swung his fist at Mercury, though he was also able to dodge the attack as well.

The swordsman growled and swung his arm at Mercury once again, though the assassin was able to block the attack with his own arm.

Mercury attempted to punch Brandon with his free arm, though the swordsman was able to jump up into the side to dodge the attack.

The assassin glared at Brandon and used his semblance to launch himself over to where Brandon was.

The two started to exchange blows before Mercury landed a solid kick on the back of Brandon's neck.

"Heh heh, don't tell me that's all you-!" The assassin began, only for Brandon to appear behind Mercury with Caliber right behind him.

Caliber grabbed Mercury's head and slammed him to the ground, creating a crater where he had landed.

"Ow." He groaned.

"What? You told me to go all out. I did...for that brief moment that is." Brandon said.

"I know but still. Jeez, I'm gonna feel that in the morning." The assassin said as he got up from off of the ground.

"So, how about it?" He asked.

Mercury chucked and slapped Brandon across the back.

"I've got your back." Mercury said with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, yeah." The swordsman grumbled.

"Um." The two heard a familiar voice say from behind them, causing the two to turn around to face Emerald herself standing behind the two with a nervous look on her face.

"Well, look who decided to show up." The assassin said.

"Be quiet." She said, staring intently at Brandon.

"...Uh-." He began.

"We need to talk. Now." Emerald said.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode seven of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the seventh episode I recommend reading the trailer for the next enchanted weapon user.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 7 thoughts**

 **So the majority of this episode was basically character interaction. It was Weiss and Yang catching up with team RNJR after all of the months they have been away from home.**

 **I'm glad they did show it and didn't just do it off screen because a lot of show's are guilty of that.**

 **It reminded me a lot of volume one of RWBY in how lighthearted it was. Some of the jokes did make me laugh to, I especially liked the scene with Nora and Yang, shows that Yang is willing to joke around about her lack of arm, and that she has somewhat moved on from what happened.**

 **A person's enjoyment of this episode will really depend on there sense of humor really. If the jokes click with you, then you'll probably like this one.**

 **Also old nicknames from volume one came back, which really does show how the cast have changed since volume one. It really did remind me of the earlier days of when I was watching RWBY when volume one was around.**

 **Though plot wise, the scene really wasn't all that important.**

 **We also get some more explanation as to what happened with Qrow and Raven, which I am glad they addressed right away rather than waiting a volume and a half before bringing it up again.**

 **Also Mercury and Emerald are back.**

 **That's about all that really happened in this episode. It was a very simple one over all.**

 **Also just a quick heads up, this weeks trailer will be the last trailer for the weapon users. So now that all twelve have been revealed now, I have to ask, which one are you guys looking forward to seeing the most?**

 **Review Responce**

 **GOH426:**

 **1) Glad to hear, and he's only getting stronger as the chapters progress.**

 **2) More like they've turned in a whole different direction. He made transcripts and that's about it. It would look rather suspicious if he just randomly made legal files for a sixteen year old.**

 **3) Yeah, she went through some denial through this chapter, though Mercury kinda saw it coming. Doesn't make it easier to digest though.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad to hear you liked the bonus rounds as well as the Yatsuhashi and Coco vs Mercury and Emerald fight, and the Yang and Weiss vs Flynt and Neon. If he didn't have Caliber's power, it would probably be something with energy manipulation, it would have manifested due to the nuclear molecules in his body.**

 **SPDefender: Well, Summer really put him through some non-stop training.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Not really skill, more like dedication to your work.**

 **Donovan: Yeah, there is.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Thanks.**

 **CraazyReader: Trust me, Cardin is going to have more of a role in the future of volume three and beyond.**

 **alertpoet91: Here ya go.**

 **Donovan:**

 **Sienna Khan: Well, that seems quite rude of you.**

 **Aren't you supposed to be dead?**

 **Sienna Khan: Not in this universe I'm not.**

 **Oniele: Thanks.**

 **Oniele: It's to show that Brandon thinks he's a lot tougher than he actually is.**

 **Oniele: Thanks.**

 **hunter81095: I fixed the last part but they told them about the physical link between the two so that they didn't accidentally injure Brandon.**

 **Oniele: She is.**

 **Oniele: Yeah I fixed that, team CFVY doesn't lose a single member in that chapter.**

 **Oniele: Been meaning to re write those earlier chapters so that they're more refined and believable.**

 **Oniele: Of joy, or something else?**

 **myfunvideos: Well, that's the job of a writer. To prove people's head cannons wrong.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Single action. Though it's customized with two barrels for the charged shots.**

 **Anonymous: I have no idea what your referencing but I like it.**

 **Anonymous: Also been meaning to change that.**

 **Anonymous: Like I said. Been meaning to change that. Probably gonna start this weekend.**

 **Anonymous: Oh yeah.**

 **Anonymous:...Uh, no?**

 **Anonymous: Well, team reformed more like.**

 **Anonymous: Yeah, he was asleep.**

 **Oniele: Not my original idea.**

 **dragonborn795: Thanks.**

 **CaptainToast321: I quote from the first chapter.**

 **"So I guess reincarnation is out of the window.** **Then again, if it were reincarnation, I wouldn't be here, I would be in someones arms.** **I also wouldn't be having these thoughts." If you're going to complain about the writing of the story, make sure to get your facts right.**

 **Zamasu: Wow, I must be doing something right if a humanity hating Kaioshin like yourself likes my story. Which is written by a human.**

* * *

If you thought that it was impossible to traverse the desert of Vacuo, try making your way through the frozen tundra of Atlas. It's like a non-stop blizzard in the mountain area's of the tundra, making it impossible for anyone to navigate through it.

Though no successful risk taken goes unrewarded. Waiting in the mountains is a life time supplies of dust, some types waiting to be discovered by humanity. One could make a fortune selling this dust, implying that they know how to handle the unstable raw form of dust.

One of these group of people that were willing to take this risk in order to gain riches were traversing the snow of Atlas right now. Though so far, there was no mountain in sight.

"Come on men! Just a little bit further. Once we reach the caves of the mountains we'll set up camp and rest for the night!" The leader said.

"But we've been walking for hours and we haven't even seen a glimpse of the mountains." One of the members of the group said.

"Yeah, and our tracks have been completely covered up. How is Atlas supposed to help us if they can't even find us!" A female asked.

"Quit your whining! We'll be completely loaded if we do manage to get to these mountains!" The man said.

"Honestly, sometimes I think he's just to hard on us. Don't you think?" One of the men from back of the group asked his friend.

"...Jerry?" The man asked as he turned to face Jerry.

Though the man was nowhere to be seen, causing the man to stop in his tracks.

"H-ha ha. Very f-funny." The man said.

"...H-hey guys! Have you seen-?" The man began, though his group had already moved on without him, leaving his stranded in the blizzard.

"G-gu-!" He began, only for a figure to tackle the man to the ground.

"Hmm, I think I see the mountains up ahead!" The man said.

"Wait, isn't the Skaal supposed to live in those mountains?" One of the men asked.

"Yeah, but we haven't heard from them in years. They probably all died off in the snow." He said.

"But what if they didn't, I'm sure they wouldn't be to happy at the fact that we're taking their dust." A woman said.

"Even if they're still around, as long as they don't find out it was us we'll be fine." He said.

"But what about the rumors of the guardian of the mountains?" A man asked.

"You mean that folk tale? Trust me, that's nothing more than a myth told to people so that they'll stay away from the mountains. I mean, that's ridiculous, right guys?" The man asked.

.

.

"Guys?" He asked as he turned around to face his team. Though he was only met with the icy snow of Atlas, his team was nowhere to be seen.

"W-what in the-?!" The man began, only for the silhouette of a figure walking through the snow to cut him off.

"W-who the hell are you?!" He asked, pointing his gun at the figure.

They just kept on walking towards the man, each step echoing in the mans mind.

"I-I'm warning you! I-I'll shoot!" He said, though this didn't stop the figure.

"Alright! You asked for-!" The man began, only for the silhouette to disappear in the last second.

Before he could question what just happened, he fell to the ground and laid in the snow completely unconscious.

"Well, that takes care of that. Now where did I put that bear?" A young female asked herself as she looked around in the snow.

"Hmm, there it is." She said, walking over to a white lump in the ground.

The female figure picked up the bear and threw it over her head, the bear being at least twice her size. After she was certain that the men were gone, she started to walk towards a large mountain in the distance.

* * *

 **Guardian of The Mountains**

 **Race: Faunus**

 **Trait: Unknown**

 **Weapon: Mace's**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 186 lbs**

 **Age: 108**

 **Outfit: White, Brown, Black**

 **Handedness:** **Ambidexterity**

 **Complexion: Pale**

 **Hair Color: White**

 **Eye color: Gray**

 **Aura Color: Ice Blue**

 **Semblance: Spirit.**

 **Weapon Spirit: Sharur**

 **Appearance: Unknown**

 **Destructive Power: Unknown**

 **Speed: Unknown**

 **Endurance: Unknown**

 **Precision: Unknown**

 **Potential Growth: Unknown**

 **Range: Unknown**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 105**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 72**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 50**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 28**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	62. Thief's Resolve

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World.** **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Chapters 1-4 have been rewritten.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Thief's Resolve"

Thought: _'Thief's Resolve'_

Flashback: _"Thief's Resolve"_

.

.

"So...hey Emerald." I waved.

"Hey." Emerald said, her serious expression not leaving her face.

 _ **"There's tension in the air."**_ Caliber said.

Yeah, I can tell.

 _ **"Well, this was bound to happen eventually. The fact that the thief here in the first place means that the seed of doubt has been planted in her mind."**_ He said.

Thank god for that, honestly she was the one I was most worried about. She was the most loyal to Cinder, so her coming here already means that she's willing to hear what I have to say.

 _ **"Though this part of the game has yet to be won, my boy. While you may have convinced the assassin to join our side of the game, convincing the girl will prove to be quite the challenge."**_ The spirit stated.

You're really good at motivating people, you know that?

 _ **"I only speak from a realistic point of view."**_ He said.

Fair enough, let's see if we can't finish this phase and move onto the main game.

"So...what's up?" I asked.

"I think you know why I'm here." She said.

"...Is it about last night or-?" I began to ask.

"Of course it's about last night! What else would it be about?!" Emerald yelled.

Okay, not off to a good start.

"...Look, I get that you're not exactly happy with what you just heard-." I began.

"That's a bit of an understatement." The green thief commented.

"But what the hell was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch you two die?" I asked.

"...Everything I've been fighting for, everything we've worked for has all been for one giant lie." Emerald said.

"Though you're alive." I said.

"Yeah, I am. Though what am I supposed to do now?" The thief asked. " I believed her, I trusted everything she was saying. Now I learn that everything she was saying to me all those years ago was just to convince me to join her cause." Emerald said.

"She didn't want me for me. She wanted my abilities." She said.

"...Hey, can you give us a minute?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah sure." Mercury said as he started to walk away from the duo.

I sighed and sat underneath the tree, patting the area next to me.

"Sit down." I said.

Emerald started to rub her right arm before nodding, sitting next to me on the grass.

"So, let's start from the beginning. How exactly did you meet Cinder to begin with?" I asked.

"..."

"Em, you can trust me. Sure I may not exactly be the best guy when it comes to this whole comforting thing, but I'm not about to just forget the past two years we spent together." I said.

"...It all started when I left Mistral. When I left Eugene to go out into the world." Emerald said.

"I'm assuming that Eugene is the name of your dad, right?" I asked.

"Yep, he was the one who taught me everything I knew about being a thief." She said.

"What was he like?" I asked, attempting to get any information regarding the user of Carnwennan.

"He wasn't home a whole lot, being an assassin and all." Emerald said. "Though the times that he was home he would spend training me, whether it be on being a thief or an assassin." She said.

"Why exactly did he train you to become a criminal?" I asked.

"Well, I lived in the city of thieves at the time so it's either learn how to steal and kill or die." Emerald said.

"Besides, they were some useful skills to have. Look at how tough I am now?" She said.

"Okay, was killing and stealing all he knew how to do?" I asked.

"No, he was also more into other things. Most of which I was never able to understand at the time." Emerald said.

"Is he still in Mistral?" I asked.

"Well, he's always on the move really. He goes all around the world to take down targets." She said.

"Hmm, is that so?" I asked.

"Let me guess, you want to meet him because he has a spirit like you do, right?" Emerald asked.

"That obvious?" I asked.

"Pretty much. Though I don't really blame you. You guys do have the same powers." She said.

"So, shy did you leave?" I asked.

"Because...I wanted to do more." Emerald said. "I didn't want to just steal and kill for the rest of my life. I actually wanted to make a difference in the world. For all the people that grew up in similar situations like I did." She said.

"But I thought you-?" I began.

"I mean before I meant Eugene." Emerald said.

"Oh, got it." I said.

"So, I left Eugene a letter, and I went out into the world of Remnant." She said. "I had the skills needed to take the things I needed to survive, as well as the abilities to hold my own in a fight." Emerald said.

"After a few months, things weren't really looking up for me." She said.

"I went into an ocean side town near Vale so I could pick a few pockets and grab anything that might be worth value." Emerald said.

"Eventually, I came across a jewelry store, and boy did it have a lot of things that would catch a high price in the big city." She said. "So, I went into the store, went up to the store clerk when I knew that no one was looking, and I took the ring from right out of his hands." Emerald said.

"Though I guess I wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought. Somebody saw me steal the ring from the clerks hands." She said.

"Heh, Eugene would probably kill me if he ever found out about that." Emerald said. "So, I ran. I was confident that none of them would ever be able to catch me. Though one was able to keep up with me, despite me using my Semblance and all." She said.

"That's where I met Cinder Fall." Emerald said.

* * *

 ** _3 years earlier_**

 _"Someone call the police!" The lady from within the store yelled._

 _"How did she do that?!" The owner of the store asked._

 _'Heh, that was easier than I thought.' Emerald mused to herself._

 _'Okay, all I have to do is get out of town and-.' She began, only for the sound of footsteps coming from behind her to cut her off._

 _Emerald spun her head around to see a woman in red running towards her with a smirk on her face._

 _'Tch, guess I spoke to soon. Now I've got someone on my tail.' The thief thought bitterly as she ran down the road._

 _'I gotta shake her off of my tail.' Emerald thought as she bolted down the road._

 _After she ran a few feet, she looked back to see that the woman was doing surprisingly well for someone in high heals._

 _Emerald growled and made a sharp turn to the left, though the woman was still right on her tail._

 _"Look, I'm not with them! Just come with me and I'll find you a place to hide while I distract the jeweler and the officers!" Cinder shouted._

 _"Yeah right! You expect me to believe that crap?!" Emerald shouted as she ran down an alley way. While this would normally be a dead end for most low lived thieves, Emerald wasn't your common thief. She was a professional._

 _She jumped onto the Dumpster, onto the wall and used her momentum to launch herself onto the ceiling._

 _The lady growled and started to do similar movements to that of the thief._

 _'Okay, she's good, I'll give her that." Emerald said as she stared at the lady following her and narrowed her eyes._

 _'Didn't think I'd have to use my semblance for a getaway of all things.' The thief said to herself as she activated her semblance._

 _"Will you stop-!" The lady yelled as she reached to grab the runaway thief, though her hand simply phased through the girl._

 _"Running." She said as the girl disappeared._

 _The woman narrowed her eye's and started to look around the town in attempts to find the girl._

 _"Hmm. She's good." The woman said._

 _"Though her craft could use some work." She said, catching a glimpse of the girls green hair in the corner of her eye._

 _"Hah, hah. Whew. That was way to close for comfort." Emerald said to herself, making her escape into a nearby alleyway._

 _"Okay, all I need to do is to get out of town and-." The thief began._

 _"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." She heard the lady's voice say from behind her, causing the thief to spin her head around to face her._

 _Emerald growled as she started to back up, though the feeling of the hard wall stopped her dead in her tracks._

 _'Shit. Dead end.' The thief thought to herself, staring at the woman with a glare on her face._

 _"I just want to talk." The woman said in between breaths._

 _Emerald's glare only deepened as the woman continued to move closer to her._

 _"How did you do that?" She asked._

 _Emerald's only response was to reach for her two guns._

 _"I wouldn't if I were you. Though if you are so determined to be caught then by all means, fire away." The woman said._

 _The thief growled and took her hands off of her guns._

 _"What do you want?" Emerald asked._

 _"Hmm, what do I want? That's quite the personal question for someone whom you have just met." She said._

 _"H-huh?! No! I mean what do you want with-?!" The thief began, only for the woman to cut her off._

 _"I want to be strong. Stronger than anyone else in this world. No matter what it takes." The lady said._

 _"...As I was saying. What do you want with me?" Emerald asked._

 _"Ah, that's a much better question. I wanted to have a little chat with you, though from the looks of it you aren't in a talkative mood at the moment, now are you?" She asked._

 _"I didn't do anything...well at least to you but that's not the point! Just back off!" She said._

 _"...You know, I know my fair share of liars and thieves-." She began began._

 _"Gee, thanks." Emerald said._

 _"As I was saying, stealing is an art of patience, coordination, and in a pinch, slight of hand." She began._ _"But you didn't steal that ring in your pocket, did you?" The woman in red asked, causing Emerald's eyes to narrow._

 _"You took it right before the jeweler's eyes, and he smiled, as if he didn't even know he was being robbed." She said. "So I will ask again. How did you do that?" The woman asked._

 _"...Who are you?" Emerald asked._

 _"Answering a question with another question isn't a polite way to further a conversation." She said._

 _"I'm a thief. People don't exactly think it's polite when I steal their stuff." Emerald said._

 _"Hmm, fair point. Very well, my name is Cinder Fall, what's yours?" Cinder asked._

 _"...Emerald." The thief said._

 _"Emerald. Now tell me Emerald, how did you do that?" She asked._

 _"Why do you want to know?" Emerald asked._

 _"Answer the question and maybe you'll find out." Cinder said._

 _"...It's my Semblance." She said._

 _"Oh? Do go on." She said._

 _"I'm able to do single target illusions to anyone I make eye contact with. It's how I was able to get you off of my back." Emerald said._

 _"An illusion semblance you say?" Cinder asked._

 _"Yeah. Well I've told you what you need to know. Now back off already!" She said._

 _"Now why would I do that? You haven't even heard by offer yet." She said._

 _"...Offer?" Emerald asked._

 _"Interested?" Cinder asked._

 _"...What do I get out of this?" She asked._

* * *

 _"Follow me. I'll show you things that will make you question everything you know." She said as she started to walk out of the alleyway._

 _The thief narrowed his eyes but eventually started to follow the maiden._

 _After a twenty minutes of walking later, the two managed to escape the town and into the forest._

 _"Alright, I've followed you all this way, now what do you-?!" She began, only for the sight of three Beowolves to cut her off._

 _"The hell?!" She yelled as she pulled out her pistols._

 _"Wait!" Cinder commanded._

 _"Wait?! What the hell do you want me to wait for?!" Emerald yelled._

 _The maiden's only response was to walk over to the Beowolves with a smile on her face._

 _'The hell is she doing?! Maybe I should just run while I still have the-.' She began to think, only for Cinder to place her hand on the Beowolves hand._

 _If that wasn't enough, the Grimm actually started to rub up against Cinder's arm._

 _"...W-w-what?!" Emerald asked._

 _"It's as I said. You will question everything you know." She said._

 _"...Who ARE you?" She asked._

 _"You already know who I am. I'm Cinder Fall, and I have an offer for you." Cinder said._

 _"...What do you want?" Emerald asked._

 _"I wish to take on an apprentice." She said._

 _"An apprentice?" She asked._

 _"Yes, a student, a pupil, someone to take over in case something unfortunate happened to me." Cinder said._

 _"Why?" Emerald asked._

 _"Because, I want you to become apart of something great." She said. "Soon, not now, not tomorrow, maybe not even this year, but soon there will be a revolution. One that will change the very fabric of how the world works." Cinder said._

 _"And I want you to be apart of that. So how about it?" She asked as she extended her hand outwards._

 _"Come with me, and you'll never have to suffer again." She said._

 _"...Thank you." Emerald said as she grasped Cinder's hand._

* * *

 ** _Present_**

"That's basically what happened. That's how I was fooled into thinking that Cinder actually gave a damn about me." Emerald said.

"..." I just sat there in silence, not really sure how to respond to what Emerald said

"So I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked Cinder. Why? Why are you helping me? Even after knowing about our plan?" She asked.

"Emerald, I knew about your plan for a long time now." I said.

"...Wait, what?! How the hell did you-?!" Emerald began.

"A man told me about it, don't ask who you'd never believe me." I said.

The green thief looked at me with a mixture of both shock and confusion.

"Though I didn't expect that you and Merc would be apart of it. Which is why I'm trying to get you out of this." I said.

"..."

"Emerald, I know that you're not exactly in the best of moods right now. You just realized that the person who promised you a utopia or whatever was going to kill you right after you helped her get the other half of her powers." I said.

"Which is why I want you to really think about this before you make a decision." I said.

"What?" Emerald asked.

"Join me. Help me fight Cinder, help me stop a war that might very well destroy everyone in the crossfire." I said.

"..." The green thief just stared at me with a look of confusion on her face.

"I know that after seeing what Cinder is and will be capable of, the thought of rebelling against her might be a bit intimidating." I said.

"..."

"I'm fine going in solo. I've been doing it ever since I found out about this plan. Though that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have a few allies watching my back." I said.

 _ **"Ahem, aren't you forgetting someone?"**_ Caliber asked.

Right, you'll be there too, and if our plan works then so will eleven others.

"...What do you think I should do?" Emerald asked.

"That's up to you. Do what you think is right. Even if you decide to go back to Cinder after all this, at least you chose." I said.

"..." The assassin took out the ring she had stolen the day she had met Cinder in the palm of her hand.

After a few seconds, she clenched the ring in her hand and turned towards me.

"Okay. I'll do it." Emerald said.

"...Wait, really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll help you fight Cinder. If I was nothing more than a tool to her, then I don't see a reason to stick around." She said.

"You sure? This isn't exactly going to be a walk in the park." I said.

"Brandon, I've never been more sure of myself in my entire life. Let's make Cinder pay." Emerald said as she held her hand out.

"Well then, that's good to hear...Um, hey Emerald?" I said.

"Yeah?" She asked.

My only response was to bring in Emerald for a quick embrace before pushing her away.

 _ **"Well now, I see someone is showing another side of himself."**_ Caliber said.

Shut up.

"That didn't happen." I said.

Emerald was about to speak up, but I quickly cut her off before she could.

"Seriously! I will throw you off of the tower if I hear anyone talking about this!" I threatened.

The thief just stood there in shock before she started to laugh.

"Alright, alright. I get it, you wanna keep your tough guy image." She said.

"Shut up and let's go." I said.

"Where?" Emerald asked.

"Well you can't exactly stay in the rooms you and Merc were sleeping in, so I prepared some new ones today." I said."...Actually, before we go. There's something I want to do." The thief said.

* * *

 _ **3rd Person POV**_

 _'Well, that could have gone better.'_ Cinder thought to herself bitterly as she made her way down the hallway.

 _'I always knew Mercury would rebel one day, but I didn't expect him to do it now of all times.'_ She thought.

 _'It's strange that he would pick now of all times to rebel against our plans.'_ Cinder thought.

 _'I don't know how but someone must have told him of what I intended to do to him and Emerald after I had acquired the other half of the maidens power.'_ She thought.

 _'Perhaps it was Roman?...No, that man couldn't care less about what happens to those two. There's no way he would risk his own behalf for the sake of them. Though if it wasn't him, then who?'_ Cinder asked.

After a few seconds of deep thought, she eventually shrugged it off.

 _'Well, no matter the reason, it won't stop our original plans for this academy, as well as for that fool Ozpin.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'I'll have to send in one of the Phantoms to go after him once this is all over.'_ Cinder thought.

 _'Though from what I saw in the match, the blonde one was indeed under the affects of Emerald illusion. That means that Emerald either has yet to figure out what Mercury has, or she isn't foolish enough to rebel against me.'_ She thought.

 _'You have made a grave mistake Mercury Black. At least Emerald will have the privilege of a quick and easy death. I will make sure you suffer.'_ Cinder thought.

Eventually, she arrived at the area where Mercury and Emerald were supposed to be staying.

 _'I should have a word with the girl. No doubt she's rather confused by this sudden development. I must clear things up with her before she starts getting the wrong idea.'_ She thought as she opened the door.

"Emerald, I wish to speak with you about...today." Cinder said, though what she saw was the empty room where Emerald and Mercury should have been.

 _'Where has she run off to now?'_ She asked herself.

She walked over to their bathroom and started to knock on the door, though she eventually moved on after a few seconds of silence.

"Where in the world-?" Cinder began, only for the sight of a piece of paper sitting on the bed of Emerald to cut her off.

Cinder went over to Emeralds bed and picked up the note.

 _ **"Dear, Cinder."**_ The letter began.

 _ **"If you're reading this, then that probably means you came to our room to talk about what happened today. I'm not sure if you were just going to kill us or continue to lead us to believe that you truly intended to make us apart of your cause."**_ It said, causing the Maiden to pinch the note in between her finger and thumb.

 _ **"Mercury and I found out what your real intentions for us were. We found out about what you were going to do to us once we helped you gain the other half of the Maidens power."**_ It said.

 _ **"You asked us if we believed in destiny. At first I didn't think the idea of destiny wasn't even possible, though after everything that's happened, I can safely say that it was destiny, fate, that we didn't get the other half of the Maiden's power that day."**_ It said.

 _ **"I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for me. For teaching me and showing me all of the things I'll need to truly make a change in this world."**_ It said.

 _ **"And it starts with stopping you from taking the relic."**_ It said, causing Cinder's eyes to glow.

 _ **"Goodbye Cinder. Until we meet again, though this time I won't be on your side of the battle."**_ It said.

 _ **"Emerald."**_ It finished, causing Cinder to burn the letter in her hands.

"So, it's finally come to this, hasn't it?" She growled.

"I didn't think she of all people would rebel against me." Cinder said.

"Well isn't that just a shame?" A female voice asked, causing Cinder to spin her head around to face the source of the voice.

She held her hand out, a flame emanating from the palm of her hand.

"Oh come on now, aren't you gonna give your good old friend a warm welcome?" The voice asked.

Suddenly, a female figure appeared out of nowhere. She wore black pants, the front and back part of the leg's glowing with a green light. She also wore some sort of pointed hood over her hoodie, the chest area and the edge of the hood glowing with the same green light.

She wore glowing green glove-warmers, a pair of glowing green heeled boots, and a mask with markings that went around her eyes and extended to her ears, the markings glowing with the same green light as the rest of her clothing.

"Hey there Cindy Windy. Been awhile hasn't it?" The woman asked.

"Lilith?!" Cinder yelled.

"The one and only." The newly named Lilith said.

"What are you doing here?!" She yelled.

"I just came here to check to see how well you were progressing." She said as she snatched the note away from Cinder.

"Hmm...well now, seems like you're having a little trouble with your plan." Lilith said.

The "I'm doing fine. Everything's under control." Cinder said.

"You call this under control? You've got half of the maidens power and two people gone rogue. I can safely say that this little plan of your is starting to fall apart." She said.

"Is that the only reason you have come here?! Just to taunt me?" She asked.

"Hmm maybe." Lilith said.

"Why you-!" Cinder began, only for Lilith to appear behind her and put her in a headlock.

"Aw come on Cindy. Can't a girl have a little fun?" She asked.

"Just get out already! I don't need you! Everything is fine!" She said.

"Jeez, no need to be so hostile. Not like I'm here to steal your thunder." Lilith said.

"..."

"So, what exactly is the grand master plan of yours?" She asked, jumping onto the bed.

"Why do you want to know?" Cinder asked.

"I'm just curious as to what you have in store for Vale." Lilith said.

"The plan is as Salem said, kill Ozpin, get the Maidens power and retrieve the relic of choice." She said.

"Yeah, well I wanna know how you plan on doing that." She said.

"Hah, we're going to draw Grimm into the walls of the city, free the Grimm Dragon that's being held in the mountain, and during all the commotion, I'm going to find the Fall Maiden and then kill Ozpin." Cinder said.

"What do you mean find her? You have half of her powers already, that bug you used to extract the power had a fail safe just in case you somehow managed to mess up the extraction process. What the hell happened to it?" Lilith asked.

"It was...destroyed." She said.

"...Okay how in the hell did that happen?" She asked.

"I don't know. I was just walking back to Beacon and then suddenly I didn't feel the signal the Grimm was letting loose. I already know that the Maiden is here in Beacon, all I have to do is wait until the day of the fall before I can get the other half of the powers." Cinder said.

"Wow, we give you the only Grimm that has a sure fire way of getting you the powers and you screw it all up." Lilith said.

"I'm working on it." Cinder said.

"Well, as long as the old wizard kicks the bucket, I really don't care how you do things." She said.

"Tch, so how are the others progressing?" She asked.

"Well, I'm sure you already know about how Watt's has his little finger wrapped around old Lionheart." Lilith said.

"Yes, I am quite aware of Watt's progression in Mistral." Cinder said.

"Kuma is still looking for that island that Salem is looking for." She said. "Hazel is still stationed in Vacuo, and Vlad is stationed in Atlas." Lilith said.

"Abel is still looking for that treasure that's hidden in the forest. Finally, Tyrian's still looking for the spring maiden." She said.

"What of the others?" Cinder asked.

"Ush is still on standby for further orders from Salem. Cain is...well being Cain at the moment, and I'm sure you know how Salem feels about Iris going into the field, at least until she thinks she ready that is." Lilith said.

"Yes, I am aware of that." She said.

"So, I assume that when you mean "We" that you're referring to the White Fang?" Lilith asked.

"That is what Salem asked me to do, is it not?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, well at least you did one thing correctly. Congrats on that." She said.

"Grr." She growled.

"Well, I'll leave ya to your grand master plan. Try not to mess it up." Lilith said as she snapped her fingers, causing a green portal to appear in the center of the room.

"Later." Lilith said as she walked into the portal, causing it to close behind her.

Once Cinder knew she was gone, the Maiden let out an audible sight and stared out into the window.

 _'I'll admit, Mercury and Emeralds betrayal will alter the plan quite a bit. Most of the plan relied on Emerald's semblance, though I supposed plan B will have to do.'_ Cinder thought to herself.

 _'Though who was the one to tell Emerald and Mercury about my intentions after the plan?'_ She asked herself. After a few seconds of deep thought she eventually shook her head.

 _'It's been a long day. I need some air.'_ Cinder said to herself as she started to walk out of the room.

Though as she started to walk down the hall, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Terribly so-!" She began, only to see just who exactly it was she ran into.

As the figure turned around to face Cinder, she could clearly see the spirit bearer himself, Brandon Kim.

"..."

The two just stared at one another, Cinder staring at Brandon with an expression of surprise, while the swordsman himself had a very serious look on his face.

"...Who _are_ you?" Cinder asked.

The only response Brandon gave was to walk away from the Maiden without saying a word to her.

 _'...Alright. You've grabbed my attention, spirit bearer.'_ The Maiden said as she started to walk down the hallway.

* * *

"Looks like it's almost time." Alerio said as he and his sister, Aleria, walked through the Forever Fall forest where the main base of the Vale district of the White Fang laid.

"Yep, Ilia and Veronica had just finished there sides of the plan. All we have to do is wait and then we strike at the humans." Aleria said.

"Still, doesn't this seem a bit...extreme?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, we're basically going to be tearing town one of the four kingdoms of Vale, a kingdom that's been here for generations." Alerio said.

"I know, but Adam made his choice. If he says that this is necessary for our message to be heard, then I guess that's what we're gonna do." Aleria said.

"Still, innocent people and Faunus live in the walls of the kingdom. Do you honestly think they deserve this? Any of this?" He asked.

"Look I...I don't know." She said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Alerio asked.

"I mean I don't know. I don't like the humans for what they did to us, though I'm not exactly so sure about bringing an entire civilization to the ground." Aleria said.

"Then why don't we do something about it! You know that what we're doing isn't the way we're gonna get the message across!" He said.

"Well, Sienna Khan said that our days of passiveness were over. If we're gonna gain the respect we deserve, we're going to have to take it ourselves. She said the only way to gain true equality from the humans is to make them fear us." She said.

"I don't want them to fear us! I want them to respect us!" Alerio said.

"We tried making them respect us. Ghira tried making them respect us, and look where that got him." Aleria said.

"And it was working! Things were going so well when Ghira was in power!" He said.

"Then why did he and Kali leave us?" She asked.

"..."

"Let's face it Alerio. His methods weren't working, even they could see that." Aleria said.

"But still, how can you be okay with this? Is this really what we're fighting for?" Alerio asked.

"We won't know until we try." She said.

"Do we really want to find out?! I mean, Blake left because she didn't agree with the methods we were using! How can you stand there and say that these methods are justified when even Blake wasn't able to stand there and say it!" He said.

"Blake made her choice. She choose to leave us, and Adam was left to pick up the pieces of what was broken." Aleria said. "Also need I remind you that you and I aren't exactly saints ourselves. We're thieves, even before the times of the White Fang we were thieves." She said.

"Yeah! We only stole from those who deserved it! We stole so that the people who didn't have lien could make a living for themselves! We never stole for our own personal benefit!" Alerio said.

"..."

"What would the gang back home say if they saw us doing what we were doing today?!" He asked.

"Alerio." Aleria growled.

"What would Dove say if she saw us doing what we were doing?!" Alerio asked. "What would Jay say?! Jenna?!" He asked.

"They abandoned us." She said.

"They had every right to be mad at what we did! What we did was wrong!" Alerio said.

"It had to have been done." Aleria said.

"Yeah?! Would Robin agree to-?!" He began, only for Aleria to grab her brother by the collar, holding him up against the wall.

"Don't! Ever! Mention that name!" She said.

"We both made a choice, they made a choice." Aleria said.

"We're not going back. Not after that." She growled.

Though after a few seconds, the bird Faunus realized what exactly she was doing and let go of her brother.

"I-Look Alerio. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to-." She began.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have brought it up. I know that you were the one who was most affected from what happened. I shouldn't have just brought it up like that." Alerio said.

"No, I shouldn't have lashed out the way I did. I knew how much you cared for them." Aleria said.

"Hey, as much as I love each and everyone of those guys, there's no way in hell that I'm going to just up and abandon my little sister." He said.

"Twenty seconds doesn't count." She said.

"Yeah, sure it doesn't." Alerio said as he held his hands out.

"Awkward sibling hug?" He asked.

"...Okay, I'll do it just this once." Aleria said as she went in for the hug.

"Aw yeah! I finally got you to do it!" He said.

"Don't push it." She said.

"I know, I know." Alerio said. "Still, you ever consider going back? For old times sake?" He asked.

"Hah." Aleria sighed as she pulled out her scroll and opened up a picture.

"You kept it?" Her brother asked.

"Of course I kept it. Robin was the reason I kept pushing forward during those times." She said.

"Yeah...wait, hey!" Alerio said.

"You know what I mean, idiot." Aleria said.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, the sight of a familiar chameleon Faunus walking through the hall cut them off.

"Where's she going? The Bullheads are that way." He said.

"Hmm." Aleria hummed to herself as she started to walk after Ilia.

"Hey! Where are you going now?!" He asked, following his sister.

They continued to follow the chameleon Faunus until they eventually flowed her to the top of the base.

"What is she doing?" He asked.

"I don't know! Shut up!" She said.

"...I know you're not here right now. As much as I want you to be I know you're not here." Ilia said. "Why? Why did you leave? Why did you have to leave us? Why did you have to leave me?" Ilia asked.

"...Oh! Oh she's talking about-?!" Alerio began.

"Yep." Aleria said.

"We're going to be putting our plan into action soon. I'll try to make it quick if we ever see each other again." Ilia said.

The twins looked at one another and nodded.

"Hey." Aleria said, catching the attention of Ilia.

"W-what the-?! How long have you two been-?!" Ilia began.

"Don't worry about that." Alerio began as he went to go and sit by Ilia.

"Look, we know how you feel about Blake." He said.

"W-what?! I-I don't know what your talking about! W-we were just friends! T-that's all!" She said.

"Oh we know. But we also know that you wanted to be...more than just friends." Alerio said.

"...H-how did you-?" Ilia began.

"Let's be honest Ilia. It's not exactly easy to hide your emotions when your skin, spots, and eyes literally telegraph them with various colors." Aleria said.

"...H-how many people know?" She asked.

"I'm sure everyone but Blake, which I don't know how, knows about your feelings for Blake." Alerio began.

"...Oh my Oum." Ilia said, burying her face into her legs.

"Look, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's perfectly natural." He said.

"I know. It's just that...it's hard." Ilia said. "It's just...when she left, I felt as if a piece of me had just been ripped away from me by force. I felt...betrayed." She said.

"...Well, you know the saying. Plenty of fish in the sea." Alerio said. "Luckily for you, you've got yourself an expert fish catcher right here." He said.

"Alerio-." Ilia began.

"Don't worry. I'll help you find that perfect girl. We all have the people we're called to. You just have to find that-." He began.

"Alerio. I'm fine with dating a guy. I just like both is all." She said.

"...Oh. Well neither of us can really help you with the guy category." Alerio said.

"But...Aleria's a girl, right?" Ilia asked.

"Here's the thing Ilia...Aleria's not exactly into guys." He said.

"...Wait, are you-?!" She began.

"Yep." Aleria said.

"...How long?" Ilia asked.

"I guess when I first looked a girl I really _really_ liked." She said.

"Oh. W-wow. I didn't really know you were into women." Ilia said.

"Yep." Aleria said.

"...Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" She asked.

"Once." She said as she pulled out her scroll.

"Her name was Robin. She was...amazing." Aleria said.

"Wow. She's cute." She said, staring at the blue haired Faunus.

"Thanks." She said.

"Where is she now? Do you two talk often?" Ilia asked.

"...Um." Aleria began.

"What?" She asked.

"Let me rephrase that. We _were_ together." She said.

"...O-oh! I'm sorry." Ilia said.

"It's fine. It happened a long time ago. She probably moved on by now. I might as well to." Aleria said.

"How did you two break up?" She asked.

"Hah. That's something that's a bit personal. For both Alerio and myself." She said.

"Yeah, let's just say that we did something that really upset her, and it wasn't something she was just willing to overlook." Alerio said.

"...Oh." Ilia said. "So how did you get over her?" She asked.

"I didn't." She said.

"Oh...wait, what?" Ilia asked.

"I never got over her. I still love her. I always will, even if she may not see me in the same way." Aleria said.

"I'll never stop loving her. But I'll never let that prevent me from moving on." She said.

"Come on. It's almost time." She said.

"Right." Ilia said as she put on her mask and started to walk after the twins.

* * *

"Are you sure that's what you saw Yang?" Ruby asked her sister after hearing her story on what she saw in the arena.

"There's no doubt about it. As soon as I turned away he was just starting to attack me." Yang said.

"But we saw Mercury run to the edge of the arena during the end of the match." Weiss said.

"Yeah, then he just jumped off of the edge. After that you just swung your fist at the thin air." Blake said.

"I know what I saw! He started to attack me! Though that's not the half of it! When I was going in for the punch, he just disappeared." She said.

"Disappeared?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. Like he wasn't even there to begin with." Yang said.

"Look Yang, we trust you. We really do. But what we know what we saw. We all know what we saw. Mercury jumped off of the arena, he never attacked you." Weiss said.

"Don't you guys trust me?" She asked.

"Yang, of course we do. We all trust you with our own lives." Blake said.

"Look, there has to be a reasonable explanation to all of this. Why don't we just ask Mercury?" Weiss asked.

"That's the thing. After the match was over, I went to go and find him. Though no matter where I looked or who I asked, I couldn't find him. It was as if he disappeared off of the face of the planet." Yang said.

"Really? Just like that?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, Emerald was nowhere to be found either. I tried calling him but every time I did it just went to voice mail." She said.

"This is weird. Why would both Emerald and Mercury leave at the exact same time?" Blake asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Yang said.

"Hmm, something weird's going on here." Ruby said.

"No kidding." She said.

"...Look, it seems as if this tournament has taken a toll on all of us. How about we get some coffee to wind down a bit?" Weiss asked.

"Hmm...Yeah, I can go for some coffee." Yang said.

"I'm more of a tea person." Blake said.

"You wanna come Ruby?" She asked.

"No thanks. The waiter always goes so low on the sugar and cream." Ruby said. "I think I'm gonna go watch the next match today." She said.

"Well suit yourself." Yang said as she and the rest of team RWBY started to walk out of the room.

"Hey." They heard Jaune call out.

"Oh, sup vomit boy." Yang said.

"Oh so we're doing this again, aren't we?" He asked dryly.

"Hey Jaune." Ruby said.

"So...you guys doing okay? You all seemed stress before." Jaune said.

"We're fine now." Weiss said.

"Yeah, we're just going to get some coffee. Wind down a bit." Yang said.

"Okay, but if there's anything we can do. Please don't hesitate to ask." Ren said.

"Alright then. Though we're doing okay." She said.

"Hey Pyrrha!" Ruby said.

"Hmm? Yes what is it?" She asked.

"Be sure to win one for Beacon!" She said.

"Oh! Of course! I'd be delighted." Pyrrha said.

"Don't be to cocky though. There can only be one winner, and that's gonna be me." Yang said.

"Is that a challenge?" She asked.

"You know it is. So don't go losing if you're picked to night." She said as she and the rest of team RWBY started to walk off.

"I'll be sure to watch your match just in case your picked!" Ruby said as Jaune closed the door.

"You heard the lady! No more slacking off!" Nora said.

"We've gotta get your butt in shape for the big fight!" She said as she magically changed into her workout attire.

"It could be today! It could be tomorrow! It could be the most important fight of your entire life!" Nora yelled.

"...No pressure though." Jaune said.

"Though Nora is right." Ren said as he put on his apron.

"You can't let your concern for team RWBY hold you back. You need to focus, you'll be defending the honor of Beacon Academy." He said.

"Right, I'll do my best!" Pyrrha said.

"Here take this." Ren said, handing Pyrrha a strange glass of green goo.

"Oh. Well this looks...lovely." She said, not wanting to hurt Ren's feelings.

"Thank you. I worked very hard on it." He said.

Though before Pyrrha could take the glass, Nora kicked it out of his hands and sent it flying out of the window.

"Nora!" Ren said.

"What?! I'm trying to prevent you from poisoning our friend!" She yelled.

"What was that?" The spartan asked.

"It was a blend of herbs and vegetables vital for your body's well being." Ren said. "Luckily, I've made extra for situations like this." He said.

"You seriously made more of your secret sli-." Nora began.

"Nora!" Ren shouted.

"Secret _Elixir_! Whatever!" She said.

"Why is it all green?" Jaune asked.

"Well, one of the key nutrients is algae. It contains numerous spectacular properties." Ren said.

"Algae?! You mean like the one in the lake?! Why in the world would you give that to Pyrrha?!" Nora asked.

"Oh come on Nora, it can't be that bad." Jaune said as he took the glass from Ren's hands. After a few seconds, he consumed the entirety of the glass.

"So...what do you think?" Ren asked.

"...Urp!" Jaune gagged as he ran into the bathroom and threw up what he had just consumed.

"See what you did?!" Nora yelled.

"All I see is a waste of perfectly good juice." Ren said.

After a few seconds, Jaune eventually came out of the bathroom.

"We. Are _not_ giving that to Pyrrha." He said.

"But-!" Ren began to protest.

" _No!_ " Both Nora and Jaune shouted.

"...Alright fine. Though I really do believe that it would have helped. Just needed a few minor tweaks is all." Ren said.

"Hmm, how about we all just get some fresh air?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hmm, I suppose we all could go for a little walk before the tournament starts back up." Ren said.

"Well alright then, been while since we've been on one of our team hikes." Jaune said as he started to walk out of the door to the room.

Though as the four started to walk down the hallway, they quickly passed by there friend, Brandon.

"Oh! Hey Brandon! You enjoying the tournament?" He asked.

"..."

"Brandon?" Jaune called out.

"Huh?" He asked, breaking out of his daze.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ren asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking is all." Brandon said.

"What about silly?" Nora asked.

"...Stuff." He said as he walked away from the four.

"...Well that wasn't helpful." She said.

"I'm sure he's fine. Let's go and enjoy ourselves." Jaune said.

Though Pyrrha didn't turn her gaze away from her rival. Ever since he had passed the four she had already known that something was off about him.

He seemed tense, and more so then usual.

"Pyrrha?" Her partner called out, causing her to break out of her daze.

"Huh?" She asked.

"You coming?" Jaune asked.

"...Actually, there's something I need to take care of." Pyrrha said.

"What is it?" He asked.

"That's what I intend to find out." The spartan said as she started to run after the spirit bearer.

"Wait! What do you mean by that?!" Jaune asked, though it was too late, Pyrrha was out of his range.

"What's up?" Nora asked.

"...Change of plans guys, we're going after Pyrrha." He said.

"Why? What's wrong with her?" Ren asked.

"I don't know. Though that's what we're gonna find out." Jaune said with a determined tone in his voice.

Ren and Nora looked at one another with confused looks on there faces before shrugging and running after there leader.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was looking around the area in attempts to find her rival.

 _'Where is he? He couldn't have gone far.'_ Pyrrha thought to herself, running around the campus with a concerned look in her eyes.

Though it was no use, no matter how hard she looked, no matter how hard she looked, she wasn't able to find her rival anywhere.

 _'Please, I want to return the favor for making me feel like a true equal to someone. For giving me something that would push me to even greater heights.'_ The spartan thought to herself.

 _'Though you need to let me in first.'_ She said.

After a few more minutes of running, she eventually found the swords man standing in front of Beacon tower with his head to the sky.

Pyrrha took a deep breath and started to walk towards Brandon with a determined look in her eyes.

"So, this is it, huh?" He asked.

 _'Hmm?'_ Pyrrha internally hummed.

"Today's the big day. Let's just hope that everything we've worked up for hasn't been in vain." Brandon said.

"Brandon?" She called out, causing the swords man to spin his head to face the spartan.

"Huh?!...Oh, hey Pyrrha." He said.

"Hello again." She said.

"I thought you were going on a walk." Brandon said.

"I am, I just so happened to have run into you." Pyrrha said.

"...Is there something you need?" He asked.

 _'Well, it's now or never.'_ She thought to herself as she took a deep breath and exhaled.

"You trust me, right Brandon?" She asked.

"I suppose so, yeah." He said.

"Good, that's good. I was hoping you'd say that." Pyrrha said.

"...Why the sudden concern?" Brandon asked.

"You want to know something?" She asked.

"That doesn't really answer my question but okay, sure." He said.

"Out of all of our friends, you're the biggest mystery out of all of them." Pyrrha said.

"Uh, thanks?" Brandon said.

"The more we think we know about you, the more questions that pop up." She said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot more than you'd think." He said.

"I may not have known you for that long, but when you fight with and against someone in combat, you start to learn more about them and start to grow a mutual trust and respect for the people you fight with." Pyrrha said.

"The day we first fought I knew that you weren't like most students. Most students didn't even try to challenge me, none of them thought I was worth fighting." She said.

"...Sorry to hear?" Brandon said.

 _ **"What are you doing?"**_ Caliber asked.

 _'Give me a break! I'm not good at this sort of stuff!'_ Brandon said to Caliber.

"Though you were the exception. You were the only one who openly challenged me to a battle, something that no one has yet to do to this day." Pyrrha said.

"You showed me a whole new level of strength that I never thought was possible. You encouraged me to push beyond what I am now." She said.

"Heh, thanks." He said.

"Which is why I can tell when something is wrong." She said.

"..."

"I've also had the pleasure of meeting so many people, learning about there pasts, and growing to love and care for each of them." Pyrrha said. "All except for yours that is." She said.

"What I'm trying to say is, I want to know why you do the things that you do." Pyrrha said.

"...Jeez, that's a bit personal." Brandon said.

"That may be so, but I can't help you if you don't let me in." She said.

"...Hah, let me ask you something Pyrrha." He said.

"If you were given the knowledge of a future world changing plan, what would you do with it?" Brandon asked.

"...W-what?" Pyrrha asked.

"You heard me. If someone you knew gave you the knowledge of a world changing plan, and the power to change said plan, what would yo do?" He asked.

"...Um, I'm not sure." She said.

"You want to know why I fight, right?" Brandon asked.

"...Yes, I want to know what drives you to keep on bettering yourself." Pyrrha said.

"Well, guess it wouldn't hurt." He said.

"There's two reasons really, though they both tie into each other." Brandon said.

"Reason number one is that I'm honoring a good mans word." He said.

"What about the second one?" Pyrrha asked.

"Reason number two?...It's because I've got no where else left to go." Brandon said.

"...W-wait, what?!" She asked.

"Guess I should start from the beginning, huh?" He asked.

"If you want. I understand if it's to personal for you." Pyrrha said.

"I've already told three people. I'm fine with it." Brandon said.

 _'Even if one of them was just an outburst.'_ He thought.

"Well, okay then." She said.

"It was about three years ago when it happened. I used to live on this island outside of the border between Vacuo and Vale. We didn't have a whole lot of Grimm or Bandit problems, so people would normally try to come here in attempts to raise a family or something." Brandon said.

"Well, while the islands don't have a lot of land, they do make up for it with the lack of Grimm in the area." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, we'd occasionally deal with the smaller Grimm, nothing major though." He said.

"Though it wasn't peaceful by any means. Without the Grimm to really unite us against them, tension between people started to rise." Brandon said.

"Eventually, conflict started between a group of people in the town. It wasn't anything major at first. Though things eventually started to escalate." He said.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Things started to get out of hand, so they decided that they'd take some more...extreme measures." Brandon said.

"Though I doubt they would have taken these measures if they knew that it would have resulted in the destruction of my own home." He said.

.

.

"W-what?!" Pyrrha asked.

"Yep, my home never fell to Grimm. Nor did it fall to a group of bandits. It fell because a group of people decided they'd drag everyone in the town in on there little grudge." Brandon said.

"There was this...man. He was a huntsmen, one of the best in our town. He always wanted to help and inspire people, to give them hope. Though in the end this would have lead to his life being taken away." He said.

"He had knowledge of a plan, a plan that would change the very structure of our society. He tried to stop it, though in the end, he fell victim to the destruction of the town." Brandon said.

"Though before he eventually went to whatever god he believed in, he gave me the knowledge of this plan he was fighting against." He said.

"So, with the knowledge of this world changing event and Caliber at my side, I headed off to Beacon. I knew that with Caliber's power, I would grab the attention of the headmaster." Brandon said.

"With Caliber at my side and the knowledge of the future, I grabbed a boat and set out to carry out the man's dying wish." He said.

"Being the only survivor meant that Beacon was really the only place I could go." Brandon said.

"..." Pyrrha just stood there in complete shock after hearing Brandon's story.

"So the only thing driving me forward is the knowledge of this plan, really." He said.

"Wow, that's...rough." Jaune's voice said, causing Pyrrha and Brandon to turn to face the blonde.

"J-Jaune?!" Pyrrha said.

"We apologize for eavesdropping." Ren said.

"Is that all true, Brandon? Did you really lose your home just because of some stupid grudge?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty much." Brandon said.

"Wow...I-I'm sorry." He said.

"Why? Not like you had anything to do with it." He said.

"I know, it's just that I can't believe something like that would happen to you." Jaune said.

"Oh...well thanks I guess." Brandon said.

Nora walked past the two boys and stood in front of the swordsman with a determined look in her eyes.

"...Uh-." He began, only for Nora to bring him into a gentle hug.

"We know how you feel. Don't we Ren?" Nora asked.

"...Wait, what?" Jaune asked.

"Hah, yes. While it wasn't under the same circumstances, Nora and I went through something similar a very long time ago." Ren said as he walked over to Brandon and started to embrace him as well.

"Though I can't imagine what it must feel like to be the only survivor." Ren said.

"...Uh-." Brandon began, only for Jaune to join in on the group hug.

"You went through all that, and you're still able to crack jokes? Wow, you're really something man." He said.

"G-guys-!" He began, only for Pyrrha to join in with her teammates.

"I'm sure that man would have been proud of you." She said.

"...G-guys!" He said.

"Yeah?" Nora asked.

"I can't breathe!" Brandon said.

"Oh!" They all said as they let go of Brandon.

"Hah! Hah! No more hugging! Jeez!" He said, attempting to regain his breath.

"Sorry." They all said.

"We're glad that you finally opened up to us a little. If there is anything-." Ren began to say, only for the sound of Port's voice to echo through the school.

 **"Will Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon and Penny Polendina of Atlas please make there way to the stadium. Repeat,** **Will Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon and Penny Polendina of Atlas please make there way to the stadium."** He said.

"Oh my-! It's time for you big match!" Nora said.

"R-right! Come on Pyrrha! We can't be late again!" Jaune said as he and Nora started to push Pyrrha towards the bullheads.

"...As I was saying. If there's anything that's troubling your mind, know that we're all ready to stand by you, that includes team RWBY, SSSN, and CFVY." Ren said as he started to run after his teammates.

Brandon stared at the team as they ran further and further away from Beacon tower.

"So, guess this is it." Brandon said as he turned around and started to walk towards the dorms.

"Ready, Caliber?" He asked.

 ** _"Yes, it is time to take fate into our own hands."_** Caliber said.

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Adam asked Osvaldo.

"Yes, everyone has made there way onto the bullheads. We are waiting for Naomi, the Twins, and Ilia to arrive.

"..."

"Is something the matter?" The man asked.

"No, I'm fine." Adam said.

"Is it about Belladonna?" Osvaldo asked.

"Partially. I'm not exactly looking forward to taking her life, but I will if I must." He said.

"She made her choice." He said.

"Yes, I am very much aware of that. Though the bond we shared is not one that can easily be broken." Adam said.

"You can't afford to worry about the past. The Faunus here are depending on you." Osvaldo said.

"I am aware of the influence I have on our brothers and sisters. Though Blake was different than the others, she was my student. I taught her everything she know's to this day." He said.

"..."

"Though you're right. I must not let that cloud my judgment. I must remain strong, for the sake of our brothers, sisters, and all the Faunus of the world." Adam said.

"..."

Before the duo could continue there conversation, the Twins and Ilia had arrived at the bullheads.

"I assume you all are ready?" Adam asked.

"Hell yeah we are." Alerio said.

Adam turned his head over to Ilia, and while his mask hid his face, Ilia was able to clearly tell what his expression was.

"I'm ready." Ilia said.

"..." The bull just stared at the chameleon girl in silence.

"I understand the gravity of the situation and am ready to take whatever risks necessary in order to achieve our goal." She said. "Even if it means facing her." Ilia said.

"Very well." Adam said.

"So Veronica is in the stadium?" Ilia asked.

"Yes, she's ready to initiate the first phase of the plan." He said.

"Good." She said.

"Have either of you seen Naomi? Once she arrives we can put our plan into action." Adam said.

"Hmm, nope. I haven't really seen her anywhere." Alerio said.

"Me neither." Ilia and Aleria said.

"Where could she have run off to at a time like this?" Adam asked.

"I will go and retrieve her. You all just get into the bullhead." Osvaldo said as he walked off into the base.

The group nodded and started to walk over to the bullhead.

"Hmm, Naomi. It's time." He called out.

.

.

"Oceanus! We leave now!" Osvaldo said.

Though before he could call out once more, he could hear the sound of a flute being played from one of the rooms.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he followed the sound of the flute.

Eventually, he arrived at Naomi's office, the melody of the flute becoming all the more clear.

"Naomi." He called out, knocking on the door of the office.

"Enter." She said, causing the Faunus to walk into her office.

"Oh, greetings Osvaldo." Naomi said.

"It's time to go." He said.

"Oh. Terribly sorry. It appears that I have lost track of time." She said.

"It's fine." Osvaldo said as he glanced at the flute that Naomi was holding.

"I wasn't aware you were into the musical arts." He said.

"Neither was I. I'm still not certain if I am, or was." Naomi said.

"Hmm? What do you mean was?" Osvaldo said.

"You are aware that I do not remember the events of my past, correct?" She asked.

"I am." He said.

"Well, now I only remember a very small, unclear detail of my past." Naomi said.

"...Though you remember something, correct?" Osvaldo asked.

"Correct." She said.

"How exactly does that flute help you regain your past?" He asked.

"I am not quite certain myself. I have been attempting to put together the few details I have acquired." Naomi said.

"How exactly did you even figure out this flute was the starting point to remembering who you were?" Osvaldo asked.

"It was the human boy." She said.

"...You mean the one with the spirit?" He asked.

"Correct." Naomi said.

"Hmm, strange." Osvaldo said.

"Indeed. Even though we are on opposite sides of the battle, he was willing to aid us with our troubles." She said.

"Yeah, that human is rather...strange." He said.

"Indeed." Naomi said.

"So...what exactly have you been able to piece together?" Osvaldo asked.

"Well, I am only able to remember locations of my past, though faces have are still a mystery to me." She said.

"Tell me." He said.

"Why? You were never concerned about the personal affairs of the other Phantoms." Naomi said.

"It's different this time." Osvaldo said.

"How so?" She asked.

"This...this will be the last time you'll be seeing me." He said.

"...Pardon?" Naomi asked.

"I will be repaying a debt. So, I wish to know of these details before we eventually part ways." Osvaldo said.

"So, you will be leaving the White Fang for good?" She asked.

"Yes." He said.

"...Very well. I can remember some sort of city, it wasn't one of the four kingdoms, I have concluded that much. Though from the looks of it, the possibility of it being a neighboring city of Atlas. The ice and snow of the memory proves that I originated in Solitas." Naomi said.

"Solitas." Osvaldo said.

"Yes. Though other than that I have not been able to piece the other bits of this puzzle together." She said.

"Hmm, well I suppose that it is a start." He said.

"So, this will be our last conversation, correct?" Naomi asked.

"Yes. I won't be coming back to the base after our assault on Vale." Osvaldo said.

"Hmm, the others will be upset with your choice in action." She said.

"That may be so, though they will understand in time. That is what it means to be a family after all." He said.

"...Family?" Naomi asked, suddenly getting a very distant look in her eyes.

"Hmm, what's the matter with you now?" Osvaldo asked.

"...I-It appears that something else has just popped up." She said, her voice starting to shake a bit.

"Have you regained some of your memories?" He asked.

"Y-yes...I remember a face. It was a young girl. I'm not sure who this is, but I know that she is important." Naomi said.

"How so?" Osvaldo asked.

"I-I'm not sure." She said.

"...Naomi. Promise me something." He said as he stood up.

"Hmm?" Naomi hummed.

"Once this is all over, I want you to return to this person." Osvaldo said.

"Why would I return to a person whom I know nothing about?" She asked.

"Well, if you feel a strong connection with them, it must have been an important one. For you, and for this person, and judging by how long you have been here, they have been waiting for you for a long time." He said.

"Hmm...I suppose that is true." Naomi said.

"Believe me, I know what it's like to keep a person waiting. They have been waiting for me for years now." Osvaldo said.

"..." The fish Faunus wasn't really sure how to respond to Osvaldo's statement.

"Silence. Very well." He said as he got up.

"I...Will consider it." Naomi said.

"They're your memories, what you do with them is up to you." The man said. "That's enough talk. We have a job to do." He said as he got up from the chair and started to reach for the door.

"Right. Let's be off." Naomi said as she got up from her chair and started to follow her friend.

* * *

 **"Alright! Now it's time to begin our randomization process for the next fight."** Oobleck said.

 **"It looks like our first contender is Penny Polendina from Atlas, and her opponent will be Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"** Port said.

"Go Pyrrha! Kick her butt!" Nora yelled.

"Good luck you two!" Ruby cheered.

As the stage started to rise up so that the people in the crowd had a better view, Ruby heard someone clear there throat from behind her.

The red hooded girl turned to see Amber standing there with her usual smile.

"Is this seat open?" Amber asked.

"Oh! Yeah, you can sit here." Ruby said, causing the Maiden to sit right next to Ruby.

Meanwhile, the two combatants in the arena were doing there own respective greetings.

"Salutations, Pyrrha Nikos!" Penny said. "It's an honor to finally meet you." She said.

"The honor is all mine." Pyrrha said.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Penny said.

 _'Unfortunately, I'll have to stick with the equipment I was dealt with before my systems were unlocked. General Ironwood would be very upset if people found out I was an android.'_ She thought.

 **"So we are sticking to a standard fighting strategy?"** Quarter asked.

 _'That would be lovely, Quarter!'_ Penny thought to herself.

 **"3!"** Port began, causing Pyrrha to equip her two respective weapons.

 **"2!"** Oobleck said, causing Penny to get into her own combat position.

 **"1"** Port said.

 **"Begin!"** They both said, causing Penny to shoot each one of her blades at Pyrrha, though the spartan was easily able to dodge and block each and everyone of her attacks.

Though as they past the spartan, they quickly zoomed back to the android.

Pyrrha managed to dodge the attacks and started to swing her blade at Penny, though with the sheer amount of weapons the android had, she was able to block the attacks.

 **"My word! What a tremendous display by Ms. Polendina!"** Port said.

 _'She's good.'_ Pyrrha thought to herself as she charged forward, jumping on each and everyone of Penny's blades. She attempted to strike at the girl with her javelin, but the android was able to block the attacks with ease.

Penny charged forward and started to rapidly slash her various blades at Pyrrha, causing the spartan to be pushed back a bit.

"It seems Pyrrha is actually losing ground." Ren said.

"Don't worry guys, Pyrrha is just getting started!" Jaune said.

"Kick her butt Pyrrha!" Nora shouted.

Pyrrha chucked at the sound of her friends encouragement, and started to charge towards the android, swinging her blade and ramming her with her shield in order to gain the upper hand in the fight.

She threw her into the air and started to swing her blade at the air born android.

Penny was able to stop herself, pointed her blades at the spartan and started to fire various lasers at the girl.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes and started to roll and flip past the lasers all while reflecting and parrying the blades that were being sent her way.

With all her might, the spartan struck the android with a shield bash, causing her to go flying out of the arena.

 _'Whew. I must admit. She was rather strong. Luckily I was able to-!'_ She began, only for the android to close the gap in between them in the blink of an eye.

"What?!" She yelled, causing Penny to kick her in the air and sent her back down with one of her lasers.

Though before Pyrrha could come up with a counter attack, Penny was able to make her lose her grip on her weapons.

She attempted to pull her weapons back with her semblance, but Penny was able to knock them away in mid air.

"...Wow. I must say, you are quite the formidable fighter." Pyrrha said.

"Thank you. You're quite the warrior yourself." Penny said.

 **"It seems that no matter what Ms. Nikos does, Ms. Polendina seems to have a sure fire way to counter her attack!"** Port said.

"Come on Pyrrha! Show them what you can do!" Jaune cheered.

"...Right!" Pyrrha said with a determined look on her face.

"I see that you are ready to continue, let us resume the-!" Penny began, only to be cut off by the strange static noise in her head.

After a few moments, sparks started to emanate from the android's body.

"Gah!" She shouted, putting her hands up against her head.

"Wha-?! Is something the matter?" Pyrrha asked.

 _'Quarter! What's going on?!'_ Penny asked her A.I friend.

Though the only thing she was met with was the sound of silence.

 _'Quarter?'_ She asked herself.

Suddenly, Penny's advanced system activated, causing a strong green aura to flare around her body.

 _'...No. No, no, no! Not again! Not at a time like this!'_ Penny mentally screamed to herself.

"Um, are you okay? You seem like you need a-!" Pyrrha began, only for the spartan to meet the black and green eyes of the android.

 _'W-what in the world?!'_ Pyrrha asked herself.

"F- **F** i **rS** T T-T- **Ar-r** get: **P-Py** RrhA **N-NIkO** S." Penny said with a distorted voice.

"W-what?! What do you mean first ta-?!" The spartan began, only for Penny to aim her finger guns at the spartan, green aura emanating from the tips of her weapons.

" **R-** Run." She said, her voice shaking.

Though before the spartan could question the strange actions of the android, she started to fire her main weapons at the spartan.

Pyrrha attempted to dodge the attacks, though because the restrictions holding down Penny have been completely removed, beating Penny was going to prove the be even harder than before.

The various blasts started to hit Pyrrha, causing small explosions to appear from the area where Pyrrha had stood.

"What's going on? Who is that girl?" Amber asked, surprised that the android was hiding such power.

"...No!" Ruby yelled, jolting from her seat and rushing towards the arena.

"Ruby! Where are you going?!" Amber yelled.

"No, this can't be happening again!" Ruby said, using her semblance to save her some time.

 _'What's going on?! I thought I specifically told her to not to use her heavy artillery! It would be a clear give away to her identity...unless.'_ Even Ironwood was starting to see what was happening to Penny.

 _'...No. No it's happening again! Her systems have been hacked she's lost complete control of herself!'_ Ironwood thought as he started to run towards the arena.

Pyrrha attempted to shoot at the girl with her rifle, though the android merely summoned some sort of barrier to block the attack.

In the blink of an eye, Penny appeared right beside Pyrrha and rammed her fist into the side of the spartan, causing the red haired girl to go flying up into the air.

Before Pyrrha could even land on the ground, the android blinked right above her and kicked her back down to the ground.

Though as Pyrrha recovered, the android quickly closed the gap between them.

The android started to throw various kicks and punches at the spartan, though Pyrrha was pushed her back with her polarity semblance.

Suddenly, a green ball formed in Penny's right palm. The android threw the attack at the spartan, causing a massive explosion to appear once the attack made contact with Pyrrha.

Though before Pyrrha could even react, Penny appeared right beside her and kicked her across her temple, causing her aura to shatter.

 **"And that's the match! Penny Polendina wins this round for Atlas acade-!"** Port began, only for Penny to point her palm at the defeated spartan.

Just like before, a green ball of energy started to form within the palm of her hands.

Meanwhile, Ruby was using all of the stamina she had in order to get to the area where Pyrrha and Penny were fighting.

 _'Come on! Penny you have to fight it!'_ Ruby thought as she sped down the halls.

She eventually got into the home stretch, the arena was right in her view, though from the looks of it, Penny's energy blast had almost reached full power.

 _'No no no no no! Come on! I have to save them!'_ Ruby mentally screamed.

Eventually, the attack was at maximum capacity and the android pointed the blast at the spartan.

"Pyrrha! Run!" Ruby heard Jaune yell.

 _'Pyrrha!'_ She mentally screamed.

Though right as Ruby had finished that thought, she suddenly appeared right beside Pyrrha.

.

.

 _'W-what in the-?!'_ Ruby began, only for the controlled android to fire the attack at the duo.

The red hooded girl acted quickly and picked up Pyrrha, moving her out of the way of the attack.

"W-whew! Wow, that was a close one!" Ruby said.

"R-Ruby?!" The spartan asked.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha." She said.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure myself. I was running down the halls to save you but then all of a sudden I was here." Ruby said.

"...Wait, save me?" Pyrrha asked.

"What just happened?" Penny heard from within the crowd.

"Did that girl just try to kill her opponent?!" One of them asked.

"I know right?!...Wait, what's with her hands?" One of them asked.

"Huh?...whoa you're right! They're glowing light machines!" A male said.

"And did you see what the Mistral champion was doing to her? She was able to move her around with her semblance!" A girl said.

"Wait, isn't her semblance polarity?" The man asked.

"Yeah! It is!" A girl said.

"Then that can only mean that the girl in the stadium right now is...holy crap." He said.

"S-she's made of metal?! Is she some kind of robot or something?!" She asked.

 _'I-I'm not.'_ Penny thought.

"Robots don't have souls, she must be some sort of android." The man said.

"She came from Atlas, right?" One of the girls asked.

"I think so. You think Ironwood had something to do with her development?" He asked.

"It must be. To think that he'd allow the development of artificial humans." The woman said.

 _'S-stop it.'_ Penny thought.

"Honestly, it's as if he see's his weapons as soldiers instead of people." The man said.

 _'S-stop it!'_ The android begged.

"Poor thing, I can't imagine what it's like." The woman said.

"S **-St** Op It!" She screamed.

"Penny!" Ruby yelled.

Penny turned towards the duo and started to charge another attack in the palm of her hands.

 _'...I know what I had to do.'_ The red hooded figure said.

"Ruby wait!" Pyrrha called out.

"It's okay Pyrrha. I know what to do." Ruby said as she started to walk towards the android.

" **R-** Ru **By**. **P-p** lease. G- **G-et o-o** ut of the way." Penny said.

Ruby's only response was to keep on walking towards her friend.

 **"P-pleAse!"** She yelled.

"I won't leave you like this Penny." Ruby said. "I know that you won't attack me, we're friends after all." She said.

The blast was starting to reach it's limit, causing sparks to emanate from the ball of energy that was forming in her palm.

"Remember, you're not like the others that came before you, you have a soul. A proud soul." Ruby said.

"You have your own will, your own freedom to choose. That's what makes you human." She said.

"Come on, don't you remember me? It's me, Ruby Rose. You're friend." Ruby said.

Eventually, Penny's eyes reverted to there natural color, causing the ball of energy to disappear from the palm of her hands.

"...I-I'm sorry." The android said in a saddened tone.

Ruby walked over to her friend and wrapped her arms around her metal body.

"I know." She said.

"I-I didn't want to do any of those things. I..I-." Penny began.

"It's okay. All the bad stuff is over now." Ruby said with a smile on her face.

"...Oh Ruby!" She yelled as she brought the red hooded figure into a bone crushing hug.

"Gah! Why?!" She groaned.

"Penny." The duo heard General Ironwood say, causing the android to let go of her red friend.

"G-general! I-I'm so sorry for what almost happened! I didn't think things would get as bad as they did and I-!" She began to say, only for the general to put her hands on her shoulders.

"I'm just glad that no one got hurt." Ironwood said.

Meanwhile, Cinder was watching the match from the distance.

 _'Well, this was quite the unfortunate turn of events.'_ Cinder thought as she pulled out some sort of detonator of some sort.

 _'Oh well. Guess plan B will have to do.'_ She thought as she pressed the button on the detonator.

All of a sudden, the sounds of various explosions could be heard from the distance.

"What was that?" Ruby asked.

Though before Ironwood could answer her question, the sound of the arena's sirens could be heard from the speakers of the arena.

 **"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack, threat level nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly fashion."** An announcer said.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what did they say?!" Sun yelled.

Ironwood was about to call his forces, though it seems that one of his fleet commanders was already ahead of him.

"This is General Ironwood." He said.

 **"General! We need to evacuate the city immediately!"** One of them said.

"Why?! What's going on?!" Ironwood yelled as a Nevermore landed on the top of the arena.

"A Nevermore?!" Sun yelled.

"How'd it get past the kingdoms defenses?!" Coco asked.

"...Alright, I want you to evacuate everyone from every district!" Ironwood said as he hung up the call.

"Pyrrha! Ruby! Watch out!" Jaune yelled.

The two looked up to see that the Nevermore was going in for the final blow on the barrier. Though right as it was about to completely shatter the barrier, various lockers started to dig into the giant Nevermore's body.

The Nevermore shrieked in agony as it's body fell through the barrier and onto the floor of the arena.

"Let's go!" Sun yelled as he ran to his locker and pulled out his staff.

Though before everyone could run to there respective weapons, the Nevermore recovered from the attack and stood up on it's feet, causing the lockers to go flying off of it's body.

"Ren!" Nora yelled as she pointed towards his weapons.

"On it!" The monk yelled as he jumped up into the air, using the lockers to navigate himself towards his weapons.

Once he got his weapons back, he started to slash at the Grimm with the blades on his guns.

"There you are!" Nora yelled as she spotted her weapon.

With her sheer strength, she was able to jump up into the air and grab her weapon. Once she did, she reeled the hammer backwards and slammed it onto the head of the Grimm.

Jaune ran over to his weapons and slashed at the leg of the Nevermore, causing it to shriek in agony.

Arslan got her weapons back, wrapped her wire around the legs of the Nevermore, pulled with all her might. Once the bird was within her range, she slammed her fist onto it's skull.

Nadir and Reese both pointed there weapons at the giant bird, firing various rounds into it's torso.

The Nevermore attempted to peck at the two, though Bolin came rushing in on some clouds he made and moved the two out of the way.

"Rgha!" Brawnz yelled, rapidly slashing and stabbing the Nevermore with his claws.

"Come on! That all you got?!" He yelled.

The bird screeched and threw off the young man. Though before he could land on the ground, a small tornado made sure he landed safely.

Octavia was starting to throw some of her aura created slashes at the Grimm while Gwen threw some of her knives.

Flynt stood in front of the massive beast, pointed his trumpet at the Nevermore and sent a sonic wave in it's direction.

This gave an opportunity for Neptune and Fox. Neptune was stabbing and electrocuting the Grimm while Fox was using the rubble from the stadium to make bombs of some sort.

Sage and Yatshuhashi both ran at the Nevermore, Coco covering the two from afar with her mini gun. Once they were in it's range, the two split and slashed at the wings of the Nevermore, severing them from it's body.

Sun clapped his hands together and summoned a giant ape that towered over the fallen Grimm. It raised it's fist up into the air and slammed it down onto the head of the Nevermore, ridding it from there world.

Though right as the Nevermore evaporated into nothingness, various Griffon took it's place.

"Incoming!" Brawnz yelled.

Though as one of the Grimm started to charge towards the group, a fire ball quickly silenced the beast.

Ruby turned around to see that Amber was walking towards the Grimm with a serious look on her face.

"Amber?" Ruby asked.

"Stand back." She said as she moved past Ruby.

Suddenly, the wind around the arena started to pick up and storm clouds could be seen forming above the arena.

"Yah!" Amber yelled as she swung her palm downwards, causing various lightning bolts to hit the Griffon's on the top of the tower.

"...Whoa." Reese commented.

Though while Amber had managed to take down the horde on top of the arena, another one took it's place.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Sun said.

"Students!" Ironwood shouted, causing all of the heads of the students to turn towards Ironwood.

"James!" Amber said as she ran over to the general.

"General!" Oobleck called out as he and Port ran over to the group.

"What's happening?!" Jaune asked.

"What's with all the Grimm in the arena?!" Sun asked.

"How did they get past the defenses?!" Coco asked.

"James?" Amber said, causing the general to turn his head towards her.

"Is it time?" She asked.

"...Yes, and it's worse than we thought." Ironwood said.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"...Grimm are crawling all over the city, we need to get everyone evacuated now!" He said.

"What?! How?!" She asked.

"Someone blew up the walls and now Grimm of all kind are making there way into the city as we speak!" Ironwood said.

.

.

"What?!" Everyone yelled.

"We need to call Ozpin!" Amber said.

"I know! I'm already on it!" Ironwood said as he put his scroll to his ear.

"...Ozpin!" He said.

 **"James!"** Ozpin said through the other line.

"How are things looking on your end?" Ironwood asked.

 **"The White Fang have just invaded the school, I've sent Qrow and Tai off to deal with the threat in the school."** He said.

"Okay, I'll send Winter to make sure everyone is evacuated!" He said.

 **"Yes, and remember James! Under no circumstances must-!"** Ozpin began, only for the connection between the two to get cut off.

"Ozpin? Oz!" Ironwood yelled.

"What's happening?!" Amber asked.

"...The start of a war." He said.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode eight of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the eight episode I recommend skipping to the reviews.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 8 thoughts**

 **Now before you guys go and say that the Ilia and Brandon ship can't work because Ilia confessed her love to Blake in this recent episode, all I have to say to that is just because she has feelings for Blake doesn't automatically mean she's gay.**

 **She can possibly be BI.**

 **Though this does open up a lot of doors for potential development between the two.**

 **Anyways, let's talk about the actual episode.**

 **I really like the development we got from Yang here in this episode. It shows that despite everything that has happened, she is still bitter towards Blake for leaving her.**

 **Though she does have every right to be angry at her. She did just up and leave without saying a word. I really like how Weiss has developed as well, she's actually seems a lot nicer than what she was in the previous volumes, not counting four that is.**

 **So let's get into the big stuff.**

 **I really have to give props to the voice actress of Ilia, the way those lines were delivered were SO well done! I loved everything about that interaction, it was just really well delivered.**

 **Then there's the attack on the Belladonna house.**

 **...I'm just gonna call it right now. At least one of them are gonna die. I can totally see at least one of them biting the dust when we eventually get back to that part of the story.**

 **In my opinion? Probably gonna be Ghira.**

 **alertpoet91: I'll never stop.**

 **Donovan: Sorry bud, when you've been consumed, there's no return.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Like literally or...?**

 **SPDefender: Glad you liked it.**

 **CraazyReader: Glad to hear.**

 **GOH426: This is a really good analysis on Brandon. Really like these.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Oh it will be a battle to remember.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Well, he's not perfect.**

 **TheTrueWrath: This is also another really good analysis on Brandon.**

 **Oniele: I know.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: I tend to look more towards the realistic side of things.**

* * *

 **Surprise Party.**

"Hey guys!" Ruby greeted as she zoomed over to her group of friends.

"Oh, hey Ruby." Blake said.

"You wanna know what's really fun?" She asked.

"Cruising on your motorcycle? Dancing in a shady club all night long? Beating down a room full of bad guys?" Yang asked.

"Hmm, I would say good manners and good posture." Weiss said.

"Silence." Blake responded.

.

.

"What? No, no, no! A surprise party!" Ruby said.

"...What?" They all asked.

"I think Brandon's birthday is tomorrow! Who's with me?!" She asked.

"...Yeah, no." Yang said.

"I agree with Yang...oh, that felt strange to say." Weiss said.

"Oh but why not?!" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, don't take this the wrong way but whenever you throw a surprise party things-."

"You're terrible at throwing surprise parties." Weiss said.

"Yeah." Blake finished.

"Wha-?! Name one time I've failed to throw an awesome surprise party?!" Ruby asked.

"That one time you blew Jaune's eardrums out." Yang said.

"Or that one time you made Yang think the school was attacked by Grimm." She said.

"Or that one time you gave Professor Port a heart attack." Weiss said.

"...I said name one." Ruby said.

"Besides, do you really think you want to be surprising Brandon of all people?" Blake asked.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" She said.

"...Oh alright. But just this once!" Weiss said.

After a lot of preparations later, the group eventually made a surprise party that consisted of team's RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY.

"Is everyone ready?" Ruby asked.

"Here he comes!" Velvet said as she turned off the lights.

"Jeez, who turned out the-." Brandon began, only for the lights to be quickly switched back on.

"Su-!" Ruby began, only for Caliber to punch the red hooded girl through the wall.

.

.

"Surprise." She said.

"...Uh-." Brandon began.

"We tried to warn her." Weiss said.

* * *

 **Emerald Sustrai**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Smoke and Mirrors**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'8"**

 **Weight: 168 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Outfit: Green, Brown, White, Black**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Dark**

 **Hair Color: Mint Green**

 **Eye color: Red**

 **Aura Color: Mint Green**

 **Semblance: I** **ndividual Mental Hallucination**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Poll Progression**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 106**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 74**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 52**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 29**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	63. The Fall

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World.** **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Update: Chapters 4-5 have been rewritten.**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Fall"

Thought: _'The Fall'_

Flashback: _"The Fall"_

"What the hell is going on?!" Yang yelled as the connection to the tournament was cut off right as the Grimm had made it's way into the arena.

"We need to get to the arena now!" Blake said.

Though before they could even get out of there seats, the sound of various loud explosions could be heard coming from outside.

"What now?!" The blonde brawler yelled as she, along with the rest of her team ran out of the cafe they were in.

However, what they saw defied there wildest imaginations.

Grimm of various kinds roamed the fair grounds, the Atlesian knights doing there best to protect the civilians, though they were only able to do so much.

"How did this-? When did this happen?" Weiss asked.

Though before the trio could continue to question the situation, the sound of Weiss's scroll ringing broke them out of there state of shock.

Weiss to out her scroll to see that her dear sister, Winter Schnee, was calling her.

"Winter!" Weiss said.

 **"Weiss! Oh thank the gods you're okay!"** Winter yelled.

"Weiss, who is it?" Blake asked.

"Hold on. Winter! What's going on?!" She asked.

 **"Never mind that you need to get to the nearest Evacuation points our fleets had set up!"** She yelled.

"Evacuation?! Why?! What's happening?!" Weiss asked.

 **"The kingdoms defenses have been breached there's nothing stopping the Grimm from getting into the city!"** Winter said.

"What?! How?! How did the defenses get breached?!" She asked.

"What?!" Both Yang and Blake yelled.

 **"It was some sort of chain explosion. If there were just one hole then the situation might not be as bad, though we've got four holes all across the walls of the kingdom!"** Winter said.

"There has to be something we can do! Anything!" Weiss said.

 **"I'm sorry Weiss. Though the situation is beyond anything the Atlas Military may be capable of."** She said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

 **"It's not just the Grimm. The White Fang are releasing the beasts into the school grounds."** Winter said.

"What?! The White Fang is here?!" Weiss asked.

"What?!" Blake screamed.

 **"Weiss, we need to do whatever it takes to make sure that the people of Vale survive. Even if the cost might not even be worth it."** She said.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

 **"I'm afraid that we will have to leave the kingdom of Vale behind in order to save it's citizens."** Winter said.

"...Seriously?" Weiss asked.

 **"I'm afraid so, dear sister. Now, you must get to the nearest evacuation points! I'll send coordinates to your scroll!"** She said.

"Wait, where are you?!" She asked.

 **"I'm making sure that everyone is evacuated safely!"** Winter said.

"...Okay, I got the coordinates." Weiss said.

 **"Good. I'll meet you back-!"** She began, though the connection between the two was suddenly cut off.

"Winter? Winter!" The heiress yelled.

"Weiss! What's going on?!" Blake asked.

"How the hell did the defenses get breached?!" Yang asked.

"...It was a chain explosion. There are holes and four different sides of the kingdom. They're evacuating everyone in the city." Weiss said.

"What about the kingdom?!" She asked.

"..." While she didn't actually give her an answer, Weiss's silence was all she needed to hear for her to come to a conclusion.

"W-we're just gonna leave it behind?" Yang asked.

"There isn't any other option Yang. Even with the advanced technology that Atlas has it's only enough to make sure the citizens get out of the city safely." Weiss said.

"...Y-you've gotta be kidding me." She growled.

"I don't believe this." Blake said.

"...Ruby!" Yang yelled as she pulled out her scroll.

"Come on, come on!" She growled, attempting to make sure that her dear sister was alright.

Though unfortunately, the signal wasn't getting through.

"What the hell?! Why isn't my scroll working?!" Yang yelled.

"...I-I think that might be why." Blake said as she pointed up into the distance.

"What are you-?!" The blonde brawler began, only for the sight of what Blake was pointing at the cut her off.

"...T-the tower." Weiss said.

"I-it's gone." Yang said.

Sure enough, the C.C.T tower that allowed everyone in Remnant to make cross global communication was completely up in flames.

"This can't be happening." She said.

"Ruby." Yang said, gripping her scroll in her hands.

"Yang, I'm sure she's fine. She's our leader after all. She can take care of herself." Blake said.

"...Right." Yang said.

"Though what do we do now?" Weiss asked.

Blake's only response was to take out her scroll and dial in a few numbers.

Suddenly, a locker landed directly behind them, the doors opening to reveal Blake's sword.

"We're going to do our job." She said, walking over to her blade and taking it out of the locker.

"...Yeah." The two said as they called there own respective weapons in.

"Weiss, what's the nearest evacuation location?" Blake asked.

The heiress swiped through the coordinates before eventually landing on the location of the nearest evacuation point.

"It's at the school. They're getting the students out of the school before the situation with the White Fang get's any worse." Weiss said, causing Blake to clench her fist.

"You okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm fine. I just... I didn't think they'd ever go this far." Blake said.

"I don't think any of us did." Weiss said. "That's why we're going to stop it." The heiress said as she and the rest of team RWBY started to run towards the school.

* * *

"Come on people! Let's keep it moving!" Sun yelled as he shot one of his shotguns at a Beowolf.

"We've got a lot of ground to cover before we can get back to the school!" Jaune yelled, stabbing one of a Ursa in the head.

"Let's move it!" Brawnz yelled, rushing at a pack of Grimm with his claws extended outwards and his aura flowing around him.

The Grimm attempted to strike down the boy, though Brawnz was quick on his feet and dodged each and every one of their attacks.

The boy roared and started to slash and the Grimm that charged at him. Three Grimm attempted to strike the boy down, though with one swing of his claws, he was able to strike down all three of them.

"Come on! That all you got?!" He yelled as he slashed and stabbed each Grimm that came at him.

The boy kicked one of the Ursai that were coming at him into the sights of May, causing the sniper to strike it down in the blink of an eye.

He stabbed one Beowolf before slashing the one he had in his grasps and the one directly behind him in half.

"How bout you eat on this?!" Sun yelled as fired one of his shot gun blasts into an Ursa, causing the two to go flying in there separate directions.

The monkey Faunus started to do various tricks and flips in order to dodge and maneuver around the Grimm, all while whacking and jabbing at them with his staff.

Sun slammed his staff onto the ground, causing some sort of shock wave to appear below his feet, the attack killing the various Grimm scattered around him.

The leader of team SSSN turned his head around to see that one of the more higher class Grimm was charging some sort of attack in it's mouth.

Sun put away his staff and clapped his hands together, causing a golden aura to flare around him.

"Sun! Look out!" Jaune yelled, though it was too late, the beast had already unleashed a devestating attack at Sun, though instead of exploding, Sun summoned a fairly large ape to grab the attack with it's hands.

"Hey! You dropped this!" Sun yelled as he threw the attack back at the Grimm.

Though the monkey boy wasn't done with the Grimm yet. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right behind, jammed his knee into the back of the Grimm and sent it flying towards it's own attack, killing it instantly.

Jaune was currently being surrounded by a pack of Beowolves, though the knight merely smirked as he pulled out some seeds from hos pocket.

"Go my children." He muttered as he created small bomb like creature.

The wooden bombs looked at the Grimm and charged forward, each one clamping onto the torso of said Grimm.

After a few seconds, the bombs detonated, creating a massive explosion that turned the Grimm into ash.

"Whew. Alright, looks like we can keep-." Jaune began, only for the sight of an Ursa Major to cut him off.

"An Ursa. Why does it always have to be an Ursa?" He asked himself.

The Grimm roared and swung one of it's claws at the blonde knight, though due to his training with his partner, he was easily able to dodge the attack with relative ease.

The Blonde started to swing and jab at the Grimm before making another one of his bombs. He yelled and shoved the bomb onto the Grimm, causing the bottom of the bomb to act as a rocket of some sort, pushing the Grimm away from the knight.

After a few seconds, the bomb went off and turned the Grimm into ash.

Meanwhile, Coco was just mowing down various air born Griffons that were attempting to get to the civilians.

Though one of the Griffons was able to get onto the arena, though due to the sheer power of Coco's weapon, she was able to mow the Griffon down from a very close and deadly range.

However, while the detective killed the Griffon that was right in front of her, another one quickly took it's place.

The Grimm attempted swing it's massive claw at Coco, though she quickly shrunk down to the size of a bug to dodge the attack.

After a few seconds, Coco appeared behind the Grimm and started to unload another barrage of bullets into the Grimm, causing it to evaporate from sight.

"I think that's all of them! Come on! Let's keep-!" Ruby began, only for the sight of an Alpha Beowolf to cut them off.

"Moving." She finished.

"Psh, it doesn't look so-." Sun began, only for the massive Grimm to tear apart two Atlesian knights as if they were sticks.

"...So, anyone hiding any super cool powers they'd like to show?" He asked.

Though before anyone can respond, Ironwood stepped in front of the students with his weapon drawn.

"Stand back students." He said, his walk quickly turning into a run.

The Beowolf growled and started to charge at the General. It attempted to swing one if it's massive claws at the man, though he quickly slid under the attack and fired a few bullets from his revolver into the chest of the Grimm.

While Ironwood did attempt to keep the Beowolf at a distance, it managed to close the gap between the two rather easily.

The Grimm swung it's massive claw at the general, though he was able to block the attack with the metal part of his body. Before the Grimm could react, the general fired one of his bullets at the feet of the Grimm before slamming it into the ground, putting another bullet in it's head to reliever the final blow.

"...Yeah that works to." The monkey boy said as the group started to run towards the general.

"It seems that everyone is alright. Though our battle if far from over students." Ironwood said as he started to run towards one of his battle ships.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"To assist in evacuating the people in the city." He said as he shot a creep that was attempting to pounce on one of the students.

"What should we do?" Jaune asked.

After a few moments of silence, the general turned towards the students with a serious look on his face.

"You have two choices. One, defend your kingdom and your school, or two, save yourselves." Ironwood said.

Everyone looked at one another with uncertain looks in their eyes.

"No one will fault you if you leave." The general said. "Amber! With me!" Ironwood said.

"..."

"Amber?" He called out once more, walking past the students in attempts to find the Fall Maiden.

"Amber! Damn it!" Ironwood sword. "Did any of you see where she went?!" He asked.

"...No, we haven't seen her since we left the arena." Ruby said.

"She can't be seriously thinking about-?!" Ironwood asked himself.

"Thinking about what?" Sun asked.

"...I want you all to go down to Beacon, make sure that everyone gets out of the school safely!" Ironwood yelled. "Damn it, the defenses can't hold the Grimm back for much longer. I'm going down to assist them!" He said.

"No need, General." Everyone heard Penny say.

"...Pardon?" He asked.

"I said, there won't be any need for you to go down. I will be the one to go down to assist them." Penny said as she hovered into the air.

"Whoa." Sun marveled.

"What?! No, absolutely not! You aren't ready for this level of combat!" Ironwood said.

"Excuse me for stepping out of line sir." Everyone heard Ciel say from within his airship.

"Ms. Soleil." Penny said.

"But Ms. Polendina has showed that she is more than ready for this level of combat. If she is able to take on an entire White Fang squadron without taking so much as a scratch then I'm sure she is ready for this." She said.

"No! I won't put one of my students in the heat of battle like that! Going into the center of the swarm would be suicide!" Ironwood said.

"But General-!" Penny began.

"This is an order I am giving you! Do not go down and-!" He began.

"Will you just shut the hell up?!" She screamed, causing everyone to go silent.

.

.

"Penny-." Ironwood said.

"Now, I hate to use such foul language. Though I saw no other way of getting that message across. Mr. Ironwood. With all the advanced weaponry I have, I might be the best chance we have to make sure that the good citizens of Vale make it our safely." The android said.

"I would not have to worry about damage either. I have a self repair unit." She said.

"Unit?" Everyone but Ruby asked.

"Oh, terribly sorry everyone. If it wasn't already obvious enough-." Penny said as she opened up a door on her back to reveal various circuits and wires.

"Holy-!" Sun began.

"Yes, I am indeed, an android." She said.

"...That...is...awesome!" He yelled.

"Thank you!" Penny said.

"...Very well. We're counting on you Penny...just, please be safe." Ironwood said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Fear not General!" She yelled as she flew to the skies.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny said.

"Good luck, Penny!" Ciel yelled.

"As to you, Ciel!" She yelled back.

"Yes, I see you are. As for the rest of you, our objective still stands! Go down to Beacon and make sure everyone is safely evacuated!" Ironwood said as he and Ciel ran into the airship.

"...Well, you heard the man. Neptune! Get that airship up and running and lets hit the sky's!" Sun said.

"On it!" He said as he ran towards the airship.

Though while everyone was running towards the airship, Ruby was staring back at the tunnel where they had lost Amber.

 _'Amber, what's going on?'_ Ruby asked.

"Ruby!" She heard Jaune call out, causing her to spin her head towards the group.

"Let's go! We can't waste anymore time!" Sun yelled.

"R-right! Sorry!" She yelled, running towards the airship.

Meanwhile, Amber was currently flying her own airship towards the school grounds.

"Hah, Filis. Auto Pilot mode." Amber said.

 **"Certainly. Where do you wish to go?"** She asked.

"Beacon Academy." She said.

 **"...I'm sorry, but the current threat level of Beacon is ten. I would strongly recommend you-."** Filis began.

"Filis." Amber said.

 **"Very well. Route set for Beacon Academy."** She said.

The Maiden sighed and leaned back in the chair of the cockpit.

 _'Good luck Ruby, I'm truly glad I met someone like you. As for me, I have my own battles to fight. One's that you shouldn't get involved in.'_ Amber thought to herself, a serious expression written on her face.

* * *

"Well! I can safely say that shit has just hit the fan in the worst possible way!" Roman commented as he fired a few dust crystals at the on coming White Fang members that were coming towards the tower.

"Yes we clearly do see that! Thank you for pointing that out Roman!" Glynda yelled as she swung her crop to the side, sending a Grimm into one of the Mech's that the White Fang had stolen and modified.

"Jeez, is this the kind of stuff you have to deal with on a daily basis?" Tai asked, swinging his club at one of the Mech's that was coming towards the group, causing it to go flying backwards.

Once he did that, he pointed the top of his bat at the Mech, causing the top of it to open up.

After a few seconds, some sort of fire started to form in the hole in the center of the bat, soon turning into a raging inferno that was sent flying towards the Mech.

"While it's never really on this scale!" Qrow yelled as he swung his blade at one of the Grimm, cutting it into two even pieces.

"Basically." He said.

"Jeez, you've got one hell of a job." Tai said.

"Hey, it's your job to." Qrow said.

"Heh, guess so." He said with a smirk on his face.

"If you two are done having your little chat then maybe we can get back to business!" Roman yelled, firing even more dust crystals at the White Fang members.

"We need to make sure that all the students get onto the bullheads safely!" Glynda said.

"Really now? Here I was thinking we were just gonna lead them all into the Grimm horde just outside of town! I hear they're lovely company!" Roman snarked, causing the three to look at Roman with deadpanned stares.

"...It was a joke. Jeez, so up tight." He said as he continued to shoot the various Grimm and White Fang that surround the school.

Qrow turned to his right to see a more powerful looking Grimm charging towards a group of students that were attempting make their way towards the bullheads.

"Be right back. Hold the fort while I'm gone." Qrow said as he transformed into his bird form and flew towards the group of students.

"What the-?!" Roman stated in shock.

"You heard him! Keep this area secured!" Tai yelled, switching his weapon to his shotgun form.

"...Okay so are we just going to ignore the fact that our dear drunk just turned into a bird just a few seconds ago?!" He asked.

"Actually, he turns into a crow." He said.

"...You're kidding me." Roman said, shooting another White Fang member.

"Yeah, welcome to the club." Tai said, shooting down a few Grimm that were coming his way.

Meanwhile, the civilians were doing their best to out run the Grimm, though they were having no such luck when it came to losing the beast.

Though right as the giant Grimm was about to pounce onto the group of students, Qrow came in and cut one of them in half.

Once he landed on the ground, he revved up his weapon and swung his sword at the giant of a beast, cutting it into two even pieces.

"Well then, that takes care of that." He said before turning towards the students.

"...So are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna get your asses moving?!" He asked.

"R-right! Thank you sir!" A female student said as she and the rest of her group ran towards the runway.

"Tch, kids." He said before turning back into his bird form and flying over towards the group.

As the group continued to strike down Grimm and White Fang alike, Tai eventually caught the glimpse of a few more advanced version's of the Paladins coming towards them.

"Be right back." He said before jumping over in the direction of the enemy.

As he clenched his fist, his aura started to have a fire like look towards it, the tattoo's on his arms starting to glow.

"Yah!" He yelled as he brought his fist down onto the knight, causing it to shatter under pressure of the attack.

"So, who's next?" He asked as he got into his hand to hand combat stance.

The two knights charged towards the man with there mechanical fists reeled backwards. Though as they brought there fists down upon the man, Tai quickly raised his arms above his head to block the attack.

He quickly pushed them off, reeled back his fist and punched one of the knights with all the force he could muster, causing the knight right behind it to go flying with it's friend.

"Alright, took care of that." He said as he jumped back over to the group.

While they were doing rather well for four people against possibly hundreds of enemies, they were starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer number.

"Tch, what a punch of pests." He growled as he took out his lighter. Though instead of lighting a cigar, he opened the lighter up and took out a strange looking dust crystal from the center of the lighter.

"Yeah this should do the trick." Roman said, putting the dust crystal into his weapon.

Though before the group could question what Roman was doing, a loud crack echoed throughout the sky, causing the dust crystal to create a massive explosion once it made contact with the knight in the center of the courtyard.

"There. Much better." He said.

However, before the group could continue to defend Beacon, one of the White Fang members ran out of Beacon tower.

Roman narrowed his eyes for a moment before the realization struck him.

"Everyone get down!" He yelled as he ran away from the tower.

Though before the group could question their former enemy, the sound of various explosions coming from within the tower cut them off.

"What the hell?!" Tai yelled.

"Move it!" The man in the hat yelled, causing the three to move away from the blast radius.

Once the explosions had died down, the four looked to see the Beacon's C.C.T tower completely up in flames.

"N-no." Glynda said quietly as she stared at the fire created by the explosion.

"...Holy shit. The tower, it's just...it's gone." Tai said.

"It's not the tower we're concerned about." Qrow said with his fist's clenched.

"What do you mean?! Wasn't this what Ozpin specifically told us to prevent?!" He asked.

"Tai, Oz never left the tower." He said.

"...Oh." Tai said in realization striking him. If Ozpin had never left the tower, then that means he was caught up in the explosion that destroyed it.

Ozpin, along with the C.C.T Tower of Beacon, was gone.

"Damn." Roman said.

"So what do we do now?" Tai asked.

Qrow's only response was to shoot his weapon at Grimm that was charging towards them.

"We make sure everyone gets out safely." He said.

Though before they could further question the man, the ground below them started to shake.

"The hell?!" Roman asked.

"...No." Glynda stated, her aura starting to flare around her.

"...Tai." Qrow said as he started to rev up his weapon.

"Yeah, I know. It's coming." Tai said, sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Meanwhile, Weiss, Blake and Yang were currently running down the courtyard of Beacon, shocked at the damage and chaos that had befallen upon their school.

"Jeez, it's even worse than we thought." Yang said.

Blake's ears started to twitch, causing her to spin her head to her right.

"Look out!" Blake yelled as she tackled both Yang and Weiss to the ground, dodging the barrage of bullets that were heading their way.

As soon as they got up, they were completely surrounded by White Fang members.

"We found you, traitor." One of them said.

The trio's only response was to unsheathe and activate their respective weapons.

"I guess you did." Blake said as she and the rest the group towards the members of the White Fang.

They attempted to shoot down the trio with there barrage of bullets, though while Weiss and Blake were dodging each attack with relative ease, every hit Yang took only made her even stronger.

"Yang! Take care of the knights!" Weiss yelled.

"You got it!" She yelled, launching herself up into the air.

The White Fang members attempted to shoot down the blonde brawler, though Weiss quickly appeared in front of the group and started to rapidly slash and jab at the White Fang members, using her glyph's to rapidly move around the area so that she was harder to hit.

Blake ran towards the White Fang members, blocking the bullets as she started to close the gap between them.

Once they were within his range, she slashed at a group of White Fang members, using her semblance to automatically blink to the next target available.

Weiss dashed towards her teammate and knocked a good portion of them into the air, causing Blake to send them flying back towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Yang was dodging and maneuvering around the giant knights, using her semblance to put even more weight and force into her attacks. She eventually was able to blow up one of the Mech's, though the White Fang member inside ejected from the control room before he could be consumed by the explosion.

Blake switched her weapon into it's scythe mode and threw it at the group of White Fang members, causing them to all be knocked back from the group.

She continued to pull and crack the ribbon attached the the blade while Weiss was darting forwards and backwards towards each White Fang member she could find.

Yang roared and sent one of her bullets flying towards another knight, causing it to explode upon impact.

"Okay, I think that's all of them!" Blake said.

"So what now?!" Yang asked.

"We hold this position and make sure that everyone can make there way towards the evacuation point!" Weiss said.

"Alright, let's-!" The cat Faunus began, only for the sight of a familiar looking White Fang member to cut her off.

"...Ilia?!" She yelled, causing the chameleon Faunus to spin her head around to face her.

Though before Blake could respond, Ilia disappeared from sight using her Faunus trait.

"Wait!" She called out.

"Blake, what's wrong?!" Yang asked.

"..."

"Blake?!" She called out once more.

 _'No, I'm not letting you run away this time!'_ Blake thought as she ran after her former ally.

"Blake! Wait!" Yang called out.

"Where are you going?!" Weiss asked.

"I'll be right back! I promise!" She yelled, running in the direction where Ilia was.

"...Damn it!" Yang swore, running in the direction where Blake was.

"Yang!" Weiss called out.

"I'm going after Blake! Just hold things down until we get back!" She yelled.

The heiress was about to protest, though it was too late, Yang was already out of reach.

"Alright, guess I'll just-." Weiss began, only for a group of Grimm to cut her off.

Though before they could even pounce onto the Grimm, the sound of gunfire coming from above cut her off.

"Did someone call for a rescue?!" Sun yelled as he landed on the ground of the school.

The heiress looked up to see a fairly large airship was landing on right behind her, the massive ship carrying all of the teams she had met over the years, including-.

"Weiss!" Ruby screamed.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed back as she was tackled to the ground by her partner.

"...Ow." She groaned.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Ruby said, hooping back onto the ground.

"As am I...Ow." Weiss groaned, slowly getting off of the stone floor.

"So what's the situation?" Coco asked.

Weiss's only response was to point at what remained of the C.C.T tower.

"What are you pointing-?" Ruby began to ask, though the sight of the fallen structure quickly cut her off.

"Holy shit." Sun said.

"The tower..." Coco said, pushing her glasses down to see if they weren't making her see things.

"It's...it's gone." Jaune said.

Though before either of them could continue to stare at the remains of the fallen tower, they were quickly cut off my a horde of Grimm charging their way.

"We've got company!" Brawnz said.

"Tch, guess we can worry about the tower later." Coco said.

"Come on guys! Let's go!" Jaune yelled as he and the rest of the group charged towards the horde of Grimm.

"Ilia!" Blake called out to her friend, though it was no use, Ilia had managed to shake Blake off of her.

"Damn it! Where could she have-!" Blake began, only for the sound of a pained cry to break her out of her daze.

"Ilia?!" She called out. Though as soon as she looked through the window of the cafeteria, she froze as her eyes settled on the figure standing in the building.

"...A-Adam?" Blake called out.

"Blake." The man simply said as the duo stared each other down.

"Yah!" Jaune cried out as he struck down a Beowolf with his blade.

"Why are there so many of them?!" Sun yelled as he shot one of the Grimm with his shotgun.

"Well, I think the fact that there are four holes in the walls of Beacon might have something to do with it!" Nebula stated, striking down a Beowolf.

"Not only that but the entire C.C.T tower just get blown to kingdom come!" Coco yelled, mowing down a pack of Grimm that stood in front of her.

"Then there's the matter with the White Fang! I heard the tales of what the White Fang did in Vale, though I never expected them to go this far!" Arslan yelled as she punched one of the Grimm away from her.

"Yah! Let em come! We'll make em pay for all the lives they took!" Brawnz roared as he struck down an Ursa with his claws.

Though before the group could continue there assault against the Grimm and White Fang threat, the feeling of the ground shaking stopped them in their tracks.

Even the Grimm had stopped, moving their heads in the direction towards the mountain.

"...Okay, what the hell is happening?" Sun asked.

Sage turned his head towards the mountain, his eyes narrowing as he gripped his blade tighter.

After a few seconds of silence, the unthinkable happened.

The Mountain containing the Grimm dragon started to collapse, freeing the dragon from it's prison of stone.

Once it was freed from the mountain, it immediately started to make it's way towards the school.

"..." Everyone who could see the Grimm from a far was in a complete state of shock and horror.

"A freaking dragon?!" Everyone shouted as the Dragon flew over there heads.

Though the strangest part for them was the fact that the dragon let loose some sort of black sludge from it's chest.

"Eugh, what is that stuff?" Octavia asked.

Though after a few seconds, the sludge started to mold into a pack of newly born Grimm.

"Oh, and it can create Grimm! Great!" Jaune yelled as he threw a handful of seeds onto the ground, creating his plant bombs.

Though right as the Grimm were about to pounce on the group, the four huntsmen guarding the tower came in to interject.

"Dad! Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled, running over to her two relatives.

"Ruby!" The two shouted as they ran to embrace the hooded girl.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said.

"Heh, it's gonna take a lot more than that to keep us down." Qrow said.

"That was a pretty reckless thing you did in the arena." Tai said.

"Sorry." Ruby said.

Once the group broke away from one another, Tai and Qrow started to look to see if they couldn't find a certain Maiden.

"Hey, where's Amber?" Tai asked.

"Amber...Amber!" Ruby yelled as she darted away from the group.

"Ruby!" Qrow yelled out.

"Amber? We lost track of her in the arena." Jaune said.

After a few moments of silence, Qrow and Tai eventually spoke up.

"What?!" They both yelled.

"Yeah, after she took out all those Grimm in the arena she just booked it." Sun said.

"You mean she isn't with Ironwood?!" Glynda yelled.

"We didn't see her go onto the ship he was going on." Coco said.

"Who is she?" Pyrrha asked.

The three looked at one another before turning there heads towards Roman.

"...Don't look at me! I'm not explaining all that!" He said.

"Tch, fine." Qrow said as he turned his head towards the group.

"It's a long story and we're kinda pressed for time at the moment. So I'll make this quick. Amber is a woman with unimaginable power, though it wasn't something she was born with like a semblance. It was passed down to her like a torch. Though that torch can also be...taken by a few questionable people." He said.

"Yeah, and if Amber loses her power to the enemy, then it can change the very structure of this world as we know it." Tai said.

Suddenly, something in Pyrrha's mind started to click together, as if the final piece to the puzzle was put into place.

 _"With Caliber at my side and the knowledge of the future, I grabbed a boat and set out to carry out the man's dying wish."_ She remembered Brandon saying.

 _'No, no he couldn't have meant-!'_ Pyrrha began, only for Jaune to break her out of her daze.

"Pyrrha, you okay?" He asked.

"...I have to go." She said as she ran away from the group.

"Wait, what?!" Jaune asked as the spartan ran further and further away from the group.

"Pyrrha! Where is she going?!" Nora asked.

"I'll go find out! You all stay here I'm going after Pyrrha!" The blonde knight said as he ran after the red haired spartan.

"...Well, if we're all just going to do our own thing then I'll be right back." Roman said.

"Wha-?! Where are you going?!" Tai asked.

"I'm going to find my niece! I may not completely hate all of you, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to risk it all for the only family I have left. So if you'll excuse me." He said as he walked off from the group.

"Okay, now we have to wait for four people to get back." Qrow said.

"Actually Yang and Blake went off a while ago." Weiss said.

"...I'm sorry what?" He asked.

Though before they could further question the children, the sounds of Grimm and the White Fang quickly cut them off.

"Tch, looks like we've got company." Qrow said as he revved up his weapon.

* * *

"Push them back men! Don't let these monsters get into the city!" One of the commanders ordered, causing the soldiers to open fire on the Grimm.

 _'Damn it! There's just to many of them! How in the name of the gods are we supposed to-?!'_ He began, only for the feeling of the ground underneath his feet to shake.

"What in the hell was-?!" He began, only for the sight of the Grimm Dragon flying above them to cut them off.

"What the hell is that?!" The commander heard one of his soldiers yell.

"Is that a dragon?!" Another one asked.

"A dragon?! A freaking dragon?! What the hell?!" He asked.

"Focus on keeping the Grimm at bay! We cannot let anymore get into Vale's walls!" He said.

Though before they could continue to keep the Grimm at bay, the sludge that the dragon was making fell right behind them.

"The hell is this?" One of them asked.

"Don't go near it!" The commander tried to warn them, though it was too late, the sludge molded itself into a Grimm.

"Damn it! Open-!" He began, only for the sight of a green laser to hit the Grimm, causing it to evaporate.

The commander looked up to see the girl from the T.V flying up in the air with her palm extended outwards.

"Target eliminated." She said as she slowly descended to the ground.

"...Uh." The commander began, only for the android to stand in front of the officer in the blink of an eye.

"What in the-?!" He began, only for Penny to quickly cut him off.

"Penny Polendina of Atlas reporting for duty sir!" She said with a salute.

"...Uh, yeah. So what are you doing here again?" The commander asked.

"Thank you for asking! I am here to assist you in your battle against the Grimm outside our walls!" Penny said.

"...I see. So how exactly do you plan to help?" He asked.

Penny's only response was to send another green ball of energy towards the Grimm, causing them to evaporate in the explosion.

"That's how." She said with a smile on her face.

"..."

"Is something wrong commander?" Penny asked.

 _'This is sure one weird kid. I mean, if what the people were saying was true then she's actually a robot developed by the Atlas science corporation.'_ He thought.

"I await your instructions, commander." She said.

 _'Still...'_ The commander thought.

"We're losing ground sir! I don't know if we can keep the Grimm at bay for much longer!" One of the soldiers said.

 _'She may very well be our best shot at getting the people out of here.'_ He thought.

"Alright, cadet! You are free to fire at will!" He said.

"Roger that!" She said as she lifted herself off of the ground.

"Hey, isn't that the robot girl from earlier?" One of the soldiers asked, grabbing the attention of the android.

"Pardon me sir, but I am not a robot. I am an android." Penny said.

"What's the difference?" He asked.

"The difference is that a robot does not have a soul and it's entire purpose is defined by it's coding! An android is free to chose to do whatever it pleases!" She said as she sped towards the center of the Grimm horde.

After a few seconds of flight, she landed in the center of the horde of Grimm.

 _'Quarter.'_ Penny said to her A.I unit.

 **"Initiating Combat Mode."** She said, causing her aura to flare to life.

This grabbed the attention of the Grimm around her, causing the beasts to charge towards her and away from the city walls.

 _'Excellent. It seems the Grimm are more focused on me rather than the city.'_ Penny thought as she extended her palm outwards to kill the group of Grimm attempting to pounce on her.

"Heh, now let's get started." Penny said to herself, the pupils of her eyes glowing with a green aura.

Penny turned her head towards a group of Beringel's that was charging towards her at a very fast pace. The android rushed towards the giant ape's, sparks starting to emanate around her hands.

Once she had closed the gap, she threw a flurry of punches at the ape, causing the bone mask on it's face to completely shatter.

She reeled her fist back once more and delivered the final punch to the ape, silencing it forever.

The second Beringel attempted to grab the android, though she was easily able to dodge the oncoming attack with ease. Before the ape could go in for another attack, Penny pressed her palm up against his chest and formed an energy ball around it's body.

She sent it flying towards the horde and after a few seconds, the ball exploded into a nova of green energy, causing any Grimm caught in the blast to be killed instantly.

One of the Ursa Majors attempted to swing it's claws at Penny, though she quickly back flipped and kicked the Grimm behind her into the Ursa, sending the two flying backwards.

She extended her palm outwards and fired another blast of energy towards the area where she had kicked the Grimm.

Penny turned around and started to rapidly punch and dash towards each Grimm, dashing to a new Grimm once she had defeated the one she was previously attempting to defeat.

The android jumped up into the air for a few seconds before slamming her feet down onto the body of a Deathstalker, causing the ground to crack under the pressure.

She continued to blast and crush each and every Grimm that attempted to attack her with relative ease.

"Jeez, this kid's taking on the entire horde like it's nothing." The soldier said.

"Still it's not making much of a difference. She kills one then ten more take it's place." One of them said.

While Penny did overwhelm the Grimm when it came to sheer power, they made up for it with the numbers they had.

"Kid! Look out!" The commander yelled, though it was too late. One of the Grimm had pounced on her, causing ten to twenty more to join in.

Though after a few seconds, a green nova appeared around the area where the android had been, causing each Grimm that had pounced onto the girl to disintegrate.

Once she was in the clear, she started to shoot various laser beams from the palms of her hands, each one killing the Grimm that were attempting to get into the city.

Though as she was killing the smaller Grimm, this also drew the attention of the more larger Grimm.

A troll that were circling the city was making ot's way towards the android, taking a tree with them as a club of some sort.

The Grimm charged towards the android and swung their clubs at the girl, though the android was easily able to dodge each attack the Troll.

It swung it's club at Penny once again, though just like before, she was able to dodge the attack the Beringel was throwing at her.

Penny clenched her fists and punched away the Troll with one of her fists before throwing a flurry of punches towards the Troll's body, causing the Troll to evaporate into the air.

Her eyes darted around the area, analyzing each and every Grimm that stood around her.

Once she landed she fired a slightly bigger laser at the Grimm, causing any Grimm caught in the explosion to be killed.

She started to punch and kick each Grimm that got into her range, using some of the more larger Grimm as bombs for her to use.

Once they exploded, she jumped through the air, blasting and crushing each Grimm that got in her way. Two Beringel's attempted to grab Penny, though she was able to quickly move out of the way of the attacks.

She quickly jumped into the air to dodge the oncoming creep attack, slamming her feet into the ground and onto the creep's head. Afterwards she punched the two Beringel's that were surrounding her, causing them to go flying backwards.

Penny jumped through the Grimm horde, killing each and every Grimm that got in her way. Though right as she landed on the ground, another Beringel came in and punched the android away.

 **"Warning: Damage sustained."** Quarter said to Penny.

The android grunted and started to materialize a weapon from her more powerful arsenal of weapons. Once the weapon had finished manifesting, two orbs came out of the weapons and started to float around the android.

She fired a fairly large blast of energy at the group of Grimm, causing any Grimm caught within the blast to completely evaporate into the air.

The orbs started to float around the girl, firing lasers of there own at the beasts surrounding the android while Penny was using her weapon to take down waves upon waves o Grimm.

"Holy shit." One of the soldiers said.

 _'Jeez, no wonder Ironwood sent this girl over to handle this situation. This girl is like a god damn war machine.'_ The commander thought.

However, before the commander could give any further orders, his scroll started to vibrate in his pocket.

The man took out his scroll and opened it up to receive the message he was getting.

 **"The industrial district and the commercial district have been evacuated! All squadrons posted in the districts mentioned head to the nearest district that wasn't mentioned!"** One of the fleet commanders said through his scroll.

"Hear that men! Back up is on the way!" The commander said.

"Sensational!" Penny cheered as she blasted another Grimm away with her weapon.

 _'Though to be honest, I doubt we'll need anymore backup with her around.'_ The commander mused to himself.

* * *

 _'No, not again.'_ Blake thought to herself as she attempted to run away from her mentor.

"Running away again?" He asked, not bothering to face the girl.

"So, this is what has become of the former Blake Belladonna. How...sad." Adam said.

"Why? Why would you go this far?" Blake asked.

"We were going to change things! We were all going to change the world! All of us!" He said. "The White Fang, destined to light the fires of evolution." He said as he drew his sword from his sheathe.

"Consider this, the spark." He said as he pointed his blade at a Atlas military officer.

"No!" She yelled as she jumped forward and swung her blade at Adam, though the bull was easily able to block the attack with his sword.

"I'm not running!" Blake said.

"I see." Adam said as he kicked away his former student.

A creep attempted to pounce onto the cat Faunus, though Adam quickly pulled out his rifle and shot it down before it could touch her.

"Now, show me the strength of your resolve." He said as he walked towards Blake.

Blake ran towards her former mentor with her blade expended outwards, though right as she was about to hit Adam, the bull quickly rammed his fist into her cut.

"Come now, I know that isn't all you're capable of." Adam said.

The cat Faunus growled and started to dart around the bull Faunus with her semblance.

"Useless." He said as he spun around and kicked Blake across the jaw.

"Have you seriously forgotten?" Adam asked as his former student stood on her feet.

"I was the one who taught you those moves." He said as the cat Faunus disappeared.

"I know how you think." Adam said as he swung his blade to his back side, causing the cat Faunus to move backwards to dodge the attack.

"I know all of your tricks." He said as he swung his blade at Blake, creating a energy blade that was sent flying towards her.

"I know each and every move you're going to make before you even make it." Adam said

"We gave you the means to fight back against humanity! To truly gain what you desire, and this is how you repay us?! Running away and joining the humans?!" He asked.

"We took you in and treated you like one of our own! Though what do you do?! You threw the bond we made together away like trash!" Adam said.

"That's not true!" Blake countered.

"Then why did you leave?! Why did you have to inflict a wound upon our family that will never heal?!" He asked as he swung his blade at Blake.

Though instead of hitting the Faunus girl, he merely hit one of her shadows.

"You don't think it hurt to leave you all behind? I loved you all as if you were my own." Blake said.

"Adam, you were my teacher. I looked up to you as a child, I wanted to be strong just like you." She said.

"I wanted to bring peace to this world. I wanted to make a world where Faunus and humans could truly co-exist with one another." Blake said.

"And we will! We will make a new world! A world where Faunus never have to suffer to the will of mankind ever again! We will give the justice that the humans deserve! It's not too late! Come back with us! Come back to your-!" Adam began.

"You think this is justice?!" Blake yelled. "Killing thousands upon thousands of innocent people?! Even Faunus?! You call this justice?!" She asked.

"I left because what we were doing wasn't right anymore! We weren't fighting for the equality that my father believes in! We're not even fighting for the beliefs of Sienna Khan anymore!" Blake yelled.

"This isn't justice! This is genocide!" She yelled.

"Ghira's methods were't working and Sienna Khan was just making the matters even worse! We didn't ask for this!" Adam yelled.

"Genocide is not the answer!" Blake yelled.

"Then what would you have us do?! Turn a blind eye to all of the Faunus who were killed for their mere existence?!" He asked.

"I would rather die than become the monster you've become!" She screamed, causing Adam to stop dead in his tracks.

After a few seconds of silence, Blake had realized what she had done.

"A-Adam I-." She began, only for Adam's aura to flare to life.

"So, I'm a monster am I?" He asked.

"Adam I didn't-!" Blake began, only for Adam to dig his fist into her gut, causing her aura to shatter.

"I truly wanted to believe that there was still hope for you. That you would return to us one day and fight by our side once again." Adam said.

"Though now I see that this little hope of mine was nothing more than a fantasy." He said.

"A-Adam. P-please, don't do this." She said.

"I'm sorry, Blake. Though the humans forced our hands, as you have forced mine." Adam said.

"W-what do you-?" Blake began.

"As of this day, you are an enemy to all the Faunus of the world. As long as you live and breathe our goal will never be reached." He said.

"So, I have a new mission. I will destroy you, and your memory. Once I am done, there will be no one left on this planet that will even remember the name Belladonna." He said.

"Blake!" The two heard Yang call out.

 _'Y-Yang?!'_ Blake asked herself.

"Where are you?!" She called out.

Adam didn't even bother to look at Blake, he merely got up and stabbed Blake with his sword.

"Ah!" Blake screamed as the blade dug deeper into her flesh.

"Huh?!" Yang said.

Adam took the blade out of her body and started to walk towards the blonde brawler.

"Y-Yang...R-run." She managed to say.

"...Y-you...you bastard!" Yang screamed as she charged towards Adam.

Though right as she was about to start her assault, the bull swung her blade at the blonde brawler.

"W-wha-?" Yang began to ask, though right as she turned to her right she could see the stump of where her arm was supposed to be.

The blonde brawler didn't even have the strength to scream. All strength had left her once the blade had severed her arm, causing Yang to fall into a state of unconsciousness as she hit the hard, cold floor with an audible thud.

.

.

"Yang!" Blake screamed as she rushed over to her partner.

"Yang! Yang come on stay with me!" She yelled as she sat next to her fallen partner, blood pouring out of the wound Adam had inflicted on her.

The bull swung his blade to get the blood that was soaking it off.

"This marks the end of your lessons." Adam said as he swung his blade at the Faunus.

Though right as he was about to strike the two girls down, a red portal appeared from in front of Adam.

"W-what the-?!" He began, only for a familiar spirit user to come out of the portal.

"You." Adam growled, clenching the handle of his blade tightly.

Though right before Adam could charge at Raven, her aura started to flare to life, causing the spirit of Masamune to appear right behind her.

However, as Raven grasped the handle of her spirit's vessel, Adam quickly ran out of the building and into the night sky.

Once he was completely out of her sights, she turned around and walked over to her daughter.

"H-her arm. It's-." Blake began, only for Raven to kneel down to face her daughter.

"Ugh." Yang groaned, her eye's fluttering open.

Blake was about to say something to her partner, though the sight of Raven taking off her mask cut her off.

"..."

"M-Mom?" She managed to say.

Raven didn't respond, she was more focused on dealing with the wound Adam had inflicted upon her.

"Hmm." Raven hummed as her eyes fell onto the sash around Yang's waist.

"W-what are you-?" Yang began, only for Raven to quickly take the sash off of her waist.

"Hold still." She said as she started to wrap the sash around the wound, causing the blonde to groan from the pain.

Once the bleeding had slowed down, Raven quickly picked Yang up in her arms and started to walk out of the building.

Yang was about to ask what her mother was even doing here in the first place, though she quickly lost consciousness.

"..." Blake just sat there in complete shock of the situation.

"Hey." The spirit user said, causing Blake to break out of her daze.

"H-huh?" She said.

"Let's go." Raven simply said, continuing her walk out of the building.

"R-right." She said as she managed to get up from off of the ground and limped towards the spirit user.

* * *

"Tch, there's no end to these things!" Qrow said as he cut down one of the Grimm that was charging his way.

"No kidding. With that Dragon flying over our heads there's no telling how many Grimm will spawn here." Tai said.

"Yah!" Sage roared as he swung his blade at one of the Griffons, slicing the beast in two.

Though right before he could move onto the next one, the sound of the Grimm Dragon's shriek cut him off.

"Incoming!" Nebula yelled as more sludge from the Grimm Dragon started to land on the ground, causing even more Grimm than before to spawn.

Weiss growled and attempted to shoot various ice shards at the oncoming Grimm, though before she could a White Fang Knight punched her away with it's massive fist.

"Weiss!" Neptune shouted as he ran to catch the heiress. "You okay?" He asked.

"Ugh, I think so. Thanks." Weiss groaned.

"You can thank me later, right now we need to focus on clearing out these Grimm." Neptune said as he attempted to fire one of his laser shots at the Knight.

Though as Neptune pulled the trigger to his gun, the only thing that came out were sparks.

"What?! Oh come on!" He said as he shook his gun.

"Sun! I'm out of charge!" Neptune said.

"Seriously?!" Sun said as he clapped his hands together in attempts to summon one of his apes.

Though two consecutive uses of the power in the same day proved to have drained his stamina exponentially.

"Damn it! I drained all of my power back at the arena!" He said.

Yatsuhashi held his arms out in attempts to guard the attack from the Knight, though it's strength proved to be even greater than his, causing the giant to be sent flying backwards, his aura shattering as he fell to the ground.

"Yatsu!" Velvet called out as she ran over to her fallen friend.

"You okay?" Fox asked.

"Ugh, I will be fine. For now that is." He said.

Though while all this was going down, some people failed to see the oncoming danger that was coming towards them.

"Look out!" Nora yelled as she pushed her partner out of the way of the attack coming towards Ren, causing her to take the blow instead of Ren.

"Nora! No!" The monk called out, only for him to be stuck by the knight himself.

Coco started to mow down the Knight, though before she could do any actual damage, the bullets stored up in her weapon had run out.

"Out of ammo!" She yelled.

"...Okay well if any of you were hiding some cool and powerful tricks, now would be a really good time to start using them!" Sun said.

"...Well, I guess now's a better time than any." Coco said as she turned towards Velvet.

"Huh?" Sun began.

"Velvet! You're up!" She said.

"...Wait, seriously?!" Velvet asked.

"Just make em count." Coco said, causing the rabbit Faunus to nod.

With a confident smirk on her face, Velvet walked over to the two knights.

"What do you think you're doing?! She's going to get herself killed!" Weiss said.

"Just watch." Coco said.

Velvet held her hand out, causing a replica of Ruby's scythe to appear in her hands.

The knight attempted to shoot the Faunus down, though Velvet quickly jumped up into the air and sliced down on the knights body.

"Whoa!" Sun yelled.

Once she landed on the ground, she quickly summoned a replica of Weiss's weapon. She slashed at the knight with blue flames emanating off of the blade before rapidly jabbing at the Mech's body.

Though before it could recover, she summoned a perfect replica of Yang's weapon and started to rapidly punch the giant knight away.

She did a few flips and started to fire various shot gun rounds at the knight. The giant attempted to swing it's fist at Velvet, though with a perfect copy of Blake's weapon she was able to use the ribbon to swing around the robot, causing it to fall to the ground.

Velvet sliced the hand of the knight off and summoned a perfect replica of Coco's weapon in her hands.

As the knight attempted to strike down the Faunus, Velvet quickly blocked the attack with a replica of Sun's weapon before summoning Nora's weapon to deliver the final blow.

Though she wasn't done by a long shot. She summoned a perfect replica of Penny's blades and started to slice at the robot, cutting the legs of the knight off.

She jumped back a few feet and fired one of Penny's lasers at the Knight, causing it explode.

"Whew. Now that was a-." Velvet began, only to be cut off as she was struck by another Knight.

"Velvet!" Coco cried out, causing Reese and Nadir to fire various bullets at the knight.

 _'...Damn it all.'_ Weiss thought to herself as she started to run around the courtyard in attempts to help the rabbit Faunus.

"Weiss! Wait!" Neptune shouted.

Though as the gap between the knight and Velvet started to close, a summoning Glyph appeared behind the heiress.

In the matter of seconds, the arm of the knight came out and sliced the knight in two.

"..." Velvet just stood there in shock at what she just saw.

"You okay?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, fit as a fiddle." She said as she got up from off of the ground.

Though before the group could continue there celebration, a far more advanced Mech started to charge at them from a far.

"Oh are you-?! Come on!" Sun yelled.

"You kids stay back, we'll take care of-!" Tai began, only for a red blur to pass him in an instant.

In the same instance, the enhanced knight came to a halt and after a few seconds, fell into tiny bits and pieces.

"..." Everyone just stood there in absolute shock and awe as they had just witnessed one of the Mech's that was giving all of them trouble be taken down in an instant.

"Holy crap! That was awesome!" Sun commented.

"...Uh, Qrow. You're seeing what I'm seeing too, right?" Tai asked.

"I see it. Though I can't believe it." Qrow said, equally as shocked as everyone else in the group.

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

Though after the smoke had cleared, everyone had a clear view on what exactly they were seeing.

"...R-Raven?" Tai called out in disbelief.

"..." The samurai merely looked away from her husband, not wanting to face him directly.

"I-Is it really you?" He asked.

"Weiss!" Everyone heard Blake call out in desperation.

"Blake! Oh thank goodness you're alri-!" She began, only for the sight of an injured Yang to cut her off.

"Oh my-! What happened to Yang?!" Weiss screamed as she ran over to her teammate.

"What?!" Tai and Qrow yelled, there head's spinning towards Yang.

"Just what the hell happened?! Where's her arm?!" Weiss screamed.

Though before Blake could answer any of her questions, she collapsed to the ground.

"Blake!" Sun cried out, rushing to the Faunus's side.

"Ow." She said.

"Damn it. You're injured to?!" He asked.

Though while all the commotion was going on, the sound of Raven's portal opening broke Tai and Qrow out of there daze.

"Raven! Wait!" Tai yelled, causing Raven to stop in her tracks.

"..." The blonde huntsmen stood mere inches away from Raven with a desperate look on his face.

"R-Raven. I-." He began, only for Raven to walk up to Tai and place her hand on his shoulder.

She pointed over at Yang, causing the blonde huntsmen to turn around towards the group.

"Take care of her, Tai." Raven said as she walked back into the portal.

The blonde huntsmen wanted to call out for Raven one last time, though her words just rang in his head for a couple of seconds.

Suddenly, Tai felt something spark inside of his heart. Something he thought had been dead for years now.

"Heh, you got it, Rae." Tai said as he ran over to the group.

"Jeez, what'd they do you to?" Qrow asked as he stared at Yang's injured body.

"Let me." The blonde huntsmen said as he walked over and picked up Yang.

"Ugh." Yang groaned.

"Shh. It's okay. We're gonna get you out of here." Tai said.

"Okay! Listen up! We're gonna head over to the evacuation outpost stationed in front of Beacon!" He said before turning to Qrow.

"I trust that you'll find Ruby?" He asked.

"Just keep an eye on her. She's gonna need it once she wakes up." Qrow said before running off.

"What about Jaune and Pyrrha?!" Nora asked.

"Nora, I'm sure they'll be able to take care of themselves. We need to have faith in them." Ren said.

"..."

"We have injured here, Nora. We're also out of aura and ammunition. We're practically useless now." He said.

"...Fine." Nora said reluctantly.

"Okay! Let's move people!" Tai said as he started to run in the direction of the runway.

"Jeez, what happened out there Blake?" Sun asked.

.

.

"Blake?" He called out once more.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered.

* * *

"...So I'm just gonna go off of a limb here and say that this-." Mercury said as he pointed to the fallen tower.

"Wasn't a part of the plan." He said.

"..." Brandon's only response was to stare at the assassin with a deadpanned stare.

"I'll take that as a no." Mercury said.

"I still can't believe she went this far. I mean, the entire C.C.T tower is gone." Emerald said in disbelief.

 **"Yes, we can clearly see that by the way it's burning to the ground."** Neo said with a sarcastic look on her face.

"I don't appreciate your sass, short stack." She growled.

 **"And I don't appreciate your presence, street rat."** She said.

"Why are you even here again?" Emerald asked.

 **"I have my own reasons for wanting to be here. Why? You afraid I might make a move before you do?"** Neo asked.

"...W-what?!" She asked, a red blush starting to appear on her face.

 **"Oops! Did I let that slip? Jeez, it would be a real shame if a certain someone found out about your little secret."** She said.

"Do I need to take you down a few inches?!" Emerald asked.

 **"As if you'd ever be able to."** Neo said.

"Jeez what're you two whispering about? I can hear you from all the way over here." Mercury said.

"...W-what?!" She asked.

 **"We're talking about Emerald's obvious feelings for our fearless leader over there."** Neo said as she pointed at Brandon who was currently flicking something at one of the Grimm charging towards him.

After a few seconds, the Grimm started to choke on whatever he had flicked in it's mouth and eventually died.

"...How-?" Mercury began.

"It's an acquired taste." Emerald said with a blush on her face.

 **"Though she's all heated because she knows that he'll pick the obvious choice."** Neo said with a cocky smirk on her face.

"...You to?" He asked.

 **"What can I say? The heart wants what the heart want."** She said.

 _'...You know, I would feel jealous if it were any other set of girls, though considering it's these two I'm more concerned that they'll kill the him in the middle of there little feud.'_ Mercury said.

"Jeez, first Cinder now him?" Mercury asked, causing Emerald to whack him over the head.

"Mercury!" She yelled, her face as red as a tomato.

"Ow! What the hell?!" He yelled.

"I thought we agreed not to bring that up!" Emerald said.

"Tch, not my fault you have questionable tastes in both men and wome-!" Mercury began, only for Emerald whack him over the head once again.

"Ow! Why you-!" Mercury began as the three started to argue back and forth.

Meanwhile, Brandon was currently talking to Caliber so he was tuning everything they were saying out.

 _'Well, this could have gone better.'_ Brandon said to his spirit.

 _ **"At least the android is still alive. So we already had altered the course of history."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, I suppose you have a point there. Though I could have gone without the tower being blown to kingdom come.'_ He said.

 _ **"Though the tower fell in the original timeline as well."**_ He said.

 _'Yeah well the only part that really fell is the top part of the tower. That's not really that hard to fix. Just push the stone Dragon off of the tower and just rebuild it. With this the entire thing was brought to the ground. That's not exactly something that's gonna be easy to fix.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"Hmm, I suppose that is true."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Yep...By the way, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you for awhile now.'_ He said.

 _ **"Well, you certainly have strange timing, my boy."**_ He said.

 _'I never really found a good time to bring it up.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"Very well, what troubles your mind?"**_ Caliber asked.

 _'It's about when I became your user. It was right after I arrived in Remnant.'_ He said.

 ** _"I see."_** He said.

 _'It was more specifically when I passed out when I decided I wanted to be the guy with two souls.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"Hmm, yes I remember that day. Though I'm not quite sure if there was anything particularly strange about that."**_ Caliber said.

 _'What about before that?'_ He asked.

 ** _"...I don't follow."_** He said.

 _'Well, before I met you I met these strange figures that led me to the tree where I met you.'_ Brandon said.

 ** _"..."_**

 _'Uh, you still there?'_ He asked.

 _ **"How many were there?"**_ He asked.

 _'What? Oh...I'm pretty sure there were six of them.'_ Brandon said.

 ** _"Are you certain?"_** Caliber asked.

 _'Yeah. Though the strangest thing was when I met this one woman. She extended her hand out to me though when I grabbed it, all of them disappeared.'_ He said.

 ** _"...A woman?"_** He asked.

 _'Yeah, a woman. Though none of them actually talked to me. They just sorta stared at me the entire time.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"...I see. Well that is to be expected of her. She was always quite the trickster."**_ Caliber said.

 _'_ _She?'_ He asked.

 ** _"Yes. She...was an old friend."_** He said.

 _'Old friend?...wait, so were the people I met all those years ago were actually-!'_ Brandon began.

 _ **"Indeed. The six people you saw that day were actually the six previous users of my power. The woman you met was the very first person to have ever forge a contract with me. Her name was Lana."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Oh...what was she like?'_ He asked.

 ** _"That is a story for another time."_** He said.

 _'Fair enough.'_ Brandon thought as he turned over to the trio, seeing that the three were near moments away from going into an all out fight.

"What the hell are you three doing?" Brandon asked, causing the three to stop dead in there tracks.

"...Uh." Mercury began.

"Never mind. We're gonna start preparing for the main event. You do two do remember the plan, right?" He asked Emerald and Mercury.

"Trust us, we're ready for this." Emerald said.

"Alright then. Let's get started." Brandon said.

"Try not to kick the bucket before the action starts." He said.

"You kidding? Wouldn't miss it for the world." Mercury said as he and Emerald ran off.

Suddenly, another explosion could be heard in the distance, causing Neo to look out towards the school with a far off look in her eyes.

"...You can go, you know that right?" Brandon asked, causing Neo to look at him with a smirk on her face.

 **"Sorry, I hate to miss out on the action. Though I can't just abandon him, he's the only family I've got left."** She said.

"Yeah I get it. Just don't die out there." He said.

Neo chuckled and went to go and find her uncle, leaving the swordsman to stand alone.

"Well, I guess that's our-." Brandon began, only for the sound of footsteps to cut him off.

 _'...You have got to be kidding me.'_ He thought as he stared at who was standing in front of him.

"Hello, Brandon." Pyrrha said with a serious expression on her face.

"Pyrrha." He simply said, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"...You know, it's not safe to be out here all alone." She said.

"I can say the same for you." He said.

"...You know, I always considered you one of my closest friends. You realize that, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh...Uh, thanks?" Brandon said.

"When we first met, I knew there was something...strange about you." She said.

"Normally, people would never challenge me to a fight. They see me standing on this impossible pedestal that they could never reach. No one ever tried to fight me, even if they were forced to battle me." Pyrrha said.

"That all changed when I met you. Not only did you challenge me, you were actually able to defeat me. Over the long years I have spent fighting, I have never actually lost to any opponent." She said.

"The day I lost my title was a...exciting day for me." Pyrrha said.

"I finally had someone who I could call me equal." She said. "I always was satisfied with the level of strength I was currently at."

"However, you never stopped trying to improve. You always tested the limits of what you thought was possible." Pyrrha said.

"Every time we fought you always came back so much stronger." She said.

"I never thought I would ever desire to push beyond my own limitations. To grow stronger." Pyrrha said.

"You're my rival Brandon. The person who drove me to become even better than I currently am." She said.

"...Heh, well someone had to do-." He began.

"Which is why I can't let you do what you're about to do." She said.

.

.

"So, I'm just gonna go off on a limb here and say that you have a general idea on what's going on." Brandon said.

"I have a grasp of the situation, yes. So is this person who's after Amber the person you have been looking for?" Pyrrha asked.

"She's one of them, yeah." He said.

"...Wait, one of them? You mean there are more?" She asked.

"Yep, twelve to be exact, and I plan to hunt the rest of em down once I'm through with her." Brandon said.

"Though I've seen of how powerful this enemy is." Pyrrha said.

"...Wait, what?" He asked.

"While I may not have met them directly, I do have a grasp on how strong they could potentially be." She said. "I've seen Amber's power with my own eyes. She was able to take down a army of Grimm in the matter of seconds, she has powers beyond my own understanding." Pyrrha said.

"Though I also know that this power wasn't something she developed, it was something she was given." She said.

"What can be given to someone can also be taken away, and to my knowledge, it has." Pyrrha said.

"...So who-?" Brandon began.

"Ruby's uncle gave us a brief description of what was going on." She said.

"Oh." He said.

"So if the enemy has half of that power, then I don't even think I could fully understand what someone with all of that power could be capable of." Pyrrha said.

"..."

"Look, if you've come to take me back with you then you might as well save your breath. This has been a long time coming, I'm not backing down." He said.

"That's what I thought you'd say." She said as she used her semblance to bring her weapons to her side.

"Which is why I came here with the intent of using a little more force than usual." Pyrrha said with a serious look in her eyes.

"...I'm just gonna give you one chance to walk away, Pyrrha." Brandon said.

"Sorry, but I won't let you get yourself killed." She said.

"..." The only response she got out of him was for the swordsman to draw the vessel containing the spirit.

"We've fought countless times before, Brandon. Though none of them have ever been like this." Pyrrha said as she slowly started to circle Brandon.

"You're the one picking a fight with me." He said.

After a few seconds, the two charged at one another with there respective weapons at there side.

They clashed swords, sparks emanating from off of the blades as the two combatants struggled to gain dominance.

Brandon growled and started to swing his sword at Pyrrha at a surprisingly fast pace.

Though due to there countless fights, Pyrrha was able to dodge each and every one of his attacks.

"I know all of your tricks Brandon! Please just-!" She began, only for Brandon to shoot one of Caliber's blasts from his revolver, causing the Pyrrha to raise her shield to block the attack.

"..." Once the smoke cleared, Pyrrha stared at her rival in surprise.

"Not all of them." He said.

Pyrrha gripped her sword tightly and started to run towards Brandon with her javelin in her hands.

The swords man charged towards her, gripping the vessel that held Caliber's spirit in his right hand.

Brandon and Pyrrha started to exchange blows, each one showing no signs of giving in to the opposing side, however, Brandon would prove to have the upper hand in this fight as he hit Pyrrha's sword away from her hands.

Though right before Brandon could strike at Pyrrha, she quickly used her shield to push him away before using her semblance to pull her weapon back to her.

Brandon growled and started to fire shot after shot at Pyrrha, causing small explosions to appear in the area's where she was.

However, before Pyrrha could go in for another attack, the sound of a familiar voice stopped the spartan in her tracks.

"Pyrrha?! Brandon?! What are you two doing?!" Jaune asked, staring at the two in shock.

"Jaune?!" She asked, turning her head towards her partner.

Brandon took this as an opportunity to run at the spartan with Caliber at his side. He reeled his fist backwards and punched Pyrrha across the face with the full force of Caliber's strength.

Pyrrha was sent flying across the field that she and Brandon were fighting in, eventually hitting a tree with a loud and audible thud.

The spartan stumbled a few feet before collapsing onto the hard ground of Beacon's fields.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted as he ran towards his partner.

Once the blonde knight ran to her side, Brandon put his sword back in it's sheathe and started to walk away from the duo.

"Brandon, wait!" Jaune called out, causing the boy to stop dead in his tracks.

"I know why you're doing this. Why you're out here. She's the one, right? The one after Amber is the one you've been looking for, right?" He asked.

"..."

"Don't do this. If Amber only has half of her actual power then there's no telling what will happen if the enemy gets the rest of her power." Jaune attempted to reason with Brandon.

"...Wait, what do you mean?" Brandon asked, turning towards the blonde knight.

"We lost track of Amber in the arena." He said.

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" He yelled as he ran off into the distance.

"Brandon!" Jaune called out.

"Take Pyrrha and get out of here! There's no telling how much longer she'll stay unconscious! Knowing her she's gonna take the first opportunity to come after me!" Brandon shouted.

"I can't just leave you! You're my-!" He began.

"If you value the life of your partner then get the hell out of here! Get her as far away from here as possible!" He said.

"But-!"

"Jaune! We don't have time to debate this! Just take her and go already!" Brandon yelled.

After a few moments of hesitation, Jaune nodded and picked Pyrrha up, holding her in his arms.

"You better come back!" He said.

"Trust me! I don't plan on dying today!" Brandon yelled as he ran off into the distance.

"...Be safe." Jaune said as he ran off towards the runways of Beacon with Pyrrha in his arms.

* * *

 _'Come on, where are you?'_ Roman thought to himself as he shot down another Grimm charging towards him.

"Neo! Neo can you here me?!" He yelled, though sure enough, Neo was nowhere to be found.

"Come on, I know you're tougher than that." The man said to himself.

Though before he could continue his search, the sound of various footsteps stopped him in his tracks.

Roman looked around to see that various White Fang members were surrounding him with there weapons pointed at him.

"Well well well, you animals sure are causing quite a commotion out there." He said.

"No thanks to you, traitor." One of the members said.

"Oh deary. Being a traitor would have implied that I was on your side to begin with." Roman said as he put another set of dust crystals into his came. Though this time it was a much more potent version of the crystals.

"Now, it's time someone you taught a lesson." He said with a smirk.

"Luckily for you-." Roman began as he fired a dust crystal at knight that was standing right behind the group.

"I just so happen to be the best teacher around." He said with a smirk on his face.

Two Faunus roared and charged towards Roman with there fists reeled backwards, though right as one of them was about to strike at the man, he quickly used his cane to push his fist towards his friend, causing him to go flying towards one of the stone pillars.

As each individual started to attack the man, Roman started to strike at the Faunus with his cane.

He punched one of the Faunus in the jaw before striking another Faunus across the face with his cane. One of the White Fang members attempted to stab Roman with his dagger, though the crime boss grabbed one of the White Fang members and used him as a human shield.

Roman kicked the Faunus he had in his arms towards the other one who had just attempted to strike him down. He pointed his cane at the two and pulled the trigger, causing a very powerful dust crystal to come out of the barrel of his cane.

Another White Fang member swung his blade at the man, though Roman was easily able to dodge the attack and put him in a arm lock of some sort with his cane.

One of the other White Fang members swung there blade at the man, though Roman was easily able to silence him by shooting another one of his dust crystals at there feet.

He struck the Faunus he had in his arms with his cane before grabbing the color of his uniform with the curve of his cane.

"Present for ya!" He yelled as he threw the man at his friend. Once they collided with one another, Roman pointed his cane at the two and pulled the trigger.

After a few seconds, one of the White Fang members pointed there respective gun at the crime boss and started to pull the trigger.

Though before the bullets could even make contact with the crime bosses, Neo suddenly appeared in front of the crime boss to shield him with her parasol.

"Well, you certainly took your sweet time young lady." Roman said as he fired another dust crystal at the last White Fang member.

Once the dust had cleared, Neo closed her parasol and turned around to face her uncle.

"Didn't we have a talk about wondering off on your own?" Roman asked as he ruffled her hair.

 **"I'm an eighteen year old woman. I know how to take care of myself."** Neo said.

"Wow...eighteen? Jeez, it feels like yesterday when you were playing with the kitchen knives." He said.

 **"Well, I moved on to better things."** She said as she twirled her parasol around.

"I guess you did." Roman said as he started to look around the area. "Well, what's say we ditch this hell hole and go to someplace nicer?" He asked as he started to walk towards the runways.

 **"Yeah, sure."** Neo said as she started to follow her uncle.

"...I know about your little plan to go to Vacuo with the little trouble maker." Roman said, causing Neo to stop dead in her tracks.

"Mind if I ask what you're expecting to gain from this little trip of yours?" He asked.

 **"Well according to Brandon, one of the weapon users is somewhere in Vacuo's desert. So we're going down there to pay them a little visit."** She said.

"Okay, so I know why he's going. I want to know why you're going." Roman said.

 **"..."**

"It's about your past, isn't it?" He asked.

 **"This might be the only chance I have to get any clues about who I was."** Neo said.

"Then why did you come out here? Gonna say on last goodbye before you head out?" Roman asked.

 **"No. I'm going to go with you."** She said.

"But you just said-." He began.

 **"It's true that I might never get another opportunity like this. Though I'm not about to throw you under the bus for it."** Neo said.

"...Heh, this place is starting to rub off on you." Roman said.

 **"Guess so. Let's head out."** She said as she started to walk forwards.

Meanwhile, the group was currently recovering from the battle's they had previously fought. Though some injuries were beyond repair.

"That's it! Everybody on board!" Port said. "This is a mandatory evacuation!" He said.

"A safe zone has been established within the main airships of the Atlas Military! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel." Oobleck said.

"Looks like it's almost over." Sun said as he sat next to Blake.

"How is she doing?" Blake asked.

"Not well. Raven may have slowed down the bleeding, though if we don't give her treatment fast then...you know." Tai said.

"...No." She said.

"Seriously?" Sun asked.

"Come on Yang, just hold out for a little while longer." Tai said.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Blake said in between sobs.

"Blake, this wasn't your-." Sun began.

"Guys!" Everyone heard Jaune yell, causing them to turn there heads towards the blonde knight.

"Jaune!" Ren and Nora called out, struggling to get up from where they stood.

"What's wrong with Pyrrha?" Weiss asked Jaune, staring at the unconscious girl Jaune had in his arms.

"Pyrrha?!" Ren and Nora yelled, limping over to the spartan with concerned looks in there eyes.

"Don't worry guys. She's just out cold is all." Jaune said.

"...Why did you guys just run off like that?" Brawnz asked.

"Pyrrha went looking for Brandon." He said.

"...and?" Weiss asked.

"We did find him, though he didn't want to come with us." Jaune said.

"What?! Why?!" She asked.

"...Ren, Nora. Remember when Brandon said that the only reason he became a huntsmen was to find someone?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Nora said in confusion.

However, Ren instantly knew what Jaune was implying.

"No, it can't be." He said.

"Yeah, the person after Amber's powers is the same person Brandon is looking for." He said.

"...What?!" Tai yelled.

"Can someone please explain all this?!" Weiss asked.

"...It's not something I should be explaining. If you want to hear the full story, then you need to talk to Brandon himself." Jaune said.

"Then let's go get em! Just tell us where you last saw him and we'll go and pick him up!" Nebula said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Brandon doesn't exactly want to leave with us." He said.

"Then we'll just drag him here! There's no way in hell we're just gonna up and leave him here!" Sun said.

"Pyrrha already tried that. Look how that turned out." Jaune said.

.

.

"Wait. Brandon did this?" Weiss asked as she pointed at Pyrrha.

"Yeah." Jaune said.

"Why?! Why would he do this to Pyrrha?! His friend?!" Nora asked.

"I don't know. All he said to me was to take Pyrrha and get out of here." He said.

"So what?! We're supposed to just leave him here?!" Sun asked.

"You wanna be the one to try and drag him out here?" Jaune asked.

"..."

"Students! We just make haste! Now!" Oobleck said.

"But Ruby-!" Weiss began, only for Tai to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. Qrow will make sure that nothing happens to her." He said. "Besides, we need to get Yang medical attention and fast." Tai said.

"...What? No concern for your favorite professor?" Everyone heard Roman asked as he walked towards the group with Neo not too far behind him.

"Here we thought you'd never come back." Weiss said.

"I had to pick up my niece from school." Roman said, placing his hand on Neo's head.

"Well, everyone is here! Let's get-!" Tai began, only for the sound of a loud explosion to come from above them.

"Oh what now?!" Sun yelled as he looked up in the air.

What they saw was Ironwood's command ship flying above the city of Vale, smoke coming off of one side of the ship.

 **"Is anyone there?!"** Tai heard the general ask.

"James! What the hell is going on?!" The blonde huntsmen asked.

 **"Tai, good. It's the White Fang. They've managed to infiltrate one of my command ships! Not only that but a few of the Phantoms are aiding them in battle!"** Ironwood yelled through the sound of gunfire.

"What?!" Blake yelled.

 **"Where's Qrow?! I need you both up here now!"** He yelled.

"Qrow's looking for Amber and Ruby! I can't make it up to the airship!" He said.

 **"...What about Roman? Is he with you?!"** Ironwood asked.

Though before Tai could even respond, Roman snatched the scroll out of his hands.

"Talk to me Jimmy." He said.

 **"I need you to get up to the main airship! The Phantoms are loose and we're losing ground fast!"** Ironwood said.

"Hmm...alright then. I guess I can exterminate a few pests." Roman said with a smirk on his face.

 **"Alright, just get up here!"** He said as he cut off the connection.

"Hmm...sorry kids I'm gonna have to take this bullhead off your hands." Roman said as he walked over to the bullhead. "Duty calls!" He said.

Though before he could take off, the sound of the Grimm Dragon screeching could be heard coming from across the school.

"Damn it. We won't be able to take to the sky's unless that beast is tamed!" Port said.

"...Sun." Sage said, causing Sun to turn his head towards Sage.

"What's up?" He asked.

"...It's time." He said as he took off his jacket.

"...Wait, what?! No, Sage! You can't!" Sun said.

"Hmm?" Neptune and Scarlet asked.

"It's the only way any of you will get out of here." He said.

"No! You can't use your Dragon Zodiac!" Sun yelled.

"What?!" Both Neptune and Scarlet yelled.

"Dragon Zodiac?" Dew asked.

"Sun, it's my most powerful Zodiac. It might be our only chance of beating that thing, or at least to ensure that everyone here makes it out alive." He said.

"No! We're not just gonna leave you behind! I'm not-!" Sun began, only for Sage to quickly cut him off.

"Sun!" He yelled.

"..."

"Think about the stakes here. We can't afford to lose any more lives today. Which is why some of us will have to stay behind to ensure that happens." Sage said.

"..."

"Sun, think of the people around you." He said.

"...You better come back." Sun said as he started to run towards the airship.

"Let's go people!" Sun said.

Everyone nodded and started to run onto the airship with there respective weapon at there side.

"Sage! Kick it's ass right out of the sky!" Sun yelled.

"You better come back to your crew!" Scarlet yelled.

"We're rooting for ya!" Neptune said.

"...Right, thank you guys." Sage said as a purple aura started to surround him.

After a few seconds, his aura burst out of his body, causing Sage to let loose a Dragon like roar from his mouth.

"Rgha!" He yelled as he charged towards the Dragon, the ground cracking under his feet.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh." Ozpin groaned as he laid in the rubble of the fallen tower.

 _'W-what in the world was that? I was talking to James then all of a sudden the ground beneath me just gave away.'_ He asked as he attempted to get up, though due to the injuries he had sustained from the blast, his body wouldn't be moving any time soon.

 _'What's happening?'_ Ozpin asked himself.

Though before he could investigate his surroundings, the sound of the Grimm Dragon quickly brought him back to reality.

 _'W-what?! The Dragon?! How in the world did it get out of the mountain?!'_ He asked himself.

 _'I-I need to make sure the students are alright. The relic cannot fall into the hands of the enemy!'_ Ozpin thought as he slowly got off of the ground.

Though as his vision returned to him, the sight of the destroyed C.C.T completely and utterly shocked him.

"T-the tower." He groaned.

"I-I need to g-get to t-the r-relic." Ozpin said through his teeth.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." He heard a female voice say, causing the man to turn around.

"..."

"All this time, right under your nose. Yet you never suspected a thing." Cinder said.

"S-so. You are t-the False Maiden?" Ozpin asked.

"No, I am the true Maiden. The rightful owner of this power." She said as she summoned a fire ball in her hand.

"T-that power was n-never yours to-!" He began, only for Cinder to shoot an arrow at his leg, causing the flesh inside of his leg to burn.

"Gah!" He yelled, collapsing to the ground.

"My, how low you have fallen." She said, pressing her heel up against his head.

"The great Wizard of Remnant, reduced to an old fool." Cinder said.

"..."

"Nothing left to say? Can't say that I blame you." She said.

"...Heh." Ozpin chuckled.

"Hmm?" Cinder hummed.

"Heh heh, ha ha ha!" He laughed.

"Have you finally gone mad?" She asked.

"Do you truly believe that my death will secure your victory?" He asked.

"...What?" Cinder asked.

"There are others out there who can pose just as much of a threat to your plans as I." Ozpin said.

"One of those people I personally trained myself, and he has an ability you and your master should fear." He said.

"Do you truly believe that she will fight for you, even after the things you have done to her and her brother?" She asked.

"I wasn't talking about Raven." Ozpin said.

"...You mean the boy? You are an even bigger fool than I thought if you truly believe that he can stop us!" Cinder said. "I've seen him in combat, he may have access to the spirits power but he has no control over it!" She said.

"The spirits power isn't what you should be worried about. It's...it's he ability to unite people to face a common enemy. He's done it multiple times before." He said. "T-this is not the end. It is only the beginning." Ozpin said.

"I think you've rambled on long enough you old fool." Cinder said as he extended her palm towards Ozpin. "You should have staying in your little cottage." She said as she pressed her hand on Ozpin's head, causing the man to completely turn into ash.

 _'Hmm, it seems that plan B is moving rather smoothly, despite all the complications we ran into.'_ Cinder thought to herself as walked out of the rubble of the C.C.T.

 _'The Kingdom has fallen, the truth was revealed, the Grimm roam the school and the city, The Dragon was released from his prison, and Ozpin is dead.'_ She thought to herself.

 _'All that's left to do is to find the Maiden and retrieve the relic.'_ Cinder thought to herself with a smirk on her face.

Though as she stared out at the destruction that befell upon Vale, the Grimm Dragon started to fly towards her.

 _'Hmm, it seems that my little friend has come to greet me.'_ She thought to herself as the Dragon landed on the ground.

"Hello there." Cinder said, causing the Dragon to growl.

"Shh, don't worry. I'm not your enemy. I am here to welcome you to your new home." She said to the dragon.

After a few seconds, the Dragon pressed it's nose up against the palm of Cinder, causing her to smirk.

Though as Cinder gazed upon the destruction, she caught a quick glance at the group that was gathering towards the runway.

"Hmm." She hummed to herself as she gazed upon the Grimm Dragon.

"There. It seems that some humans have decided to trespass into your territory. Why don't you go and give them a...welcoming gift so to say?" Cinder asked, causing the Dragon to screech and fly towards the runway.

"...You know, I was going to go and look for you myself. Though it seems that you had just saved me the trouble." The Maiden said as she turned towards Amber.

"..."

"Now if you don't mind me asking, what in the world was going through your head when you came out here?" She asked.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me." Amber said as she activated her staff.

"Oh? You mean this?" Cinder asked as she extended her palm outwards, causing a small flame to appear in the center of her palm.

"..." The Maiden's only response was to get into her combat position.

"Very well. Come and take it then." She said with a smirk on her face.

After a few seconds, Cinder summoned a dozen of dust crystals from the thin air and shot them at Amber, though the Maiden was easily able to block them.

Cinder launched one of her fire balls at the Maiden, though Amber twirled her staff around and started to create a very strong gust of wind. Right before the attack could reach her, she swung her staff outwards, causing the gust of wind to put out Cinder's flames.

The False Maiden braced herself for the oncoming attack, though was ultimately knocked back by the sudden gust of wind.

"Yah!" She yelled as she charged towards Cinder, her fist completely consumed in flames.

Right before the attack could land however, the False Maiden quickly moved out of the way of the attack.

Amber growled and fired a flamethrower like attack at Cinder, causing her to counter act with a flamethrower of her own.

Though while Amber did have more experience with the Maiden's powers, she was quickly overwhelmed by the attack.

"Gah!" She yelled as she flew back towards the building.

Cinder smirked and started to shoot fire ball after fire ball at the Maiden, though she was quick to react and moved out of the way of the attack.

Amber growled and used the powers of the wind to launch herself at Cinder. Though right as he r attack was about to make contact wih the False Maiden, Cinder quickly caught the attack and dug her palm into Amber's stomach, causing her to go flying backwards.

"Is this all the Fall Maiden has to offer me? Perhaps I never needed those two brats to begin with." Cinder commented.

The Maiden growled, causing red rings to appear around her eyes. Suddenly, the wind started to pick up around the area, causing Amber to slowly rise to the air.

"You may have half of my power!" Amber yelled as she sent a lightning bolt down in attempts to strike Cinder down.

"Though I've had years to practice!" She yelled, sending lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the False Maiden.

Cinder growled and started to shoot various ice chunks at the Fall Maiden, though she was easily able to destroy them with the lighting she had created.

"Yah!" She yelled as she fired another lighting bolt at Cinder, though due to the rubble, Cinder was easily able to re-arrange the rocks so that they formed sharp projectiles for the False Maiden to use.

Each one of the projectiles hit Amber, though she easily recovered from the affects of the attack.

Cinder rushed towards Amber and started to swing her blade at the Maiden, though she was able to block the attacks before sending Cinder flying with one of her punches.

The False Maiden launched herself towards Amber, kicking and slashing at the Maiden in attempts to gain the higher ground.

After a few seconds, Cinder was able to land a solid hit on her, though she was able to launch herself back at Cinder.

The False Maiden growled and started to shoot some of her arrows at the girl, causing them to explode once they had impacted Amber.

Cinder attempted to go in for another attack, though Amber slammed her foot onto the ground, causing the earth bellow her to release a few chunks of rock. After she did that, she froze the rocks and sent them flying towards Cinder.

As each on hit her, Amber went in to kick Cinder right in the gut, causing her to go flying backwards.

The False Maiden growled and pointed her bow and arrow at the Maiden.

Amber sneered and launched one of her fireballs at Cinder, causing the false Maiden to shoot her arrow at Amber.

Though what Amber wasn't expecting was for the arrow to dig into her backside, causing her to fall to the ground.

To avoid the attack, Cinder propelled herself up into the air and landed next to Amber.

"Gah." She gasped as the Maiden dug her heel into her skin.

"It's unfortunate that you were given a power that was never truly yours. Though don't worry, I will use this power in ways you never could have imagined." Cinder said.

"Now. Let's continue where we last left off, shall we?" She asked as she put on the glove Lilith had given her.

"Go. To. He-!" Amber she began, only for the False Maiden to put more pressure on her heels.

"Come now. That isn't a good look for you." Cinder said as the bug latched itself onto her face.

Meanwhile, Ruby was currently using all the of the strength she could muster so that she could run to the area where she had heard the explosion coming from.

 _'Please be okay, please be okay, please be o-!'_ She said to herself, though the sight of Amber's very life energy being sucked away cut her off.

"..." Ruby stared at the scene in complete and utter shock, her legs refusing to move from where they stood.

 _'Move. Move! You have to help her!'_ She thought.

"Goodbye, False Maiden." Cinder said as the bug released it's grip on Amber, causing the Maiden to fall to the ground.

"...N-No." Ruby said, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"A-Amber." She said quietly.

"Ah, you're Ruby Rose. Such a shame we had to meet under these...circumstances." Cinder said.

"A-Amber!" She said a little bit louder this time.

The False Maiden chuckled as she started to float in the air with her new found power.

"So, this is the power of a Maiden? How...exhilarating" Cinder said.

"Y-you..." Ruby began to say, the ground starting to rumble.

"What in the-?" She began.

" _Amber!"_ She screamed, causing a silver light to come out of of her eyes.

"What?!" Cinder screamed as she was consumed by the light, causing her to lose consciousnesses.

After a few moments, the Maiden did eventually regain consciousness.

"Ugh. What in the world?" Cinder asked as laid on the ground.

Though as she attempted to get up, ever muscle in her body burned, causing her body to fall to the ground.

"W-what?!" She groaned, slowly but surely getting up from off of the ground.

 _'M-my vision is blurry. Just what the hell did this brat do to me?'_ Cinder asked.

Once her vision was clear, she looked to her right to stare at the unconscious figure of Ruby Rose.

 _'What was that? What did she just do?'_ She asked herself.

After a few moments of brief hesitation, Cinder narrowed her eyes and summoned her bow and arrow.

 _'Never mind that. She is to dangerous to be left alive.'_ She thought to herself as she reeled back on of her arrows.

"It is quite unfortunate that you were brought into this catastrophe." Cinder said.

"Farewell, little Ro-." Cinder began, only for the sound of a gunshot to be heard coming from across the field, causing her to jump back a bit.

"Who's there?!" She yelled.

After a few seconds, the figure came out of the darkness, a serious look on there face as they started to walk towards Cinder.

"...You." Cinder growled.

"Hey." Brandon said, his gun pointed at Cinder.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode eight of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the eighth episode I recommend reading the skipping to the reviews.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 8 thoughts**

 **Well now, this was...certainly an interesting episode to say the least.**

 **There are somethings in this episode that you will like, and some that you won't like.**

 **I really did think that the part between Raven and Cinder's group was really well executed and gave us more of an in depth look into each character. It was really interesting to hear that there is a possibility that Cinder's last name of Fall isn't actually her last name.**

 **I also think that the part with Raven just insulting the four people she saw, I thought it was really funny.**

 **Though what about the things I don't like.**

 **I'm just going to be straight with you. The Menagerie arc is just...so incredibly slow at the moment.**

 **Blake's character really hasn't gone anywhere since she first came back home. Though hopefully the next episode will fix that.**

 **Review Response**

 **Aragon365: Whoa, calm down there.**

 **Guest: Here ya go.**

 **Donovan: My mistake, the review responses are there now.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Meh, I'll be fine.**

 **Zamasu: Ahem...why?**

 **SPDefender: Thanks for the encouragement.**

 **GOH426: Yep, I'm pretty sure we have to get ready to say bye to Mr. Belladonna.**

 **alertpoet91: Here you go.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad to hear.**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Are you trying to tell me something?**

 **fanficcyberman: Glad to hear.**

 **myfunvideos: Yeah, I just got rid of a chapter that held to relevance to the actual plot.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Yep.**

 **dragonborn795: Lot's and lot's of dedication.**

 **Nightroad816: I won't.**

* * *

 **Omake- Trend.**

"Hmm." Brandon hummed as he stood in the lodge of Beacon's dorms.

 _ **"Is something troubling you, my boy?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Let me ask you something." He said.

 _ **"Very well."**_ He said.

"Haven't you started to notice a trend when it comes to the people I'm shipped with?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"...Pardon?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Well, first we've got Neo." Brandon said as he pointed at Neo, the girl giving him a quick wink as she sat in her chair.

"Then there's Emerald." He said.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Emerald asked.

"No, not important." Brandon said.

The thief shrugged and continued to read her book.

"Lastly we have Ilia." He said.

"...I-I do not like you." Ilia said, her spots turning a shade of pink.

 _ **"I still don't quite understand what you mean by trend."**_ Caliber said.

"Well, all the people who are my potential love interests have at least attempted to kill me at least once. I mean, you don't see any of the other girls trying to hit on me." Brandon said.

 _ **"What of the detective and the rabbit?"**_ He asked.

"Let's be honest, those two ships sunk a long time ago." He said.

 ** _"Hmm...Yes I suppose I do see a trend of some sort."_** Caliber said.

"Yeah." Brandon said.

.

.

"Wait, if we're going by this logic then wouldn't that mean-." He began as he slowly looked over to Cinder.

"Hmm? Is something the matter?" She asked.

"...Nope." Brandon said as he walked out of the room.

"Where's he going?" Emerald asked.

"I...I don't really know." Ilia said.

* * *

 **Cinder Fall**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Swords and Bow.**

 **Gender : Female**

 **Height: 5'11"**

 **Weight: 186 lbs**

 **Age: 22**

 **Outfit: Crimson and Yellow**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: Pale White**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Eye color: Amber**

 **Aura Color: Red**

 **Semblance: Maiden**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: E**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **Poll Progression**

 **So before we get into the poll's, I have to ask you guys. Do you think I should reset the vote with the only three votes being Emerald, Neo and Ilia?**

 **Silent Enchantment-(Neo/Brandon): 109**

 **Enchanted Jewel-(Emerald/Brandon): 74**

 **Scarlatina's Magic-(Velvet/Brandon): 53**

 **Fashionable Enchantment-(Coco/Brandon) 29**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	64. Wrath

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Wrath"

Thought: _'Wrath'_

Flashback: _"Wrath"_

"All units get to cover!" Ironwood ordered from behind the console commands with his revolver in his hands.

"Open fire!" One of the commanders yelled, causing the units that were stationed in the command ship to open fire on the White Fang members that were right next to the door.

"Incoming!" One of the commanders of the White Fang yelled as the rest of the units that were firing from behind the door moved for cover from within the main command center.

"Tch, how in the hell did the Fang get onto one of my ships?" The general asked himself as he reloaded his revolver.

"Sir! We're losing ground!" One of the commanders yelled.

"Damn it. Winter is still evacuating the citizens so we can't call for reinforcements from the task force." He said to himself.

"Kill them all!" One of the White Fang commanders yelled, firing his weapon inside of the main command center.

Ironwood grunted and pulled out his scroll, attempting to see if he could get in touch with the outside world.

"Come on, come on." He said to himself as the scroll started to ring.

Though after a few seconds, the connection between the two was eventually cut off.

"Damn it." He growled to himself.

Suddenly, a bullet hit the metal of the console he was taking cover in, causing sparks to go flying off of the computer.

"They just don't know when to quit, do they?" Ironwood grunted as he attempted to call one of the various radio stations stationed throughout the area.

After a few seconds, he was able to get through to one of the stations in Beacon Academy.

"Is anyone there?!" He yelled.

 **"James! What the hell is going on?!"** The voice of Tai Yang asked through the scroll.

"Tai, good. It's the White Fang. They've managed to infiltrate one of my command ships! Not only that but a few of the Phantoms are aiding them in battle!" Ironwood yelled as he fired a few bullets from his revolver.

 _'We're losing forces rapidly.'_ He thought as he dodged some oncoming gunfire.

"Where's Qrow?! I need you both up here now!" He yelled.

 **"Qrow's looking for Amber and Ruby! I can't make it up to the airship!" He said.**

 _'Damn it! What the hell is Amber doing?! Doesn't she know the gravity of the situation she's in?'_ Ironwood asked himself, firing some more shots at the White Fang members storming his fleet ship.

 _'There has to be someone else who can stop this madness.'_ He said to himself.

"...What about Roman? Is he with you?!" Ironwood asked.

After a few seconds, the crook's voice could be heard coming from the speakers of the scroll.

 **"Talk to me, Jimmy."** He said.

 _'I can't believe that I'm about to say this.'_ Ironwood thought to himself.

"I need you to get up to the main airship! The Phantoms are loose and we're losing ground fast!" Ironwood said.

 **"Hmm...alright then. I guess I can exterminate a few pests."** Roman said with his usual cocky tone.

"Alright, just get up here!" He said as he cut off the connection.

"Sir! They're pushing forward!" One of the commanders said.

"Push them back!" He ordered.

"Yes, s-!" He began, only to be cut off by a bullet going straight through his head.

"Men! We need to hold this ground! Reinforcements are coming!" Ironwood yelled.

Though he was only met with the cold sound of silence.

 _'What the-?'_ He began as he started to look around the area. Though as he looked around the command room, he could see all of his men laying on the ground, their cold lifeless bodies oozing blood from there respective wounds.

"So this is all the general of the greatest military force is capable of. Pathetic." The Faunus commander commented.

Ironwood sighed and clicked one of the buttons on the metal part of his head, causing the pupils of his eyes to glow with a blue light.

 **"Advanced Combat Mode Activated. Engaging operation."** A male A.I voice said to Ironwood.

The general smirked and quickly jumped over the console from where he was taking cover in. Though before the any of the White Fang soldiers could react, Ironwood fired two bullets from his revolver and instantly killed two of the soldiers guarding the doors.

The White Fang commander looked at his fallen comrades before looking back at General Ironwood with a shocked expression on his face.

"..." The commander of the Atlas Army stared at the White Fang commander with a cold glare in his eyes.

"You rotten hu-!" He began, only to be silenced by the cold steel of Ironwood's revolver.

"What was that? You didn't finish." Ironwood commented as he walked towards the steel door.

Meanwhile, the Faunus outside of the room was standing by waiting for the squadron that went in after the general to return.

Though after the three unfamiliar gunshots went off in the command room, the White Fang members were starting to get a little nervous.

"Uh, so what was the plan if things go south?" One of the members asked.

"Oh come on. He's just one guy, how tough can he be?" The White Fang member next to him asked.

"Well, on the off chance that he is able to beat all of those soldiers that went inside, how exactly are we supposed to make sure he doesn't kill every single Faunus on this ship?" He asked.

"Alright, alright. No need to piss yourself. Firstly, we wait until the door opens, then we all open fire on the old man until he's as good as dead. Then we-." He began, only for the door to go flying towards the man, knocking him down the hallway.

"What in the-?!" One of the soldiers began, only for one of Ironwood's bullets to go straight through his head, as well as the three other soldiers behind him.

"Shit! Open fi-!" The White Fang elite attempted to say, only for Ironwood to cut him off with a swift bullet to the brain.

"So, does anyone else have anything to say?" He asked.

"...Uh-" One of them began, though before he could respond, Ironwood shot another bullet into his brain, killing the man instantly.

"Anyone else?" The general asked.

"..."

"That's what I thought," Ironwood said as he charged towards the White Fang army.

Meanwhile, the Phantoms were making sure that the last of Atlas's forces were all but finished.

"Well, that's the last of em." Alerio said as he started to dust off his hands.

"All that's left is to take out the general. Then we've got an entire command ship to salvage and modify." Veronica said with a chuckle.

"Uh, Veronica. You have that look again." He said, a nervous sweat starting to form on his head.

"Heh heh. This is an engineer's paradise." Veronica mused to herself.

"Sis." Alerio said to his sister.

"Yeah, I know I know." She said, walking over to the engineer before socking her across the head.

"Ow! The hell was that for?!" She asked.

"Quit acting crazy, we have a mission to complete." Aleria said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, jeez." Veronica said, rubbing the area where the bird Faunus had hit her.

"Well, let's take out the old general and be on our way." He said as he stretched out his arms.

"Hmm...Where's Osvaldo?" Aleria asked.

Though before any of the Phantoms could respond to the bird's question, the sound of a bullhead taking off from the ground cut them off.

Every member of the White Fang, with the exception of Naomi, spun there heads towards the source of the noise.

"Os! The hell are you doing?!" Alerio shouted as Osvaldo started to fly the bullhead towards the exit of the command ship.

The only response the man gave was to gaze upon the Phantoms before smirking and turning towards the exit of the airship. Once the doors had fully opened, he started to fly out of the airship, leaving the Phantoms to scratch their heads.

"Did...did he just smirk at us?!" Veronica asked.

"I think all this action is messing with our heads." Alerio said, causing Aleria to nod to her brother.

However, Naomi was the only one who knew the true intentions behind Osvaldo's sudden actions.

 _'Goodbye, my friend. I hope you find what you're looking for.'_ Naomi said to herself.

"Hey. Naomi, you alright? You're spacing out there, and you never space out." Alerio said.

Naomi blinked a few times before nodding.

"Yes. I'm alright." She said.

"Hmm...alright then. Let's go see if the general decided to kick the-." He began, only for the sound of a loud explosion to cut him off.

"Bucket." He finished as he and the rest of the Phantoms turned there heads towards the source of the explosion.

"Run!" They heard one of the soldiers yell, four more following behind him.

"How the hell can one man be so strong?!" The other one asked, firing his weapon in the direction of the door where they had managed to escape.

"Well, it seems that the tin can is giving them some trouble." Veronica said.

"You two!" Aleria yelled, causing the five to turn towards the bird Faunus.

The five ran over to the group, each one of them completely out of breath. After a few seconds, the group started to gasp for air as they turned towards the group of elite members of the White Fang.

"I think we lost him." One of them said.

"What happened out there?" Aleria asked one of the White Fang members.

"It was crazy. At first, we actually had pushed the General back into a corner. Then all of a sudden he starts killing all of our forces one by one!" One of them said.

"What?! You mean every single Faunus that went after the General is dead?!" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. We should get out of here, at this rate, the tin cans gonna start picking us off one by-!" One of them began, only for a metal hand to come through the wall and grasp the neck of the man speaking.

"One!" The man croaked as he was slammed into the wall by the fist. In mere moments, a large explosion appeared on the wall, causing all the members of the Phantoms and the attack squadron to go flying backward's.

One of the White Fang's soldiers pointed his weapon at the general, though Ironwood grabbed the front of the weapon and tore it from the weapon that was in the man's hand.

Ironwood punched the man in the gut and threw him towards his other friend. Though before the other soldiers could react, Ironwood had managed to close the gap between them in a matter of seconds.

The general clenched his fist, lighting starting to emanate from the fist of his robotic arm.

"Yah!" He yelled as he swung his fist at the two soldiers, causing them to go flying through the walls of the ship.

Aleria growled and attempted to throw some of her feathers at the general, though Ironwood was quick to react and started to fire shot after shot at the Phantoms.

Veronica attempted to deploy D.S.M.N, though Ironwood quickly appeared in front of the Faunus and grabbed her by the throat.

Alerio attempted to save his friend, though Ironwood turned around and threw Veronica at the bird Faunus, causing the two to collide with each other. Ironwood clenched his fist and started to run at the two at rapid speeds.

Before they could even touch the ground, Ironwood rammed his entire right side into the two, causing them to go flying towards the wall.

Aleria attempted to slice at the general with her feather blade, though Ironwood was able to dodge the attack with relative ease. Aleria growled and started to rapidly swing her feather blade at Ironwood, though with the General's enhancements, he was easily able to block and parry each of her attacks.

Eventually, the two Faunus that had recovered from the attack that Ironwood had thrown at them.

"So, I don't suppose you have your little imp with you at the moment?" Alerio asked.

"For the last damn time, it's called E.M.P." She growled as she slowly got up from off of the ground.

"Okay, I get it. Can you use it or not?!" He asked.

"I can but then this ship is gonna come crashing down to the ground and we'll have no actual method of escaping the said crash." Veronica said.

"...Okay, so that option is scratched off of the list. Guess we'll have to beat him the old fashion way." Alerio said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Seems that way." She said, her tiny fighter jer flying right beside her.

"Yah!" Aleria yelled, swinging and stabbing her feather blade at the General in attempts to strike him down, though each attempt was met with the same result.

Though Ironwood was eventually able to get the upper hand in the battle and was able to strike Aleria in the gut and sent her flying towards the walls of the ship.

Alerio rushed forwards and started to rapidly kick and punch the General, a golden aura surrounding his fist and feet.

Veronica's fighter jet appeared from behind Ironwood and started to fire it's machine guns at the general, though Ironwood extended his metal arm out, causing a shield to come from his wrist.

The bird Faunus attempted to strike at the general, though Ironwood bashed him with his shield and threw it at Veronica.

Before the Faunus could react, she was nailed right in the head with Ironwood's shield. Though instead of flying off into the distance, it turned around and came back to Ironwood.

However, the general wasn't expecting Naomi to dash towards the general at a surprisingly fast pace. Ironwood attempted to raise his shield in preparation for any sudden attack the fish Faunus may throw at him, though she quickly moved behind him and kicked him in the back.

Ironwood growled and attempted to strike Naomi down, though the fish Faunus quickly ducked under the attack and kicked the general across the chin.

"Nice hit, Naomi." Alerio said as the rest of the Phantoms stood beside one another against the general.

"Thank you." She said as she stared at the general.

Ironwood narrowed his eyes and started to walk towards the group of Faunus, eventually turning into a full on sprint towards the group.

Alerio and Aleria started to swing their weapons at the General, though due to there semblance's, each one of there attacks was much stronger and faster than before.

"Yah!" Alerio yelled as he punched Ironwood in the face, giving an opening for Naomi to kick the General away.

Ironwood dug his metal hand into the floor and threw his shield at Alerio, causing the shield to bounce off of the brother of the two and hit Aleria directly in the face.

Veronica fired a few small missiles at the General, though Ironwood was easily able to use his shield to block the attack. Naomi used the smoke screen created by the blast as an opportunity to get close to Ironwood.

"Hmm." Alerio hummed as he stared at a crate that was hovering above Ironwood and Naomi.

"Hey, Aleria." He said, nudging his sister to get her attention.

"What?!" She asked.

The brother's only response was to point at the crate he was staring at.

"...Oh!" Aleria said as she whistled over to Naomi.

The fish Faunus turned her head towards her comrade, staring at the two siblings as motioned her to fall back.

While she was rather confused by the actions of the two, she shrugged and quickly made her way back over to the group.

Aleria aimed one of her feathers at the handle holding the crate and threw the knife like feather only thing preventing the crate from falling onto the general.

Ironwood's head shot up as the crate came crashing down onto the area where he had been standing.

Though what the four weren't expecting was for the General to actually be able to catch the crate from where it had fallen.

"What the-?! Oh, are you kidding me?!" He yelled as Ironwood lifted the crate and threw it at the group

Aleria growled and jumped up into the air with one of her feather blades in hand. She quickly swung her blade at the crate, cutting it clean in half.

Though what Aleria wasn't expecting was for Ironwood to appear right in front of her with his fist reeled backward's.

Before the Faunus could react, Ironwood dug his fist into Aleria's gut and sent her flying across the room.

"Aleria!" Alerio cried out as his sister slammed into the steel wall.

The bird Faunus growled and started to run towards Ironwood, his entire body being surrounded by a golden aura.

Alerio started to rapidly punch the general before kicking him up into, his body crashing into the ceiling.

Ironwood grunted and was ready to make a counter attack, though he was quickly cut off by the sight of Veronica's fighter jet moving towards him.

Before he could react, the jet fired it's missiles at the General, forcing Ironwood to raise his shield in attempts to minimize the damage taken from the blast.

Ironwood was sent flying out of his ship due to the blast, though was quickly able to shoot his hand outwards to grab the metal of the ship. Once he was on the roof of the command ship, the Phantoms were right there to meet him.

"End of the line, tin can." Veronica said, causing the general to growl.

Though before the Phantoms could start to move towards the general, the sight of a bullhead appearing directly behind Ironwood.

"Oh, come on!" Alerio yelled as the bullhead started to open fire on the group, causing them to scatter.

Out of the thin air, Neo appeared and kicked Aleria across the face before landing on the ground.

The bird Faunus growled and started to swing her blade at the ice cream themed girl, though she was easily able to duck and roll under each and every one of her attacks.

She growled and threw one of her feathers at the girl, though just as it was about to make contact, Neo shattered into small bits of glass and gave Roman an opening to fire a dust crystal at the girl.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get up here with Grimm swarming the skies?" He asked as he walked over to the Phantoms.

"You traitorous-!" Aleria began, only for Roman to strike at her with his cane.

"I'm sorry! You didn't finish!" Roman yelled.

Alerio started to run towards the man in the bowler hat, though Neo quickly flipped onto the man and kicked him away.

"You sure took your time." Ironwood said as he got up from off of the floor.

"Well, I had some company along the way. Trafic these days is just terrible." Roman said.

"Yah!" Aleria roared as the rushed towards the three, though Neo jumped over her uncle's shoulder and kicked away the bird Faunus. She quickly appeared right behind Aleria and kicked her in the back and straight towards Roman.

Roman chuckled and slammed his cane on the ground, causing it to go flying towards Aleria before bouncing back at him. He aimed his weapon at the bird Faunus and pulled the trigger, causing her to go flying backward's.

To prevent herself from falling off of the airship, she dug one of her feather blades into the side of the ship.

"I've always been a gambling man, ya know? Though this just might be the most rewarding gamble I've ever taken." Roman said as Neo started to walk towards Aleria with her blade coming out of the top of her parasol.

"Sis!" Alerio called, attempting to rush to her sister's aid.

"Yah!" Ironwood yelled as rammed his shoulder into Alerio, sending the Faunus flying across the ship.

"What's the matter little birdy? Can't you just spread your little wings and fly?" Roman asked.

Aleria growled, though as she stared at Neo's weapon, she narrowed her eyes before a smirk started to form on her face.

"Oh, that's right! You can't-!" He began, only for Aleria to press a button on Neo's weapon, causing the parasol to open.

Neo gasped as she was sent flying away into the horde of Grimm.

"Neo!" Roman yelled, reaching out to his niece.

"Tch, I'll only need one wing to kick your sorry ass back to hell!" She screamed as she charged towards Roman.

"You...son of a bitch!" He yelled as he swung his cane at the Faunus, sending her flying back.

"So, you couldn't just be satisfied with all the people down in Vale, huh?! You had to take the one family I had left, huh?!" He asked as he whacked Aleria with his cane.

"I was actually thinking about bailing once I kept my end of the bargain with the kid, ya know?! People wouldn't just forget what I did, and people aren't going to forget what you did either!" Roman yelled, striking at her once again.

"Though now?! Now it's personal!" He yelled, kicking Aleria straight in the gut, sending her flying across the airship.

"You want to be heard?! Well, congrats you stupid bird! I hear you, and you're gonna wish I never have!" Roman yelled.

"This time, it's not about doing what's right! It's not about what I have to gain or what I have to lose! This time, it's about me, kicking your ass back the stupid cage you all came out o-!" He began, only for a loud crack to echo through the air.

Roman turned around to see a Gryphon mere inches away from swallowing the man whole.

As it turned into ash, Ironwood could be seen with his revolver pointed at the air where the head of the Grimm originally was.

"..."

"Consider us even now." The general said.

Suddenly, the sound of a bullhead broke Roman out of his daze. Aleria swept her leg under Roman's feet, causing the man to fall to the ground.

"Let's go!" Veronica yelled from within the cockpit of the ship.

Alerio extended his hand outwards from the passenger area of the bullhead, causing his sister to grab his hand, pulling herself onto the bullhead.

"You get the hell back here!" Roman roared as he fired shot after shot at the bullhead. Though it was no use, the Phantoms had managed to escape him.

"...Damn it. Neo." He said as he fell to the ground.

"Torchwick." Ironwood said.

"..."

"We need to go. There's no telling how long we have before the ship comes crashing down." He said.

"..."

"Roman. You have to survive this. There is a chance that your niece could still be out there, and if she is, she's going to need her uncle for when she gets back." Ironwood said.

"...You drive a hard bargain there, Jimmy." Roman said as he got up from off of the ground.

"So, what's the plan here? We're falling from the sky and the ship is on fire. Not only that but our only method of escape has just gone out the window." He said.

"Not all of them." Ironwood said as he started to walk towards the hole that was created by the Phantoms.

"...I'm listening." Roman said as he stared down at the inside of the ship.

"It's a machine I created when Penny was being developed. If there was even the slightest chance that she would fail, or in another case, someone found a way to turn her against us, then this machine was designed to not only combat her but to combat one of the Maiden's themselves." He said.

"Well then, let's fire this baby up and get the hell out of here." He said.

"There's just one problem. I can't pilot the machine." Ironwood said.

"...Pardon?" Roman asked.

"Due to the A.I enhancements I have, the system of the machine won't respond to my command." He said.

"So you made a machine that you can't even use." He said.

"Yes, I made a machine that I can't even use." Ironwood said through his teeth.

"That seems like a pretty big design flaw." Roman said.

"I realize that. Which is why you will be the one piloting the machine." Ironwood said as he jumped down into the ship.

"...Wait, what?" Roman asked.

"There isn't anyone else on this ship who can. You have experience with piloting a machine like this before. It's just that this time it's going to be a tad different." Ironwood said as he walked over to some sort of console.

Though before Roman could further question Ironwood, the floor started to rumble.

Roman turned around to see some sort of Mech like figure walking towards the duo. Though it wasn't like any other Mech he had seen before. For one, the machine was much smaller than the Mech's he had piloted.

"What's so special about this one?" Roman asked.

"For one, there's no one piloting that vessel." Ironwood said.

"...Wait, hold on. You mean that Machine can move on its own free will?!" He asked.

"Yes. That's what makes it one of our most powerful vessels." He said as the machine stood in front of Roman.

"I trust you'll know how to use it." Ironwood said.

"...Heh heh, alright, big guy. Time for a little payback." Roman said as he walked towards the machine.

* * *

"...You." Cinder growled as she stared at the swordsman that had just attempted to shoot her while her back was turned.

"..." Brandon just stared at the Maiden as he put the gun back into its holster on his belt.

"I was wondering when you would decide to show yourself." She said as she clenched her fist.

"..."

"So, you are the boy that has caused me so much trouble, and yet you dare come before me." Cinder said.

"..."

"Everything that I had offered for the underworld of Vale ended up buying me nothing." She said.

"..."

"The members of the White Fang aren't exactly up and arms to fight for me with everything that has happened." Cinder said.

"..."

"The years of planning to plant a bug into the systems of the C.C.T tower was wasted." She said.

"..."

"Roman, the spy I had sent into Beacon had turned against me." Cinder said.

"..."

"In turn, the two most valuable tools I have acquired over the course of the last two years have gone rogue from the plan." She said.

"..."

"Even after all is said and done. I still have yet to acquire the relic that is hidden somewhere in the school." Cinder said.

"..."

"So tell me this, because I would like to know this after the events of the past year." She said. "I am feared - with good reason." She said.

"I have the power of the forces of nature itself on my side. I struck fear into the hearts of the likes of Adam Taurus, Roman Torchwick, the General of the Atlesian army, and the headmaster of Beacon itself." She said.

"However, you - a child of all things - dare to come and stand before me, Cinder Fall, the rightful user of the Fall Maiden's power." Cinder said.

"Who are you?" She asked.

Brandon just stared at Cinder for a moment before he started to chuckle to himself.

"Who, me?" He asked.

"Do not play games with me." She growled.

"Alright then. Allow me to formally introduce myself." Brandon said.

"My name is Brandon Kim, the man who came back from the dead for the sole purpose of stopping you." He said.

"..." Cinder just stared at the boy with her eyes narrowed.

"What's the matter? Run out of things to say?" Brandon asked.

"So what? Was there meant to be some sort of hidden meaning behind that statement?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Heh, Not exactly. It's a little more complicated than that." He said with a smirk on his face.

"You don't have the patience for the full story, so let's just say that reaper decided to give me a second chance at life." Brandon said.

Though before Cinder could respond, Brandon quickly spoke up.

"It's also how I learned about you and your leader as well." Brandon said, causing to freeze where she stood as well.

"What was her name again? Hmm...that's right, Salem was it?" He asked.

"..." Cinder's only response was to glare daggers at the boy who stood before her.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Brandon said with a smirk on his face.

"..."

Suddenly, the Maiden's aura flared around her, causing a strong gust of wind to blow around her, her aura crackling like fire.

"So, judging by your expression, I'm just gonna assume that you're done with this little talk of ours." He said.

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Brandon said, his own aura flaring to life and creating a gust of wind of its own.

The two stare each other down for a few seconds before eventually charging at one another. There clash created a shockwave that spread throughout the entire field, causing the battle of Fairy Tales to commence.

Brandon pulled out his blade and swung it in the direction of Cinder, though she was easily able to block the attack with her own blade.

The boy growled and attempted to strike at the Maiden with his leg, though she quickly ducked under the attack.

The two started to exchange blows, each strike creating another shockwave that spread throughout the fields of Beacon. After each strike was thrown, a silhouette of Caliber was seen throwing a similar attack from behind Brandon.

Eventually, Brandon got the upper hand and punched Cinder directly in the gut, the Maiden falling victim to the strength of both the spirit and it's user.

As Cinder slid across the ground, Brandon charged forwards in attempts to strike down the Maiden. Though Cinder was able to recover from the blow of the attack, barely able to dodge the swift strike of the spirit's vessel.

The swordsman growled and attempted to strike at Cinder with his sword, though the Maiden quickly moved to the right to dodge the attack.

However, Brandon was right on her tail attempting to strike at the Maiden once again. The two continued to gain the upper hand in this battle, though eventually, Cinder was eventually able to land a strike on Brandon, causing the boy to go flying backward's.

The Maiden extended her palm outwards and started to fire various fireballs at the boy. Right before the fireballs could make contact with the body of the swordsman, Brandon quickly got back onto his feet and started to dart around the area, dodging each fireball in attempts to close the gap between him and Cinder.

Eventually, Brandon was able to get Cinder within his range of attack. The Maiden attempted to strike at Brandon with her blade, though the swordsman was easily able to dodge the oncoming attack.

She growled and fired a very large looking arrow at the boy, causing the boy to summon Caliber in attempts to block the attack. It was a struggle, even the spirit of Caliber had to put in a decent amount of effort in order to destroy the attack.

Once the dust had cleared, Brandon could be seen standing with the silhouette of Caliber appearing by his side.

The swordsman growled and charged towards Cinder with his sword at his side.

Cinder growled and put her hand up into the air, causing her eyes to light up like fire.

Brandon growled, causing his own blade to light up like fire, only instead of red fire, it was some sort of blue fire that faded into a purple one.

The Maiden growled and started to charge some sort of attack with her hand.

However, the swordsman wasn't about to back down now. He stared at the Maiden with a dark look in his eyes.

 _'Those eyes...I must end this quickly, it would be unwise for me to drag this battle out for very long.'_ Cinder thought.

Cinder snapped her finger, causing the attack to shoot towards the swordsman, though just as it was about to make contact, Brandon pulled out his revolver and shot one of Calibers attacks at Cinder, the spirits silhouette appearing behind him.

Caugh off guard by the sudden attack, the Maiden brought her arms up to defend herself as the two attacks collided, causing smokescreen to appear from the explosion I created.

Using the opportunity to his advantage, the boy ran towards Cinder with his sword at his side, eventually meeting the Maiden with a swift strike of his sword, the silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him.

The two started to exchange blows with one another, though unlike the last clash the two had, Cinder was the one who got the upper hand this time around. The Maiden clapped her palms together and created some sort of large fireball in her hands.

"Yah!" She yelled, throwing the fireball in the direction of the swordsman, causing it to explode upon contact.

Once the smoke was cleared, Cinder could see that the swordsman was still standing with only a few scratches and burn marks.

Cinder growled and charged towards the boy at high speeds, creating small shockwaves as they clashed.

Every blow the made could be felt throughout the air, though eventually, Brandon was to get the upper hand in the exchange and kicked the Maiden away from him.

However, before Cinder could even touch the ground, she launched herself into the swordsman and swing get blade into his gut, flames completely consuming her blade as she pushed him away.

As Brandon flew through the air, Cinder summoned her arrow and fired another attack at the boy. However, unlike the last time, Brandon pulled out his revolver and shot one of Caliber's attacks at the arrow. Once the two attacks collided, it created a large explosion that could be heard throughout the entire school.

Once Brandon landed on the ground, he charged towards the Maiden with his sword glowing with the same color as his aura.

"Yah!" Brandon yelled as he swung his sword at Cinder, though the Maiden was able to dodge the oncoming attack and kicked the boy towards the statue of Beacon, causing it to crumble to the ground.

"Tch, damn it. She's not pulling any punches." He said.

 _ **"Well, you have been taking the time out of your days to deliberately defy her."**_ Caliber remarked.

"Heh, hell yeah I have." He said as he got up from the rubble. Brandon wiped the dust away from his cheek and stared back at the rubble of the statue.

"You know, I'm not really sure what exactly this statue was supposed to do." Brandon said.

"..."

"Well, whatever it was, I guess it doesn't really matter now, right?" He asked.

Cinder's only response was to fly up into the air while forming a fireball with the power of the Maiden's magic.

She growled and sent the fireball flying towards Brandon, causing the swordsman to point his revolver at the massive fire ball to counter the attack.

Once the two attacks collided with one another, it caused a massive explosion that could be heard and seen from all across the school.

"Jeez, that kid's really going at it." Qrow said as he turned his head towards the sound of the explosion.

He gazed out into the distance for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Hah, you were right about one thing Oz." He began as he stared at the cane of his old friend. "If things managed to go south, that kid is our best bet when it comes to stopping Cinder." Qrow said as he walked over to his unconscious.

"As much as I'd like to help ya kid, I can't just leave my niece out here in this hell hole." He said as he leaned down to pick up Ruby.

"It's okay. I gotcha kid." Qrow said.

"Ugh." Ruby groaned as she laid in her uncle's arms.

"Hmm." The huntsmen hummed as he opened one of Ruby's eyes. Sure enough, the silver pupil of the eye had a distinct glow to it, indicating that Ruby had activated the powers she had inherited from her mother.

"Hah, guess you were the trigger, huh?" He asked, turning his head towards the late bearer of the Maiden's magic.

"This isn't the end, not by a long shot." Qrow said as he ran off with Ruby in tow.

Cinder formed another one of her attacks in her hands and sent it flying towards the spirit user. To avoid being consumed by the attack, Brandon extended his hand outwards and formed a frontal shield of some sort.

Once the smoke had cleared, Brandon charged towards Cinder with his fist reeled backward's.

"Rah!" Brandon yelled as he hit Cinder in the chest, causing her to go flying backward's. As Cinder skidded across the courtyard, Brandon quickly rushed towards the Maiden with his blade at his side.

However, Cinder was able to quickly recover and blocked the attack with her own set of magic.

Brandon growled and attempted to strike the Maiden down, though Cinder was able to block each attack with her own blade.

Eventually, the swordsman was able to get the upper hand in the battle and managed to knock Cinder backwards. In the blink of an eye, Caliber appeared above the Maiden and struck her in the back.

Cinder growled and threw another one of her fireballs at the boy, causing Brandon to hit it away with his right arm, the silhouette of Caliber appearing right behind him.

Though Cinder wasn't done yet. She slammed her palm on the ground, causing all of the rubble to hover in the air.

After a few seconds, the rocks started to heat up due to the power of Cinder's magic. The Maiden growled and threw each rock towards the boy, causing him to jump up into the air to dodge the attack.

He slashed and hit each of the rocks that made his way towards him. After a few seconds, he landed on the ground, tiny pebbles fall down to the ground.

"Jeez, that was close." Brandon mumbled to himself.

However, as Cinder hovered above the fields of Beacon, she raised her hands to the sky, causing various storm clouds to appear from above her.

"What the-?!" He began, only for lighting to come down from the sky and strike Brandon.

Before the swordsman could react, even more lightning bolts came out from the sky in attempts to strike at Brandon, causing the boy to move more to a defensive approach.

 _'I thought she could only use fire?!'_ He thought, just barely able to dodge the lighting bolts.

 _ **"Well, Maidens to have control over the Forces of Nature. They aren't excluded to just one element."**_ Caliber said.

 _'That would have been wonderful to know before I started picking-!'_ He began, only the boy to stop dead in his tracks.

What he wasn't expecting was for the Maiden to hover above him with a massive fireball above her.

"Rah!" Cinder roared as she threw the massive attack at the swordsman.

However, what the Maiden wasn't expecting was for the attack to be pushed back at her.

"As if I'm falling for that trick again!" Brandon yelled as, slamming his sword up against the fireball, the silhouette of Caliber appearing right behind him.

"You little-!" She began, only for the sound of Brandon's roar to cut her off. Once the attacks had reached their limit, the giant ball of fire exploded on the two combatants, the sound echoing throughout all of the city of Vale.

Cinder started to look around the area in attempts to find the child. Eventually, she was able to find the shadow of the child from within the smoke, causing her to shoot a ball of fire at the area she had seen the spirit user.

However, what she wasn't expecting was for the boy to disappear once the fireball actually made contact with him.

"What?!" She asked, darting her head around the courtyard in attempts to find the boy.

Though what she wasn't expecting was for the boy to blink in and out of sight.

 _'This must be one of Emerald's illusions. Though how the hell is she able to do it now?! I thought she had to have made eye contact with the target in order for the illusion to take effect!'_ Cinder thought to herself.

"Hyah!" Brandon shouted as he swung his sword at the Maiden, though Cinder was able to dodge the oncoming attack just in time.

What she wasn't expecting was for Mercury to be right behind the boy. The assassin dug his feet into the Maiden and sent her flying across the courtyard.

In attempts to fly to the skies, Cinder formed a fiery aura around her body.

However, before she could take off, Emerald appeared out of thin air and rammed her heels into the body of the Maiden.

The Assassin and The Thief landed right next to the swordsman in there respective combat positions.

Cinder stood up from the ground and glared at her two former associates.

"...You two should have just accepted your fate. At least then it would have been quick." She said.

"Tch, yeah right. Did you honestly think that we would stay loyal to you after hearing the truth about this so-called plan of yours?" Mercury asked.

"If that is your choice then so be it." Cinder said as she formed a fireball in the palm of her hands before sending it down to the group below, causing the three to scatter.

Eventually, Mercury and Emerald met up with one another and started to fire their respective weapons at the Maiden.

Though similar to what happened to Amber, Cinder was unaffected by the effects of these bullets. She growled and started to shoot fire various fire-based attacks at the duo, causing the two to brace themselves for impact.

"Uh, Brandon! Could use a little help here!" Emerald said.

"Working on it!" He yelled as he snapped his finger, causing purple sparks to come off of his two fingers.

Once the two little sparks had made their way towards the duo, their aura's started to flare and their eyes started to glow the same color as there aura.

Emerald pointed her two guns at the Maiden and started to rapidly pull the triggers, causing the bullets to glow with a bright green aura.

Instead of bouncing off of the Maiden, they actually started to damage Cinder, causing her to move her hand out to block the attacks.

"Hyah!" Mercury yelled as he slammed his two boots onto the Maiden, causing her to go flying backward's.

Once she had landed on the ground, she could see the Mercury and Brandon running towards her, the two of them blinking in and out of her field of vision. Eventually, Brandon had managed to get Cinder into his range.

The swordsman started to swing the vessel of Caliber at the Maiden, the silhouette of the said spirit appearing from behind the boy. However, Cinder was able to block the attacks and sent the boy flying backward's, causing Emerald and Mercury to charge at the Maiden.

Brandon growled and pointed his gun at the Maiden, the marks on the gun glowing with a platinum aura. After a few seconds, Brandon pulled the trigger, causing a bullet consumed by a red fire to zoom towards the Maiden.

Once it had hit the Maiden, it caused a massive explosion that completely consumed the Maiden.

"There, that should have done some damage." Brandon said.

Sure enough, once the smoke had cleared, Cinder could be seen with visible scratches and dirt marks.

"So, is this all the spirit of Caliber has to offer?" She asked as she hovered down to the ground.

"Heh, course not. What, getting tired already?" Brandon asked.

"..." Cinder's only response was for a fiery like aura to form around her body, her pupils starting to glow like fire.

"Heh heh, alright let's give this a shot." He said as the trio's aura started to flare to life.

* * *

"Rah!" Sage roared as he slammed his fist into the Dragon's gut, causing a shockwave to appear around the fist as it made contact with the Dragon.

The Grimm Dragon roared in agony as it slid across the ground, various Grimm starting to appear from the sludge that was coming out of the Grimm's chest.

He took a deep breath and started to shoot various purple fireballs at the oncoming beasts, each Grimm turning into ash as the fireballs made contact with them.

Before the boy could turn his attention back towards the Dragon, the beast had rammed its head into his back, sending Sage flying across the school.

Sage roared up into the air, causing the dust around him to blow away. The Dragon growled before roaring back at the warrior, charging towards him with it's jaw's opened wide.

The Dragon attempted to strike down Sage with its fire, though Sage quickly punched the Dragon down with his fist, cracking the mask it had on its face.

However, the beast had managed to recover and quickly attempted to shoot it's fire at the boy, though Sage quickly punched the Dragon in the gut and sent it flying backward's.

The Grimm shrieked and flew up into the sky. Sage growled and started to roar up into the air, a purple aura starting to form around his body.

After a few seconds, purple dragon-like wings sprouted from the warriors back, causing Sage to jump up into the air to follow the Dragon.

The beast turned around and shot some of its flames at the boy, though Sage was able to maneuver around the flames and started to shoot the dragon with flames of his own.

Once he had gotten the dragon within his range, he quickly punched it in the gut and sent the beast flying through the air.

"Rah!" Sage roared, quickly giving chase to the giant beast.

"Holy crap." Nebula commented as she stared out the window of the ship they were in.

The fight between Sage and the Dragon could be seen from outside of the airship, and the group that had escorted the civilians to the ship was watching their friend fight the giant beast to the best of his ability.

"Is that really Sage out there?" Blake asked as she stared out the window.

"I can't really believe it myself, I mean from what professor's Oobleck and Port told us, it took an entire team of elite huntsmen to take down that beast." Weiss said.

"How is he even able to do all of this?" She asked.

"It's the Dragon Zodiac's power." Sun said.

"Dragon Zodiac?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, it's the strongest out of the twelve Zodiac's he has." He said.

"No kidding." Octavia said.

"Okay, so what exactly does this Dragon Zodiac do?" Weiss asked.

"It basically gives him all the traits of a dragon. Monstrous strength, insane durability, fire breath, etc." Neptune said.

"Yeah, he can even fly like a Dragon to." Sun said.

"He can fly?!" The group asked.

"Heh, yeah we were surprised too when he first told us about it." He said.

"If he had access to all this traits and abilities why didn't he use it sooner?" Weiss asked.

"Because it comes at a price." Neptune said.

"Tch, of course. Everything has a price." Blake said.

"So what exactly does Sage have to pay in order to gain all this power?" Weiss asked.

"His own humanity." Scarlet said.

"...What?" The two asked.

"He doesn't just gain the abilities of a beast, he becomes the beast." He said.

"Yeah, basically Sage reverts back to what he was like before he met the old man that brought him back." Sun said.

"Old man?" Blake asked.

The three looked at one another with unsure looks in there eyes before nodding.

"How much do you guys know about Sage's past?" Neptune asked.

"...Not a lot." She said.

"Well, tell us what you do know." He said.

"Okay then, before Sage came to Beacon, he originally lived in the forests of Anima." She said.

"Having no one to turn to, he learned how to survive and fight all on his own. That is until he met his master." Blake said.

"After countless fights with the man, he eventually took him in as his apprentice of some sort. He taught Sage how to fight, how to control his powers, though most of all, he taught Sage how to be human." She said.

"That is before the incident happened all those years ago." Blake said.

"I'm not really sure what exactly happened at the temple. Sage never really went into those details. I do know that his master lost his life the day they went in the temple though." She said

"...Well, you're half right." Sun said.

"...Hold on, what?" Blake asked.

"It's true that Sage's master did die that day." He said. "They went to the temple so that Sage could attempt to tame the Dragon Zodiac. Though it turns out the Dragon was a lot harder to tame than the other Zodiac's." Sun said.

"Sage wasn't able to control the power of the Dragon, causing every feeling of rage inside of him to boil over an explode." Neptune said

"He eventually came back to his senses. Though it didn't come without its own set of consequences." Sun said.

"...W-wait. You mean to tell us that-?!" Weiss began.

"Yeah, the one who killed Sage's master was Sage himself." He said.

"...S-seriously?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. Though I guess that even Sage saw that this was necessary in order to buy us some time." Sun said with a serious look in his eyes.

"...Hey." She said as she walked up to Sun. "Sage knew what he was doing when he went down to fight the Dragon." Blake said.

"I know that. It's just...I just hate that I can't do anything to help him." He said as he stared at the battle that would determine whether or not his friend lived or died.

"Believe us Sun, we all want nothing more than to help Sage." She said.

Meanwhile, Sage and the Grimm Dragon were flying through the air, though eventually, the Dragon was able to send Sage flying towards one of the buildings.

"Gah!" Sage gasped as he fell down to the ground.

Though before he could even land on the ground, the Dragon charged at the boy and hit him with his tail, destroying the building and any other building behind it.

As the Dragon landed on the ground, it started to look around the area in attempts to find the boy.

Suddenly, Sage emerged from the rubble and grabbed onto the tail of the Dragon. With all his strength, he managed to throw the Dragon into a nearby tower.

The boy flew over to the tower at blinding speeds. Once he had closed the gap between him and the Dragon, he dug his feet into its neck before landing on the ground, giving him a swift punch to the gut.

As the Dragon fell to the ground, Sage started to rapidly hit the Dragon with his fists, though the Dragon was able to whack away the boy with its tail, sending him flying across the school.

Before Sage could get up, the Dragon started to shoot fireball after fireball at the fallen boy, each one creating a fairly large explosion.

The Dragon picked Sage up with its tail and threw it towards one of the buildings. After a few seconds, the ground below the Dragon's feet started to rumble. Once the dust had cleared, Sage could be seen lifting a giant piece of rock above his head.

"Rah!" He roared as he threw the rock at the Dragon. However, the Dragon started to growl, the red marks on its mask starting to glow with an eery red color. After a few seconds, the Dragon started to increase in size.

Once the rock was right about to hit the Dragon, the beast opened the jaw and let out an ear piercing shriek, causing the rock to shatter into tiny bits of pieces, as well as any other building within the area.

After the dust had settled, Sage emerged from the rubble breathing heavily as he stood up.

"Hah, hah." He gasped. Though before he could even catch a single breath, the Dragon emerged from within the rubble and took to the skies.

Sage growled and started to charge the beast.

* * *

"Jeez, the entire kingdom is being torn apart." Irene said as she stared off into the distance of the fallen tower of the C.C.T.

"Maybe this is what my client was talking about when she said to keep the law enforcement out of her hair." She said. "Though I didn't think she meant something like this." Irene said.

"Well, I can't stay here. There's no way in hell I'm risking getting caught by him. Not after what happened." She said as she walked towards some sort of bullhead.

Though before she could climb onto the ship, she could hear the sounds of footsteps coming towards her.

Irene spun her head around with her gun pointed in the direction of the source of the footsteps.

Through the darkness, she could see some sort of man walking towards her with a glare in his eyes. The man seemed familiar somehow, though she wasn't exactly sure how.

"Who are you?" She asked.

The man didn't respond. He only kept walking forward with his fists clenched.

"I don't have time for this little game! Tell me who the hell you are!" She yelled.

"Ten years." He said.

"...Pardon?" Irene asked, her finger moving towards the trigger of the gun she had.

"I've waited ten years for this very moment. I've played it out in my head so many times I lost count." He said.

"...Um, okay. Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but the entire city is completely littered with Grimm. So why don't you turn around and just walk a-." She began.

"I've waited so long for this moment. The moment I would bring you to justice." The man said.

"...Okay, just who the hell are you?" Irene asked, sweat starting to form on the top of her forehead.

"You know who I am." He said.

"If I knew who you were then why the hell would I be asking-?" She began.

"Ten years ago, you killed someone in order to gain fame and fortune. Their life was the necessary price in order for you to gain such a position." He said.

"..."

"Scarlet Astria. An innocent woman whom you mercilessly killed." The man said.

Suddenly, realization slapped Irene directly in the face.

"N-no." She stuttered, the gun starting to shake within her hand.

"To put it into words. I am the man you have been running from for years now." He said.

"My name is Osvaldo Gervinho, and I am here to collect your debt." Osvaldo said as he walked towards Irene.

The woman started to rapidly pull the trigger on the gun she was holding, though the bullets merely bounced off of Osvaldo's body as if they were but mere pebbles.

Irene growled and pulled out a machine gun and started to unload the entire clip into Osvaldo. However, the attacks didn't even seem to slow the man down.

Out of sheer panic, she ran towards the bullhead she was planning to make her escape on. Though Osvaldo pulled out some sort of rocket launcher and shot it at the bullhead, destroying Irene's only method of escape from the man.

"Y-you've gotta be-!" She began, only for Osvaldo to wrap his arms around her.

"Gah!" Irene gasped.

"..." Osvaldo growled as he started to squeeze the woman rightly.

"C-come on! C-come on!" She grunted, desperately attempting to break free from the man's iron grip.

"Struggle all you like. It doesn't matter if you manage to break free from me. Whether it be by gun, the hands of the Grimm, or by my own hands, mark my words Irene. You will die here." He said, tightening the grip he had on the woman.

"You took your time killing her, didn't you?" Osvaldo asked.

"G-gah! P-please." She begged.

"Then I will take my time as well." He said.

"G-gah. Y-you-" Irene began.

"Hmm? Begging for your life now are you?" Osvaldo asked.

"Y-you can g-go to hell!" She yelled.

"Believe me." He said as he delivered the final blow, crushing the woman in his arms.

"My place in hell was decided a long time ago. Though at least you will get there before me." Osvaldo said as he dropped the crushed corpse of Irene onto the ground.

The man sighed before looking up into the night skies.

"It's over now. You can finally rest in peace knowing that she was brought to justice, Scarlet." He said.

"I can only wish that I could see you one last time. Go to the place where you now rest for eternity." Osvaldo said before walking towards the bullhead.

"Though there is still something I have left to do." He said. "It was because of the girl that I was able to give you your justice. Now, it's time that I repay my debt to her." Osvaldo said as he gazed off at Beacon.

* * *

"Yah!" Brandon yelled as attempted to strike at the Maiden with his fist, though Cinder was able to dodge each one of his attacks before quickly giving the swordsman a quick jab to the gut.

Before he could even recover, she sent the boy flying with another one of her fire-based attacks. Cinder growled and started to shoot various fire beams in the direction where the boy had landed.

Mercury ran up to the Maiden and launched himself up into the air, attempting to strike at the air born Maiden with his weapons. While Cinder was able to dodge the first attack, the assassin used his semblance to maneuver himself from within the air.

He managed to land a solid hit on the Maiden, though he wasn't done with his assault yet. Mercury started to launch himself back towards the Maiden repeatedly, landing a solid hit on her each and every time.

Though Cinder was eventually able to dodge the attack and right before the assassin could launch himself back at the Maiden, Cinder quickly kicked the assassin back down to the ground.

Emerald attempted to strike at the Maiden with her heels, though Cinder was able to dodge the attack and threw the Thief down to where she had thrown Mercury.

"Gah! Watch it!" Mercury yelled.

"It's not like I meant to hit-!" Emerald began, only to be interrupted by Cinder firing various fireballs at the duo, causing the two to scatter.

Mercury dodged Cinder's oncoming attacks and launched himself towards Cinder with his semblance. He kicked Cinder up into the air, though before the Maiden could react, Brandon appeared above her and slammed his fists onto her back, the silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him.

Before she could even land on the ground, Mercury quickly kicked her with both of his feet and sent her flying across the courtyard with his semblance.

The Maiden growled as she attempted to begin her counter-attack, though as she flew up into the air, she could see that both Mercury, Brandon, and Emerald were running towards her all while blinking in and out of sight.

Suddenly, Mercury appeared right in front of Cinder and swung his leg at the Maiden. Cinder quickly dodged the attack and fired one of her fire-based attacks at the assassin. Though as the attack made contact with Mercury's body, he quickly disappeared out of thin air.

Before the Maiden could react, Brandon appeared right behind her and started to swing his blade at the Maiden. However, as the two started to exchange blows, Cinder eventually was able to get the upper hand and kicked Brandon away from her.

She extended her palm out and started to fire various beams of fire at the boy. Though Brandon was able to recover from the attack and started to rapidly dodge each of the Maiden's attacks.

The swordsman flared his aura and charged at the Maiden with his fist reeled backward's. He attempted to strike down the Maiden, though Cinder quickly caught his attack with the palm of her hand.

Cinder quickly flipped the boy around before swinging her blade into the side of his body. However, before the Maiden could continue her assault, Brandon quickly pulled the trigger of his revolver, causing the attack to dig into Cinder's side.

Once the two attacks made contact with the two combatants, the two went flying in separate directions.

Once they had recovered from the attack, they wasted no time charging at one another once again. The wind started to pick up as the two exchanged blows with one another, each strike that connected broke apart a small piece of the ground below the two.

Eventually, Cinder was able to kick away the swordsman. Before she could continue her assault on the spirit user, Mercury quickly attempted to strike at the Maiden, though she was able to quickly move out of the way to dodge the attack.

Mercury growled and jumped up into the air before raising his foot up into the air and launching himself back down onto the Maiden.

Cinder growled and started to form some sort of shield in attempts to block the attack. Once Mercury hit the shield, she quickly clenched her fist, causing the barrier to explode.

"Gah!" Mercury yelled as he went flying through the air.

Before the Maiden could go after the assassin, Emerald quickly blinked beside her and gave the Maiden a swift chop to the neck. Cinder growled and attempted to strike down the Thief, though she quickly blinked out of sight.

Emerald blinked around Cinder before striking at the Maiden once again. Cinder growled and attempted to throw another one of her fireballs at the girl.

The thief continued to blink in and out of sight, striking at the Maiden once again before blinking out of existence.

After a few more strikes, the Maiden eventually got the pattern of Emerald's power down and right as Emerald was about to strike at the Maiden once again, Cinder grabbed her head and slammed her onto the ground.

"Tch." Cinder growled as her palm started to heat up.

"Yah!" Mercury yelled as he kicked Cinder up into the air.

"Ugh." Emerald groaned, fighting off a massive headache she was starting to develop due to various consecutive uses of her own semblance.

"Tired already?" He asked.

"Shut up." She said as she got up from off of the ground.

"Tch, it seems that even fighting against me you two can't stop your bickering for even a second." Cinder said.

"Old habits die hard I guess." Emerald said.

Though before Cinder could respond, Brandon appeared right in front of her with the vessel of Caliber at his side.

Cinder growled and raised her arms to block the incoming attack. The swordsman started to rapidly swing her sword at her, each blow creating a shockwave as each strike landed on the Maiden.

"Tch, jeez Brandon's really going to town." Mercury said.

"It's incredible. Cinder's even more monstrous than before though somehow Brandon is able to stand on equal ground with her." Emerald said.

As Brandon threw another one of his attacks at the Maiden, it managed to graze her cheek, causing blood to come out of the cut that was left from the attack. The Maiden roared and threw her palm at the swordsman, though Brandon was able to use Caliber to block the attack.

Before the Maiden could react, Brandon rammed his fist into Cinder's gut, causing the silhouette of Caliber to appear behind him.

"Gah!" Cinder gasped, though before she could recover from the attack, Brandon sent her flying through the air.

Brandon jumped into the air and punched Cinder back towards the ground, creating a fairly large dust cloud.

Though before the dust could clear, Cinder flew over to the boy and attempted to strike him down. However, Brandon quickly extended his hand outwards and blocked the attack, using the power of Caliber to keep his ground.

"What?!" Cinder yelled, though before she could react, Brandon grabbed her arm and threw her over towards Mercury and Emerald.

Mercury smirked and kicked the Maiden up in the air, causing Emerald to jump up and dig her heels into the Maiden.

The assassin smirked and started to create some sort of wind dome around the Maiden.

"Em! Shoot it!" Mercury yelled, causing the thief to point her pistol at the dome and shot it, causing the dome to explode.

The two started to breathe heavily as they stared at the dust created by the explosion.

"Did that do it?" The assassin asked.

However, before the two could react, Cinder suddenly appeared before the two with a death glare in her eyes.

"Very well, if you wish to die that badly." She said as she raised her fingers upwards.

"Then so be it." She said before snapping them. Suddenly, a large explosion appeared around both Emerald and Mercury, causing their aura to shatter.

"Emerald! Mercury!" Brandon yelled out as the two collapsed to the ground.

"I shall deal with the two of you late." Cinder said as she turned her head towards the spirit user. Brandon rushed towards Cinder and attempted to strike her down with the swing of his sword, though right before the blade could make contact with the Maiden, she disappeared from his sight.

Brandon looked up into the air to see that Cinder was hovering above him with a massive ball of fire above her.

"Rah!" The Maiden roared as she threw the attack at the boy.

Brandon reeled his sword backwards and swung it at the fireball, the silhouette of Caliber appearing behind him. Eventually, the attack causing an explosion that could be felt in the air of Beacon.

While the damage to the school was massive, the two combatants were heavily hit by the attacks as well.

"Ugh." Brandon groaned as he moved away from the rubble created by the blast.

"Hmm." Cinder said as she opened and closed her palm.

"What's up with you? Running out of gas?" He asked.

"No, far from it." She said as she glared at me.

"Tch, I got to admit. You're a hell of a lot stronger than I could have imagined." Brandon said.

"I could say the same to you, spirit user." Cinder said.

* * *

"Rah!" Sage roared as he fired various fireballs at the Dragon.

The Dragon brought its wings up to its face in attempts to shield itself from the oncoming attacks.

Though before it could react, Sage ran up to the Dragon and punched it right in the gut, causing it to slide across the concrete floor. The Dragon growled and slammed it's head onto Sage, causing the warrior to raise his arms in order to defend himself from the attacks.

It attempted to sink it's massive teeth into the boy, though Sage quickly shot a fireball into the jaws of the beast, causing it stagger back a bit.

Sage jumped backward's to dodge the oncoming attack from the Dragon, using his wings in order to take to the skies.

However, the Dragon was right on his tail and started to shoot fireball after fireball at the boy.

Eventually, the beast caught up to Sage and slammed its head on the boy's body, causing Sage to go flying across the ground.

"Tch, that all you got?" He asked, causing the Dragon to growl at the boy.

Sage took a deep breath and started to shoot various purple fireballs out of his mouth. Though instead of moving towards the Dragon, they merely hovered in the air.

The boy raised his fist and slammed it into the ground, causing a shockwave to move towards the beast. Once the Dragon moved out of the way of the shockwave, Sage clapped his hands, causing the fireballs to move towards the Dragon at a rapid pace.

Once the dust settled, the beast roared and took to the skies, causing Sage to fly after the beast. Sage charged forwards and dug his feet into the gut of the Dragon, causing it to go flying backward.

Before the Dragon could recover, Sage landed on its' head and threw it towards another tower.

Though as Sage charged forwards once again, he was quickly swept away by the Dragon's sudden gust of wind.

He growled and started to shoot fireball after fireball at the Dragon, causing more damage to be done to the school.

Sage roared and charged towards the Dragon with his fist reeled backward's. Once the beast was within his range, he slammed it down onto the head of the Dragon, causing even more cracks to appear on the mask of the Dragon.

The roared and brought it's jaws down onto Sage's figure, though the boy was able to quickly catch the jaws of the beast, rapidly shooting fireballs into the mouth of the beast.

Once the beast staggered, Sage reeled his fist backward's and punched the gut of the Dragon, sending it flying backward's.

"Hah, hah, I can't keep this up for long." He said to himself. "I've gotta end it with the one last shot." Sage said to himself as he reeled his fist backward's.

The Dragon roared and charged towards the boy with its jaws extended outwards.

Sage roared and went to go and meet the Dragon with his fist completely consumed by a purple aura.

The beast attempted to sink it's teeth into the boy, though Sage quickly dodged the attack and rammed his fist into the gut of the Dragon, causing it to go flying through various buildings and structures.

"Hah, hah, hah." Sage breathed heavily as he stared at the damage he had done to the school.

"Well...shit kid." The boy heard someone say, causing Sage to spin his head towards the source of the voice. "Jeez, calm down kid. It's me, Qrow." The man said.

"...Yeah, I recognize you. You're the man who ran off after Yang's sister." He said.

"Yep. That's me." Qrow said.

"Did you find her? Did you find Ruby?" Sage asked.

Qrow's only response was to lift an unconscious Ruby up in his arms, showing her to Sage.

"What in the-?! What happened to her?!" Sage asked, rushing to the girls side.

"It's a long story. For now, we need to get out of here before that thing get's back up. " Qrow said.

"Wha-?!" He began as he turned his head towards the area where he had punched the Dragon. Sure enough, while Sage did manage to do some major damage to the Dragon, it was still able to get back up.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Sage said.

"Afraid not." He said as he handed Sage the unconscious body of Ruby.

"What the-?" He began.

"Come on. We need to get out of here. You take Ruby and I'll make sure any Grimm we come across along the way stay off of our backs." Qrow said as he started to walk away from the boy.

The boy turned towards the Dragon and growled.

"Hey. Let's get going already." He said.

"Yeah." Sage said as he started to follow the huntsmen.

* * *

Cinder merely flared her aura to life and motioned for the swordsman to start his final assault in attempts to end this battle.

The swordsman unsheathed his blade and charged towards the Maiden, causing Cinder to shoot up into the sky, creating another fire ball in her hand. She roared and threw the ball of fire at the boy, causing him to swing his sword at the blade in attempts to strike it down.

Cinder smirked and flicked her two fingers at the fire ball, causing it to get even larger.

Proving to be too much for the boy to deflect, he had no choice but to summon Caliber so that he could punch the ball of fire. Though this caused the man to get caught in the explosion that he had created.

Though as Brandon waved away the smoke, Cinder could be seen rushing at him with her blade at her side. The two started to clash with one another, Cinder using her new found ice powers in attempts to get the upper hand.

However, the swordsman wasn't alone, he was able to use Caliber to keep the Maiden on her feet, the spirit swinging his own blade at the Maiden in combination with Brandon's continued assault.

Eventually, he was able to get the upper hand in the battle and was able to hit Cinder in the gut with the power of Caliber at his side, causing the Maiden to go flying through the fields of Beacon.

Though before she could get too far, she used her new found ice element to stop her in her tracks.

She growled and shot herself towards Brandon, the ground slightly breaking due to the intensity of the Maiden's magic. Once she had closed the gap between her and the swordsman, the two started to exchange blows with one another while moving around the ruins of Beacon Academy.

The Maiden growled and summoned another blade in her hand, causing Brandon to use Caliber's aid once again. He put away his blade and resorted to hand to hand combat. However, the Maiden wasn't so easily tricked by this sudden switch in strategy, knowing full well of the force behind Caliber's punches.

She used the rubble from where she had stopper herself and shot it at Brandon, causing him to put his arms up to block the attack.

 _ **"Get a grip, boy! You will fall to the Maiden's wrath at this rate!"**_ Caliber said.

"Working on it!" He said as the assault of rocks eventually stopped. Though just before Cinder could continue her assault, Brandon rushed forwards and attempted to kick the Maiden, though she quickly ducked underneath the attack to dodge.

Though before she could react, Brandon swung his blade at the Maiden, causing her to go flying across the courtyard.

However, she was eventually able to stop herself as he aura flared to life, a glare plastered on her face as she gazed deep into Brandon's eyes.

Though this didn't deter the boy from attempting to strike at the Maiden once again with his sword, though she was able to dodge the attack right before it could hit. In a blink on an eye, Cinder rushed behind Brandon and struck her blade at his back, causing him to stumble forwards a bit.

However, as she attempted to strike at the man again, he quickly blocked the attack with his blade. The two continued this process until eventually, Cinder was within the sights of the swordsman again.

Finally keeping up with the Maiden, Brandon swung his fist at her, though she was just narrowly able to dodge the attack. However, Brandon was able to blink out of sight, appearing briefly to ram his fist into the gut of the Maiden.

Before she could react, Brandon rammed his fist into her jaw, causing her to stumble back a bit. Though she was able to quickly regain her composure and started to swing her blade at the swordsman.

The two exchanged blows with one another with there respective blades, though Cinder was eventually able to get the upper hand, landing a solid strike on the side of the swordsman.

Using this opportunity to her advantage, she quickly shot a beam of fire at the boy, causing him to go flying towards a pillar, landing on the stone with an audible thud.

 _ **"Focus boy!"**_ Caliber said.

Though before he could fire back at the spirit, Cinder attempted to swing her blade at the swordsman. Just narrowly able to dodge the attack, Cinder's blade of fire went through the stone pillar.

Brandon smirked and quickly jumped onto the stone pillar as it started to fall to the ground. Using it's momentum, Brandon shot himself towards the stone structure that was held up by the stone pillars.

Cinder growled and moved towards the other structure that stood right across from the other stone structure.

The swordsman flared his aura to life, causing his blade to glow with a light platinum aura. After a few moments of silence, the blade on Brandon's sword was actually bigger than before.

Cinder raised her eyebrow and summoned a massive blade of her own, matching the swordsman.

"Alright then. I guess we'll just make do." He said as he charged towards the Maiden with his blade at his side.

The Maiden growled and shot herself towards the swordsmen, her blade letting loose an inferno of fire.

Once the two met, it created a massive shock-wave that echoed throughout the ruins of Beacon, the stone pillars starting to crumble under the pressure.

The two started to exchange blows with one another as they darted around the courtyard of the ruined Beacon, each clash creating another shock-wave.

Once they landed on the ground, they wasted no time charging at one another once again. However, Cinder was eventually able to get the upper hand and struck down the swordsman with her massive blade.

 _ **"Damn fool! Come on!"**_ Caliber mentally cried out.

Brandon growled as he regained his composure, landing on the ground with an audible thud.

The Maiden merely stared at the swordsman with a serious expression on her face, the pupils of her eyes lighting up like fire.

"That...all you got?" He asked in between breaths.

Cinder growled and charged towards Brandon once again with her blade at her side. Once the swordsman was within her range, the two started to exchange blows with one another.

Though the Maiden was eventually able to push Brandon back towards another stone pillar. Though just as she was about to strike the boy down with her blade, he quickly ducked underneath the attack, causing the Maiden to slice through the stone pillar.

Brandon growled and kicked the Maiden in the gut before slamming his blade onto her own blade, the shock wave created by the clash shattering the pillars around them. Eventually, Cinder was able to push Brandon back towards the one of the towers that were in Beacon, both sides breathing heavily.

The swordsman merely stared at the Maiden with a fire in his eyes, causing the Maiden to charge forwards in attempts to strike the man down.

Just as she was about to swing her blade at Brandon, he quickly grabbed her head and jumped over her. He quickly rammed his foot into her back, causing the Maiden to gasp.

Brandon and Caliber roared as the swordsman slammed the Maiden into the ruins of the tower, causing the tower to crumble under the sheer pressure of the attack. Acting quickly, the swordsman jumped up into the air and onto one of the falling rocks.

As the swordsman looked to see if the Maiden was finally slain, the sight of the Maiden moving towards the swordsman caused him to growl.

"Rah!" Cinder roared as she swung her blade at the swordsman, forcing him to block the oncoming attack.

The two started to jump from the various rocks of the tower, clashing as they jumped from one rock to another.

Eventually, the two reached the very top of the rubble that was making it's way towards the ground. With his blade at his side, he swung the vessel at Cinder, causing her to go flying towards Beacon tower.

"Hah, hah, hah." She gasped, holding onto her blade in attempts to prevent herself from falling to the ground.

Though before she could react, Brandon quickly blinked to her side with a look of absolute malice on his face, his blade glowing with the same platinum aura as before.

 _ **"Go! To! Hell!"**_ He shouted as he landed the final strike on Cinder, causing the Maiden to go flying towards the rubble of Beacon Tower. Once she landed on the rubble of the C.C.T, a massive explosion could be seen from the ruins of the tower.

"..." The swordsman merely stood on the stone ground in silence, his vision starting to blur.

After a few moments of silence, he eventually fell to the ground with an audible thud, his blade clashing with the ground as it fell.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode ten of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the tenth episode I recommend skipping to the reviews.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 10 thoughts**

 **Thus, the Menagerie arc comes to a close.**

 **My thoughts?  
**

 **It's about damn time. We're finally progressing Blake's character plot for what seems like an entire volume later. Though better now than never, it's good that they did do it when they did it, because some people were getting really tired of how slow the Menagerie arc was.**

 **So I am glad that it is finally over.**

 **Though not only did it conclude this arc that overstayed it's welcome for far too long, it's starting to fix one of the problems some people have had with the latest episodes of RWBY.**

 **The action.**

 **The fight scene with Sun in this episode is a sign that the animation team in Rooster Teeth is starting to get a little more comfortable with animating Fight Scenes.**

 **If we can get more fight scenes like what we saw with Sun, then I believe we can get some pretty action-packed stuff in the future.**

 **So this episode was definitely a step in the right direction.**

 **Now, let's talk about the episode itself.**

 **So it seems that our prayers have been answered and both of Blake's parents live another day. I was kinda surprised that they didn't at least kill of Ghira, though I'm not really complaining.**

 **The Sun scene was pretty badass, not gonna lie. If this is what we can expect from the animators in the future, I am definitely looking forward to it.**

 **Also, Ilia was redeemed in this episode. So that makes writing my story easier than before**

 **Review Response**

 **rocketmce: Indeed, a new challenger has entered the fray of this shipping war.**

 **Gh0st495: Well then you'll have to wait a little longer then.**

 **RandoReader: That's what I did.**

 **CasuallyPosting: Glad you like the idea of a reset.**

 **Guest: Well, I don't know if I'd say he kicked her ass.**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Hopefully I lived up to all your expectations.**

 **Zamasu: I mean if you like a hate relationship then go for it I guess.**

 **GOH426: He doesn't really know which is which anymore.**

 **Nightwatching: Well, a lot of things are gonna start happening soon. Though it will be in a way where you can all keep up.**

 **TheRealCactoos: Rip.**

 **DragonLord501st: Yeah...weakened.**

 **Also, I went back and fixed the issues you brought up, and trust me, while Ilia may be giving Neo a run for her money, she's still the top dog at the moment.**

 **Guest: Well, fortunately, it did.**

 **Guest: Okay.**

 **GOH426: Well team Redeemed is just gonna be called team TEAM because Brandon is too lazy to think of an actual team name. Also, I knew what you meant.**

 **Aragon365: Well I'm glad you are open to other ships at least.**

 **Enclave ranger: Okay.**

 **TheTrueWrath: Meh, play what you think would fit the tone of this chapter.**

 **donkeyking1541: Ahem...why?**

 **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Add you to the list.**

 **Guest: Cool.**

 **Redbarchetta28: And you.**

 **cjjt71200: And you.**

 **MrSlendy69: And you.**

 **Nightroad816: You make it sound like she had a disease or something.**

 **headreviewer mk2: Whoa, calm down there.**

 **SpectreFanchin10: And you.**

 **Donovan: Yeah, happy [Insert whatever holiday you celebrate here].**

 **Bulletproof Vanguard: Good for you, you get a cinnamon roll.**

 **Bulletproof Vanguard: Here's another one.**

 **dragonborn795: Alright then.**

* * *

 **Villian 101**

"Settle down Peons! Let's get this _evil_ class started." Cinder said to her four co-workers.

"Look, maybe these amateurs need it, but I'm a criminal mastermind! This class is an insult to my dignity." Roman said.

However, he was soon shut up by the feeling of a spitball hitting his head.

"Gah! Who did that?! Mercury!" Roman yelled.

"Iunno." He said, causing the two girls to giggle.

"Everyone focus!" Cinder said. "Today, we're learning about booby traps." She said.

"Ha. She said traps." Mercury said.

"Quiet! I need to concentrate." Cinder said as she turned towards the cake.

"This is a very delicate procedure." She said.

"With the addition of this _evil_ candle. _Voila!_ " She said, putting a stick of dynamite into the cake. "One deliciously evil cake, ready to explode." Cinder said.

"Any questions?" She asked.

"When's lunch?" Mercury asked.

"I meant about the cake." Cinder said.

 **"Is it gluten-free?"** Neo asked.

"...What? I don't... what does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm not crazy about cakes. Can we do a nice flan instead?" Roman asked.

"How can you booby-trap flan?!" Cinder asked.

"Hah, flan." Mercury said.

"Are there any questions specifically about making this booby-trapped cake?" She asked.

"Yeah, I don't really understand how this is supposed to work. It's clearly just a cake with a stick of dynamite in it." Emerald said.

"Ugh, you are clearly not grasping this concept!" Cinder said.

"But I mean who would be stupid enough to even take the cake when the stick of dynamite is clearly-!" She began.

"Oh, sweet! A cake!" Brandon said as he picked up the cake.

"..."

"Hmm. Not bad. You're already a better cook than most women in this series." He said, causing a metaphorical knife to stab Emerald and Neo.

"Oh...well thank you." Cinder said.

"What's with this though? You throwing a party?" Brandon asked.

"Yes! Yes, we are! It's your...desert for breakfast day." She said.

"...How did you know that was today! Jeez, you're really thoughtful." He said as he lit the candle.

"Are. You. Kidding me?!" Emerald asked.

"You see! It's fool proof! Now when he goes to blow out the candles-." Cinder began.

"Hey, could you hold this?" Brandon asked as he handed the Maiden to stick dynamite.

"Certainly. As I was saying..." She began, only to slowly turn her head towards the dynamite.

"Oh." Cinder said as she dynamite blew up in her face.

* * *

 **James Ironwood**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Revolver**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Height: 6'6"**

 **Weight: 224 lbs**

 **Age: 40**

 **Outfit: Black, White**

 **Handedness: Right**

 **Complexion: White.**

 **Hair Color: Black and White**

 **Eye color: Blue**

 **Aura Color: Silver**

 **Semblance: Unknown**

 **Also you guys won't be seeing the poll results until they are final.**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	65. Moving Forward

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Moving Forward"

Thought: _'Moving Forward'_

Flashback: _"Moving Forward"_

.

.

"Ugh." Mercury groaned as he got up from off of the ground.

"Agh, jeez. That hurt like hell." He said as his vision started to return to him.

Once the blur started to fade, he could see that most of the grounds of Beacon Academy was completely up in flames, as well as most of the buildings in the school were completely destroyed.

"Damn, looks like we slept through the action." Mercury said. "Then again, judging by the wreckage those two made, I doubt I would have wanted to stick around for much longer." He said as he turned his head towards the runways.

He was hoping that there would be at least one ship left so that they could leave the ruins before the Grimm completely overran the place, or at least so he could take Brandon and go if Emerald decided to kick the bucket.

Though luck wasn't on the side of the assassin today as all of the ships had from the runway had already left for the safe zones that were set up around the more tame areas around the kingdom.

"Guess I'm taking the long way out of here." Mercury said to himself.

"Ugh." The assassin heard Emerald groan from beside her.

"Hmph, look who decided to wake up." He said with his usual smirk on his face.

"Are we dead?" The thief asked as the slowly got up from off of the ground.

"Well if we are then hell looks just like Remnant. Bif surprise there." Mercury said.

Emerald grunted as she pushed herself off of the ground.

"What happened?" She asked as she started to look around the area.

"Well, judging by the lack of explosions and whatever those two were throwing at each other, I'm assuming that the fight is over." Mercury said.

"Huh?!" Emerald asked as she started to dart her head around the area. "Where are they?! What happened?!" She asked.

"Not sure. I just regained consciousness not too long after you did." He said.

"Come on! We have to go and find her!" Emerald said as she started to rush towards the courtyard.

Though before she could continue any further, Mercury quickly stopped her in her tracks.

"Hold on." He said.

"What do you mean _hold on_?! Cinder is still out there!" She yelled.

"Keep it down, will you?!" Mercury said. "We're still in the middle of a Grimm infested school and our only method of escape just left." He said.

"..."

"Look, you want to get back at Cinder for what she did to us. Believe me, I get the feeling. Though we're not exactly doing ourselves a favor by attracting every single Grimm in the school towards us." He said.

"...That's not just it." Emerald said.

"Hmm?" Mercury asked.

"It's not just about revenge for me. I owe Brandon everything for what he did." She said. "I want to get the chance to actually repay my debt to him." Emerald said.

"..."

"Not that you'd know anything about that. All you care about is getting payback." She said.

"Tch." Mercury growled.

"Come on, let's go." Emerald said as she started to walk towards the courtyard.

 _'The hell do you know about me?'_ He asked as he started to follow Emerald.

As the two continued to walk through the ruins of Beacon, they started to stare at the wreckage that was made from the Grimm, the White Fang, and Cinder.

However, as the two continued to make there way through the wreckage, the sounds of various bullheads moving above them cut them off.

"Looks like the White Fang are making a break for it." Mercury said.

"Guess that means that the Grimm have really started to overrun the school." Emerald said.

"Seems so. Let's find Brandon and get the hell out of here." He said.

"Yeah, easier said than done. This place is huge, there's no telling where those two ended up." The thief said.

"Hey." They heard a female voice say, causing the two to spin there heads around the area.

"The hell?!" Mercury said as he got into his combat position. Meanwhile, Emerald pulled out her two pistols and extended the blades outwards.

After a few seconds, the source of the voice appeared from the darkness, her skin changing from the color of the darkness to the original color of her skin.

"Who are you?" Emerald asked the girl.

"..." The girl just stared at the two in silence.

"Wait, I recognize you. You're one of those elite fighters from the White Fang. What were you two called again? Shadows? Ghosts?" He asked.

"My name is Ilia, and we're called the Phantoms." She said, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Right. So what, you here to pick a fight with us or something?" Mercury asked.

Ilia's only response was to start walking in the direction of the courtyard.

"Hey! What the hell are you-?!" He began.

"You want to find the human, right?" Ilia asked.

"...Wait, which one? Cinder or-?" Mercury began.

"The one with the spirit." She said.

"Oh, then yeah." Mercury said.

"...Wait, how do you know-?" Emerald began.

"If you want to make it out of here alive then follow me." Ilia said as she started to walk towards the courtyard.

"..." The thief turned her head towards the assassin with a suspicious look on her face.

"Not like we have much to lose from following her. Worse case scenario we just kill her if she tries anything." He said as he started to follow the chameleon Faunus.

Emerald stood there for a moment before sighing.

"Guess you're right." She said as she started to follow the Faunus.

The two eventually reached the courtyard, various burn marks and fires were moving all around the area.

However, a few of those fires had a strange color to them. Instead of being the regular red, the flames were blue and faded out to purple.

"Jeez, what happened here?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not really sure." Ilia said as she started to walk through the battlefield. "This is where I heard the explosion coming from, so I assumed that it had to be the human." She said.

"Explosion?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah. I was originally going to go and check it out until I ran into you two." Ilia said.

"Then how do you know if Brandon os even here at all?" Emerald asked.

"If there's anything I've learned from fighting that human, it's that he's always in the eye of the storm." She said.

"..."

"She's got a point there." Mercury said.

"Shut up." Emerald said as she followed the chameleon Faunus.

The trio walked across the battlefield in silence before eventually, Mercury broke the ice.

"Mind telling us why you were coming here in the first place?" He asked.

"To find the human." Ilia said, causing the two to look at the Faunus with confusion.

"You." Mercury said, pointing his index finger at the Faunus.

"Yeah." She said.

"A member of the White Fang." Emerald said.

"Yes." Ilia said, her irritation levels starting to rise once again.

"Wanted to find a human." Mercury said.

"Are you done repeating what I just said?" She asked.

"Why though? I thought you all hated humans." He said.

"I don't hate all humans. I just...dislike this one human." Ilia said.

Though before they could continue to question the Faunus any further, they eventually found Brandon laying on the ground face down, smoke emanating off of his unconscious body.

However, the most noticeable part of his body was the puddle of blood that was under his head.

"Oh my-! Brandon!" Emerald yelled as she and Mercury ran over to the swordsman's side.

Ilia stared at the boy in shock and started to walk over to his side.

"No, no. Please, this can't be happening. Not after all this." Emerald said.

Mercury placed his finger onto his neck in hopes that he would get a sign of life coming from the boy.

Once he had felt something from the boy, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew. Good, he's still alive. For a second there I thought we lost our only hope of taking down Cinder." Mercury said.

Ilia sighed in relief and started to walk away from the duo.

"Hold on, where are you going?" He asked.

"When he wakes up, tell him that we're even now." Ilia said as she disappeared from sight.

"Tch, what's her deal?" Mercury asked.

Emerald just stared down at Brandon with a look of relief in her eyes. Though the moment quickly passed once the two realized the gravity of the situation.

"Wait, where's Cinder?" They asked one another.

However, before they could even start to search for Cinder, the sound of stones moving through the rubble of Beacon tower.

The two jolted up and got into there respective combat positions. Though this left no one to catch Brandon, causing the boy to fall to the ground face first.

"Ugh!" He groaned.

"Oh! Sorry." Emerald said.

"Heads up, I don't think this fight is over." Mercury said as he the core from his prosthetic legs started to light up.

"Gah." They heard Cinder gasp from the rubble, causing the two to ready their respective weapons.

Though once they saw the Maiden emerge from the rubble, the completely lowered there weapons and dropped there guards.

"Gah, hah." The Maiden breathed heavily as she started to crawl from the rubble.

"Holy shit." Mercury said as he stared at the beaten, broken, and shattered figure of Cinder fall.

Cinder had suffered some serious consequences from the blast that Brandon had thrown at her. The lower half of her right arm was completely gone, while the other half of the arm was completely burnt to a crisp.

The right half of her face was also completely burnt to a crisp, and her right eye was completely burnt from its socket.

"Whoa." Mercury said, causing the Maiden to stare at the duo from a top of the rubble.

"Cinder?" Emerald asked, causing the Maiden to growl.

"...Gah!" She attempted to say, however, the only thing that came out of her mouth was a gasp.

The Maiden attempted to speak once more, though only ended up going into a coughing fit.

Cinder extended her palm outwards and attempted to fire one of her magic based attacks at the trio, causing the two to raise their guards once again.

However, the only thing that came out of her palm was a few sparks.

The Maiden's eye's widened as she attempted to fire another one of her attacks at the trio, though the only thing that came out were a few sparks.

Attempting to strike down the trio once more, Cinder attempted to fire another one of her attacks at the three people that were responsible for her condition. Though just like the last two times she had attempted to strike the three down, the only thing that came out of her palms were sparks.

Just like before, the Maiden fell to the ground in a coughing fit.

Once the two were certain that Cinder wasn't able to use her power against them, the assassin and the thief lowered their guards.

"Guess that means we're home free. She can't even use her powers anymore." Mercury said.

"Looks like it. It's kinda...sad." Emerald said, causing Cinder to glare at the thief with her single eye.

"We should get going. We should get Brandon all fixed up before he decides to kick the bucket." He said.

"Yeah...wait, what about Cinder?" She asked.

"Tch, what about her?" Mercury asked.

"I thought you wanted to kill her?" Emerald asked.

"She seems to be doing a fairly good job of doing that herself." He said.

However, it seems that Brandon had other plans as he was slowly beginning to get up from off of the ground.

"N-n-no." He said, his voice shaking as blood started to drip from his face.

"Hey, take it easy. You're injured enough as it is." He said.

Eventually, Brandon was able to stand on his two feet once again, though he was struggling enough as it is.

Blood was dripping from his mouth, nose, and his eyes were completely blood red.

"Jeez, we need to get you fixed up. Come on, we need to-." Mercury began, only for Brandon to grip the handle of his sword one last time, the blade starting to glow with the same flame that surrounded him once before.

As the swordsman started to move towards the Maiden, his aura started to flare to life once more and a look of malice started to appear on his face.

The wind around Brandon was starting to pick up, causing Mercury and Emerald to shield themselves from the wind.

"Hey. Take it easy will ya?!" Mercury yelled.

"Y-you two." He said through his teeth.

"Huh?" Emerald called out.

"J-just go." Brandon said.

"What?!" The two asked.

"J-just g-get out of here already." He said.

"I-I d-don't care what it t-takes. I-I'm going to kill her." Brandon said, the flames that were emanating off of his blade starting to get even stronger than what they once were.

"E-even if it means I have t-to drag her down to hell with me." He said, the pupils of his eyes starting light up like fires.

 _'Now, let's try this again.'_ He thought to himself.

"Go. To. He-!" He began, only for a green dagger to dig into his back.

After a few seconds, he dropped his sword as his aura started disappear from around his body and green sparks started to coarse all throughout his body, causing him to scream in agony as he fell to the ground.

"Jeez, I just can't leave you for a second, can I?" A woman's voice said, causing Mercury and Emerald to turn there heads towards the source of the voice.

"Honestly, I leave you alone for one single moment and you make the mother-load of all messes you could ever possibly make." The woman said as she appeared from within thin air.

"L-Lilith?!" Cinder managed to say.

Mercury got into his combat position once again while Emerald pulled out her two pistols.

"Though, can't say I'm really surprised. Subtlety was never really one of your strong suits." Lilith said as she walked over to the fallen Maiden.

"Though, I guess I can give you some credit. You did manage to get the other half of the Maidens power, even if it took you two years to do it." She said, causing the Maiden to growl.

"Judging by your expression, I'm just gonna assume that you don't know where the relic is." Lilith said, causing Cinder to growl.

"Hah, figures." She said as she grabbed Cinder and started to drag her across the rubble.

Though as the two started to charge towards the unknown woman in attempts to cut her escape off, she quickly disappeared from sight alongside Cinder, leaving the duo to stand t here in a state of confusion.

"I'm gonna need this back." Lilith said as she yanked the dagger from Brandon's back.

"Gah!" He yelled.

The woman snapped her fingers and summoned a green portal of some sorts to her side.

"T-tch." Brandon growled as he slowly got up from off of the ground.

"Come on, the boss want's to have a few words with you." Lilith said as she dragged Cinder through the portal.

Once the two had walked through the portal, the knights disappeared from sight and the portal closed, leaving the trio to process this unfortunate turn of events.

"..." Emerald and Mercury just stared at the area where the portal originally was.

"..." Brandon just stared off into the distance, every single feeling of anger had passed.

All he could do is stare at the once great kingdom of Vale as it burned to the ground, Grimm flocking towards the city as it burned to the ground.

The once great kingdom of Vale had been reduced to nothing but ruins.

Brandon attempted to walk forwards but ended up stumbling forwards and fell to the ground.

"Damn it." Mercury said as he ran over to his friend.

"He's in bad shape. We need to get moving, now." Mercury said as he threw Brandon over his shoulders.

"...Come on! Let's go!" He yelled over at Emerald, causing the thief to break out of her daze.

"R-right." She said as she ran over to Mercury.

However, they were soon surrounded by various Grimm, each one slowly circling the group waiting for them to make a move.

"Great, just great. This is just what we needed." Mercury growled.

Emerald pointed her weapons at the Grimm and prepared to fire. However, the sound of gunfire could be heard coming from behind them. The Grimm around them started to drop like flies, each one turning into ash as the bullets flew through them.

The two turned around to see a bullhead flying towards them. They were hoping that they could use said bullhead to make there escape. However, all hope of an easy escape was crushed due to one of the engines being completely up in flames.

It landed on the runway with a loud crash, the metal of the bottom of the bullhead scraping up against the metal of the runway.

After a few seconds, it came to a complete halt in front of the trio.

"...Uh-." He began, only for the door to the cockpit to fly off.

Once the door had landed on the ground, Osvaldo himself slowly walked out of the bullhead.

"Give us a break already!" Mercury said.

The Faunus stared walk over to the trio with a serious look in his eyes, causing Mercury to let down Brandon gently and get into his combat position.

"How long do you think you can keep one of your illusions up for?" He asked.

Emerald attempted to put Osvaldo in one of her illusions, though she was too exhausted to even keep it up for a single second.

"No good. I can't even keep it up for a second." Emerald said.

"Damn it." Mercury said as he got into his combat position.

"What are you-?" She began.

"Go." He said.

"...Huh?" Emerald asked.

"Just take him and go. The most I can do is buy you some time." Mercury said.

"...Why are you-?" She began.

"Are you deaf?! Just go alrea-!" He began.

"You do know I'm not here to kill you, correct?" Osvaldo asked.

"...Wait, what?" He asked.

"Though you are correct about one thing, human." He said as he walked past the trio.

"The most I will be able to do is buy you some time. You three need to get as far away from this place as possible." Osvaldo said as he started to increase in size.

"...Wait, why are you-?" Emerald began.

"Don't question it. I'll take him, you make sure Grimm stay off our backs." Mercury said.

"I am not doing this for the boy. I am doing this for the girl." Osvaldo said.

"..." Emerald was curious about the man's actions, though there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Alright. Let's go." Emerald said.

Mercury nodded and started to run with Brandon on his back, Emerald running right behind him.

Osvaldo sighed and turned towards the Grimm horde that was making its way towards him.

"So, this is it, isn't it?" He asked himself.

 _'I suppose it is...fitting.'_ Osvaldo thought to himself as he got into his combat position.

 _'Scarlet. I know that I will not be going to the place where you rest for eternity, though know that I finally understand what you were trying to tell me all those years ago.'_ He thought to himself.

 _"Heh heh, it's about time you big lug."_ He heard a familiar voice say, causing his head to dart around the area.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Osvaldo yelled.

 _"What's the matter? Can't recognize the voice of an old friend?"_ She asked, causing Osvaldo to freeze.

"...No, you aren't real. You're...just a figment of my imagination." Osvaldo said though he was quickly proven wrong as he felt some strange aura near him.

 _"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. Though I thought I'd see you off."_ A woman said.

"...Heh, I've missed you, my love." He said as he charged towards the horde.

 _"As did I, honey."_ The voice of Scarlet said.

In those final moments, Osvaldo finally realized what her love was trying to tell him all of those years. It was something that would give him peace in his newfound grave at the ruins of Beacon Academy.

He can only hope that his brothers and sisters will soon realize this message, the message that Scarlet had told him all those years ago.

 ** _If you want to be treated as equals, then you must be just as equal towards the humans as you are to the Faunus._**

Meanwhile, Mercury and Emerald were running through the forest in attempts to find someplace they could rest for the night.

"You think we lost them?" Mercury asked.

"I think so. Guess that old man is doing a good job at stalling them." Emerald said.

"Good. Come on bud, just a little longer." He said to Brandon.

"What's his condition?" She asked.

"He's not doing so hot." Mercury said.

"Damn it. Come on, we need to find a place to-." She began, only for the sound of growling to cut them off.

"Tch looks like we've got company." Mercury said.

Emerald growled and started to point her two pistols at the source of the growling.

Mercury reached over to Brandon's belt and grabbed his revolver from the holster, pointing it at the various bushes and trees that surrounded them.

"Hope you don't mind me using your revolver for a bit." Mercury said.

The two were about to engage in combat, though the sudden silence of the growling quickly cut them off.

"...Uh, so what just-?" He began, only for the rustling in the bushes to begin once again.

After a few seconds, Neo emerged from the darkness with a serious look on her face and her blade at her side.

"Showoff." Emerald said, causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"So, what are you doing here?" Mercury asked. However, Neo's only response was to walk past Emerald and towards Mercury.

Before the assassin could question her, she quickly looked past Mercury and stared at Brandon with a serious look on her face.

Neo sighed and started to walk away from the trio.

"Wait, where are you-?" Emerald began, only for Neo to motion them to follow her.

"..." The thief stared at the thief with her eye's narrowed before she turned her head towards Mercury.

"Not like we have much to lose anymore, or at least I don't have much to lose anymore." He said as he started to follow the small assassin.

"...Hah." Emerald sighed and started to follow the two deeper into the forest.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh." Yang groaned as she started to regain consciousness.

"Yang!" She heard the voice of her father say.

"D-dad?" She asked, her eye's fluttering open, only to shield them with her left arm due to the blinding light.

"You're awake." Tai said with a relieved tone in his voice.

"Mmm, what happened?" Yang asked as she rubbed her eyes with her arm.

"Don't worry about it. You're okay, we brought you back to one of the command ships that were stationed in Vale during the fall." He said.

"...The Fall?" She asked.

"..."

"Dad, what happened. Is everyone okay? Where's Ruby?" She asked.

"Ruby's alright. Qrow found her unconscious and brought her, along with your friend Sage to the ship." Tai said.

"What about Vale? What do you mean Fall?" Yang asked.

"Yang...it's gone. There's nothing left of Vale. The Grimm had completely overrun the kingdom, the only thing we could actually do was make sure that the people of Vale made it out alive." He said.

"...Seriously?" She asked as she clenched her fist.

"Yeah. The Atlas Military is already planning on setting up a station outside of the walls. Though right now there isn't a whole lot of hope for Vale." Tai said.

"So, did everyone make it out okay?" Yang asked.

"..."

"Dad. Please tell me that my friends are okay." She said, her heart starting to beat a few ticks faster.

"We tried to get everyone we could, we really did. Though I don't think you're friend Brandon made it back to the ship." Tai said, causing Yang's to freeze.

"..."

"I'm sorry, Yang. He just...wouldn't come onto the ship." He said.

"...Damn it, Brandon." Yang said through her teeth.

"What do you remember about tonight?" Tai asked.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Well, you were out cold for a good majority of it." He said.

"Hmm...Well, I know this is gonna be hard to believe, considering how long it's been. Though I think I saw-." Yang began.

"Raven." Tai said.

"Yeah...wait, you saw mom to?" She asked.

"That's right. She was the one who actually saved you from..." He said, a serious look starting to form on his face.

"Hmm? Dad, what's wrong?" Yang asked as she attempted to recall the events of what happened tonight.

However, once she actually started to reconnect the dots in her head, she suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

"Yang." Tai said as he started to move closer to his daughter.

The blonde brawler slowly turned her eyes towards her right arm. Though instead of seeing her arm, the only thing she was met was the thin air of where her arm should have been.

"Yang." Tai said as she leaned over to face her daughter.

Suddenly, everything was coming back to her. Everything, even what happened with Adam.

The scene started to repeatedly flash in her mind, reminding Yang of what she had lost.

"Yang!" Tai said as he grabbed Yang by her upper arms once he saw that she was starting to hyperventilate.

"No. No, no, no!" She said as she desperately started to grab the empty sleeve where her arm should be.

"Yang! Look at me!" He said.

"It's gone. It's really gone. Holy shit it's actually gone. No, this is all just some dream, right? I'm gonna wake up and it's still gonna be there. This is all just-!" Yang began, only for Tai to quickly pull her into an embrace.

"It's alright." Tai whispered into her ear.

After a few seconds, Yang completely shattered under the pressure and started to let out silent sobs into her father's shoulder.

"I know, my sunny little dragon. I know." He said as he started to caress her hair.

Once the moment had passed, Yang pushed herself off of her father and wiped her tears away.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." Tai said as he pulled up a chair.

"Thanks, dad." Yang said.

"Hey, it's what I'm here for." He said.

"What about Ruby? Is she alright?" Tai asked.

"...Physically, she only has a few cuts and bruises is all. Though I can't really speak for how she's doing mentally." He said.

"Huh?" Yang asked.

"Let me ask you something, Yang. Do you know why Ozpin let Ruby in as early as he did?" Tai asked.

"Hmm...Can't say that I have. I was to wrapped up in the moment to actually think about it." Yang admitted.

"Well, I can't really blame you. We were going to tell Ruby about it after she graduated. Though it seems that fate had other plans." He said.

"Tell her about what?" She asked.

"About her powers." Tai said. "The powers she inherited from Summer." Tai said.

"...What?" Yang asked.

"To be honest, I was kinda surprised when Summer told us that her firstborn actually inherited the power. It's a really rare trait." He said.

"What does Aunt Summer have to do with any of this?" She asked.

"You're still calling her that?" Tai asked.

"Well, she was never really my mother. She was Ruby's mother. You two did live apart." Yang asked.

"That we did." He said.

"I never actually asked, but why did you two live apart? Ruby is your child, right?" She asked.

"Of course she is." Tai said.

"..."

"Look, it's...it's not something I like to talk about. When your mother left, I was...Well, I wasn't exactly in the best of conditions. Summer just so happened to get wrapped up in the whole situation. It's the reason why Qrow and I were on such bad terms for a while." Tai said.

"..." Yang wanted to know more, but she eventually decided to drop the subject.

"Anyway, back to Ruby. She's...special, and not in the way I tell you guys are special kind of way." He said.

"What'd you mean?" She asked.

"Remnant is full of legends and stories. Some of them are true, and some are made up. Though I'm sure you have experience in the Fairy Tale department." Tai said.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Yang said.

"Though there was one that your aunt told me a very long time ago. It was back before huntsmen, before the kingdoms. It was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior." He said.

"You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind has ever encountered, feared these silver eye'd warriors." Tai said.

"They were the best of the best, it was said that even a single look from one of these warriors could strike a Grimm down." He said.

"That's sounds-." Yang began.

"Ridiculous, I know. Though Ruby just so happens to be one of these Silver Eye'd warriors." Tai said.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"That's right. It's a power she got from her mother." He said.

"So Aunt Summer was one of these Silver Eye'd warriors?" Yang asked.

"Yep. She was even able to give Raven a run for her money." Tai said.

"...Wait, why tell me this now? Why not tell Ruby?" She asked.

"Well, we can't exactly tell Ruby when she's not even awake yet. That, and she's already tapped into her powers, unfortunately." He said.

"Yeah...wait, why is this a bad thing?" Yang asked.

"Because, the Silver Eye'd power isn't just something you can tap into at will, at least not at first. You...you need to go through immense mental trauma first." Tai said.

"Mental...Trauma?" She asked.

"Yeah. Amber..." He said with a serious tone on his face.

It took a couple of seconds for Yang to connect the dots.

"No." Yang said.

"Yeah." Tai said in a quiet tone.

"...Ruby." She said. She couldn't imagine what her sister was going through right now. She may not have known Amber like Ruby did, though she didn't deserve to die.

"We should be landing in Patch soon. Doctors said you're all ready to head out once we land." Tai said.

"Well, that's good...Wait! Blake! Where's Blake?!" Yang asked.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean your partner? She was just here not too long ago." He said. Though before he could further question his daughter, she already jumped out of the bed and ran towards the door.

"Wait! Yang! Hold on!" Tai yelled, though it was too late, Yang had already bolted out of the door.

The blonde brawler ran through the hallway, bumping into various doctors and nurses that were passing by her.

"Sorry!" She yelled as she continued to run through the hallway.

 _"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."_ She remembered Blake saying faintly.

"No, you are not leaving again. Not this time." Yang growled.

"Yang!" She heard a familiar voice say, causing her to turn her head towards the source of the voice.

"Weiss?" Yang asked, staring at the heiress from across the room.

"Thank the gods!" Weiss yelled as she ran up to her teammate.

"Weiss! You alright?" She asked.

"I should be asking you that! With the whole...you know." She asked.

"Huh? Oh...Well, I have the other one I guess." Yang said.

"Yang-." Weiss began.

"Ms. Schnee." The voice of a man said, causing the duo to turn towards the source of the voice.

The man was well dressed like a butler with balding brown hair and a large mustache.

"It's time to leave." The man said.

"Okay...can I just have a moment with my friend, please?" She asked.

"Certainly. Klein Sieben. A pleasure." Klein said as he walked away.

"So, as I was saying-." She began.

"What did he mean, it's time to leave?" Yang asked.

"It's...it's my father. He wants me to come back to Atlas." Weiss said.

"What?!" She asked.

"I...I know. He thinks that it's safer in Atlas than it is in Vale." She said.

"...What's happening Weiss?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that everything we once knew...it's gone." Weiss said.

"...Blake! Have you seen Blake anywhere?!" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I've seen her near the exits of the ship." She said.

"...No." Yang said as she ran towards the exit.

"Yang!" Weiss called out.

"No time to chit chat Weiss! I gotta find Blake!" She yelled.

"The exit is that way!" She said.

"...I knew that!" Yang yelled as the ran in the opposite direction.

Yang sprinted past various civilians in attempts to find her partner, though it was no use.

"Yang!" She heard another voice say, causing her to turn her head towards the source.

"Coco!" Yang said as she ran over to the detective.

"How you holding up?" She asked.

"Well, I could be better." Yang said sheepishly. "How about you guys?" She asked.

"I'm doing alright. Yatsu and Fox are managing. Though Velv." Coco said.

"...Oh." Yang said.

"Yeah, she's not exactly the best right now. It's gonna take some time before she can get back to her former self." She said.

"Coco!" Fox yelled.

"That's my cue. Sorry, Yang. I'd love to stay and chat, though you have your team you need to look after, and I have my team." Coco said.

"It's cool. Give Velvet my thanks for what she did back in Beacon." Yang said, causing the girl to nod and walk over to her teammates.

Though as she was running through the crowd, she managed to bump into someone.

"Gah!" The voice of a girl cried out.

"Crap! Sorry, I'm in a real hurry and I-." She began, only for the sight of her own partner to cut her off.

.

.

"Blake?" Yang asked, causing the cat Faunus to run away from the blonde brawler.

"Wait! Hold on!" She yelled as she started to run after her partner.

Blake ran through the crowd, desperately attempting to get away from her partner.

"I said get back here!" She yelled, eventually making her way down a hallway of some sort.

"Stop following me!" Blake yelled, attempting to lose the blonde brawler by using her semblance.

However, Yang was already familiar with how her semblance worked and was easily able to find the feline warrior.

"Then stop running!" She yelled.

Blake attempted to lose her once again, though eventually stopped herself in some sort of hallway, the night sky lighting up the hallway from the window.

"Hah, hah. Blake." Yang said as she started to slowly walk towards her partner.

"Stop." She said, not daring to look her in the eye.

"Look at me." She said.

"I...I can't." Blake said as she slowly backed away from her partner.

"I said look at me!" Yang said a little bit louder.

"Please. Stop. I can't." She begged, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Yang grabbed Blake by her collar and forced her to stare her in the eye, Yang's eyes starting to turn red.

"Look at me!" She yelled.

Blake slowly but surely turned her head towards her partner, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm-." Blake began.

"Stop it!" Yang said.

"W-what do you-?" She began.

"I don't want to hear it!" She said. "Do you really think that what happened in Vale was your fault? Do you think that _this-_?!" She said, pointing to her arm.

"Is your fault?!" Yang asked.

"..."

"Blake, what happened back there was my fault! I did this to myself! I have to live with this!" She said.

"...You're wrong." Blake said.

"How am I wrong?! How is any of this your fault?! What could you have possibly done to prevent this from happening?!" Yang asked.

"I could have stayed!" She said.

"...What?" She asked.

"I could have stayed back in the White Fang. I could have kept fighting for a cause I didn't believe in anymore. At least then you wouldn't...you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Blake said.

"So what?! You'd rather fight for something you don't even believe in anymore?!" Yang asked.

"I'd rather fight for something I don't believe in than ever have to see another one of my friends hurt because of what I did!" She said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that-?!" She began.

"This isn't the end. The Fang will be hunting me...I can't...I can't stay here anymore." Blake said.

"Like hell you can!" Yang said.

"I won't let another one of my friends get hurt for something that doesn't involve them! This is between the Fang and I! I could have stopped Adam from ever doing this! I could have...I could have prevented our friends from getting hurt." She said, tears starting to flow down her face.

"I won't let another one of my friends die." Blake said.

"...Wait, what are you-?" Yang began.

"Brandon never made it to the ships. I tried looking for him, I did. We all did. After what we heard from Jaune we all were hoping that he at least made it back to the ships." She said.

"Though it didn't matter. He's gone." Blake said.

"..."

"I can't...I won't drag people down with me. I'm sorry Yang. I just...I can't stay here anymore." She said.

"Blake-!" Yang began, only for Blake's shadow to replace her, causing Yang to fall forward.

"..." The blonde brawler just sat there in silence, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Blake was peering around the corner, staring at her partner with tears in her eyes.

She shook her head and started to silently run down the hallway that led to the exit.

 _'I'm doing this for you. For all of you. I just hope that you can understand one day.'_ She thought.

* * *

"How is she doing?" Nora asked as she and the rest of team sat in the room where Pyrrha was resting.

"She's fine. She's just tired is all." Jaune said.

"..."

"Any luck with finding Brandon?" He asked.

"No. So far they haven't been able to search the school. Though with the Dragon roaming the school I-." Ren began.

"Don't!" Jaune said.

"...I think we should accept that there is a high possibility that Brandon is no longer with us." He said.

"...Damn it!" He shouted as he slammed his fist on the wall, causing Pyrrha to groan.

"Ugh." She said as her eyes started to flutter open.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune and Nora said as they ran up to there teammates side.

"Jaune? Nora?" Pyrrha asked.

"How are you feeling?" Ren asked.

"I feel...sore." She said as she started to rub her cheek.

"Well, at least your okay." Jaune said with a smile.

"Hmm, where am I?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're in one of Atlas's ships. We took you here after...you know." He said.

"I see...wait, what about-?!" She began, though her answer was answered before it was even asked by the looks and expressions of team JNPR.

"...No. Please tell me he's here." Pyrrha begged.

"I'm...I'm sorry Pyrrha. He just wouldn't come back with us." Jaune said.

"No. Why? Why did he have to do this?" She asked.

"I don't know. I can never tell what he was thinking. He was always a complicated guy." He said.

"Why? Why didn't he let us help? How come he-?" Pyrrha began, only for Jaune to place his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not really sure what the outcome of his battle way. I don't know if he won or lost. That's not something we get to know. We just...have to have faith." Jaune said.

"I just..." She began, only for her sobs to quickly cut her off.

Jaune, Nora, and Ren quickly moved in to embrace there teammate, each one attempting to calm down Pyrrha in there own way.

"Why?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Pyrrha asked.

"Why were you ready to do what you were about to do?" Jaune asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Heh, I may have only known you for a year, Pyrrha. Though a year is all it takes to know that you would have done the same thing he did to you." He said.

"..." Pyrrha stared down at the blankets and clenched her hands.

"So why? Why fight a battle you know you can't win?" Jaune asked.

"...I just...I couldn't bear the thought of losing one of my friends. You all were the first people who treated me as an equal. You all made me feel as if I truly belonged. I just...I couldn't bear it if any of you got hurt." She said, tears starting to fall down her face.

"And now...and now...He's gone. He's really gone. I could have stopped him." Pyrrha said.

"Pyrrha, it's not your fault. I believe that our friend knew that there was a good chance that this battle would be his last. Though this wasn't just any other battle for him. This was his battle, the battle that kept him moving forward." Ren said.

"He was...he was ready to die for this. Which is why he did what he did." He said.

"..."

"He may act all tough. Though deep down I'm sure we all know that he was just a big softie." Nora said.

"Yeah, though he'll never admit that." Pyrrha said with a chuckle.

"I think that's why he did what he did. He didn't want any of us to get hurt. He wanted to face this on his own so that we could keep on pushing forward." She said.

"..."

"I know it's hard. It's hard for everyone. He was our friend." Jaune said.

"..." Pyrrha nodded and wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" Nora asked.

"...I think I have an idea." Jaune said as he walked over to his blade.

"Brandon may not be with us anymore. Though his purpose is." He said with a determined look in his eyes.

"What'd you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm saying that Brandon did have a plan for after all of this." Jaune said.

"...The spirit users." Ren said.

"Yeah, he said that he was gonna find each of the spirit users and gather them to fight this enemy." He said.

"They're the reason why the school is destroyed. Why Vale is in ruins, and why...why we may have to move forward without him." Jaune said.

"Let's do it guys. Let's pick up where he left off." He said.

"...Heh, I suppose that does seem to be the best course of action." Ren said.

"Though where do we even start?" Nora asked.

"Hmm, what about Haven?" Pyrrha suggested.

"H-Haven?" Nora and Ren asked.

"Yeah, you're pretty popular there, right Pyrrha? Maybe we could have an easier time finding them." Jaune said.

"..."

"Ren? Nora?" Jaune called out, causing them to break out of there daze.

"Huh?" They said.

"Are you two alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"W-what?! Psh, yeah! We're fine!" Nora said.

"...So about Haven." Jaune said.

"Yeah! Haven sounds like a great idea! Let's do it!" She said.

"..."

"Guy's, we're fine. Really." Nora said.

"...Alright. When we land in Patch we'll take a boat to Haven." Jaune said.

"What do we do once we actually get to Haven?" Ren asked.

"I know a place where we can stay." Pyrrha said.

"Alright. That settles it." The blonde knight said as he walked over to the bed.

"Let's stop these guys." Jaune said.

"Yeah!" The three said with confident looks in their eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blake was watching everyone make their way off of the ship and onto one of the safe zones they had stationed in the continent of Sanus. Some of the citizens that were visiting from the other kingdoms were waiting for the other airships to come and take their families home.

However, the people that had lived in Vale would be going back to Atlas. They would stay here until the situation in Vale was completely under control and the kingdom was deemed safe for the citizens.

 _'Good. It looks like our friends are okay.'_ Blake thought. _'Well, most of them at least.'_ She thought as she started to walk away from the town.

 _'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_ Blake thought.

"Sup." She heard a familiar voice say from above, causing Blake to look up to face the source of the voice.

Once she saw the familiar face of Sun, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Hello, Sun." Blake said.

"So, you seem to be in a hurry." He said as he landed on the ground.

"...I guess you can say that." She said.

"What's the rush?" Sun asked.

"Sun, if you've come to convince me to stay then you might as well save your breath. I won't let another one of my friends get hurt because of what I did." Blake said.

"Blake, you know that's not true." He said.

"Of course it is! If I hadn't left for Beacon all those years ago I would never have caused any of our friends to get hurt." She said.

"You knew what you were doing was wrong. You did what was right." Sun said.

"Which is why our friends are suffering. Velvet lost her home, Yang lost her arm, and Brandon...he's dead." Blake said.

"That wasn't you! Come on, we've already been over this! Just come back and fight with us!" He said.

"Sun." Blake said.

"I can't let you do this Blake. Not again." Sun said.

"I'm sorry Sun. Though you're going to have to fight this battle without me." She said as she turned away from Sun.

Though before she could continue to walk away, Sun appeared right in front of her with his staff out.

"Let me rephrase that. I'm not going to let you run from this." He said.

"..." Blake stared at Sun with a serious expression on his face, though Sun was staring at her with the same expression of seriousness.

"Don't do this." She said.

"Come on Blake, you should know me better by now." Sun said.

Blake sighed and unsheathed her blade.

The two stared one another down for a moment before charging towards each other.

Sun attempted to swing his staff at Blake, though the cat Faunus was able to dodge the attack by using one of her shadows.

Blake started to swing her blade at the monkey Faunus, causing Sun to stagger back a bit. Sun attempted to strike at the cat Faunus, though he only hit another one of her shadows.

Before he could react, Blake started to rapidly slash and dash around the monkey Faunus.

However, Sun was able to get Blake's movements down and eventually was able to hit Blake with one of his nunchucks.

The cat Faunus attempted to counter the incoming barrage, though the constant blasts of metal and the blows from the metal of the nunchucks proved to be too much for her to keep up with.

Sun quickly summoned one of his apes to his side and punched Blake in the stomach, sending her flying towards one of the various trees in the forest.

Blake eventually regained her composure and attempted to flee from the monkey Faunus. However, Sun was quickly on her tail, determined to convince her to stay and fight with her friends.

"Just stop this Sun!" Blake said as she blocked one of Sun's blows with her blade.

"No! You stop trying to run away from this!" Sun said, further pushing on Blake's blade.

"Why?! Our friends would be safe if I just disappeared from their lives! Yang would still have her arm if I had stayed in the White Fang!" She said.

"We've already been over this! Quit focusing on the past! Shit happens, whether you like it or not! So quit blaming yourself for all this!" He yelled as he started to throw another one of his nunchuck barrages at the cat Faunus.

"Though we can't make anything better if you just keep on running away from your problems!" Sun said.

"If it means that our friends are safe then I'll keep on running!" Blake yelled as she used another one of her shadows to blink behind Sun.

"Yeah?! What gives you the right to make that decision for us?!" He yelled as he blocked another one of Blake's attacks with his staff.

"This is what's for the best Sun! I don't want to leave you all, but if it means keeping you safe then I'll run as many times as I need to!" She said as she swept her leg under Sun's feet and kicked him away.

"So what?! You're just gonna face the Fang alone?!" Sun asked, landing on a tree and pushing himself towards the cat Faunus.

"What else am I supposed to do?! Every time I try to start my life over again, it always ends up with someone getting hurt! I want to make it up to them! Though what the hell's equal to a human life?! Our friend's life?!" Blake asked, blocking Sun's oncoming attack.

"You can't! This isn't just some game! There's no getting even! I know! I wanted to get even with the people that made my life in Vacuo hell, and do you want to know what I felt like when it was all said and done?!" Sun asked.

"...What?" Blake asked.

"I didn't feel any better! If anything I felt worse! That's when I learned that there was no getting even in life! You just suck it up and move on with your life!" He yelled as he elbowed Blake in the jaw.

"This isn't about making it up to them! It's about making it up to yourself!" Sun said.

"So quit being selfish and just stop running!" He yelled as he punched Blake in the face, causing her to go flying across the forest.

"Hah, hah, hah." He panted, his body emanating with a golden aura.

"...I...I guess I do run away too much." Blake said as she got up from off of the ground.

"Heh, took you long enough to get it through your head." Sun said.

"Still, I can't imagine Yang would forgive me for running away...again." She said.

"Meh, give her time. I'm sure she's come around. What are friends for, right?" He asked.

"Thank you, Sun. I get what I have to do now." Blake said as she took off her bow.

She threw it up into the air and started to rapidly slash it into tiny little ribbons.

"Rip your bow apart? That wasn't really what I was going for but..." Sun said.

"No, I get that running away won't help anyone. It hasn't helped our friends, and it hasn't helped a couple of my friends back at the White Fang." Blake said.

"If I want to fix things, I...I need to do it myself. Not leave others to pick up the pieces." She said as she took her blade and brought it back behind her head.

"Wait, what are you-?" Sun began, only for Blake to cut some of her hair from her head.

"...Uh?!" Sun said as he stared at Blake in shock.

"So, what'd you think of this style?" The cat Faunus asked, her hair now only reaching to the middle of her neck.

"Huh? Oh, it...it looks good? Though why did you cut your hair?" Sun asked.

"Time for a change." She said with a smile.

"Well...I guess that's one way of going about it." Sun said.

Blake nodded and started to walk away from the monkey Faunus.

"Wait, where are you-?!" He began.

"Relax. I'm just going to the harbor. I need to take a boat to Patch." Blake said. "See you around, Sun." She said as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

Two weeks have passed since the incident in Vale. Everyone was scattered across the world, wounded, beaten, and some broken.

Though what was broken can be fixed, with the time that is.

It was a cold night in Patch, snow was starting to fall from the sky. Tai had out to get a little special something for his daughter Yang.

"Girls! I'm back!" Tai yelled as he came into the house with a mountain of boxes in his arms.

"..girls?" He asked, placing the boxes down on the kitchen table.

Normally, he would at least get a shout from Ruby upstairs. However, recently it's been different.

I mean sure, he wasn't expecting them to be their normal cheery selves after what happened to Vale, though still, even Ruby would at least come down to greet him when he came home.

"Hey." He heard Yang say, causing him to turn his head towards the blonde brawler.

"Oh, hey Yang. How are you holding up?" Tai asked.

"..." Yang merely stared at her father with a deadpanned stare.

"Right. Stupid question. Though hey! You've got a gift in the mail!" He said.

"Oh? Cool." She said.

"...Don't you want to open it?" Tai asked.

"Who is it from?" Yang asked, grabbing some sort of cup from out of the fridge.

"It's from Atlas! Ironwood specifically." He said.

"...What?" She asked, now slightly interested as to why Ironwood of all people would be sending her stuff.

"Now I got your attention." Tai said as he walked over to Yang with the box in tow.

"So what is it?" Yang asked.

"Oh, I can't wait for you to try this." He said, placing the box down on the table.

"...Well, go on. Open it." Tai said.

Yang shrugged and opened the box with her only free hand. However, once she opened the box, she quickly moved away from it.

Inside the box was a metal arm of some sort.

"Brand new, state of the art, Atlas tech." Tai said. "You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull a few strings, maybe call in a few favors, though you earned this one all on your own." He said.

"..."

"Before I could even talk to the general, he had already had some of his top scientists working on it, for you." Tai said.

"..." Yang just stared at the arm with her eye's widened.

"He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably." He said.

"..."

"Yang?" Tai called out.

However, before he could suggest anything else, Yang started to slowly back away from the arm, grabbing the empty sleeve of her jacket.

"Yang! Calm down." He said slowly.

"Ah!" She yelled as she stumbled back a few feet, tripping over the table and hitting her head on the floor.

"Yang!" Tai yelled, rushing over to his daughter's side.

"Hah, hah, hah." She gasped.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm here." He said.

"..." After a few seconds, Yang eventually calmed down.

"I'm...just gonna put this up on the shelf. For safe keeping." Tai said.

"Y-yeah." She said, slowly getting up from off of the ground.

"So, where's Ruby?" Tai asked.

"Last time I saw her she was still in her room." Yang said.

"Well, where is she no-?" He began, only for the sound of shattering glass to be heard from upstairs.

"Ruby?!" Tai yelled as he ran towards the stairs.

Yang stood there, slightly taken back at the sudden sound, though she eventually regained her composure and ran upstairs.

"Ruby! Ruby where are you?!" The blonde huntsmen yelled.

However, before he could start searching the rooms, he could hear the sound of hyperventilating coming from the bathroom.

"Ruby?! Ruby! I'm coming in!" He yelled, flinging the door open.

Once he entered the bathroom, Ruby could be seen sitting on the floor, shaking violently.

"Ruby! I'm here, dad's here!" Tai said as he embraced his daughter.

"...D-dad?" She asked meekly.

"It's me, Ruby. I'm here." He said.

After a few seconds, Ruby managed to calm down.

"You okay now?" Tai asked, causing Ruby to nod her head.

"Here, let's get this patched up." He said, referring to Ruby's bleeding hand.

Once he wrapped Ruby's hand up and cleaned up the bits of shattered glass on the floor.

"What happened, Ruby?" Tai asked.

"I just. She was just sitting there. I could have...I could have." She began, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Oh, shh shh. It's okay. It's okay." He said.

Ruby sniffled and wiper her tears away from her eyes.

"Good...hey, how about we go and get some cookies?" He asked.

"N-no thanks. I just...I'm going to lie down." Ruby said, walking out of the bathroom.

"...Yang-." Tai began.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna lay down too." She said, walking towards her room.

"...Hah, damn it." He said, looking up towards the bathroom mirror.

"Well, guess I'm gonna have to get someone to fix that." Tai said, staring at the shattered mirror.

However, he could call someone to repair the mirror at a later time. For now, he himself had to go and take a breather.

Once he reached the downstairs, he plopped down onto the couch.

"Hmm." He hummed.

Though before he could turn on the T.V, the feeling on his scroll rumbling cut him off.

"Hello?" Tai asked.

 **"Hey. It's me."** The voice of Qrow said.

"Heh, well this is new. You're calling me for a change." Tai said.

 **"I called to see how the two squirts were doing."** The drunk said.

"Hah, not too well. Ruby just shattered one of our bathroom mirrors and Yang had another panic attack." He said.

 **"Damn."** Qrow said.

"Yeah." Tai said. "I'm worried about them. I know that they're strong. Though they're not just gonna come out of what happened completely unharmed. Ruby just watched someone die, and Yang just lost her arm and her partner. Not to mention we've still yet to actually find their friend anywhere in Remnant." He said.

 **"Yeah, this isn't good."** He said.

"Is the relic safe?" Tai asked.

 **"Don't worry. Oz made the Relic in Beacon a little more...challenging to find."** Qrow said.

"Finally. Some good news for a change." He said.

 **"Hmm. Hey, I'm gonna drop by the house for a bit."** He said.

"Alright. Maybe this will lift the girl's spirits." Tai said.

 **"Hopefully. See ya in a bit."** Qrow said, the connection cutting off.

Tai sighed and rubbed the temples of his eyes.

Meanwhile, Yang was laying on her bed, attempting to fall asleep.

However, every time she closed her eye's, the scene would play in her dreams once again, each being worse than the last.

Though that wasn't the only thing that was on her mind.

She sometimes thought of her mother, Raven. From what she remembered, her mother saved her from dying to Adam. At first, she didn't really think anything of it, though no matter how many times she tried to forget it, the more it popped up in her head.

Her uncle Qrow had told her not to worry about it, and that her mother told him to tell her that she shouldn't expect any further kindness from her again.

Though no matter how much she tried to forget it, she always thought that there was more to it than that.

 _'Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much. Not like I can do anything about it anyways.'_ Yang thought.

 _'I guess it's time for some shut-.'_ She began, only for the sound of something tapping against her window to cut her off.

"W-what the-?!" She said, stumbling out of bed.

There was some sort of figure outside. The figure was completely dawned in black, so they were mostly covered by the night sky. However, there was one feature that made Yang's heart beat a few tics faster.

The pair of cat ears on their head.

"N-no. I-it can't be." Yang said.

The figure tapped on the window once more, motioning towards the lock of the window.

Yang was skeptical, though she eventually opened the window, allowing the figure to walk in.

The figure said nothing, they only slowly started to walk towards the lamp that was in Yang's room.

"Y-you." Yang began, tears starting to fill in her eyes.

Once the light was turned on, Blake Belladonna could be seen standing right across from Yang.

"B-Blake?" She asked.

"Hey, Yang. Been awhile." She said.

The blonde brawler slowly started to make her way towards her partner, her hand shaking as tears fell down her cheeks.

 _'Please don't let this be a dream.'_ She begged.

 _'Please let this be real.'_ Yang begged once more.

Once she placed her hand on Blake's shoulder, the waterworks completely broke down.

"Y-you came back! Y-you really did come back!" She said in between sobs.

"Sorry to keep you wa-." She began, only to be cut off by the feeling of a club hitting her on her head, causing her to fall to the floor.

"..."

"Tch, teach you to break into my house." Tai growled.

"Dad! What the hell?!" She yelled.

"What? I just stopped this thief from breaking into our house!" He said.

"That was Blake!" Yang yelled.

"What?!" A muffled Ruby said from the other side of the wall.

"...Really? She doesn't look anything like her picture." Tai said.

"...W-w-w-w-?!" She began to stutter.

Once she got a good look at Blake, she could see that not only was she in a completely different attire, there was one thing that got her acting like her usual self.

 _"What the hell did you do to your hair?!"_ She screamed in horror.

After everything was situated, everyone made there way downstairs in order to sort the situation out.

"Heh, sorry for hitting you over the head." Tai said sheepishly.

"Yeah." Blake deadpanned, holding an ice pack up to her head.

"Oh my gosh! You're back! You're really, really back! Now, all we have to do is get Weiss and team RWBY will be back in business!" Ruby said in rapid succession.

Normally, Yang would be the one to calm her sister down. Though she herself was doing a similar action to that of her sister.

"What the hell did you do to your hair?! Why is it so short?! It's almost as short...no, it's even shorter than Ruby's! Why?! It was so awesome before!" She said in rapid succession.

"Girls. Calm down. I'm sure your friend is really tired." Tai said.

"Yeah, I'm sure she is." Qrow said with a chuckle.

"Qrow. Now is not the time." He said.

"Where have you been?" Yang asked.

"Well, I've been busy for the past two weeks." Blake said.

"Busy with what?" Ruby asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit." Blake whispered to the duo.

"So, how about I get us some drinks? Qrow, come help me with the cups." Tai said, causing the man to nod.

Once the two walked into the kitchen, Blake motioned for the two to come towards her.

"So what were you doing?" Ruby whispered.

"I've been looking deeper into what happened in Vale. How and why the White Fang was involved with all of it." Blake said, pulling out her scroll from her pocket.

"Really?" Ruby and Yang asked.

"Yeah. I've been searching everywhere. The ruins of Vale, White Fang outposts, bases, everywhere that could lead me to the answers to what happened at Beacon." She said.

"So what did you find?" Yang asked.

"I didn't find much. When I went back to the main base stationed in the Forever Fall, it was completely abandoned." Blake said.

"What?" She asked.

"Weird." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I thought so too. Though I was able to get something. I just had to pull a few strings here and there. There wasn't a lot in the systems, though there was something." She said.

"Really? So what'd you find?" Yang asked.

"Even after everything I've managed to gather, I was only able to get a set of distorted pictures." Blake said. "Even then the picture's I got were in the darkness of a warehouse, so I haven't been able to identify who this is." She said.

"Though these pictures were tied to everything that had happened in Vale prior to the Fall." Blake said. "The Robberies, the Breach, the Jailbreak, and even the Fall." She said, showing her teammates the picture.

However, once Ruby even got a glance at the silhouette of Cinder, she completely froze where she stood.

"So, this is the woman that Brandon was looking for." Yang said.

"Yeah. This is her." Blake said.

"..."

"Ruby? What's wrong?" Yang asked.

"I..I remember her." She said.

"What?!" She asked.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked.

However, Ruby's expression was all she needed to confirm that the red hooded figure did indeed know who this was.

 _"So, this is the Maiden's power. How...exilirationg."_ She remembered her saying clear in her mind.

"Why are you telling us all this?" Yang asked.

"Because I want you guys to help me." Blake said, causing both Ruby and Yang to step back a bit.

"...Look, I know that you're still recovering from what happened. I won't hold it against you if you say no. Though I'm not running from this. I'm going to find out the truth of what happened and fix it. I'm going to fix what Adam broke." She said.

Once the name Adam left her mouth, Yang's hand started to ball up.

"Though I'd prefer to do this with friends." Blake said.

"...Ruby. Can you make modifications to my arm?" Yang asked as she walked over to grab her new arm.

"What?" Ruby asked, Yang placing the box in front of her.

"Arm?" Blake asked as Yang walked over and picked up her weapon.

"I want you to modify it so that it works like my original weapon." She said.

"So does this mean you'll-?" She began.

"Yeah, I'm with you. I still need to get some payback for what that bastard did to me." Yang said.

Ruby hummed as she stared at the weapon, then back at the arm.

"I'll need a few days. Is that okay?" Ruby asked.

"If that's how long it'll take, then sure." Yang said.

"So, where do we start?" She asked.

"Wait, Ruby are you-?" The blonde Brawler asked.

"I'll be fine. I want to know the truth just as much as you two." Ruby said.

"...Okay then, where do we start though?" Yang asked.

"Mistral." Blake said.

"Mistral?" Yang and Ruby asked.

"While I was gathering information on the Fall, I got some reports of a meeting with Sienna Khan, the leader of the White Fang." She said.

"I'm just gonna assume that Sienna Khan is in Mistral." Yang said.

"That's right. We'll have to go through Sanus though." Blake said.

"Meh, a little walk didn't hurt anyone." She said.

"So. This is it. We're going to Mistral." Ruby said with a smirk on her face.

"Looks like it." Yang said.

"I'll get started on the modifications to your arm!" Ruby said as she dashed out of the door and into her workshop.

The next few days flew by, each member of team RWBY getting ready for the big trip.

They had to make sure that neither Tai or Qrow found out about what they're intentions were, knowing that they would do everything in their power to ensure they didn't pursue this lead.

Even when Ruby had finished the modifications, Yang had to take the time to get used to the arm before they went out into the world again.

Fortunately for them, they managed to make all of their preparations without being noticed by either Qrow or Tai. Which is why both Yang and Blake stood in front of the harbor waiting for Ruby to arrive.

"How does it feel?" Blake asked Yang as she stared at her new arm.

It was the original Atlas prosthetic, though Ruby was able to modify the arm so that it acted like Yang's Ember Celica. She even added a few unexpected tricks to the arms.

"Honestly, I'm kinda surprised. I thought it would just be this huge weight, but it feels...natural." Yang said.

"That's good." She said.

"Yeah, and Ruby made it even more badass." She said.

"Wait!" They heard Ruby say.

"Speaking of Ruby." Yang said, the two turning there heads towards there leader.

"Hah, hah. Sorry. I had to make sure I got away from dad and Qrow." She said. "So...Haven's a long way to go." Ruby said.

"We know. Though it's all we got now." She said.

"So, are we all ready for this?" She asked.

"It's not gonna be easy, and I don't know if we'll find the answers we're looking for. Though we wouldn't be here if we weren't prepared for the worst." Blake said.

"Then let's get started." Ruby said.

* * *

.

.

"Gah!" Brandon yelled as he jolted awake.

However, instead of appearing in the center of Beacon or in some other location, he was back in the spirit realm where had first met Caliber.

"Ugh, been awhile since I've been here." He said as he rubbed his eyes awake.

"So...did I win?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"I'm afraid not."**_ He heard Caliber say, causing him to spin his head towards the spirit.

"...What?" He asked, not really sure if he had heard Caliber correctly.

 ** _"Despite gravely wounding her, the False Maiden managed to get away from our grasps once again."_** Caliber said.

"...W-what about Vale? What about Beacon?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"I'm afraid that the once great kingdom of Vale has fallen to the ground."**_ He said.

"...Damn it!" He roared, slamming his fist on the ground.

"Two years! Two god damn years! Down the drain!" He roared.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ He hummed.

"I was so damn close! All it would have taken was that last attack! It would have been over! We would have won!" Brandon said.

 _ **"I wouldn't be so sure about that."**_ Caliber said.

"...What?" He asked.

 ** _"I would hardly call that a victory. You lost the second you lost sight of what was at stake."_ ** He said.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"It means that you lost the second you pushed past the limits of what your body should be capable of."**_ Caliber said.

"I had to use all that power! I would have been able to kill Cinder!" He said.

 _ **"Yes, and then you would have lost your own life in the process."**_ He said.

"...Wait, what?" He asked.

 _ **"If that woman hadn't had stopped you, then your entire body would have torn itself apart."** _ Caliber said.

"I would have killed Cinder though! We could have taken her down if we just-!" Brandon began.

 _ **"Please, your body would have completely given up on itself before you could even land a single blow on her."**_ He said.

 _ **"You lost sight of what was truly important. The bonds you've made."**_ Caliber said.

"...What the hell are you talking about?" He asked.

 ** _"In that one moment. It wasn't about Remnant, it wasn't about your friends, and it wasn't about avenging those who had fallen in battle. It was to satisfy your own foolish pride."_** He said.

"..."

 _ **"At that very moment, you had betrayed everything you have worked for. It was no longer about changing fate. It was about ending the life of the false Maiden, even if it meant you had to give your life as payment, or the lives of others."**_ Caliber said.

"..."

 _ **"Though what's done is done. In the end, I suppose fate did change."**_ He said.

"...So, what do we do now?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"I do believe the time has come. We must now gather my brothers and sisters, so that we may serve humanity once again."**_ Caliber said.

"Right, we already have a known location." He said.

However, before the two could respond, the figure of a woman could be seen in the distance.

"Hmm? Who's that?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Hmm? Is something troubling you, my boy?"**_ Caliber asked.

"Right over there. It's that woman again." He said. "The one I met before I met you all those years ago." Brandon said.

 _ **"What?!"**_ He asked, his head spinning behind him.

However, the woman had disappeared just as soon as she came.

 _ **"..."**_

"Who is she, Caliber?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"That...is a story for another time."**_ Caliber said. **_"For now, it's time to go to work."_** He said.

"Wait!" He said. "Back during my training with Summer, she mentioned something about your original and most potent form." Brandon said.

 _ **"Yes, what of it?"**_ Caliber asked.

"I remember her saying that we have to do something to actually trigger it. Like Raven has to find the strength of her heart or whatever." He said.

 _ **"..."**_

"So what do I have to do?! What do I have to do to get your full power?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Hmm, well, I suppose now is a better time than any to tell you."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"In order to turn this vow of ours into a blood oath, you must first break the chains wrapped around your heart and attain the one thing you are able to give others, but not yourself."**_ He said.

Then, everything went white.

* * *

 **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode eleven of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the eleventh episode I recommend skipping to the reviews.**

 **Volume 5, Episode 11 thoughts**

 **.**

 **.**

 **This is fine. I'm currently okay with the events that are unfolding currently. That's okay, things are going to be okay**

 **Review Response**

 **Dinosaurchicken: Yes I did.**

 **SPDefender: Glad I lived up to your expectations, though unfortunately, Cinder just barely got away. Though not in one piece.**

 **Trapdere: Yes.**

 **Gh0st495: Glad to hear it.**

 **myfunvideos: Well, I'm glad it lives up to that sort of hype. I really did like Dragon Ball as a child and I wanted to replicate that sort of hype in my story.**

 **Fiction Fan 369: Glad you liked it.**

 **Fedora101: Glad you like it all so far.**

 **Delayedmovie: Good to hear.**

 **TheRealCactoos: Meh.**

 **Zamasu: Glad you liked it.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: I use websites.**

 **Lover of destruction n cruelty: Hey, they don't question if it makes sense in there head.**

 **alertpoet91: Yep.**

 **Lover of destruction n cruelty: Well, they're not just gonna kidnap him in broad daylight.**

 **A Random Commie: Yes.**

 **Donovan: Cool.**

 **Lover of destruction n cruelty: Yeah, I'll admit that wasn't my best work. I did go back and change it though.**

 **Lover of destruction n cruelty:...Okay then.**

 **TheTrueWrath: Well two guys with the abilities to cause massive explosions and what not so...yeah.**

 **Writen: Indeed it was.**

 **Lilith**

 **Race: Human**

 **Weapon: Dagger**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 164 lbs**

 **Age: Unknown**

 **Outfit: Black, Green**

 **Handedness: A** **mbidexterity**

 **Complexion: Unknown.**

 **Hair Color: Unknown**

 **Eye color: Unknown**

 **Aura Color: Green**

 **Semblance: Scam**

 **Destructive Power: E**

 **Speed: E**

 **Endurance: A**

 **Precision: E**

 **Potential Growth: A**

 **Range: A**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	66. The Next Step

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Next Step"

Thought: _'The Next Step'_

Flashback: _"The Next Step"_

Months have passed since the Fall of Beacon Academy and the once great kingdom of Vale. Everyone was scattered all over the world of Remnant, each one going there own separate ways into the world.

Everyone had lost something in the Fall, to Cinder.

However, tragedy inspire's those to rise up and stand against the ones who wish to take everything from them.

Because all it takes is for one single spark to ignite the flames of rebellion in the hearts of others.

While some may be trying to pick up the pieces of what was broken, the masterminds behind these incidents are planning there next move.

Though it seems that initiating there next move would prove to be more complicated than they would have hoped for.

Cinder Fall, the False Fall Maiden, had run into some unforeseen during her time in the kingdom of Vale, causing her to take more drastic actions, much to the disappointment of her master, Salem.

Though because of her grudge an opposing Fairy Tale, she lost sight of the true goal that she was given from her master. This not only caused one of her subordinates to come and retrieve her, but she now must wait and recover from the injuries that the swordsman had inflicted on her.

She had lost not only her eye and her ability to communicate with her other subordinates but she lost the lower part of her right arm as well.

Though most importantly, she had failed to retrieve the relic despite having the only method of unlocking the vault that sealed the relic.

"..." The Maiden stared out into the distance of the window in her quarters, attempting to ignore the pain she felt in her arm and her eye.

 ** _"Go! To! Hell!"_** Those three words echoed throughout her mind, causing her to clench her only fist she had left.

Cinder gritted her teeth in anger as she remembered the events of what happened that fateful night.

 _'She seems to be doing a fairly good job of doing that herself.'_ She had remembered the assassin's words from when they stared down upon her as she laid in the ruins of Beacon.

 _'Looks like it. It's kinda...sad.'_

Cinder's eye started to flare up, her aura starting to flow around her life fire. Though it was a very weak fire, the kind you would see when you would light a candlelight.

However, she was quickly broken out of her daze once she heard a knock on the door to her chambers.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she walked over to the door, gripping the doorknob with her only free hand.

Once she had opened the door, she could see a tall and muscular middle-aged man. The man in question has short brown hair, a beard, and hazel eyes.

He wore a two-tone olive green coat over a black 3/4 sleeve shirt and a large belt. His pants are black and his boots are brown with white fronts. His hairy arms appear to have some scars near the edges of his sleeves.

This man was one of Cinder's subordinates, Hazel Rainart.

"It's time." The man said with a rough tone of his voice.

Cinder nodded and walked out of the door to her quarters, eventually making her way towards the meeting room.

The giant of a man slowly made his way towards the meeting room with Cinder in tow.

Tension could be felt throughout the air as the two continued to make there way down the hallway that leads to the doors to the meeting room.

It has been quite some time since Salem has called everyone back to the tower, so they were all interested as to what their master had in store for the future of Remnant.

Eventually, the two arrived at the large set of doors that sealed off the meeting room from the rest of the tower.

The Maiden took a deep breath and placed both of her hands on the front of the doors. Though before she could open them, Hazel quickly stopped her.

"...?" The Maiden stared at the giant of a man with a look of confusion on her face.

"Hold on." He said as he moved his head around the room as if he were looking for something.

"...Hmm, okay." Hazel said once he was sure that everything was clear.

Cinder turned her head back towards the door and pushed the two massive doors open, entering the meeting hall.

"Ah, it seems that our remaining members have arrived." A man said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the duo.

The man was a fairly pale man with blue eyes and grey hair. He had some sort of brown coat that covered his shoulders and parts of his arms, acting as some sort of coat. The ends of the coat were dawned with White Fur.

He wore a blue shirt of some sort with a brown belt with a silver crest in the middle.

To finalize his outfit, he dawned brown pants and black boots, as well as a pair of brown gloves for him to wear, the gloves having strange markings on them.

"Good to see that you're up and about. Perhaps we can get down the business once again." The man said.

"..."

"Unbelievable. To think that this is the person we are trusting with the Fall Maiden's powers." Another man said, putting his scroll back into one of his pockets in his coat.

The man in question was one with short black and gray hair. He also has a mustache and green eyes. He wore a gray overcoat with yellow linings, a yellow dress shirt, and a black necktie.

His pants are the same color as his overcoat. His yellow-buttoned undercoat and fingerless gloves match his cordovan shoes, under which he wears yellow socks.

"Though, I can't say I expected any less from you." The man said.

"Now Arthur. Don't you think that's quite enough?" The man in white asked the newly named Arthur.

"Oh please, she's the whole reason we're in this situation to begin with, am I wrong?" Watts asked as he stared at Cinder.

"..." The Maiden merely sat in her chair in silence.

"You hear that, Vladimir? Silence. I have half the mind to thank the boy that bested you." The man said.

"Heh, if I were you, I'd hunt down the boy, find him and...well, he took your eye, didn't he?" A man asked the Maiden.

He was a pale man with gold eyes and a brown ponytail braided to resemble a scorpion's tail. He wore a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants.

His jacket is left open, exposing his bare chest, which is crisscrossed with prominent scars. His arms are covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces. He also wears leather boots covering his entire shin with knee guards.

On each earlobe is a silver, ring-shaped earring, and near the top of his left ear is another matching earring

"...Agh!" She attempted to say, however, the only thing that came out of her mouth was a grunt.

"What was that? Sorry, you're gonna have to speak up there Cindy." Lilith said as she moved her hand to her ear, causing the Maiden to growl.

"Now come now, let's all calm down." A fairly large man said.

The giant in question was a large Faunus who had the trait of a bear, dawning two ear bear ears on his head. He had pale skin, black hair and gray eye's. He was wearing fairly baggy pants with a red rope wrapped around his waist, as well as a green belt of some sort.

"Aw, come on Otso? We're just having a little light-hearted fun. Nothing wrong with that, right?" A man asked the newly named Otso.

This new man was some sort of Panther Faunus, evident by his two ears on his head. He had fairly tanned skin, black hair, and yellow eyes. He dawned some sort of White Robe that had black outlining's, as well as a black belt that was wrapped around his waist, the belt having various pouches on the sides and back.

He also wore a pair of white slip-on shoes with black bottoms.

Though the most noticeable part of his attire was the pair of cards he had in his hands.

"Ush." Otso said in a stern tone to the newly named Ush.

"Fine, fine." He said, flipping through his cards he had in his hands.

"...Hmm." Another Faunus hummed, the pair of wolf ears on his head starting to twitch slightly.

Compared to everyone else in the room, the man had a fairly average attire. Just a dark green shirt with black outlining's, black pants, and a pair of black boots. He was a fairly pale man with grey hair and black eyes.

However, the most notable person in the room was a man completely dawned in some sort of black armor. The man was sitting in the chair in silence with his arms crossed, waiting for Salem to arrive.

"Pathetic, why did we even-?" Watt's began, only for the sound of the doors opening to cut them off.

Everyone stood up from there chairs and faced there master.

"Lady Salem." The wolf Faunus said as he bowed his head to the woman.

"At ease, Abel." Salem said to the newly named Abel, causing the man to nod and sit up straight.

Salem slowly walked over to the end of the room, looking out into the distance from the top of the tower.

"Watts. Lilith." Salem said, causing the two to turn their attention towards there master.

"Do you two find such malignance necessary?" She asked the two as she raised her hand upwards, causing everyone to sit down in their respective chairs.

"I apologize, ma'am." Watts said.

"Heh, yeah whatever." Lilith said as she sat down in her seat with some sort of dagger in her hand.

"It's that I'm not particularly fond of faliure." He said.

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder." Salem said. "She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower, and most importantly, killed dear Ozpin." Salem said.

"So I am quite curious. To what _failures_ are you referring?" She asked.

"Well, she didn't exactly retrieve the relic. You know, the whole point of why we even gave her the powers to begin with?" Lilith said.

"Yes, it is quite...unfortunate that the relic of choice is still out of our reach." Salem said.

"Not to mention the boy that houses the spirit of Caliber and the girl with the Silver Eye's." Watt's said.

"Yes, we've dealt with her kind before though. Though how is it that a novice was able to almost best one of us?" Hazel asked.

"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless." He said.

"It is _because_ of the Maiden's power. Make no mistake, Cinder. You hold the key to our victory. But your new found strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment." Salem said.

"Yet she thought it was a good idea to pick a fight with one of the twelve spirit users." Lilith said.

"Not without reason, dear Lilith. It appears that Ozpin has trusted this boy with information that does not concern him." She said.

"..." Hazel's expression turned into that of anger once he heard the name Ozpin leave the mouth of his master.

"So, what is our next move, Milady?" Abel asked.

"Doctor Watts." Salem said, grabbing the attention of the doctor.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"You are to take Cinder's place and meet without informant in Mistral." Salem said.

"Very good." Watts said.

"Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden." She said.

"Heh, gladly." Tyrian said.

"Otso, what is your progress in locating the island?" Salem asked.

"I've been able to narrow it down to a singular option." Otso said.

"And you are certain that this is the island that will hold the artifact?" She asked.

"I am." He said with a nod.

"Excellent work. I want you to go and retrieve the artifact at once." Salem said, causing Otso to nod his head.

"What of your progress, Abel?" She asked.

"I have been able to navigate through the Shrouded Forest, and have successfully located the Tree of Civilization." Abel said.

"Excellent work." Salem said.

"Ush-." She began.

"Already got the artifacts located. Expect them to be in within the next month or two." He said with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Excellent. Vladimir, I want you to continue to work from within the shadows of Atlas, as well as continue your search for the Winter Maiden." Salem said.

"As you wish." Vladimir said with a bow.

"Lilith. I want you to continue eliminating the potential threats that may lurk in Haven." She said.

"Got it." She said.

"And Hazel..." Salem began, only for her eye's to narrow a bit.

"...Would you please get her down from there?" She asked, causing everyone with the exception of the man in armor to look upwards.

"...Heh heh heh." The giggles of a girl could be heard throughout the meeting hall.

"I've got her." Hazel said as he walked over to where the girl was hiding.

"Come on, Iris. You know you're not allowed in here." He said with his arms extended outwards.

"Aw, but I never get in on any of the action." A girl no older than eight said as she jumped down and landed on the shoulder of Hazel.

The girl herself had dark skin and blue eyes, her hair being black with two purple streaks in the front of her hair. She had some black hoodie that had some sort of purple crest stitched into the back of the hood.

She was also wearing short brown pants, though didn't wear any shoes on her two feet.

"You are still a child. It's a dangerous world out there." Hazel said.

"Hmm." Salem hummed, causing everyone to turn towards there master.

"...Perhaps it is time for her to contribute." She said, causing the girl's eye's to widen at this new information.

"Really?!" Iris said as she leaped from Hazel and onto the table that everyone sat, everyone with the exception in the man in armor stared at the girl in shock.

"Yes. With your unique powers, I doubt finding the Summer Maiden will be that much of a challenge." Salem said.

"Alright!" She cheered as she jumped up into the air.

"...Ahem. In all due respects, are you sure we should be trusting the whereabouts of the Summer Maiden to a...child?" Watts asked.

"Hey! Shut up you stupid old man!" Iris said.

"I am. Though not alone." Salem said as she turned her head towards Hazel.

"Hazel, I want you to watch over her until your business in Vacuo is finished." She said.

"...Very well." Hazel said.

"Alright, you ready for this Haze?" Iris said.

"Heh, I am." He said with a rare smile on his face, causing the girl to giggle.

"What of the deal with Sienna Khan?" Watts asked.

"Lilith here can make sure our dear Hazel is able to not only convince the leader of the Fang to cooperate but watch over dear Iris as well." Salem said. "Right, Lilith?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya." She said.

"Excellent. We all have our roles." Salem said.

However, before any of them could be dismissed, Cinder quickly raised her hand upwards.

"Hmm? Yes, what is it?" She asked.

"...T-the boy...T-the girl." She managed to say.

"What about them? It's not our job to deal with your problems." Watts said, causing Cinder to slam her hands on the desk.

"That's enough." Salem said with her hand extended outwards.

After a few seconds, she turned her head towards Tyrian.

"Tyrian." She said.

"Yes, my lady?" Tyrian asked.

"Spring can wait. Find the girl with the silver eyes-." She began, causing Tyrian to clap to himself.

"And bring her to me." Salem said, causing the man to drop his head in disappointment.

"Though couldn't I hunt down the boy instead?" Tyrian asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"No. The boy seems to have more control over his powers, at least when compared to the girl. Taking him will not be an easy task." She said to the man, causing his head to drop down in disappointment once again.

"Then who is going to find the boy? Surely not Cinder. Lord knows what happened the last time she fought him." Watts said.

"Of course not. Iris. Can you come here please?" Salem asked, causing the girl to move towards the woman.

"What's up?" She asked.

"While you're looking for the Summer Maiden, I want you to see if you can't find the boy. You can do that for me, correct?" She asked.

"Heh, sure thing!" Iris said with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Excellent. Hazel. Once she finds him I want you to go and retrieve the boy." Salem said.

"Very well." He said with a nod.

"Because of all your efforts, we now have the first key to our success. The first key to a new world." She said.

"You are all dismissed." Salem said, causing everyone to sit up from there seats and walk towards the door. Iris ran up and jumped onto Hazel's shoulder, causing the man to place his hand on her to make sure she didn't fall.

"Hmm, it seems that you have a few tricks up your sleeve, Ozpin." She said to herself as she sat in her chair, deep in thought.

"What are you up to?" Salem asked herself.

* * *

"Ah!" A boy gasped as he jolted from his bed.

The boy in question was one of short stature. His skin is tanned, and has blushing and freckles on his cheeks. His hair is an unkempt umber with green undertones, and his eyes are hazel, the main iris being forest green, with accents of burnt orange and yellow around the pupil.

He wore a dirty and scuffed white top that laces across the chest. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and there is a pocket on the left tricep. His olive pants are held up by orange suspenders and are tucked into worn, brown boots.

The pants are patched over the knee, and a quilted cloth hangs loosely out of his left pocket. His hands are covered by orange gloves, with green straps overlapping across the back of the hand in an X shape, and around the wrist. His neck is wrapped with a torn bandage, though it's noted to not be covering a wound.

"...What was...what just happened?" The boy asked himself as he stared at his palms.

It was such a strange feeling, it was just a dream yet it felt so real to him. Every single thing he saw in the dream he had felt so real for it to be a dream.

He saw the ruins of some sort of tower, and he was in the center of it all.

The hot air blowing on his face, the feeling of the rocks scraping against his skin, and the feelings of burns all over his body.

It felt way too real to be a dream.

"Oscar! You plan on sleeping the day away?" He heard his aunt call out from downstairs.

"R-right! Coming Aunt Marrisa!" The newly named Oscar called out from in his room.

He started to walk downstairs until he eventually saw his aunt standing above the table with two plates in her hands.

"Bout time you woke up. I was thinking I'd have to drag you out of bed myself." She said.

"Heh, sorry about that. I was just...really tired for some reason." Oscar said.

"Well don't get too comfortable. Spring is right around the corner so we need to prepare for the season's harvest." Marrisa said.

"Right." He said as he walked towards the table.

"Well, eat up. Long day ahead of us." She said, placing a forkful of egg into her mouth.

Oscar nodded and dug into the plate, causing her aunt to look at him in surprise.

"Whoa. Slow down there. I'm not gonna take it from you." Marrisa said.

However, Oscar had completely tuned out the voice of his aunt and just kept on eating the plate that was in front of him.

In a matter of seconds, the boy had completely cleaned his entire plate.

"Jeez, you're acting like you haven't eaten in months." She said.

"...Hmm, weird. I didn't feel that hungry when I woke up." Oscar said, just as confused as his aunt. "Hey, I know that this is weird of me to ask, but do you have any more in the kitchen?" He asked.

His aunt blinked a few times before walking up to the boy and placing her hand on his forehead.

"Hmm, no you're not warm." Marrisa said to herself.

"...Um, so can I-?" He began to ask.

"Yeah, go for it. Makes cleaning up a bit easier for me." She said, causing Oscar to nod and walk over to the kitchen.

Once he returned, he found that he was not only carrying an entire plate filled with food, but two plates completely filled with food.

"...Um." His aunt attempted to say, though she was quickly cut off as Oscar started to dig into the feast he had prepared himself.

"...I'm just gonna go clean up. You know the routine for today, right?" She asked.

"Yes, Aunt Marrisa." He said with his mouth full of food.

After a few minutes, Oscar had successfully cleaned both plates and placed them in the kitchen.

"I'll be back!" He said as he ran out of the house and towards the farm building.

Once he had arrived at the farm, he picked up a bucket and moved towards the fountain they had placed in front of the barn.

He gripped the handle and started to pump the water from the fountain.

As he went through his daily chores, he found himself gazing out into the distance from time to time.

It was almost as if something was telling him to go out into the mountains, to go out towards the great kingdom of Mistral.

He had always had this feeling before, though for some reason, he felt like he needed to go to Mistral. Though he wasn't even sure why he needed to go in the first place.

 _"Ugh."_ He heard someone groan, causing him to stumble back a bit.

"..." Oscar sat on the ground with his eye's widened, his head darting around the field in attempts to find the source of the voice.

"...H-hello? Is someone there?" He called out.

However, the farmer was only met by the usual silence that befell upon the farm.

 _'What was that?'_ Oscar asked himself.

After a few seconds, he shook his head and started to walk towards the barn with his gardening tool in hand.

 _'It was probably nothing. I guess a little break wouldn't hurt anyone.'_ Oscar said to himself as he walked over towards the sink to wash himself up.

However, once he started to stare at his reflection, there was something slightly off about the mirrored reflection that was staring back at him.

"Hello?" He called out, not really sure what he was trying to accomplish by doing this.

 _"Hmm, this is interesting."_ A voice said, causing him to fly backwards in shock.

"Ah!" He screamed, landing in the pile of hay in the barn.

"Hah, hah, what the-?!" He began, only for the voice of Marissa to cut him off.

"Oscar! You better not be breaking our equipment! That stuff is expensive!" She shouted from the house.

"R-right! Sorry!" He said as he stood back up from off of the ground.

"...Maybe it was just my imagination." Oscar said.

 _"I can assure you that this is real."_ The voice said, causing Oscar the boy to freak out once again.

"H-huh?! W-what in the-?! W-where are you?!" He asked, his head darting around the barn.

 _"That is...a bit of a complicated question."_ The voice said.

"What does that mean?! Who are you?!" Oscar asked.

 _"Please calm down. I will explain everything to you. Though first I need you to collect yourself."_ The voice said.

"Calm down?! How can I calm down?!" He asked.

 _"Mr. Pine. Please, I am not your enemy."_ The voice said.

"...Okay, I'm...I'm okay." Oscar said.

 _"Excellent."_ He said.

"Who are you?" He asked.

 _"I suppose introductions are in order. We will be working together for quite some time from now on."_ The voice said.

"...Wait, what does that-?" Oscar began, only for the sound of a gunshot to quickly cut him off.

"Huh?! Aunt Marrisa?!" He yelled as he ran out of the barn with his pitchfork in hand.

 _"Oscar! Wait!"_ The man said, though Oscar didn't seem to be listening to the man in the slightest.

His only concern was to make sure that his aunt Marissa was alright.

Though once he actually made his way out of the barn, what he saw caused him to freeze where he stood.

A Beowolf was slowly walking towards his aunt, it's burning red eyes drilling deep into his soul.

"..." Oscar just stood there, completely frozen by fear.

 _"Oscar!"_ The man said with his voice raised.

"Oscar!" His aunt yelled, causing the boy to break out of his daze.

"Get out of here! Take what you can and run!" Marissa yelled.

"What?! No! I can't just leave you!" Oscar yelled.

"This isn't up for discussion!" She yelled as she pointed her shotgun at the Grimm and pulled the trigger.

However, while the Grimm wasn't unharmed from the attack, it was still standing on its two feet.

The beast growled and started to charge towards the woman with its jaws opened wide.

Just as the Grimm was about to pounce on the woman, Oscar quickly tackled his aunt out of the way.

"Oscar?!" She yelled.

"Come on! Let's go!" He said as he grabbed his aunt and started to run in the opposite direction of the Grimm.

 _"Oscar! Please wait a moment!"_ The voice of the man said.

 _'Wait a moment?! I don't have a moment right now!'_ Oscar said.

 _"I believe I may have an idea on how to defeat the Grimm and reclaim your home."_ He said.

 _'...Wait, really?!'_ He asked.

 _"Yes, however, this will require a certain risk to be taken."_ The man said.

 _'I don't care what I have to do! Just tell me what I need to do to kill this thing!'_ Oscar said.

 _"Alright. Do you see that wound your aunt had inflicted upon the Grimm?"_ He asked.

Oscar narrowed his eyes until he got a clear view of the Grimm's wound.

 _'Yeah! I see it!'_ He said.

 _"If you are able to get close enough to the beast then you should be able to strike it down."_ The main said.

 _'I...I have to get close to that thing?'_ Oscar asked the voice, causing him to gulp.

"Oscar! We need to go now! If we stay here for any longer than we have to then more Grimm are gonna come!" Marrisa said.

The farmboy stared at his aunt and let out an audible sigh.

 _'Okay. Here goes nothing.'_ He said as he started to charge towards the Grimm.

"Oscar! Oscar what the hell do you think you're doing?!" His aunt yelled.

As the farmboy ran towards the Grimm with his pitchfork at his side, the Grimm started to charge towards Oscar.

It was at this moment that all fear that Oscar had felt was completely removed from his mind.

He felt as if he had seen things like this on a regular basis, it was as if he had seen things like this for years and years.

With his new found strength, he roared and ducked under the massive claw of the Beowolf.

"Rah!" He yelled, ramming his pitchfork into the heart of the Grimm, causing it to turn to ash and fade away.

The farm boy stood there in silence, breathing heavily from the sudden rush of adrenaline he got.

"Oscar?" He heard his aunt call out, causing him to turn his head towards Marrisa.

"..." Once the adrenaline passed, he was able to fully take in the gravity of his situation.

 _"Well, that went better than expected."_ The man said.

"...Who...who are you?" Oscar asked.

 _"Ah yes, I believe introductions are in order now."_ The man said.

 _"The long answer would be that I am you, and you are me. Though I feel as if that would be a tad too complicated."_ The man said.

"Uh, yeah." He said, already lost.

 _"The more simple answer would be that I am the Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy...well, former headmaster I should say."_ Ozpin said.

"...Wait, what?" Oscar asked.

 _"Our situation is a tad bit more complicated to be summed up quickly. Perhaps you should find a place to sit down, you're going to need it for what's in store for you, Oscar...well, I suppose it's what's in store for us now."_ He said.

"Y-yeah." The farmboy said as walked up to his aunt and helped her up.

"Thanks." She said as she grabbed Oscar's hand.

"It's no trouble." Oscar said.

"What was that Oscar? When did you learn to do that?" Marrisa asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure, to be honest. Though I think that's gonna change soon." He said as the two walked over to the house.

* * *

"Look, all I'm saying is that we might want to consider changing the name up a bit." Yang said as she and Blake walked down the road leading to the village where Ruby was.

Over the course of the past few months, Yang has taken it upon herself to do a full wardrobe change to fit her new development.

Yang now dawned a jacket that was dark brown on the top of her arms and shoulders, yellow lines going across her arm, eventually stopping at the end of the sleeve she was wearing. The bottom part of the jacket had a beige sort of color to it.

The back of her jacket had her usual emblem on it.

Under the jacket was the usual yellow shirt that she wore before the Fall of Vale.

The blonde brawler dawned long brown pants with a dark brown belt wrapped around her waist. On the belt were various shotgun bullets, and there were two bandana's that were wrapped around the belt as well.

One of the bandanas was her old one from before the Fall, while the other one was the one her mother had used treat her wounds during the Fall.

Yang also had an orange neckerchief that was wrapped around her neck.

She wore a pair of dark brown boots, though the left boot had a screwdriver tucked into the pouch stitched into the side of the boot.

Her arm was now fully and completely upgraded to her liking thanks to her little, Ruby Rose.

The knuckles of her new arm were now outfitted with gun barrels in them, allowing her to keep up her usual fighting style without making to many adjustments. Her arm and her weapon were now one in the same.

"I don't really see the point in changing the name." Blake said to her partner.

Blake herself had also undergone a change of her own, both in the matters of her physical appearance and her wardrobe.

She had some sort of black suit that had grey collar in the neck area, lower arm area, and the chest area. She also dawned long customized pants that had the same color pattern as her leggings from before the Fall.

Blake also had a pair of black gloves on her hands.

"Well, we don't exactly have the whole team together right now." Yang said to Blake.

"Yeah, well that doesn't necessarily mean we have to change the name. I mean, if we just remove the W we still have three of the words that make the word Ruby." She said.

"I know, though it just doesn't feel right when we use the team name when Weiss isn't here." She said.

"Can you think of a better name that has the words R, B, and Y in them?" Blake asked.

"That's the part I'm still working on." Yang said.

"Well, we can worry about that stuff at a later time. For now, we need to meet up with Ruby." She said.

"Yeah, she should be in the town up ahead." She said.

"Remind me again why she went ahead?" Blake asked.

"Well, I was also adding the last modification to my arm, and it took a little longer than expected." Yang said.

"You have a new one?" She asked.

"That's right? Though don't ask what it does. That's what we like to call a surprise, Blakey." She said.

"Don't call me that." Blake said with a deadpanned stare on her face.

"Heh, guess some things never change." Yang said as the two started to close in on the town.

As they slowly came to a stop in front of the town, the two could see Ruby standing on the sidewalk waiting patiently for them to arrive.

Ruby herself had undergone a small outfit change.

Though she insisted that she kept her combat skirt, despite the objections of Yang and Blake.

Not only that but Ruby has been doing a little journaling of her own, keeping a book of all the unique types of Grimm that the group has encountered.

Her outfit was relatively the same, except this one was designed the go long periods of time in the wild, considering they were intending to cross both Sanus and Anima. Even with Bumblebee, it would take them a while to cross the world.

Though they were prepared to have to cross a fairly large distance to get to Mistral.

With any luck, they would run into team SSSN or Pyrrha, and hopefully the rest of team JNPR.

However, making it to Haven was not the only goal that they set out to do.

They were also attempting to find there friend, Brandon Kim.

People have told them that it's been months since anyone's actually seen the boy, and they should accept that there is a strong possibility that the boy was no longer with them.

Though they wouldn't give up hope, if there was even the slightest chance that he was still alive, it was a chance they were willing to take.

"Yang! Blake!" Ruby called out to them from the town.

"Hey, Ruby!" Yang said as she and Blake walked up to the sidewalk where her sister was.

"Took you two long enough." She said.

"Sorry, it took a bit longer to put the whole thing together." Yang said.

"You know I could have done it for you." Ruby said.

"True. Though then I'd never really learn how to do it on my own. I can't rely on you for repairs forever." She said.

"...Alright fine, let's do our usual routine." She said.

"Stock up on supplies with the Lien we get from helping the villages from there Grimm problems?" Blake asked.

"Yep, that's pretty much how we spend our time now." Ruby said.

The two nodded and started to follow there leader into the town. It was a relatively peaceful town that was doing well considering the circumstances back in Vale.

"Nice place." Yang said as they walked through the town.

"Yeah." Blake commented as she stared at the various structures of the town.

"Hmm, let's see if we can't find the mayor of this town." Ruby said, staring around the town in attempts to find the person that ran the town.

"Excuse me." The members of the group heard someone say, causing them to turn towards the source of the voice.

As they turned around, they could see some woman standing right behind them.

"Yes?" Blake asked as she walked over to the woman.

"Are you three huntresses?" She asked.

"...Yeah, we are." Ruby said.

"Thank the gods. Ever since Vale fell, work has been rather scarce." The woman said.

"Are you the mayor of this town?" Blake asked.

"What? Oh, no I'm not the mayor. Though I do work under him." She said.

"Great! So what's the problem?" Ruby asked.

"Hah, it's a good thing you came when you did. Follow me, I'll take you to him." The woman said as she started to walk towards the town hall.

The three looked at one another before they started to follow the woman.

"So, how have you been fairing ever since the fall?" Yang asked.

"Hah, we could be better. No Beacon means that Huntsmen activity isn't very common these days." She said.

"Yeah, well they're not all gone." She said.

"I know, though without the tower there's no way to communicate with the outside world, meaning we can't call for help." She said.

"We're sorry to hear." Blake said.

"Yeah, though now that you're here things might start looking up for us." She said.

After a few more moments, the group eventually arrived at the town hall.

"Right this way." The woman said as she walked up the stone steps.

The three girls nodded and walked up the stairs where the two wooden doors were.

"Mr. Mayor?" The woman asked as she opened the door to the office.

"Hmm? Ah, yes come in. Come in." He said.

"I have some people that you might want to meet." The woman said.

"Huh? Well, bring them in." The mayor said.

The woman nodded and let the three remaining members of team RWBY into the hall.

"Ah, hello there. Who might you three be?" He asked.

"Hello! My name is Ruby Rose." The red hooded girl greeted.

"Blake Belladonna." The Faunus greeted with a bow.

"Yang." The blonde brawler said, raising two of her fingers as a form of greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you three. I'm the mayor of this town. Though what brings you three here?" The man asked.

"Well, we heard that you guys were having some problems with Grimm problem." Ruby said.

"Yes, recently it's been getting a bit out of hand. It certainly doesn't help that the C.C.T is down, we can't even send a request for help." The mayor said.

"We might be able to...convince these Grimm to stop giving you trouble." Yang said as she cocked her arm.

"...That would be wonderful!" The man said as he walked over to the girls.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" Blake asked.

"It's these pair of Brutes that have been plaguing our village for quite some time." The mayor said.

"Brutes, huh?" Yang asked.

"It's not gonna be easy." Blake said.

"Come on, we've got this in the bag. Just watch, we'll take these things down by sundown." She said.

"Do you know where their territory is?" Ruby asked.

"It's just in the forest right outside of town." The woman said. "Just look for a cave in the deepest part of the forest, you should find them there." She said.

"Hmm, alright. We'll take care of the Grimm for you." She said as she started to walk towards the doors of the hall.

"Good luck, ladies. Please be careful out there." The mayor said.

"We'll be fine. Like I said, by sundown." Yang said as she and Blake walked out of the door.

"Are you sure that sending those girls to take down those beasts was the right thing to do?" The woman asked.

"I'm not sure. Though right now they're the best chance we have." The mayor said to his successor.

Once the three had taken it upon themselves to rid the town of the Grimm, they made their way towards the cave where the two Brutes resided.

However, as the trio progressed deeper and deeper into the forest, the light from the sun above started to fade away slowly.

"We must be getting close." Ruby said as she activated Crescent Rose and switched it into its scythe form.

Yang and Blake nodded, getting their respective weapons ready.

"Blake." Ruby said in a serious tone.

"Got it." Blake said, her eyes starting to glow a bit.

The trio started to slowly walk through the forest, each one prepared to engage in combat with whatever the world may throw at them.

"Anything yet?" Yang asked, the metal of her hand starting to move up against itself.

"No." Blake said.

However, after a few seconds, Yang could feel something bump into her.

She slowly looked backward's to see a massive beast towering over her, it's blood red eye's drilling into her soul.

"Found it!" She yelled as the Grimm attempted to swing its massive fist at the blonde Brawler.

However, Yang was easily able to propel herself away from the Grimm and towards her teammates.

The Brute growled, causing red sparks to emanate from the spikes it had on it's back. The beast roared and charged towards the trio with its fist completely consumed with red sparks.

The group scattered in attempts to dodge the attack from the Brute.

Ruby pointed her rifle at the Grimm and started to send a volley of bullets at the Brute. However, the Brute was able to block the bullets with it's two massive arms. Ruby narrowed her eyes and fired one last bullet into the Grimm, this one having significantly more force behind it.

The Grimm was knocked back a few feet, giving Yang the opening she needed.

Her arm started to glow with a red aura, and all of a sudden, the tube in the elbow of her arm started to shoot fire from it, causing her fist to dig into the back of the Brute with tons of force.

The Brute was sent flying through the forest and eventually off of the cliff leading to the other side of the forest.

"I doubt that was all it took. Come on, let's go and-." Yang began, only for the sound of a snarl to cut the group off once again.

They turned around to see the second Grimm towering above them with it's blood red eyes.

The beast screeched into the sky and swung it's massive arm at the trio, causing the shock wave from the attack to temporarily stun them. The beast took this opportunity to run up to Yang and punch her across the forest and towards the area where she had punched its companion.

"Yang!" Ruby and Blake yelled as they started to run towards the cliff that Yang was just punched off of.

As the two jumped off of the cliff, the beast was on there tail with it's massive arm that surged with red aura of some sort.

The beast just barely missed them as the two fell towards the ground.

"Wah! Gah! Landing! Strategy!" She said as she landed on the branch of a tree, Blake landing on another branch of a separate tree.

The beast started to swing it's arm at the various tree's in the forest, causing them to fall to the ground and forcing the duo to make a move.

"Where's Yang?!" Blake asked.

"Rah!" Ruby heard her sister roar.

"Found her." Ruby said as she and Blake started to move towards the Blonde Brawler.

Yang was currently engaging in an all-out fist fight with the giant Brute, the large Grimm being surprisingly fast for its size.

The blonde brawler landed another punch on the Grimm's abdomen before uppercutting it in the jaw.

However, the Grimm was able to quickly recover and slammed both of its arms onto Yang, causing a large crater to be created in the ground.

It picked up Yang and threw her towards a tree, causing her to fly through various tree's from the forest and eventually making contact with a large boulder.

The larger of the two Grimm were starting to slowly make their way towards Yang with its massive arm glowing with a blood red aura.

"Blake!" Ruby said, pulling out her rifle.

"On it!" Blake said as she made her way over to her partner.

"Ugh, okay. That hurt." Yang said as she slowly got up from off of the ground.

"So what was that about having this in the bag?" She asked.

"Oh haha. Just help me." She said.

"Alright, alright." Blake said as she pulled out her weapon.

The beast slowly started to make it's way over towards the duo, its arm starting to glow brighter.

Yang growled and started to shoot various bullets at the giant Grimm, causing it to lift up its massive arm as a shield.

Blake quickly jumped from tree to tree before taking off into the air.

She held out her blade, the metal starting to glow the same color as her aura. Blake quickly shot herself towards the Grimm and swung her blade at the Grimm, causing a visible cut to appear on its arm.

Yang reeled her fist backward's and punched the massive Grimm away, causing it to slide through the ground.

The beast growled and slammed it's fist into the ground, causing a shockwave that sent both Yang and Blake flying backward's.

Ruby sped around the Brute as it attempted to swing its fist at the red hooded girl. Though Ruby was easily able to maneuver herself around the attack, slicing its body each time she passed it.

The beast growled and slammed both of its fist into the ground, causing the shock wave from the attack to knock Ruby off balance. The Brute grabbed her and threw her over in the direction where her friends were.

Yang growled and charged towards the other Brute and swung her metal fist at the giant beast, causing the Grimm to swing its massive fist at Yang as a counter attack. Though while the attack did slightly shake the Grimm, it wasn't enough to take it down.

The other brute came in and swung it's two fists at Yang, causing her to fly down to the ground.

Before Yang could react, the massive Brute attempted to stomp on Yang with its foot, though the blonde brawler was quickly able to dodge the attack.

"Jeez, these things aren't letting up." Yang said, steam coming off from the barrel in her elbow.

"Then let's give them something to think about." Blake said, her aura starting to flare to life.

"Heh, you got it." She said with a smirk.

"Alright. I'll distract them so you two can have a clear shot at them." Ruby said, pulling her hood over her head and moving towards treesee's.

The two Brutes growled and started to follow the girl in the red hood, attempting to strike her down.

As the larger of the two started to swing it's arm at the girl, Ruby quickly moved onto it's arm and started to rapidly shoot it with her rifle.

The other brute attempted to strike her down, though Ruby was able to counter with a slash attack of her own.

She jumped up into the air started to slash at the giant beast, using her weapon to propel herself out of the reaches of the Grimm.

"Ready!" Yang and Blake commented, there aura's flaring wildly.

Ruby smirked and charged towards the massive Grimm, slashing it across the chest, causing black smoke to come out of the wound in it's chest.

Due to immense training and a new resolve pushing her forward, Blake was able to push beyond the normal limitations of her semblance and evolved it into something greater.

Two shadows appeared right beside Blake, each one with a weapon of their own.

Blake's eyes shot open as she and the clones dashed towards the two Grimm. The three started to rapidly slash at the two Grimm before Blake quickly cut off the arm of the massive Brute with the help of her two shadows.

"Yang! Go!" Blake shouted.

The blonde brawler roared as she dashed towards the giant Grimm, her body flaring with a red aura instead of a yellow one.

One the beast was within her range, she rammed her fist into the gut of the Grimm, causing a massive explosion to echo throughout the forest, silencing the beasts forever.

Once the smoke cleared, Yang could be seen standing in a field of burnt up grass, though the fire wouldn't spread to the other tree's of the forest.

"Well, that takes care of that." Yang said, steam coming off of her arm. "See? What'd I tell ya? In the bag." She said, causing her two companions to chuckle as they made there way back towards the town.

"We truly cannot thank you enough for all that you've done for us." The mayor said as he shook hands with each of the girls.

"It was nothing." Yang said with a confident grin on her face.

"We're just doing our job sir." Ruby said.

"It was fortunate that you came along when you did. We were beginning to wonder if we would have to relocate." The man said.

"Well, we're glad that you didn't have to abandon your home." Blake said.

"You are free to stay for as long as you may like." The mayor said.

The trio looked at one another for a few moments before turning back towards the mayor.

"Thanks for the offer, though we have other plans." Yang said.

"Yeah, we're heading over to Mistral." Ruby said.

"Mistral? That's quite the walk you've got there." The mayor's successor said.

"Well, let's just say we have some unfinished business there." Yang said with a smirk.

"Hmm, I suppose the least we can do is give you some things for the trip ahead. For all you've done for us that is." The mayor said.

"Oh you don't have to...though we wouldn't object." Ruby said.

"That would be nice, thank you." Blake said.

Once the trio had gotten everything they needed for the road, they gave their final goodbyes to the town and continued on their journey.

"Food?" Ruby asked.

"Check." Yang said.

"Water?" She asked.

"Check." Blake said.

"Ammo?" Ruby asked.

"Armed and Ready, thanks to the Schnee Dust Company." Yang said.

"R-right." She said, a saddened expression appearing on her face.

"...Hey. Don't worry sis, she'll be back." She said.

"Yeah, I know. It just...doesn't feel right without her." Ruby said as the group continued to walk down the path.

"No kidding." Yang said.

* * *

It was a rather cold day in the kingdom of Atlas, more so than usual. The remaining people of Vale had to refuge in the kingdom of Atlas with nowhere left to go to.

While the fragments of the old word were scattered across Remnant, that doesn't mean that they have flickered out and died.

One of the fragments that were scattered around the world was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee, member of team RWBY.

Unlike her friends who were out in the world looking to find the people responsible for the Fall of Vale, she was trapped in the prison that her father had created for her. All she could do at the moment was wait.

Waiting for the opportunity to rejoin with her friends once again and aid them in this war that has sparked in the world or Remnant.

Though now was not that time.

The Heiress was staring out of the window from her quarters, looking down upon the Atlas Military fleet.

Her new attire includes a short, glittering dress with a color gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat.

A white ribbon is wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit is worn a slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three pendants dangling from it. Printed on the back of the shrug is the Schnee Crest. Completing her attire are dark blue wedge heels and sapphire drop earrings.

Suddenly, the Heiress could hear the sound of someone knocking at her door, causing her to turn her head towards the door.

"Yes?" She asked.

The door opened, causing Weiss's butler, Klein to walk into the room.

"Pardon the interruption, Ms. Schnee. But your father wishes to speak to you." He said.

 _'Joy.'_ She thought dryly.

"Thank you, Klein." She said as she got up from off of the chair she was sitting on.

"Do you wish for me to keep you company?" He asked.

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you though." Weiss said as she walked out of the room.

She started to traverse the massive structure of the Schnee manor, various statues, and monuments scattered throughout the manor.

Though just as she was about to arrive at her father's office, the sound of a familiar voice cut her off.

Weiss looked up to see a boy with white hair and light blue eyes with a fair complexion. His hair is mostly pushed to left, although he does have a cowlick.

His attire consists of a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt, he wears a light blue vest, with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He also wears a black necktie, navy blue trousers, and black dress shoes.

"Good afternoon, sister. Pleasure to see you out of your room for a change." The boy said.

"Hello, Whitley." She said as she greeted her brother. "You're...in a cheery mood today." Weiss said.

"Klein made crepes for breakfast." Whitley said.

"...What do you want?" She asked.

"Can't a brother just say hi to his older sister?" He asked.

"..." Weiss just stared at her brother with a deadpanned stare on her face.

"I guess I can't fool you, sister. So perceptive." Whitley said. "Anyways, I heard father shouting with someone in his study earlier." He said.

 _'What else is new?'_ She thought. "Mother?" Weiss asked.

"No, she's already drinking in the garden. I think it was a man." Whitley said. "I just wanted to warn you. I heard he had to speak with you." He said.

"I'll be fine." She said.

"I know you will. You're strong, like Winter!" Whitley said.

"You...never liked Winter." Weiss said, her eyes starting to narrow.

"True. But you can't deny her resolve." He said.

"You...seem different." She said.

"And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon." Whitley said.

"Anyways, good luck with father." He said as he walked away from Weiss.

"...Thank you." Weiss thanked, still not convinced with her brothers sudden change in attitude.

She shook her head and walked towards the door to her fathers office.

"I'm not talking about the good of my company, I'm talking about the good of Atlas! Our entire kingdom!" She heard her a voice yell.

"That is a load of garbage and you know it." Ironwood said as Weiss slowly opened the door.

Two men were standing in the room, one being the general and headmaster of the Atlas academy, James Ironwood.

However, he seemed rather different from the last time she saw him.

He has grown stubble and his hair is slightly more messy. He wire a white, double-breasted tailcoat with dark blue and black accents, most notable at the cuffs and shoulder pieces. The coat is belted at the waist.

Underneath Ironwood has a black collared shirt and a red tie. Ironwood also now wears two white gloves, in contrast to wearing only one on his right hand. His formal pants are no longer tucked inside military boots but instead hang over black boots.

The other man had gray-white hair and a pale complexion. He had a large gray mustache, and his eyes are a cold blue color.

He is seen wearing a pure white double-breasted jacket with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket, underneath which he wears a blue shirt and vest and a gray-white tie, printed with the same emblem on his shoes and above his study. He has a silver-colored ring on his right hand.

This man was none other than Weiss's father, Jacques Schnee.

"I beg your pardon?!" Her father asked.

"Jacques, will you please just hear me out?" Ironwood asked, causing the man to slam his glass on the table.

"You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James. But what you're suggesting is absurd!" Jacques said.

"You are blowing it out of proportion." He said. "These are people, good, innocent people from the kingdom of Vale. They need us now more than ever. They don't have anywhere else to go and we can't just send them off into the wild. We might as well be killing them." Ironwood said.

"And how do you suppose we get the resources to house all of these people, hmm?! We're not talking about a dozen or even a few dozen! We're talking about thousands upon thousands of people! And don't even get me started on all those...filthy maggots you brought into our great kingdom!" He yelled, causing Weiss to scowl at her father.

"Why do you think I have come to you? You know that you of all people have the lien, the resources to house these people." Ironwood said.

"The council will never agree to it!" Jacques yelled.

"You forget. I hold two seats on the council." Ironwood said.

"Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions. I can promise you, I have not forgotten!" He said.

"So this is about you." He said, causing the door to close behind Weiss with an audible click.

 _'Drat.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

"Miss Schnee. My apologies, I should have been gone by now." Ironwood said as he bowed.

"Huh? Oh, no it's okay." She said.

"We'll continue this at another time." He said.

"Indeed. Klein can show you out." Jacques said.

"Hmph, don't worry. I know the way." Ironwood said as he walked towards the door.

"Until next time, Jacques." He said.

"Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee." He said. "We'll be back in session before you know it." He said as he walked out of the office, leaving Weiss alone with her father.

"Did you forget your manners while you were away?" Jacques asked.

"...No, Father. I'm sorry." She said.

"After everything we've done for Vale, after everything we've done for its citizens, can you still believe that there are still people who blame Atlas for what happened to Beacon? To Vale?" He asked.

"They...they weren't there." Weiss said.

"It's a wonder Ironwood wasn't stripped of his rank!" Jacques said as he sat in his chair.

"I suppose the council trusts him. For better or worse." He said.

"I trust him." Weiss said.

Her father sighed and turned to face his daughter directly.

"Thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other kingdoms! _A precautionary measure_ as he puts it, until we're certain no one is going to declare war. How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me." He said as he took one of his bottle of scotch from his desk.

"Honestly, it baffles me as to why anyone would start a war over a kingdom that no longer exists." Jacques said.

"Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks." He said. "We need to show the people of Remnant that we are on their side. That we are all victims of the Fall of the great kingdom of Vale." He said.

"That's...wonderful news!" Weiss said.

"I know. And I think it would make a lot of people happy if you performed at the event." Jacques said.

"...Excuse me?" She asked.

"Many forget that you and your sister were there. My own two daughters-a Schnee-on the grounds defending another kingdom. We need to remind them. And we need to show them that the Schnee family name is as strong as ever." He said.

"Are you asking me if I'd like to sing, or telling me?" Weiss asked.

"I think it would make a lot of people happy." Jacques said.

"...Will Winter be there?" She asked.

"Of course. She was there after all." He said.

"...I'll start practicing." Weiss said.

"That's my girl." Jacques said as Weiss started to walk out of the room.

"Hah." She sighed.

"Hot coffee, Miss Schnee?" Klein asked as he held a tray of hot coffee in his hands.

"I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold." He said.

"Thank you, Klein." Weiss said as she took the cup off of the tray.

"You know what I think?" He asked as he held the tray up to his face.

"I think it's to balance out all of his hot air!" Klein said in a different tone of voice, his eyes turning red.

"Klein!" Weiss said, trying to suppress her laughs.

"ACHOO! Hah...heh, apologies madame. Ah-Ah-AH-ACHOO!" He sneezed, causing Weiss to burst into a laughing fit.

"Ah, there's my happy little snowflake." Klein said.

"Thank you, Klein." Weiss said.

"Anytime, Miss Schnee." He said.

"...Klein. Would you mind doing me a favor?" She asked.

"Yes? What seems to be on your mind?" Klein asked.

"Can...can you take me to mother?" Weiss asked.

"...P-pardon?" He asked.

"I want to go and see mother." She said. "It's...been awhile since we talked." Weiss said.

"Are you certain? You are aware that Madam Willow is having another one of her...moments in the garden." Klein said.

"I know." She said.

"...Very well. If you so wish, then let us go." He said as he started to walk towards the garden area.

Weiss nodded and followed her butler with her cup of coffee in her hands.

After a few moments, the Heiress and the Butler managed to arrive at the garden where her mother was.

"Right this way." He said as he walked out into the garden.

Weiss took a deep breath before following Klein into the garden.

Once they walked towards the center of the massive field of flowers, they could see the behind of Weiss's mother, Willow Schnee, the daughter of Nicolas Schnee.

"Madam Schnee?" Klein called out.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I have someone that would like to speak with you." He said as Weiss walked in front of Klein.

"Hello, Mother." She said.

"...Klein. You are dismissed." Willow said, causing Klein to nod his head.

"I'll wait at the gates." He whispered before walking away.

Weiss took a deep breath before exhaling.

"Come, sit." Willow said, pointing to a chair that was directly across from her.

The heiress started to walk over to the chair and sat down in it.

"Hello, Mother." Weiss said.

"Weiss." Willow said, placing the glass of wine down.

"So, it's been quite some time since we've had one of our chats." She said.

"I was hoping it would be a tad bit longer. Though it seems Jacques had other plans." She said.

"It seems so." Weiss said.

The two sat there in silence for a few moments before Weiss eventually broke the ice.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Hmm, tell me about your time in Beacon." Willow said.

"Oh, it was nice." Weiss said.

"...Go on." Willow said.

"Well, I met some wonderful people during my time in Beacon. People I never would have met if I stayed here." She said.

"..." Her mother remained silent, though she could catch the glimpse of a smile on her mother.

"My partner was Ruby Rose. I'll admit that at first things were rather...rough." Weiss said. "Though we quickly grew to be rather close friends in the end. I really did appreciate our time together and the memories we made." She said.

"I just...I wish I could have treated her better." Weiss said.

"..."

"Anyways, then there was her sister, Yang Xiao Long. She was a rather hot headed girl, and it would often lead her into putting herself into situations she may not be ready for." Weiss said.

"Though she always did try to do what was right. Even if it meant putting herself in danger." She said.

"..."

"Then there was Blake. I'll admit that things between us could have been a lot better. Though it was only natural for her to resent me for awhile, she was a Faunus after all." Weiss said, causing Willow to raise one her eye brows.

"Don't tell father." Weiss said.

"I don't talk to your father." Willow said.

"Right. Though even despite my family's history with the Faunus, she still always treated me as an equal. I'm truly glad that she gave me a chance, even if she had every right not to." She said.

"It sounds like sending you to Beacon was the right call after all." She said.

"Indeed it was..." Weiss said before her expression saddened.

"You miss them, correct?" Willow asked.

"I do. They were my friends." She said.

"...Tell me about the Fall of Beacon." She said.

"What?!" Weiss asked.

"I want to know what happened." Willow said as she placed her hand on Weiss's. "Though if it is to painful for you, then I understand." She said.

"...It was horrible. So many people got hurt and...killed." Weiss said. "Yang got her arm cut off by Adam Taurus, Ruby had to watch one of her friends die right in front of her own eyes, and...and my friends life was taken during the fall." She said, clenching her mothers hands tightly.

"..." Willow just sat there in silence.

"I just...I just wish I could have...have-." Weiss said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Though what Weiss wasn't expecting was for Willow to come up to her and bring her into an embrace.

"..." Her mother remained silent. She only continued to hold her daughter close to her.

After a few seconds, Weiss embraced her mother with a slight smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Klein was watching from the distance of the garden, a proud smile plastered onto his face.

* * *

 _ **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode twelve of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the twelfth episode I recommend skipping to the reviews.**_

 _ **Volume 5, Episode 12 thoughts**_

 _ **Now before you guys go typing it into the reviews I'm just gonna get this out of the way. In this story, Raven will not be the Spring Maiden.**_

 _ **I have other plans for the Spring Maiden.**_

 _ **Anyways, on to the other stuff.**_

 _ **So Jaune's Semblance is finally revealed to be something that literally no one expected ever...healing.**_

 _ **I mean I don't know if that's what it is exactly, but from the looks of it it's just healing at the moment.**_

 _ **Now you may be wondering how I'm gonna have Jaune use this power in this story when he already has a semblance here.**_

 _ **Well, in a way his semblance is a form of healing. Remember, Jaune is able to project his Aura out of his body, meaning he can basically do the same thing he does in the show but more.**_

 _ **Not only that but we get the backstory of Hazel. He hates Ozpin because his sister died during the initiation, and he blames Ozpin for her death.**_

 _ **Anyways, that's all I have to say for this episode.**_

 _ **Review Response **_

_**Fiction Fan 369: I mean, some of the major plot points will still happen, it's just how they'll happen will be different.**_

 _ **Gh0st495: Well I can't just go and kill someone who has a major influence on the plot later down the line.**_

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: Get the spirit holders together and unite them under a single cause. It will have more added in time, though the general idea is still the same.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Yep, this is where things really start to pick up.**_

 _ **A fan: I don't get it.**_

 _ **Aragon365: I don't mind.**_

 _ **Donovan: Your prayers have been answered.**_

 _ **Dinosaurchicken: Nice save.**_

 _ **Nightwatching: Well she is a villain. Though I do know what you mean.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE: Did Yang put you up to this?**_

 _ **flameclawsxx: Well the spirits power is all about power for control.**_

 _ **Donovan: Can you please refrain from putting spoilers in the review section?**_

 _ **dragonborn795: No there isn't.**_

* * *

 **Cupboards**

"Hey, dad." Yang called over to Tai from within the kitchen.

"Hmm? What's up, Yang?" Tai asked as he walked into the dining area.

"You know, I never really noticed this but..." She began as she stared up at the cupboards in the kitchen they had.

"Why are the cupboards so high? I mean seriously, I can't even reach them without climbing onto the counter." Yang said as she attempted to reach for the cupboards.

"..." The blonde huntsmen remained silent as he recalled the story behind the cupboards.

 _"Um, Rae?" A younger Tai Yang asked Raven as she came into the house with various tools and wood._

 _"Yeah?" She asked._

 _"What are you doing?" He asked._

 _"Well, you were always busy working on the house that I'd thought I could give you a hand." Raven said._

 _"Oh, you know you don't have to, right?" Tai asked._

 _"Tai." She said._

 _"Yeah?" He asked._

 _"I already got the stuff I need." Raven said._

 _"Alright, alright. Have fun." Tai said to his wife._

 _Raven nodded, picked up her tools and walked over to the kitchen while whistling some sort of tune._

 _Hours had passed since Raven had come out of the kitchen, though Tai didn't want to bother her from her work so he let her be._

 _So to pass the time, he decided to invite Qrow and Summer over to his new house._

 _As he was sitting on his couch, he could hear the sound of someone knocking on his door._

 _"I got it!" Tai yelled, getting up from the couch and walking towards the door._

 _Once he opened the door to greet both Qrow and Summer into his house._

 _"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!" Tai said._

 _"Well, it has been awhile since the team got together. So I thought it'd be nice change of pace, you know?" Summer asked._

 _"Nice place. Where's sis?" Qrow asked._

 _"Finally! Done!" They heard Raven yell from within the kitchen._

 _"Oh, she's just helping me with the house is all." Tai said._

 _"...Oh this I gotta see." Qrow said as he rushed into the kitchen._

 _Summer and Tai looked at one another before following Qrow into the kitchen._

 _Though once Qrow and Summer saw what Raven had made, they had to do there best not to suppress there laughter._

 _"See! I did it! I made the cupboards all by myself!" She said, pride evident in her voice._

 _However, there was one major flaw that Tai could already see in the placement._

 _It was way too high for anyone to reach._

 _"Y-yeah. Y-you sure did well sis." Qrow said through his chuckles._

 _"T-totally." Summer said._

 _Raven looked at Tai with a look of pride, awaiting for her husband to respond to her hard work and effort._

 _"Well, what do you think, Tai?" She asked._

 _"Y-yeah. Tell her what you think." Qrow said._

 _"W-we're dying to hear." Summer said._

 _"...It's...amazing!" He said as he ran up to his wife._

 _"That's right. Of course they are!" Raven said._

.

.

"I don't want to talk about it." Tai said to Yang.

* * *

 _ **Ruby's Guide to the World of Remnant.**_

 _ **Emity**_

 _ **The Eminy is a bulky, muscular type Grimm with spikes on its back that it can use to conduct lighting. It also has very rough skin.**_ ** _Despite it's bulky frame, this creature has immense agility, able to cut distances within moment._**

 _ **Facing this beast in a group is highly advised.**_

 ** _Destructive Power: A_**

 ** _Speed: B_**

 ** _Endurance: B_**

 ** _Precision: D_**

 ** _Potential Growth: D_**

 ** _Range: D_**

 _ **Demon**_

 _ **The Demon is a very large Grimm, similar to the size of a tree you would see in the forests of Remnant.**_

 _ **It has a goat like head with a fairly thin body. Though it makes up for this with it's large right arm it has, which can be used for devastating attacks.**_ _ **Due to it's massive size, the beast is very durable when compared to most Grimm.**_

 _ **Facing this beast in a group is highly advised**_

 ** _Destructive Power: A_**

 ** _Speed: D_**

 ** _Endurance: A_**

 ** _Precision: D_**

 ** _Potential Growth: D_**

 ** _Range: B_**

 _ **Also you guys won't be seeing the poll results until they are final.**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	67. Remembrance

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Remembrance"

Thought: _'Remembrance'_

Flashback: _"Remembrance"_

"Hmm, wonder what's taking them." Nora asked as she stood in front of a blacksmith shop within a nearby town in the continent of Anima.

The Valkyrie in question had undergone some changes of her own since the fall of Beacon.

She retained her gloves and wore a white top that is similar to her old one, though the heart cut-out on the top has a diagonal cut through it.

She also wore a shorter, detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over the shirt, she wears a zippered navy blue bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem visible on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves.

The pink bands of the jacket tighten on her upper arms.

Her skirt is slightly longer with pleats that create some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist for her matching belt. She wore knee-high pink socks just visible above her calf-length boots, which are white with pink laces.

Noticeably, her hair is now shoulder-length.

"Well, this town is rather vast compared to the others we have encountered. I wouldn't be surprised if they had gotten lost." Ren said.

The monk had also undergone a change of his own, like his partner.

Ren wears his hair down, and it has grown to, as his concept art notes, "almost butt-length". His attire is similar to before in color. He had a longer, sleeveless tailcoat.

Under it, he wore a black, sleeveless turtleneck with red, tasseled ropes over the hips, pants that get tighter below the knees, and calf-high open-toed sandals.

From his middle finger to his biceps run gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves ending in metal armbands.

"I guess so. Though it's not like it was really hard to find this place." Nora said.

"Hey, guys!" They could hear Jaune yell, causing the two to turn there heads towards the source of their friend's voice.

While Jaune's outfit was still the same as before the Fall of Vale, Pyrrha had undergone an outfit change of her own.

She had more golden armor on her chest area, after the fall she felt as if she could use some more armor for the enemy they were going to face in the near future. Her belt had various bronze talismans on the front of it and golden marks on the belt itself.

Pyrrha had gotten rid of her waistband she had and instead dawned herself with a small red cape of some sort that wrapped around her two crests she had on her shoulder blades, her emblem engraved on the two crests in question.

She had also taken notes from her friends Ruby, Weiss, and Nora and dawned herself with a small black combat skirt with bronze lines at the end of the said skirt.

"Bout time you two got here! We were starting to think you two got lost." Nora said.

"Hello again." Pyrrha said with a wave.

"Sorry about that." He said. "So, is it ready?" Jaune asked, causing the duo to nod their heads to their leader.

"Great! Let's head on in then!" He said as he walked into the blacksmith shop, his team following him inside.

Once they entered the shop, some sort of horned Faunus walked out from behind the counter.

"Ah, well look who it is. Was wondering when you four would show." He said.

"Well, we kinda got lost." Jaune said sheepishly.

"Yeah, well this town tends to be bigger than most of the towns you'll see here in Anima." The blacksmith said. "Right, I'll go and get your new armor kid." The man said as he walked back behind the counter.

After a few moments, the blacksmith walked out and placed Jaune's new armor onto the counter, an audible thud echoing throughout the room.

"There ya go son. It's gonna be heavier than your used to. But you'll thank me for the next time you go up against a set of claws." The man said.

"...Wow. I don't know what to say." Jaune said.

"Don't gotta say anything. Just put it on! I'll go get the rest." He said as he walked back behind the counter.

"So? What are you waiting for?" Nora asked.

"O-Oh! Right!" Jaune said as he walked towards his new armor.

Once he had taken his new armor piece onto the counter, he grasped the new one in his hands.

"Guess I was gonna grow out of it eventually."He said.

"A sign of progress." Ren said.

"Right. Progress." He said as he turned around to face his teammates.

"...Um." Nora began, giggles starting to form in her voice.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Jaune asked.

"What is that?!" She asked as she pointed at the blonde's chest.

Sure enough, there was a bunny in the center of the hoodie he had worn since the first day they met him.

"My hoodie? I've always had this." Jaune said.

"Aw, it's got a cute little bunny wonny on it." Nora said, causing the Valkyrie to burst into a laughing fit.

"It's Pumpkin Pete!" He said, causing Nora to laugh even harder.

"You know! From the cereal!" Jaune said.

"What did you do? Send in a box top for a prize?!" She asked.

"Yeah! Fifty!" He said.

After a few seconds of silence, Nora eventually fell to the floor, pounding the ground with her fist as she laughed her cares away.

"Well, I suppose we don't have to grow out of everything." Ren said.

"Indeed." Pyrrha said with a chuckle in her voice.

Though before they could continue there conversation, the door leading to the back of the shop opened.

"Can't have a huntsman without his weapon!" He said, placing Jaune's weapon onto the counter of the shop.

"Made all the modifications you asked for." The blacksmith said as he activated Jaune's shield.

"That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely." He said as he turned his head towards Pyrrha.

"Hmm, now that I look at ya, you have the same metal on ya." The man said.

"Well, she was the one who gave me the metal for you to use." Jaune said.

"Oh, I see. You two have a little thing going on, wanna match while you two slay monsters, that it?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

"W-what?! I-I-I-." Pyrrha attempted to say through her embarrassed state.

"What? No, of course not. Pyrrha's just a good friend." Jaune said, causing Pyrrha to get a deadpanned expression on her face.

"If you say so, son." The man said.

"Can you guys wait for me outside?" He asked, causing his teammates to nod and walk out of the shop.

"One day." Nora said to Pyrrha.

After a few moments of waiting, their leader eventually came out of the shop with his brand new attire.

He retained his black hoodie, but he now wore a modified pure white chest plate covering a bit more of his upper abdomen trimmed with gold lining and similarly-colored bracers.

Additionally, he wore black gloves with gold-colored metal armor plates over his fingers, and he appears to wear a red sash around his waist, similar in design to the design of his partner.

He also now wears dark brown laced boots and a new brown belt with a pouch included worn around his waist.

Once he walked out, he unsheathed his sword and activated his shield.

"It cleans up alright, don't ya think?" The blacksmith asked.

"He certainly does." Ren said.

"I still think a grenade launcher would've _really_ brought the look together." Nora said.

"Well, I think it looks lovely." Pyrrha said with a warm smile.

"Aw, thanks guys." Jaune said as he put his sword back into his sheath.

"You kids sure you don't wanna stick around for? It's a dangerous world out there." He said.

"Sorry, but we've got another mission to accomplish." He said.

"Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!" Nora said.

"We've heard the next village over has a working airship." Ren said.

"Mmm... No way to know for sure. Scroll signals were bad enough out here when Beacon Tower was still up." The blacksmith said. "Haven't heard from Shion village in a while." He said.

"I think we'll take our chances." Pyrrha said.

"Mind if I ask you kids something?" The blacksmith asked.

"Sure. What is it?" Jaune asked.

"Why are you kids out here?" He asked.

"..."

"It's a dangerous world out here. More so than usual." The blacksmith said.

"...We're...finishing what a friend started." Jaune said.

"Oh...I'm sorry." He said.

"It's...it's fine." The blonde swordsman said.

"Though we're determined to make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain." Ren said.

"Heh, I like your spirit. Well, I won't keep you. Good luck out there." He said.

"Thanks. Be safe!" Jaune said as he and his team started to walk away from the village.

"Heh, good kids." He said.

"So, everyone ready for Shion?" He asked.

"Yep! Lock and loaded!" Nora said.

"Great. I just hope that it's okay." Jaune said.

"Do you know some people there, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"A few. My family used to visit it back when I was younger." He said.

"Wait, your family lives in Mistral?" Nora asked.

"That's right." Jaune said.

As the group continued to walk down the path, Ren looked up to see that the sun was starting to come to a set.

"It seems that the day is coming to an end." The monk said.

"Alright, I guess that's our cue to set up camp." Jaune said as he stared at his group.

"I'll go get the campfire wood!" Nora said, rushing into the forest of Anima.

"Got it. Ren, you go with her, see if you can't find any food." Jaune said.

"Right." The monk said as he took to the trees.

"Pyrrha, wanna help me set up camp?" He asked.

"I would love to, Jaune." Pyrrha said as she followed her leader.

The night eventually came for the four, the day coming to a close so that the Grimm may roam the night.

However, it appears that the group was able to evade the Grimm, at least for now.

"Whew! I said it once already, but there sure are a whole lot of perks of having a cook on your team!" Nora said as she bit into the meat Ren had prepared.

"I'll say. I don't know what we'd do without you." Jaune said.

"Oh, it's nothing." Ren said.

The four sat in silence before Nore eventually broke the silence of the group.

"So, does anyone know what we're gonna do once we make it to Mistral?" Nora asked.

"...We find the spirit users." He said.

"I know that, but how exactly are we going to find them?" She asked.

"She's right. Our task is to find eleven people that are scattered all across the world of Remnant. There's no telling where they could be." Ren said.

"..." Jaune just sat there in silence.

"Well, then we'll just have to carry on without the aid of these spirit users." Pyrrha said.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Sure, gathering the spirit users is one of our goals, but it is one of many." She said.

"...She's right. Brandon's goal was to stop the people that destroyed Vale. That's what we're going to do. With or without them." Jaune said.

"Right." Nora and Ren said as they nodded their heads.

"So, let's take a good look at the map again." Jaune said as he pulled out the map.

"Hmm, so we'll be passing by Shion once we head out in the morning. With any luck, it'll still be standing and we can rest there for the night." He said.

"Finally! A warm bed to sleep on! Man, it feels like it's been ages." Nora said.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. After wards we need to pass by this village right here." Jaune said as he pointed at the map.

"What's next?" Pyrrha said.

"That's the thing. Once we get to this cross road, there will be two separate paths we could cross." He said.

"Really? So will we be close to Haven then?" Pyrrha asked.

"From the looks of it, it's just over the mountains." Jaune said.

"Excellent. So what are our options?" She asked.

"Well, the first option is to go through this mountain here." He said as he pointed to the mountain on the map.

"Interesting. The Grimm will be less active there." Pyrrha said.

"Though it will take longer." Jaune said.

"What of the next path?" Ren asked.

"The next one is a town called Kuroyuri." The blonde knight said, causing the Valkyrie and the Monk to freeze in place.

"...D-did you just say Kuroyuri?" Nora asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why? Do you two know that town?" Jaune asked.

"...Something like that." She said, her eyes not leaving Ren's distant gaze.

"...I guess we can discuss it in the morning. It's been a long day." He said.

"Hah. Well, I guess it's time to rest up for the night." Jaune said with a yawn.

"I'll take the first watch." Pyrrha said as she headed over to a tree.

The group nodded and headed towards there respective beds, preparing for the long road ahead.

* * *

The General of the Atlesian arm was rather tense ever since the fall of the kingdom of Vale.

The general was desperately attempting to calm the tensions between all of the kingdoms. They had blamed Atlas for failing to protect the kingdom despite all of its promises to the world to keep it in its once long state of peace.

To make matters worse, due to the False Maiden stealing the other half of the powers Amber once wielded, they had completely lost access to the Relic of Choice. He desired to send out a fleet to attempt to reclaim the kingdom, though he had other responsibilities to attend to.

He had to guard and protect the people of Atlas, and the Relic of Creation.

Besides, with the C.C.T tower laying in the ruins of the once great Kingdom of Vale, his options for attack were limited.

He was doing the best to pick up where Ozpin had left off, though with no way to contact either Qrow or Tai. Though he was certain that the drunken huntsmen would have no objections to that.

Not only that but he has yet to locate the next incarnation of Ozpin.

So as of now, he was doing his best to follow what the headmaster had planned for him. Protect the Relic from the hands of the threat of all humanity, no matter what the cost.

"Hah, where are you Oz?" Ironwood asked himself as he sat down at his desk.

However, the general was quickly broken out of his train of thought by the sound of someone knocking on his door.

"Come in." He said, causing his chosen warrior, Winter Schnee, to walk into the office.

"Ah, Schnee." Ironwood said.

"General." She said, saluting her superior.

"At ease, Winter." He said, causing the specialist to drop the formalities.

"So, I'm assuming you want to know about what happened during my meeting with your father." He said.

"Yes." She said.

"Well, I want to say that it went well, though your father seems to be only interested in the state of his company, not the people of Remnant." Ironwood said.

"Typical." Winter growled.

"Honestly, while that man's resources to this world are invaluable, he can be so...so." He began.

"Infuriating?" She asked.

"Yes. That's the world I'm looking for." Ironwood said as he leaned back into his chair.

"Status on the whereabouts of Qrow and Tai?" Winter asked.

"Hah, not well. Ever since the Fall I haven't been able to contact those two." He said.

"I see. What of Ozpin?" She asked.

"No luck with him either. Though I never expected it to an easy task." Ironwood said.

"Even after everything I was told that day, it still baffles me to hear that a man could be capable of reincarnation." Winter said.

"Yes, Ozpin is indeed full of surprises, even after all these years I have known him." He said.

"So, what will be our next course of action, sir?" She asked.

"For now, we need to make sure that the Relic of Creation is out of the reach of the enemy forces." Ironwood said.

"And I assume your bargain with the old fool was one of many precautions you are taking to ensure its safety?" Winter asked.

"Yes, though it has been proving to be more of a challenge." He said.

"I'm not surprised. All that old fool can think of is money." The specialist growled.

"Well, his resources are invaluable." Ironwood said.

"You mean our grandfather's resources are invaluable. He merely reaped the rewards." She said.

"I..suppose you are correct." He said.

"If that is all, then I will take my leave. A pleasure, General." Winter said as she started to walk towards the door.

"Just a moment." Ironwood said, causing the specialist to stop in her tracks.

"Yes? What is it?" She asked.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you are aware of the charity concert that will be held in the ballroom of the Schnee Manor." He said.

"Yes. I got the invitation from Klein. I will be there." Winter said.

"Good. Well, you are dismissed." Ironwood said, causing the specialist to nod and leave the office.

"Hah." She sighed as she walked down the hallway.

"Hello there, friend." She heard someone say, causing the specialist to stumble back a bit.

Once she had regained her composure, she could see the android from the Vytal Tournament, Penny Polendina, was standing right in front of her with a smile on her face.

"Salutations!" Penny said.

 _'This must be the girl the general was talking about.'_ Winter said.

"Ahem. Greetings, Ms. Polendina. My name is Winter Schnee." She introduced.

"I'm Penny! Wait, you knew that already, didn't you?" She asked.

"Yes, Ironwood told me some interesting things about you." Winter said.

"Really? Like what?" Penny asked.

"Well, he has told me that you are a very capable fighter, and that you helped push the creatures of Grimm back during the Fall." She said.

"I did do that!" She said.

"I want to personally thank you. It's becasue of your efforts that we were able to save as many people as we did." Winter said.

"Oh, you don't need to thank me!" Penny said.

"I see. Tell me, Ms. Polendina-." She began.

"Call me Penny." She said.

"Very well. Penny, what are you doing up here anyways?" Winter asked.

"I want to see the general!" Penny said.

"What for?" She asked.

"I wanted to ask him a few things." She said.

"I see. Very well, I won't keep you waiting. The general is right inside his office." Winter said as she started to walk away.

Penny hummed and started to get closer to Winter, her eyes narrowing.

"Um, can I help you?" She asked.

"You...look familiar." Penny said.

"I don't believe we've met before. Perhaps the General has spoken of me." Winter said.

"Hmm...I know! You look like Weiss!" She said.

"You...know my sister?" She asked.

"Oh yes. I mean, I never actually talked to her. Though Ruby would often tell me about her." Penny said.

"I see. So you were familiar with Weiss's partner and leader." Winter said.

"Yes! Ruby has been one of my greatest friends!...Well, I suppose I should say was one of my greatest friends." She said.

"..."

"I miss her sometimes." Penny said.

"So does Weiss. Though I'm sure your friends are out there." Winter said.

"Oh, that I am certain of!" She said.

"Well, I should be off. It was a pleasure, Penny." She said as she started to walk away from the android.

"Goodbye!" Penny said as she waved at her, causing the specialist to wave back at her, continuing her walk down the tower.

The android walked towards the office of general Ironwood.

"Hello? Mr. Ironwood?" Penny asked as she walked into the office.

Though from the looks of it, Ironwood wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Hmm, strange. Winter said that he was here." Penny said as she walked into the office of the general.

"I suppose I could wait for him!" She said, walking over to one of the lodge chairs the general had placed in his office.

However, she noticed that there was something laying on the desk of general Ironwoods desk.

It was a hard drive of some sort, the front of the drive having the logo of her father's research facility.

"Hmm, strange. What is this?" Penny asked herself as she picked up the hard drive.

Suddenly, Penny got a strange feeling of familiarity to the hard drive. Like she's seen this somewhere before.

Though she couldn't recall anything from her files about this strange hard drive.

"Strange. I wonder what this is?" She asked.

However, before she could continue to investigate the hard drive, she heard the door to Ironwood's office start to open.

She quickly shoved the hard drive into her pocket and awaited for the General to arrive.

"Alright, got my coffee. Now all that's left to do is...Oh! Hello Penny." Ironwood said.

"Salutations, General!" She said.

"What brings you here?" He asked.

"I just wanted to talk with you." Penny said.

"Hmm, well I suppose I do have some time on my hands. What would you like to know?" Ironwood asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Well...I just wanted to know what the next course of action is. It's been quite awhile since the Fall." She said.

"Ah. I see." He said, placing his mug on the desk.

"It's a tad more complicated than what we originally had planned. Right now the tensions between the kingdoms are rather high. We don't have the power or the resources to plan a method of attack right now." Ironwood said.

"..."

"It's hard to extend our reach when the C.C.T is gone, while our enemy's reach is growing by the day." He said. "Reclaiming the tower has proven to be much more difficult." Ironwood said.

"I see. So what are we supposed to do now?" Penny asked.

"For now we must continue to guard the Relic of Creation. We can't let it fall into the hands of the enemy." He said. "Though I am planning our next move, it's just proven to be a tad bit complicated." Ironwood said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Some people just can't see what's at stake here." He said.

"I see. So what is your plan?" Penny asked.

"Well, it hasn't gone into affect yet. First I need to close off the borders of Atlas." Ironwood said.

"Close the borders? Why would we do that?" She asked.

"So that I may put my plan into action." He said.

"Hmm?" Penny hummed.

"You will learn in due time. For now, I need to focus on getting this whole plan in motion." Ironwood said.

"I see. Well, I'm sure you're a very busy man." She said.

"With the recent events, yes." He said.

"Then I shall leave you to your work then." Penny said as she walked towards the door.

"Goodbye, Penny. Say hello to your father for me." Ironwood said as he waved back at the android.

"I will." She said as she walked out of his office.

Once she was certain that the door was closed all the way, she quickly pulled out the flash drive she took from the office. Her eyes lit up green as she started to scan the contexts of the folder.

After a few seconds, the scan was complete and the results of the scan showed up in her field of vision.

However, what puzzled her was the fact that there wasn't even a single accessible file on the hard drive.

The rest of the files were locked from access, which meant she had very little options of finding out what was on the said drive.

This only gave the android more questions than answers.

"Ms. Polendina." She heard her friend, Ciel, call from the other side of the hallway.

"Oh! Hello, Ciel!" Penny said.

"Are you finished with your meeting with General Ironwood?" Ciel asked.

"Yes! It went rather well if I do say so myself!" She said.

"Excellent." She said as she started to stare down at her watch.

"It appears we have approximately six hours before curfew. Was there anything else you wished to do before the day comes to an end?" Ciel asked her partner.

"Hmm." Penny hummed as she stared down at the hard drive. "Well, I suppose there is one thing." She said as she handed her the hard drive.

"Hmm? What is this?" She asked as she took the hard drive from her hands.

"It's a hard drive I found in the...office of my father." Penny said, not wanting to mention the fact that she technically stole this hard drive from the generals office.

"What do you want me to do with it?" Ciel asked.

"I would like you to see if you couldn't access some of the files that are on here." She said.

"Hmm." She hummed as she placed the drive into her watch, causing a screen to pop up in front of her.

After a few moments of silence, the screen turned red, signalling that the attempts to access the files was unsuccessful.

"It looks like whoever did the security on this must really not want these files to be accessed." Ciel said.

"So you can't access them?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, this is beyond anything my technology is capable of." She said. "If you don't mind be asking, what were you hoping to accomplish?" Ciel asked.

"Hmm...I'm not sure." Penny said.

"You're not sure?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's like I know that I know what this is, though I'm not really sure why I know it." She said.

"...I see." Ciel said.

"Well, doesn't that sound interesting?" The two heard a familiar voice say, causing them to turn there heads towards the source of the voice,

"Hello, brats." The man said as he walked out from the shadows.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Torchwick!" Penny said as she waved over to the former crime boss of Vale.

"The one and only." He said, walking over towards the two.

"What do you want, Torchwick?" Ciel asked.

"Now what do we have here?" He asked, snatching the hard drive from her hands.

"What the-?! When did you-?!" She asked.

"It's a hard drive Mr. Torchwick! Ciel and I are attempting to extract the files contained within this drive. Though it appears that the security is fairly advanced, even for Atlas Tech." Penny said.

"Really now? Now I wonder what secrets Atlas is hiding. So, why do you want to know in the first place, kid?" Roman asked.

"I'm not sure. I feel as if I know what's in this drive, but cannot remember what it is." She said.

"Hmm." He hummed as he stared at the drive. "I might be able to lend you two my help." Roman said.

"Really?! Oh thank you, Mr. Torchwick!" Penny said.

"Though don't get the wrong idea. I just want to know what dirty little secrets Atlas is keeping." He said.

"So, how exactly are you planning to extract those files? Not even Ciel was able to extract them." She said.

"Well, when you made a living from running Remnant's underworld, you tend to pick up a few tricks." Roman said as he started to walk down the hall. "Come along, kiddos. Time for you to see how we get things done in the under world." He said.

* * *

Morning had come for the members of team JNPR, marking a new opportunity to cover the ground between them and the great kingdom of Haven.

"So, according to the map, our next town is...Hmm...Yes, I see...we're lost." Pyrrha said.

"We're not lost, the next town is Shion! My family used to visit it all the time!" Jaune said to his partner.

"Oh! Right, of course!" Pyrrha said. "Thank you for reminding me." She said.

"Don't you have, like, four sisters?" Nora asked.

"It's seven." Pyrrha corrected.

"Uh, yeah. Seven." Jaune said.

"You know, that actually explains a lot." Nora said.

"Yeah...wait, what's that supposed to-." He began.

"So, what did you all do there?" Pyrrha asked, attempting to avoid any potential conflict.

"Oh! We did all sorts of stuff!" Jaune said as he ran up next to Pyrrha.

"Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special! Also so my sisters would stop braiding my hair." He said.

"What? Didn't like the look?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, they just kept doing pig tails, but personally I think I'm more of a warriors wolf tail kind of guy." He said.

"Isn't that just a pony tail though?" Pyrrha asked.

"...I stand by what I said." Jaune said as the four kept on walking down the path.

However, once Nora and Ren saw the town up ahead, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Uh, guys?" She called out.

"What?" The two asked, causing them to look up towards the town.

However, once they saw the wreckage of the former town of Shion, they came to a sudden halt.

It was in ruins, nothing left of the town remained.

"No." Jaune said as he let go of the map and started to run towards the town.

Pyrrha put the map into her pouch and ran after her leader along side Ren and Nora.

As they ran through the town, they could see various bodies littered throughout the streets of the town.

"We need to search for survivors!" Pyrrha said.

However, before they could continue there search for any potential survivors, their attention was quickly drawn towards Ren.

"Over here!" He called out as he ran over towards the ruins of some house.

The trio looked at one another before rushing after Ren.

Once they had arrived at the ruins of the house, they could see a wounded man sitting next to the ruins.

"Oh no." Pyrrha said as she ran towards the man's side.

"What happened?! Who killed all of these people?!" Jaune asked.

"...B-bandits." He managed to say through the blood in his throat. "A whole tribe...with all the panic-." He began, only to start coughing up blood mid-sentence.

"Just keep it together. We're going to get you help." Ren said as he turned towards Jaune.

"Jaune! Quickly!" Ren said.

"Right!" Jaune said as he walked over towards the man.

However, as he attempted to close the man's wounds with his semblance, Ren could already see that something was wrong.

"Why isn't it working?" He asked.

"I-I don't know! It should be working, I was able to do this sort of thing before, why can't I do it now?!" He asked.

The group was shocked, to say the least, Jaune never had complications healing them when they had gotten there own set of wounds.

"...Jaune." Ren said.

"No, I can do this Ren! I'm not going to let another person die aga-!" He began, only for the monk to place his hand on his shoulder.

"He's gone." He said.

"..."

While Jaune may have been able to close the wounds of his fallen allies before, it wasn't just straight of healing.

It was aura amplification.

He was able to amplify the effects of his team's aura with his own aura. This allowed wounds to close faster and for their abilities to be even stronger than what they once were before.

Though if the target doesn't have an aura, then it would not have an single effect on them what so ever.

Meaning that he can't use his semblance on something that is no longer part of this world.

"..." The blonde knight got up and started to walk towards the rubble of the village.

"Jaune! Wait!" Pyrrha said as she rushed after her partner.

"...Should we bury him?" Nora asked.

Ren stared down at the lifeless figure of the man before staring back at his partner.

"We should go. It's not safe here." Ren said as he started to walk after his teammates.

Nora looked back at the corpse before walking up to it, placing her hand on its shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She said before walking after her partner.

However, as Ren started to walk through the town, he noticed a strange and familiar footprint marked within the ground.

 _'...No. It can't be. Not after all this time.'_ Ren thought as he started at the hoof print.

"Ren. What are you-?" Nora began, only for her to catch sight of the hoof print to cut her off.

"...Ren. Do you think that thing did this?" She asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure." He said to his partner.

"...Are you okay?" Nora asked.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"It's just...ever since we've mentioned Kuroyuri, you've been more quiet than usual." She said.

"...Hah, I know." He said.

"Do you...do you want to talk about it?" Nora asked.

"No, I'll be fine. It's just...it's been a long time." Ren said.

"Okay. I'm here if you need me." She said.

"Thank you. We should get back to the others. It isn't safe here." He said as he started to walk back towards the area where they found the huntsmen.

"Jaune. Please, wait." Pyrrha said.

Though the blonde knight wasn't listening. He only kept on walking through the town as if he were looking for something.

"It wasn't your fault. You did the best you could have done." She said.

Jaune quickly turned his head over to some sort of shed and walked towards it.

"Look, I know that you are in pain right now. I'm upset over the death of the man as well. Though we still have to keep moving-." Pyrrha began, only for Jaune to walk out of the shed with a shovel over his shoulder.

"..."

The blonde knight walked past the spartan and back towards the area where the body of the huntsmen laid

"Oh." She said as she followed the blonde knight.

As Jaune arrived at the area where the man laid, he took the shovel and dug it into the ground.

Pyrrha just watched her leader as he started to dig the grave they would bury the man in.

"Hey, Pyrrha." She heard Nora say.

"Oh. Hello you two." She said to both Ren and Nora.

"What's he doing?" Nora asked as she and Ren stared at Jaune.

"He's giving the man a proper burial." Pyrrha said.

Ren sighed and started to walk over to his leaders side as he kept shoveling dirt from the ground.

"Jaune." He said.

"..." The blonde knight just kept digging the shovel into the ground.

"We need to go. It's not safe here." Ren said.

"..."

"Jaune. The Grimm could be back any moment now. We have to-." Ren began, only for his leader to stand up from the grave he was digging.

"...I know, Ren." Jaune said.

"Hmm?" The Monk hummed.

"I know that if we stay here, there's a chance we might run into some Grimm. I get that." He said.

"But this man was a huntsmen. He risked his entire life to protect the people of Remnant. The least we can do for him is give him a proper burial." He said as he continued to dig the mans grave.

Ren sighed and started to walk towards his teammates.

"Let's set up camp." He said as he walked over towards the bags they had placed.

Pyrrha and Nora looked at one another before nodding, walking over to their friend to assist him with setting up the camp.

As the day flew by, each member of team JNPR had completed their respective task.

"Well, looks like that's it I guess." Jaune said as he stood in front of the grave they had all made for the man, the light from the camp fire they had made lighting there view.

They had placed the man in the hole that Jaune had made for the man and gave the man the proper gravestone.

However, they couldn't exactly come up with a name to give the man, so they just put the name "The Huntsmen" onto the tombstone.

"We should rest for the night. It's getting dark out." Ren said as he walked over to the camp fire, everyone else following close behind him.

As they sat down in the warmth of the fire, they had time to reflect on every thing that had happened today.

"...So, who did you think he was?" Nora asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure. All we know is that he was a huntsmen." Jaune said.

"I wonder if he had a family back at home." She said.

"Well...if we ever do run into them. We'll be sure to give them the news." He said.

"Yeah." Nora said.

"At least we were able to give him the funeral he deserved." Ren said.

"Indeed. It was the least we could do for the man." Pyrrha said.

"Hah! We should probably get some sleep." Jaune said.

"I'll take the first watch." The Spartan said as she got up from off of the ground and started to walk towards one of the buildings.

"You know that one of us can take the watch, right?" Nora asked.

"Oh it's fine. You all get some rest." Pyrrha said.

The team looked at one another with unsure looks before nodding to the spartan.

"Alright." Jaune said, causing Pyrrha to rest a top of one of the buildings.

The other three remaining members laid there heads down onto the sleeping bags they had packed, preparing themselves for the days to come.

* * *

"This can't be legal." Ciel said as she and Penny sat in the office of Roman Torchwick.

"Well, there's a little saying we have back in Vale. It's not illegal if you don't get caught." He said as he continued to extract the files held on the hard drive.

"That doesn't make it right." She said.

"Look, do you want me to extract the files or not?" Roman asked.

"I would have preferred a more legal way of going through with this." Ciel said.

"Well then if you can come up with any better options than I am all ears." He said.

"..." Unfortunately, the girl was unable to come up with any other ideas.

"That's what I thought. Now sit down and let me do what I do best." Roman said, causing Ciel to growl and sit back down in her chair.

However, Penny was paying no attention to the conversation the two were having.

The only thing she was really focused on was obtaining the secrets hidden within the drive.

She didn't particularly know why she wanted to investigate this, nor what was waiting for her when she discovered the secrets contained within the files of the drive.

All she really knew was that there was something inside her system telling her to pursue this.

No, something inside her soul telling her to pursue this.?

"Ms. Polendina?" Ciel asked, causing the Android to life her head up to face her partner.

"Yes? What is it?" She asked.

"Are you well? Ever since you've come back from your meeting with the General you've been...off." She said.

"Well, I suppose I am intruded with finding out what secrets my father has been keeping from me. It his one of his drives after all." Penny said.

"I'm sure your father has his reasons. Though I will admit that I am quite curious myself." Ciel said.

"Indeed. It's a feeling that I cannot explain just yet. Though when I saw the drive, I got this sudden feeling of familiarity in my heart...or, at least my soul. I don't actually have a heart." She said.

"They're not very great. One second they'll be doing there job and the next second they'll decide they want to stop working." Roman said.

"Well, that doesn't sound pleasant at all." Penny said.

"Tell me about it." He said.

"Anyways, the fact is that I've seen this drive somewhere before. Though no matter how much I search through my own records, I can't find a single trace of them." She said.

"That's...strange." Ciel said.

"I thought the same thing! I mean, how could you recognize something you've never seen?" Penny asked.

"It does seem rather strange." She said.

"Hmm." Roman hummed.

"What is it Mr. Torchwick?" Penny asked.

"It's the security on these files. Whoever locked them away _really_ didn't want this information to get out." He said.

"I see." The android said, even more curious to uncover the secrets behind the files.

Ciel stared at Roman for a moment before turning towards her partner.

"Penny." Ciel said, causing her partner to turn towards her.

"Yes? What is it?" She asked.

"Are you certain that this is a good idea?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked.

"I mean that maybe breaking into these restricted files might not be the best course of action." Ciel said.

"Why would you think that?" She asked.

"I'm just thinking of a more logical stand point here." She said.

"..."

"Those are just my thoughts on the matter at hand. If you still wish pursue this, then I will not stop you. I just simply believe we shouldn't get ourselves into a situation that we may not be ready for." Ciel said.

"Hmm...I understand Ciel." Penny said to her partner.

"Just know that no matter what you decide to do, it is my duty to make sure you do not have to do it on your own." She said.

"Thank you." She said.

"...So, if you two are done having your little moment, I finally managed to get past the security your old man set." Roman said.

Ciel stared at Penny with a serious expression on her face, waiting for her partner to make her decision.

"Thank you, Mr. Torchwick." Penny said as she started to walk over to the man's desk, Ciel following close behind.

"Can't say there's anything of interest here. After all that there was only one video in the whole damn drive." Roman said.

"Really? That seems strange." She said as she clicked on the file of the video and started the recording.

Once the video loaded up, a dark room could be seen from within the screen of Roman's laptop. The only thing they were able to see from the area where the camera was positioned was a bed of some sort.

Though right before either of the three could comment, a familiar figure walked in front of the camera, causing Penny to freeze where she stood.

Right there, in front of the camera, was Penny Polendina herself.

"W-what?" Ciel asked, leaning in closer to the screen.

The android herself was completely speechless, not even sure what to say to the situation at hand.

 **"Hello father. I have arrived safely at the headquarters."** Penny said through the screen.

 **"I'm just getting all of my belongings organized. It was quite the treat to meet all of these people!"** She said.

 **"Unfortunately. I was unable to acquire a roommate. So it appears I will be having the room to myself. I am quite disappointed that I was unable to get a roommate like the rest of the team. Though I suppose I have even more space, so it is not all bad."** Penny said.

 **"I just wished to let you know that I am doing alright, and that I am safely secured in the headquarters. It is a shame you could not come father, it can get rather quiet without you."** She said.

 **"Though I do understand that you are busy attempting to better Atlas."** Penny asked. **"You know, I never did understand this project you were working on. Developing this artificial intelligence unit that would function as a combat aid."** She said.

 **"Such a thing sounds impossible. Though I know if anyone could do it. It's you father."** Penny said.

 **"I'd like to meet these artificial intelligence units when you complete the project. I know they'll be wonderful if they were made by you."** She said.

 **"You know, maybe we should attempt to shorten the name. Perhaps the name A.I would suffice?"** Penny asked.

 **"Well, I suppose I should finish putting my belongings away. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."** She said.

 **"Talk to you tomorrow father. Have a good night."** She said, causing the video to end.

.

.

"Damn. That was...something." Roman said.

Penny was currently staring at the screen with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Ms. Polendina?" Ciel asked.

The only response the android gave her was to storm out of the room, leaving the two behind.

"Penny! Wait!" She called out.

However, the android just kept on walking, not stopping despite the protests of her friend.

Right now there was only one thing on her mind.

She needed to know what that was, and she knew just the person to ask.

* * *

.

.

"Ugh." Jaune groaned as he got up from his sleeping bag.

He looked up to see that it was still night, the shattered moon lighting up the night sky.

"Hah, still night. Huh?" He asked, looking back at Ren and Nora to see that the two were still asleep in there respective sleeping bags.

"...Wait. Then that means-." Jaune said, quickly getting up and looking over to the building where Pyrrha should be.

However, once he saw that his partner was no longer there, he quickly got up and started to walk around the town in attempts to find his partner.

"Pyrrha?" He called out, making sure not to draw to much attention to himself.

Though his call was only met with the cold silence of the night.

Now he was starting to get worried about his partner, causing him to walk a little faster than before.

"Pyrrha! Where are you?" He asked.

However, instead of being met with the silence of the night, he could hear the sounds of metal slashing through the air from a distance.

"Huh?" The blonde knight asked as he slowly started to walk towards the source of the sound.

Once he had managed to close the gap between him and the noise, he could see that Pyrrha was training in the middle of the stone courtyard where they had entered.

 _'What's Pyrrha doing training in a time like this?'_ Jaune asked himself.

 **"Hey."** He heard a familiar voice say, causing the blonde knight to freeze in place.

"B-Brandon?" He whispered.

 **"It's me. Happy Vytal Festival I guess."** The message said.

The voice could be heard coming from Pyrrha's scroll, implying that it was a voice message she had gotten not to long ago.

"Rah!" She roared as she swung her blade at the air.

 **"I know I don't exactly treat you all nicely and all, though I'm rooting for ya. Hope you guys kick some ass.** **"** It said, causing Pyrrha to swing her sword even harder than before.

Jaune suddenly remembered this message in his head, causing him to clench his fist.

This was the message he had sent to everyone before the tournament started up, the swordsman giving his good lucks and thanks to them before everything went crumbled to the ground in Vale.

 **"...Not really sure what else to say. Was never really good at this sorta thing. Good luck I guess, thanks for being there."** He said as the message ended.

However, what Jaune wasn't expecting was for the message to play back again.

 **"Hey. It's me. Happy Vytal Festival I guess."** The message said, causing her to swing her to jab her sword forward, heavy breaths coming out from her mouth.

 **"I know I don't exactly treat you all nicely and all, though I'm rooting for ya. Hope you guys kick some ass."** The message said again, causing Pyrrha to switch to her Javelin form.

 **"...Not really sure what else to say. Was never really good at this sorta thing. Good luck I guess, thanks for being there."** He said, causing Pyrrha to jab the weapon forwards, creating a small shock wave of sorts.

The message started to play back once again, causing Pyrrha to switch her weapon back into it's bladed form.

Jaune clenched his fist and started to walk over to his partner.

 **"Hey. It's me. Happy Vytal Festival I guess."** The message said once again, causing Pyrrha to continue her training session.

 **"I know I don't exactly treat you all nicely and all, though I'm rooting for ya. Hope you guys kick some ass."** At this point, the spartan's breaths started to shake a bit, her weapon shaking in her hand.

 **"...Not really sure what else to say. Was never really good at this sorta thing. Good luck I guess, thanks for being there."** Pyrrha roared and swung her blade to her back, causing the shock wave from the attack to blow past Jaune.

"Hah, hah, hah...Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"You know, it's kinda late to be out here training." Jaune said.

After a few moments of silence, Pyrrha just fell to the ground, tears starting to fall down her face as her weapons fell onto the stone of the village.

"W-wha-?!" He began.

"I-I could have saved him." She said.

"Pyrrha." Jaune said as he lowered himself down to the ground to face Pyrrha.

"I could have stopped him. He didn't...he didn't need to." She began. attempting to fight back the tears that were beginning to swell up in her eyes.

Jaune picked Pyrrha up and led her over to a near by tree, placing her down onto the dirt.

"...Hah, thank you Jaune." She said as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Jaune asked.

Meanwhile back at the camp, Ren was having some trouble falling asleep with all that's happened over the past couple of days.

"Hah." He sighed as he turned over to face Nora.

"Nora, are you awake?" Ren asked.

"...I am now." She said.

"..."

"Sure you don't want to talk?" Nora asked.

"...We're close." He said.

"Yeah, right around the corner from what I've gathered...well, not literally." She said.

"I know what you mean." Ren said.

"You feeling okay?" Nora asked.

"...I suppose so. It's just...been awhile since I've been back home." He said.

"Ten years now." She said.

"You've been counting?" Ren asked.

"Not really. Just something that's always been in the back of my mind." Nora said.

"I see." He said.

"Do you wanna...go back?" She aske .

"No." Ren said.

"You sure? It might be good to-." Nora began.

"No. I don't...we don't need to go back." He said.

"...Well, if you say so." She said.

"We just need to focus on-." Ren began, only for the sound of footsteps to cut them off.

The two jolted upwards, sweat starting to form on the top of their foreheads.

"No." Ren said as he got up from off of his bag and ran towards his weapons.

"Come on Nora!" He yelled, running into the town.

"Right!" She said as she took out her own respective weapon.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha were currently standing around the stone courtyard of the town with their respective weapons out.

"You heard that to, right Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Indeed I did." She said.

"Where is it coming from?" He asked.

However, right before his partner could respond, they would soon get the answer to the blonde knights question.

The two turned there heads towards the sound of a faint growling noise, readying to fight the beast.

After a few moments of silence, the beast emerged from the shadows, it's blood red eyes drilling into the souls of Jaune and Pyrrha.

The beast took the shape and form of that of a monkey of some sort, though it had very large claws on it's two hands, as well as a small blade on both of its elbows. Though when it came to armor, the beast was relatively exposed compared to the other Grimm that they have encountered.

"This one looks tough." Jaune said as he readied his blade, causing Pyrrha to ready her own blade.

After a few moments of silence, the two combatants ran towards the beast with there blade extended outwards.

However, right as the two swung their blades at the beast, it quickly jumped up into the air at blinding speeds.

"Whoa!" Jaune yelled as he stumbled forwards, while Pyrrha was able to regain his footing.

The beast started to rapidly dart from building to building with the speed and agility of an actual monkey.

"It's fast." Pyrrha said as she switched over to her rifle.

Jaune nodded and pulled out some seeds from his pocket.

The Grimm quicky jumped from the building and reeled back one of its massive claws.

Pyrrha quickly held her shield out to block the attack, though the Grimm quickly grabbed the top of the shield with it's foot and jumped over the spartan.

Before Pyrrha could react, the monkey quickly threw the girl at one of the buildings, causing it to collapse.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled as he rushed over to the Grimm with his blade extended outwards.

Though once again, the Grimm was able to jump up into the air to dodge the attack.

Jaune narrowed his eyes and took this opportunity to rush over to his partner.

"Pyrrha! Are you alright?" Jaune asked.

"Ugh. Yes. It was just unexpected is all. I will be fine." She said as she used her semblance to get her shield and blade back.

"Okay. From the looks of it this thing uses it's surrounding to get the upper hand on its opponents, or in this case, us." He said.

"That could be troublesome." Pyrrha said. "What do you propose we do?" She asked.

"Well I can't exactly plant anything with all this stone in the way. So we'll either have to move to a place where there's more open ground, or we'll have to make due with what we have." Jaune said.

Pyrrha hummed and stared back at the beast.

"If we go back to the forest we'll only be putting ourselves at an even bigger disadvantage. The night will block our vision and the trees will give it more access to mobility. At least here we have a way to predict its movements." She said.

"Alright, guess we're sticking to that plan." Jaune said.

The beast snarled and started to jump around the area in attempts to get the upper hand on the two combatants.

After a few moments, it charged towards the two.

Quickly reacting, Pyrrha threw her shield at the beast, though the Grimm was able to hit it away with its long arm. The Spartan smirked and used her semblance to hit the beast in the back, giving an opening for Jaune.

The Blonde Knight swung it's blade at the beast, causing the blade to slice through part of its abdomen.

As smoke started to shoot out of it's wound, the beast started to shriek in pain, quickly moving over to a near by building.

"Nice going Pyrrha." Jaune said.

The beast snarled and started to rapidly dart around the area, eventually landing on the ground.

Before the two could react, the Grimm charged forwards and kicked the two away with it's feet, causing them to go flying across the town's stone ground.

The beast once again started to jump from building to building, but just as it was about to charge towards the two combatants, Ren quickly appeared above it and rammed his two feet into the back of the Grimm, causing the impact to create a green shock wave.

"You guys need some help?" Nora asked as she landed beside her two teammates, Ren following close behind.

"Thanks for the save." Jaune said.

"Don't sweat it." She said.

"So, what's the plan?" Ren asked.

"Hmm...Nora, hit the ground with your hammer as hard as you can." Jaune said.

Nora smirked and switched her weapon over to it's hammer form, slamming it onto the ground at full force.

Once the dust cleared, the hard ground could be seen from below the rubble, giving Jaune an opening to fully utilize his semblance.

"Alright!" He said as he threw the seeds over into the ground.

Once they landed on the ground, they started to glow with a golden aura, the plants starting to form from within the seeds.

"What now?" Ren asked.

Jaune smirked and clapped his hands together, causing the plants to shoot out from under the ground.

"Let's clean this up." He said, causing his team to nod their heads.

The beast roared and started to charge towards the team with it's claws extended outwards.

"Go!" Jaune yelled, causing his team to charge forwards.

The beast attempted to get to higher ground with the various buildings around the area.

"Not this time!" The blonde knight yelled, using the massive plants to destroy the buildings before the beast could use them to it's advantage.

However, the beast quickly latched itself onto the plants and started to use Jaune's advantage against him.

"Crap. Guys!" Jaune yelled.

"Right!" They yelled as Ren and Pyrrha started to run across the plants Jaune had made.

"Nora! Get ready!" Ren said.

"On it!" Nora said as she clicked a button on her hammer, causing the metal of the hammer to glow with a pink aura, as well as emanate pink sparks.

Ren quickly jumped up and kicked the beast in it's stomach while Pyrrha threw her shield at the beast.

The Grimm attempted to charge towards the duo, though the two were able to maneuver themselves around the beast.

After a few moments of keeping the beast at bay, Nora had fully charged her weapon's newest feature, her own eyes glowing with a pink aura.

"Ready!" She yelled as she charge forwards.

Right before the Grimm could strike at the two combatants, both Ren and Pyrrha jumped up to give the Valkyrie a clear shot at the beast.

"Rah!" She roared as she rammed her hammer onto the beast, causing a massive shockwave to spread all throughout the town, sending the beast back to the hell from which it came.

The four stood on the ground of Shion, breathing heavily from the battle.

"Hah, hah. Good job guys!" Jaune said.

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" Nora said as she pumped her fist up into the air.

Though while they may have won the of many battles that were soon to come, the war was far from over.

* * *

 _ **Warning: The following content contains spoilers for episode thirteen of volume five of RWBY. If you have not watched the thirteenth episode I recommend skipping to the reviews.**_

 _ **Volume 5, Episode 13 thoughts**_

 ** _Now that. That was a fight that RWBY is known for._**

 ** _The fight between Cinder and Raven was absolutely breathe taking to watch from beginning to end. We finally get to see a glimpse of just what the Maiden's power could be capable of._**

 ** _Not only that but we finally get to see Cinder get struck down._**

 _ **...I mean sure I know she's not dead, I mean that's way to soon to kill one of the series's main villains.**_

 ** _Though it was a good fight none the less._**

 ** _Not only that but it appears that Nora is way stronger than what we originally thought._**

 _ **If she's able to hit Hazel out of the building then she's got some monster strength behind her.**_

 _ **So Blake finally shows up to the battle, took her long enough to get there.**_

 _ **Better now than never I suppose.**_

 _ **Though if I did have one problem, it was the way they handled Adam's character.**_

 _ **I kid you not, the fight with Blake and Adam literally ended with just one single hit.**_

 _ **I know Blake has gotten stronger since volume three but that's pushing it in my opinion.**_

 ** _Unless that was there way of setting up the bigger fight. In which case I retract my statement._**

 ** _Not only that but we will soon get the Blake and Yang reunion that a lot of fans have been wanting ever since volume 4._**

 ** _Though to get into the ending of the episode, it seems that Yang is finally going to confront her mother._**

 ** _Overall, I did enjoy the episode._**

 _ **Nightwatching: Oh yeah, they will all have a few words to say to him once he finally shows back up with the gang.**_

 _ **GOH426: It's possible my dear friend. It's possible.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE: Sorry to say that Iris is not the girl that Brandon saved from earth. Brandon is the only person on Remnant that is from earth. Her backstory is a much more complicated one.**_

 _ **Also I'm glad you liked the scene with Weiss's mother, Willow.**_

 _ **Donovan: It's cool. Just don't want to ruin for those who have to watch it on YouTube.**_

 _ **Donovan: No problem.**_

 _ **Fedora101: No, the only thing he knew of was up until volume three. Though I seriously doubt that it would help him in the long run. The canon has changed to much that it might as well be considered an Alternate Universe.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Yep, at this point none of you can predict what will happen yes. Well, maybe some of you but you get my point. Also I'm glad you recognized what I was referencing.**_

 ** _A fan: Interesting concept. Though I feel as if it would get old after a good while._**

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: No, it does not have a vibration function.**_

 _ **alertpoet91: Here you go.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Yeah, it's like Ruby is teaching you how to survive in the world of Remnant.**_

 _ **TheTrueWrath: Well, I wouldn't say you were completely wrong. Though I think everyone and there mother would be able to deduct that Cinder isn't dead.**_

 _ **Yeah, Raven would be way to powerful if she not only had the power of the spirits, but the power of the Maidens.**_

 _ **Even if with both those powers, she still wouldn't be the strongest character in the series. Not by a long shot.**_

 _ **You haven't seen anything when it comes to terms of strength in this story.**_

 _ **Though if she were the spring Maiden, I'd probably mess around with the whole idea of being able to control the forces of nature.**_

 _ **Donovan: Didn't we just talk about this?**_

 _ **GOH426: Could you please refrain from talking about spoilers in the review section? Some people don't have a first membership.**_

* * *

 **Campfire Song.**

"...So, who did you think he was?" Nora asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure. All we know is that he was a huntsmen." Jaune said.

"I wonder if he had a family back at home." She said.

"Well...if we ever do run into them. We'll be sure to give them the news." He said.

"Yeah." Nora said.

"...Hey, I know what will cheer you up." Jaune said as he walked over to his sack.

After a few moment's, the blonde knight came back with a guitar in his hands.

"Hah! Are you gonna do the thing?!" She asked.

"Yeah, it's a special occasion." Jaune said.

"Ren! He's gonna do the thing!" Nora said as she shook Ren violently.

"I see that!" He said.

Jaune cleared his throat before starting to sing a familiar tune.

"OHHHHH~!" He began.

"There's a place I know that's tucked away; A place where you and I can stay!" He sung as Nora started to bounce to the beat of the song.

"Where we can go to laugh and play, and have adventures everyday!"

"I know it sounds hard to believe but guys and gals it's true!"

"Camp Campbell is the place for me and you!"

"We'll swim through lakes and climb up tree; catch fish, bugs, bears, and honeybees!"

"There's endless possibilities and no, that's not hyperbole!" He sung as he pointed to Ren.

"Our motto's "CAMPE DIEM" And that means I'm telling you~!"

Jaune took a long and deep breath before continuing the song.

"We've got: Archery, Hiking, Search & Rescue, Biking, Horseback, Training that will save you from a heart attack, Scuba diving, Miming, Keeping up with rhyming, Football, Limbo, Science, Stunting, Pre-Calc, Spaceships, Treasure hunting, Bomb defusal, No refusal, Fantasy, Circus trapeze, and Fights, and Ghosts, and Paints, and Snakes, and Knives, and Chess, and Dance, and Weights–It's Camp Camp!" He said, ending the song.

As the members of team JNPR clapped for there leader, the blonde knight could be seen hunched over taking long and deep gasps.

"Whoo!" Nora said.

"Never...doing that...again." Jaune said.

* * *

 **Penny Polendina**

 **Race: Android**

 **Weapon: Advanced Weaponry**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Height: 5'5"**

 **Weight: 246 lbs**

 **Age: 18**

 **Outfit: Green, Black, Tan**

 **Handedness: A** **mbidexterity**

 **Complexion: White.**

 **Hair Color: Orange**

 **Eye color: Green**

 **Aura Color: Green**

 **Semblance: Quarter A.I System.**

 **Destructive Power: A**

 **Speed: A**

 **Endurance: B**

 **Precision: A**

 **Potential Growth: D**

 **Range: B**

 **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**

 **See you guys in the next update.**

 **Have a good one!**


	68. The Old War

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

 **Updates and Changes.**

 **Chapter 7 has been rewritten.** **Wolfe and Kuma's name have been changed.** **Wolfe is now Abel.** **Kuma is now Otso.**

* * *

Speech: "The Old War"

Thought: _'The Old War_ _'_

Flashback: _"The Old War_ _"_

The desert of Vacuo, one of Remnants most dangerous landmarks. Due to the harsh and cruel climate of the barren wasteland, anyone who dared attempt to cross it would be put to the test.

No water could be found anywhere throughout this part of the continent, with the exception of the ocean that separates the various kingdoms. The desert mass was home to very few villages, meaning that any huntsmen or traveling merchant must treck the entire desert on foot to reach the kingdom that laid deep in the sand of the deserts.

The great Kingdom of Vacuo.

Not only would travelers have to deal with the immense heat and lack of resources, though the Grimm here were the most deadly kind of beast one could go up against.

The ones you can't see.

Sure most kingdoms will have problems with the Grimm native to there territory, though none have ever had to deal with the horrors that lie deep beneath the sands. It would happen in an instant, the beasts would pounce on you without warning.

It's one of the few advantages of traveling in a group.

Because at least you have a chance to run once the beasts take one of your own.

The kingdom of Vacuo wasn't exactly the most political of the kingdoms, the citizens not really caring to uphold its laws. The Academy of Shade was the only real thing preventing the entire kingdom from descending into chaos.

Instead of going by laws and order, they take more of a personal approach when it comes to keeping things in check.

The only real rule that the citizens of Vacuo follow is one that the citizens made for themselves.

If you can survive the harsh Kingdom of Vacuo, then you are more than welcome to stay in its warm walls.

Crossing the desert meant you had what it took to survive in the harsh world of Remnant. The people of Vacuo are a rather violent bunch, though that doesn't mean they are savages.

With this principle that the people of Vacuo have, it has caused its citizens to grow some sort of mutual respect for one another.

In a weird way, the lack of actual law in the kingdom is what keeps the citizens from turning on one another.

The trip to the kingdom was one that would put one's own survival skills to the ultimate test.

Some people may call this brave, though there is a very fine line between bravery and stupidity.

A statement which couldn't be even more truthful for a certain swordsman that had decided to wander the deserts in hopes to find the one man the people of Vacuo deemed dangerous.

Though no one said that he would be making the journey across the desert alone.

He had three of his...stranger companions with him to accompany him.

"Alright, get your shit together people. Just about time." Brandon said as he stared at his scroll.

The swordsman didn't really dawn to much of an outfit change, being satisfied with what his current outfit was.

However, due to the immense heat, he was forced to get a jacket that was more suited to the warmer temperatures. The jacket in question had shorter sleeves than what Brandon was usually used to and he had to ditch the hood so that he wouldn't die from the intense heat.

He still wore the usual attire he wore before the fall. Not everyone had to go under a major outfit change.

Though he did have a pocket in his jacket for the hat that he always seemed to be magically glued to his head for some reason.

"Jeez, remind me why we're out here again." Mercury said as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead.

The assassin however had dawned a complete new makeover ever since the fall of Beacon.

He had ditched most of the armor on his arms due to the metal being way to hot for a climate like Vacuo's, though he did use the metal to make some lower arm plates.

Mercury now dawned a sleeveless hoodie that dawned the colors of his usual gray and black color. Under the hood was a black body suit of some sort that allowed him to move more freely in combat.

He wore grey pants with black stripes on the side of his pants. Finally. he wore custom-made shoes that were designed to walk through the desert.

"We're here for that job Brandon picked up in the pit stop we just went by." Emerald said to Mercury.

Now that the thief was free from the corruption of the False Maiden, she had seen it necessary to dress for the occasion.

She wore some sort of White Jacket that reached to her lower elbow, the jacket dawning patterns of green, black and white. The collars and the end parts of the sleeves of the jacket were the main parts that were actually green, while the sleeves and other outlining's were black.

Emerald also had her emblem stitched into the back of the jacket.

She wore tight black pants with her usual belts wrapped around her waist. Not only that but she also dawned two heeled shoes that were specifically made to track the desert.

Neo hadn't seen it as necessary to undergo a change in her wardrobe considering that one, she could change her appearance any time she wished and two, she was already perfectly content with the outfit that Roman had picked out for her.

 **"I honestly don't see why we need your help here. If anything I'm sure that we could have gotten it done without you two."** Neo said.

"Tch, yeah whatever short stack." Emerald growled.

"Hey! Cool it you three. It's only gonna be about thirty more seconds before the Grimm shows up. You all remember the plan, right?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, once that freak shows it's ugly face with slam it back into the ground. After that, we go and get our reward from the man that ran that pit stop." Mercury said with a cocky grin on his face.

"Well, you got the basic concept down I suppose." He said. "Any minute now." Brandon said.

"...So quick reminder before we potentially get swallowed up by the sand. What exactly does this thing do again?" He asked.

Brandon slowly turned his head around to face Mercury with a deadpanned stare on his face.

"What?!" Mercury asked.

"We're dealing with a Grimm native to Vacuo's deserts. Its method of attack is to keep to the underground, only popping up in order to attack any unfortunate soul that just so happens to be in the area." Brandon said.

"So we wait till it comes out from under the sand." He said.

"Yep, that's basically the gist of it. Rince and repeat till the thing is dead." He said.

Suddenly, the sound of the voice of the spirit that Brandon has contained within his body started to speak up.

 _ **"Be on your guard. The enemy is right around the corner."**_ Caliber said.

"Heads up, Caliber says that the thing is close by." Brandon said as he pulled out the vessel containing Caliber.

The trio nodded and each pulled out their respective weapons.

"Remember, this thing can pop up anywhere so keep on your-." Brandon began, only for the feeling of the ground rumbling to cut him off mid-sentence.

"Toes." He finished as the four combatants looked downwards.

"Hit the deck!" Mercury yelled as the four ran in opposite directions.

They were just barely able to escape the jaws of the massive beast, causing a small little sandstorm to pick up due to the sheer force of the attempted attack.

Emerald started to roll on the ground but was eventually able to regain her footing.

She quickly pointed her two weapons at the Grimm and started to send a barrage of bullets towards the Grimm. However, due to its thick skin, the bullets weren't able to do any mortal damage to the beast.

Mercury had an easier time of getting back on his feet due to his semblance and quick footwork.

"Alright, let's dance." Mercury said as he charged towards the Grimm with a cocky smirk on his face.

Brandon had more of a forceful approach by using the spirit of Caliber to come to a screeching halt in the sands of Vacuo. The swordsman growled and pulled out his revolver from its holster on his belt.

He aimed the barrel of the gun at the beast and pulled the trigger, causing the silhouette of Caliber to appear behind him.

Due to the power of Caliber's power, the beast was actually damaged by the bullet, causing it to stagger back a bit.

"Hyah!" Mercury said as he rammed his legs into the side of the Grimm as it staggered back from the force of Brandon's attack. The beast growled as the shockwave of Mercury's attack took its tool.

Neo probably had the easiest time landing back down onto the ground due to her parasol.

Once she actually landed on the ground, she started to make her way towards the massive Grimm before using her semblance to appear above it with her blade.

She dug the blade into the back of the Grimm once she landed on the back, causing it to roar up into the sky. However, the blade still wasn't enough to puncture its thick skin.

The Grimm's marking started to glow with a blood red aura, causing Neo to teleport off of the back of the massive beast. The beast shrieked up in the air and started to burrow into the ground once again.

As Neo landed on the ground, she could feel the ground beneath her start to rumble. She narrowed her eyes and jumped up into the air, avoiding the oncoming attack from the Grimm.

Neo glared daggers at the beast before slamming her two heels into the back of the beast.

Emerald took this opportunity to start firing at the beast with rapid-fire bullets from her pistols. However, once she ran out of bullets she quickly stepped away from the beast while Mercury charged towards it.

He shot one of his rockets into the air before kicking it towards the Grimm, causing a small explosion to spread throughout the area.

The assassin charged towards the beast and started to rapidly kick it while it was in the air. Brandon took this opportunity to use his blade in attempts to cut through the skin of the beast.

He was able to do some damage to the beast, though it still wasn't enough to take it down.

The swordsman growled and attempted to shoot the creature down, though it was quickly able to burrow back into the ground before the bullets could actually hit.

Once he landed on the ground, he started to look around the area in attempts to find the next place where the beast would pop up.

Sure enough, right as the beast was about to sink its teeth into the flesh of the swordsman, he quickly turned around and punched it in the gut with the power of Caliber, causing it to go flying a few feet.

Mercury took this opportunity to create even more rockets before kicking them over towards the beast, causing small explosions to appear once the rockets made contact.

Once the smoke cleared, Neo could be seen rushing towards the beast at abnormal speeds. She quickly rammed her foot into the gut of the beast, causing it to slide back a few feet.

The Grimm growled and burrowed under the ground once again.

Neo looked narrowed her eyes before jumping up into the air once again.

Brandon was expecting the beast to come from behind him once again, so he did what he did last time and swung his fist to his back.

However, it appeared that the Grimm was smarter than it looked because it instead came from Brandon's front.

It swung its massive claw at Brandon, causing the swordsman to go flying back a few feet.

The swordsman growled as he landed back on the ground, a small dust cloud appearing from behind him.

Brandon snapped his fingers, causing purple sparks to emanate from the motion of his fingers.

Suddenly, the aura's of his companions started to flare, causing them to get ready for the next assault.

The swordsman narrowed his eyes as he started to take in the situation that was unfolding right in front of him.

As the beast started to charge towards the four, he could see that there was some sort of visible cut in its neck that the beast got from his attack.

"Guys! Aim for the cut on its neck!" Brandon said as he charged towards the beast.

The three nodded and started to attack the beast.

Emerald pulled out her pistols and started to send a barrage of bullets at the Grimm, keeping it's attention away from the others.

Neo started to rapidly teleport around the area, attempting to disorient the beast with her rapid movements.

Mercury started to kick various rockets at the beast before kicking its head to the ground.

He charged up his leg's core and kicked him up into the air with one final kick.

Brandon followed up his attack with an attack of his own, the blade from the vessel starting to glow with a platinum light. Brandon took this opportunity to charge towards the Grimm with his blade at his side, digging the blade into the neck of the beast.

Meanwhile, Mercury was starting to change some sort of attack while he was on the ground.

The beast fell to the ground as black haze started to ooze out from its neck, eventually landing on the ground with an audible thud.

"Hyah!" Mercury roared as he dug his foot into the beast's side, causing a massive shockwave to spread throughout the area. The beast went flying backward once it took the full force of the assassins technique, causing it to fade into ash.

"Hah, hah, hah." Mercury breathed heavily as steam started to emanate from his leg.

"Alright, job complete. Let's head on back, the guy running the shop should have it ready by now." Brandon said as he put his cap back on.

"Aw come on, things were just starting to get fun." Mercury said.

"Would it kill you to shut up for a change?" Emerald asked.

"Would it kill you to lighten up for a change?" He asked.

The thief's only response was to jab Mercury in the arm with her right hand.

"Ow! Jeez." Mercury said, rubbing the area where he had been hit.

* * *

"Alright, here ya go!" The shopkeeper said as he walked over to some sort of object that was covered in a cloth of some sort.

"I gotta hand it to ya, you kids did better than I expected." He said.

"Your faith in us is inspiring." Brandon said dryly.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying you guys did well!" The shopkeeper said.

"Thanks. So what exactly is this thing?" He asked.

"Jeez, that attack took a real toll on my legs." Mercury asked as he sat down, continuing the repairs on his prosthetic legs.

"Quit your whining." Emerald said.

"Easy for you to say. You have all of your limbs in tack." He said.

The thief's only response was to grab the screwdriver that Mercury had and started to twist it.

"Ow! To tight! To tight!" He said.

Neo meanwhile wasn't really paying too much attention towards the duo. She was currently browsing the shop that the man owned.

"Jeez, this happen often?" The man asked, referring towards the assassin and the thief.

"You have no idea." Brandon said.

"Heh, well we can't all get along now can we?" The man asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say that it's that bad." He said.

"You must be one patient kid then. With how often these three are at each other's throats, I'd imagine it'd drive anyone insane." He said.

"Well, it's better than before I'll give you that." Brandon said.

"Hmm? What'd you mean?" The man asked.

"I mean that I'm the only thing from keeping these three idiots from killing each other." He said.

Before the shopkeeper could question the swordsman any further, one of the tools that he had given Mercury was thrown at Brandon's head.

"Ow!" Brandon yelled as he spun his head towards the trio.

"Hey! Those aren't exactly cheap ya know!" The shopkeeper.

Though the trio weren't exactly paying much attention to the shopkeeper's protests.

"So, are these your companions or what?" He asked.

"Well, I pay for there food, water, clothing, beds and everything else they can't get because they don't have any money so I call them freeloaders." Brandon said, causing another tool to be thrown at the boys head.

"Heh heh, well whatever they are, I'm sure thankful for all you did for me. That Grimm was causing us a lot of problems ever since it came here." He said.

"No problem." Brandon said.

"Wish I could give you more for the road, though water hasn't exactly been Vacuo's strong suit for a long time." The man said.

"Meh, I'm fine with this little arrangement. Beats moving through the desert on foot." Brandon said as he ripped off the cloth covering the object that was under it.

Once the drapes were completely removed, a large vehicle of some sort could be seen from under the blanket.

"Whew." Mercury whistled.

"So, what exactly is this again?" Brandon asked.

"It's a vehicle that the people here in Vacuo use to cross the desert. Most other ones don't have the power or the right parts to make the trip through the sands. That's where this baby comes in." The man said as he pressed a button on the console of the vehicle.

Suddenly, the engine to the bike of some sort started to roar throughout the area of the garage.

"This baby should be able to get you across the desert of Vacuo in just a week or so." The man said.

"Now you're talking." Brandon said with a smirk on his face.

"Mind if I ask you something?" The man asked.

"Why not." He said, moving his hands along the metal of the bike.

"What's pushing you to make the trip all the way to Vacuo? People tend to avoid crossing it for a reason, ya know." He said.

"...Let's just say that I've got some unfinished business there." Brandon said.

"Must be really important if you're willing to make the trip." The man said.

"Yeah, you could say that." He said.

"Well, good luck out there. Here ya go kid." He said as he held the keys out to the swordsman.

"Thanks." Brandon said, taking them from the man's hands.

"You do know how to drive one of these things, right?" He asked.

The swordsman turned his head towards the trio to see that they were staring at him with deadpanned looks.

"Psh, sure I do." He said as he walked over to the bike.

"Just put the keys in here and..." Brandon began as he put the keys into the slot on the bike. Once he turned it forwards, the engines started to rev up.

"Alright. That's a step in the right direction." He said.

"Uh, you sure you know how to work this thing?" Mercury asked.

"Oh come on. How hard could it-?!" He began as he started to drive forwards. However, instead of slowly getting out of the garage, he sped out of the facility at a very fast speed, causing the sudden burst in momentum to send him flying off of the bike and onto the sand.

"..." The four stared at the bike for a moment before Brandon emerged from the sand.

"I'm okay! I'm okay." He said as he walked out from the sand, shaking most of the small grains that have collected on his clothing.

"Alright! Let's try this a-!" Brandon began once again, only for the bike to shoot forwards, causing it to leave Brandon behind.

"..." At this point, the three members of the group started to chuckle at Brandon's failed attempts at driving the bike.

"Okay! Third time's the charm!" He yelled, his aggravation levels starting to rise.

"Just work already you stupid piece of metal." Brandon said as he whacked the bike with his hand.

"Ow." He said as he shook his hand in the air.

"Now, let's-." He began, only to be sent flying off of the bike once more.

"Uh, you want me to teach you how to run the thing?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Couldn't you have offered that before?" Brandon asked.

"Hey, you were the one who said you knew how to drive it." He said.

"..."

"He's gotta point." Mercury said.

"Just show me how to drive the damn thing." He said.

"Heh, whatever you say kid." The shopkeeper said as he started to walk over to the bike.

After various trial and error sessions involving Brandon getting flung off of the bike, he eventually got it down.

"There ya go. Now you're getting it." The man said.

"Whew! Now, this is fun!" Brandon said as he parked the bike in front of the man's garage.

"Hmm, looks like the suns starting to go down. You sure you kids don't want to stay here for the night?" He asked.

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry. We've got to get to Vacuo as fast as we can." Brandon said.

"Alright. Just be careful out there kid. It's a dangerous world out there." The man said.

"I know. Believe me, I know. Mer. Em. Neo. Let's get going." He said, causing the trio to nod.

Once everyone was on the bike, Brandon started to rev up the engine.

"Later. Try not to piss off any more Grimm this time." Brandon said as he drove off into the distance.

"Heh, cheeky bastard." The man said.

"You sure we couldn't have stayed the night? Not like Vacuo's going anywhere." Mercury said.

"Can't." Brandon said.

"What do you mean by that?" Emerald asked.

"Did you forget? It's not just Cinder anymore. Now there are twelve other guys we have to worry about. With that many people by her side, I wouldn't doubt it if they used the whole divide and conquer strategy." He said.

"Right. We met one of her lackeys back during the fall. I think Cinder said her name was Lilith or something." Mercury said.

"Yeah, she wasn't a pushover either." Emerald said.

"That's why we need to get our asses moving. The enemy could be there right now, planning an attack on Shade." He said.

"Hey, you're the boss here." He said as he laid back on the leather of the bike.

"Hah. I'm gonna get some shut-eye. Wake me up when we're gonna set up camp or something." Mercury said.

"..."

 ** _"You seem rather tense, my boy."_** Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, well our situation has changed now. Right now I'm completely blind to what's to come for the future.'_ Brandon said to Caliber.

 ** _"Yes, I suppose that would put anyone on edge."_** He said.

 _'Only reason I was able to do the things I did back during the Fall was due to the fact that I actually knew how everything was gonna go down. Though I guess that all that knowledge went out the door once the whole tower blowing up thing happened.'_ He said.

 _ **"That may be so. Though it does not give us an excuse to falter."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Yeah. The plan is still the same. We go to Vacuo, find that prison and break the spirit user that they're holding prisoner there out.'_ Brandon said.

 ** _"Ah. It's been quite a long time since I have seen my brother."_** He said.

 _'Heh, yeah. It'll be like an old family reunion.'_ He said with a smirk on his face.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Salem's tower, the queen herself was sitting at the meeting table as she attended to Cinder's condition.

Though it would appear that the treatment wasn't going as smoothly as Salem could have hoped for. Due to the power of the Silver Eye'd powers that the girl had, this treatment was going far less smoothly than she could have hoped for.

Not only that, but the Maiden's magic was rejecting Salem's own powers. This wasn't as simple as she could have hoped for.

However, Cinder was determined to stand back up on her two feet.

Not just to carry out her master's goals, but to make the swordsman who did this to her suffer. Though even she would soon realize that conquering the Maiden's powers was a much harder task than it seemed on paper.

Considering that she stole the powers instead of them being passed down to her, this made things even more complicated for Cinder.

To put it simply, the powers she had stolen from the previous Fall Maiden was starting to turn against her.

Salem recognized this, and would make sure that this weakness was eradicated.

If Cinder was having trouble fighting off the powers of the Fall Maiden's magic, then she doesn's want to imagine what would happen if she took the other Maiden's magic.

So before they could put the plan in Mistral into motion, then they must make sure that Cinder is ready to accept another piece of Ozpin's fragmented magic.

"Hah, hah, hah." Cinder gasped as she stared down at the area where her right arm should have been.

Her right arm was starting to form a black aura around it, the arm of some humanoid Grimm starting to form in replacement for her lost one.

Though it wasn't an easy process. The Maiden's magic was rejecting this new found power that Salem was attempting to give her.

"You feel it, don't you?" Salem asked as the arm started to form.

After a few moments of silence, Cinder nodded her head to confirm Salem's statement.

"Don't fight it. I am only attempting to aid you." She said.

The Maiden's grunts started to become more apparent, the pain in her arm starting to get even more intense.

"It can sense your trepidation. You must make it, dread you." Salem said.

However, it was easier said than done for the Fall Maiden.

Salem narrowed her eyes and lowered her hand, causing the arm to disappear along with the pain in Cinder's arm.

"Hah, hah, hah." She gasped as the pain started to go away.

"I suppose that will be enough, for now." Salem said.

"N-no." Cinder said as she stared back at Salem.

"Child." She said as she placed her hand in front of Cinder's.

"I understand your ambition towards our cause, though if you completely break yourself in the process, then all our efforts will be for naught." She said.

The Maiden sat there in silence for a few moments before nodding towards her master.

"You hold the key to our victory, child. Becuase of your success in Beacon, we now have access to the Relic of Choice." Salem said.

Cinder nodded to her master before staring back at her.

"I understand your desire for strength. Your desire to never feel the weakness you once felt before." She said.

"However, we all have our roles to play in this war. You must acquire the means to change this world for the better." Salem said as she stared out into the distance of the land she ruled over.

"It is his job to destroy any obstacles that may stand in our way." She said.

The Maiden clenched her fist as a small drop of sweat started to roll down her forehead.

In the distance, a man could be seen standing atop of a cliff staring down at the terrain which the tower stood. The same man in the black suit of armor that attended the meeting.

"We all have our roles to play in this war. It's crucial that we understand what they are." Salem said.

Cinder sat there in silence for a few moments before nodding to her master.

"Excellent. Make no mistakes, you play a crucial part in this war of ours." She said as snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, the sound of a Grimm could be heard coming from outside of the doors of the meeting hall.

After a few moments of silence, the beast emerged from the darkness.

It had small, spherical bodies that are covered with bone-like plates, along with red tentacles ending in white, bony barbs and a single eye.

This was Salem's own personal Grimm. The Seer.

It is how she is able to communicate with Cinder's subordinates despite the long distance.

The Seer started to slowly float over towards the duo before resting at Salem's side.

"Which is why I'm going to ask you this one more time, and I expect a clear answer." Salem said with a serious expression on her face.

Cinder sat in her chair, awaiting Salem's response.

"Did you kill Ozpin?" She asked.

The Maiden was about to start nodding, however, she quickly slammed her hand on the table to silence her.

"No!" Salem said, causing Cinder to freeze.

"I want to hear it from your own mouth." She said.

"...Yes." Cinder said.

"Now was that so hard?" Salem asked as she turned her head towards the Seer.

Suddenly, some sort of image could be seen flashing across the ball of the Seer's head.

Once the image had cleared up, Lilith could be seen on the other side of Salem's ball.

"Ah. Lilith." Salem said.

 **"Hey."** She said.

"I see that you have safely arrived at Haven." She said.

 **"Well, not exactly a hard trip to make.** **"** Lilith said from the ball in her hands.

"I assume that your task is going rather smoothly?" Salem asked.

 **"Not exactly a hard task. Just go out and kill a bunch of people that might give us problems in the near future."** She said.

"Excellent. I assume that Watts has also arrived safely in Mistral?" She asked.

 **"Yeah, I got him there."** Lilith said.

"Very good. How goes your progress with eliminating the huntsmen of Mistral?" Salem asked.

 **"Well, I can't exactly go and kill all of them in one night. I need to make it look like it was the Grimm that did it."** She said.

"Yes. It would look rather suspicious if all the huntsmen and huntresses of Haven died in a single night." She said.

 **"Kinda, yeah."** Lilith said.

"What of the Spring Maiden? Are you any closer to finding her location?" Salem asked.

 **"Considering I've been busy planning all these assassinations, scheduling them, and actually executing them, I haven't really had a whole lot of time to go Spring hunting."** She said.

Cinder growled at Lilith's attitude, though Salem raised her hand to calm her.

"I understand that this is quite a lot to do in such a short amount of time. Your efforts are not in vain though, Lilith." She said.

 **"Yeah, well someone's gotta do it."** Lilith said.

"Once the Maiden is located our plan for Haven can be put into play." Salem said.

 **"Well, I'll get to that once I get this out of the way."** She said.

"Very good, Lilith." She said. "Remember, when the day of the meeting comes I want you to take Hazel to meet with Sienne Khan." Salem said.

"Iris will continue to use her powers to locate the boy with the vessel containing Caliber, as well as the location and identity of the Summer Maiden." She said.

 **"Got it."** Lilith said as the connection between the two cut off.

"Now." Salem said as she turned towards Cinder.

"Let us begin your training, shall we?" She asked as she got up and started to walk towards the door, the Seer following close behind her.

Cinder nodded and followed her master.

The enemies were on the move and were making quick progress with there respective tasks.

However, not everyone had it as easy as Lilith did.

Some would find out that their tasks would prove to be much more complicated than they thought.

* * *

The nights in Vacuo was the ideal method of travel if you wished to avoid the immense heat that came from the long days of the desert. It was rather cool for a place of immeasurable heat, though this meant that Grimm would become more common considering the heat wasn't going to be an issue for them either.

Despite the bike they had acquired from the shopkeeper, it would still be a while before the group arrived in Vacuo.

"Hmm, looks like it's getting dark out." Brandon said to the rest of the group.

"Yeah, guess it's time to set up camp." Emerald said as she stared off into the moonlight sky.

Meanwhile, Mercury was still fast asleep on the bike with his hands up against the back of his head.

"Hey. Wake up." Emerald said as she hit him over the head, causing the assassin to jolt awake.

"Wha-?! Jeez, what time is it?" He asked.

"We're stopping to make camp." She said.

"Finally." Mercury said as he cracked his back. "So where are we stopping anyways?" He asked.

"That's what we're trying to find out." Emerald said.

"Wait, then why did you wake me up if we're not even there yet?" Mercury asked with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"Because I don't want you to get out of working again, you already did that the last three times we set up camp." She said.

As the two started to back and forth once again, Brandon started to think about all the events leading up to today.

 _'I wonder how the others are doing?'_ Brandon thought to himself.

 ** _"Well, I'd imagine that this situation is rather difficult for everyone."_** Caliber said.

 _'No kidding. All of Vale is gone and most of the people that managed to survive the Fall are now pretty much homeless.'_ He said to Caliber.

 ** _"Not to mention that it is likely that your companions you left behind most likely think you have parted from this world."_** He said.

 _'Yeah I didn't exactly leave them on the best of notes.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"That's one way of putting it."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Hopefully, they're not to hung up about it. I mean, they still need to go to Mistral, prevent whatever's gonna happen there.'_ He said.

 ** _"Yes, though I do believe that your knowledge in that category is rather limited."_** Caliber said.

 _'All I know is that some of them are gonna be heading to Mistral. Not really sure what's gonna happen there.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"I doubt that the knowledge of the events to come would make much of a difference to begin with."**_ He said.

 _'Yeah. We've already changed so much that we can't predict what's gonna happen next anymore.'_ He said.

 ** _"Indeed. We lost that luxury a long time ago."_** Caliber said.

 _'Doubt we'll need it anyways.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"Perhaps."**_ He said.

 _'...Hey, Caliber.'_ He said to his partner.

 _ **"What is it, my boy?"**_ Caliber asked.

 _'Mind if I ask you a question?'_ The swordsman asked.

 ** _"I'm not leaving anytime soon so I suppose so."_** He said.

 _'Fair point...do you...do you think it's my fault?'_ Brandon asked the spirit.

 ** _"Hmm?"_** He hummed.

 _'Do you think it's my fault that Vale fell? That all those people died?'_ He asked.

 _ **"..."**_ The spirit merely said nothing as he listened to his master's troubles.

 _'I mean. Vale never fell in the original timeline. Sure Beacon was gone but at least the city was in one piece. Not only that but the Dragon was imprisoned.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"..."**_

 _'Sure, I was able to save Pyrrha from dying at the hands of Cinder, and Penny seemed to work out in my favor.'_ He said. _'Though what good is two lives when the price to save them were thousands of others?'_ Brandon asked.

 _ **"...Do you believe that is was your fault?"**_ Caliber asked.

 _'Huh?'_ He asked.

 ** _"I can't say for certain. The ripples of time are a much more unpredictable than one could expect."_** He said. " ** _Changing one little thing could result in catastrophic events for the future. One life could cost you thousands in return."_** Caliber said.

 ** _"Time is like a ripple. One little thing could have catastrophic consequences for the future of our world."_** He said.

 _'So the butterfly effect?'_ He asked.

 _ **"I suppose that is another way of looking at things."** _ Caliber said. _**"You came into this world with a unique blessing. One that not even the Wizard himself could have dreamed of having."** _ He said.

 ** _"The knowledge of events that have yet to happen."_** He said.

 _ **"If anyone would have been told that a certain catastrophe will soon befall upon the world, it is only natural that they would want to prevent said events from ever happening to begin with."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"However, changing such a fate has its own set of consequences."**_ He said.

 _ **"Let's say that time is like a stone and a river."**_ Caliber said.

 _'That's a weird way of looking at it but okay.' Brandon said._

 ** _"Whenever you change an event, whether it be small or large, you throw a stone into the water."_** Caliber explained.

 _'Okay.'_ He said.

 _ **"Once the stone hits the water, it causes a ripple. At first glance, it is insignificant. Though soon it will turn into a raging wave that will travel across the waters until it crashes into the land."**_ He said.

 _'I think I get what you're saying.'_ Brandon said.

 _ **"Even with your knowledge, you cannot predict the outcome of changing such events."**_ Caliber said.

 _'...I guess you've got a point there.'_ He said.

 _ **"Dwelling on events which you can no longer change is pointless. Use your past experiences to move forward, to further strengthen the flames of your resolve."**_ He said.

 _'Right, I guess you're right. No point in dwelling on the past when there's so much at stake.'_ Brandon said.

 ** _"Well said."_** Caliber stated.

However, as the group started to drive through the desert, they could see some sort of large skeleton in the distance.

"What's that?" Brandon asked, causing the three to look over the swordsman's shoulders and towards the skeleton.

It was the ribcage of a large beast of some sort, the spinal cord of the skeleton covering the area so that the sun didn't burn the ground beneath them.

"Looks like a place to set up camp!" Mercury said with a smirk.

"Guess so. At least the heat of the sun won't be the thing that wakes us up in the morning this time." He said as he started to drive over towards the skeleton.

 _ **"...Well now, doesn't this bring back memories?"**_ Caliber said.

"Huh?" Brandon asked.

"What's wrong?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." The swordsman said as he started to close the gap between him and the beast.

After a few moment's the group had managed to arrive at the beast's skeleton.

"Alright. Set up the bags where ever you want. I'll make the fire." Brandon said, causing the group to nod there heads.

Once the group started to move towards there respective spots, Caliber suddenly started appeared beside Brandon, causing the swordsman to jump back a bit.

"What the-?!" He yelled as he fell back into the sands of the desert.

The rest of _**the**_ group shot up from where they were kneeling and readied their respective weapons.

 _ **"My, it's been quite some time."**_ Caliber said as he stared off into the distance.

Once they were sure that there was no danger in the area, the trio put away their weapons.

"Jeez! Would it kill you to give me a warning the next time you decide to show up randomly?!" Brandon asked.

 _ **"..."**_

"Caliber?" He asked.

 _ **"We are in a very ancient part of the desert, young ones. There is blood beneath these sands."**_ Caliber said.

"What do you mean by that?" Emerald asked.

Caliber's only response was to reach into the sand with his hand.

Once his hand emerged, it could be seen holding the skull of some unfortunate man that attempted to cross these deserts.

"Holy-! Jeez!" Brandon said as he backed away from the spirit.

"Oh. So you meant literally, not metaphorically." Mercury said to the spirit.

"I'm surprised you even know what that word means." Emerald said.

 _ **"How long has it been? It's probably been a century by now. My how time flies."**_ Caliber said.

"What're you talking about Caliber? Where are we?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"At the end, and the beginning."**_ He said as he stared out into the desert.

"Huh?" He asked.

 _ **"We are at the last battleground that ended the old world and made way for the new."**_ Caliber said. _**"Allow me to formally welcome you all to the battleground that ended the last great war of Remnant."**_ He said.

The air fell silent once Caliber had told them of the sacred place they were standing on, it was Brandon who spoke up after a few more moments of silence.

"Wow. So this is the place?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Indeed it is. Many lives were lost here, as apparent from the ground you now tread."**_ Caliber said.

"Oh...we're not gonna wake up next to any skeletons, right?" He asked.

 _ **"Hmm, unlikely."**_ He said as he walked out into the desert.

"So, this is the place, huh?" Brandon asked, referring to the skeleton that the group made their camp under.

 _ **"Yes, it was this very battle ground that brought the Kings and Queens of Remnant under a common cause. The four Lords of Remnant. Wulfric, Valor, Mulan, and Arthur."**_ Caliber said.

"Hold on, can you just cool it for a moment and explain this? You're talking as if you were some old war veteran." Mercury said.

 _ **"Well, that is only natural. I did fight beside the last King of Vale during the final days of his rule."**_ He said.

"...What?!" Emerald and Mercury asked.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot that the king was one of your wielders." Brandon said.

"What?!" The two asked.

 _ **"Yes. He was quite a nobleman."**_ Caliber said.

"Wait wait wait wait, can we get some context here?!" Mercury asked.

 ** _"Hmm, I suppose the night is young. Perhaps a story will soothe your mind."_** He said as he appeared in front of the campfire.

The four members of the group walked over to the fire and sat down in front of it, waiting to hear about the times during the war.

 _ **"It's quite the tale. One filled with bloodshed and unity."**_ Caliber said as he began his tale.

* * *

 _It was the final days of the Great War of Remnant, each side waiting to engage in the final battle that would decide the outcome of all this bloodshed._

 _This would be the battle that would decide the very outcome of the world itself._

 _Thousands were lost in the crossfire of the war, some were soldiers fighting for there respective lords and kingdoms._

 _Others were lost due to the Grimm that have started to appear in the various villages due to the conflict of the Great War. Vale and Vacuo had come up with a plan ever since they had learned of the plan that Mantle and Mistral had devised._

 _The plan to conquer Vacuo._

 _If they took another kingdom, there would be nothing stopping them from taking over Vale._

 _The entire world would be under the control of the Mantle Military._

 _However, the two lords of the opposing kingdoms saw this as an opportunity to potentially end the war altogether._

 _The King of Vale, King Arthur, and the Queen of Vacuo, Queen Valor, had formed an alliance in hopes to end the war that has plagued their world for far too long now._

 _Now, it was finally time to confront the leaders of the opposing kingdoms in battle, once and for all._

 _If they failed then Mistral and Mantle would have cut off all dust supplies to Vale, ensuring the demise of the great kingdom of Vale._

 _This would be their final stand._

 _"It's almost time, Arthur." Valor said as she and the King of Vale stared down upon there soldiers._

 _"Hah, I know, Valor. I know." He said._

 _"What's the matter? The war is about to end! We could finally be free from the tyranny of Mantle once and for all!" She stated, placing her hand on the king's shoulder._

 _"I know that." Arthur said as he squeezed the handle of Caliber._

 _"...You did the best that you could, my friend. Though those vermin only wish for power over all. The only way to prevent that is to wipe there kind clean from our world." Valor said to the King of Vale._

 _"I wish I could believe that, Valor. I really do." He said._

 _"Look, I understand that you wish for us to all unite, to end all conflict as we know it. Though we must think of the safety of our people first. If they are threatened, we must take up arms and fight!" She said._

 _"Yes. Yes I suppose peace was only a fools dream." Arthur said._

 _"This will all be over soon. Know that the kingdom of Vacuo stands with you." Valor said._

 _"Thank you, my friend. For everything you have done for my people." He said._

 _"Don't thank me just yet. When this is all over we can give our thanks over a cup of wine." She said._

 _"I suppose we could." Arthur said with a chuckle._

 _"My king." The two heard a female voice say, causing the two to turn there heads towards the source of the voice._

 _The King's Maiden, Fall, could be seen walking towards the king with a serious look in her eyes._

 _"Yes, what is it Fall?" The King asked._

 _"It's time. The scouts have reported enemy forces making their way towards the kingdom." She said._

 _Valor turned her head towards the King of Vale with a serious look on her face._

 _"Right. Tell everyone to prepare for battle." He said._

 _"Yes, my king." Fall said as she started to walk away from the duo._

 _"Well, this is it, my friend." Valor said._

 _"Indeed it is. Are you ready, Caliber?" Arthur asked._

 ** _"Hmm, I am at your service."_** _The voice of Caliber said._

 _Meanwhile, Fall was walking through the halls with a saddened expression on her face._

 _For the kings and citizens of the kingdoms, it was a battle for the future of Remnant. However, for her and her sister Summer, it was a battle against there own blood._

 _"So, this is it." Summer said, causing Fall to turn her head towards her sister._

 _"I suppose it is." She said._

 _"What are we supposed to do? When we meet them that is." She asked._

 _"Hah, I'm not sure. I can only hope for the best." Fall said._

* * *

 _"So we will attack from the front. Take the enemy in a head-on battle." The king of Mantle, King Wulfric said as he and the Queen of Mistral, Queen Mulan stood in the meeting room._

 _"Yes, soon this war will come to an end." Mulan said to Wulfric._

 _"Indeed. Maybe now my people's suffering will end." Wulfric said to Mulan._

 _"Perhaps. Now that you have all this land you could expand your territory so that your people wouldn't have to deal with the harsh environments of your continent." Mulan said._

 _"It's not as bad as some may say. The snow is actually quite beautiful. Perhaps you could visit once the war is over." He said._

 _"Ha ha ha! I will have to decline your offer, Wulfric, I never did do quite well in the cold." She said._

 _"Yes, some may agree with you on that statement. Which is why I need to win this war." Wulfric said._

 _"That we shall." Mulan said._

 _"Perhaps you could show us some of your arts from your culture. What did you call them again?" He asked._

 _"We called it, Theatre. I believe you would enjoy it quite thoroughly." She said._

 _"Maybe I shall take a look at one of these shows once the dust has settled." Wulfric said._

 _"It would be my honor." Mulan said._

 _"Yes. This is it. Today marks the day that the Great War of Remnant ends." He said._

 _"Um, excuse me?" They heard a light female voice ask._

 _The two turned there heads to face the Maiden of the kingdom of Mistral, Spring._

 _"Ah, Spring! Come in, come in." She said._

 _Spring nodded and walked into the tent with a serious look on her face._

 _"What is it?" Mulan asked._

 _"The troops are ready for deployment, my Queen." Spring said._

 _"Excellent!" She said as she turned towards Wulfic._

 _"Well then, that settles it. It's time to go end this war once and for all." Wulfirc said._

 _"Gather the troops." Mulan said to Spring, causing the Maiden to nod and walk out of the tent._

 _"...Hah." She sighed._

 _"So, it's time." She heard a familiar voice say._

 _"Hey Winter." Spring said to her sister, Winter._

 _"Hello, dear sister." Winter said as she walked over towards the Maiden. "Are you well?" She asked._

 _"...Of course I am! See?" she said with a smile on her face._

 _However, before she could quickly respond once again, Winter wiped a lone tear that was starting to fall down her face._

 _"You were always a terrible liar." She said._

 _After a few moment's the walls that Spring stood behind broke down, causing the Maiden to bury herself in the arms of her sister._

 _"There there. I know." Winter said._

 _"Why?! Why do we have to fight them?! They're our sisters!" She said._

 _"I wish there was another way, dear sister. Though we must stand with our kingdoms. We must stand with our people. With our lords." She said._

 _"...I...I know. How did it come to this? Why did things have to end this way?" Spring asked her sister._

 _"I wish I had the answer, dear sister. Some things are just out of our control." Winter said._

 _"But...we were given these powers to protect people, right?" She asked._

 _"Yes." She said._

 _"Then why are we using them to hurt people?" Spring said._

 _"I wish I had a clear anwer. Though if there is anything that My King taught me, is that in order to protect the ones you care for and treasure, you must be willing to go up against any obsicle without fear." Winer said._

 _"Sometimes we must end lives in order to save them." She said._

 _"..."_

 _"Don't worry sister. At least we will have each other." Winter said._

 _"Yeah. I guess." Spring said._

 _Winter, wanting to lift her sisters spirits before the final battle, decided to ask her more about her culture._

 _"So, I heard about this thing you call, Theatre, in Mistral. I would be delited to know more about this." She said._

 _"Oh! It's so cool! I'm sure that you'd love it!" Spring said as she started to make her way over towards the troops._

 _Winter chuckled and followed her sister._

 _After a few moments of waiting, King Wulfric eventually arrived to give his final speech to his troops._

 _"Soldiers!" He yelled._

 _"Today, may be the final day of war. The final day of suffering! We must unite to face our enemy and put a end to our suffering and pain!" He said._

 _"I cannot guarantee your survival! There is no shame in retreat. If you have a family back home, I will not stop you from returning to them!" Wulfric said to the soldiers of Mantle and Mistral._

 _"..."_

 _Though none of them would move. They all stood there in arms, ready to face the enemy._

 _"Very well then! To victory!" He roared, causing all the solders to roar in return._

 _This was it. The start to the final battle of the great war._

* * *

 _As the soldiers of both Mantle and Mistral started to arrive at Vacuo, the troops from the said kingdom could be seen standing in front of the kingdoms gates, ready to take on whatever they had to throw at them._

 _"It appears the enemy has set up a counter attack." One of the generals said._

 _"No matter. If they want a fight then we shall give them one! Men! Positions!" Wulfric said, causing all the soldiers to get into there combat positions._

 _"How did they know we were coming?" Mulan asked as she ordered her own men to get into position._

 _"It's no matter. We out number them. If they wish to defend there kingdom to there dying breathe then we shall grant them that wish." He said._

 _After a few moments of silence, Queen Valor started to walk forwards to face the king._

 _"What is she doing?" Winter asked._

 _"I'm not sure. Stay here." Wulfric said as he started to make his way through his troops, eventually reaching the front of the battle field._

 _The queen of Vacuo stood there with a glare on her face and her weapon at her side._

 _"Queen Valor!" He yelled._

 _"..."_

 _It appeared that the Queen wasn't in any mood to talk at the moment. Though this also gave Wulfric an opportunity to possibly win this battle before a single life was taken._

 _"If you surrender now, I will make sure that none of your citizens or troops are harmed! Though you must abide by our command! The Command of the Mantle Military!" Wulfric said to the queen._

 _"..."_

 _"Let us avoid further bloodshed! The people of Remnant have already suffered enough as it is!" He said._

 _"...You're the one who's been going around picking fights to begin with!" She said._

 _Suddenly, the numbers of the Vacuo army seemed to expand drastically, causing the numbers between the two armies to even out. Suddenly, the King of Vale himself, King Arthur walked to the front of the army with Caliber at his side._

 _"This ends today, Wulfric!" He said._

 _"..."_

 _"Yes! It does!" Mulan said as she walked towards the front of the army._

 _The air was silent, each side preparing to go to war with the other for there respective kingdoms._

 _After a couple of seconds, the armies charged towards one another, each of the Lords leading there respective kingdoms._

 _Once the armies clashed, all hell broke loose._

 _King Arthur started off the battle by using the full power of the spirit, causing him to lay waste to some of the men that stood in his way._

 _"Arthur!" Wulfric said as he rushed towards the king._

 _The king glared at the man and charged forward, laying waste to anyone who stood in his path._

 _Once the two clashed, it caused a shock-wave that blew away some of the soldiers that stood within the area._

 _With their respective blades at there side, the two kings started to fight for dominance over the other, each clash creating a shock-wave that echoed throughout the deserts of Vacuo._

 _Arthur roared and swung his blade at the man, causing a blade like aura to form around it._

 _Wulfric dodged the attack, though the troops that stood right behind him were completely blown away, being silenced by the man's blade._

 _The King of Mantle roared and started to swing his blade at the king of Vale._

 _Meanwhile, the Queens of the kingdoms were engaged in there own battle, each one laying waste to the opposing sides army._

 _"Rah!" Queen Valor roared as she swung her weapon at Mulan, though she was easily able to dodge the attack before it could land on her. The Queen of Mistral growled and started to use her bow as a method to blow away the Queen._

 _Though due to the Queen's immeasurable strength, she was able to hold her ground over the attacks of the Queen of Mistral._

 _Mulan growled and charged towards the Valor with her bow and arrow, each arrow being infused with a certain type of dust._

 _The queen of Vacuo roared and charged towards the Queen of Mistral with her blade at her side._

 _Once the two clashed, it created a shock-wave that spread all through out the area, causing the men the respective armies to be blown back wards. With the power of dust and the science of Mantle, Mulan's arrows were able to devastating damage to all that attempted to strike her down._

 _"Fire!" She roared, causing the archers to fire their bows up into the sky._

 _After a few moment's, the arrows sped down towards army, each one impaling the soldiers of the Vacuo army._

 _"No!" She roared as she ran towards the Queen with her weapon at her side._

 _With the power of dust at her side, she was able to deal a heavy blow to the Queen on Mistral, as well as the army that surrounded her. The Queen of Mistral roared and started to shoot arrow after arrow at Valor, causing the queen to dodge each attack._

 _As the four armies fought and the lords of the battle engaged in battle with the opposing side, the Maidens started to move through the soldiers using their respective powers._

 _"Rah!" Winter roared as she swung her palm outwards, causing icicles to pop out to impale the men._

 _Spring clapped her hands together and slammed them downwards, causing lighting to fall upon the armies of Vale and Vacuo._

 _"We mustn't falter men! Keep pushing forwards and we shall-!" Winter began, only for a fireball to shoot past her suddenly._

 _Before Spring could react, she was blown away by a strong gust of wind._

 _The two looked through the crowd to see there sister's, Fall and Summer walking towards them._

 _"Sisters." Winter said._

 _"Hello, Winter." Fall said to the White Haired Maiden._

 _"Fall! Summer!" Spring said._

 _As the soldiers clashed around the four Maiden's, the wind around the four started to pick up._

 _"Sisters?" She asked._

 _"I'm sorry, Spring. I...I didn't want it to come to this." Fall said as she started to hover into the air._

 _"As did I, dear sister." Winter said, ice starting to form around her._

 _Spring looked at her sisters for a moment before closing her eyes, storm clouds starting to form up in the air._

 _Summer did the same, only fire started to form around her body._

 _After a few moments of silence, the Maidens clashed with one another, causing the sky to erupt._

 _Summer formed a blade of some sort in her hands before swinging it at her sister. Winter did a similar action and formed a blade of ice her hand._

 _Once the two blades clashed, shock-waves of both ice and fire started to spread throughout the area._

 _Meanwhile, Fall and Spring were clashing with one another with there own weapons, Fall using a blade of wind while Spring using a blade of lighting._

 _Winter stumbled back a few feet before sending various icicles towards her sisters way._

 _Summer swung her hand forwards, causing a wave of fire to consume the ice of the Maiden, causing it to melt._

 _However, Winter used this smoke as a method of stealth and swung her blade at the Maiden, causing her to go flying backwards._

 _The Summer Maiden growled and started to fire various fire balls at the Winter Maiden, causing her to summon a wall of ice to block the attack._

 _Meanwhile, Spring was using various lighting bolts in attempts to shoot down her sister, though Fall was too fast for the Spring Maiden to handle._

 _Seeing an opening, Fall swung her arm violently, causing a tornado to form around the area to lift her sister up into the sky._

 _However, Spring was able to user her powers to land a blow on Fall, causing her to go flying backwards. Once she regained her footing, she shot herself towards her sister with her blade at her side._

 _As the two clashed, lightning bolts shot down from the sky, causing them to land on the enemy forces._

 _The battle raged on, each side suffering heavily for the weather affects that were being created as a result of the Maiden's power's clashing with one another._

 _Despite the power of Caliber at his side, Arthur was starting to have trouble not only fighting off Wulfric and his semblance, but the power of his army._

 _"Rah!" He roared as he swung his blade at the man, though he was easily able to dodge the attack._

 _Wulfric roared and rammed his fist into the arm of Arthur, causing him to go flying through the armies of the kingdoms._

 _"Don't let up Men! We've got them in a co-!" He began, only for the sound of a roar to fill the air around them._

 _The sound of the roar was so great that every soldier of the armies of the world stopped fighting._

 _"What was that?" Arthur asked._

 _Murmurs could be heard all throughout the battle field, each side attempting to search for the source of the roar._

 _"Keep your guard up men!" Wulfric said to his men._

 _The maidens started to look around the area in attempts to find the source of the roar._

 _"Did you all hear that?" Fall asked._

 _"Yes. I did dear sister." Winter said to her sister._

 _"It appears everyone has stopped fighting." Summer said._

 _"Where is it coming from?" Spring asked._

 _However, before anyone could react, the feeling of the ground shaking beneath them cut them off._

 _"Incoming!" One of the soldiers said as he pointed at the massive beast that was making it's way towards them._

 _Once the Lord's eyes met the beasts, there blood froze._

 _"T-that can't be!" Wulfric said._

 _"How is that possible?!" Valor asked as she gazed upon the beast that was making its way towards them._

 _It was a beast that towered above all of the kingdoms armies with it's mighty figure, it's blood red eyes drilling into the eyes of anyone who dared made contact with it._

 _It took on the form of some sort of raptor, the arms of the Grimm being significantly shorter than the rest of it's body._

 _The beast roared shot some sort of red beam out of it's mouth, causing any soldier caught in the blast radius to be completely destroyed._

 _"What in the name of the gods is an Ancient Grimm doing here?!" Mulan asked._

 _"It doesn't matter. The battle still goes on." Wulfric growled and started to clench dust crystals in his hands._

 _The beast turned it's head towards the king and roared, charging towards the man with the look of death in it's eyes._

 _However, Wulfric would not back down. He charged towards the beast as he crushed the crystals in his hands, his aura flaring to life as he swung his fist at the beast._

 _Though the beast was able to block the attack and quickly rammed it's head into Wulfric, causing the king to go flying across the sands of Vacuo._

 _Before the lords could react, the beast roared and charged towards them, causing them to scatter._

 _"Ugh." He groaned._

 ** _"Reckless fool."_** _Caliber said._

 _"Damn!" Arthur swore as he rushed towards the king of Mantle._

 _The beast started to charge towards the king with it's jaws extended outwards, it's red eyes drilling into the soul of the king._

 _Wulfric closed his eyes and waited for the beast to consume him._

 _However, just as it was about to sink its teeth into the flesh of the man, he could feel a strong gust of wind blow past him._

 _The king slowly opened his eyes to see that Arthur was standing there, keeping the jaws of the Grimm at bay._

"Arthur?!" Wulfric asked.

 _"Raaah!" He roared as he slammed the Grimm onto the ground. "Don't ask questions you fool! Just stand up and fight!" Arthur said._

 _"If we allow this abomination to run wild then there won't be a kingdom to defend!" He said._

 _Suddenly, something inside of Wulfrics's heart sparked, something he thought he had lost a long time ago._

 _Hope._

 _Wulfric stood up and stared the beast directly in the eye as he stood by Arthur._

 _Once the two closed the gap between them and the beast, they scattered in attempts to confuse the Grimm._

 _Wulfric jumped up and kicked the beast in the chin, causing it to go flying into the air. Arthur quickly reeled his blade backwards and swung it at the beast, causing the blade to cut through the skin of the beast._

 _However, it wasn't enough to defeat the beast._

 _Just as it was about to charge towards the two men once again, an arrow hit it directly in the face, causing it to stumble back a few feet._

 _The two turned around to see Queen's Mulan and Valor standing right behind them._

 _Valor rushed towards the Grimm and slammed her fist into it's head, causing it to roar up into the sky._

 _As the four Lords stood beside one another, King Arthur's face started to form a smile on it._

 ** _"Hmm, interesting."_** _Caliber said._

 _"Yes, yes indeed." King Arthur said._

 _"Hmm?" King Wulfric asked as he turned his head towards Arthur._

 _"Who would have thought that it would be the final battle that would bring us all together." He said._

 _The King of Mantle stared at the King of Vale for a moment before chuckling to himself._

 _The Grimm managed to recover and started to roar up into the sky, causing the air around them to blow past the lords._

 _"The Speeches can wait until after the battle." Valor said._

 _"We need a plan of action." Mulan said._

 _Arthur hummed to himself before turning his head towards the Maidens._

 _"I have a plan." Arthur said._

 _"Fall!" He yelled._

 _"Huh?" The Fall Maiden asked._

 _"Oh, I see." Wulfric said. "Winter!"_

 _"Yes?" Winter asked._

 _"Spring!" Mulan said._

 _"Y-yes!"_

 _"Summer!" Valor said._

 _"Y-yeah?!" She asked._

 _The three lords turned here heads towards king Arthur, awaiting for the king to put his plan into action._

 _"You four! Collect all the magic you have into a single blast! Once it is ready, all four of you fire it at the beast!" He said._

 _"..." The three maidens that were not familiar with the king were a bit skeptical._

 _"Yes, my King!" Fall said as she started to channel all of her magic within her body._

 _The Maidens stared at the other lords, causing them to nod there heads. The Maidens smirked and started to channel there magic within there bodies._

 _"We must make sure that this beast does not get to them while they are readying there attack." King Arthur said._

 _"Right." The three of them said as they got into there combat positions._

 _The beast roared and started to charge towards the lords with its jaws open._

 _However, the four lords quickly scattered away before the beast could consume them. Mulan started to shoot rapid fire arrows at the beast, giving an opening for Wulfric and Valor to strike at the beast._

 _Once they had done that, Arthur quickly appeared from behind them and swung his blade at the Grimm, causing it to slide back a bit._

 _The beast attempted to sink it's jaws into the bodies of the Lords, though Arthur was able to use Caliber to quickly push them out of harms way._

 _Wulfric clenched his fist, causing fire dust to emanate off of it._

 _Meanwhile, Valor's aura started to flare even more violently, causing the ground beneath her to crack under the pressure._

 _The three charged towards the beast with there aura's flaring around them, Mulan firing various arrows at the beast in attempts to keep it at bay._

 _Once the gap was closed, Wulfric and Valor started to start there assault on the massive beast._

 _The Maiden's magic was just about ready to be launched at the Grimm, the ground starting to shake and the clouds starting to gather around the area where the Maidens were._

 _King Arthur swung his blade at the beast once again, severing one of it's legs so that it couldn't move out of the way of the attack._

 _"Ready!" The four of them said._

 _"Go! Move!" Arthur said as the four lords started to move out of the way._

 _The Grimm was desperately attempting to recover from the wound it just suffered from the Lords of the world. However, it was no use, no matter how hard it struggled, it wounds were to fatal._

 _Finally, the Maiden's fired the most powerful attack that could be created when all four Maiden's are present._

 _The Maiden's Scream._

 _Suddenly, a beam of light started to shoot down onto the Grimm, causing the beast to scream in agony as it was consumed by the magic of the Maidens. Eventually, the attack created a massive explosion that echoed throughout the entire desert of Vacuo._

 _"...Did...Did they do it?" Valor asked._

 _Sure enough, the beast had completely been eradicated from the surface of Remnant._

 _"...Victory!" The four armies roared, causing all of the remaining soldiers alive to cheer up into the sky._

 _As all the soldiers celebrated there victory, Fall stared out into the battle field with a smile on her face._

 _"What is it?" Summer asked._

 _"It's just...My king had always wanted to unite the kingdoms rather than conquer them. He was always told that such a task was a lost cause, though I never lost faith in him. Now look at him. He's fighting along side the other three lords." Fall said._

 _"Indeed." Winter said._

 _"Wulfric wanted to conquer lands due to how little resources Mantle has. Though now I feel as if this is not just the end of the war, but the beginning of a beautiful alliance." She said with a smile._

 _"...I missed you guys!" Spring said as she rushed over to embrace her sisters._

 _However, as the four armies of the kingdom were cheering, the Lords were staring upon the area of where the beast had been slayed._

 _"So. It's finally over." Wulfric asked._

 _"Yes. I suppose it is. Guess you were right after all, Arthur." Valor said._

 _"My lord." The voice of Fall said, causing the four of them to turn towards the Maidens._

 _"Thank you. Because of your bravery, our people, my sisters, have finally been reunited." She said._

 _"So, what now?" Spring asked, causing everyone to turn towards King Arthur._

 _"I believe I have an idea." He said._

* * *

 ** _So, now that the volume is finished, here are my overall thoughts._**

 ** _Was it as bad as people say it is?_**

 ** _No. Not by a long shot._**

 ** _But it could have been better._**

 ** _The Menagerie Arc could have been so much better, though it was really slow paced in the end. Nothing of gravity really did happen in this volume, I knew that Weiss would be fine somehow, though I would have appreciated if a major got seriously wounded or died._**

 ** _Hell, I was genuinely shocked that neither of Blake's Parents died. They both had serious death flags over there heads._**

 ** _Sure you can argue that Vernal was the death but I didn't really care much for her._**

 ** _Neither did I Sienna Khan._**

 ** _I feel like Hazel's backstory could have been shown rather than told. Give us an insight of why he blames Ozpin for his sister's death. If it really was his fault or if he's overreacting._**

 ** _Oscar was just...there I guess. Sure he had some good developments but didn't really contribute to the plot all that much._**

 ** _He was mainly an outlet for Ozpin._**

 ** _Which brings me to my next point._**

 ** _There is WAY too much exposition in this volume. I get that this is all stuff we need to know, but you could have shown us through the actions, rather than just telling us._**

 ** _Like we didn't need to be flat out told that Ozpin's cane wasn't a relic. We could have found that out._**

 ** _Also, the twist with Raven was kinda...out there._**

 ** _I get why they did it, but they could have dropped subtle hints that she was the maiden in volume 4._**

 ** _There were a lot of off-screen fights, but the animators aren't robots that can work 24-7 so I get that._**

 ** _Then the Adam thing. I really didn't like what they did there. He was built up to be this badass character that could take down people like Yang and Blake with one clean swing of his sword, as well as an army of robots._**

 ** _Then Blake just one shots him? Without any implications of training? RT, I love your work, but this is pushing it. I want to see Adam get what's coming to him just as much the next guy, but not like that._**

 ** _Even Roman was able to handle Blake, and he's dead...unfortunately._**

 ** _You already know my thoughts on the reunion with team RWBY. It was just "Hey." and that's it._**

 ** _Though there was some good stuff too._**

 ** _I loved the moments with Raven, as well as the fight with her in Cinder, definitely one of the best so far._**

 ** _I liked the moments with Hazel, as well as seeing Jaune freak out._**

 ** _While I was so happy Cinder got what was coming to her, there's no way that she's dead._**

 ** _Emerald got some good development, and surprisingly Mercury._**

 ** _Not only that but I especially like Ilia in this volume. I liked the interactions with the characters and the direction of the story._**

 ** _So I will give a score for each episode, and then give a score for the volume as a whole._**

 ** _Welcome to Haven- 7.5/10 (Solid Introduction to the volume.)_**

 ** _Dread in the Air- 8/10 (Nice to see Weiss developing her technique.)_**

 ** _Unforeseen Complications- 7.5/10 (It was a solid start for the Blake arc.)_**

 ** _Lighting the Fire- 9/10 (My favorite episode of the volume.)_**

 ** _Necessary Sacrifice- 7/10 (Not a great way to come back from the last episode with Blake in it.)_**

 ** _Known by it's Song- 8.5/10 (Loved the Interactions with Raven and Yang, also like the stuff with Qrow in it.)_**

 ** _Rest and Resolutions- 8/10 (Just a calm chapter reminding us of the times when things were happy.)_**

 ** _Alone Together- 8/10 (Learning more of how s*** Weiss's home was as well as what Yang thinks of Blake.)_**

 ** _A Perfect Storm- 6/10 (Rooster Teeth. Come on.)_**

 ** _True Colors- 8/10 (Thank god that's over.)_**

 ** _The More the Merrier- 8.5/10 (Give Miles a Medal for that killer voice acting.)_**

 ** _Vault of the Spring Maiden- 8/10 (Interesting twist at the end.)_**

 ** _Downfall- 8.5/10 (One of the best fights in the entire series.)_**

 ** _Haven's Fate- 7.5/10 (That was an...okay finale. It was better than volume 2.)_**

 ** _Overall- 7.5/10 (It wasn't the worst volume ever. But it could have been better with the material it had.)_**

 ** _Review Response._**

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Thanks.**_

 _ **Donovan: Well, you can talk now that the volume is over.**_

 _ **Sarge 123: Thanks.**_

 _ **Donovan: Please pay said money to see Reunion.**_

 _ **GOH426:**_

 ** _1\. It's cool._**

 ** _2\. Glad you liked it._**

 ** _3\. Also glad you liked it. Miles does voice act both Jaune and Dave._**

 _ **SPDefender: Well, you'll just have to wait and find out.**_

 _ **ian25rebel: They're here.**_

 _ **: Glad you think so.**_

 _ **Nightwatching: Oh boy.**_

 _ **Wolfking0811: Rule #1. If you don't see a body, they aren't dead.**_

 _ **Guest: In Vacuo**_

 _ **splithaven: That was a typo.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Indeed they will.**_

 _ **Danoxis: You got me.**_

 _ **UndeadLord22: Nope.**_

 _ **UndeadLord22: Problem?**_

 _ **Donovan: I'm good.**_

 _ **UndeadLord22: It was from Undertale.**_

 _ **UndeadLord22: Dude. Chill out. I just like the series.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: He's keeping it together for his teams sake.**_

 _ **Cinder Fall (Wounded)**_

 ** _Race: Human_**

 ** _Weapon: Blades_**

 ** _Gender: Female_**

 ** _Height: 5'11"_**

 ** _Weight: 164 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 22_**

 ** _Outfit: Crimson, Yellow_**

 ** _Handedness: Left_**

 ** _Complexion: White._**

 ** _Hair Color: Black_**

 ** _Eye color: Amber_**

 ** _Aura Color: Red_**

 ** _Semblance: Maiden's power._**

 ** _Destructive Power: B_**

 ** _Speed: B_**

 ** _Endurance: E_**

 ** _Precision: D_**

 ** _Potential Growth: A_**

 ** _Range: B_**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	69. The Fallen Kingdom

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Ruined Kingdom"

Thought: _'The Ruined Kingdom"_

Flashback: _"The Ruined Kingdom_ _"_

After the incident with the Beowolf, the young farm boy named Oscar was rather tense, to say the least.

It has only been a single day and yet in that amount of time, he had managed to not only kill a Grimm that most people had to be trained to kill, but he had just learned that he was chosen to be the next reincarnation of the Great Wizard, Ozpin.

So yeah, crazy Tuesday for the young farm boy.

The very idea of reincarnation or magic was impossible to the farm boy. Though with all the recent events, it was hard not to believe what the Wizard was telling him.

In fact, it was impossible to not believe, due to the fact that the farm boy had now shared the Wizard's memories and experiences.

They were fuzzy and unclear to Oscar, though he was able to grasp the general concept of the man's memories.

Right now he was waiting in the living room for his Aunt Marissa to return with the cups of hot coffee the farm boy said that he wanted.

Which was weird because Oscar never even liked coffee all that much to begin with.

He just assumed that it was something that Ozpin had enjoyed in his previous life.

 _ **"You seem tense."**_ Ozpin said from within his mind.

"Well, yeah. This is all a lot to take in. It's not every day you get the soul of a dead man linked with your own." Oscar said to the Wizard.

 _ **"It can be overwhelming sometimes. Though you are adapting to the situation rather calmly if I do say so myself."**_ He said.

"Well, I already did kinda already freak out over this whole situation before." Oscar said.

 _ **"I suppose that is true."**_ Ozpin said.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, Oscar's aunt emerged from the kitchen with the two mugs of coffee in her hands.

She placed the mug of coffee in front of Oscar and sat in the chair directly across from her nephew.

The room was filled with an unsettling silence, neither of the two said anything to the other.

"...Well?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah?" Oscar asked as he grasped the cup of coffee in his hands.

"I'm waiting." She said.

"...For-?" He began.

"You know what I mean, Oscar. Tell me about this whole reincarnation thing." Marissa said.

"Well, I'm not really sure where to start." Oscar said.

"Hah, I guess this is all a lot to take in." She said as she placed the mug down.

"Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement." The farm boy said with a chuckle in his voice.

"So, there's this voice in your head, right?" Marissa asked.

"Well, that's part of it. Say's that his name is Ozpin." Oscar said, causing his aunt to choke on her coffee out of shock.

"Ozpin?!" She asked. "The Headmaster of Beacon academy?! That Ozpin?!" She asked.

"Yeah, it was surprising to me to say the least." He said.

"Jeez, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" His aunt asked him.

"I'm not sure, to be honest." Oscar said.

"So when exactly did this whole reincarnation thing happen?" She asked.

"Well, it just happened today. I was just working out in the field and suddenly I started to hear voices in my head." He said.

"I'm just gonna assume that's why you were making a mess in the barn." Marissa said.

"Yeah." He said with a chuckle.

"Though how were you able to do what you did with the Beowolf? That's not exactly something you can learn in just a few hours." She said.

"Well, here's where things start to get a little more complicated." Oscar said.

"Complicated how?" Marissa asked.

"From what Ozpin told me, our souls are now combined." He said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Yeah, I don't really understand it all that much either. Though because we now share the same body, he said that I'll slowly start regaining all of his memories." Oscar said.

"Wait, what?" Marissa asked.

"Not only that but he also said that I would slowly start to gain all of his combat experience that he's gotten over his various lives." He said.

"Okay then...wait, lives?" She asked.

"Yeah." Oscar said.

"As in multiple lives?" Marissa asked.

"From what I've gathered, this isn't the first time he's been reincarnated." He said.

"What's the story behind that? People don't just reincarnate. At least not to this extent." She said.

"I haven't gotten that far when it comes to regaining his memories." Oscar admitted.

"Hmm, well it's only been a few hours." Marissa said.

"So, what now?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I seriously doubt that you can just go back to your normal everyday life with the soul of Ozpin attached to you." Marissa said.

"I guess you have a point there." Oscar said.

The farm boy wasn't really sure what to do about his current situation. This had all happened within the span of a few hours, so it's not like he had a plan of action right off of the bat.

 _ **"If I may interject."**_ Ozpin said, causing Oscar to shoot his head up in surprise.

"Huh?" He asked.

"What's wrong?" Marissa asked her nephew.

"It's Ozpin." Oscar said.

 _ **"Normally I would allow you to get situated in your current predicament, time to adjust. Though that is time we don't have at the moment."**_ He said.

"Huh?" He asked.

Every attempt he took to learn more about his situation, the more confused he got in the end.

 _ **"I think it would be best if I explained it to both you and your aunt."**_ Ozpin said.

"Okay, but how, exactly?" Oscar asked.

 ** _"It's a little technique I've picked up over my cycle of death and reincarnation. If you would allow me, I could take control for a while."_** He said.

"Wait, you can do that?" He asked.

 ** _"Only one way to find out."_** Ozpin said.

"...Okay, how exactly do we do this?" Oscar asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on for just a moment. Can you just give me a little warning before you do something that's gonna take a few years off of my lifespan?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, sure." He said. "From what Ozpin just told me, we can sorta...swap controls in a way." Oscar said.

"...Pardon?" She asked.

"Just watch." He said to his aunt.

Marissa narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding to her nephew.

 _ **"Are you ready?"**_ Ozpin asked.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Oscar said as he prepared himself to swap with Ozpin.

"...Um, so are you gonna do it or-?" Oscar asked.

"I already did." He heard Ozpin say.

 _ **"...Wait, what?!"**_ Oscar asked.

"Already did what?" Marissa asked Ozpin.

"Swapped controls." The headmaster said to the aunt of Oscar.

 _ **"Whoa, this feels so weird."**_ The farm boy said.

"It does take some time to adjust. Though you'll get used to it in time. I doubt that this will be the last time we do it." Ozpin said.

"Wait, what just happened?" Marissa asked.

"Apologies. I don't believe we've formally met. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is professor Ozpin, the former headmaster of Beacon Academy." He introduced.

"...Huh?" She asked.

"I assume that this is all very perplexing." Ozpin said.

"Just a bit." Marissa said as she took a sip of her cup of coffee. "So, what happened to Oscar?" She asked.

"Rest assured while I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present. He merely handed over the controls so to speak." He said.

"I see. How are you doing in there Oscar?" Marissa asked.

 _ **"I'm fine. Just getting situated."**_ The farm boy said.

"He said that he is in good health, it's just taking him some time to get situated." Ozpin said.

"I could imagine." She said

"I suppose you would like an explanation for this sudden change." He said.

"That would be nice, yeah." Marissa said.

"Well, I wished to talk to the both of you about the situation that your nephew is currently in." Ozpin said.

 ** _"Hold on, what?"_** Oscar asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Hah, before I get into the explanation, I want to make sure that you two understand something." He said to the two of them.

Marissa sat in silence for a few moments before nodding to the headmaster.

"Okay, what is it?" She asked.

"The knowledge you are about to learn must never leave this place. If knowledge like this was made public, it would cause worldwide panic." Ozpin said, causing Marissa to grip the mug in her hand tightly.

 _ **"Panic? Wait, what are you talking about?"**_ Oscar asked.

"I understand that all of this is a lot to take in within the span of a few hours, but we are pressed for time." Ozpin said.

"..."

"Please, I need you to understand just what is at stake here." He said.

"...I can keep a secret or two. Not like we get a whole lot of visitors, to begin with." Marissa said.

"..." Ozpin remained silent, awaiting Oscar's response.

 _ **"Well, it's not like I'll be able to say anything. You'll probably stop me before I do."**_ Oscar said.

"I suppose you have a point there." He said.

"Very well. Tell me, what is your favorite Fairy Tale?" Ozpin asked.

"...Um, what?" Marissa asked.

"Please, it will all make sense in time." He said.

"Hmm, well I can't say that I read a whole lot of books back in my days." She said.

"I see. Then what books did you read yo young Oscar when he was young?" Ozpin asked.

"Ah, now that's an easier one. I'd read him all kinds of books. Tale of the Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, and his personal favorite, The Girl in the Tower." Marissa said.

"Oh? May I ask why that particular one is a favorite of his?" He asked.

"Well, he would always dream of becoming a warrior one day, going off into the world, saving the day, getting the girl." She said.

 _ **"Oh come on!"**_ Oscar said.

"Hmm, it seems that our dear Oscar is starting to get embarrassed." Ozpin said, causing his aunt to laugh lightly.

 _ **"Man this sucks."**_ He said.

"Anyways, what about the tale of the seasons?" He said.

"Hmm, yeah I remember that story. What about it?" She asked.

"Well, what if I told you that the four Maiden's, Summer, Spring, Winter, and Fall, walked the very land you call home?" Ozpin asked.

"...Pardon?" Marissa asked, not sure if she had heard Ozpin correctly.

"Indeed. The legend of the Four Maidens does indeed hold true to this day in age." He said.

"...Yeah, good one. Next thing you're going to tell me is that the Wizard that gave them these powers is wandering through Remnant as we speak." She said.

"No, of course not." Ozpin said.

However, before Oscar's aunt could respond, he quickly cut her off.

"He is standing right in front of you." He said.

"...Wait, what?!" Marissa asked.

 _ **"Wait, what?!"**_ Oscar asked.

"Indeed. The one who created the story of the Four Seasons is none other than I." Ozpin said.

"...You're serious, aren't you?" She asked.

"Indeed. How do you think I am able to reincarnate?" He asked.

"Hold on, you mean to tell me that you are the wizard?" Marissa asked Ozpin.

"That is what I said, is it not?" The wizard asked.

"..."

"Are you well? I know that it is quite a lot of information to process in a short amount of time." He said.

"Yeah. It's just...wow." Marissa said.

"That is the normal reaction that people have when they first learn this information." Ozpin said.

"Okay, so what about this whole reincarnation thing?" She asked.

Ozpin sighed before picking up the mug of coffee.

"I...I am cursed." Ozpin said.

 _ **"Cursed?"**_ Oscar asked.

"For thousands of years, I have walked the surface of Remnant. Living, dying, and reincarnating into the body of a like-minded soul." He said.

"Our dear Oscar is but one of many forms that I have taken on during my time in Remnant. It's an extraordinarily strenuous process for everyone involved." Ozpin said.

"No kidding." Marissa said. "So I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that you're not just a wizard." She said.

"You would be correct. I am the combination of countless men who have spent there lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another. This causes change. Though the memories stay intact." Ozpin said.

"How did you get this curse? Was there some other wizard that gave it to you?" Marissa asked.

"Not exactly." He said as he stared down into the liquid of the mug.

"This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because of a mistake I had made in the past." Ozpin said.

 _ **"What did you do?"**_ Oscar asked.

"..."

 ** _"Professor Ozpin?"_** He asked.

"It's not about what I did, it's what I failed to do." He said.

"...So why tell us all this?" Marissa asked.

"Because now I need you two to make a choice." Ozpin said.

 _ **"Huh?"**_ Oscar asked.

"What?" She asked.

"You see, the battle I had fought all those centuries ago is still not over. Though I fear that it will soon be reaching its conclusion." He said.

 _ **"But wouldn't that be a good thing?"**_ He asked.

"Well, let's just say that things have gotten a tad bit more complicated." Ozpin said to Oscar.

 _ **"Oh."**_

"What do you want us to do? We're not exactly the fighting type." Marissa said.

"I'm not asking you to fight." Ozpin said.

"Then what are you-?" She began, only for it to click into her mind. "...Oh." Marissa said.

 _ **"What? Hold on, what are you guys talking about?"**_ Oscar asked.

"Oscar. I can't exactly fight a war if I'm not actually there." He said.

 ** _"...Wait, hold on! You're saying you want me to-?!"_** He began.

"I'm afraid so. I...I need you to come to with me, Oscar." Ozpin said.

"..." Marissa just sat there in silence, not bothering to look the Wizard in the eye.

"I know that this is a lot to ask. I am basically asking you to send your nephew off to fight a war in which he has no part of." He said to Oscar's aunt.

"..."

"I understand if you are against this idea. You had just met me only hours ago and I'm already asking so much of you." Ozpin said.

"..."

"However, this isn't just about the kingdoms of Remnant. This battle, this war that we are waging, it affects the entire world of Remnant as we know it." He said.

"I...I need a moment." Marissa said.

"...Very well." He said as he took a sip of his mug of coffee.

"You two should get to bed." Marissa said.

Ozpin nodded and started to walk up the stairs.

Once they had reached Oscar's room, Ozpin closed the door behind him and placed the mug on the nightstand next to his bed.

"Are you kidding me?!" Oscar yelled as he resumed control of his body.

 _ **"Oscar, please. I know that this is a lot to handle."**_ Ozpin said.

"That's a bit of an understatement!" He said.

 _ **"Listen, there is much more to this situation than meets the eye."**_ He said.

"You want me to go out and fight this threat that not even you could beat?! I could barely kill a Beowolf!" Oscar said.

 _ **"I understand that. I went through the same feeling of panic and confusion that you and your aunt are going through right now. But you know what you have to do."**_ Ozpin said.

"...No." Oscar said as he sat on his bed to collect his thoughts.

 ** _"Oscar."_** He said.

"Stop talking to me!" He yelled, causing the mug to tip over and shatter.

 ** _"This isn't just about you anymore. I have a responsibility to uphold. We both do. I can't protect the people of Remnant like this. You know that."_** Ozpin said.

"..."

 _ **"However, this is your body. It is your choice."** _ He said.

"How could I make a decision like that? I...I never asked for any of this." Oscar said.

 _ **"No, you didn't. Neither did I at first. However, we do have an opportunity in front of us."**_ Ozpin said.

"An opportunity for what?" He asked.

 _ **"Greatness."**_ He said.

"Huh?" Oscar asked.

 _ **"If I recall, your aunt said that you always wished to become a warrior. A knight in shining armor that would come and save the day on his noble steed."**_ Ozpin said.

"I was eight." He said.

 _ **"Maybe so. Though I still sense that spark in you. That desire for greatness. Greatness in knowing that when the world needed help, you were the one to reach out your hand."**_ He said.

"..."

 ** _"It won't come without hardship, without sacrifice, but I know you don't want to live the rest of your life working as a farmhand in Mistral."_** Ozpin said.

"..."

 ** _"The night is upon us now. It's been a long day. Perhaps you should get some rest."_** He said.

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Oscar said as he walked towards his bed.

 _ **"Remember Oscar, this isn't about saving our world. It's about saving their world."**_ Ozpin said.

Oscar merely laid on his bed in silence, his eyes starting to get heavy.

 _ **"Though I suppose in the end, the choice is yours."**_ He said.

"..."

 _ **"Goodnight Oscar."**_ Ozpin said.

"Yeah. Goodnight." He said.

Once Ozpin's voice had faded from the Farmers mind, Oscar drifted off into slumber

* * *

 _"Wha-?" Yang asked as she awoke from her slumber._

 _However, she was no longer in the camp that she, Ruby and Blake had set up._

 _Instead, she was in the ruins of a very familiar place._

 _"No. No no no no no!" She roared, her head darting around the area in a state of pure panic._

 _She has had this dream many times before, though that didn't prevent it from becoming all the more terrifying for her._

 _Yang felt so powerless here, so helpless as she watched everything come to the ground._

 _Though if she did have to count the benefits of this dream, at least she had both of her arms back now._

 _It wouldn't happen all the time though._

 _Sometimes she would just have regular dreams like she usually does._

 _However, this dream was a lot more vivid than she remembered._

 _It's as if she actually felt the fire on her skin and the dirt in her hair. Which was odd to her considering this was a dream and all._

 _"What's going-?!" She began, only for the sound of a familiar gasp to cut her off._

 _Yang quickly spun her head around to face the source of the voice with her two arms raised up, readying herself for combat._

 _However, what she saw made her blood freeze._

 _There he was, Adam Taurus, holding her partner Blake Belladonna by her throat with his blade in the other hand._

 _"..."_

 _All of a sudden, her anger started to boil inside of her, eventually reaching its breaking point._

 _"R-run." Blake managed to say._

 _"Let her go!" She roared as she attempted to launch herself at the bull Faunus._

 _Though instead of being pushed towards the Bull Faunus, she found herself staying grounded._

 _"What?! Why can't I-?!" Yang began, only for the sight of her missing arm to cut her off._

 _"No. No, not now!" She roared as she attempted to rush towards the duo._

 _However, her legs suddenly became weak, causing her to collapse to the ground._

 _'Come on! Move! I need to save her!' Yang thought as she attempted to move her feet from the ground._

 _Though no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she struggled against her own body, it would all prove to be for naught._

 _'No! I have to save her!' She mentally roared._

 _However, it was no use. Her body just wouldn't listen to her no matter how hard she tried._

 _"P-please." She begged._

 _"It's time to silence you for good this time, traitor." Adam said as he raised his sword._

 _"No! Stop it!" She roared._

 _Though it was no use, the Bull Faunus was getting ready to execute the Faunus from within the palm of his hand._

 _"Stop!" She screamed as the blade was about to strike her partner down._

"No!" She roared, awaking from her slumber.

Yang breathed heavily as she stared at the environment around her, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

She could see that her sister, Ruby, was laying in her bag fast asleep, audible snores coming from the small little rose.

Once she had made sure that her sister was safe, she turned towards the tree where her partner decided to stay in.

Sure enough, Blake was sitting on the tree of the trunk fast asleep.

"Hah." She sighed, digging her hands into her face.

 _'I guess a little walk wouldn't hurt anybody.'_ Yang thought as she got up and started to walk into the forest.

She eventually came across the river that was nearby. Yang picked up a handful of water in her left hand and started to splash it on her face.

One of the downsides of having a mechanical arm was that bathing was now much more of a challenge then it should be.

Though it wasn't something that would hinder her ability to survive so she didn't particularly care all that much.

After she was done washing herself up, she quickly found some sort of fruit that was growing on a tree next to the riverside.

"Heh, come to mama." Yang said as she hit the trunk of the tree with her metal arm, causing some of the fruit to come falling down.

The blonde brawler sat under the tree, eating the fruit that she had just collected from the said tree.

"Ah. That hit the spot." Yang said.

"Well, you're up early." She heard the voice of Blake say, causing her to jump from where she was sitting.

"Gah! Jeez, Blake! Would it kill you to give me a warning the next time you decide to sneak up on me?!" She asked.

"Wouldn't really be sneaking up on someone if they knew they were being snuck up on." Blake said as she jumped from the tree she was standing on and landed on the ground.

"Tch, fair point." Yang said.

"So, what's bothering you?" Blake asked.

"...Psh, what are you talking about Blake? I'm perfectly fine. See?" She said as she crushed one of the apples she had in her hand with ease.

"I'm totally fine!" Yang said.

"Yeah, well if I remember correctly, you never really a morning person." Blake said.

"..."

"So, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Hah, I guess it has to do with these nightmares I've been having recently." Yang said.

"What are they about?" Blake asked.

"It's just...they're about everything that's happened recently. About everything we lost." She said as she gripped her metal hand.

"Yeah, it's been hard for everyone." She said.

"Though this one was different." Yang said.

"How so?" Blake asked.

"It felt so...real." She said.

After a few moments of silence, Blake eventually spoke up.

"Wanna talk about it?" Blake asked.

"I...I saw Adam." Yang said, causing Blake to tense up a bit.

"Oh." She said.

"He was holding you by your neck. You were so beaten up, you looked like you were ready to die." He said.

"..."

"I tried to stop him. I really did. But no matter how much I tried, no matter what I did, I couldn't even move a single muscle." Yang said.

"Yang."

"He was...he was going to kill you, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it." She growled, the metal of her arm starting to tighten.

"...Did he kill me?" Blake asked.

"Huh?" Yang asked.

"I asked if he killed me, in your dream that is." She said.

"Well, no. I woke up before he could." She said.

"Then I guess in a way you did stop him from killing me. You woke up before he had the chance." Blake said as she stood up from where she stood. "I understand what you're going through, Yang. We're all experiencing the same feeling...well, maybe not the exact same, but you get the point." She said.

"Just...talk to us. You always helped me when I whenever I didn't feel like going on. Let me return the favor." Blake said.

"Besides, I don't plan on dying anytime soon, let alone to his hands." She said.

"...Heh, yeah." Yang said as she started to pick up the fruit she had gotten from the tree.

"We should probably get back. Ruby's probably going to search the whole forest when she realizes we're gone." She said, causing Blake to nod.

Eventually, the team had made it back to the campsite they had set up. After a brief explanation to Ruby, they packed up their things and continued there treck to the great kingdom of Mistral.

The journey was relatively quiet for the most part, no Grimm to be seen throughout the forests of Sanus.

"Come on guys! If we pick up the pace we can get to the next town before sunset!" Ruby said.

"Assuming it's still there." Yang said.

"Of course it'll be there! This one's supposed to be pretty big!" Ruby said.

"Yes. This town is supposed to be very heavily fortified compared to the other ones we've come across." Blake said. "Not to mention it has a fairly popular inn." She said.

"So that means no more sleeping in the cold rain." Blake said with a very relieved tone.

"See? Everything's gonna be fine." Ruby said.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right sis. I mean, things could be a lot worse. To be honest I thought there would be more Grimm running around these parts." Yang said.

"So did I." Blake said.

"Well, I guess our luck is finally turning around!" Ruby said as she and the rest of her team continued to make there way over to the town.

Though little did they know, there were two men watching over them on the cliffsides of the forest. These two men were responsible for the lack of Grimm in the area around the group.

One them was watching over the group from a distance while the other had just finished killing the last of the remaining Grimm.

These two men were none other than Qrow Branwen, and Taiyang Xiao Long.

"Heh, yeah, sure it did kiddo." Qrow said, overhearing Ruby's statement.

"Well, that's the last of them." Tai said as he walked over to his partner with his club over his shoulder.

"Good. That should be enough for them to get over to the next town in one piece." He said.

"Heh, been awhile since we've been out on a mission together. Especially one like this." Tai said.

"I'm surprised you agreed to come along in the first place." Qrow said.

"Well, it would get pretty quiet without the two girls in the house." He said. "Besides, I have a promise to keep." Tai said.

"Okay, though mind if I ask you something before we head out?" He asked.

"Uh, sure?" He said.

"Why did you bring the dog?" Qrow asked, referring to Zwei the corgi.

The said dog was sitting next to the Blonde Huntsmen happily, his small tail wagging to show his affection.

"Zwei? Well, I couldn't exactly leave him alone all by himself." Tai said.

"Ever heard of daycare?" Qrow asked as he took out his flask.

"Well, yeah, but Zwei is a corgi. Corgis are very attached to there masters. He'd be sad if we left him alone all by himself." Tai said as he stared down at Zwei.

Qrow stared down at the dog, the corgi staring happily at the huntsmen as if it didn't have a care in the world.

"Alright fine. Just make sure it stays out of trouble." He said, taking a sip from his flask.

"Don't worry, Qrow. Zwei is a good boy. Isn't that right?" Tai asked, petting the corgi on the head.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder could be heard coming from above the skies, causing to two to look up to see storm clouds starting to form from the sky.

In the corner of Qrow's eye, he could see some sort of black bird flying above him.

After a few moments of silence, Qrow put his weapon back into its sheath and his flask back into his pocket.

"We should get moving if we don't want to get caught in this rain." Qrow said as he walked over to the cliffside.

"Follow me. I'll get us to the town before it starts pouring." He said, jumping off of the cliff and turning into his bird form.

"Alright. Come on Zwei, we've got a lot of ground to cover." Tai said as he and Zwei started to run on the cliffside in attempts to make it to the town before the rain really started to come down on them.

* * *

Eventually, the two made it to the town before the rain could really start to hit them. Luckily, so was the group that they were following.

Ruby and the others had just checked themselves into the famous Inn that the town was known for.

Qrow and Tai sat across from the rest stop in a restaurant of some sort, though making sure that they remained undetected by the girls.

Due to Ruby's latest development with her powers, she was going to be an even bigger target to the enemy, especially when she had almost incapacitated one of there own without too much effort.

So Qrow and Tai needed to make sure that she was safe, at least until they got to Mistral.

Though due to the policy that the restaurant had, the two had to sit outside so that Zwei didn't have to sit in the rain while they relaxed and planned there next course of action.

Once the two had finished their meals, Tai went out into the forest in attempts to find a place for the two to stay for the night.

Not wanting to let the poor dog walk out into the cold rain, Qrow offered to watch him until he came back.

Though this would prove to be more awkward then Qrow bargained for.

"..." The drunken Huntsmen sat there in silence as the Corgi looked up at the huntsmen with his usual happy expression.

"...Uh, hey?" He said.

Zwei merely tilted his head in response.

 _'Jeez, what the hell am I supposed to say to a dog?'_ Qrow asked himself.

Though in a strange turn of events for the Drunken Huntsmen, luck was on his side.

A bartender came from inside of the bar and placed a glass of alcohol in front of him.

"Uh, I didn't-." Qrow began, only to be cut off by the maid.

"From the women upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf." She said.

 _'...Well, it was only a matter of time I guess.'_ Qrow thought.

"Thanks." He said.

"But, I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you." She said before walking away from the two, the waitress giving him a quick wink before going back into the building.

"...Heh, still got it." Qrow said as he attempted to get up, though Zwei was quick to block him in his path.

"Look, I don't have time for this." He said.

Though Zwei stood his ground, not moving an inch.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm sure Tai could handle a few minutes." Qrow said.

"..."

"This is really important!" He said.

"..."

"Fine, what if I took you with me?" Qrow asked.

Suddenly, the Corgi moved out of the man's way and stood beside him.

"Alright. Let's go." He said as he and Zwei started to walk into the building.

They eventually made their way to the upper level, Zwei staring at the woman that was sitting at the table near the end of the hall.

"Hah, be careful around this one. She's the dangerous type." Qrow said to Zwei.

The Corgi's response was to let out a silent growl from between his teeth.

"...Hello, brother." Raven said.

"Raven." He said as he and Zwei started to walk over to the table.

Though before Qrow could sit down, he quickly stared down at Raven's mask.

"...Really?" She asked.

"..." The Drunken Huntsmen merely gave his sister his usual expression.

Raven merely rolled her eyes and put the mask aside.

"So, what do you want?" He asked.

The only response the spirit user gave him was to stare down at the dog that was beside him.

"It's Tai's." Qrow said, causing Raven to tense up.

"He's here?!" She asked.

"Not at this very moment but yes, he and I are going on a little road trip to Haven." He said.

"...So you got him wrapped up in this situation?" Raven asked.

"We gave him a choice and he chose to do the right thing." Qrow said.

"Keep telling yourself that." She said.

"So, I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that you didn't come here just to have a friendly chat." He said.

"..."

"Then how about we got on with it?" Qrow said as he placed his glass down.

"Does she have it?" Raven asked.

"...Yang's going to Mistral as well, you know that?" He asked.

"That's not-!" She began.

"Rhetorical Question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd show just a slight concern for Tai and then carry on as if your own daughter doesn't exist." Qrow said.

"I have cut all my ties with that man. He is no longer of any concern to me." Raven said.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." He mocked, causing the spirit user to clench her fist.

"I saved her from getting herself killed." She said.

"Yeah, once. Because that was your rule, right? Real mom of the year material, sis." He began as he reached for his glass, though Raven quickly gripped the man's wrist with her hand.

"I told you Beacon would fall and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" Raven asked.

"I thought you weren't concerned with all of that." Qrow said.

"I just want to know what we are up against." She said.

"...And which _we_ are you referring to?" He asked.

Raven glared at her brother before letting go of his wrist.

"You should come back, Raven. You're a spirit user and a damn good one at that. Our chances of taking her down would be significantly increased if you just switched sides." Qrow said.

"Though we can only do it by working together. All of us." He said.

"..."

"You talked to the kid, right?" Qrow asked.

"The wielder of Caliber?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. While the kid did study under Oz, he had an agenda of his own." He said.

"..."

"To find every single spirit user, and bring them together to stop Salem." Qrow said.

"So he knows." Raven said.

"Yeah, I'm assuming Ozpin told him about all this before the Fall of Vale." He said.

"You believe he can do it?" She asked.

"I don't even know if he's alive." Qrow said, causing Raven's head to perk up.

"What?" She asked.

"Last I saw him he was going toe to toe in a battle against the False Maiden." He said.

"...That fool." Raven said.

"I don't know what happened in that battle. I didn't stick around to watch. Though I do know that his little plan might be the best chance we've got in case the situation with the Maiden's goes south." Qrow said.

"..."

"Raven." He said.

"You of all people should know how difficult it is to find one of the spirits, let alone ten of them." She said.

"I know. That's why we need you to come back." Qrow said.

"..."

"Raven, if we can't do this, if Salem gets the relics, then it's all over. You know that." He said.

"..."

"Raven!" Qrow said.

"If you don't know where the relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." She said as she grabbed her mask from the table.

Zwei started to growl at the woman, though Qrow quickly placed his hand on his head.

"Calm down." He said.

"Goodbye, brother." Raven said.

"It wasn't Ozpin's fault. You know that. This isn't what he would have wanted for you." Qrow said.

"...Tell that to Summer." She said as she swung her blade through the air, causing a portal to appear.

Without saying a single word, Raven walked through the portal, leaving Qrow to think upon there conversation.

"Hah!" He heard the waitress gasp, causing him to turn to face her.

The young girl was staring at the area where Raven originally was in utter terror, dropping the glass she had on her tray.

"...Make this one a double." Qrow said.

* * *

It was the day of the charity concert that the Schnee dust company was holding in the theatre in the manor.

Many have gathered to attend the concert in hopes to calm their nerves about the incident in Vale, though some were there due to the people in power that would be there.

They wanted to meet these people in hopes to attain some sort of goal that leaned towards there personal agenda.

Even during this crisis, it all came back to politics.

Despite all of this, some merely came to find some sort of entertainment in there lives.

It was as if the people of Atlas forgot all about the incident in Vale.

These people had the audacity to laugh, snicker at all of those who were lost in the Fall of Vale. Every sacrifice the soldiers of Atlas, their own kingdom, meant nothing to them.

The Heiress was currently sitting in the preparations room, waiting to be called up to the stage so that she may sing for the audience.

"...Hah." Weiss sighed as she stared down at the long line of people that were making there way into the theatre.

"Ms. Schnee." She heard Klein say, causing her to turn her head towards the door.

"It's time." He said.

"Okay. I'll be right out." Weiss said, causing Klein to nod and close the door behind him.

Weiss clenched her fists before walking towards the door leading to the stage.

"Ah! Ms. Schnee. Good to see that you could make it." Her agent said to her.

 _'Not like I had much of a choice on the matter.'_ Weiss thought to herself as she stood in front of her agent.

"Looks like it's packed out there. It's a full house." She said as she peered around the corner of the theatre curtains.

"Now, do you remember what you have to do?" Her agent asked.

"Yes. Walk out there once the event reaches its climax. Then I sing the song that my father picked for me." Weiss said.

"About that." She began as she leaned in closer to her.

"I know that you really don't want to do this, right?" Her agent asked.

"Was it that obvious?" Weiss asked.

"I've been working with you for years. I can tell you've changed since the incident in Vale." She said.

"..."

"So, if you want to maybe pick the song yourself in spite of your father, then I may be able to overlook it. Just this once." Her agent said, causing Weiss's head to perk.

"Really?" Weiss asked.

"Just this once. Besides, I never really liked your father anyways." She said.

"Not even mother likes father." She said with a chuckle.

"Can't argue with that. So, which song are you going to pick?" Her agent asked.

"..."

That was a good question indeed. Due to this sudden development, Weiss hadn't really had the time to pick out a song herself.

Now that she actually was able to, she wasn't really sure what to pick.

However, after a few brief moments of thought, an idea suddenly sparked into her head.

"I think I have an idea." Weiss said.

 **"Finally, to close our event! I have a special guest with us tonight!"** The announcer said.

"Good luck, Ms. Schnee." Her agent said.

Weiss nodded and walked out into the theatre.

 **"Introducing! Weiss Schnee!"** He said, causing the theatre to applaud the Heiress.

She stood out in front of the stage, staring down at the crowd before turning to face her father.

Weiss took a deep breath and started to sing the song that she had prepared.

Not her father.

"Mirror, can you hear me? Do I reach you?" She sang, causing Weiss's father to stand up straight in his seat.

"Are you even listening? Can I get through?" Weiss sang, looking out into the crowd.

To them, this was all part of the performance, though, to Jacques, this was a direct defiance from his daughter.

There's a part of me that's desperate for changes, tired of being treated like a pawn."

"But there's a part of me that stares back from inside the mirror, part of me that's scared I might be wrong."

"That I can't be strong..."

"I've been afraid, never standing on my own I let you be the keeper of my pride."

"Believed you when you told me I was nothing on my own!"

"Listen when I say, I swear it here today! I will not surrender, this life is mine!" She sang.

"Amazing how you conquered me, chained me in servility and made me see!"

"The world the way you told me to but I was young and didn't have a way to know the truth!"

"Born to live your legacy, existing just to fill your needs, a casualty!"

"Of this so-called family that you have turned into a travesty!"

"But I don't intend to suffer any longer, here's where your dominion falls apart!"

"I'm shattering the mirror that kept me split in pieces, that stood between my mind and heart."

"This is where I'll start!"

"I'm not your pet, not another thing you own, I was not born guilty of your crimes!"

"Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore! I won't be possessed, burdened by your royal test!"

"I will not surrender, this life is mine!"

"Shame that it took so long to rescue me from the guilt you used to tie me to your family tree!"

"I guess your training failed, you're not in charge I'm free! Your patriarchal prison won't hold me!"

"Now this conversation's finally over, Mirror mirror, now we're done!"

"I've pulled myself together now, my mind and heart are one!"

"Finally one!"

"I'm not your pet, not another thing you own! I was not born guilty of your crimes!"

"Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore! I won't be possessed! Burdened by your royal test!"

"I will not surrender, this life is mine!" She sang, concluding the song.

After a few seconds of silence, the crowd started to applaud Weiss's performance while her father looked down at her with a serious expression on his face.

Weiss bowed and started to walk out of the theatre.

However, before she could walk towards the ballroom, her father quickly walked from behind the corner to stop her.

He was walking with her brother, Whitley, as well as two other's she didn't recognize.

"..." He merely stared at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, father?" Weiss asked.

"We will speak once the event is over." Jacques said as he started to walk towards the ballroom.

"Now where were we?" Her father asked.

The Heiress merely smirked as she watched her father walk away from her.

Sure she would get an earful from him later, though it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before.

Weiss started to walk towards the ballroom as everyone made their way into the party prepared for after the concert.

The entire hall was filled with people of various kinds, though they were all mostly concerned with getting close to her father.

She could overhear a conversation that her father was having with the two people she saw him walk into the ballroom with.

"That's precisely my point. We offer Faunus the exact same wages given to the rest of our mining staff. Their argument is completely invalid right out of the gate." Jacques said.

 _'Yeah, though they don't get the same benefits as the human workers do.'_ Weiss thought as she made her way through the room, making sure she wasn't seen by her father.

"Well, I think the bigger issue here is our society as a whole." The man said.

"You mean Atlas?" Jacques asked.

"Atlas, Mantle, you can't deny the economic disparity between the two." He said.

"I mean, what exactly are you suggesting?" The woman asked.

Though Weiss merely blocked out there conversation as she had more important things on her mind.

She was currently making her way towards the giant picture of Vale that was displayed for all to see, reminding everyone of the tragedy that befell upon the great kingdom.

However, it seemed like no one was really bothering to even acknowledge the painting.

Weiss stared at the painting with a saddened expression on her face, memories of what happened there starting to resurface.

"Hah." She sighed.

"It's beautiful." She heard a man say, though Weiss paid no attention to him.

"You two match." He said.

"Yes, it's a lovely painting." Weiss said.

"..."

"So that was my attempt at breaking the ice. How am I doing so far?" He asked.

"You are leaving a lot to be desired." She said.

"Well, I've always appreciated honesty. Henry" He said as he extended his hand outwards.

"Maigold."

"...Weiss Schnee." Weiss said as she gripped the man's hand.

"I know. I saw your performance. Obviously." He said.

"..." Weiss was already losing interest.

"You were wonderful, and I promise I'm not just saying that cause you're pretty." Henry said.

"Honesty, remember?" He asked.

"So...you thinking about buying it?" Henry asked as he stared at the painting.

"No. I don't think so." Weiss said.

"Yeah, kind of pricey for a painting." He said.

"It's to raise money." She said sternly.

"Oh really? For what?" Henry asked.

"For what?!" She asked.

"I'll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks-." He began as he took a glass off of the tray.

"As well as the extraordinary company, of course." Henry said.

Weiss scowled as she turned to face the man.

"So what? Is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?" He asked.

"...Get out." She said.

"What?" Henry asked.

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out." Weiss said.

"But I haven't done any-" He began.

"Leave!" She said.

"...Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like-!" He began, only for the feeling of someone placing there hand on his shoulder to cut him off.

"I believe the young lady asked you to leave." The man said.

"Yeah? So wha-?!" He began, only for the man's hand to get unnaturally cold.

"It would be in your best interest to do so, or I will personally see you out." He said in a stern tone.

"...Tch, whatever." He said as he finished his drink and started to walk towards the exit.

"Are you alright?" The man asked.

"Yes, thank you." Weiss said to the man.

"It was nothing, Ms. Schnee. That man was being rude so I merely gave him a lesson." He said as he turned towards the painting.

"You know, I'm considering buying this painting for myself." The man said.

"Really?" She asked.

"Indeed. What happened in Vale was a tragedy." He said.

"Yeah, it was." Weiss said.

"I wish to honor those who have fallen in Vale. What happened that day will be forever stitched into the history of Remnant." The man said.

"..."

"You were a student there, correct?" He asked.

"..." Weiss's only response was to nod her head in silence.

"I can't imagine the pain you had to endure ever since the fall of such a great kingdom." The man said.

"..."

"You have my condolences, no one should have had to see the horrors that had befallen upon Vale." The man said.

Suddenly, a single tear started to fall down Weiss's face.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to bring up memories of the past." He said as he took out a piece of cloth from his pocket and handed it over to Weiss.

"Thank you." She said as she took the piece of cloth and lightly dabbed her eyes with it.

"It was quite noble of you do take a stand for the kingdom." The man said.

"Right. Oh! I'm sorry, I never introduced myself." She said as she held out her hand.

"My name is Weiss Schnee." Weiss said.

"Count Vladimir." Vladimir said as he shook the hand of Weiss.

"A pleasure to meet you, Vladimir." She said.

"Please, the pleasure is all mine." He said with a chuckle.

"So, what brings you to this charity event?" Weiss asked.

"I merely wish to offer my condolences to those who were lost in the Fall of Vale." Vladimir said.

"I see." She said.

Though as the two went back and forth, Weiss could slightly over hear some of the conversations that were going on behind her back.

One of them she was less than pleased to hear.

"But really, does it come as any surprise what happened to Vale?" She heard the woman say, causing her to freeze in place.

"It was a long time coming if you ask you." She said.

 _'...What?!'_ Weiss mentally asked as she clenched her fist.

"Honey." Her husband said.

"What? You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defenses, then I say good riddance." She said.

That's when Weiss had decided she had heard enough.

"Shut up!" She roared, causing everyone in the ballroom to go silent at the Heiress's sudden outburst.

"Weiss." Jacques said.

"You don't have a clue! None of you do!" Weiss roared at the woman.

"Excuse me?!" She asked.

"You're all just standing around talking about nothing! Worrying about your hair, your money, your stupid problems that don't mean anything!" She yelled.

Jacques quickly took action and grabbed Weiss's arm with his hand.

"Weiss, that's enough!" He said sternly.

"Let go of me!" Weiss yelled.

"You're embarrassing the family!" Jacques said.

"I said let go!" She said, managing to pry herself away from her fathers grip.

Though what she wasn't expecting was to accidentally create a summoning glyph on the floor.

After a few moments, the glyph created a Boarbatusk that roared to the sky and charged towards the woman.

"Please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Just leave me alone!" She begged as the beast was about to pounce on her.

Though before it could, a large shroud of ice consumed the area, blinding everyone in the ballroom.

Once they had regained their vision, they could see Vladimir standing in front of the women with a serious look in his eyes.

Sure enough, the summoned Grimm had been destroyed, not a single trace of the beast was left.

"Is everyone alright?" Ironwood asked.

"Arrest her!" She roared, pointing her finger at Weiss.

"..." The two men merely stood there in silence.

"What are you waiting for? She's insane, she should be locked up!" She said.

"She's the only one making sense around here." Ironwood said as he turned towards Weiss's father.

"Thanks for the party, Jacques." He said as he started to make his way towards the exit.

"You have my thanks, good sir. I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if-." She began, only for Vladimir to turn to face the woman with a serious look in his eyes.

"Leave." He said.

"...Excuse me?!" The wife asked.

"You have no right to be here. Your very presence here is an insult to those who had fallen during the collapse of Vale." Vladimir said.

"Why I never!" She roared.

"Hey! You can't talk to my wife like-!" The man began, only for Vladimir to quickly turn his head towards the man, causing him to be completely encased in a shell of ice.

"..." The wife stared at her frozen husband in horror as she slowly backed away from the count.

"I won't ask again." Vladimir said, causing the woman to run out of the theatre in complete horror.

The count sighed and snapped his fingers, causing the ice to shatter.

After a few moments of silence, the man started to run out of the ballroom with his wife.

"Terribly sorry everyone, but I must make my leave now." Vladimir said as he started to walk towards the exit.

Before Weiss could question the count, she was cut off by her father's glare.

"You and I are going to have a long talk." He growled.

* * *

"Hah." The waitress sighed as she leaned back in one of the seats of the bar as the day came to a close.

"Long day?" The bartender asked from behind the bar.

"Tell me about it." She said.

The man chuckled and grabbed a bottle of alcohol from the shelf before pouring some into a small glass.

"Here, you look like you need this." The man said.

"Wha-? Oh, no you don't have to." She said.

"Come on, one glass never hurt anybody." He said.

"...Okay, if you insist." The waitress said as she picked up the glass with her hand.

"So, what exactly happened? Been hearing stories going around the town recently." He said as he started to wash one of his cups.

"That's the thing, I don't even know what happened!" She said.

"What'd you mean?" The man asked.

"It means that I haven't been able to piece anything that happened these past few days together in any logical sense." The waitress said.

"Well, it is a crazy world out here." He said.

"Yeah, well these past few days fall into the supernatural category." She said.

"Tell me about it." The man said.

"Well, first, I met this huntsman near the table right outside the bar." The waitress said as she consumed the contents of the glass.

"Hmm, we haven't gotten a lot of huntsmen ever since Vale fell. Wonder what brings him out here?" He asked.

"I don't even want to know." She said.

"So then I meet this woman who looks almost exactly like that one guy, and she tells me to send him up here with a drink from the bottom shelf." She said.

"Must not think too highly of him then." The man said.

"No kidding. So I decided to treat him to a bottle on the top shelf." The waitress said.

"So that's why one of the bottles went missing." He said.

"Yeah, so I leave the two to have whatever conversation they needed to have, though I could tell it wasn't anything good. I could feel the tension coming from upstairs." She said.

"So I decided to give the man one on the house, but as soon as I walk upstairs I see that woman walking through some portal or something!" The woman said.

"Portals? That's a new one." The bartender said.

"Tell me about it. So the Huntsman and I decided to share a little drink before he hit the road." She said.

"Heh, well aren't you lucky?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I know! Though it only gets stranger from here!" The woman said. "I'm not sure if this was from all the drinks I had, but I'm pretty sure that I saw that guy turn into a bird!" She said.

"...A bird?" He asked.

"That's what I said." The girl said.

"Look, I know that there are some crazy people with some crazy powers out there, but a bird?" The man asked.

"Tell me about it! It doesn't even end there!" She said. "So once I was all sobered up I went upstairs to clean up the mess I made. Though just as I was about to finish cleaning up, this crazy guy just walks up to me." The woman said.

"Now that isn't very nice." The man said.

"No! I literally mean he was crazy! He had the scars, the stare, he even had the laugh!" She said.

"Alright, so what happened next?" He asked.

"Yeah." They heard a female voice ask, causing the duo to spin their heads towards the source of the voice.

The woman in question had brown hair, grey eyes, and pale skin. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, allowing two silver earrings to be shown on her ears.

She dawned a black leather jacket of some sort, a redshirt could be seen from underneath the zipped up parts. The collar of the jacket also had some sort of hood attached to the back if it.

She had ripper blue pants with a belt wrapped around her waist, various pouches strapped to the belt. She wore two fingerless gloves as well as a pair of black boots. To wrap her attire up, she had a sash wrapped around her waist, the shash having some sort of emblem, the crest dawning the figure of some sort of strange, unknown being.

However, the most noticeable part about her attire was the lantern that she had attached to the belt that was wrapped around her waist.

"Tell us more about that man." She said as she started to walk over towards the duo.

"Uh, can we help you, ma'am?" The bartender asked.

"What did I just say? Tell me more about the man you saw." The woman said.

"Hmm, well he asked me if I could help him find some girl." She said.

"Okay, what did he look like?" She asked.

"Well, he had pale skin and gold eyes. I think he also had long brown hair what was wrapped in a ponytail of some sort." She said, causing the woman to narrow her eyes.

"Did he have some scars on his chest?" The woman asked.

"Hmm...Actually, yeah, I think he did." She said.

"Tell me where he went." She said.

"Uh, I think he said something about going to the ruins of Vale. Not sure why he-." She began, only for the woman to start walking out of the building.

"Hey! Wait!" The waitress said as she ran out of the bar and towards the door.

Though once the two made it to the outside, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

However, the sound of flames crackling in the air could be heard above them, causing the duo to look up. Though what they saw only added to the strange events that had happened these past two days.

The woman was seeing riding on the lantern, the top of the lantern having some sort of long metal rod, making it look like some sort of broomstick. Flames could be seen shooting out from the bottom of the lantern.

"Thanks." She said as she shot off in the other direction, leaving the duo to process what had just happened.

"...I'm just gonna call it a day." The waitress said.

* * *

"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable." Jacques said as he started to pace around Weiss's room.

Now that the event was over, Weiss was about to get the biggest earful from her father she had ever heard.

"Do you have any idea what your stunt cost us?" He asked.

Though this level of anger was one she hadn't seen in a while now.

"I-." She attempted to defend, only for her father to quickly cut her off.

"And don't think I'm just talking about Lien here! Our reputation! Our...Our!...Hah." He said, pinching the brim of his nose.

That was the breaking point for Weiss.

She had finally had enough of her father's actions towards her and her family. Tonight was the wake-up call for her.

"I want to leave." She said sternly.

"...I beg your pardon?" He asked.

"I said I want to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want to stay in Atlas anymore." Weiss said.

"Young lady, I don't give a damn about what you want." Jacques said. "This isn't about you, this is about the Schnee family name and your apparent insistence on dragging it through the mud!" He said.

"I have done nothing but fight to uphold the honor of my family name, a name that you married in-!" She began, only for Jacques to crack his hand across her face.

.

.

The room was filled with an unsettling silence for a few moments, Weiss absolutely shocked at the fact that her own father had just raised his hand against her.

"This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing." He said. " You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is." Jacques said.

"You think running off like your sister is going to make the Schnee came stronger, you're wrong." He said.

"Siding with her only divides us." Jacques said.

"I'm not siding with anyone, I'm doing what I feel is right, and that does not include wasting my time up here with these clueless people in Atlas." Weiss said.

"The Schnee family legacy isn't yours to leave. It's mine, and I'll do it as a Huntress." She said.

"No...you won't." He said.

"You're not leaving Atlas. You're not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it." Jacques said. "You are going to remain here out of sight and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future." He said.

"What?!" Weiss asked.

"Your presupposition that you can simply have whatever it is you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents." He said.

"But from now on, I'll be giving you the full attention you require." Jacques said. "Starting by keeping you where I can see you." He said as he started to walk away from Weiss.

"...You can't just keep me from leaving!" She said.

"I can, and the staff here will make sure of it." Jacques said.

"So now I'm just your prisoner?!" Weiss asked.

"You are my daughter. You're a child, and children are grounded when they misbehave." He said.

"This is only going to make things worse, Father. People will ask questions! They'll want to know why the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found." She said.

"Which is why you are no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." Jacques said, causing Weiss's blood to freeze.

"...Excuse me?" She asked.

"Clearly the trauma you endured at the Fall of Vale was too much for you. Which is why you've been generously revoked your claim to the company and it's earnings and passed them on to your brother Whitely." He said.

Suddenly, everything made sense in Weiss's head.

"It's time to wake up and face reality." Jacques said as he walked towards the door.

However, through the crack of her door, she could see her brother staring into her room with a smile on his face.

She scowled and walked towards the door to confront her brother.

"Whitely!" She yelled, causing her brother to stop in his tracks.

"Yes, sister?" He asked.

"Did you know about this?" Weiss asked.

"About what?" Whitely asked.

"You never liked Winter. You never liked me. But you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back." She said.

"If being kind to my big sister is some sort of crime, then I'm supposed I'm guilty." He said.

"...You wanted this to happen." Weiss said.

"It's foolish not do to as father asks." He said with a serious expression on his face.

"...I can't believe you." She said.

"Don't worry, Weiss. The Schnee family name is in good hands." Whitely said as he walked away from his sister.

Weiss just stood there in shock, still attempting to process what had just happened.

After a few moments of shock, she ran into her bedroom, tears falling down her cheeks.

However, the Heiress saw an opportunity present itself in front of her.

If no one was going to bother her, then she had an opportunity to finally train her craft.

She walked over to her curtains and shut them, making sure she couldn't be seen by anyone.

After she had done that, she quickly started to move the furniture she had placed all around her room.

Finally, she walked over to the case that held her weapon out.

"Well, time to get to work." She said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby's group had started to continue there journey towards Mistral after a long night of sleep at the Inn.

"Hah! Whew. It felt really good to sleep in a bed again." Yang said as she stretched out her arms.

"Tell me about it. It was nice to know that I wasn't gonna wake up completely drenched." Blake said.

"Aw come on, it wasn't that bad. A little water never hurt anyone." She said.

"Say's the girl who treats every strand of hair as if it were her own child." She commented.

"Hah! Shh, don't listen to her. She doesn't understand." Yang said as she started to caress her hair.

"Well, we better get used to the rain because we've still got a whole lot of ground to cover before we can make it to Mistral." Ruby said.

"Yeah, maybe we'll run into Pyrrha on the way there. I'm pretty sure she was from Mistral." Yang said.

"Not to mention team SSSN. Remember, they came to the festival from Mistral, so they're bound to be there." Blake said.

"Been awhile since we've seen everyone. Wonder how they've been doing since we've last seen them." She said.

"Who knows. I'll have to thank him for the next time we get meet." She said.

"I wonder if we'll run into vomit boy along the way?" Yang asked.

"We will." Ruby said.

"You sound certain." She said.

"I know we'll find Jaune and the others back in Mistral. He's not the one to give up, at least not anymore." She said.

"He'll want to finish what he started...what Brandon started." Ruby said.

Once the name of the swordsman was mentioned, tension in the area started to rise.

"Yeah, that does sound like Jaune." Yang said.

"..."

"Don't worry. I know that he's still out there. If thousands of White Fang soldiers and a mad scientist weren't enough to bring him down, I don't think that one woman would be enough to take him down." Ruby said.

"Heh, he's always been one tough guy to take down." Yang said.

"See, I know he's still out there. He...he has to be." She said.

"..." Blake merely remained silent.

"You okay, Blake?" Yang asked.

"...Yeah, I'm okay. You're right, Ruby. He's out there somewhere. It's just a matter of finding him is all." She said.

"He's always had a habit of just randomly disappearing before coming back just as randomly." Ruby said.

However, as the trio continued there walk through the forest, they were eventually starting to walk off of the path that was set for them.

"Uh, Ruby, are you sure you know where you're going?" Yang asked.

"Of course I do Yang! We're going to the next town! The one in the mountains, remember?" She asked.

"I know where we're going. It's just that this doesn't look like the right way." She said.

"What do you mean? I'm going where the map is telling me to go." Ruby said.

However, before Blake and Yang could continue to question there leader, they quickly stopped in there tracks.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Ruby asked.

"R-Ruby. Look." Yang said as she pointed her finger forwards.

"What do you mean lo-?" She began, though as she turned to face what had brought her teammates to a halt, she froze in place.

It appeared that Ruby had indeed gotten lost somewhere on the way to the next town. Because what they were seeing wasn't the mountain they were heading towards.

But in fact, it was the ruined wall of the once great kingdom of Vale.

"...Oh." Ruby said, lowering the map from her face.

The area had a few building around the area, some of them were outposts for people who wanted to enter the kingdom.

The members of team RBY started to look around the area in attempts to find any Grimm that have made their way into the area.

From the looks of it, all of the Grimm have made their way into the ruins of the city.

"Damn, so this is what's left, huh?" Yang asked as she and the rest of the team started to walk towards the wall.

"It's all gone. It's really gone." Ruby said, her eyes wandering around the ruined wall.

"There's nothing left." Blake said.

It was quite a sad sight to see the once great kingdom of Vale reduced to a pile of rubble.

"...Why? Why did this have to happen?" Ruby asked as she clenched her fist.

"I don't know, sis. But that's what we intend to find out." Yang said as she placed her hand on the shoulder of her sister.

"Yeah, we'll make sure that every sacrifice that was made here wasn't in vain." Ruby said.

"That's the spirit, sis." She said as she wrapped her arm around the red hooded girl's shoulder.

However, as the two continued to have their heart to heart, Blake suddenly sensed some sort of presence coming towards them.

It was a...unhinged one, the presence alone was enough for a chill to make its way down Blake's spine.

"Blake?" Yang asked, noticing her partner's tense state.

"Something's coming." She said as she unsheathed her sword.

Ruby and Yang looked at one another with serious expressions on there face's before turning back to Blake with there weapons readied.

The presence was getting even closer and closer by the second, each member of the group starting to huddle together in attempts to throw off the enemy.

Suddenly, a figure jumped out from within the forces, landing a few feet away from the group.

Before any of the members of team RWBY could react, the man activated his weapons and charged towards the trio.

The Cat Faunus quickly charged towards the man with her blade at her side, attempting to strike the man down. However, he was easily able to block the attack with his weapons.

Just as Blake was about to use her semblance to get away, the man quickly kicked her towards the stone walls.

However, instead of going after her, he turned to charge towards Ruby with a sadistic look on his face.

Ruby attempted to block the oncoming attack, though the man was easily able to kick Ruby away. Before she could react, he started to rapidly slash at the red hooded girl with his two weapons.

He chuckled a bit before kicking her across the chest and slashing his weapon at her abdomen, causing her aura to take heavy damage.

Yang attempted to strike at the attacker gauntlet gaunlet, though he was easily able to block the attack, though the force of Yang's fist sent him flying towards the stone walls of Vale.

The trio stared at the area where Yang had punched him to see if they had managed to defeat the unknown attacker.

Unfortunately for them, the man was relatively unharmed by Yang's attack.

"What?! That all you got?!" Yang asked.

"Who are you?!" Blake asked as she walked up beside Yang.

The man merely smiled menacingly before making his way towards the ground, landing on it with an audible thud.

"Who I am matters not to you." The man said as he pointed at Blake.

"Or you." He said, moving his finger towards Yang.

"Though you do look familiar." The man said, causing the Blonde Brawler to clench her fist.

"No, I only matter to you." He said, pointing his finger at Ruby.

"...Me?" She asked.

Suddenly, the man started to laugh uncontrollably, causing another chill to go down Blake's spine.

Yang growled, her eyes starting to turn red as she glared at the attacker.

"You haven't the slightest clue, do you?" He asked. "Oh, how exciting this must be!" The man said.

"What do you want?" Ruby asked.

"Oh! The rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to wisk you away with me!" He said.

"Yeah? What makes you think she wants to go with you?" Yang asked.

"Well, if she does attempt to put up a fight, then I'll just take her." The man said.

Blake walked up beside Ruby with a glare on her face.

"You'll have to go through us then." She said.

"...If you insist." He said.

Suddenly, the man appeared behind Yang in the blink of an eye, reeling his weapon backward's in attempts to strike her down.

"Yang!" Blake yelled as she started to fire at the man, forcing him to block the attack.

Tyrian jumped over the Blonde Brawler and kicked her towards Blake, causing her to slam into the Faunus.

Ruby attempted to strike the man down, though he swept his leg under her feet and kicked her away.

Yang had managed to recover from the attack and charged towards the man, swinging her fist in attempts to strike him down. Though he quickly ducked under the attack and kicked her on the head before kicking her towards the rubble, causing a large dust cloud to form in the area where she landed.

Blake attempted to use her semblance to get the upper hand in the fight, though the attacker was easily able to predict her movements and quickly kicked her away.

Though through the dust, Yang was starting to charge one of her attacks with her newly modified arm, the mechanical limb starting to glow with a gold aura. After a few moments of silence, she quickly charged towards the man with her fist glowing with a bright golden aura.

In a matter of seconds, she was able to close the gap between her and the attacker. Yang roared and swung her fist at the man, causing a massive explosion to echo throughout the area.

However, once the dust had cleared, the man could be seen blocking Yang's attack with his newly revealed scorpion tail.

"Surprise!" He said as he kicked Yang away and jumped over towards the rubble of the wall of Vale.

"He's...a Faunus!" Blake said.

"What is this about?! The White Fang?!" Ruby asked.

"Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to our goddess!" The man said.

"...Cinder." She growled.

"Heh, only in her wildest dreams!" He yelled as he charged towards the group once again.

Tyrian landed behind Ruby and hit her with his tail, causing her to stumble back a bit. Before Ruby could react, the man punched Ruby in the chest before charging towards Blake, attempting to jab at her with his tail.

Meanwhile, Qrow, Tai, and Zwei were already on the run towards the scene, Qrow moving ahead due to his bird form.

"Who the hell is that guy?!" Tai yelled as he desperately ran to his daughter's aid.

Zwei growled and started to bark, his aura starting to flare to life.

Yang attempted to strike at the Faunus, though he was easily able to strike her down with his tail. He turned towards Blake and kicked her over towards Yang once again.

Before Ruby could react, the man quickly kicked her in the chest, causing her to go flying through the air.

Though in a matter of seconds, the man was right there to meet Ruby as she fell. Before she could land on the ground, the Faunus kicked her in the stomach, causing her aura to shatter.

At this point, Qrow had managed to make his way towards the group.

Ruby could only lay on the ground, unable to get up as the man started to slowly walk over towards the girl.

Suddenly, the scene from her dream started to flash in Yang's mind.

"No." She said quietly.

"Ugh." Ruby groaned as she stared up at the man.

"This might...sting a little." He said.

"No!" She yelled.

The man roared as he lunged towards Ruby with a sadistic look on his face.

"Ruby, no!" She screamed.

However, before the man could stab Ruby with his poison tail, he was nailed in the face by a fireball of some sort, causing the man to go flying backward's.

"...Wha-?" Ruby asked as the dust cleared.

The last thing she expected was for her dog, Zwei, to stand right in front of her, growling at Ruby's attacker.

"Zwei?!" Yang and Ruby yelled.

"You two just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" They head Qrow say, causing them to spin there heads towards there uncle.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang yelled.

"Well, I guess that's what we're here for." Tai said as he walked beside Qrow.

"Dad!" The two yelled.

Meanwhile, the man had managed to recover from the attack, causing both Qrow and Tai to walk in front of Ruby.

"Just let us take care of this, girls." Tai said with his club on his shoulder.

"Yeah, this kind of job might be a bit too...advanced for you." Qrow said as Zwei started to walk beside the Drunken Huntsmen.

"As I live and breathe! The infamous Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long! It appears we are in the presence of legends here!" The man said.

"...Uh?" The two began as they turned towards Ruby.

"I don't know, this guy is weird." She said.

"Look pal, I'm not sure who you are but you need to leave our family alone." Qrow said.

"Why friend, my name is Tyrian, and I'm afraid that is not possible." The newly named Tyrian said.

"My assignment from her grace was to retrieve this young girl. So that is what I must do." He said. "One does not upset the queen." Tyrian said.

"Queen?" Ruby asked.

"Salem." Qrow and Tai growled.

"Who?" Ruby and Yang asked.

"To think that I, Tyrian Callows would have the privilege of facing against legends like you! Now, I believe that is enough chatter for one day." He said as he got ready to pounce.

"...You took the words right out of my-!" Qrow began, only for Tyrian to charge towards the duo with his weapons readied.

Qrow quickly blocked the attack and started to swing his blade at Tyrian. The two eventually clashed with one another, giving Tai an opening. The Blonde Huntsmen rushed towards Tyrian and swung his club at his body, causing him to go flying down the dirt ground.

He was eventually able to stop the attack, though he Tai attempted to strike at the man with his club, though Tyrian was able to dodge the attack, causing the impact of the club to create a large crater.

Qrow started to rapidly swing his blade at the Scorpion, though due to his quick movements and unique fighting style of using all five of his limbs, he was able to keep up with the two men as they started rushing the man down.

Eventually, Qrow managed to slam his blade on the man's weapon's, causing a massive shockwave to spread throughout the area.

"Tai! Go!" Qrow yelled.

The Faunus quickly turned his head to see the dog was getting ready for some sort of attack. Tai smirked and used the same attack from before, causing Zwei to go flying towards the man with his tongue hanging out

Tyrian smirked and used his tail to dodge the attack right as Tai fired it, causing the attack to hit Qrow instead.

"Damn it!" Tai yelled as ran towards Tyrian.

"...Ow." Qrow said as he dusted himself off.

Zwei barked at the huntsmen, slightly wagging his tail as he stared up at the drunk.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go." He said as he started to follow his partner, Zwei following close behind.

The man laughed and pointed his two weapons at the two men, the guns on top of them activating. To avoid the oncoming bullet's, Qrow and Tai started to split up to circle Tyrian.

Yang and Blake saw an opportunity to strike the man down and rushed towards Tyrian with there weapons extended outwards.

However, the man used his tail as a way to balance himself while still being able to use his legs to fight. This allowed him to kick the two away before charging towards the trio.

Though right as he was about to strike at the group, Qrow quickly blocked the attack.

Before Tyrian could continue his assault, Tai quickly hit him away, causing the man to focus on Tai instead of the group.

"Don't come any close-Ah!" He groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his side.

He looked down to see that his aura was starting to ooze some sort of bright red liquid from it.

"What the hell?" Qrow asked.

"Hmm?" Tai hummed, his attention being drawn away from Tyrian for a split second.

The man chuckled and swung his bladed at Tai, causing a similar liquid to start oozing from his body, only this time, it was bright gold.

"Ah! What is this stuff?" Tai asked.

Tyrian laughed as he started to slowly walk towards the duo.

"...I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say that this is his semblance." Qrow said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner!" The Scorpion said as he started to clap his hands together.

"It's like some sort of bleeding effect." Tai said.

"We have lucky winner number two! That's right, my semblance slowly chips away at your life." He said.

"The more I hit you, the quicker you die!" Tyrian said.

"...Tch, well whatever. We've got some business to take care of with your boss." Qrow said.

"Yeah, some of us have a promise to keep." Tai said.

However, what the two weren't expecting was for Tyrian to get a look of disappointment on his face.

"Ah, such a shame. Here I thought I was in the presence of true huntsmen. Though it appears that I was wrong." Tyrian said.

"What the hell are you talking about now?" Tai asked.

"Hell if I know, this guy's a real nut job." Qrow said.

Tyrian sighed before charging towards the two with his weapons extended outwards. Once he had made contact with Qrow, they started to dart around the ruins, each one clashing with one another as they met.

Eventually, the scorpion Faunus was able to get the upper hand on the man and threw his weapon over at the wall.

With no other option left, Qrow did the next best thing he could think of.

He started to punch Tyrian with his own two fists.

"Right jab!" Tai yelled, causing Qrow to do a right jab.

"Uppercut!" He yelled, causing Qrow to uppercut the man.

Qrow then kicked the man towards one of the ruined buildings and started to walk over to his weapon.

Though just as Qrow was about to grab his weapon, Tyrian attempted to strike at the man with his own blades.

However, Qrow quickly switched over to his scythe before using the gun on his weapon to propel himself upwards.

Tyrian quickly made his way up the building and started to rapidly strike and shoot at Qrow, causing the drunken huntsmen to go on the defensive.

 _'He's acting more defensive than usual.'_ Tyrian thought to himself.

Before the man could react, Qrow quickly jumped off of the building, causing a loud cracking noise to echo throughout the area.

The man quickly turned his head to the right to see the results of Qrow and Tai's careful planning.

He had simply bought time for the blonde to charge his bat so that he may use the same attack that sent Tyrian flying in the first place.

The corgi held out his tongue as he slowly started to close the gap between him and the scorpion.

Before Qrow could switch into his bird form, Tyrian quickly grabbed Qrow with his tail, causing the drunk to go down with him

"Aw, not agai-!" He began, only to be cut off as the explosion consumed the two.

Meanwhile, the trio watched as the three warriors continued to fight one another.

"Quick question." Blake said.

"Yeah?" Yang asked.

"Why does your dad keep hitting your dog?" She asked.

"Oh, well you know how animals have an aura as well?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, Zwei just so happens to have his own aura unlocked, so really he's not feeling anything that dad is hitting him with." Yang said.

"...Right." She said.

"..." Ruby growled and started to run towards her uncle and father.

"What the-?! Ruby wait!" She yelled, though it was too late, Ruby had already started to charge towards the two men.

As Ruby started to run towards the building, her uncle was sent flying out of the building.

Meanwhile, Zwei walked out of the building, relatively unharmed by the rubble.

To stop himself, Qrow threw his weapon onto the ground, acting as some form of break. Though due to the explosion, his aura was completely shattered.

After a few moments, Tyrian came out of the building with the intent to kill.

However, before Qrow could block the oncoming attack, Ruby quickly jumped in front of Qrow.

"Do you wish to be taken?" Tyrian asked.

"No, but I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!" Ruby said.

"...Could you repeat that for me?" He asked.

"Uh, I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt?" She said.

"Could you just...one more time?" Tyrian asked.

"What are you-?" Ruby began.

"Oh yes! Yes! That's it! That's what I've been looking for! A true huntress!" Tyrian said.

Though before the girl could question the man any further, Qrow quickly swung his blade at the man.

"Ruby! What did I say?! Get back!" He yelled.

"Stay out of this, Branwen!" Tyrain said as he attempted to push the man back.

Ruby growled and attempted to strike at the Faunus with her scythe, though he was able to dodge the attack with ease. Before Ruby could react, the Faunus quickly kicked her towards the building.

Little did she know that a lone piece of rubble was about to fall onto her. Though before it could, Qrow quickly cut it in half.

However, this gave Tyrian the opportunity he needed, allowing the Faunus to strike at Qrow with his poison tail.

Everything suddenly went silent as the poison started to make its way into Qrow's bloodstream.

"No!" Tai said.

Though right as Tyrian was about to do the same to Ruby, every instinct in his mind was telling him to get out of the way.

Listening to his instinct, he quickly jumped backward's, just barely dodging the raging inferno of fire that was coming towards him. The explosion caused Ruby and Qrow to go flying backward's, though Tai quickly grabbed the two before could land on the ground.

"Dad?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby! Are you okay?!" Tai asked.

"Wha-? Yeah, I'm okay. But, Uncle Qrow-." She began.

"I know, he'll be okay, don't worry." He said.

The sound of Zwei's bark could be heard from her side, causing her to face the corgi.

"Heh, hey Zwei." Ruby said as she started to scratch the dogs ears.

"Thanks for the save. I guess what I did was kinda reckless." She said.

"Hmm? What are you talking about? I didn't do that." He said.

"...Wait, what?" Ruby asked.

"Up there!" Blake said as she pointed up into the air.

Everyone turned there heads up towards the area where Blake was pointing, including Tyrian. Though what they saw threw everyone in the area for a loop.

Hovering in the sky was this woman, riding on some sort of lantern that was keeping her in the air.

"Finally." She said as she turned towards Tyrian.

"I found you." The woman said.

"Oh? Who do we have here?" Tyrian asked.

"..."

"Hmm, one of few words, I see. No matter. Be on your way at once, I have no quarrels with-." He began, only to cut himself off as he stared into her eyes.

Suddenly, a sadistic smirk started to form on his face.

"Oh. Oh ho ho ho! Now, this is interesting! This is very, very interesting!" Tyrian said as th woman started to lower herself to the ground.

"What is he talking about now?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. This guy is crazy." Ruby said.

"Alright! You've got me attention! Please do not disappoint me!" He yelled, his aura flaring to life.

"After all, it's not ever day you get to fight one of the twelve spirit users!" Tyrian said.

"...Wait, what?!" The trio yelled.

* * *

 _ **Well now, this was interesting, to say the least.**_

 _ **Turns out that Vladimir is hiding under the nose of Atlas without any of them knowing what's going on, to begin with.**_

 _ **Oscar might not be so willing to go fight this war after all.**_

 ** _Not only that but we finally get to see another spirit user. Wonder what her abilities are._**

 ** _Well, only one way to find out I suppose._**

 ** _Also Weiss's dad is an asshole, big surprise._**

 _ **Review Response.**_

 _ **Col. Jhon 'Ghost' Defender: Thanks.**_

 _ **myfunvideos: Maybe.**_

 _ **Fedora101: Well, I don't think I can publish it if I don't own the series as a whole.**_

 _ **SPDefender: It was a very...special kind of beast.**_

 _ **Quam Intellectus: Thanks, man.**_

 _ **TheRealCactoos:...Okay.**_

 _ **Nightwatching: Well, I do have somethings planned for the future.**_

 _ **GOH426: Glad to hear it.**_

 _ **headreviewer mk2: Cool.**_

 _ **Dinosaurchicken: Thanks.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Well, we still have all of volume 4 and 5 to do, so it's not like I'll be stopping anytime soon.**_

 _ **aveshetta: Meh, kinda not really.**_

 _ **Lover of destruction n cruelty: Meh, you weren't wrong so to say. Though you could have a little more class the next time.**_

 _ **Lover of destruction n cruelty: I won't deny that there were a good amount of issues with this volume, though I still enjoyed it over all.**_

 _ **Donovan: I...have zero idea who these two people are.**_

 _ **Donovan: Thanks.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Apparently not.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE:...no...none of that...shame on you.**_

* * *

 **Stranger Danger**

"Jeez, yesterday was so weird." The waitress said to herself as she continued to wash the remains of what she had dropped yesterday.

After she had that one strange encounter with the huntsmen and the woman, the mand had offered her a drink in attempts to forget the events that had happened.

"Can't really say that it worked all too well. If anything things only got weirder." She said.

"Weird guy. I mean, who the hell just turns into a bird like that?" The waitress asked.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her, causing the waitress to look up to face the person walking towards her.

"Excuse me." The man said as he stood over the woman.

"I couldn't help but overhear this talk of this man that could turn into a bird." The man said.

"Uh, yeah?" She said.

"You see, I was hoping this man could help me...find someone." He said as he started to lick his lips.

"Now, how about you tell me all about this man that can turn into a bird." The man said as he started to chuckle, eventually turning into full-blown laughter.

Though before the man could continue to question the waitress, she quickly hit him over the head with her tray.

"Ah! What the-?!" He began, only to be hit once again.

"Will you-!" The man attempted to say, only to be hit with the tray once again.

"Stop-!" He said, getting hit with the tray as he and the woman started to walk down the stairs.

"Hitting me-!" He was struck once more.

"With that-!" He was struck once again.

"Tray!" He finally finished, only for the woman to hit him across the face with the tray once again.

"Out." She said.

"What?" The man asked.

"I said, out!" The woman roared as she hit the man with the tray once again, causing him to scramble towards the door.

"Alright, alright! I'm going! I'm going! Just stop hitting me already!" The man said.

"Get out!" She roared as she threw a glass bottle at him, causing him to run out of the door and onto the streets.

"Yeah, and stay out!" She said as the man ran off.

"...Hah, why do we always ahve to attract the weirdos." The waitress asked.

* * *

 _ **Tyrian Callows**_

 _ **Race: Faunus**_

 _ **Trait: Scorpion Tail.**_

 _ **Weapon: Wrist Blades, Stinger.**_

 _ **Gender: Male**_

 _ **Height: 6'6"**_

 _ **Weight: 182 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 34**_

 _ **Outfit: White, Purple**_

 _ **Handedness:**_ ** _Ambidexterity_**

 _ **Complexion: White.**_

 _ **Hair Color: Brown**_

 _ **Eye color: Gold**_

 _ **Aura Color: Purple**_

 _ **Semblance: Bleed**_

 _ **Destructive Power: C**_

 _ **Speed: E**_

 _ **Endurance: E**_

 _ **Precision: A**_

 _ **Potential Growth: A**_

 _ **Range: A**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	70. Punished

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Punished"

Thought: _'Punished"_

Flashback: _"Punished_ _"_

"Another day, another adventure!" Nora said as she stretched her arms out into the air.

Once the morning came they quickly made their way out of the village where they had found the huntsmen, not wanting to stay there for very long. They didn't want to take the chance of the Grimm migrating over towards the town in attempts to make it there territory.

So they packed up their things and hit the road, continuing their journey towards Mistral. The walk was rather quiet all things considered, so it was a nice change of pace for the team to not have to constantly be on the lookout for any Grimm waiting to pounce on them.

Though the quiet of the forest was starting to get old to the group.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Pyrrha asked as she walked beside her teammates in the forests of Anima.

"Walking!" Jaune said, moving his head away from the map.

"...With a side of?" Nora asked, hoping that there would be something else too besides this constant walk in silence.

"...Walking." Ren said, causing Nora to get a look of disappointment.

"Oh." She said.

"It's not so bad, no Grimm means that we can sleep safely at night!" Jaune said.

"Yeah, I know." Nora said as she threw her hands behind her head.

"Don't worry. I doubt the rest of our journey will be as quiet and calm from here on out." Ren said.

"Yeah, this isn't over yet, not by a long shot." Jaune said.

"Hah, I guess you've got a point there." Nora said.

"Still, you've gotta wonder what we're dealing with here with everything that's happened." He said.

"Indeed. If our opponent was strong enough, cunning enough, and patient enough to wait for the right opportunity to strike at Vale, then this is by no means any ordinary foe." Ren said with a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah, this won't be like the other opponents we fought back in Vale." Jaune said.

"Well, when we do find them, we'll make em pay for all the people they hurt! Give em a good whack from my hammer." Nora said.

"Indeed. However, I doubt it will be that easy. This isn't like any other opponent we have faced in the past, both in wits and in strength." Ren said.

"Yeah. We know." He said with a somber tone in his voice.

Nora looked confused for a moment before she finally realized what Jaune and Ren were implying.

"Oh. Right." She said.

They were right, this wasn't like the Fang or Roman Torchwick. Whoever these people were, they were strong enough to take down an entire kingdom if they so pleased. Not only that but they were able to take on seasoned huntsmen, the Atlas Army.

Even a Spirit User.

So there was no guarantee that this enemy would be beaten by there own power alone. Though that's where Brandon's little goal came into play for the group in question.

The swordsman wasn't the only spirit user in the world, or at least that they knew of. The members of the group knew that there were other spirits out there, with there own respective user.

However, finding them would prove to be quite the challenge, as well as convincing them to fight to protect Haven Academy.

Though they were ready to make the necessary sacrifices in order to protect the people of Haven from suffering the same fate that Vale had suffered. Though this wasn't the main priority for the group at the moment.

For now, they had to make it to the great kingdom of Mistral before they could focus on protecting it. Luckily for them, Pyrrha already had a base of operation in mind, though for some reason is withholding this information from her teammates.

"It's not gonna be easy, that much I'm sure of." Jaune said

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for the challenge!" Nora said.

"Indeed. I'm sure that our resolve will lead us to victory." Ren said.

Pyrrha smiled happily at her teammates determination, grateful that she could have such comrades fighting by her side.

"You think we're getting close?" Jaune asked, causing Pyrrha to break out of her daze.

"Hmm?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, we have been out here for a while now. We have to be getting closer." He said.

Pyrrha hummed as she looked over towards the mountains, attempting to see if she couldn't recognize any of the mountains that were just up ahead.

Unfortunately for the group, Pyrrha wasn't able to identify any of the mountains that surrounded the great kingdom of Mistral

"Hmm, well I can't really say for certain. I've never been outside of Sanctum during my time in Mistral." Pyrrha said.

"Really? I would have thought you'd be out on missions all the time." Jaune said.

"Well, not exactly." Pyrrha said.

"..." Jaune looked confused for a moment but dropped the subject.

"So, what's Mistral like?" Nora asked.

"You've never been there?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope." She said.

"Didn't you live in Mistral though?" Jaune asked.

"Well...sort of." Nora said.

"Hmm, well it's a very nice and lively place. I'm sure that someone as energetic as you will feel right at home." Pyrrha said.

"Home." She said.

 _'That's a funny word.'_ Nora thought sadly.

However, as the group continued to walk through the forests of Anima, they could see another village that was in the distance of the forest. Which was strange considering that according to the map that Jaune had, they weren't supposed to run into another village for a while now.

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked as she stared at the village.

Nora quickly got into higher ground in attempts to get a better view of the village ahead.

"That's strange. I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days." Jaune said.

"...Are those buildings...damaged?" Nora asked, causing everyone to freeze in place.

"We should search for survivors!" Jaune said as he placed the map into one of his bag pockets and ran over towards the village along with the rest of his team.

However, as they continued to search the area around them it was evident that all traces of human life in this town were gone.

"Anything?!" Pyrrha asked.

"Nothing over here!" Nora said.

"No one over here either!" Jaune said.

"It almost as if...the town was abandoned." Ren said as he gazed at the buildings. Upon further inspection, it was evident that the buildings were not just damaged, but unfinished.

Fresh resources were still lying around the town, implying that the town was still going under construction at some point in its rather short lifespan.

 _'What happened here?'_ Jaune asked as he looked around the area.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Nora said, causing the attention of her teammates to shift over towards the Valkyrie.

Once they had arrived at the area where Nora was, the girl could be seen looking at some sort of sign near the front of the gates that they had come in from. The sign had the words Oniyuri written downwards on the sign,

"Oniyuri? Never heard of it." Nora said.

"Me neither." Jaune said.

"Nor have I." Pyrrha said, which was odd to her considering how much she had studied Mistral's vast history.

"I have." Ren said, causing his teammates to turn their attention towards the Monk.

"You have?" Jaune asked.

"...You might think of it as Anima's mountain Glenn. Had it never been completed." Ren said to his teammates.

"Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pulled their resources together in attempts to build there own city." He explained as he started to walk around the forgotten city.

"One with its own set of laws, it's own people. They hoped that one day that maybe it could even become its own kingdom." Ren said. "Many thought that it was a start to a new and bright future." He said.

"I know my parents did." Ren said, causing Nora to clench the palm of her hand.

"...What happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"What always happens." He said in a somber tone.

"The Grimm." Jaune said.

"Not just anyone." He said as he started to clench his fist.

"...One?" Pyrrha asked, causing some birds to fly above them.

"...Ren, is something the matter?" Jaune asked.

"..." The Monk merely stood there in silence to Jaune's question.

"Ever since we've started this journey through Anima you've been becoming more and more tense each day." He said. "I originally wrote it off as just stress from everything that's happened, but it's been becoming all the more evident ever since Shion." Jaune said.

"...It's nothing you need to concern yourself with." Ren said.

"Ren, we're a team. If there's something wrong then tell us." Jaune said in a concerned tone.

"I said drop it." He said in a more sterner tone than usual.

"Now, let's all just take a deep breath before this gets out of-." Pyrrha began, only for the Blonde Knight to quickly cut her off.

"Ren, why are you acting-?"

"I told you it's-!" Ren began, only to be quickly cut off by Nora's voice.

"Ren!" Nora yelled, causing the area around the group to go silent.

"...Nora, I-." Ren began.

"They deserve to know what happened more than anyone." She said.

"..."

"Look, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to. We just-." Jaune began, only for Ren to interrupt them mid-sentence.

"No. You of all people deserve to know what happened." Ren said as he started to walk towards the exit of the village.

"Come on. This is going to take a while. We should set up camp before the night comes." He said.

"...Nora." Jaune began, only for the girl to follow her partner towards the exit of the town.

The Blonde Knight stared at his partner for a few moments before eventually following behind them, eventually exiting the town.

As the group started to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, the day eventually came to a close, allowing the group of four to rest their minds for the next day of trials that were soon to come.

The group sat by the campfire in silence, waiting for Ren to give them the explanation for his recent behavior.

It was rather tense around the campground, the only sounds being made were the cracking of the fire and the sounds of the wildlife that surrounded the forest.

After a few moments of continued silence, Ren was the one to speak up.

"...So, where do I begin?" Ren asked his teammates.

"Where ever you're most comfortable." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, just go at your own pace." Jaune said with a smile on his face.

"...Hah, okay. I guess it's time you two learned about my past." Ren said, causing Jaune and Pyrrha to turn towards one another.

"Your past?" Pyrrha asked, staring back at the monk.

"Yes. It's time I told you why Nora and I have nothing left to go back to." He said with a serious expression on his face.

"...Well, whenever you're ready." Jaune said to his teammate.

Ren sighed and prepared himself to tell the Tale of the hardships that he and Nora had to go through in order to get to where they are now.

"It all started ten years ago in my hometown, Kuroyuri." Ren said as he began to tell his tale.

* * *

"Hmm, are you certain that this is a wise course of action, Ms. Polendina?" Ciel asked as she and Penny stood in front of her father's laboratory.

"I'll never be able to get the answers I desire if I don't. The only one I can think of who could possibly know the origin of that recording is my father." Penny said with a determined look on her face.

"Though did you stop to think that maybe there was a reason that your father withheld this information from you in the first place?" She asked.

"I have. Though this is more than just another piece of classified information within the files of Atlas. There is a direct link to my past here. A past I can no longer remember." Penny said.

Ciel stared at her partner with an unsure look.

On one hand, she wasn't sure where this road would take them once they had set out to discover this new information. This wasn't just something that was meant to be dug into by the eyes of others.

This was a file that Penny's father herself wanted to keep hidden. Not only that but this wasn't just another piece of information like Penny said.

If what they saw really did hold some truth to it, then Penny's creation was based on the girl they saw in the video.

Okay, it was obvious that's who she was based on.

Her speech pattern, her looks, her voice, even the way she carries herself was the exact same as it was in the corrupted video they saw.

Though that's not what Ciel was concerned about.

She was more concerned as to why her father had withheld such information from Penny in the first place.

Perhaps there was something she didn't want her to remember from her previous life, and if she were to regain only a fracture of her memories then she would be able to piece together the rest of the pieces to the puzzle.

Though if that were the case, then what could have been so bad, so horrifying that Penny's own father didn't even implament her memories into her creation?

On the other side of things, Ciel understood Penny's desire to uncover the truth behind these strange turn of events.

The Android was always a curious one, once she was interested in something, she would pursue it until it made some form of logical sense within her systems.

Penny was given the opportunity to find out about a past she never even knew she had in the first place.

It's only natural that one would want to know more about who they were.

Not only that but Ciel was also interested to uncover the truth herself, perhaps it could give her more insight into who Penny originally was.

"I just hope you are prepared for the trials to come." Ciel said to her partner as they stood in front of the lab.

"No need to fret, Ciel. I am more than prepared to take on whatever challenges that may come our way!" Penny said as she walked over to the console that opened the doors to the laboratory.

 **"Hello! This is a private laboratory. Visitors are not welcomed. Please leave immediately, or we will be forced to use lethal measures to ensure the safety of our research."** A female voice said from the console.

"Salutations, Filss!" Penny said to the A.I that her father had made for the security of Atlas.

 **"Oh my! Ms. Polendina! I am so sorry, I did not recognize you! It has been such a long time since you have visited!"** She said.

"Well, I have been rather busy with all of these strange turn of events." The Android said.

 **"How may I assist you today?"** Filss asked.

"I would like to see my father!" She said.

 **"Certainly! Please watch your step!"** She said as the doors to her father's lab opened up.

"..." Ciel just stared into the laboratory with a rather confused expression on her face.

"Father is very adamant about preventing his research from falling into the wrong hands." Penny said as she started to walk into the lab.

"...Right." She said, following her partner into the lab. "So, this is your father's laboratory?" Ciel asked.

"Yes. This is where I was born." Penny said.

"I...suppose that is one way to look at it." She said.

"Would you point me in the direction of my father, Filss?" She asked.

 **"Certainly! The good doctor is currently in his main laboratory at this given moment."** The A.I said to Penny.

"Thank you!" Penny said as she started to walk towards her father's lab.

"It's certainly more advanced than anything I've seen in the other labs in Atlas." Ciel said.

"Well, this lab is much more advanced than anything in the world of Remnant. So naturally, it would want to be hidden from the public eye." She said.

"I see. I suppose that is the most reasonable course of action. I don't want to imagine what would happen if such technology was put into the wrong hands." She said.

"Yes, that's why only a select few know of the lab's existence." Penny said.

"Oh? Who might that be?" Ciel asked.

"Well, General Ironwood was indeed one of there people, and the other one would be you." She said.

"What of the other's?" She asked.

"I believe that one of them was that nice Schnee lady I ran into in the hallways, as well as another man that is seen with the general from time to time. However, the general was the only one that knew of my creation...well, I suppose that has changed now." She said.

"Yes, I suppose it has." Ciel said as she and Penny continued to walk over towards her father's lab.

After they had passed some of the various research labs, they eventually arrived at the good Doctors laboratory.

Penny took a deep breath and gripped the doorknob leading to her father's office.

"Here we go." She said as she opened the door.

"Hmm? Who's there?" A man's voice could be heard coming from the other side of the door.

"It's me, father." Penny said.

"Ah! Penny! Why it's been so long!" The man said.

"Yes, indeed it has, dear father. May I come in? I have to speak with you." She said.

"Yes, of course! Come in!" He said. causing Penny to nod and walk into the lab.

"Father, there is someone I wish for you to meet!" Penny said.

"Oh?" The man asked.

The android turned towards Ciel and motioned her to come into the laboratory.

Once the girl walked into the room, she was able to get a clear view of Penny's father.

However, what she saw was the last thing she could have expected. He was a rather short man with dark skin and White Hair, the hair on the top of his head being completely bald.

He also had a white beard that wrapped around his chin, and a pair of glasses that rested gently on the nose of his face. The man had blue eyes, and wore the usual Atlas Lab coat that most of the scientists wore in the facility of the Atlas Army.

Though what really caught her off guard was the height of the man.

"Ah! Hello there! It's not every day that Penny brings in someone from her travels." The man said.

"Uh, yes. Ahem. Ciel Soleil, Mr. Polendina." Ciel said.

"Please, there is no need for such formalities! You may call me Gerome." The newly named Gerome said.

"Oh. Very well, Mr. Gerome." She said.

"So, what brings you back home, Penny?" Gerome asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Well..." Penny began, her feet shuffling around as she stood in front of her father.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"I wished to talk to you about this." The android said as she turned towards Ciel.

The girl nodded and pulled out the flash drive they had Roma decipher for them. She held her hand out and placed it on the desk of Gerome.

"Hmm? What do we have he-?!" He began, only for his eyes to settle upon the familiar flash drive.

"..."

"Father. I wish to discuss the contents of the drive here." Penny said.

"...If you don't mind me asking, where did you find this?" Gerome asked, his tone suddenly turning somber.

"I found it in General Ironwood's office." She said, causing Ciel to look at her with an expression of surprise.

"I thought you told me you found it in your father's office!" Ciel whispered.

"Well, if I told you I stole it from Mr. Ironwood, I knew that you'd be very upset." Penny said.

"Of course I would! Stealing is still stealing, no matter who it's from!" She said.

"I wouldn't call this stealing!" She said.

"Then what would you have me call it?! Borrowing without permission?!" Ciel asked.

"Exactly!" Penny said as she turned towards her father.

Ciel sighed at the Androids actions, but eventually let them go and turned her attention towards her father.

"..."

After a few moments of silence, the scientist sighed and turned his chair over towards Penny.

"I suppose you are rather curious to find out what happened that day." Gerome said.

"...Who was that?" The android asked.

"Well, now that is a very simple question." He said as he turned towards a picture he had on his desk.

"The Penny you saw in that message was the...original Penny so to say." Gerome said. "The very first one to come into this world." He said.

"But I have no recollection of the events regarding that message. How is that possible?" Penny asked.

"I'd be surprised if you did. I never implemented them back into your mind when you were born." He said.

"...I don't understand." She said.

"Perhaps that is for the best." Gerome said as he turned his head back towards his desk.

"What?!" Penny asked her father.

"Believe me when I say this, Penny. There are some secrets that are best left undiscovered in this world. The story behind that of your past is one of many." He said. "You may not be able to fully understand it now, I doubt you ever will." Gerome said to his daughter.

"I have my reasons for not implanting the memories of the original into your mind. For your sake, and for the sake of Atlas itself." He said.

 _'Atlas itself?'_ Penny asked.

"The secrets regarding your past are not just reasons that will affect you. They could affect the very kingdom of Atlas as we know it." Gerome said. "Even you would not be able to comprehend what would happen if this kind of knowledge were to fall into the wrong hands." He said.

"..." The Android merely stood there in silence as she listened to her father's statement.

"I understand your desire, Penny. However, there are some secrets that are best untold." Gerome said.

However, before the two could continue there confrontation, the sound of Ciel's ringtone cut them off.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she swiped her finger across the screen of her watch, opening the message she had gotten.

"...It's the general. He wants us to meet him at his office immediately." She said.

"...Okay." She said quietly as she turned around to walk towards the door.

"Penny, know that I care for you as I cared for the original." Gerome said.

"I know father. I know." She said as she walked out of the door with Ciel, leaving her father to sit in his laboratory.

"...Penny." Ciel said to her partner as they started to walk towards the exit of the laboratory.

"...I'm okay." Penny said to her partner.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, and I haven't given up." She said with a determined look on her face.

"..."

"I know that the road ahead will be difficult in ways that I couldn't possibly imagine. Though it as I said, I am more than prepared for any of the challenges that may come out way." Penny said. "Though, it would be nice if I didn't have to do it alone." She said to her partner.

"...Well, we've come this far. It would be rather pointless to stop now." Ciel said.

"Sensational!" Penny cheered as she and her partner started to walk out of the laboratory and towards the office of General Ironwood.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ironwood was currently waiting in his office for the select few he had called up to his office. The situation in Atlas hasn't gotten any better, and Jacques hasn't even moved an inch on his stance on closing the borders.

However, the council has been the more reasonable few of this chaos, which is really the only thing he needed in order to put his plan into action.

It wouldn't matter how much the boss of the Schnee Dust Company protested against the idea, once the council has made their decision, there's no going back. Which is why Ironwood's plan would be less than agreeable from the eyes of the council.

The General hadn't ceased to learn anything from his time with Ozpin, as well as what happened in Vale.

He understood that if he wanted to change things for the better, then he would have to do it in the shadows, away from the eyes of the public and most importantly, the council.

Which is why he chose these select few for this operation he had planned.

They had seen first hand of what the enemy they were facing was capable of, as well as had a general understanding of the situation at hand.

So this made them the prime candidates for this operation.

Though he doubted that Ozpin would be happy at this sudden change in plan that he had, though the situation has changed now. Vale has fallen, and he would be damned if he was just going to let that happen to Atlas as well.

However, this plan of his wasn't going to be easy. He only had a select few individuals contributing to this operation, which meant he had to fight a war with these select few individuals.

This enemy was much more cunning and decisive then he could have imagined.

"Hmm, though do not think you have checkmated us yet." Ironwood said with a smirk as he sat in front of a chess board.

"So, I have my knight." He said as he placed the knight piece down on the board.

"I have my bishop." Ironwood said as he placed down a bishop piece onto the board.

"My rook." He said.

"My pawn." Ironwood said he placed a pawn piece on the playing board.

"Most importantly, I have my queen." He said, placing the final playing piece onto the board.

"They may have won the battle, but I'll be damned if I let them win the war." He said.

Just as he finished placing each piece on the board, the sound of his office door opening quickly cut him off.

"General." Winter, his knight said as she walked into Ironwood's office.

"Ah, Schnee. Thank you for coming on such short notice." Ironwood said.

"So, what is it that you wished to speak to me about?" Winter asked the general.

"Well, that will have to wait until everyone has arrived." He said to the specialist, causing her to nod.

"If you do not mind me asking, who exactly have you called up here?" She asked.

Though before Ironwood could respond, his other two pieces of his playing field just walked into his office.

Penny Polendina, his Bishop, and Ciel Soleil, his pawn.

"Salutations, Mr. Ironwood!" Penny said.

"General." Ciel said with a salute.

"Ah, just on time." Ironwood said.

"Thank you for choosing us for this special operation, General." She said.

"Well, you were one of the prime candidates for this, so it's only natural that I would choose you." He said.

"Candidates?" Winter asked.

"Yes, I have specifically chosen a select few for this operation. Everyone in this room has a general idea of what's going on, as well as what is at stake here." Ironwood said.

"I see, and who are the other candidates, if I may ask?" He said.

"..."

"...You can't be serious!" Winter said.

"Schnee. I know you have your objections." Ironwood said.

"He cannot be trusted." She said.

"He has the required expertise needed for this operation." He said.

Ciel and Penny looked at one another with confused expressions on there faces. Though before they could question it, the doors leading to the General's office opened.

"Hey, Tin Jim!" A male voice said, causing Winter to get a cold glare on her face.

Ciel and Penny turned around to see that the man walking into the office was none other than Ironwood's rook, Roman Torchwick.

However, his attire was slightly different from the last time they had seen him.

The man wore a white trench coat that reached all the way down to his knees, the interior of the coat taking on a red color. He wore a pair of black gloves that had two red buckles wrapped around them, and a black scarf with orange tints on the edge of the piece of cloth.

His emblem was also stitched into the right of the scarf.

The crime boss wore a black turtleneck like shirt and a beige vest. To finish his attire, he wore a pair of black dress pants and two formal like shoes that were black on the bottom and beige on the top.

However, instead of his feather being its usual silver color, it took on three colors.

Pink at the bottom of the feather, white at the center, and brown at the top.

"Just can't get enough of me, can ya?" Roman asked.

"Hello, Roman." Ironwood said as the crime boss walked towards the man's desk.

"Salutations, Mr. Torchwick!" Penny said.

"Hey kid." He said as he turned to face Winter.

"Roman." Winter said.

"Ice Queen." Roman said, causing the specialist to growl at the man's actions.

"So, I assume that this is everyone?" Winter asked.

"Not exactly." Ironwood said. "There's still one more piece I need." He said.

However, before the group could question the actions of the General, the door leading to his office opened once again.

The woman that had walked through the door was the Queen of General Ironwood's playing field.

Glynda Goodwitch.

However, the woman did have some noticeable changes to her attire.

To fit the more cold weather of Atlas, the witch had decided to her herself a black coat with purple outlining's on the color of the coat.

"I suppose some things never change." Glynda said.

"It's good to see you again, old friend." Ironwood said to Glynda, causing her to chuckle to herself a bit.

"So, now that we've got the whole reunion thing out of the way, mind telling us why you called us here?" Roman asked as he spun his cane around.

The general took a deep breathe and stared at his circle with a serious expression on his face.

"You have all been called here because you have seen first hand just what the enemy we are up against is capable of." Ironwood said.

"The enemy may have won the battle for Vale, however, this war of ours is far from over." He said.

"Beacon may have fallen, though the Relic of Choice is still secured." Glynda said.

"Now it is our job to pick up where Ozpin had left off, ensuring the safety and security of the other three relics." Ironwood said as he reached across his desk to open up some sort of console.

"Now, I'm sure that you all have questions about this war of ours?" He asked, causing everyone, with the exception of Glynda to nod there heads.

"Well now, instead of telling you what is at stake here, how about I show you?" He said as he placed the palm of his hand onto the scanner on the console.

Suddenly, the area around Ironwood's desk started to glow with a bright blue light. After a few seconds of silence, the floor around Ironwood's desk actually started to descend downwards as if it were an elevator.

"Hmm, you never cease to surprise me, James." Glynda said to the general.

"Well, I do aim to please." He said as they continued to descend downwards.

After a few moments of silence, they eventually reached their destination. In the distance of the cave was some sort of temple, the area around it glowing with a pure white color due to the snow around it.

Meanwhile, the other four that were part of the circle started to look around the area in awe.

"Whew. Now that's what I call a view." Roman said as he stared at the temple.

"Incredible." Winter said.

Both Penny and Ciel were absolutely speechless by the sight of the temple.

"What is this place?" Ciel asked.

However, before anyone could respond, the desk area eventually came to a halt.

"I'll show you." Ironwood said as he and Glynda started to walk towards the temple of snow.

The four looked at one another with looks of curiosity in there eyes before eventually following the two towards the temple.

As they came closer and closer to there destination, bright white snow started to fall from the air.

After a few moments of silence, the group eventually reached the temple.

"So, what is this place?" Roman asked as he stared at the interior of the temple.

"This is the vault that resides underneath the icy terrain of Atlas. This is where the Relic of Creation is guarded." Ironwood said.

Eventually, the group reached the door that guarded the Relic of Creation, as well as the realm where it resides in.

"So, I think it is safe to assume that this is the vault." Winter said.

"You would be correct. This is what Ozpin is trying to protect from the enemies that want to destroy everything we know." He said.

"Alright, so what exactly makes these relics so important to begin with?" Roman asked as he walked up to the door.

"Each Relic was a gift that was passed down from the gods of Remnant. One could change the very structure of the world if they were to acquire all four." Glynda said.

"I see." Winter said as she stared at the vault door.

"Now, you all have a choice." Ironwood said as he turned to face his circle.

"If any of you wish to leave, then now is the time." Ironwood said. "There is no shame or disgrace in abstaining. Only in retreat." He said.

However, after hearing everything that was at stake in this war, after seeing the potential consequences, nobody moved from the spot they were in. Not even Roman Torchwick.

"Well, we've come this far. Why not see how deep this rabbit hole goes?" Roman asked.

"Very well. As of this moment you have all taken it upon yourselves to fight in a war that nobody even knows of." Ironwood said.

"So, what shall be our first course of action?" Winter asked.

"Our first step should be to find the Winter Maiden before the enemy does, as well as ensuring the safety of the people of Atlas." He said as he stood in front of the vault door.

"I hope that you all are ready for the trials ahead." Ironwood said, causing everyone to nod.

"Very well. You are dismissed." He said, causing everyone with the exception of Glynda to walk back towards his desk.

"Any words on the whereabouts of Ozpin?" Glynda asked, causing Ironwood to shake his head in response.

"Hah, I see." She said.

Though before the witch could start to walk towards Ironwood's desk, the general placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. We'll find him." Ironwood said.

"I know." She said as she stared off into the distance.

* * *

 _Ten years ago, in the vast continent of Anima was a town known as Kuroyuri. It was a rather prosperous town when compared to the other villages that inhabited the continent._

 _It had lots of valuable resources all around the village, as well as a very vast and open terrain, making Grimm attacks fairly uncommon in this area._

 _Kuroyuri was the ideal area to raise a family of your own._

 _One of these said families was the Ren family, a family originating from the great city of Mistral._

 _The only child of the Ren family, Lie Ren had grown up in this vast town for most of his childhood, only ever being to Mistral once in his entire life._

 _He was a rather young and curious boy, eager to learn about the ways of the world around him like all young souls do._

 _However, the young boy will soon realize that this world is a cruel and harsh place._

 _But for now, the young child was currently enjoying his youth with his mother, An Ren._

 _Young Ren was currently sitting on the edge of a river pass, watching a beautiful lotus flower swing down the stream._

 _"Why hello little Lie." He heard his mother say, causing the boy to turn towards her._

 _An had dusky rose hair held in a bun by a gray band and pink eyes and wore a long green dress with long sleeves and cutouts on the shoulders, black ballet flats, and a pink sash._

 _"Are we trying to catch a fish?" She asked._

 _"I found a flower on the water!" Ren said as he pointed at the Lotus flower._

 _"Oh, I see!" An said to her son._

 _"Can we take it home and plant it in the garden?" He asked as he ran up to his mother._

 _"Oh, no sweetheart. That flower lives here." An said to her son, causing him to get a look of disappointment on his face._

 _"But I'll tell you what you can do." She said in attempts to lift her sons spirits up._

 _"Take this Lien and go find something nice for your fathers return." An said as she handed her son a Lien card._

 _"He's been hunting for quite some time. I bet the journey's been very tiring, don't you?" She asked._

 _"Yes." He said._

 _"Do you think you'll know what he wants?" An asked._

 _"Hmm...I think he wants a water flower in the garden." Ren said._

 _"Heh, why did you have to inherit my sass?" She asked as her son ran off into the town._

 _As the boy arrived at the marketplace, he started to scan the area in attempts to find anything for his father's return._

 _'Hmm. I wonder what father will want?' Ren asked himself._

 _Eventually, his eyes settled in a blacksmith shop. The boy smiled and ran up to the shop._

 _As the boy went up to the front counter, the man behind it turned his head towards Ren with a look of curiosity on his face._

 _"What can I buy with this?" He asked as he handed the man the Lien card._

 _"Heh, well, something just your size." The man said, holding two wooden toy weapons in his hands._

 _"...Oh." He said as he continued his search around the marketplace._

 _He eventually settled on a stand of these strange bottles. Ren wasn't sure why his father liked this stuff, but he and his mother would get so happy once they consumed these liquids._

 _They would also go into the bedroom and make these strange noises that confused Ren._

 _When he questioned his parents about this, his mother merely told him that they were just wresting, she not wanting his father to get out of shape._

 _He still didn't quite understand it but if this drink made them happy then he might as well get it for them._

 _"Sake please!" Ren said as he walked up to the counter.  
_

 _"..." The man merely shook his head as he chuckled to himself._

 _"Aw." He said as he continued his search._

 _He continued to go to store to store in attempts to find something that would please his father, though no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything._

 _That's when his eyes settled on some very tasty looking pastries. Though before he could enter the bakery, the sound of laughter coming from around the corner quickly cut him off._

 _The young Ren went to go and investigate, though what he saw put him into a state of shock._

 _Three of the local boys were harassing this young orange haired girl with messy and dirty hair, as well as worn down clothes._

 _"Where'd you get that bread? I didn't see you pay for it, thief!" One of them said._

 _"No look, it's all moldy!" The other one said._

 _"I think she got it from the trash."_

 _"Let me see!" One of them said as he reached out his hand to grab the piece of bread._

 _However, the young girl quickly bit the boy's finger before he could get to close to her._

 _"Gah! She bit me!" The boy said._

 _Out of a fit of anger, the boy shoved the girl to the ground, causing her to drop the piece of bread she had._

 _Though instead of fighting back, she scurried over to the piece of bread and quickly picked it up once again, clearly prioritizing the pastry over her own defense._

 _The trio turned around to face Ren with serious expressions on there faces._

 _"What are you looking at?!" One of them asked._

 _Out of fear of the situation at hand, Ren quickly attempted to flee but was quickly cut off as he bumped into someone._

 _"Ugh...Father?" The boy asked as she stared up to face his father, Li Ren._

 _Li was tall, with black hair streaked with gray pulled back into a ponytail, a mustache, and a goatee._

 _He wore a sleeveless green tailcoat over a long-sleeved white shirt, black pants tucked into open-toe sandals, a black sash with a single pouch and an archer's glove on his left hand._

 _"What is happening here?" Li asked.  
_

 _Using the mayhem to her advantage, the young girl quickly ran off, causing the boys to run away as well._

 _"...Do you wish to run with the rest of them?" He asked to his son._

 _"..." The young Ren merely stood there in silence._

 _"Hah." Li sighed and kneeled down to face his son eye to eye,_

 _"Sometimes the worst action to take is taking no action at all." He lectured._

 _"..."_

 _"You should go back home. Your mother is probably worried about you." Li said. "I need to speak with the mayor." He said as he walked off._

 _The young Ren sighed and started to walk off to his house._

 _After a few moments of walking, he eventually arrived back at his parent's house._

 _'Sometimes the worst action to take it to take no action at all.' He remembered his father saying._

 _The young Ren clenched his fist and started to run back into the market area in attempts to find the girl he saw._

 _He had probably searched for hours, though he wasn't able to find a single trace of the girl's whereabouts._

 _Ren took the card of Lien he had in his pocket, unsure what to do with it now._

 _Though after a few moments of brief thought, an idea was struck into his mind._

 _He rushed over to the bakery with the card of Lien in his hand._

 _As he entered, he could see various people browsing and eating the various pastries that were in stock._

 _"Well hello there." A young man said from behind the counter, causing Ren to turn his head around to face the man._

 _"Looking to treat yourself?" The old man asked._

 _"Um..." Ren hummed as he looked around to see what they had._

 _Eventually, his eyes settled on a cute little cat-like bread that was in stock._

 _"You want one of these?" The man asked._

 _"Y-yes!" Ren said as he handed him the card of Lien._

 _The baker gladly accepted the currency and placed the piece of bread into a nice little bag._

 _"Enjoy yourself." The man said to Ren._

 _The boy nodded and walked out of the store and into the town. He looked over to see that the day was starting to come to a close._

 _However, before he could continue his search for the girl, he could hear a strange sound coming from the distance._

 _"..." Though before he could further investigate, he caught a glimpse of the girl staring at him from the corner of the bakery._

 _"It's you!" He said, causing her to yelp and run away from the boy._

 _"W-wait! I won't hurt you!" Ren said as he gave chase._

 _The girl picked up some trash and threw it at the boy, causing him to shield himself from the remains that were thrown away. However, he was not so easily deterred and continued to chase after the girl._

 _"Stop following me!" She said._

 _"Please, just hold on a moment!" Ren said as he continued to chase after the girl._

 _Eventually, he got the girl into a corner, causing her to get a very fearful look in her eyes._

 _Ren was breathing heavily, exhausted from the amount of running he just did._

 _Though as he took a single step forward, the girl quickly picked up a rock and threw it at the boy, causing it to hit him right in the eye._

 _"Ah!" He cried out as he fell to the ground._

 _However, as he stood back up, he could see the absolute terror the girl had in her eyes._

 _It was as if she was a helpless animal in the rain._

 _Ren was attempting to fight back the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes, wanting to be strong like his father._

 _It was clear that he wouldn't be able to get close to the girl, so he merely placed down the bag of bread onto the ground and started to slowly back away._

 _"It's for you!" He said._

 _The girl had a very unsure look in her eyes but eventually started to slowly move towards the bag._

 _Once it was within her grasp, she grabbed it and started to devour the contents of the bag._

 _"My name is Lie Ren. What's yours?" The boy said._

 _However, instead of telling the boy her name, she quickly collected the bag and started to run once again, leaving the boy behind._

 _"...I hope you like it!" He said to the girl._

 _Once she was out of sight, the boy sighed and started to head back home._

 _The night had come once he arrived at his house, the light from the windows of his home lighting his path._

 _Ren grasped the doorknob and walked into his house._

 _"Lie!" His mother and father said as they rushed to the boy's side._

 _"Where have you been?!" Li asked._

 _"What happened to your eye?!" His mother asked._

 _"Well..." Lie began as he started to explain everything that happened once his father went to go and see the mayor._

 _"I see." Li said._

 _"That was really sweet of you, but you could have gotten hurt!" An said._

 _"I'm sorry mother." Ren said._

 _"Hah, well, let's see if we can't ease the pain. Come with me." She said as she took her son to treat the wound he had suffered._

 _Once everything was said and done, Li took his son up to his room so that he may rest of the night._

 _Though as Ren laid on his bed, he couldn't help but wonder just who that girl was._

 _Why was she going through the trash looking for food?_

 _Didn't she have a home she could go back to?_

 _However, before Ren could continue to question the strange events that had just transpired, he could feel his eyes getting heavy._

 _Ren decided that it would be best to think about it tomorrow, and allowed himself to drift off to sleep._

 _Though as Ren continued to sleep soundly on his bed, the sounds of various screams quickly shook him awake._

 _"Ah!" He gasped as his eyes shot open._

 _As if on cue, his mother burst into his room with a panicked expression on her face._

 _"Lie, get up we have to go!" An said._

 _"Mother?" He asked softly._

 _"Now, right now, okay? Let's go!" She said as she grabbed her son and pilled him out of bed._

 _Though as the two reached the kitchen, his father burst through the doors with a panicked expression on his face._

 _"Li?!" An asked._

 _"An, what are you doing here?! We need to hurry!" Li said._

 _"We can go to the safehouse!" She said._

 _"No. I saw the beast. We need a Huntsmen, and you two need to leave." He said._

 _"What?!" An asked._

 _Suddenly, the screech of a Grimm could be heard from outside of the house._

 _"Mother..." Ren whimpered._

 _"It's okay, darling. Everything's o-." She began, only for the roof of their house to give in and for Ren's vision to turn dark._

 _Eventually, Ren quickly came back to reality to the sound of his father's gasps._

 _"Mmm." He groaned as his eyes fluttered open._

 _He could see that his father was carrying him in his arms as he was running through the village._

 _Though for some reason, his mother was nowhere to be seen._

 _"Father? What...Where's mother?" He asked._

 _His father didn't respond to his son's question, he just kept on running._

 _"What's going on?! Where's Mother?!" Ren asked._

 _Though before he could respond, his father suddenly collapsed to the ground._

 _"Father!" The young Ren said as he rushed to his father's side._

 _"Ugh. Lie, you have to run." Li said, causing Ren's blood to freeze._

 _"No. Don't. Please. Get up!" He begged as he crawled to his fallen father._

 _"Listen to me, son. You have to be brave now. Do you understand?" His father asked._

 _"No, please. Please, I can't!" Ren shouted._

 _Li reached for his dagger and grasped it with the palm of his hand._

 _"Yes, you can!" He said, handing the blade to Ren._

 _"I am so proud of you for what you did today, son. You took action when that young girl was in need of help." Li said._

 _"Now, it is time to rise up from the ashes. To take action once again." He said as he got up._

 _"Your mother and I love you." Li said._

 _"...F-father." Ren said as tears started to run down his cheek._

 _Suddenly, the sound of a footprint could be heard from beside the duo._

 _"Go! Run!" Li said as he pulled out his bow and started to shoot arrows at the beast._

 _Ren nodded and ran like his father told him._

 _He eventually came to the riverside where he and his mother found the water flower, hiding underneath the bride for safety._

 _The young boy was breathing heavily as he clenched his father's blade._

 _However, before he could plan out his escape, the sounds of sobbing could be heard from the distance._

 _Ren stood up and looked over the railing to see that the girl from before was sitting underneath a house, sobbing in utter terror._

 _Suddenly, a Nevermore landed on the house where the young girl was hiding under, screeching into the sky as the village burned._

 _It was at this moment when Ren finally broke down into tears, finally realizing the reality of the situation._

 _His mother and father were dead, and they weren't coming back._

 _Though strangely enough, he suddenly got this sense of tranquility, as if all the sadness and fear he had in his heart had been completely erased._

 _It was then that the wound on his eye suddenly healed, not a single trace of the wound was in sight._

 _With new found determination, Ren took action and quickly ran over to the young girl's side._

 _"Hey!" He said, causing the girl to jump a little._

 _"...I-it's you!" The girl said._

 _"We have to be brave." Ren said._

 _Though before the girl could respond, the sound of a Nevermore's screech quickly cut her off._

 _Suddenly, the girl brought Ren into an embrace, all feeling of sadness and fear melting away._

 _Due to the feeling of fear being erased from there minds, the Nevermore had completely lost track of them._

 _With no reason to stick around, the Grimm screeched into the sky and flew away._

 _Suddenly, the Grimm that Ren saw when his father told him to run walked past the house the two were hiding under._

 _It stopped for a moment before eventually continuing its trot down the village._

 _"I'm scared." The girl said._

 _"Me too." Ren said._

 _Ren looked to his right to see a wooden hammer just laying on the ground. As he attempted to go and retrieve the hammer, the girl quickly grabbed him by his arm and pulled him down._

 _"It's okay." Ren said as the girl let go of his arm._

 _Ren slowly started to crawl towards the hammer, grasping it in his hands before crawling back to the girl._

 _"We'll keep each other safe." The boy said as he handed the girl the hammer._

 _"What's your name?" Ren asked as the girl picked up the hammer._

 _"Nora." She said._

 _"My name's Lie Ren." He said._

* * *

"..." Ren merely sat in front of the fire in silence as he finished telling his tale to Jaune and Pyrrha.

The air was filled with a silence, neither Pyrrha or Jaune could come up with a response to Ren and Nora's tale.

Nora just sat there in an unusual state of silence with a very serious expression on her face.

"..."

"So, what now?" Ren asked.

"I just...wow." Jaune said, completely speechless at Ren's tale.

"I'm so sorry, Ren." Pyrrha said to her friend.

"I know." He said quietly.

"So, what did you two do afterward's? I mean, how did you wind up in Beacon?" Jaune asked.

"Well, the journey to get to where we are today was rather challenging. Neither Nora or I had a place to go after my village was destroyed." Ren said.

"So the next best thing we could do was to head on over to Mistral, see if we couldn't find anything for us there." Nora said.

"Did you?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was rather difficult at first, there were some times where moving on felt impossible. However, after the hardships we faced, we were able to enroll in a huntsmen training school." Ren said.

"So what made you pick Beacon instead of Haven?" Jaune asked.

"Well..." He began.

"I suppose I just wanted a change of pace." Ren said with a saddened expression on his face. "At least that's what I've been telling myself. I suppose I knew the real reason for quite some time now." He said.

"I was...afraid." Ren said.

"Of what?" Jaune asked.

"I suppose I was just afraid of facing my parents grave after so long." He said.

"You okay?" He asked.

Ren's only response was to nod his head to his teammates.

Though before Ren could say anything else, Jaune walked over to the trunk Ren was sitting on and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much." Jaune said.

"Well, I've never been that much of a speaker." The monk said with a sad chuckle. "I always wondered to myself, could I have saved them? At least one of them?" Ren asked.

"My mind would always wander into the possibility that maybe I could have saved my father." He said.

"Though now after awhile, I realized that dwelling on the what if's was rather pointless. If I kept looking back I could never move forward." Ren said.

"Well, I'm glad you did chose to come to Beacon." Jaune said.

"After all, we wouldn't have ever gotten to meet you." He said with a smile on his face.

"...Yes, I suppose it did all work out in the long run." Ren said.

"Well, it's getting pretty dark out." Jaune said to his teammates.

"Then I suppose it is time that we rested for the trials ahead." The monk said.

"Yeah, we've still got a long road ahead of us." He said.

Ren nodded and got up from the trunk he was sitting on.

"I'll take the first watch." Ren said as he started to walk into the forest.

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. It's the least I can do for you all." He said, jumping onto the trees.

However, as Ren stood over a cliffside that gave a good view of the forest of Mistral, he started to think back on everything.

Not just about what happened in Vale, but about everything that he had been through.

"..." Ren clenched his fist as he stared off into the night sky.

"Hey." He heard Nora say, causing him to turn towards his partner.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

"Nope." Nora said as she sat beside her partner.

"We never get the easy route, do we?" Ren asked.

"Easy's no fun anyway." She said as she turned her head towards Ren.

"You okay?" Nora asked.

"Mmm." He hummed as he nodded his head.

"What about you?" Ren asked.

"I have you, don't I?" Nora asked.

"...I suppose you do." He said with a smile on his face.

"We're getting pretty close to Mistral." She said.

"Yes. Soon this tiresome battle will be over." Ren said. "Though we still have a war to wage." He said.

"...You think we should go back?" Nora asked.

"Go back? To where?" Ren asked.

"Kuroyuri." She said, causing Ren to tense up.

"..."

"It has been a long time since we were last there. Don't you think it's time we make a little visit?" Nora asked.

"..."

"Well, it's your decision. I won't force you to go." She said.

"Do you want to go back?" Ren asked.

"Not really. There was nothing there for me anyways." Nora said.

"...I'll think about it." The Monk said to his partner.

"That's all I'm asking." She said as she let out a yawn from her mouth.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Make sure you don't stay up all night." Nora said.

"You're not alone anymore, Ren. You've got all of us now, and we're here to catch you for whenever ya fall down." Nora said as she started to walk back to the campsite.

"..." Ren merely sat on the cliffside on silence, thinking on the suggestion of his partner.

The Monk sighed and continued to stare off into the direction of his hometown, Kuroyuri.

"Well, I suppose it has been a long time since I've visited my parents." Ren said to himself.

However, as he continued to stare off into the distance, the sound of a faint roar could be heard in the distance.

* * *

The fight between the man known as Tyrian was a rather challenging fight for the group, he was unlike any other foe they had fought before. Even with the help of both Tai and Qrow, two seasoned huntsmen, they still weren't able to take him down.

To make matters even worse, the Scorpian Faunus managed to inject Qrow with the poison from his tail. Things were looking rather grim for the group as the battle with Tyrian continued.

However, as fate would have it, a new more powerful ally would join the battle for dominance. An unknown woman had just saved Ruby from succumbing from the same fate as her Uncle, forcing the Scorpian Faunus to shift his focus towards the new challenger.

Now, this wasn't any ordinary woman that had come to the rescue. The members of team RWBY were worried that finding the spirit users would prove to be more challenging than they thought, given everything that they know about the spirits.

Though it turns out that one of the twelve various spirit users had actually come to them.

"Hold on, did he just say spirit user?!" Yang asked, not sure if she had heard the Scorpion Faunus correctly.

"What's one of them doing here?!" Blake asked, clearly just as shocked as her blonde partner.

"..." Ruby was just staring at the weapon user in shock. She wasn't really expecting one of them to suddenly show up like that.

Then again, she doubted anyone in the group could have suspected it.

However, she wasn't exactly complaining that she did show up. Maybe now they had an actual chance to beat this guy.

Question was, which spirit was she using?

The only thing that even remotely resembled a weapon on the woman was the lantern she rode in on.

"Wait, if she's a spirit user, then where's her weapon?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm...I'm not sure. Though I guess we're about to find out." Yang said.

Meanwhile, Tyrian was staring at the woman with his usual smirk on his face.

"Well, you are certainly an interesting challenger!" Tyrian said as the woman landed on the ground.

"..." The woman merely looked at the man with a serious expression on her face.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is-."

"Tyrian Callows. Yeah, I know." She said.

"...Yes." The Scorpian Faunus said as he narrowed his eyes at the woman.

The group was slightly taken aback by the fact that the woman was familiar with there attacker.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, his usual sadistic nature turning into that of a more serious demeanor.

"You'll find out soon enough." The woman said as she reached for the lantern that was wrapped around her belt buckle.

"A person from before? All the more reason to sever this tie." Tyrian said as he activated his weapon.

The woman merely started to turn the control dial on the lantern she had, causing the flames to lite up from within.

"...Seriously? You expect to defeat me with a lantern?" He asked.

"No." She said.

"Oh good. For a second there I thought-." Tyrian began, only for an explosion of fire to nail him right in the body, causing him go flying towards one of the building's, landing on the structure with a large explosion of fire.

"I expect to defeat you with the fire of my lantern." The woman said.

"...Whoa." Ruby and Yang said.

Tyrian emerged from the rubble after a few moments of silence, getting a few scratches on his body due to the sudden attack.

"Hey, I think this might be our chance to book it out of here." Yang said.

"What?! But she might need our help!" Ruby said.

"Ruby, I seriously doubt that she'll need our help for this. She's doing better on her own compared to when Qrow and Tai were attacking him at the same time." She said.

"Yang is right. Qrow is badly injured. We need to get him to a doctor, and fast." Tai said as he picked up Qrow.

"...Okay, let's-!" Ruby began, only for Tyrian to shoot various dust infused bullets at the group, causing them to scatter.

"You and I aren't done yet!" Tyrian said to Ruby. "My mission still stands, once I deal with her you'll be coming with-!" He began, only for a burst of fire to suddenly cut him off.

"Whoops." The woman said as she quickly cut off Tyrian.

"Rah!" He roared as he charged towards the woman, though right as he was about to strike the woman down with his two weapons, she quickly shot another inferno of fire at the man, Tyrian just barely able to dodge the attack.

Though just as the man was about to strike at the spirit user, she quickly jumped backward's and onto one of the various buildings that surrounded the area. Tyrian growled and charged towards the woman, attempting to catch her in attempts to strike her down.

However, as she jumped from building to building, she was quickly summoning various balls of fire to destroy the platforms the man was jumping on. Though eventually, Tyrian was able to close the gap between and reeled his fist backward's in attempts to strike the woman down.

Just as he was about to land a strike on her, the woman quickly blocked the attack with her leg. Tyrian smirked and slammed the woman back down to the ground with his tail.

Though as the woman slid back onto the ground, Tyrian attempted to lunge at the woman with the intent to inject her with the poison from his tail. Just as she got into his range, the woman clicked a button on her lantern, causing a large metal pole to shoot out from the top.

She grasped the pole and struck Tyrian just as he was about to sink his stinger into her.

Eventually, Tyrian was able to regain his footing on the ground.

 _'Tch, it's clear that this woman has been using her powers for quite some time.'_ Tyrian said as he wiped away the blood from under his nose.

The woman could be seen twirling her weapon in her hand for a few moments before grasping it and getting into some sort of combat position.

Tyrian's eyes shot open wide as he slammed his tail into the ground, causing various rocks to shoot towards the woman.

She quickly brought her arms up in attempts to block the attack, though this left her vulnerable to a strike from behind. While she was able to block the attack, Tyrian's semblance started to chip away at her aura.

The man started to laugh as he rapidly jabbed, swung and kicked at the woman with his weapons, legs, and tail.

However, the woman was doing surprisingly well against the scorpion Faunus, being able to block each of his attacks with her lantern. Though just before Tyrian could get the woman off her guard, she quickly struck him with her weapon.

She continued these barrage of strikes before shooting various beams of fire at the man, striking him down with one last attack. However, Tyrian was not so easily defeated by such an attack.

He quickly emerged from the smoke and started sending a barrage of bullets at the woman, causing her to twirl her staff to block the oncoming attacks. Tyrian took this opportunity to swing his tail at the woman, forcing her block the attack.

The shockwave created by the attack spread all throughout the area, causing the group to shield themselves from the sheer force of the attack. Tyrian started to rapidly slash at the woman, his attacks having even more force than before.

Unlike the last time, Tyrian was able to get the upper hand.

He started to rapidly slash at the woman, the blades on his wrists glowing with a dark purple aura. Tyrian eventually kicked the woman backward's, causing her to go flying through the ruins of the town.

Though just as Tyrian was about to charge towards the group, he was quickly consumed by a dome of fire. After a few seconds, the dome exploded on Tyrian, causing the man's shirt to be burnt to a crisp.

The man flared his aura to life and rushed towards the woman in attempts to turn the tide of the battle into his favor. As he started to close the gap between then, Tyrian quickly slammed his tail into the ground, the sheer force of the attack creating a massive smokescreen.

"Damn." The woman swore once she wasn't able to sense Tyrian's presence anymore. Though just as she got a glimpse at Tyrian, the man quickly dug his feet into her body, causing her to go flying through the smoke.

"You're mine!" Tyrian roared as he slammed his glowing purple onto the back of the woman, causing the woman to go flying towards the rubble of the ruins of Vale.

"Heh, well, I suppose that takes care of that." The man said as he clapped his hands together and started to walk towards Ruby.

"Now, where were-?" Tyrian began, only for the woman to emerge from the rubble.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She asked as she stood atop of a building as the fire behind her raged on.

"..." The man slowly started to clap his hands together, eventually turning into a cheer of applause.

"Now you! You are a worthy opponent!" Tyrian praised.

"Well, I did have a long time to get the hang of this." The spirit user said the Scorpion.

The man laughed before activating his weapons once again, his aura flaring to life as he lunged towards the woman. Though right as he was about to strike at the woman, she flared her aura to life and jumped out of the way, causing Tyrian to destroy the building the woman was standing on.

Upon further inspection, the strands of hair on the woman's head had been turned into strands of fire.

The Scorpion Faunus roared as he lunged at the spirit user with his blades at his side, attempting to strike the woman down. Though she was able to keep up with the psychotic man, her attacks getting even stronger than before.

Eventually getting the upper hand, the spirit user was able to strike Tyrian down to the ground, various fireballs surrounding his being. She reeled her staff upwards and slammed it to the ground where she had placed the fireballs, causing them to explode.

With his aura reserves low, Tyrian knew that he had to end this battle quickly. He flared his aura to life and charged towards the woman.

Just as the man was about to strike the woman down with his tail, the spirit user summoned various pillars of fire around her, causing the man to be engulfed in the flames that surrounded him.

The woman threw her hands forward, causing a massive ball of fire to consume Tyrian's being. After a few moments, the ball eventually landed on the ground, causing a massive explosion to echo throughout the area.

With his aura shattered, Tyrian kneeled on the ground gasping for air.

The woman scoffed and started to charge some sort of attack from attack from above her head, the spirit user holding up her staff to charge the attack. After a few moments of silence, the woman launched the attack at the scorpion Faunus.

Though unfortunately for the spirit user, the man was able to regain his composure and dodged the attack. However, he failed to realize just who exactly was behind him.

Ruby Rose.

"Ruby!" Blake and Yang shouted as they reached out to the young girl.

The red hooded girl attempted to flee from the attack, though the damage she had taken from the previous fight still hadn't healed yet. Just as the girl was about to succumb to the attack, someone quickly grabbed her hood and moved her out of the way.

Yang and Blake initially thought it was Qrow who swooped in to save the girl, though were confused once they saw that Qrow hadn't moved an inch.

Once Ruby opened her eyes, she could see that the Scorpian Faunus himself was actually the one to save her.

"..." The red hooded girl was in a state of shock. Why would this man, her enemy, save her from the attack that was just about to kill her.

"Ah!" Tyrian screamed in agony as he collapsed to the ground.

Upon further inspection, Ruby could see that the man's tail was completely burnt to a crisp, chars and ashes falling off of it as he moved it.

"You bitch!" He roared at the spirit user.

The woman merely grunted as she swirled the lantern in her hand.

Seeing no other option available to him, the Scorpion Faunus had no choice but to retreat from the battlefield. He slammed his tail onto the ground with the last of his strength he had left, allowing him to make a smoke screen.

"No!" The woman yelled as she ran into the cloud of dust.

Though it was too late, the man known as Tyrian had made his escape from the ruins of Vale.

After a few moments of silence, Qrow eventually collapsed to the ground.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang shouted, causing the woman to turn her head towards the trio.

"Easy there buddy." Tai said.

"Are you okay?!" She asked.

"Hah, I'll be fine. He just grazed me." Qrow said.

"Who was that guy?" Blake asked.

"How did you get here, and why are people after my little sister?!" Yang asked.

"Qrow. I think it's time that they learned the truth." Tai said.

"Right." He said.

"The truth?" Ruby asked.

"..." Meanwhile, the woman was just staring at the scene in silence.

"Well, you gonna introduce yourself or what?" Qrow asked.

"That was Tyrian Callows." She said to the group.

"Wait, you know him?" Yang said.

"Sorta." The woman said. "Look, it doesn't matter if he just grazed you. From the looks of it, the poison's already taken an effect." She said.

"What?!" Ruby and Yang asked as they rushed towards there uncle.

"I'll...I'll be fine." Qrow said.

"Please! You have to help us!" She said.

"..." The woman merely stared at the red hooded girl with a serious expression on her face.

"Please. He's my uncle." Ruby said meekly.

After a few moments of silence, the woman sighed and rubbed her temples.

"There's a fairly large town in the mountains. They have a doctor there. If we want him to survive then we need to get moving." The woman said as she started to walk towards the forest of Sanus.

"..."

"What are you waiting for?! An invitation?!" She asked.

"N-no. It's just...can you tell us your name?" Ruby asked the spirit user.

"...Ashley. Most people just call me Ash though." The newly named Ash said as she continued to walk towards the forest.

* * *

 _ **So, Ren's past is revealed, Ironwood puts his plan into motion, and Tyrian is defeated.**_

 _ **Though not for long.**_

 _ **Can't really say for certain what Ironwood's plan is. Though I hope it doesn't wind up going south in the long run, then again knowing this world, that's probably wishful thinking.**_

 _ **Guess that's what improv is for.**_

 _ **It seems that the Spirit user knowns as Ashley Dust has some sort of connection with the Scorpion Faunus.**_

 _ **To make things even stranger than before, this enemy is after Ruby for some reason.**_

 _ **Not really sure what sort of grudge she has against the Faunus, though I guess there's only one way to find out in the long run.**_

 _ **Review Response.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Glad to hear that you enjoyed the chapter. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait just a little longer before finding out what Tyrian did to wind up on Ash's shit list.**_

 _ **.92: Well, I do aim to please.**_

 _ **myfunvideos: Fun fact, I've only seen one of the Indiana Jones movies. Also he's one of Salem's followers.**_

 _ **Donovan: Doubt it. He's not that much of a major character in the show.**_

 _ **youngsavage: No he can't, and he's not gonna any time soon.**_

 _ **GOH426:**_

 _ **1\. Thanks.**_

 _ **2\. Well, My Way by Frank Sinatra is actually his theme song, and yes, she still has it.**_

 _ **GOH426: Don't worry, I still plan on doing it. I actually have a sure fire way of fixing that arc. I'm gonna take most of the pointless stuff that was in that arc and rip it from the story, and replace it with things we should have seen.**_

 _ **Dinosaurchicken: Calm down, he'll get what's coming to him soon enough.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: That's his name, yes.**_

 _ **X522NightNadder: Glad you like it.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Meh, I've seen anime with worse plot armor. I'm not gonna give names because I don't want to be witch hunted.**_

* * *

 **Dating.**

"...Ugh, still no matches? Maybe I'm doing this wrong." Tai said to himself as he sat in front of his computer. After over ten years of coming to terms with his late wife, Raven Branwen, he was finally ready to move on.

Unfortunately, moving on was easier said than done.

He had tried online dating like Qrow had suggested he do, though so far he wasn't even getting a single match.

"Doing what wrong?" Ruby asked as she peered over the table, causing Tai to jump from his seat.

"Wai-! Nothing! What are you-?! Where did you come from?! Go back to there!" Tai asked as he attempted to push his daughter away.

However, Ruby merely pushed her dad's hand away.

"Dad. Are you going to inappropriate places on the internet?" Ruby asked.

"What?! No! I don't even know about those!" Tai said as Yang appeared from the other side of his chair.

"Who is love daddy?" Yang asked.

"Wha-?! Nobody! Everybody get away! I got hacked!" He said, desperately attempting to click off the site.

"Oh my god is this a dating site?!" She asked.

"Okay! Fine! I am love daddy! Happy now?! Haha! Go ahead, everybody make fun of me! I haven't gotten a single match. So you all can laugh twice as hard." Tai said as he hung his head in shame.

After a few moments of silence, Ruby and Yang grasped Tai's chair and pushed it aside.

"We'll take it from here." Yang said as she and Ruby went to work.

"What are you doing?" Tai asked.

"If you want girls to like you, we have to make you sound more dangerous." She said.

"I'm dangerous." He said.

"But dependable!" Ruby said.

"An edgy thrill seeker." Yang said.

"I seek thrills." Tai said.

"Yet responsible!" She said.

"Yeah, I'm a single dad!" He said.

"A bruting bad boy." Yang said.

"With a wholesome sense of humor." Ruby said.

"People say I'm funny." Tai said.

After a few more seconds of editing later, Ruby and Yang had finally finished the profile they had set up for there dad.

"There we go. The love daddy is officially on the hunt. Look out ladies." Yang said.

"Did someone say ladies?" Qrow asked as he slid into the room wearing a pair of sunglasses.

"Hi, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said.

"So, what're you kids doing?" He asked.

"We're helping dad with his love life." Yang said.

"...Oho, this I gotta see." Qrow said as he started to read Tai's profile.

"Oof, you better lie about your age, buddy." He said.

"And put up a shirtless selfie. Chicks love that." Qrow said.

"You know what? I see now that this was a terrible idea." Tai said. Though before he could shut down the account, the sound of a ding could be heard from his computer.

"Wha-?! Was that a match?!" He asked.

"Yeah! I think it is!" Yang said.

"Well, who is it?!" Tai asked.

* * *

"God, what I wouldn't give for a better connection out here." Raven said as she browsed her own dating profile.

She herself was looking for someone for her life, not really wanting to face Tai after everything she put him through, as well as Yang.

Though doing it was better said than done, mainly because the camp she ran wasn't exactly known for its high-speed connection. It's one of the few things she actually missed back in Vale.

"Hah, maybe I'm doing something wrong." She said.

"Doing what wrong?" Vernal asked as she entered the tent.

"What?! Nothing! Get out! Now!" Raven said as she attempted to cover her screen with her hands.

"Hmm?...Oh my god, is that a dating website?!" She asked.

"What?! Of course, it isn't! Do you honestly believe that I would stoop so low to where I would even engage myself in such an action?!" She asked.

"So I'm just gonna assume that you just so happen to have the username and password of some random girls online dating profile." Vernal said with a deadpanned stare.

"...Fine. It's mine. You happy?" Raven asked. "I haven't even gotten a single match." She said as she kicked one of her bottles away.

"...Let me take it from here." Vernal said as she started to edit Raven's profile.

"What?" She asked.

"Now, let's see what we can work with." She said

"What do you know about dating?" Raven asked.

"I've dated a few guys back in my days." Vernal said with a smirk on her face.

"Really?" She asked.

"...Okay, it was one. Not the point thought." She said.

"Then what point are you trying to make?" Raven asked.

"Let's be honest here, Raven. You're not the best when it comes to social interaction." Vernal said.

"What are you talking about?! I'm great with people!" She said.

"...Anyways, we need to make you sound tough, though not to tough. That's what drives the guys away." She said.

"I'm tough. I'm one of the twelve spirit users." Raven said.

"The guys like a girl that can hold her own, though won't be shy about opening up to them if they need it." Vernal said.

"I can hold my own." She said.

"Finally, you've got to know what you want in life. Guys love a girl who knows what they want, and how they're gonna get it." She said.

After making the final edits to her profile, she had finalized Raven's profile.

"There." Vernal said.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Raven asked.

"Of course it's gonna work. Trust me, I know what I'm-." She began, only for a ding from Raven's computer to cut her.

"Was that a match?!" She asked.

"Hmm...Love daddy. Dangerous, dependable, edgy thrill seeker, responsible, bruting bad boy, and wholesome sense of humor." Vernal said as she read off the description of the man.

"He sounds...perfect!" Raven said.

"Really?" Vernal asked.

* * *

"Oh my god! She sounds like the dream come true!" Tai said.

"Uh, yeah. Good for you dad." Yang said.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"That was too easy. Something isn't right here." She said.

"She sent me a message!" Tai said.

"Hmm, well look at that. Doesn't even want a shirtless selfie. I thought all chicks dug that." Qrow said.

"What do I say?!" He asked.

"Well, first of all, take it easy." He said.

"Hah, right. Okay, I'm good." Tai said.

"Alright. From the looks of it all, she said was hey. Just say hi back and go from there I guess." Qrow said.

"Right. I got this! Love daddy is on the case!" He said as he started to type onto the keyboard.

"Come on girls, let's give the man some alone time." He said as he started to push his nieces out of the room.

"Well, all's well that ends well!" Ruby said.

"I don't know, something just doesn't seem right here." Yang said.

"What'd you mean?" Qrow asked.

"It just felt too easy. I mean, what are the odds that dad just so happens to find the perfect girl on his first try?" She asked.

"...Hmm, I guess you've got a point there." He said.

"Oh come on. What's the worst that can happen?" Ruby asked.

"I've got a date!" Tai said as he burst out from the room.

"...Wait, what?!" Yang and Qrow asked.

"Congratulations dad! I knew you could do it!" Ruby said.

"Thanks, Ruby! Looks like your old man's still got it!" Tai said as he puffed out his chest with pride.

"Tai, I just left the room. How did you already get a date?!" Qrow asked.

"I don't know. We just started talking and suddenly she asked me!" He said. "She said she'd meet me in Vale! I've got a get ready!" Tai said he bolted away from the group.

Qrow narrowed his eyes and walked up to his computer to investigate.

"Who's he even talking to?" Yang asked.

"Hmm...Oh, that's not good." He said as he read the user name of the woman Tai was talking to.

"Why? What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"Just read the user name." Qrow said as he pointed at who Tai was talking to.

Though what Yang read caused her blood to freeze.

TheRaven.

"Shit/Crap." They all said in unison.

* * *

 ** _Ashley Dust_**

 _ **Race: Human**_

 _ **Weapon: Lanturn, Staff**_

 _ **Gender: Female**_

 _ **Height: 5'10"**_

 _ **Weight: 156 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 30**_

 _ **Outfit: Brown, Black, Red**_

 _ **Handedness: Right**_

 _ **Complexion: White.**_

 _ **Hair Color: Brown**_

 _ **Eye color: Brown**_

 _ **Aura Color: Fiery Red**_

 _ **Semblance: Spirit**_

 _ **Destructive Power: A**_

 _ **Speed: C**_

 _ **Endurance: B**_

 _ **Precision: B**_

 _ **Potential Growth: A**_

 _ **Range: B**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	71. The Test

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "The Test"

Thought: _'The Test"_

Flashback: _"The Test_ _"_

"Hmm, it's been a couple of days since those kids hit the road." The owner of the drive in said as he was cleaning one of his cups. Ever since that group of kids had left his drive in after taking care of the Grimm problem that he had been dealing with the Grimm that have been harassing his drive in for quite some time.

Though he couldn't shake that feeling of suspicion from his mind ever since they left. What were those kids doing out in the middle of Vacuo desert, especially at this time of year when it was supposed to be the hottest.

Not only that but they were in a real hurry to get to Vacuo, even going so far as to deny his offer to shelter them for the night.

 _"...Let's just say that I've got some unfinished business there."_ He remembered the swordsman saying to him.

"Wonder what he meant by that." The man said to himself as he finished washing his cup, moving onto the other dishes that were in his sink. It must have been very important business if a child of all things was willing to make the trip across the desert.

Though there was something strange about that boy. Apart from the strange crowd he had with him, he had this strange aura to him. It was unlike anything he had felt before as if there were two separate people present.

He could also sense some incredible power coming from him, and he doubted that he felt the full extent of it.

If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was that the kid he had run into was no ordinary person. There was something up with that kid, something supernatural, even for this worlds standards.

Now that he thought about it, the crowd he had with him was also rather strange as well. He could feel a lot of tension coming from the other three companions he had. It wasn't like the kid where he sensed something supernatural.

There was tension between those three, and not the kind of tension that can be just thrown under the bridge. When the boy said that he was the only thing stopping those three from killing one another, he originally wrote it off as an exaggeration.

However, as he continued to ponder the actions of the group that had aided him, he was starting to believe that maybe there was some form of truth to that statement.

The man was hoping that he was just digging too deep into the statement, though there was a part of him that believed that there would be some serious troubles with the group if they continued to go down there current path.

"Man, that groups got some issues they need to work out. Let's just hope the kid gets this so-called unfinished business sorted out." The man said to himself.

However, before he could continue to ponder on the current situation, the sound of the front doorbell ringing quickly cut him off.

"Ah, a traveler. Come on in." He said as he placed the cup on the shelf.

"We don't get a whole lot of visitors out here." The man said before turning around to face the visitors.

"So, how can I...help you?" He said, only for a feeling of confusion to wash over him.

Once he turned to face the said travelers that have entered his drive in, he could see that there was no one in sight.

"...Uh." The man said as he turned his head around in attempts to locate the visitors.

"Where the hell-?" He began.

"Hey!" He heard a young female voice cry out, causing him to turn his head towards the direction of the voice.

"Um-?" The man began, only for the sound of grunting to quickly cut him off. After a few moments of silence, a young black haired girl with light purple streaks could be seen sitting on one of his chairs.

"...Well, this is new." He said.

"Hi!" The girl said as she stared at the man with a smile on her face.

The girl in question was no older than eight years old, which raised further questions for the man behind the counter.

"So, what's your name, kid?" The man asked.

"My name is Iris." She said.

"Iris, huh? Aren't you a bit young to be out here by yourself?" The man asked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm tougher than I look!" Iris said.

"Is that right?" He asked as he raised one of his eyebrows.

"That's right. I'm not just some helpless little kid, you know." She said as he puffed out her chest with a sense of pride.

"Heh, well alright then." The man said. "So, whose looking after you? I doubt you made it all the way out here on your own." He said.

Though before Iris could respond, the sound of the front door opening once again quickly cut the girl off.

"Ah, so this is where you ran off to." A tall man said as he stared at Iris.

"Hey, Haze!" Iris said to Hazel as he walked over to the girl's side.

"Why must you insist on running off like that?" Hazel asked as he sat down on the chair next to Iris.

"Heh, heh, heh." The only response Iris gave was to chuckle at the man's protests.

"It's a dangerous world out here. You should be more careful." He said as he placed his massive hand on the head of the young girl.

"What can I say? This world is huge! I just can't help myself sometimes." Iris said as she climbed onto the man's shoulder.

"Yes, I suppose one would want to explore the unfamiliar world that has been around them for quite some time now." Hazel said.

"Exactly!" She said with a giggle.

"So, are you her guardian or something?" The man asked.

"Well, not exactly. We're just traveling together at the moment. I'm just looking after her." He said.

"Hmm, so where are you two heading?" He asked.

"Vacuo!" Iris said.

"Is that so? Well, what can I do for you folks today?" He asked.

"Well, we are rather thirsty. Walking in the vast desert will make one wish for water." Hazel said.

"Yeah, I thought we were gonna die of thirst." Iris said as she stretched her arms out.

"Alright then, how about I get you two something to drink." The man said as he walked behind the counter to get something for the two of them.

"So, how are you enjoying seeing the outside world?" Hazel asked.

"It's...amazing!" Iris said as she spun around in her chair. "I never knew that Remnant was so big!" She said.

"Yes, this is indeed a vast world we live in." He said.

"Yeah, I've never really been outside of the forest before, so seeing all this sand is really weird to me." Iris said, kicking small grains of sand off of her bare feet.

"I see. Well, I suppose that is to be expected for a child who has grown accustomed to vast waters and tall tree's." Hazel said.

"It's hotter than I expected. I know it's a desert and all but still, my feet were starting to burn on the ground." She said.

"Well, it will get cooler when the night falls, so you will not have to worry about the burning ground." He said.

"Whew! That's a relief." Iris said as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

After a few more moments of silence, the man eventually walked out from behind the counter with two glasses of water in his hands.

"Here you are." The man said as he placed the water in front of the duo.

"Thanks!" Iris said as she snatched the glass from off of the counter and pressed the edge of it to her lips.

"Slow down. You'll choke if you drink it too fast." Hazel said, taking a sip from his glass of water.

The young girl nodded and started to turn her large gulps into smaller sips.

"So, mind if I ask you two something?" The man asked.

Hazel simply nodded his head at the man while Iris merely placed down her glass on the counter with a gasp.

"What's motivating you two to make the trip all the way to Vacuo? Not a whole of people would risk the trip, especially on foot." The man said.

"The desert is but a desert. Such a small obstacle will not deter us from our goal." Hazel said. "Besides, we would not be out here if we were not prepared for the trials to come." He said.

"Hmm, well if you think you can make the trip, then I won't stop ya." The man said.

"Don't worry, we're a lot stronger than we look." Iris said as she puffed out her chest with a sense of pride in her.

"Seems like everyone's going to Vacuo these days." He said.

This statement caught the attention of Hazel, causing him to place his glass back down on the counter.

"What do you mean by that?" Hazel asked.

"Hmm? Well, it's just that I've been getting a few people who've stopped by here on their way to Vacuo. Some looking to make a home in Vacuo after Vale fell, though there were a few strange characters that stopped by the shop." He said.

"What do you mean by, strange?" He asked.

"Well, there was this kid who stopped by who had an interesting set of companions with him. Though that isn't the strangest part. The strangest part was the aura he was letting loose." The man said.

"How so?" Hazel asked.

"I don't really know how to describe it. Though it was almost as if he had two souls. Crazy, right?" He asked.

"..."

"Hmm?" The man hummed.

"Yeah. Right." Hazel said as he gulped down the last remains of his water.

"Come on, Iris. It's time to get going." The giant of a man said as he started to walk out of the building.

"Okay! Later!" Iris said to the man.

"Safe travels!" He said as Iris and Hazel walked out of the building.

"So, what's up with you, Haze?" She asked as she threw her arms around her head.

"Hmm, let's just say that I think I've narrowed down a few locations for this spirit user." Hazel said.

"Really? I can't wait to meet him. I wanna kick his butt." Iris said, doing a few jabs to the air.

"Calm yourself. First, we need to find the boy, then come up with a strategy to capture him." He said to the young girl.

"Alright." She said.

Hazel stared up at the sky, noticing that the sun was starting to set over the horizon.

"Hmm, the day is coming to a close. We should set up camp for the night." He said.

"Got it!" She said with a smile, jumping onto the man's shoulder.

The giant of a man let out a weak chuckle before setting out into the sands of Vacuo in attempts to find a place where he and Iris could rest for the night.

After a couple hours of searching later, they eventually found a small area that was guarded by a large palm tree. The giant of a man had decided that he would make camp there so that they could regain their strength for the trials ahead.

The night has fallen upon the deserts of Vacuo, allowing the sand to cool so that it made a soft warm pile of sand.

"Ah. That's better." Iris said as she laid back into the sand.

"Hmm, we should get some rest. We still have quite the ways to go before we reach Vacuo." Hazel said as he added more wood to the fire.

"So more sand?" She asked as she got up from the ground.

"Yes, more sand. Much more sand." He said.

"Aw." She said as she laid back on the sand, dust starting to form under her tiny body, causing Hazel to chuckle to himself.

"Looking forward to visiting one of the great kingdoms?" Hazel asked.

"You bet I am! I've always wanted to go visit one of the kingdoms." Iris said with an excited smirk on her face.

"I just wish that we could have visited a more...civilized kingdom. Vacuo isn't well known for being the safest place on Remnant." He said.

"Psh, we'll be fine." She said.

"I suppose. Though you do remember why we are going to Vacuo in the first place, right?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, I know. Find this the boy with two souls and find the magic lady." Iris said.

"Well, I guess that's the general idea of the situation." He said.

However, before the two could continue there conversation, the sound of a bird chirping quickly cut them off.

Iris shot her head over in the direction of the bird, a smile on her face.

"Heh, heh, heh." She giggled as she quickly scurried up the tree and onto the large leaf where the bird was sitting on.

The girl slowly started crawl over to the bird, her eyes glowing with a light purple aura.

In truth, Hazel and Iris could have easily taken a shorter route with the abilities of Lilith at there disposal. She was the reason why he was basically going to cross to the other side of the world in the matter of a few seconds.

Though Salem had told them to get information on the whereabouts of the spirit user and the Summer Maiden. With Iris's unique abilities at there disposal, they would be able to widen there reach exponentially.

However, this required Iris to tread most of her journies on foot in order to further there reach on the world of Remnant.

Iris slowly stared at the bird, the bird in question not really flying away like birds usual do when humans get a tad to close for comfort. As the bird was chirping, Iris was making these strange noises from her mouth, almost sounding identical to that of the bird.

While Iris's semblance did no direct damage, the sheer range of it was massive.

Cross-Species Communication.

After a few short moments, the bird slowly flew over to Iris's finger, landing on it gently.

Though before the young girl could continue to communicate with the bird, the leaf slowly started to lower from the branch Iris was sitting on.

"Uh oh." She said as she fell out from the tree, the bird flying away into the night sky.

However, before Iris could hit the ground, Hazel quickly caught her in the palm of his massive hand.

"Thanks." Iris said.

"You have to be more careful. I won't always be there to catch you." He said as he placed the girl back onto the ground.

"Sorry." She said.

"It's alright." Hazel said as he ruffled Iris's hair.

"Hey!" Iris said as she attempted to swat away the man, causing Hazel to let out a weak chuckle.

"So, how has your training gone so far?" He asked the young girl.

"Well, it was super hard at first, though I got the hang of it after awhile." Iris said.

"I'm not talking about your physical training." Hazel said.

"..."

"So, you still aren't able to tap into the power that resides within your soul yet." He said.

"Yeah. It's so frustrating!" Iris said as she kicked at the sand.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You are but a child. It's only natural you would have trouble mastering this power." Hazel said.

"But I was able to do it before!" She said as she sat down next to Hazel with a pout on her face.

"Hmm, you remind me of somebody. She too wanted nothing more than to reach the pinnacle of her potential." He said with a sad smile on his face.

"Really? What was she like? Was she tough?!" Iris asked.

"Yes. She was a rather determined young girl. She was always seeking to aid others whenever she could." Hazel said to Iris.

"She sounds like a nice person." She said.

"Indeed she was. Indeed she was." The man said as he clenched his fist.

"You okay?" Iris asked, noticing that Hazel was starting to get a very serious expression on his face.

"Yes. I'm fine." Hazal said to the young girl. "Though one day, she met a man. This man fed her lie after lie, filling her head with false dreams. I tried to stop her, though in the end, she winded up a slave to the lie the man was so desperately attempting to keep hidden." He growled.

She was still rather confused, though her rather tired state made her drop the subject.

"Hah! Well okay. I'm tired." Iris said as she rested her head on Hazel's leg.

"Well, you get some rest. We still have a long road ahead of us." He said.

"..." The man looked down to see that Iris was fast asleep on his leg, letting loose as an audible snore.

Hazel let out a weak chuckle before staring up at the night sky, the stars bringing the sky to life.

 _'I can only hope that she does not wind up like you, Gretel.'_ The man thought to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, the group of misfits and outlaws were currently continuing there journey across the deserts of Sanus in attempts to reach their destination of Vacuo. They had made quick progress once they had acquired the bike from the man at the drive-in, allowing the group to close the gap between much more quickly.

It was a rather difficult journey, having to cross half of the desert on foot.

However, no matter how hard the journey got, they were still determined to accomplish the goal that they had set out to accomplish. Well, the swordsman was really the only one who set out to accomplish the goal. His three companions were really just there to tag along for the ride.

The goal? Find one of the twelve spirit users located in Vacuo. The one who houses the spirit of Mjolnir.

Though locating the spirit user would prove to be exceedingly more challenging than what the holder of Caliber had bargained for. Especially with how his other three companions were acting around one another.

However, those were worries for another time.

 _'Hey, Caliber.'_ Brandon called out to his spirit as he drove across the vast deserts of Vacuo.

 ** _"What is it, my boy?"_** The spirit asked.

 _'Mind if I ask you something?'_ He asked.

 ** _"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon so I suppose."_** He said.

 _'What's your brother like?'_ Brandon asked, his hands not leaving the handles of the bike.

 _ **"Which one? I have quite a few of them."**_ Caliber said.

 _'The one we're trying to break out of prison.'_ He said dryly.

 ** _"Ah. While he is a spirit of few words, he does take great pride in his many battles and victories."_** He said. **_"Though I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised that he has this sense of pride within him."_** Caliber stated, causing him to grab the attention of his wielder.

 _'What do you mean?'_ He asked him.

 ** _"Being a spirit does give one a sense of pride in their abilities, my brother being no exception to this pride. Which is why we only grant the most worthy of candidates to yield our power."_** He said.

 _'Is that so?'_ Brandon asked.

 _ **"Indeed, and my brother is easily the strongest of the spirits, given the proper circumstances that is."**_ Caliber said.

 _'What do you mean given the proper circumstances?'_ He asked.

 ** _"Peaked your interest, did I not?"_** He asked.

 _'Bit of an understatement. You mean to tell me that we're the spirit user we're looking for is actually one of the strongest of the twelve?!'_ He asked.

 _ **"If given the proper circumstances, yes. Though this does not mean that the other eleven are weak by any means. If anything, the spirits are among some of the strongest known legends in Remnant. We all have our own unique tricks that we tend to keep hidden."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Huh, all the more reason to get them all.'_ Brandon thought.

 _ **"Take your confrontation with the False Maiden. With her new found powers she developed a feeling of arrogance to her, believing that you were inferior to her. Yet despite all odds, you were able to rise to the top."**_ He said.

 _ **"However, if you wish to look at the bigger picture, then I all of the spirits can be equally strong depending on the situation and circumstances."**_ Caliber said to his user.

 _'Even more of a reason to gather them.'_ He said

 _ **"Indeed. Though finding the one who houses my brother will be exceeding difficult."**_ He said.

 _'Tell me about it. Raven didn't exactly give me a whole lot of details on where this guy would be. She just said go find a prison in Vacuo and then left. Yeah, because that really narrows it down to a couple of options!'_ He thought.

 _ **"We do not know the whereabouts of the other users either. Currently, we only are able to confirm who two of the vessels for my brothers and sisters are."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Which means we have to go and find nine more.'_ Brandon thought.

 _ **"It appears so."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Why does this have to be so damn hard?! It was pretty easy to find one of the four Maiden's, and there were only four of them!'_ He said to his spirit. _'Speaking of which we also have to make sure that this Salem chick doesn't get her hands on the Summer Maiden's powers! Jesus, when did so much get on our plate at once?!'_ Brandon asked himself.

 _ **"Well, you are able to narrow down the potential candidates. Whoever had a strong bond with the previous Maiden is the most likely candidate for the Maiden's power."**_ He said. _**"With us spirits, it's more or less who we chose, and we can choose whomever we desire."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Jeez, this is gonna be a lot harder than it looked on paper.'_ Brandon thought to himself.

 _ **"Indeed. Though nobody said that it would be nothing less than a challenge."**_ He said.

 _'No kidding. Finding the prison isn't even going to be the hardest part. It's the whole breaking the guy out of jail thing that's got me worried.'_ He said.

 ** _"For what reason?"_** Caliber asked.

 _'Well, if the guys dangerous enough to where the citizens of Vacuo feel like they need to make a prison specifically designed to hold this guy captive, then I kinda want to know what he did.'_ Brandon said.

 ** _"The world is full of mysteries and secrets. It is our job to uncover and reveal the truths behind them."_** Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, that's pretty much how we spend our time.'_ He said to Caliber, snapping back into reality. He looked over to the horizon in attempts to see if they were getting any closer to Vacuo.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a single sign of the great kingdom ahead, causing the swordsman to lightly hit his head against the metal of the bike.

"What's up with you?" Mercury asked.

"Nothing. Just having a little talk with Caliber." He said.

"You know, it's kinda weird when you zone off to go and talk with the spirit in your head." Mercury said.

"Weird how?" Brandon asked.

"Well, you just make facial expressions at nothing, so it's kinda weird how you just look like you're talking at nothing." Emerald said.

"Oh, well it was either that or talk to myself so I chose to just talk to Caliber in my head. It makes it easier to talk to him while in public." He said.

"I guess so. You did kinda look like you were crazy when you were just talking to yourself." Mercury said.

"Gee, thanks." Brandon said dryly.

"So, what were you two talking about anyway's?" He asked him as he stared at the sand they were passing.

"Just talking about our whole plan I suppose." He said, his eyes not leaving the horizon ahead.

"What about it?" Emerald asked, her hair blowing in the wind.

"Well, for one, it's not exactly gonna be easy to find this prison that's holding the spirit user we're looking for." Brandon said.

"Isn't the only prison in Vacuo though?" Mercury asked.

"As far as I know, yeah." He said.

"Then finding it shouldn't be too hard!" He said.

"Well, considering that this entire desert is just one giant wasteland, I'm sure they placed it in the hottest, most barren part of the desert." Brandon said. "Then again, fate loves to throw wrenches into my life so I guess anything can happen." He said, causing Emerald to chuckle lightly.

"Hmm, well if I learned anything from my dad, if you need to know the area, just ask the rats." Mercury said.

"Well, Vacuo isn't like Vale. The people there aren't gonna be as welcoming than the people down in the other kingdoms." Brandon said.

"Yeah, well we're not exactly saints ourselves." He said.

"Heh, you got that right. Just three criminals and one handsome swordsman." Brandon said with a smug smirk on his face.

"More like one hot-headed swordsman." Mercury said to Emerald with a chuckle, causing the thief to roll her eyes.

"I heard that, peg legs!" Brandon growled.

"Oh yeah? Is that a problem?" He said with a cocky smirk on his face. After a few moments of silence, the assassin burst into a laughing fit.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." The swordsman growled.

"So, besides our hunt for the spirit user, what else are we out here for?" Emerald asked.

"Well, I suppose we're going to have to break Vacuo's most dangerous man out of jail." Brandon said.

"Great." She said sarcastically.

"I wonder what this guy did that the people here in Vacuo wanted him behind bars for." Mercury said.

"Yeah." He said, gripping the handles of the bike more tightly than before. "After we get this whole thing situated, we're probably gonna have to lay low for a little bit, or at least some of us are." Brandon said.

"You're probably right. I doubt the people of Vacuo would be too happy with us after our little jailbreak." Emerald said.

"How strong is this guy anyway's?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't really know anything about this guy they're holding, though Caliber did tell me a few things about the spirit behind the man." Brandon said. "Which is the whole reason why we're out here in the first place...well, I guess it's only part of it." He said.

"What did he tell you?" He asked.

"One thing he told me is that if given the proper circumstances, the spirit we're after can actually be the most powerful spirit out of the eleven we're looking for." Brandon said.

"Hold on, you said the strongest?!" Mercury asked.

"Given the proper circumstances, yeah." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The assassin asked, the hot wind blowing through the gears of his legs.

"Not really sure. Though Caliber did tell me that all the spirits can be equally as strong, depending on the situation and circumstances." Brandon said.

"Hmm, these spirits just keep getting weirder and weirder." Mercury said.

"So I'm assuming we're gonna have to find a place to hide the spirit user once we break them out of prison." Emerald said.

"That's the main idea. If this man is strong enough to wield the hammer that contains the spirit, then I doubt he can just go out and walk in public like any other person in the world." He said.

"After that, we go and search for the Summer Maiden, as well as finding one of these so-called relics." Brandon said, causing Emerald to tense up a bit.

"Oh." Emerald said, causing Brandon to turn his head over towards Emerald.

"Yeah. I know you guys don't exactly have the best of luck with these Maidens. Though that's why it's all the more important that we find them before she does." He said.

"I know. It's just...it's hard not to think about it sometimes." She said.

"I get it. Don't worry, she'll get what's coming to her soon enough." Brandon said.

"Yeah." Emerald said with a smile on her face.

Though as the group continued to cross the desert of Vacuo, the sun was starting to come to a set to make way for the night.

As the group continued there path towards Vacuo, Mercury spotted some strange looking ruins in the distance.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"What now?" Emerald asked.

"You see that?" The assassin asked as he pointed over at the ruins.

"Hmm, yeah. What about it?" She asked.

"Maybe we should camp there for the night." Mercury said as he pointed at the ruins.

"That's...actually not a bad idea." Emerald said.

"...Wait, really?" The assassin asked.

"Yeah...That felt really weird to say." She said.

"Well would you look at that. Maybe Master Thief Emerald is finally warming up to me!" Mercury said.

"Yeah right." Emerald said as she pinched the brim of her nose.

"Can it you two. Looks like we'll be camping out in those ruins for-." Brandon began, only for the feeling of the ground rumbling slightly to cut him off.

"...Please tell me you all felt that to." He said.

"Yeah." Mercury and Emerald said while Neo merely nodded her head.

After a few moments of silence, Brandon let out a sigh of slight relief from his mouth.

"Guess it was nothing. Alright, let's-." He began, only for the rumbling to quickly cut him off once again.

"Okay, it's isn't nothing, it clearly isn't nothing." Brandon said as sweat started to form on his head.

"Where the hell is it coming from though?!" Mercury asked as he got ready to fight.

"I don't know. Just keep your guard up!" He said, revving the bike up so that it would go faster.

The trio on the back of the bike quickly started to scan the area in attempts to find the source of the shaking ground.

However, so far they weren't able to find anything that could have caused the earth below them to shake.

"Shit. This isn't good." Mercury said.

"Really now?!" Emerald asked.

Once again, the ground beneath the trio started to rumble again, the sand starting to shake.

"Okay, now this is just a suggestion, but I think that this should be the part where we high tail it out of here." Mercury said, cold sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Though before Brandon could respond to the assassins statement, the voice of his spirit, Caliber, quickly cut him off.

 _ **"Something is coming."**_ Caliber said in a serious tone.

However, before the swordsman could question the spirit, the wind around the area started to pick up, causing a large sandstorm to form around the area.

"Gah! Damn it! Where the hell did this sandstorm come from?!" Mercury asked as he shielded his eyes from the sudden sand.

"I can't see a thing!" Emerald yelled, having equal difficulty with pushing back the sandstorm.

Brandon was starting to have trouble controlling the bike due to the ground moving so suddenly, causing the trio to grip onto the bike in order to prevent themselves from falling off.

"The hell is going on?! What's causing this-?!" Brandon began, only for the sound of a loud growling noise to quickly cut him off. The growl itself was enough to send chills down the spines of the group.

"...What the hell was that?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not sure. Though we're sure as hell not sticking around to find out!" Brandon said as he revved up the engine to the bike, causing it to shoot forwards.

The growling grew even louder as the ground started to shake more violently, making it exceedingly difficult for the group to hang onto the bike for safety. The group couldn't even see the beast with there own two eyes.

However, the growling alone was enough to tell the group that this was not a beast they wanted to fight.

The beast let out a snarl, causing the bike that held the group to be sent up into the air.

"Holy shit! Just what the hell is this thing?!" Mercury asked, desperately attempting to keep ahold of the bike.

The ground itself was starting to shake violently, the wind howling as the group attempted to escape the wrath of the beast.

 _'Jeez, how the hell are we supposed to fight this thing?! We can't even see it and it's already messing us up!'_ Brandon thought to himself, using his hood to shield himself from the winds.

 _ **"I believe that our best course of action would be to fight another day."**_ Caliber said.

 _'Best plain I've heard in ages!'_ He thought as he revved up the engines once again.

 _ **"Through the storm, boy! It is our best chance to escape from the jaws of this beast."**_ He said.

 _'On it!'_ Brandon said to Caliber as he shot straight forward.

The wind was howling through his ears and the sand was blinding his field of view. The only thing the swordsman could do was move forward's, through the storm with no knowledge of what's ahead.

After a what felt like an eternity later, the sound of the wind howling eventually died down and the rumbling of the ground calmed.

"Whoa." Brandon sighed as he leaned back on the leather of the bike.

"That. Was way too close for comfort." He said in between breaths.

"Is everyone okay?!" Brandon asked as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead.

"..."

"Guys?" He began as he turned to face his companions. However, once he saw that the trio was no longer there, his blood froze.

"..."

 _ **"Well. That isn't good."**_ Caliber said from within Brandon's head.

Meanwhile, the sandstorm was still raging on as the group laid there on the ground scattered.

"Ugh." Emerald groaned as she got up from off of the ground.

"That could have gone better." She said to herself, shaking the sand out from her hair.

The thief in question started to dart her head around the sandstorm in attempts to find the swordsman.

"Hey!" She yelled through the howling wind.

However, the only thing she was met with was the sound of the wind howling through her ears.

"Where are you?!" Emerald yelled, desperately attempting to find her companion.

She continued to walk through the sandstorm in attempts to find even just one of her companions. Suddenly, the ground started to shake violently once again, causing the thief to fall to the ground.

Though before she could continue her search, the sound of the growl she had heard once before put her in a cold state of silence.

Emerald slowly turned around to see the shadow of what could only be described as a colossus. The sheer size of shadow alone was enough to strike a sense of fear into the heart of the thief.

However, she was able to hear the faint echo of a voice from the distance. Though she was still to petrified by the sheer size of the beast to even move her legs.

The feeling of someone grabbing her arm quickly snapped her back to reality.

"Emerald!" Mercury said, causing the thief to blink a few times.

"M-Mercury?!" She asked.

"Come on! There's no time to chit chat we need to move!" The assassin yelled, quickly dragging the thief away from the massive beast.

Emerald attempted to face the beast once again, though as she turned her head around, the beast was nowhere in sight. She shook her head and started to follow the assassin through the sandstorm.

"Jeez! I can't see a damn thing!" Mercury said, holding his hand above his eyes in attempts to block the sand from getting into his sockets.

"We need to find a place to lay low! There's no way we'll survive out here for much longer!" Emerald said.

However, as the duo continued to walk through the storm, the shadow of a small figure could be seen through the storm.

"Never thought I'd be relieved to see you!" Mercury said as Neo came into view.

The small girl nodded as she walked up to the duo, clearly glad to see that she found someone in this storm.

"You wouldn't happen to find a place for us to lay low while we wait for this storm to settle down, would you?" The assassin asked.

Neo's only response was to turn around and motion for the two to follow her into the storm.

"Are we really following her?!" Emerald asked.

"I don't think we have much of a choice!" Mercury said, following the small girl into the storm.

Seeing no other option, the thief started to follow the duo deeper into the storm of sand.

After a few moments of walking, they eventually arrived at the ruins that Mercury had pointed out before.

"Huh. Well, looks like we're camping here after all." He said as he walked into the cave of the ruins, Emerald following close behind.

Once the trio finally made it inside of the cave, the leaned back against the walls and started to breathe heavily, clearly exhausted from the sudden storm that had hit them. The storm wasn't showing any signs of calming down anytime soon, and the growling of the beast could still be heard from the distance.

So as of this moment, the three criminals were officially stuck in a cave with one another with nowhere to go.

"Well...this sucks." Mercury said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cinder was currently undergoing her training that Salem had overseen, attempting to get the power of the Maiden's Magic under her control. Though this would prove to be much more complicated than she had originally thought.

Just by using the Magic alone was enough to tire her out, making training in the tower much harder than it should have been in the long run.

However, the Maiden was determined to conquer this obstacle to achieve even further power. Though determination alone wasn't enough to win a battle. To make her training even harder than before, she had to get used to the new arm that her master had given her.

She was rapidly swinging her arm at the Grimm that Salem was sending her way, struggling to keep up with the amount her leader was throwing at her. Whether she was using her fire element or the other elements that came with the power, fighting the Grimm off was proving to be quite the challenge.

After the battle she had with the swordsman, the only elements she was actually able to use at the time were the fire element and the ice element. During her battle, she had managed to use her lightning element against the swordsman.

Though ever since then she wasn't able to shoot down a single bolt of lightning from the sky. No matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't even get a small spark.

So for now, she was sticking to Fire and Ice.

Though she did prefer the fire elements over the other ones she had available to her. As a pack of Ursai came rushing towards her, she started to shoot various fireballs at the beasts, causing them to incinerate upon contact.

Once the other beasts started to rush at the Maiden, she quickly slammed her hands onto the ground, causing various spikes of ice to stab into the beasts. She breathed heavily as she prepared for the next wave.

Sure enough, a pack of Beowolves were slowly walking towards the Maiden, there burning red eyes drilling deep into her soul.

The Maiden swung her arm at the beasts as they attempted to pounce on her, causing them to split into two.

However, as she stood there in complete exhaustion, one of the Beringel's that Salem had sent in was charging towards Cinder with its fists reeled backward's.

Though just as it was about to crush the Maiden under its fist, Cinder shot one of her fireballs into the Beast, causing it to evaporate into the air. Once the beast was gone, Cinder collapsed to the ground in complete exhaustion.

"Enough." Salem said as she walked over towards the Maiden.

"I thought you were the girl who wanted power. Did you lie to me?" She asked.

After a few moments of silence from the Maiden, she shook her head to her master's question.

"Then stop holding back. If you wish to master your new powers, you must-." Salem began, only for the sound of the doors leading to the hall opening to cut her off.

It was faint, though the duo could hear the sound of faint whimpers coming from the hall, causing the woman to walk over towards the source of the noise.

Finally regaining her strength, Cinder got up and stared in the direction of Salem.

After a few moments of silence, Tyrian walked out through the halls and into the room with a terrified expression on his face.

"I'm sorry. She'll forgive me." He said as he collapsed down to the ground.

"Please forgive me." He begged.

"Tyrian." Salem said, causing the Faunus to freeze in place.

"Your task... were you successful?" Salem asked.

"...N-no." He managed to say.

The woman stared at Tyrian for a few moments before walking towards the halls where he had come from.

"But-but hope is not lost!" Tyrian said.

"My tail, my stinger, I-I poisoned him, Qrow!" He said, attempting to make up for his failure.

"He will not be a nuisance to you any longer, no... no longer." Tyrian said.

However, Salem still seemed unphased by this new development, causing Tyrian to panic internally.

"N-not only that! B-but I found one! Another one! I found one of the twelve spirits of Remnant!" He said, causing Salem to stop in her tracks. After a few moments of silence, Salem turned her head over towards the Faunus.

"H-H-Have I done well? Have I pleased you?" Tyrian asked.

Suddenly, Salem started to walk over towards the Faunus with a serious expression on her face. This caused the man's internal panic to change into full-blown terror.

"Y-You're absolutely right! T-These actions do not excuse my failure! I-I was a fool to think so!" The man said as he started to cower in front of his master.

However, Salem was unphased by the man's words, causing her to hold her finger in the direction of the man.

"Y-you're right. I-I don't deserve to fight alongside you, to stand with you in the new world! I-I don't deserve your forgiveness!" He said.

Salem started to move towards Tyrian, the tip of her finger glowing with a dark purple and red aura.

"..." The man merely closed his eyes and waited for the embrace of death. However, the embrace of death he was waiting for never came, causing the man to open his eyes to face his leader.

Though once he saw that his leader was nowhere to be seen, he started to dart his head around the room in attempts to find her.

What he wasn't expecting to see was for a fairly large Grimm to be right behind him, the beast attempting to sinks its teeth into the man's flesh. Though as Salem touched the beast with her fingertip, it completely evaporated into a glowing purple dust.

"..." The man stared up at the woman with tears falling down his cheek.

"What did they do to you, Tyrian?" Salem asked as she stared at the burnt tail of the Faunus.

"..."

"Come. We must see to it that you get a new tail." She said as she started to walk down the halls.

"Y-you're going to help me?" Tyrian asked.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I?" Salem asked.

"After what I did? After my failure? You would still-." He began.

"Make no mistake, Tyrian. Your failure is most disappointing to hear. You failed me, you failed us, as well as everything we stand for." She said.

"T-then why?" Tyrian asked.

"Why?" Salem asked as she turned to face the Faunus.

"Do you believe that I see so little of you that your failure would make a difference?" She asked.

After a few moments of silence, the walls that Tyrian had built around himself completely broke, causing him to crumble underneath the feet of Salem.

"Stand tall, Tyrian. There is still much more that needs to be done." Salem said.

"R-right! Of course your grace!" The man said as he followed Salem through the hall.

Meanwhile, Cinder was watching the whole scene unfold in front of her. She stared back down at the arm Salem had created for her, the one that would allow her to become even stronger than ever before.

After a few moments of silence, she clenched her fist and started to walk after the duo. However, as she walked through the hallway, she suddenly passed a man in black armor, causing her to turn to face the man.

Upon further inspection, the man's chest plate had some sort of line going from his lower stomach all the way up to his neck, two more patterns sticking out on the opposites sides of the line to create a cross of some sort.

The elbows of his armor had spikes coming out from the edges of them, the very top of his leg armor having similar spikes to that of his arms. He wore a helmet that concealed his face, though a light red aura could be seen coming out from the visor of his helmet.

Cinder stared at the man for a few moments as he continued to walk down the hallway in silence.

She let out a sigh before walking in the direction of the meeting hall where Salem had taken Tyrian, not wanting to keep the woman waiting. The man that she had just passed was a man of incredible power, a warrior whose's strength has no equal.

This man was none other than the barbarian himself, Cain.

* * *

"God damn it!" Brandon said as he drove around the desert in attempts to find his three lost companions.

 _ **"Try to calm your nerves, my boy."**_ Caliber said in attempts to ease his master's mind.

"How the hell can I remain calm at a time like this?! I just left three of my friends stuck in the middle of Remnant's largest desert!" He said, desperately attempting to locate his lost companions.

 _ **"They are no stranger to harsh conditions. They will not fall victim to the desert so easily."**_ He said.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine! They don't have a single drop of water with them and there aren't exactly and placed close by that would give them water, I'm sure they'll be just peachy!" Brandon said sarcastically.

 _ **"Do not be so down. They will be put to the test with these new turn of events, and if they emerge victoriously they will only grow even stronger than before."**_ Caliber said.

"Caliber! You live inside of my head! You of all people should know why there are so many red flags with the situation." He said.

 _ **"Hmm. Yes, I suppose this sort of situation is rather different compared to others."**_ He said.

"They are literally going to kill each other! The only reason they haven't turned on one another was that I was there to shut it down before it got too out of hand!" Brandon said.

"Now there's nothing to stop them from just turning on one another!" He said.

 _ **"There is also the possibility that they would just go there separate ways."**_ Caliber said.

"That's even worse! Then we would have to run all around Vacuo just to find those three again! We don't have that kind of time, we have anything but time right now!" Brandon said as he hit his head on the metal of the bike.

"Our plate is full enough as it is, and there's no telling when the enemy will make another move! We still need to find the Summer Maiden after we free the wielder of the spirit of Mjolnir!" He said.

 _ **"Yes. It would be in our best interest to find these three as fast as possible. Otherwise, our quest will become all the more difficult."**_ Caliber said.

"Easier said than done! How the hell are you supposed to find anything in this hell hole of a dessert?!" Brandon said.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ He hummed.

"Ugh. We haven't even arrived in Vacuo yet and we're already getting screwed over." He said as he pinched the brim of his nose.

 _ **"I wouldn't be so certain of that."**_ Caliber said.

"What are you on about no-?" He began, though he quickly cut himself off as he stared off into the distance of the desert.

Right above the horizon, lighting up the night sky of the desert was the great city of Vacuo itself.

Brandon had made it, he had finally made it to the city of Vacuo.

"...Well, look at that." Brandon said.

 _ **"The city awaits, my boy."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, looks like it." He said as he started to drive towards the city.

 _ **"What of your companions?"**_ The spirit asked his users as they drove towards the kingdom.

"Look, we're not exactly doing ourselves any favors by driving out in the middle of nowhere desert with no food or water. Right now, Vacuo is the best chance we'll get when it comes to finding those three." Brandon said.

 _ **"Hmm, very well. Do as you please."**_ Caliber said. _**"If you do not mind my curiosity, what are your plans for when we arrive at the city."**_ He said,

"To be honest I didn't think I'd make it this far." He said.

As if on cue, Brandon could hear the sound of metal hitting up against metal from within his head.

"Did you just facepalm?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"What of it?"**_ Caliber asked.

"...Nevermind." He said as he continued to drive towards the massive city.

After a few more hours of driving later, Brandon eventually reached the desert kingdom known as Vacuo.

While it wasn't as nice looking as maybe Vale or Atlas, it sure made up for it with the sheer size of the kingdom itself.

"Whew!" Brandon whistled as he pulled up to the front of the kingdom.

"So, this is Vacuo. It's been a long road, but we finally made it...even if three of us aren't actually here to share the moment with us." Brandon said.

"Hey!" The swordsman heard someone yell, causing him to look up into the air. There were two people standing post on the walls that guarded Vacuo, one being Male, and the other being Female.

"Uh." Brandon said.

 ** _"Go on. Make sure you give a good first impression."_** Caliber said.

"Right." The swordsman said as he looked up to face the two guards.

"Hey! Look, I get it that tension between kingdoms are a bit high right now, but could you do me a solid and open up these doors?!" He asked.

"..." The two merely looked at one another with confused expressions on there faces.

"Nailed it." Brandon said.

 ** _"Well, it's not the worst, I suppose."_** Caliber said.

"Yeah, and why should we do that?!" The girl asked the swordsman.

"...Uh." He began, not really coming up with a reason.

Though after a few moments of silence, the two started to laugh with one another.

"Just kidding kid. Let me get the doors for ya." The man said.

"Really? Just like that?" Brandon asked.

"Hey, if you crossed the desert of Vacuo all on your own then your more then welcome to stay as long as you want!" The girl said.

"...Well then, thanks." He said as the doors started to open up.

"Here, let me get that bike for you." The man said.

"Yeah, sure thing." Brandon said as he jumped off of the bike, landing on the ground with a thud.

"So, what brings you to Vacuo?" The girl asked as she came on down to greet the traveler.

"Well, I'm looking to finish some unfinished business I guess." He said.

"Must be pretty important." The man said.

"Yeah, something like that." Brandon said to the duo.

"So, are you going anywhere specific?" The girl asked the swordsman.

"Hmm." He hummed. "Actually, can you point me in the direction of Shade Academy?" Brandon asked.

"Shade? Why do you want to go there?" The man asked.

"I want to have a little talk with someone." He said to the duo.

* * *

"Any luck yet?" Mercury asked as laid there in the sand of the cave.

Emerald picked up one of the rocks and threw it out of the cave, causing the rock to explode once it hit the intense heat of the air of Vacuo's desert.

"No." Emerald said with a deadpanned stare.

While the group did manage to luck out when it came to the placement of the cave they were camping in, the part of the desert where the cave actually stood was an entirely different story.

The intensity of the heat outside of the cave was a bit much for people to travel in. While they weren't going to catch on fire from the heat, there was no doubt that they would die from dehydration rather quickly.

It was especially bad for the assassin due to his prosthetic legs. The metal of the legs would burn the skin of his upper thigh if he even attempted to cross the desert in that kind of heat.

So for the time being, they were stuck in the cave with no real way to get out other than to wait until the heat died down.

"Great." Mercury said as he laid back down in the sand.

Meanwhile, Neo was just sitting on the other side of the wall with her head down and her legs up against her chest.

"How much longer do we have to sit here for?" The assassin asked Emerald.

"I don't know, and when you ask me again a hour later, I'm going to give you the same answer." Emerald growled.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it already." Mercury said.

"...It's never easy for us, is it?" The thief asked as she stared out into the barren desert.

"For people like us? I doubt we'll ever catch a break." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"It means that we're not exactly what you would call good people, even after the stunt we pulled in Beacon." Mercury said, getting up from off of the ground to face Emerald.

"Think about it. We decided to hitch a ride with Brandon so we could maybe do something with our lives, and look at us now? We're on our way to break Vacuo's most wanted out of prison." He said.

"..."

"So yeah, I wouldn't hold on for that break anytime soon. People like us don't catch breaks." Mercury said.

"...I guess you have a point." Emerald said.

"...Wait, really?" He asked as he stared at the thief with a confused expression on his face.

"After all the people we've hurt, after everything we've done, do we really deserve a break?" She asked. "I mean, aren't we partially to blame for what happened in Vale?" Emerald asked Mercury.

"Hell if I know. I tend not to dwell too much on the past." He said.

"Still, it's hard not to think about it." She said.

"Meh." Mercury said as he shrugged his shoulders in response to the thief's statement.

"You're not exactly the easiest person to talk to, you know that?" Emerald asked.

"What else is new?" He asked.

"Fair point." She said.

Though as time went by, Mercury couldn't help but notice that Neo was being unusually silent, even for her standards. Normally she would take every opportunity she could get to poke fun at the expense of the two, though for some reason she was just sitting there in silence.

"Hey, what's up with her?" Mercury asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Emerald asked the assassin.

"You're a girl, right? Don't girls know this sorta stuff?" He asked.

"No, we don't." She said. "Why do you care anyway's?" Emerald asked.

"It's just that she's been more quiet than usual." Mercury said.

"She's a mute." She deadpanned.

"I get that but she makes an effort to communicate at least. Though ever since we got into this cave she's just been sitting there in silence." He said.

"...I wouldn't worry about it." Emerald said as she continued to stare out into the distance.

The assassin stared at the small girl for a moment before shrugging to himself.

Meanwhile, Neo was having her own internal conflict inside of her own. She hasn't exactly been doing so well ever since the Fall.

Neo had lost everything now that Brandon was gone. She had lost Roman, she had lost her home, and now she was stuck in a cave with these two. So right now, she just wanted to sit there in silence until either the heat calmed down, or until the three of them died in the cave.

Though as she sat there in the cave, something inside of her soul started to form. She wasn't able to put it into words, though it was a rather familiar feeling to her. It's a feeling she had for most of her life.

A feeling of darkness inside of her soul, a lust for blood that couldn't be quenched unless the sands were stained with blood, and as of now, it was the strongest it's ever been.

All of a sudden, Neo got up from the ground, causing Mercury and Emerald to turn to face the girl with curious expressions on her face.

Suddenly, a familiar sadistic smirk started to form on her face as she opened her eyes, her pupils being black as night itself.

Right now, the only thing that the small girl cared about was to see the sands of Vacuo soaked with the blood of the two people she saw in front of her.

"The hell?" Mercury asked as he got up from the ground, causing Emerald to do the same.

"Hey. What's up with you?" He asked as he stared at the small girl. Though as the assassin and the thief blinked, Neo had disappeared from sight.

Suddenly, Mercury could feel the feeling of a blade passing by his cheek, causing a small cut to appear.

"What are you-?!" He began, only for Neo to charge towards Mercury, rapidly jabbing her blade at the assassin, her blade moving faster than his eyes could keep up.

"Hey! Jeez, what the hell's your deal?!" Mercury asked as the small girl slashed at the area above his eyebrow. Though before he could react, Neo kicked the assassin up into the air.

Emerald recovered from her state of shock and pulled out her two revolvers, pointing her two weapons at Neo with a glare on her face.

"Figures you'd be the one to backstab us." She said.

Neo merely stared at Emerald with a sadistic smirk on her face, her eyes still glowing with the same black aura as before.

Though before Emerald could react, Neo appeared behind her and slashed at Emerald, the thief just barely able to dodge the attack.

Seeing no other option, Emerald used her semblance to put Neo under one of her illusions.

"Mercury! Go!" She said.

The assassin nodded and charged towards there attacker with his foot raised high. Though what neither one was expecting was for Neo to kick Mercury away once again.

"What the hell?! I thought you put her under one of your illusions!" He said as he got up.

"I did!" She defended.

 _'Why the hell didn't it work?! Something isn't right here.'_ Emerald said.

Though in the blink of an eye, Neo charged towards the two with the same sadistic smirk she had on her face. Mercury jumped back and started to parry each of Neo's strikes with his legs, though the attacker in question was starting to get faster.

In the blink of an eye, Neo rammed her foot into the side of the assassin. Though before the assassin could react, she quickly kicked the assassin away, causing him to go flying towards the other side of the cave.

Before Emerald could react, Neo quickly appeared behind her and slashed her blade across her chest, the thief just barely able to dodge the attack. Though in the blink of an eye, Neo rammed her foot into Emerald's gut and sent her flying to the other side of the cave.

As the two laid on the wall of the cave, the small girl was walking towards the two with a black aura surrounding her, her blade glowing with a light purple aura.

"When the hell did she get so strong?!" Mercury asked.

"How am I supposed to know? This is new to me as well." Emerald said.

Though before Neo could get any closer, she stopped dead in her tracks with a panicked look on her face. She dropped her blade and started to clench her head with her hands, her eyes flickering between black and white.

After a few more moments of confusion, the cave erupted with a bright white light that blinded the duo.

"Ugh, what the heck was that?" The assassin asked Emerald got up from off of the ground. Once they had recovered from the effects of the sudden burst of light, Emerald and Mercury could see Neo standing in the middle of the cave, her eyes completely devoid of color.

Before the two could question the strange turn of events that have just unfolded, Neo's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground.

Once the duo were sure that Neo was completely unconscious, they let out a sigh of relief and laid back against the wall completely exhausted.

"...What just-?" The assassin began, only for the ground beneath the entrance to the cave to shoot open, causing Emerald and Mercury to shield themselves from the sand picked up from the sudden burst from the ground.

"What now?!" Emerald asked.

They were sure that it was another one of those tunnel Grimm that they had encountered before, though after a few seconds of silence, the shadow of a woman could be seen from the dust clouds.

Once the dust had cleared, the jaws of the duo nearly dropped to the floor as they stared at the woman in question.

The lady herself wasn't anything special, though it was what's behind her that really threw the duo for a loop. There was no mistaking it, it was definitely one of them.

Behind the woman, clear as day, was one of the twelve spirits of Remnant.

"Well now. This is new." She said.

Though before the two could begin to question the spirit user, their vision started to become blurry. They desperately attempted to stay conscious, though, with everything that had transpired over the course of the last two days, they eventually fell victim to the exhaustion.

Once their bodies hit the ground, their vision faded to black.

* * *

 _ **I swear to god if those three assholes are dead after all the trouble I went through to get them onto my side, I'm going to be seriously pissed off. Be even worse if they just wind up killing each other.**_

 _ **Well, anyways I arrived in Vacuo, so I suppose some good came out of this journey.**_

 _ **Though now I have to go and find those three before they kick the bucket. So that puts a wrench in things. Guess it was only a matter of time before that happened anyways.**_

 _ **Now, first things first, I have a little meeting I need to attend to with the headmaster of Vacuo.**_

 _ **Review Response.**_

 _ **Flametusk: 1. Well, if you could tell me some of these mistakes that I made then I would be happy to go back and change them. Other than that, I'm glad your enjoying the story as much as you are.**_

 _ **2\. My bad, I went back and fixed that one lyric in the song.**_

 _ **3\. Well, I'm just listening to the dialogue from the show when I write cannon parts so I'm just going off of what they say.**_

 _ **4\. Glad you like it. Though the whole bar scene was intentional, just replace the Maid you saw in volume four with the maid you saw Qrow talking about in volume three. Also they had to take the longer way to Haven due to them wanting to further investigate the White Fang in Vale, as well as look deeper into the people responsible for the destruction of Vale.**_

 _ **Also they're all flat broke so they can't exactly afford a trip across sea.**_

 _ **5\. Glad to hear you're liking the semblance's I'm giving them.**_

 _ **6\. Well, they are going to Mistral so it's more likely than you think. Obviously not on the trip to Mistral but I think you knew that already.**_

 _ **Flametusk: Don't worry. I got it.**_

 _ **Glad to see that you get why he did it. Yeah, he saved Ruby because he knew she would have died if that attack hit her, and Salem specifically said she wanted her alive. While Tyrian is trying to capture her, Salem wouldn't really see it as much of a loss if she managed to die to a Grimm or something. So yeah, not as safe as you think.**_

 _ **Flametusk: I got em. Though the website wouldn't let me respond to them.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Yeah, though I decided to take it a step further.**_

 _ **SPDefender: While Tyrian does have something to do with her past, he has nothing to do with why the weapon is in a lantern.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: He saved her because Salem didn't want her dead. Also I didn't really predict it so to say, it just so happened to happen.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE: Don't worry, part two is just around the corner.**_

 _ **Gabriel H. Sapphire: Well, this is a Self Insert Fanatic so...yeah. Also I'm just sticking to the core plot. Everything that happens in between will be different.**_

 _ **Col. Jhon 'Ghost' Defender: I've played Fire Emblem, yes.**_

 _ **Nightwatching: Not really. I've already got a bag full of plans to answer some of these questions.**_

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: Well, now and later.**_

 _ **Kinnblade: Okay.**_

 _ **olTran: Meh, can't please everyone I suppose.**_

 _ **just a fan: We'll see. We'll see.**_

 _ **Donovan: You're doing it well.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Glad you think that.**_

* * *

 **The Plan**

"So...why are we out here again?" Ruby asked her Uncle Qrow and Yang as they sat in a cafe near the area where Tai was supposed to meet his date.

Raven Branwen.

"We're here to make sure that dad doesn't make one of the worst decisions in his life." Yang said as she took a sip from her cup of cola.

"Also we're trying to make sure that Raven doesn't kill anyone in the process." Qrow said.

"I thought you said we were just getting food." Ruby said.

"We are. While doing this." Yang said.

Meanwhile, Tai was waiting in front of the fountain with a bouquet of flowers in one of his hands.

"So, what's the plan?" Qrow asked.

"Okay, so first we need to draw Tai's attention away from the date at hand." Yang said.

"Well, he's a huntsmen, so if he see's someone in trouble then he's gonna help out." He said.

"Great idea! Let's think of some ideas!" She said.

"Okay, so how about if one of us dresses up as a bank robber! Then once Tai saves the day, Raven would have gone home by then." Qrow said.

"Wait, then wouldn't that mean that one of us has to go to jail?" Ruby asked.

"...So that plans out of the window." Yang said. "Oh! I know! My friend Nora did this one time to try to get the attention of Ren. We grab ourselves a Beowolf from the forest and bring it into the city! Dad will see the Grimm and take it down! By then mom will be gone!" She said.

"Yeah, let's go and quickly grab a Grimm from outside of the kingdom and bring it back to this exact location without being seen within the next ten minutes." Qrow said.

"...I thought it was cool." She pouted.

"Hmm...Oh! I got it! How about one of us dresses up as...a grandma!" Ruby said.

"...What?" The two asked.

"Think about it! One of us dresses up like an old lady, Yang takes her bike around the block and makes it look like she's gonna hit us! Though right as the bike is about to hit, BAM, Dad comes in to save the day!" She said.

"That's...actually not a bad idea." Yang said.

"Okay, though who's gonna be the old lady?" Qrow asked.

"Well, Yang has to drive her bike so, she's out." Ruby said.

"You can't do it either. You're face is too young to look old." Yang said.

"Thanks!"

"We need someone that's old." Yang said as she and Ruby slowly started to turn towards Qrow.

"...No. No, no, no, no, no! There is no way in hell that you two are putting me in a dress-."

"Again." He finished once Ruby and Yang placed the disguise on him.

"It's...Perfect!" Yang said.

"Okay! We have five minutes!" Ruby said as she and Yang rushed out of the building.

Qrow sighed and started to walk outside with his disguise on.

* * *

 ** _Iris_**

 _ **Race: Human**_

 _ **Weapon: None**_

 _ **Gender: Female**_

 _ **Height: 4'0"**_

 _ **Weight: 50 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 8**_

 _ **Outfit: Black, Purple**_

 _ **Handedness: Right**_

 _ **Complexion: Dark**_

 _ **Hair Color: Light Purple**_

 _ **Eye color: Black and Light Purple**_

 _ **Aura Color: Purple**_

 _ **Semblance: Cross Species Communication**_

 _ **Destructive Power: E**_

 _ **Speed: E**_

 _ **Endurance: E**_

 _ **Precision: A**_

 _ **Potential Growth: A**_

 _ **Range: A**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	72. A Much Needed Talk

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "A much Needed Talk"

Thought: _'A Much Needed Talk'_

Flashback: _"A Much Needed Talk_ _"_

It was a rather quiet day on the farm that Oscar lived on. Ever since Ozpin's explanation on the situation that Oscar was in, everything was rather tense between the headmaster and the Pine family.

Though the headmaster could hardly blame the two for having such a view on him. He was basically telling Marissa's son to go and fight in a war in which he had no part in to begin with.

However, he needed to get to Mistral as fast as he could. There was no telling when Salem would make her next move, and he needed to inform Lionheart of the situation at hand.

He needed to ensure the safety of the Relic of Knowledge.

Though he couldn't exactly do anything within the current situation at hand. He had no control over Oscar's body with the way he is now, nor did he have any access to his powers.

So for now, all he could do was wait.

That was three days ago. Ever since then Oscar was just going about his daily duties in preparations for the next harvest. Ozpin hasn't said a word to Oscar since that night with Oscar and his aunt.

However, the memories of Ozpin's countless lives continued to resurface from within the mind of Oscar. The more that the farm boy learned about the people from the man's past, the harder it was becoming to stand idly by and do nothing.

Oscar was carrying over a basket of fruits and vegetables that had just finished growing over the season. After a few moments of walking later, he would eventually arrive at the shipping box that was used to transport the goods they had grown to the market in Mistral, allowing them to get the lien they need to continue to live.

"Alright, let's just put that in there." Oscar said to himself as he placed the basket of goods into the box. He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat away from his forehead, staring up at the sky with his hazel eyes.

He clapped his hands together and started to walk over towards the other baskets he had placed on the side of the barn.

Though as he walked past one of the trees that were by his house, he passed a woman that was sitting by the tree with her eyes closed. The woman in question had white hair that was neatly held together by two pins in her hair and two crystal blue eyes.

She wore some sort of blue robe that was fit for the winter environment.

"Hello there." She said.

"Oh, hi." Oscar said as he continued his walk over to the barn.

"...Huh?!" He asked, the presence of the unknown woman finally processing in his mind.

"Did I startle you? I'm terribly sorry." The woman said with a smile on her face.

"Uh, who are you?" Oscar asked.

"My name is Winter. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sisters." The newly named Winter said. "I'm terribly sorry for my intrusion. If you so wish it then I can be on my way at once." She said.

"N-no. It's fine. You just caught me by surprise is all." He said.

"Then I am free to stay?" Winter asked.

"Well, I'll have to talk to my aunt about it, though I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem having a little company." Oscar said.

"You have my thanks." She said.

Oscar nodded and walked back over towards the baskets that were on the side of his house. He stared around at the baskets in question and started to see if there was anything that might peak the interest of the woman that was sitting at the side of the tree.

"Hmm." The farm boy in question eventually picked up a basket of apples that he had grown from some of the trees on his farm.

Though as he turned around to face the woman in question, another girl had appeared from seemingly nowhere, causing Oscar to stumble back a bit due to shock. The girl in question had green hair that was wrapped in a neat ponytail, as well as two dark green eyes.

She wore some sort of flower crown in her hair and wore a simple green dress. She also had a basket of fruit and flowers in her hands.

"Oh! Hello there!" The girl said as she waved at the boy with a cheery smile on her face.

"Uh, hi." Oscar said.

"Wow! Those look really good!" The girl said as she skipped on over to the boy with stars in her eyes.

"Thanks. I grew them myself." He said with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Really?! All by yourself?! You're really good!" She said.

"Thank you!" Oscar said, a slight blush starting to form on his face. "So, who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Spring, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sisters." Spring said to Oscar.

"Oh. So I guess she's one of your sisters then?" Oscar asked.

"That's right! Thank you for letting her stay here! I wish I could repay you somehow." She said, a slightly saddened expression starting to form on her face.

"N-no! You don't need to pay me back!" He quickly said in attempts to brighten the girl's mood.

"Really?! You mean that?!" She asked, her expression brightening up instantly.

"Yeah, why not?" Oscar asked.

"Oh thank you! You're a really nice boy!" Spring said.

"Aw stop. You're gonna make me blush." He said.

"Hey! Can you show me around your garden? I would love to see what you've grown!" She said.

"S-sure thing!" Oscar said as he started to walk towards his garden.

Spring giggled and started to happily walk with Oscar as he showed her around the farm that he and his aunt had worked so hard to grow.

The day seemed to fly by as Oscar and Spring had the time of there lives in the garden, Spring happily running through the farm with a smile on her face. For once in a long time, Oscar was actually having fun for once.

"Come on! You'll never catch me like that!" Spring said.

"Heh, just you watch me!" Oscar said as he ran after Spring with a smile on his face.

Though once the two got back to his house, another woman could be seen in front of the tree where Winter was. This woman had long red hair and dark red eyes. She wore a sleeveless collared shirt and short cherry pants that were held up by a pair of suspenders.

"Sister!" Spring said as she ran up to the woman.

"Hello, Spring! Sorry to keep you waiting!" She said.

"It's no problem." She said with a smile on her face.

"Uh." Oscar began, causing the woman to turn to face the farm boy.

"Oh! Hello there." She said with a warm smile on her face.

"Hi. Who are you?" Oscar asked.

"My name is Summer, I am on a journey and I am waiting for my sister." Summer said.

"Right." He said with a chuckle in his voice.

"I must thank you for looking after my sisters. You have my gratitude." She said.

"It's no problem. It's nice to have some company from time to time." Oscar said.

Suddenly, Summer started to laugh at the antics of the boy, causing Oscar to stare at the girl in confusion.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing. It's just that you two are so different yet so alike at the same time." She said.

"...Wait, what?" Oscar asked.

"Hmm, it seems that you have a hole in your roof." Summer said.

"Oh! Yeah, right. I've been meaning to fix that." He said.

"Well, let's get to work then!" She said as she started to walk over to the latter that led up to the roof.

"Wait! I can always do that another day. You don't have to help me fix that. I mean, you don't live here." Oscar said.

"That may be true. Though why put off till tomorrow what you can do today?" Summer asked.

"...I guess you have a point there." Oscar said as he started to walk over to his latter.

The farm boy started to repair the hole that was in his roof for quite some time, and eventually he had managed to fix the said hole. However, Oscar was feeling rather energized for some reason and wanted to fix the rest of the problems that have been plaguing his farm for a while now.

"Whew! I think that's the last of it!" Oscar said as he fixed the broken water pump that was in front of his barn.

However, in all the excitement, he nearly failed to notice the delicate woman that now stood beneath his tree.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't notice you there." Oscar said as he jogged on over.

"That's alright." She said.

"So, what's your name?" He asked.

"My name is Fall. I am on a journey, and I am here to meet my sisters. Who are you?" Fall asked.

"...Huh?" Oscar asked as he pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Indeed." She said.

"Well, I'm Oscar Pine. Just your average everyday farm boy. I don't really have a whole lot to tell you." He said.

"But young man. Do you not see? You have so much." Fall said as she motioned her hand to all that surrounded her.

Oscar started to stare out into the various land that he and his aunt had worked so hard to build.

"I guess you're right." Oscar said.

"We know who you are, old friend." Fall said.

"Huh?" He asked.

"The question is, do you know who we are?" She asked.

"I don't think so." The farm boy said, not more confused by the current situation than before.

"Search deep in your mind, I am certain that you will find the answer." Fall said. "Well, I suppose the proper term would be, search deep in _his_ mind." Fall said.

"..." Oscar closed his eyes and started to recall the memories he had obtained from Ozpin.

Though after a few moments of silence, everything started to click within his mind.

"It's been quite some time, old friend." Fall said.

"It's you! It's really you!" Oscar said.

"Indeed it is." She said.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"Is it wrong to want to visit an old friend?" She asked.

"...I guess not." Oscar said. "But I don't get it. How are you here in the first place? It must have been hundreds of years since Ozpin gave you your powers." Oscar said.

"You mean since _you_ gave us our powers." Fall said.

"I'm not him. He just so happens to be inside of my head." He said.

"Yet you remember us. Now, why would you remember a group of young girls that you have never even met before in your entire life?" She asked. "To answer your first question, we are technically not here at all. We only exist within your own mind."

"..."

"You remember. Don't you?" Fall asked, causing Oscar to nod his head.

"But, what can I do?! I'm not like Ozpin! I don't have any powers! I don't have the centuries of experience that he has?! I'm just...I'm just a farmer." He said.

"That may be so. Though that does not mean you cannot make a difference." She said.

"...Why? What motivated you four to put your lives on the line?" Oscar asked.

The four sisters looked at one another perplexed until finally, the eldest sister spoke up.

"Why, you ask? Well, I suppose the answer is rather simple." Fall said as she placed her hand on Oscar's shoulder. .

"...Huh?" He asked.

"We did what we could for everyone in the world of Remnant, because we are able." Fall said. "The question is, are you able?" She asked.

"I..." Oscar began.

"You are so much more than a farmer, dear Oscar." Fall said as she lifted her hand off of his shoulder.

"Wait!" He began, though once he reached out for the four Maidens, he could see that they were nowhere in sight.

"..." The farm boy looked at the palm of his hand before clenching it into a fist.

 _"We did what we could for everyone in the world of Remnant, because we are able."_ The words of Fall rang within his mind.

 _ **"You know what you have to do, Osacr. What we have to do."**_ He said.

"Hah, I know." The farm boy said as he started to walk towards his house with a new found flame in his heart.

* * *

"So, that's basically the gist of it." Qrow said as he finished his explanation to the three girls of team RWBY.

After there fight with Tyrian, they needed to quickly move towards the mountainside where the next town was. However, climbing up the mountain would prove harder than it seemed, especially since they had injured with them.

Though luckily, they had a very powerful woman on their side. The bounty hunter, Ashley Dust, and the current house of the spirit of Flamberge. When she was questioned about why she was after Tyrain, she merely said that the man had a bounty on him for killing huntsmen from the various kingdoms.

He was a dangerous man, being able to go toe to toe with both Tai and Qrow. Though the two huntsmen couldn't deny that they wouldn't go after the man given the bounty they had placed on him.

If captured alive, the reward was ten million Lien. There was no telling what the two could be able to do with that kind of Lien at there disposal. So she wasn't exactly happy that he had gotten away from her grasps, and that she was now helping the group reach the mountainside to seek medical attention for Ruby's uncle, Qrow.

When questioned as to how she knew what the abilities of the man were, she merely showed them the bounty that she had accepted, the screen on her scroll showing the abilities and traits of the man.

However, due to the lack of knowledge of the man's semblance, the spirit user wasn't able to plan accordingly.

Though the night soon came, and it would have been unwise for the group to continue their journey towards the mountains, especially in Qrow's condition.

So they set up camp with the resources that they had available to them, the group using the fire from Ash's Lantern to light up their path.

However, Ash had tuned out the group as Qrow was giving them the briefing on the current situation. The group was slightly confused by the woman's actions, though the more they thought about it, the more sense it made.

Ash had been wandering all of Sanus in search of this man, and when she finally found him, he slipped through her grasp because of the recklessness of the group.

So yeah, she wasn't exactly in the mood for small talk.

As Qrow took a sip from his flask, he looked around the group to see if any of them had questions about the information he had just pushed onto them. Though to his surprise, everyone was relatively silent.

"Really? No questions?" Qrow asked

"Of course we have questions. It's only natural that we would after hearing all of that." Blake said.

"Yeah. It's just...it's just a lot to take in." Yang said.

"It's like that for everyone the first time. Don't worry, in our line of work you get used to the supernatural." Tai said.

"So these maidens. They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic." Ruby recalled.

"Yeah." Qrow said.

"And there are four of them?" Yang asked.

"Yep. That's how it's always been and that's how it'll always be." Tai said.

"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone - a female - that they care about?" Blake asked.

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction." Qrow clarified. "Best option, it's someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way." Qrow said.

"So, Amber was one of these Maiden's, right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, though some time ago she was attacked. She was young, inexperienced, and her assailant, who we now know as Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well." Qrow said.

"The original plan was to find a candidate that could take on her powers, though the situation changed once we were able to remove the virus implanted in her brain." Tai said.

"The goal was to get her back up to her original strength so that she could take back her powers." He said as he took a sip from his flask.

"Some good that did." Qrow said.

"That guy. Tyrian. Why was he after me?" Ruby asked.

"Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait, and the fact that you're someone that was able to use them seems to upset some very powerful people." Qrow said.

"Not many people know about the Silver Eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced." He said.

"So, that's why Qrow and I have been keeping an eye on you. We needed to make sure you were all safe." Tai explained to the group.

"Then why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I mean what is all of this? Ruby's being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what? What is the point of all of this, will you just tell us what's going on?!" Yang asked.

"Yang." Tai said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"...Sorry. It's just been a long day." She said.

Once the tension had settled, Qrow continued with his explanation.

"Not many people are super religious these days." He said as he placed his flask on the trunk he was sitting on.

"The world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods." Qrow said. "But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real." He said.

"...Huh?" The three asked.

"They were brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction." Qrow said.

"As you could imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. Though at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted." He said.

"To counteract his brother's creation, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all that he could do to rid Remnant of life." Qrow said. "Though life always returned." He said.

"So one night, the younger brother went and made something. Something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything." Qrow said.

"The creatures of Grimm." Blake said.

"You guessed it."

"The older brother had finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation. Together." He said. "Something they could both be proud of. Their masterpiece." Qrow said.

"The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge so that it could learn about itself and the world around it." He said.

"Most importantly, it would be given the power to choose. To have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow. The Path of Light, or the Path of Darkness." Qrow said.

"So, that is how humanity came to be." He said.

"...Okay, but what does that have to do with us?" Blake asked.

"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind: knowledge, creation, destruction and choice aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant. Each of them is extraordinarily powerful." He said.

"If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants." Qrow said.

"The Huntsmen Academies were created to train generations of humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose: guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress." He said.

"Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would be constantly surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding the relics would keep mankind from using them against itself. As well as keep them out of her reach." Qrow said.

"So yeah, there's that." He said.

"Her. You mean, Salem?" Ruby asked.

"That's right. Not much is known about her and quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well." Qrow explained.

The group sat there in silence for a few moments before Yang eventually broke the silence.

"Alright. So, let's say we believe all this. There really is thus crazy evil being behind all our troubles, not just our average everyday bad guys trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know?" Yang asked.

"Why isn't Atlas after them, or Mistral, or even Vacuo?!" She asked.

"Yeah, if all of this is true then we need to hurry if we want to have any hopes of getting to Haven. We need to warn them in case the enemy sets their sights on them next." Blake said.

"The headmaster over at Haven saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard." Qrow said. "Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight? " He asked before turning towards Yang.

"To answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the relics, about Salem, there would be chaos." He explained to the trio.

"We'd have another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd have to fight." Qrow said as he pointed at Yang.

"Look, I had the same questions too. But ol' Ozpin would always put his food down. We can't cause a panic. Heh, I can't tell you how many times I've heard that." He said. "Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other." Qrow said.

"She's trying to divide us - humanity. So far, she's done a pretty damn good job." He said as he stared up at the night sky.

"Alright. So what should we do?" Ruby asked.

"...To be honest? I don't really know." Qrow said. "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is... well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels." He said.

"Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target." Qrow said. "So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack." He said. "I'm hoping he has the answers." Qrow said before turning to face the group once again.

After another few moments of silence, Ruby eventually spoke up.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah?"

"This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy but..." She began as she clenched her fist. "I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you." Ruby said.

"But why couldn't you trust me?" She asked. "Why couldn't you just travel with us instead of all this secrecy?" She asked.

"Qrow." Tai said, causing the drunken Huntsman to turn towards his partner.

"Hah, right." He said as he turned towards Ruby. "...Look, this has nothing to do with trust. It's a long story." Qrow said.

"Really? Now you're tired of telling us stories?" Blake asked.

"...Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but it's how I got my name." He said.

"See, some people can absorb damage, some people can leave a shadow of themselves behind, and some people can burst into rose petals. Some people are just born unlucky." Qrow said.

"My Semblance isn't like most. It's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not." He said before raising his head to face the group.

"I bring misfortune. I guess you can call me a bad luck charm." Qrow said.

"Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends and family." He said.

"...So, is there anything else you want to tell us?" Ruby asked.

The man sighed before sitting back down on the trunk of the tree he had placed in the camp sight.

"I guess while we're here, I suppose I should tell you our secondary plan to combat Salem and her forces." He said before turning towards Ash. "Find all twelve spirit users and unite them against Salem." Qrow said.

"Hmm?" Ash hummed, turning her head over towards the Huntsman.

"So out of all the things that we talked about tonight, this was the thing that got your attention, huh?" He asked.

"..." She merely stared at the Huntsman with a serious expression on her face.

"Should have guessed. Currently, we only know of the existence of two of the weapon users...well, three if we're counting you." Qrow said as he pointed at Ash.

"..." Ash merely continued to stare at Qrow, signaling to him that she wanted to know more.

"One them is my sister, Raven Branwen, the house of the spirit of Masamune." Qrow said, causing Yang to clench her metal fist.

"Hmm." She hummed.

"I guess that's the only response I'm going to get from you." He said as he continued to list off the spirit users he knew of. "The other one is in a bit of a complicated situation right now." Qrow said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Right now we don't even know if he's alive right now." He said, causing the remaining members of team RWBY to tense up.

"The last one is one of Oz's students, Brandon Kim, the house of the spirit of Caliber." Qrow said.

Suddenly, the flames within the lantern started to get stronger at the mention of the spirits name. The group was intrigued by the action but pushed there focus to the task at hand.

"Hmm." She hummed.

"Right now we only know the set locations of one of the spirit users, not counting you." Qrow said.

"..."

"I guess you already know where I'm going with this, so let me cut to the chase." He said. "We need you to help us locate the other ten spirit users, nine if that kid's still alive." Qrow said.

"..."

"Now, I know that this is a hell of a thing to ask for someone you just met, and I know that we've been nothing but trouble since you first met us. Though right now we don't have time to just sit around twiddling our thumbs." He said.

"The situation with the Maidens is only getting worse as time goes on, and right now the spirit users are our best shot at countering the Maidens." Qrow said. "If we can just get four of them, we'll have enough to at least equal the four maidens." He said.

"Can I ask you a question, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"Sure thing kiddo." Qrow said.

"Why aren't the enemies trying to find the spirit users? Wouldn't that increase their chances of winning?" She asked.

"Good question. The spirits are a bit more complicated when compared to the Maidens Magic. They aren't something that can be stolen, the spirits choose their bearers themselves, and they won't just give their powers to anyone." Qrow said.

"They have to be worthy. It's not something that can be taken away like the Maiden's Magic. So that makes it much more difficult for Salem to gather the weapons." He said before turning towards the Lantern.

"What's more is that they can also jump between Vessels. Something our spirit user over here did with her own weapon, right?" Qrow asked, causing Ash to nod her head to confirm his statement.

"So there's no guarantee that the spirit will stay in a single vessel, which makes them infinitely harder to find." He said. "Which brings me to my next question." Qrow said as he turned towards Ash.

"Why a Lantern? Out of all the weapons in the world, you chose a lantern of all things to house your spirit in." He said.

Ash got up from the side of the tree and started to walk over towards the vessel in question.

"Because with the Lantern as it's vessel." She said as she turned the knob on the side of the lamp, causing the flames to cater to which direction she was turning the knob.

"It makes controlling the fire from the spirits power much easier. The more control you have over the fire, the stronger it can become. It's all about power for extreme control with the spirits." Ash said as she got up from off of the ground.

"The Lantern just makes it easier to control the fire." She said. "Though you can't exactly fight a battle with nothing but a lamp alone so-." Ash began as she clicked a button on the side of her weapon, causing a metal rod to shoot out from the top of the lamp.

"So I added this little function to it." She said. "This way it can act as some sort of staff that I can use." Ash said as she let go of the metal rod, causing it to shoot back down into the lamp.

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand, long story short, we need your help. Right now the spirit users are our best bet when it comes to beating Salem." Qrow said. "I know that I'm asking a lot from you. I'm basically asking you to fight in a war that you don't have a part in, to put your life on the line to fight a threat that nobody knows about." He said.

"Though this isn't about us. It's about them." Qrow said with a serious expression on his face.

"So, how about it?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, I'm good." She said without any hesitation.

"...Maybe you should take some time to consider it." Qrow said, not expecting such a quick decline to his request.

"Sorry, but I've got my own problems to deal with." Ash said to the Huntsman.

"This isn't just some little problem we're dealing with here. We're talking about a full-blown war." He said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, I know." She said.

"..."

"I have a few problems of my own, you know? Besides, what the hell has the world ever done for me?" Ash asked as she started to walk away from the group.

After a few moments of silence, Yang eventually stood up to go after the woman.

"Hey! Get back here you son of a-!" She began.

"Yang." Tai said, causing the blonde brawler to stop in her tracks.

"Let her go Yang. No point in starting a fight with one of the spirit users." Qrow said.

"You heard what she said though! She-!" Yang began.

"She said that she had her own problems to deal with right now." He said. "We already convinced her to take us up to the town in the mountains, I wouldn't push our luck any further." Qrow said.

Yang was about to protest, though eventually just sighed and went back to the trunk she was sitting on.

"I wouldn't look into it. For now, I think it's time you kids get some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Qrow said as he started to walk over towards the tree in the distance.

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out eventually. It's just gonna be a bit harder now." He said.

The trio looked at one another with serious expressions on there faces before eventually resting for the trials to come. However, as the trio started to drift off to sleep, a single question started to plague there mind.

What troubles could Ash be going through right now that would drive her to put the entire world in danger?

Meanwhile, the spirit user in question was watching the group from a distance with a serious expression on her face. She did feel bad for the kids, especially with the situation that their uncle was going through right now.

She sighed to herself before walking towards a small river that was right near the camp, the shattered moon of Remnant lighting up the river with a beautiful glow.

* * *

It was a rather tense night in the farm that Oscar and his aunt ran. It had only been a few days since the talk with Ozpin, though within that short amount of time that had passed, Oscar had gotten more than enough of Ozpin's memories in his head.

The farm boy wanted nothing more than to go out into the world and make a difference, help people who were in need. Though what he had heard from Ozpin was beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

However, the more time passed, the more the memories of the man started to feel natural to the farm boy. The more the supernatural started to feel natural to the boy in question.

After remembering the Maidens that Ozpin had met all those years ago, Oscar also remembered the promise that was made that day. The boy finally understood the gravity of the situation.

He needed to stop Salem, even if he stood next to no chance at the state he was in now. Though there was still one obstacle he needed to overcome in order to do what needed to be done.

To convince his aunt, Marissa, to let him fight in this war that he was forced into.

So, the two sat in the living room once again, Oscar with a very determined expression on his face while his aunt stared at him seriously. The room was relatively quiet, the only sound that was being made was the sound of the clock ticking in the room.

 _ **"Well, it's now or never I suppose."**_ Ozpin said to Oscar. _**"You know what you have to do."**_

 _'Hah, yeah. I know.'_ The farmer said as he opened his eyes to face his aunt.

"Are you okay, Oscar? You've just been sitting there in silence for the past couple of minutes." Marissa said.

"Yeah. I'm fine. There was actually something that I wanted to talk to you about." Oscar said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"..."

"Look, you can talk to me about anything you want. You know that, right? I'll always be here for you, Oscar." Marissa said.

Oscar took a deep breath before eventually telling his aunt what he desired to do.

"I want to go to Haven." He said, causing his aunt to flinch.

"...No." She said.

"Aunt! Just let me-!" Oscar began.

"I said no! I am not letting you go to Haven to fight in some sort of war!" Marissa said.

"Please! This is something I have to do!" He said.

"No, it's not! You never had any involvement with any of this too begin with! How is it fair that you suddenly have to go deal with something that never concerned you to begin with?!" She asked.

"It's not!" Oscar said to his aunt.

"Then why do you want to go?! It's not like that old bastard is gonna take over your body and walk to Mistral himself!" Marissa said.

"Because I want to do something with my life! I don't just want to live on this farm until I die!" He said.

"Oscar, this isn't like the stories I used to read to you at night! This is a war we're talking about! You're just a kid! You shouldn't have to fight in a war!" She said.

"I know! I know that if I go out to fight this enemy, that there's a high probability that I might never come back!" Oscar said, desperately attempting to convince his aunt to let him go to Mistral.

"That's all the more reason to keep you here! You're my nephew, and I sure as hell won't let you go out there and get yourself killed!" His aunt said. "Besides, you don't even know what you're getting into!" Marissa said.

"I do...believe me, I do." The farmboy said, his tone starting to calm down a bit.

After a few moments of silence, his aunt realized the struggles that Oscar was going through with the situation of the Wizard's soul being merged with his own, their memories combining into one.

She didn't even want to imagine what kind of things Oscar could be seeing in the mind of the headmaster of Beacon Acadamy.

"I remember so many things now. The Maidens, the War, the Four Lords, everything! All this information just being poured into my brain at once! Every day, every hour, every second I remember something from Ozpin's past lives!" He said.

"You don't understand. You couldn't possibly understand what it feels like to have the memories of centuries of solitude in your mind, having to watch thousands of loved ones die when you don't even know their names!" Oscar said.

"You don't know what it's like to regret an action you never even did in the first place." He said, tears starting to form in the eyes of the farmer.

"Thousands of years worth of memories were crammed into my brain. Memoires of love and loss. Birth and Death. Joy and Sorrow." Oscar said as he clenched his fist.

"So you're right. I didn't ask for this. But if I don't do this, if we don't do this, then people are gonna die. Everything we know and love will be gone." The farmer said to his aunt.

"That's why I have to try." He said. "Because somebody has to." Oscar said to his aunt as he wiped the tears away from his eyes.

"Oscar." His aunt said.

"I know you're scared. I'm scared to. Though I just have to push on, to keep moving fowards." He said.

The two stood there in silence, neither one saying a word to the other. Even Ozpin wasn't uttering a word to the farmer, not wanting to upset him any more than he already is.

"...Hah, look. I'm...I'm sorry." Oscar said as he scratched the back of his neck. After a few moments of silence, his aunt got up from her seat and walked over to Oscar, wrapping him in a loving embrace. Oscar was slightly taken aback but eventually wrapped his arms around his aunt.

After a few moments of silence, the two separated from one another.

"Hah, okay then. Then I suppose now's a better time than any." She said as she started to walk over towards the shelf they had in there living room.

"What do you mean?" Oscar asked.

Though his aunt merely remained silent as she took a small chest from off the top of the wooden shelf that was placed in the room.

"I was going to give you this for when you turned eighteen. Though I guess you're old enough to know the truth." She said as she turned to face Oscar with the box in her hands.

"The truth? Aunt Marissa, what are you talking about?" He asked.

Her only response was to pull out some sort of key from her pocket.

"Why don't you open the box and find out?" Marissa asked as she handed Oscar the key.

Oscar was still confused by the actions of his aunt, but eventually grabbed the key and pushed it into the keyhole, turning it to open the box.

The box had some sort of letter in it, as well as a silver pocket watch. Oscar picked up the letter and started to see if there were any indications as to why it was from. Though unfortunately for him, there wasn't a single sign of who this letter was from.

Seeing no other option, Oscar tore the top of the letter open, pulling out the paper from inside.

The handwriting wasn't anyone he recognized, so the only thing he could do was to start reading the letter that his aunt had given him.

 _ **"Dear, Oscar."**_

 _ **"Hello there, I know that this is all so sudden to you. Though with the current situation you are in this was the only way I could actually talk to you."**_ The letter said.

 _'Who wants to talk to me?'_ Oscar asked.

 ** _"There's only one way to find out, I suppose. Let's keep reading."_** Ozpin said.

 _ **"Believe me, there's nothing I wish more than to talk to you face to face one day. You've probably grown so big since the last time I met you, I couldn't even imagine."**_

 _ **"You were only a baby since we last met so you probably don't remember me. So I guess I should introduce myself."**_

 ** _"Oh my. This is quite the surprise."_** Ozpin said as he read the next part of the letter.

 _ **"My name is Clara Pine, your mother."**_ The letter said, causing Oscar to freeze in place as he read the name that was written on the letter.

The state of absolute shock that Oscar was in prevented the boy from continuing to read his mother's message.

"Oscar, you okay?" Marissa asked as she placed one of her hands on his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah. It's just...I wasn't expecting that." He said as he sat down on one of the chairs in his living room.

"Just take all the time you need. I'm here for you." She said.

After a few moments of silence, Oscar got his bearings together and continued to read the letter.

 _ **"Now I know that's one heck of a thing to drop onto someone so suddenly, though this was the only way I knew how to talk to you."**_

 _ **"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, though I can't exactly answer all of them, I'm not exactly there at the moment. I wish I could be, I really do."**_

 _ **"So, I'll try to answer some of the questions that I think you might have on your mind. Where have I been? It's been a long time since the two of us last saw each other."**_

 _ **"I wish I could tell you where I am, though to be honest, I don't really think a whole lot of good would come from it. There's a reason as to why I'm not really around all that much."**_

 _ **"Though I want you to know something, Oscar. I didn't leave because of you, I loved you more than anything else in this world. You were my greatest treasure. You have no idea how hard it was to let you go."**_

 _ **"So, that's why I left you with something of mine. It's my old pocket watch. I hope you like it."**_

Oscar put the letter down and picked up the watch in question, the shining silver of the watch glowing in Remnant's moonlight. The farmer pushed the button on top of the watch, causing the watch to open up.

It was a very old pocket watch, that much was certain, though despite it's age, it was still working just fine.

 _ **"Well, I'm not really sure what else to write. There's so much I want to say to you. Though I guess I can only say so much through paper."**_

 _ **"I just want you to know that I will always love you, Oscar. You are my greatest treasure."  
**_

 _ **"Your mother, Clara Pine."**_

The farmer just sat in the chair for a few moments in silence, tears starting to drip onto the letter that was in his hands.

 ** _"Are you alright, Oscar?"_** Ozpin asked.

Oscar's only response was to wipe his tears away from his eyes.

"Thank you, Aunt Marissa." The farmer said as he continued to wipe his tears away.

"No problem." She said as she went over and hugged Oscar.

"Well, I should probably go and get ready. I've got a long road ahead of me." Oscar said as he started to walk towards the stairs leading to the upstairs of his house.

After a few moments had passed, Oscar eventually arrived at his room. Once he opened the door, he quickly grabbed the backpack that he had on the side of his room and started to pack for the road ahead.

"So, this is it." Oscar said.

 _ **"Indeed. Once we walk through those doors, there will be no going back."**_ Ozpin said.

"No pressure." He said with a chuckle.

 _ **"The journey will be a long and perilous one. That much is certain. It won't come without hardship, without sacrifice."**_ He said.

"Yeah, I know." Oscar said as he looked at his pouch. "So, what now?" He asked.

 _ **"Right now we go to Mistral. We need to make sure that the Relic of Knowledge is secure."**_ Ozpin said.

"If you say so." He said as he started to walk over towards his dresser, his reflection shining in the mirror.

 _ **"Hmm."**_ The wizard hummed.

"What's up?" Oscar asked.

 ** _"You wouldn't happen to have any sewing material, would you?"_** Ozpin asked.

"I think we have some downstairs. Why do you ask?" He asked.

 _ **"Well, if you're going to go save the world, you might as well look the part."**_ He said.

* * *

The night was still upon the group as that rested from the recent battle they had fought with the strange Faunus that had appeared before. While they had won the battle with the help of there newest ally known as Ash, the trials ahead were far from over.

Qrow, Ruby's uncle, had gotten injected with some of Tyrian's poison, forcing the group to rush towards the nearest town in the mountains. Fortunately for them, the amount of poison that Qrow had gotten was very minuscule.

However, the man was showing signs of succumbing to the poison, giving the group all the more reason to rush to the mountain. Though with another one of the spirit users found, the group couldn't lie that they were curious as to how she got the spirit to begin with.

The woman in question was sitting in front of a river, her eyes gazing down at the stream as it flowed down the small river.

 _"Burn the witch!"_

 _"Begon, Demon!"_

Those were some of the various statements that rung within the mind of the spirit user. However, she had grown accustomed to the statements at a fairly young age. The spirit user sighed and looked up to the night sky.

However, as she was deep in thought, the sound of the bushes rustling could be heard from behind her, causing her to spin her head around to face the source of the noise. After a few moments of silence, Ruby Rose herself emerged from the forest.

"Hey." She said as she waved to the spirit user.

"..."

"Is this a bad time?" Ruby asked.

"No, you're fine." Ash said before turning back to the river.

"So, what are you doing out here? It's pretty late." She said as she sat beside Ash.

"I could say the same to you." She said.

"Couldn't sleep. There's just so much on my mind right now." Ruby said.

"Like what?" Ash asked.

"Well, it's just with everything that's happened." She said. "I mean, I learned so much in a single day." Ruby said.

"Tell me about it." She said.

"I mean, I knew that the spirits users existed, so I kinda already got my fair share of fantasies. But who could ever imagine that all of this was going on?" She asked.

"That's natural, this is a lot to take in all at once." Ash said.

"Yeah...Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Ruby asked.

"Go ahead." She said.

"Do you think my Uncle's going to be okay?" She asked.

"Oh." Ash said.

"I mean, that guy wasn't anything like what we fought before." Ruby said as she clenched her fist.

"Hmm, I can't really say for sure to be honest. He wasn't looking so great the last time I saw him." She said to Ruby.

"Oh, okay." She said.

As the two sat in silence, a single tear dropped down Ruby's cheek and landed on her hand.

"He's going to be okay. He...he just has to be." She said, desperately attempting to fight back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"Like I said kid, anything can happen." Ash said to the red hooded girl.

"Yeah. I know." Ruby said as she wiped some of the tears away from her eyes. "Why?" She asked.

"Why what?" She asked.

"I want to know why you won't help us." She said.

"...It's like I said kid, I've got my own problems to worry about." Ash said.

"Then why did you help us back in the ruins of Vale?" Ruby asked.

"..."

"You could have easily left us there. So why did you decide to help us back there?" She asked.

"...Hah, look kid. There's something I want you to understand." Ash said as she stared into the water. "I'm not a good person." She said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Kid, I've had these powers for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a kid I was always walking around with that lantern at my side." Ash said to the young girl.

"Wow, you've had it for that long?" She asked, causing the spirit user to nod her head.

"Though even with those powers by my side, it didn't really make growing up easy." She said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I mean that people in the town I grew up in didn't exactly treat me all that well because of the powers I had." Ash said to Ruby. "They saw me as some sort of Witch." She said.

"B-but why?! You didn't do anything wrong!" She said.

"It was because my abilities were so unnatural to them. It was like I was performing magic, or witchcraft as they would put it." Ash said, forming some sort of ball of fire in the palm of her hands.

"When people don't understand something, they fear it, shun it." She said as she threw the ball of fire into the air, causing it to burst into tiny little ashes that lit up the forest with a brilliant light.

"So naturally, they wanted nothing more than to see me dead." Ash said, causing Ruby to gasp as she placed her hands on her mouth.

"So when I was about eight, some of the townsfolk hunted me down and brought me to the center of town. They tied me to some sort of wooden poll and attempted to burn me alive." She said.

"W-what?!" Ruby asked.

"Though as you could probably expect, that didn't exactly turn in their favor." Ash said, the pupils in her eyes starting to light up like fire. "It didn't matter how long the fire raged on for, there wasn't a single burn mark on me." She said.

"They hated me, and I hated them right back." Ash said, the strands on her hair starting to light up like fires. "Though it was after all that that I met him." Ash said.

"Him?" Ruby asked.

"My supposed teacher so to say." She said. "He was an old man who took me in after the townsfolk attempted to burn me alive. He saw my powers as a gift, and wanted me to see them the way he saw them." Ash said.

"I was a bit skeptical at first, but I was eventually able to trust the old man after a while." She said. "He started to teach me everything he had learned over his travels across Remnant, sharing the various secrets he had stored about the world of Remnant." Ash said.

"He taught me how to read, how to write, and most importantly, how to control the spirits power." She said. "It was a good thing that he lived in a stone tower. Otherwise, I would have burned his house down a long time ago." Ash said.

"Wow, he sounds like a really nice guy." Ruby said.

"Yeah, that old man was the first person to ever see me as a human, not as a witch." She said. "Though the more I learned about the secrets of Remnant, the more I wanted to know about everything this world had to offer." Ash said.

"My desire for all the secrets of the world only grew the more I discovered. I would do anything to learn more about this world, about all the secrets that were hidden in between the cracks of Remnant." She said.

"I wanted it all. I knew that there were some secrets that the old man didn't want me to know. I knew that going against his wishes would be the same as turning my back on everything he did for me." Ash said.

"I had such a desire for all the secrets in Remnant that I was willing to delve into some of the old man's forbidden knowledge." She said. "Looking back on it, there was probably a reason why that knowledge was forbidden." Ash said.

"One of my greatest ambitions is to learn all the secrets of the World of Remnant. As a result, the very man who took me in was killed and the valley I had spent my entire life in was destroyed." She said before turning towards Ruby with a serious expression on her face.

"That is the Sin that I have to bear." Ash said.

"..." Ruby merely stared at the woman in complete and utter shock, not really sure how to respond to her tale.

"There are a lot of people out there who would do just about anything for the forbidden secrets and knowledge that I know. That's why it's not really a good idea to keep me around. You're only painting a bigger target on your back." She said to the young girl.

"I also need to fix the mess I created." Ash said.

"..."

"You okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay. That's just...wow." Ruby said.

"Yeah, I know." Ash said.

"Still, you'd be helping a lot of people by helping us with our journey." She said. "Though I understand if you still don't want to go." Ruby said.

"...You're a good kid, you know that?" She asked.

"Aw, stop." She said. "Hmm." Ruby hummed.

"Something else on your mind?" Ash asked the young girl.

"Well, yeah. It happened when Uncle Qrow was asking you to come and join us." She said.

"Yeah? What about it?" She asked.

"Right when he mentioned Caliber's name, the fire inside the lantern started to get stronger. I know I might be looking too much into detail, though it's a feeling that I can't shake off my chest." Ruby said.

"Oh." Ash said as she closed her eyes.

"Do you know what she said?" She asked the woman.

"Yeah, though I'm really not so sure what it means." She said.

"What did she say?" Ruby asked.

 _ **"So the Sinner walks the land of Remnant once again."**_ Ash said.

"...Huh?" She asked.

Though before the two could continue there conversation, the sight of the sun rising from the horizon quickly cut them off.

"Wow, morning already?" Ruby said.

"Looks like it. We should get back to your uncle." She said as Ash started to walk back towards the campground. Ruby was still rather curious as to what Ash's spirit meant when he called Caliber a Sinner.

Though right now she was more focused on the well being of her uncle, so she pushed the feeling aside.

However, as the two continued there walk towards the camp ground, they could hear the sound of heavy coughing and wheezing coming from the camp.

"No." Ruby said as she ran over towards the camp ground.

Ash's expression hardened as she continued to make her way over towards the camp ground.

"Come on, stay with me, Qrow." Tai said as he held Qrow in his arms.

"Dad! Dad what's-?!" Ruby began, only for her blood to freeze as she gazed upon the wound that her uncle had.

The bandage wrapping Uncle Qrow's wound was completely soaked in purple blood.

"No!" She said.

Qrow continued to cough as he placed his hand on his wound. Once he took it off, he could see that his entire hand was completely soaked in purple blood.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Qrow said before he lost consciousnesses.

"No, no, no! Stay with us, Qrow!" Tai said as he started to shake his teammate violently.

"Blake! Grab the stretcher from my bag!" Ruby said.

"Right!" Blake said as she ran over to her leader's bag and pulled out a stretcher. Once they had set it up, they placed Qrow onto the stretcher, Tai and Yang keeping it balanced from both sides.

"How close are we to the mountains?!" Tai asked.

Ash's only response was to point towards the mountains in question, the town on the mountainside could be seen from where they were standing.

"Alright! Let's go!" Ruby said as she and the rest of her group started to walk towards the town in question.

* * *

The trip up the mountain was proving to be more challenging than the group was expecting, especially since they were carrying an injured man with them. The condition of the man in question was only getting worse and worse as time went on.

They were exhausted from the long trip up the mountain, but they knew for a fact that Qrow wouldn't be able to survive another night out in the wilderness. They needed to get to the mountainside town now.

"Just...Just hang on Uncle Qrow." Ruby said as she carried her Uncle alongside her father, Blake and Yang watching there back while Ash was guiding the group up the mountain.

"Come on man, don't quit on me now." Tai said to Qrow in attempts to reach out to his unconscious friend.

However, as the group continued to walk up the mountain, the Huntsman in question started to mumble out something from under his breath.

"Ugh, Tai." He groaned, causing the blonde Huntsman to turn his head towards his partner.

"I'm here. What is it?" Tai asked.

"She's not...coming...Tai-!" He began, only to go into another coughing fit.

"Damn it. He's not getting any better." The blonde Huntsman swore.

"Umm, dad?" Ruby said.

"What is it, Ruby?" Her father asked.

"What did he mean by, she's not coming?" She asked.

"..."

"Dad?" Yang and Ruby asked.

"Don't worry about it." Tai said to his two daughters. The two sisters were still rather curious by the words of there uncle but decided to push that curiosity to the backs of there minds.

"How much farther?" Ruby asked.

"We can't be too far from it, right?" Yang asked.

"I can't really say for sure. This is one of the bigger mountains in Vale's territory, so climbing up it isn't going to be as easy as it sounds." Ash said.

However, as the group continued to walk up the mountain, the sound of a loud roar could be heard coming from the distance, causing the group to get into there combat positions, with the exception of Ruby and Tai.

Though after a few moments of silence, the group lowered there guard once they saw that there was no threat to be seen.

"What was that?" Ruby asked as she started to look around the mountain in attempts to see where the source of the roar was coming from.

"It was coming from over there." Blake said as she pointed at the forest in the distance of the mountain.

The group walked up to the cliffside in attempts to get a better view of the forest. Upon further inspection, the entirety of the outside forest was surrounded by this black shadow, the only thing making the forest identifiable was the massive tree that was in the distance.

"Whoa, what is that place?" Yang asked.

"I'm not sure, but we can't afford to waste any more time. We need to get Uncle Qrow to a doctor." Ruby said.

"Right." The Blonde Brawler said as she followed her sister on the path leading towards the town.

However, Tai and Ash were staring at the forest with looks of curiosity in their eyes. However, they were for entirely different reasons. Ash's curiosity stemmed from her desire to consume all the secrets of the world, while Tai's stemmed from the familiar feeling that he felt from when he heard the roar.

Tai knew thing for sure when he had heard that roar from the forest.

Whatever made that roar, wasn't a Grimm. It was something else, something supernatural.

Though Tai pushed that thought to the back of his mind, knowing that there were more pressing matters at hand. The group had continued there journey as they walked on the path that leads towards the mountainside town in attempts to find medical attention for Qrow.

"We have to be close." Blake said to the group.

"..."

"Yeah, we have to be." Yang said as she walked ahead of the group.

"But what if we don't make it in time?" Ruby asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that little sis." She said as she pointed at something on the other side of the path.

The group turned the corner and faced in the direction of where Yang was pointing. However, what they saw caused a sense of relief to wash over them. In the horizon of the mountain was the town they had been searching for.

Ruby smiled at the town brightly before looking down to face her uncle.

"We made it, Uncle Qrow." She said with a smile on her face.

The man chuckled weakly before going into a coughing fit.

"Come on! We can't waste any more time!" Tai said to the group.

"Right!" Everyone with the exception of Ash said as they started to make their way towards the town. Once they had entered its gates, they started to search for the towns medical building.

"Damn it! Where the hell is it?!" Yang said as her head started to dart around the area.

Acting quickly, the blonde brawler ran ahead of the group and started to look around the town in attempts to find what the group was looking for. However, what she failed to notice was the boy was walking in front of her, causing the blonde brawler to crash into the boy.

"Oof!" He huffed as he collapsed to the ground.

The boy in question was a brown haired one with pale skin and brown eyes. He wore a white collared shirt, the sleeves of the shirt having blue outlines. The boy also had some sort of logo on the front of his shirt's pocket.

He wore black pants and a pair of brown boots, as well as a pair of glasses that had fallen onto the ground.

"Crap! Sorry about that! I'm in a real hurry!" Yang said.

"It's okay." The boy said as he picked up his glasses from off of the ground.

"Jeez, watch where you're going, four eyes." A girl said, causing the blonde brawler to look up and face the source of the voice.

This girl was a black haired one with pale skin and blue eyes. She wore a red shirt that had the same logo that the boy's white shirt had, only it was on the back of her shirt. She wore a pair of black pants and a pair of brown boots.

"There you are! Where the hell have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!" He said.

"I was just going out for a walk." She said as she threw her arms behind her back.

"Like hell you were!" The boy said.

Though as the two started to go back and forth, Yang quickly started to regain her composure of the situation at hand.

"Hey!" Yang said.

"What?!" The two asked. Though once the two saw the serious expression that Yang had on her face, their expressions of irritation quickly faded.

"I need your help." She said.

After a few moments of silence, the two nodded to one another before turning to face her.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"Follow me." Yang said as she started to run towards the direction of the group, the two unknown townsfolk right behind her.

* * *

 _ **So, team RWBY finally find themselves at the mountainside town.**_

 _ **Things are starting to take a strange turn. Not really sure if it's for the better or for the worse.**_

 _ **Though I do know that one thing is for certain, I think they'll be staying in this town for a little while longer.**_

 _ **Review Response.**_

 _ **Lord Adhes: Maybe.**_

 _ **splithaven: Good theory, but no. Brandon is and will be the only person who came from earth.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Yeah, they did. That was indeed a spirit user.**_

 _ **Flametusk:**_

 _ **A: Glad to hear.**_

 _ **B: My bad, went back and fixed it.**_

 _ **C: Why would she?**_

 _ **D: Sorry about that.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Glad to hear.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Yeah, we're reaching the climax. Though we still have to do a certain fight with a Grimm from the past. However, it won't go down the same way it did in the show.**_

 _ **olTran: Well, can only fit so much into a single chapter.**_

 _ **ian25rebel: We'll just have to wait and see.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE: Yeah, stealth isn't exactly his strong suit.**_

 _ **Dinosaurchicken: Glad to hear it.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Well, they have been walking the desert with little to no food so I don't really think a simple snickers bar is gonna help.**_

 _ **myfunvideos:**_

 _ **1\. That she does.**_

 _ **2\. Weiss's mom isn't one of the spirit users.**_

 _ **3\. I'm purposely withholding it.**_

 _ **Gabriel H. Sapphire: It's mainly just the main idea of the story. It will be handled differently with some original content, like the town and Vacuo.**_

 _ **Donovan: Go for it.**_

 _ **Donovan: Not even close.**_

* * *

 _ **The Operation**_

"Alright, is everyone in position?" Ruby asked through her scroll.

"Roger that." Yang said.

"This is stupid." Qrow said through his scroll.

"Hey, if you have any other plans for this to work then by all means, be my guest." She said.

"...Let's just get this over with." He said as he put his scroll in his pocket and slouched over to look like an old lady.

Tai was still waiting for his date to arrive at the park. This gave the group time to put there plan into action.

"Go now!" Yang said into the scroll.

Qrow sighed and started to walk onto the street where he was supposed to be run over by Yang.

"Oh my! What a lovely day it is outside! I sure hope nothing bad happens to me!" He said in his best old lady voice.

"Incoming!" Yang yelled from the distance.

Qrow quickly acted as if he tripped onto the ground, causing Tai to turn his head to face Qrow.

"Get out of the way!" She yelled.

Tai was about to jump to the disguised Qrow's aid, though for some reason, a ramp of ice quickly appeared from in front of the disguised Huntsman, causing Yang to go flying over the man.

"What?!" Ruby asked as Yang landed on the ground.

The blonde huntsman was confused for a few moments before shrugging and walking back over towards the fountain.

"What just happened?!" She asked.

"I don't know! You tell me!" Yang said.

"How am I supposed to know why ice just randomly spit out from the floor?!" Ruby asked.

"Well look what you did to Bumblebee! She's all damaged!" She said as she started to carres her bike.

"Dang it. Looks like we're gonna have to come up with another plan." She said.

Though little did the group know, Vernal was staring at the scene over a newspaper as she sat in a cafe of some sort.

"Not today." She said with her eye's narrowed.

"This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought." Ruby said.

* * *

 _ **Qrow Branwen**_

 _ **Race: Human**_

 _ **Weapon: The Harbinger**_

 _ **Gender: Male**_

 _ **Height: 6'4"**_

 _ **Weight: 193 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 38**_

 _ **Outfit: Black, Gray, White**_

 _ **Handedness: Right**_

 _ **Complexion: Pale White**_

 _ **Hair Color: Black**_

 _ **Eye color: Red**_

 _ **Aura Color: Red**_

 _ **Semblance: Misfortune**_

 _ **Description: Qrow's Semblance brings misfortune wherever he goes, and unlike most Semblances, his is almost constantly active and uncontrollable, with random spikes leading to incidents big or small.**_

 _ **His Semblance does not discriminate whom it affects, which causes him to keep his distance from the people he cares about**_

 _ **Destructive Power: E-A**_

 _ **Speed: E**_

 _ **Endurance: E**_

 _ **Precision: A**_

 _ **Potential Growth: A**_

 _ **Range: A**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	73. Taking Control

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Taking Control"

Thought: _'Taking Control'_

Flashback: _"Taking Control_ _"_

It was a cold day in the great kingdom of Atlas, the cold winds of the frozen tundra blowing through the streets of Atlas. Though the cold winds weren't the only thing troubling the people of Atlas.

With the events that had happened in the once great kingdom of Vale, the people of Atlas were rather uncertain with the safety of there own kingdom. No one was really sure who to trust at the moment, not even the man who swore to keep the peace of the world intact, General James Ironwood.

The idea of another Great War plaguing the world of Remnant once again was spreading throughout the world like a raging inferno.

The members of the council were doing the best they could do to get the situation of the world under control, though it was much more difficult now that one of the kingdoms of Remnant was just ruins of what it once was.

However, the tensions between the three remaining kingdoms of Remnant were only one of the many troubles that plagued the mind of the General of the Atlesian Army. The Relic of Choice was completely vulnerable now that Beacon had fallen to the ground.

Not only that but he had no way of contacting the other two headmasters that were guarding the remaining two relics.

Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven had the Relic of Knowledge in his possession, while Tsing, the headmaster of Shade had the Relic of Destruction in her possession. Though with the recent tragedy that had befallen upon Vale, Ironwood decided to take a more subtle approach to how he handled the safety of the Relics.

With Ozpin gone, the General had decided to take the matters of ensuring the safety of the people of the World of Remnant into his own hands. He knew full well that he had to be quiet when it came to the war that was being waged against the enemy known as Salem, which is why he had picked a select few for the task in question.

He had suspected something strange was going on from within the Kingdom of Mistral ever since he had lost contact with Leo, which is why he needed to put his plan into action before Salem could make her next move.

All he needed was for the council to warrant his request to close off the borders of Atlas. The only ones who would be able to leave the Kingdom of Atlas would be Ironwood himself, as well as the ones who were permitted by the council of Remnant.

The General in question was currently waiting outside of the office of the council of Remnant so that they may come to a decision on the matter in question. Ironwood was pacing around the waiting room, hoping that the council will permit his request.

"Good evening, General." He heard a male voice say, causing him to turn his head towards the source of the voice.

"Ah, hello Vladimir." Ironwood said as Count Vladimir walked into the waiting room of the council.

"It is quite the beautiful night, is it not?" The Count asked as he stared out through the window of the council's building, the moonlight of Remnants shattered moon glistening over the pure white snow.

"Yes, it is." Ironwood said as he gazed towards the moonlight snow.

"However, that expression on you tells me that you are dealing with a great deal of troubles." Vladimir said as he faced Ironwood.

"Hah, yes I suppose you could say that." The general said to the Count.

"Tell me what troubles you. Perhaps I can put your mind at ease." Vladimir said.

"It's nothing that you should concern yourself with." Ironwood said.

"Hmm, well if these troubles are so great that you seek the aid of the council then I believe that it concerns all of Remnant." He said as he turned towards the General of the Atlesian Army.

"As one of your right hands in the Atlesian Army, it is my duty to see to it that the people of the World of Remnant are protected." Vladimir said with a serious expression on his face.

After a few moments of silence, the general sighed before staring out into the great kingdom of Atlas.

"Everything I have done up until now has been for the good of the people of Remnant. For the good of every man, woman, and child." Ironwood said as he clenched his fist into a ball.

"Yet I wasn't able to save a single kingdom from falling to the ground." He said. "Thousands of people died that day. I could have saved those lives if I had just taken extra precautions with the kingdom's defenses." Ironwood said.

"Now the tensions between the kingdoms are just as high as the times when the Great War plagued our world." He said.

"Yes, the world is indeed filled with tension ever since the Tragedy of Vale." Vladimir said to the General.

"Indeed. Even though the battle for Vale was lost, the war is far from over." Ironwood said, causing the man to raise one of his eyebrows in response.

"Hmm?"

The General sighed before turning to face his right hand with a serious expression on his face.

"Despite what people think, I'm more than just the General of the Atlesian Army, or the Headmaster of Atlas Academy." Ironwood said. "I, alongside the other headmasters of the world keep the world safe from the threats that nobody knows about." He said to his right hand.

"I see." Vladimir said.

"I brought my Army to Vale in hopes that I could protect them from the real battle that was going on. I believed that my forces were the necessary means to defend the people of Remnant." Ironwood said as he started to walk away from the window.

"Though now I see that I was horribly mistaken." He said. "Because of my actions, the true enemy was forced to take a much more direct approach." Ironwood said.

"Now Vale is in ruins, Ozpin is gone, and the people of Vale are scattered throughout the world with nothing left to turn to." He said.

"It is only a matter of time before the enemy makes their next move." Ironwood said to his right hand.

"You should leave. Speak nothing of what you just heard towards anyone. Not even the other members of the Atlesian Army." He said.

"There is only so much you could have done, James." Vladimir said, causing Ironwood to turn to face his right hand. "Who knows what this enemy could have been planning? Perhaps they had been planning your arrival from the very start." He said.

"Perhaps they were pushed into a corner. No one can say for certain what the plans and motives of this enemy are." Vladimir said.

"Though it is through the tragedies that inspire's individual lives to survive and thrive. They go beyond the great nations that manipulate them, beyond the gods who've stopped hearing their prayers long ago." He said.

"I believe that this is only one of the many chapters of a story. Once one chapter is done, a new one begins." Vladimir as he placed his hand on the window.

"You spend so much time pondering on what you could have done. I myself am more fascinated with what we can do now." He said as he snapped his fingers, causing a gust of white snow to consume the room.

Once the snow had lifted from the air that surrounded the general, he could see a model of the Kingdom of Vale completely made out of ice.

"The Great Kingdom of Vale is no more, though that does not mean its ideals die with it." Vladimir said as the model of Vale crumbled, though a ball of glowing white light could be seen in the center of the ruins of Vale.

"An empire that has fallen to its enemies can rise from the ashes once again." He said. Suddenly, the light started to glow even brighter than before the kingdom of Vale could be seen once again.

"The lights have not gone out, General." Vladimir said as the ice shattered into tiny bits of snow.

"..."

"Well, I suppose I should take my leave. If you'll excuse me." He said as he started to walk towards the doors that lead towards the exit of the council's office.

"Tell me something, Vladimir." Ironwood said.

"Yes?" He asked.

"What do you fight for?" The man asked.

"Curious about me, aren't you?" Vladimir asked as he turned to face the General.

"..."

After a few moments of silence, the Count merely chuckled before walking towards the door to the building.

"Let's just say that I have a promise to keep." Vladimir said as he gripped the handle to the door.

"...You lost someone." Ironwood said.

"Perhaps." He said as he opened the door. "Best of luck to you." Vladimir said as he walked out of the room, leaving the General to collect his thoughts.

"Hmm." The general hummed as he pinched his chin with his hand. Ironwood did admit that he was curious about the past of his right hand, about this supposed person he had lost long ago.

Though right now he had more pressing matters to attend to. Right now he had a war to fight, a war that he was determined to win.

Vladimir was right about one thing, even though Ironwood couldn't undo the tragedy that had befallen upon Vale, that didn't mean that it was gone forever. The kingdom may have fallen, though its ideals still live on within the hears of the people.

Once he had put his plan into action, the tides of the war they were waging would eventually turn to there favor. Once Ironwood had taken control of the borders of Atlas, he would be able to send in Winter to Mistral without any worries of the enemy attempting to strike at the Relic of Creation.

Though ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge was only one of the few things he had planned for the future of this war they were waging. He still needed to ensure the safety of the Relic of Creation.

That meant finding the location of the current Winter Maiden. Finally, once he had all of his pieces in place, he would personally see to the final objective of his plan. To find the current spirit user that was located in the Mountain Tundra of Atlas.

However, before he could put all of his plans into action, he first needed to take control of the borders of Atlas.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the door leading to the meeting room of the members of the Council of Remnant opened, causing the General to stand up from his seat.

"The Council will now see you, General Ironwood." A woman said from the other side of the door.

"Thank you." He said as he got up and started to walk towards the door that led to the office of the Council.

Once he gripped the door handle with his metal hand, he took a deep breath before exhaling and opening the door that would determine the tide of this war they were fighting.

As he entered the room, he could see the four members of the Council in their respective chairs.

"General." The Council member representing the kingdom of Atlas greeted.

"Thank you all for your time." Ironwood said as he walked over to the chair in the center of the room.

"..." The room was filled with a cold silence that fit the temperature of the meeting hall in question.

"I assume you have reached a conclusion?" He asked.

"Well..." The Council representing Atlas said as he stared at the other members of the Council.

"Not exactly." The woman said.

"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked.

"It's a rather complicated situation, General." One of the Councilmen said.

"We are all for closing the borders in order to keep the people of Atlas safe. On the other hand, closing our borders may be the very thing that pushes Atlas to the brink of war with the other kingdoms." One of them said.

"I don't understand." He said.

"Once we close off our borders the trade deal we had with Mistral will be called off. Not only will this limit the dust needed for defenses of the remaining two kingdoms, it would limit our own abilities to thrive as a kingdom." One of the women who held a seat on the Council said to the General.

"We believe fear that if they don't have the necessary resources to fight this threat that had struck down Beacon, we will lose yet another kingdom." She said.

"Yes, I suppose that is understandable." Ironwood said.

"Not only that but with the kingdom of Vale gone, the people of the once proud kingdom are now forced to scatter around the world of Remnant. We believe that closing off the borders of Atlas only limits their ability to find a safe haven." The man representing Vale said.

"I see." Ironwood said.

"Not to mention that closing off the borders of Atlas would also increase the chances of the other two remaining kingdoms declaring war." He said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"If we close off our borders then we cut off all contact with the other two standing kingdoms. That means we cut off all trade we had with the remaining two kingdoms." The woman said.

"The dust embargo we had set had already cost the Schnee Dust company millions. Could you imagine what would happen if we completely cut off all forms of trade with the other kingdoms?" He said.

"Not only would the other two kingdoms have to suffer because of the closing of Atlas, the people of our great kingdom would suffer as well." He said.

"Atlas is what it is now because of the trade deals we had with the other three kingdoms of the world. The destruction of Vale has already taken a toll on the world of Remnant in more ways than one." The woman said.

"We would also have to remove all Atlas Military personnel from the other two kingdoms. This would only further increase the potential risk to the other two kingdoms." The man said to the general.

"Not to mention the possibility of another Great War on our hands. With how things are now we cannot afford to put the world of Remnant into a such a state of conflict." The woman said.

"..." The General clenched his metal fist, the situation regarding his plan looking rather bleak at the moment.

"It is because of these reason's why we cannot permit this request." The woman said.

Things weren't looking good for the General of the Atlesian Army at the moment. Right now the members of the Council weren't exactly keen on permitting his request to close off the borders to Atlas.

However, the General needed the Council to close off the borders to the kingdom of Atlas. He needed to ensure the safety of the Relics of Knowledge and Creation.

"Everything I have done up until now has been for the good of our kingdom. Every action I have made has been to ensure the safety of the people of Atlas." Ironwood said to the members of the Council.

"We realize that, General. Though there is simply too much at risk given the current situation at hand." One of the women said.

"I base everything based off of the reports I get from the other kingdoms. If I hear that there is a threat in Mistral then I am not going to take that news lightly." Ironwood said to the members of the Council.

"What do you mean by threat?" One of them asked.

This was it, this was Ironwoods last chance to convince the Council to take his side on the matter at hand.

"I've had my suspicions at first, and the reports I have gotten from Mistral only confirm them. People are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades." He said. "Whoever was behind the Tragedy of Vale wasn't just after that single kingdom. They are looking to attack each of the kingdoms of the world." Ironwood said.

The members of the Council sat there in silence for a few moments, unsure as to how to take this new information.

"So, are you just going to stand by and wait for the people of Atlas meet the same fate as the people of the once great kingdom of Vale?" The General asked.

Though after a few moments of silence, the General could see that the members of the Council were still not convinced yet. Ironwood couldn't let this opportunity escape his grasps.

"I beg you! As the members of the Councilmen of Atlas, it is your duty to make decisions that ensure the safety of the people. Making a decision like this while the possibility of a potential attack still on the horizon would be premature!" The General said to the members of the Council.

"Hmm."

After a few moments of silence, the Councilmen turned there heads towards the General himself.

"Very well, General. By this time next week, the kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No one will be permitted to leave or enter the Kingdom of Atlas unless we specifically allow it." One of them said.

"I understand. Thank you." The General said to the members of the Council.

"You are excused, General." A woman said to the General, causing him to nod and walk out of the meeting hall of the Council. Once the doors were closed, Ironwood let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Time to get to work." Ironwood said as he started to walk towards the elevator.

* * *

"Hmm." Jaune hummed as they were continuing to make there way through the continent of Anima in attempts to reach the great kingdom of Mistral. The leader of the group was currently attempting to find there location on the map he had of the continent of Anima.

"You think we're getting close?" He asked as he looked up from the map.

Pyrrha looked out into the distance in attempts to see if she couldn't recognize any of the familiar mountains that surrounded the kingdom of Mistral. Fortunately for her, there was a single lush mountain in the distance that Pyrrha did recognize due to part of the kingdom of Mistral occupying the mountain.

"Over there." The Spartan said as she pointed off into the direction of the mountain, causing the leader of the group to turn to face the lush green summit.

"Hmm? It's a mountain." Jaune said.

"Yes. I recognize that peak from the time I was in Mistral." Pyrrha said.

"Wait, then that means the kingdom is right around the corner from us?!" He asked, causing his partner to nod her head.

"You hear that guys?! We're almost there!" Jaune said to his other two teammates that were walking from behind him.

"Finally! Civilization!" Nora said as she threw her hands up into the air.

As the group continued to walk down the path leading to the kingdom of Mistral, Ren continued to walk beside his partner with a serious expression on his face.

"Ren?" The Valkyrie called out, causing the Monk to snap back into reality.

"Hmm?" Ren asked as he turned his head towards his partner.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." He said as he continued to walk down the path that led to Mistral.

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

"That's just it. I'm not really sure how to explain it." Ren said.

However, as the group continued to walk down the path leading to the kingdom of Mistral, Ren suddenly saw a crossway at the end of the road. He narrowed his eyes and attempted to read the names that were written on each of the signs that that pointed to the directions of the two cross paths.

"Hmm? Hey, what's that?" Jaune asked as he stared at the sign that was just up ahead.

Ren deactivated his weapons and started to run towards the sign in attempts to get a closer look at the names written on each one. Once he had reached the end of the crossway, he started to read the sign that was right in front of him.

The one at the very top read Higanbana, the town they were just recently in. The one below it was the town known Kuchinashi, the neighboring town that was just outside of the kingdom of Mistral.

Just below it was the sign that pointed in the same direction of the town above it, the great city of Mistral. However, the path that led to the kingdom of Mistral was surrounded by a mountain terrain, making it exceedingly difficult for travelers to reach the City of Art.

However, the sign that stood right below the City of Mistral was the one that caught Ren's attention. Kuroyuri, Ren's hometown was right around the corner from where they were standing.

"Hey! Mistral! We're almost there you guys! There's also another town on the way to the kingdom!" Nora said as she pointed at the sign that led to Mistral.

"Yeah." Ren said as he clenched his fists.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

The only response that Ren gave her was to point at the sign that led to the town of Kuroyuri.

"Oh." Nora said.

"Really?! Alright guys, if we start moving now we'll make it to the town by nightfall." Jaune said as he and Pyrrha started to walk down the path that led to the kingdom of Mistral.

"..."

"Guys, come on. We're almost there." He said as he ran up the duo.

"Ren." Nora said as she placed her hand on her partner's shoulder.

"What's with you guys? You're acting like you just saw a...ghost." He said as he read the sign that pointed in the direction of Kuroyuri.

"..." Ren merely stared at the ground in silence.

"Oh." Pyrrha said as she herself read the sign that led to Ren's former hometown.

"Is...Is that your hometown?" Jaune asked.

"...Yes." He said.

"Ren, we don't have to go back there if you don't want to. If we go through the mountains we can have a better view of the land! Up there we can see if there's somewhere else we can-." Nora began.

"No." Ren said as he stared down the path that led to his hometown.

"Huh?" She asked.

"You were right, Nora. It has been quite some time since we visited." He said.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked, causing Ren to nod his head.

"Yes. Besides, it has been a long time since I visited my parents." Ren said with a serious expression on his face.

"...Okay. Kuroyuri it is." Jaune said as he walked up to his friend and held out his hand.

Ren started to walk over towards the blonde knight, grasped his hand and brought him into an embrace. The two stayed like that for a few moments before separating from one another.

"Well now. We should be on our way." He said as he started to walk down the path.

The rest of the group looked at one another for a few moments before following there friend down the path that led to his hometown. It was Jaune who eventually broke the silence.

"What was it like?" He asked Nora.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Kuroyuri. What was it like?" Jaune asked.

"Oh. Well, I wouldn't really be able to tell you." Nora said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Oh, well you know me. Never did stay in one town for very long. I was always on the move back then." She said. "Besides, every town was the same to me. As long as it had food then it was good in my book." She said.

Though before the duo could continue to question Nora, they stopped once they caught the glimpse of there destination on the horizon. However, what they saw was less than pleasant to the eye.

The town was in complete ruins, the buildings were destroyed and run down, the trees around them had withered away and died, it looked like a complete ghost town.

"Oh man." Jaune said as he looked around Ren's former home.

"Come on." Ren said as he started to walk into the front gates of his hometown.

As the group started to walk through the town, they could finally get a glimpse of the horrors that Ren had to see as a child. Ren, however, was doing his best to keep a level head throughout the entire walk through the town.

However, as the group entered the center of the town, the sound of an ominous roar could be heard in the distance. Jaune quickly reached for his weapon in preparation to face whatever beast was coming there way.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm, it sounds far off. We should be safe, at least for now." Pyrrha said to her partner. After a few moments of silence, Jaune let go of the handle to his blade.

"Hah, we just can't catch a break, can we?" He asked.

"No. Though we're still here, despite everything we've lost, and everything we could lose." She said to her partner as she started to walk towards the tree that Ren and Nora were standing under.

Ren merely looked up at the tree as the last leaf from the branch fell down to the ground, causing him to hold out his hand to catch it.

"How are you holding up?" Nora asked Ren.

"..." The Monk merely stood there in silence as he grasped the leaf.

"Ren?"

"I'm okay." He said as he turned towards his partner.

"So, this is your hometown, huh Ren?" Jaune asked.

"Well, it was my hometown." He said.

"...What were they like?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Ren hummed.

"Your parents. What were they like?" Jaune asked, causing Ren to sigh before turning towards the tree once again.

"They were good people. My father was one of our local hunters in our town. He was rather skilled with a bow and arrow." Ren said. "I always looked up to him during my brief youth." He said.

"My mother was the kindest person I've known in my life. She had wanted to run for the title of town mayor in hopes that the town of Kuroyuri could become its own kingdom." Ren said.

"I'm glad that she and father can rest peacefully together." He said.

"How did this happen? What caused all of this?" He asked.

"To be honest I've yet to figure out why it happened even to this day. The only thing I do remember that day was the face of that...thing." Ren said as he clenched his fist.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"The thing that destroyed my village was like something out of a nightmare. It screams howled through my town like the echoes of a demon." He said.

"..."

"It was almost like it was two Grimm in one. Like a horse and it's rider paired together to charge into battle." Ren said.

"Jeez." Jaune said as a cold sweat started to form on his head.

Though before the group could continue to explore the town that Ren once called his home, the sound of the same screech quickly could be heard from the distance of the town. Only this time, it was much louder than before.

"There it is again." Jaune said.

"...No." Ren said, a cold sweat started to appear on his forehead.

"Ren?" He asked as he grabbed the handle of his blade.

"We need to go!" He said.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Jaune asked.

"Ren, do you know what that was?!" Pyrrha asked.

"There's no time to explain! We need to-!" Ren began, only for the faint sound of hoof stomps to cut him off.

"..."

"Ren? Ren, what's wrong?" Jaune asked.

Ren merely stood there in silence as the sound of the hoof steps echoed throughout his mind. After a few moments of silence, he collapsed to the ground with a look of sheer terror on his face.

"Ren?! What is it?!" Pyrrha asked.

"...Wait, do you guys hear that?" Jaune asked.

After a few moments of silence, the group eventually heard the sounds of hoof steps from the distance of the town.

"Ren?" Nora asked in a terrified tone as she stared at the beast that was right in front of the group.

Jaune and Pyrrha slowly turned there heads to face the beast that had caused the feeling of terror to wash over there friends. However, what they saw only caused the same feeling of terror to wash over them as well.

The beast was a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a skinless humanoid creature that is fused with it. Its forelegs are shaped like claws and it has hooved hindlegs that leave a characteristic hoofprint.

The humanoid body has long curved horns on its head, a mouth that looks almost sewn shut, and two long elastic arms each with two clawed fingers. On the back of the human torso are boney spikes along its spine and a variety of weapons from previous battles stuck in it.

As the beast walked on the ground with its equine legs, its attached humanoid portion hangs limp to one side, making its arms drag along the ground.

Once the equine portion stopped to stand still, only then did the humanoid portion of the creature become active, doing so with a spasmodic twitching movement. This was the beast that had destroyed Ren's village. The one that had killed his own parents.

The Nuckelavee.

Before the group could react, the beast let out a screech that echoed throughout the air and charged towards the group with its equine legs.

* * *

Ever since the incident at the ball and Weiss's father's decision to keep her locked within the house of the Schnee Manor, the former Heiress in question had been putting herself through training nonstop in hopes to perfect her craft before she attempted to make her escape.

Though before she could even attempt to leave the Schnee Family name behind, she needed to perfect the one simple craft that she had struggled with for quite some time now.

Her Summoning.

Back then she found it difficult to perform the technique due to her mind always being set in the past. Though now her mind was set on the future. The future that she was in control of.

Weiss took a deep breath and dragged her finger across the air, her fingertip glowing with a bright blue light. Once the symbols on her blade glowed with the same light, she rammed her rapier into the ground, causing a fairly large Glyph to form in front of her.

After a few moments of silence, the blade of her summon started to appear from the ground. Though right as she was about to form the rest of the blade, a familiar voice broke her out of her state of concentration, causing the blade to disappear.

"Hello sister." Whitley said as he stood in front of Weiss's door.

"Leave." Weiss said as she turned to face her brother.

"How hurtful. And here I am about to offer you a favor." He said. "Father's taking me to town to introduce me to some of his business partners. I'd thought I'd see if you wanted me to pick up anything since you're..." He said with a pause.

"Stuck here, I suppose." Whitley said, finishing his previous statement.

"...Are you jealous? Is that it?" Weiss finally asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked.

"Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winters?" She asked.

"Hmm...No, not really. Honestly, I find it barbaric. It's beneath people like me. Like Father. What could a single Huntsmen possibly do then that an army could not? That's why we have one. Even if it is run by a fool." Whitely said.

"...I had a friend back in Beacon." Weiss said.

"A friend? My, this is shocking news! Here I thought no one in their right mind would be willing to deal with you." He said.

"You may have heard of him. He was my bodyguard." She said.

"Oh? You mean the loudmouthed swordsman that escorted you for a while?" Whitely asked.

"His name is Brandon." Weiss said.

"And what, pray tell, does he have to do with the conversation at hand?" He asked.

"You asked me a question, and I'm giving you an answer." She said.

"...Go on." Whitely said.

"I have met people in Beacon that had some extraordinary abilities. Though his abilities fell into the supernatural category. Ones that even I never thought were possible until I saw them." Weiss said.

"Oh? Is that so?" He asked.

"There are more like him as well. People who share his supernatural abilities." She said. "I've only heard of one person who shares his abilities, but I know that there are more out there, twelve in total. Though from what I've heard, these people are a force to be reckoned with." Weiss said.

"So tell me, Whitely. Can an army do the things that these people can do? Can your army do the supernatural?" She asked.

"..."

"That's what I thought. Now, leave." Weiss said.

"Fine, fine. I've got better things to do. Enjoy your...training. However pointless it is." Whitely said as he started to walk out of the room. "What is your plan, anyway? What do you hope to accomplish while trapped in your own bedroom?" He asked.

Weiss's only response was to use her Glyphs to slam the door in her brothers face. Once he was gone, she started to process once again. The rammed her rapier into the ground, causing a Summoning Glyph to appear in front of her.

Though right as she was about to summon her familiar, the sound of knocking coming from the door to her room broke her out of her concentrated state.

"Ugh." She groaned.

"Miss Schnee! You have a visitor." She heard Klein say.

"I'm busy." Weiss said as she started to process once again. Though before she could even summon the Glyph itself, Kleim knocked on her door once again.

"It's quite important." He said.

"I'm. Busy!" She yelled.

However, before she could even start the process once again, the door to her room opened.

"I said I'm-!" Weiss began to yell as she spun her head to face whoever had walked into her room. Though before she could even finish her statement, the sight of her sister, Winter, quickly cut her off.

"Well now, I suppose that is one way to greet one's sister." Winter said with a smirk on her face.

After a few moments of silence, Weiss dropped her rapier and quickly embraced her dear sister.

"I missed you." She said as she held Winter tightly.

"As did I, dear sister." Winter said.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked as she pushed away from Winter.

"I just thought I'd stop by to say hello before my next assignment." She said.

"You mean...you're leaving?" She asked.

"Indeed." Winter said.

"So you just came to say goodbye?" Weiss asked her sister.

"Well, not exactly." She said as she started to walk around the room of the former heiress.

"I see that you have been practicing your summoning." Winter said as she looked at the mess that Weiss had made.

The only response Weiss gave to her sister was to nod her head.

"Hmm." She hummed as she started to walk towards the window of Weiss's room.

"It's a rather lovely evening. Is it not?" Winter asked.

"I suppose it is." Weiss said as she stared out into the night sky.

"Come with me." The Specialist said as she started to walk towards the door.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Klein. Please get the training grounds ready." Winter said.

"Right away." Klein said as he walked towards the Schnee Manor training grounds.

"...Um-?" She began.

"Well don't just stand there." Winter said as she started to walk off.

"Right!" Weiss said as she started to follow her sister.

Once the two sisters reached the training grounds, Winter could be seen standing across from Weiss with a serious expression on her face.

"I'm sure you are rather curious as to why I had you come out here in this ungodly weather." She said.

"Just a bit." Weiss said, not really minding the cold due to her growing up in environments like this for all her life.

"I wish to give you a small little test before I head to Mistral." Winter said as she walked across the training grounds of the Schnee Manor.

"A test?" She asked.

"Yes. Consider this your final lesson." She said with her usual cold expression on her face.

Weiss nodded her head as she pulled out her Rapier, ready for whatever her sister had to throw at her. However, she got a rather confused expression on her face once Winter started to walk towards

"You look troubled. I suppose I should elaborate." Winter said. "This is your final test. So naturally, such a test should be a tad more challenging when compared to the others." She said.

"Do you remember the words I said the last time you and I stood on these grounds?" Winter asked.

"That you wouldn't always be around to save me." Weiss said.

"I also said that you needed to become stronger if you ever want to leave this Manor." She said. "That statement still stands even to this day." Winter said.

"Now come." She said as she pulled out her weapon and pointed it at Weiss.

"Show me that you are capable enough to be on your own." She said.

"...Winter." Weiss said.

"..." The Specialist merely stood there in silence as the stared at Weiss with her cold expression on her face.

After a few moments of silence, Weiss eventually got into her combat position, readying herself to face off against her sister. Once she did that, a gust of wind started to form around the duo, creating a dome of some sort.

The two walked towards one another slowly before eventually coming face to face with one another. Once the two clashed there blades against the others, each of them jumped to the other side of the dome.

Weiss was the first to charge toward her sister in attempts to gain some sort of an advantage over her. However, Winter was easily able to dodge each of Weiss's attacks with relative ease.

The two started to clash with one another, Weiss doing her best to dodge the strikes that Winter was throwing at her. However, Winter eventually gained the upper hand and kicked Weiss away with her boot, causing her to go flying across the training grounds.

However, just as she was about to regain her footing, Winter appeared behind her and used one of her Glyphs to propel herself towards Weiss. She continued this process until she kicked her up into the air and kicked her back down.

"Come now. Is that the best you can do?" Winter asked.

Though before Winter could react, Weiss summoned one of her Glyphs to her side and shot a beam of energy at the Specialist, causing a large explosion to appear in the area where Winter was standing.

Once the smoke had cleared, Weiss could see that her sister was nowhere to be found. Before Weiss could react, Winter appeared behind her and kicked her in the back, causing her to go flying once again.

Weiss growled and formed one of her Glyphs in the air, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Though right as she was about to strike at Winter, the Specialist quickly moved to the right to dodge the attack.

She was about to strike at the former Heiress once again, though Weiss quickly dodged the attack before it could hit her. Once she appeared behind Winter, she took the opportunity to jab her rapier at her, though Winter was able to parry the attacks with her own weapon.

Winter pointed her finger at her sister, causing a Glyph to appear behind the specialist. She snapped her fingers and shot one of her beams of energy at the young girl, causing her to bring her arms up in attempts to block the attack.

Though as she landed on the ground, Winter wasted no time to go on the offensive. She started to rapidly slash at the Heiress with her blade, causing Weiss to take a more defensive approach.

The two started to dart around the area, clashing with one another in attempts to gain the upper hand in the battle. The two started to do some sort of aerial battle with there Glyphs, each clash creating a small shockwave that echoed throughout the grounds of the manor.

However, Winter was eventually able to get the upper hand in the battle that was transpiring in the training grounds, causing her to slam her leg onto Weiss to send her flying back down to the ground beneath them.

Weiss groaned as she got up from the stone floor, though before she could even react Winter could be seen charging towards Weiss with her blade glowing with a light blue color.

Though just as the blade was about to make contact with her, Weiss was able to use her Glyphs to move out of the way at the very last second. The two started to dart around the training grounds as they clashed with one another, though Winter was eventually able to get the upper hand in the battle.

The wound continued to howl as the battle raged on, Klein watching from the sidelines with a serious expression on his face. After a few moments of silence, Weiss eventually got up, the markings on her blade glowing with a bright blue aura.

Weiss's eyes shot open, causing her to ram her rapier into the ground. Once she did this, various spikes of ice started to move towards the specialist. Winter quickly jumped up into the air, though Weiss quickly started to slash at her while she was air born.

The Specialist was eventually able to push Weiss back, though once she hit the ground, a bright blue Glyph started to form below her feet. Winter attempted to charge towards Weiss, though she was able to dodge at the very last second. She pointed her finger at the Glyph, causing it to explode below Winter's feet.

After a few moments of silence, Weiss's sister emerged from the smoke with her aura flaring to life. The Heiress was running out of options, there was only one thing she could do to possibly turn the tides of the battle to her favor.

She took a deep breath and dragged her finger across the air, causing the wind around her to pick up around her. After a few moments of silence, a large Glyph started to form on the ground.

The wind continued to howl as Weiss's aura flared to life. The ground started to shake as the light created by the Glyph grew even brighter than before. In a matter of seconds, the light had enveloped the entirety of the grounds of the manor, lighting up the night sky.

Once it had faded, Weiss could see that the fruits of her labor had finally blossomed to life. She had finally done the one thing that was holding her back for so long. She finally summoned her familiar.

Winter and Weiss stared at one another for a few moments in silence. The knight stood up from the ground and flared its aura to life, causing the sudden gust of wind to blow back the cups that Klein had set on the table.

The specialist readied her weapon in preparation for Weiss's final assault. Suddenly, the knight swung his blade onto the ground, causing Winter to move out of the way of the attack.

Weiss readied her weapon and charged towards Winter, though she was able to parry the former Heiress's attack at the last second. Though right before she could on the offensive, Weiss quickly moved behind Winter and started to rapidly jab her back.

She kicked her sister over at the Knight, causing it to swing its massive blade at the Specialist. Both the knight and Weiss started to charge towards Winter, causing her to do a few flips before charging in there direction.

Winter attempted to strike at Weiss, though she quickly jumped up into the air and onto the shoulder of her summon. Though due to the massive size of the Knight, the Specialist was easily able to maneuver herself around the massive knight.

Though just as she was about to strike at the Knight, Weiss started to rapidly jab at her from within the air before slamming her onto the ground. Before Winter could stand up, the summon of Weiss quickly slammed his blade onto the body of the specialist, causing a massive shockwave to spread all throughout the area.

Suddenly, something inside Weiss started to surge within her. Like a newly lit flame raging like an inferno. She had never felt this way before, not even during her time in Beacon Academy.

She felt powerful. She felt whole. The aura of both the knight and Weiss started to get even stronger than before, the eyes of the former Heiress starting to glow with a light blue color.

As Winter started to get up from the ground, Weiss summoned a rather unfamiliar Glyph to her side. Weiss's eyes started to glow even brighter, causing a large laser to shoot out from the Glyph.

Luckily for the Specialist, she was able to put up a shield just in time before the attack could hit. However, the Knight started to rapidly slash at the shield that Winter had created.

Though just as quickly as the power had started to surge through her body, Weiss could feel a very sharp pain in her scarred eye, causing her to lose her focus. The Specialist took this opportunity to summon her own familiar.

The Knight reeled it's blade backward's and struck down Weiss'familiarir, causing the both of them to fade into a white dust.

With the battle over, Weiss kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily as she held her hand over her eye. She slowly started to look up towards Winter, the woman in question having a very serious expression on her face.

"..." The former Heiress lowered her head in defeat, not wanting to look Winter in the eye. She was waiting for her to lecture her, ready to hear the cold statements she usually got from Winter when they were training.

What she wasn't expecting was for Winter to ram her own blade into the ground.

"Huh?" Weiss asked.

"I yield." Winter said with a smile on her face.

"...Huh?!" She asked.

"Very good Weiss. You passed my final test." She said as she started to walk away from her little sister.

"..." Weiss merely sat there in silence, staring at her sister in complete and utter confusion.

"What? I never did say that you needed to defeat me to pass the test." Winter said as she continued her walk down the training ground. "You'll be on your own from here on out. There's nothing left for me to teach you." Winter said as she left the training grounds.

"..." Weiss just stood there in silence.

"Well done, Miss Schnee!" Klein said as he walked up to the Heiress. "That was quite the show! You should feel proud of yourself." He said.

"...Yeah. I guess I should." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh! Before I forget!" Klein said as he walked over to a box that Winter had placed on the table.

"Your sister had left this for you as a gift." He said.

"A gift?" Weiss asked as she took the box from Klein's hands and opened the front lid up. Though what she saw in the box filled her with surprise. Inside the box was a brand new outfit that Winter herself had customized for Weiss.

She would continue her journey not as the Heiress to the Schnee Family name, but as a Huntress. Once Weiss closed the box, she turned to face Klein with a look of confidence on her face.

"Klein. I need a favor." She said.

* * *

The members of team JNPR had done there best to fight off this creature, though the sheer might of the beast had overwhelmed them. It was unlike anything they had ever fought in the past.

It had shown no mercy to the group as it attempted to silence them from this world. However, the group was not willing to give in the beasts might just yet. Though that sheer will alone would not be enough to defeat the beast.

Having been struck by an attack from the Nuckelavee, Jaune and Pyrrha were sent flying towards the center of town. As they were recovering from the attack from the beast, Ren and Nora had been thrown towards them by the massive Grimm.

As the beast emerged from the dust of the ruined town, Ren started to glare at the beast. After all these years, he had finally come face to face with the beast that had taken his parents away from him.

The upper half of the Nuckelavee started to twitch, various cracking noises could be heard from the joints in its body. After a few moments of silence, the beast let loose a loud roar that ripped through the air.

"Heads up!" Jaune said as the beast started to charge towards them, it's burning red eyes drilling deep into the souls of the group. Though just as the horse of the beast rammed it's two front hooves into the ground in attempts to crush the members of team JNPR, they quickly scattered around the courtyard.

The Valkrie pulled out her grenade launcher and started to fire various explosives at the beast, causing it to scream in pain. Once each member of the team had landed on the ground of the fallen town, they started there counter attack.

The beast started to rapidly swing its arms at Pyrrha in attempts to strike her down. However, the Spartan was able to dodge the attacks with relative ease. Though just as Pyrrha was about to go on the offensive, she was quickly swatted away by the arm of the Grimm.

Nora attempted to aid her teammate, though she also fell victim to the Nuckelaves's might. Just as the beast was about to start his assault, the feeling of various bullets could be felt on it's back, causing the Grimm to turn its head at the Monk.

The beast growled and swung its arms towards the path that Ren was taking, causing it to grasp the blades of Ren's two guns with its two claws. Seeing a strategy, Jaune quickly called out to his teammates.

"Guys! Keep moving, go in a circle!" He said as he unsheathed his blade.

Ren was struggling to break free from the beasts grasps, though Nora quickly shot some of her grenades at the beast, causing it to let go of the Monks weapons. Following the strategy, each of the members of team JNPR started to run around the beast in a circular formation.

In attempts to immobilize the beast, Jaune and Pyrrha ran up to the Nuckelavee and slashed at its two legs. This only seemed to anger the horse, causing it to kick away the duo with its two back hooves.

"Well, that could have gone better." The Blonde Knight said.

"So, I suppose now would be a better time than any to test out your blades newfound abilities." Pyrrha said.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Jaune said as he placed his blade back into his sheath. After a few moments of silence, the blade of the blonde knight transformed into a longsword.

Jaune ran up to the beast and slashed at its back leg once again, only this time he had much more firepower at his disposal. He reeled his blade backward's and slashed at the legs of the beast once again.

As the blade sliced through the flesh of the beast, the horse cried out in agony. As the beast stumbled back, the rider atop of the horse started to growl. After a few moments, the Nuckelavee started to spin its arms around the area.

The group attempted to dodge the oncoming assault, but unfortunately fell victim to the wrath of the beast. The rider atop of the beast started to growl once again, causing the spikes on its back to shoot outwards.

The bones of the beast finally clicked into place, causing the rider to let out an ear piercing screech into the air.

Ren growled and ran to the top of a tree in attempts to get the upper hand. Though the beast was easily able to slam the Monk into the wall of a nearby tower due to its movements being much more fluent now.

The Monk was struggling to break free from the grip of the beast. Meanwhile, the rest of the team saw that Ren was in trouble, though Nora was the first one to act out to aid her friend.

"Pyrrha!" Nora said.

"Right!" The Spartan said as she held her shield above her head. Nora ran up and jumped onto the shield, causing Pyrrha to send her flying towards the oncoming attack that was heading towards Ren.

The Monk braced himself for the oncoming attack that was coming his way, though after a few moments of silence had passed, he lowered his guard to see that he was not the one to take the attack.

Ren looked up to see that Nora had just narrowly saved him from succumbing to the wrath of the beast. Though with the position Ren was in now, he had a clear view of what was up Nora's skirt.

"Hey! Stop looking!" She said as she attempted to block the Monk's view.

"R-right!" Ren said as he looked away from Nora.

Though before Jaune and Pyrrha could come to the aid of there teammates, the Nuckelavee lifted Nora up into the air and started to slam her down onto the stone cold ground.

Before Nora could react, the beast quickly lifted her up into the air once again and slammed her down to the ground, causing her aura to shatter.

Now more enraged than ever before, Ren started to rapidly slash and shoot at the hand of the beast in attempts to break free from its grip. Jaune quickly rushed to the aid of the Monk and slashed at the leg of the beast, causing it to let loose a shriek of agony.

This gave Ren the opening he needed to finally break free from the grip of the beast. However, as soon as the Monk landed on the ground, he started to charge towards the beast in a blind rage.

He had parried the first attack of the Nuckelavee, though eventually succumbed succumb to the might of the beast. However, Ren was back on his feet in a matter of seconds and charged towards the beast once again.

"Ren! Knock it off!" Jaune yelled to his teammate.

Though it was no use, the words of the blonde knight failed to reach the enraged man that was charging towards the beast. However, Ren failed to notice the attack that the beast had set up for him.

The Nuckelavee grabbed the leg of Ren and swung him towards the direction of his former house, causing his aura to completely shatter.

Ren groaned as he slowly got up from off of the ground, staring at the beast with a look of complete malice on his face. Though as he attempted to charge at the beast once again, he felt a sharp pain from the back of his legs, preventing him from moving.

Suddenly, the beast started to form some sort of ball of energy from above its mouth, causing the ground beneath them to shake due to the sheer pressure and force behind the attack.

"Ren!" Jaune yelled over to his teammate. The Monk once again attempted to stand up from where he was sitting, though he was only met with the same result as before.

"No, no, no! We won't make it in time!" He said.

Meanwhile, Nora had slowly started to rise from where she was standing. The Valkyrie growled and grasped the brunt of her hammer with the palm of her hand. The pressed the button on the side of the hammer, causing pink sparks to emanate off of the mallet.

While it would only be good for a short amount of time, it was more than enough to do what she had to do. With the attack fully charged, the beast let out a shriek and fired the massive blast at the Monk.

"Ren get out of there!" Jaune yelled.

Though as Ren looked up to face the beast once more, the only thing he saw was the massive ball of red energy that was coming straight towards him. Having no time to react and no aura to protect him, Ren had taken the full force of the blast.

"No!" The Blonde Knight yelled out as the blast created by the attack echoed throughout the forest.

Ren had waited for the blast to send him to his grave, to send him to the place that his parents now rested peacefully. However, all that met him was a cold silence that plagued the air around him.

However, once Ren opened his eyes to meet whatever fate had befallen upon him, he could finally see just what exactly had saved him from the blast of the Nuckelavee, or rather _who_ had saved him from the blast of the beast.

Nora could be seen standing in front of the Monk, her body completely burnt from the effects of the attack. Though despite that, the Valkyrie stared at the Grimm with a smile on her face. However, that smile quickly faded as she fell to the ground with an audible thud.

"..."

The air was filled with an unsettling silence as Nora laid motionless on the stone ground.

"No. Nora." Jaune said.

"..." Pyrrha merely stood there in silence as she placed both of her palms to her mouth. Though before the beast could charge towards Ren in attempts to finish what it had started, the Blonde Knight quickly stopped it in its path with his longsword.

"You...You are going to pay for what you did!" Jaune roared as his aura flared to life. With one last roar, Jaune was able to push back the Grimm, giving the opening that Pyrrha needed to start her attack.

The Spartan started to rapidly fire various dust rounds at the beast, causing them to explode upon contact. The Nuckelavee roared and attempted to strike down Pyrrha, though she was able to move out of the way of the attack at the last second.

"No. No, no, no! Nora! " Ren said as he rushed to his partner's side.

 _"You're not alone anymore, Ren. You've got all of us now, and we're here to catch you for whenever ya fall down."_ The words of his partner rang within his mind.

Though as Ren started to mourn the death of his fallen friend, he could feel the feeling of someone placing there hand on their shoulder. He turned around to see that Jaune was looking at him with a saddened expression on his face.

"Ren." He said.

The Monk clenched his fist and reached into his pocket to pull out the dagger that his father gave to him. After a few moments of silence had passed, Ren stood up from where he was sitting and stared at Jaune with a serious expression on his face.

"Let's do this." Jaune said, causing Ren to nod his head. The beast started to growl as it circled the group, it's burning blood eyes glowing red with malice.

"I can take care of its arms." He said as he pulled out a handful of seeds from his pocket.

"I'll take care of the horse." Pyrrha said as she turned her head to the duo.

"...And I'll take care of the rest." Ren said as he gripped the knife from within his hand.

Pyrrha nodded and ran over to the clock tower that stood right above the beast. The beast attempted to stop the Spartan in her tracks, though Jaune quickly grabbed its attention by striking at it with his blade.

This gave Pyrrha the opening she needed to climb up the tower.

After a few moments of silence, the plants that Jaune had created sprouted from the ground and started to wrap themselves around the body of the beast, completely immobilizing it.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled.

The Spartan in question stood atop of the tower with her blade in front of her. She took a deep breath and concentrated all of her aura into the blade, causing it to glow with a bronze aura.

She slowly started to descend towards the beast with her blade ready to strike the horse of the rider down. Pyrrha roared as she rammed her blade into the head of the horse, causing the rider to shriek in agony.

"Ren!" Jaune said, his aura starting to fade away from his body.

The Monk nodded and started to walk towards the beast that had already taken so much from him. Once he had gotten in front of the Nuckelavee, the beast let out a roar in attempts to intimidate the man.

Ren merely glared at the beast before turning the dagger over.

 _'For my mother.'_ Ren thought as he sliced off the right arm of the Grimm, causing it to shriek in agony. Though as it attempted to break free from the plants that Jaune had created, Ren grabbed one of its horns to prevent it from moving.

 _'For my father.'_ He thought as he sliced off the left arm of the Nuckelavee.

 _'For Nora.'_ Ren thought as he slashed the blade across its chest.

The Monk took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"For myself!" He said as he sliced the head of the Grimm clean off, silencing it forever. After a few moments of silence, the Grimm eventually evaporated into the air. Once everything that remained of the Grimm was gone, Ren turned around and started to walk towards his fallen friend.

"Nora." Ren said as he stood over his fallen friend with a look of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Even though I was never one for conversation, there were still so many things that I wanted to tell you." He said as he clenched his fist.

Jaune and Pyrrha walked over to their fallen friend with similar expressions on there faces.

"We couldn't have made it this far without you, Nora." Jaune said.

"Thank you. Thank you for being such a dear friend. For being like the sister I never had." Pyrrha said.

Ren kneeled down to face the fallen Valkyrie and wrapped his hand around her own.

Though as the group was mourning the loss of their dear friend, Jaune could hear the faint sounds of footsteps heading there way.

"Oh come on. Give us a break already!" He said as he gripped his blade.

However, instead of a large beast or a group of bandits, all the group saw was a lone girl walking through the town. The girl in question looked rather young with her pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair with a black streak.

Her hair was held back with a red bandana that had some strange white markings on them. She wore a black coat that reached down to her upper arm and a white shirt underneath.

She wore a pair of blue pants with a brown belt wrapped around her waist. To finalize her attire, she wore a pair of brown boots.

"Hmm, what are you kids doing out here?" The woman asked with a curious expression on her face.

"Whew. Looks like we're in the clear guys." Jaune said with a relieved tone.

The woman was about to further question the group, though once she saw the injured Nora on the ground, she started to run towards the group with a serious expression on her face.

"What in the world happened here?!" She asked as she kneeled down to face the fallen girl.

"..." Ren merely sat there in silence.

"It was this Grimm. Things got a little out of hand and...she saved us." Jaune said. "We owe her our lives." He said.

Ren merely gripped the hand of his fallen partner tightly as he continued to mourn the loss of his fallen partner.

"Oh...I see." The woman said with a saddened expression on her face.

The Monk gripped her hand once more, wanting to say his last goodbyes to his lifelong friend before continuing to press onwards. Though as he gripped her hand tightly, he could feel something faint coming from her hand.

"Huh?" Ren asked.

"What is it Ren?" Jaune asked.

Though the words of the blonde knight didn't reach the boys ears. It was only a faint feeling, but he was certain that he felt something coming from the hand of his partner. Ren quickly placed his fingers on the neck of the girl.

After a few moments of silence, Ren felt something that caused a feeling of relief to wash over him.

He found a pulse.

"She's alive." He said.

"What?!" Jaune and Pyrrha asked. The Blonde knight walked up to Nora and placed his fingers on her neck. After a few moments of silence, Jaune eventually felt the faint feeling of life that was still inside of Nora.

"He's right!" He said as he stood up.

"We need to get to Mistral, now!" Ren said with a serious expression on his face.

"The path we're on now will lead us around the mountains. I don't think Nora will survive that trip." Pyrrha said.

"Well, we have to do something! We can't just leave her here to die!" Jaune said.

Though before the group could continue to debate on what to do with the current situation at hand, the woman they had run into spoke up.

"I can help you." She said, causing the trio to turn there heads towards her.

"You can?" Jaune asked.

"We have a doctor back in my hometown that's just on and island outside of Anima. If you want I can take you all there." The woman said with a smile on her face. "I can tell you've all been through a lot if you're all the way out here." She said.

"Yes. It has been a long road." Ren said.

"Okay, but what about Mistral?" Pyrrha asked the group.

"Yeah, that's right. There's no telling when someones gonna make a move." Jaune said.

Though before anyone in the group could determine there next course of action, Ren quickly spoke up.

"We can split up." He said.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"I can take Nora to this island why you two head over to Mistral." Ren said.

"No, we're supposed to stick together! We keep each other safe." He said to his teammate.

"Jaune. This may be the only chance we get to save Nora's life." He said.

"..." After a few moments of brief thought, Jaune looked over at Nora before sighing to himself.

"Okay." He said as he walked over to Ren and embraced him.

"Just take care of each other." He said.

"We always have." Ren said as he picked Nora up.

So the group said there final goodbyes and went there separate ways, Jaune and Pyrrha going to Mistral while Ren would take Nora to the island just outside of Anima.

However, as Jaune and Pyrrha started to walk away from the town of Kuroyuri, the Blonde Knight got a look of worry on his face.

"They'll be fine." Pyrrha said.

"...Yeah, I know." Jaune said as the two continued to walk down the path.

"Once we get to the boat we should be able to get into contact with the doctor on our island." The woman said as she continued to walk down the path leading to the river leading to the ocean.

"...Who are you?" Ren asked the woman.

"Hmhm, my name is Evie. It's nice to meet you." The newly named Evie said with a smile on her face.

* * *

It was yet another cold day within the kingdom of Atlas. Though today marked the end of the Winter times so that Spring could make way into the world. While it still did snow in Atlas during the Spring time, there were rarely every any blizzards.

This made it the perfect time to cross between kingdoms due to the calm weather that surrounded the area. However, this was also the start of Ironwoods plan. He had already requested that two transports were prepared.

One for Winter so that she may cross to the kingdom of Mistral, and one so that he can search for the spirit user in Atlas.

"Is everything ready?" Ironwood asked as he started to walk towards the ships he had prepared for his operation.

"Yes. Everything is ready for launch." One of the commanders said.

"Excellent." The general said as he walked down the runway with Glynda.

"Are you certain that this is the wises plan of action?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. Though right now it's the only plan we have." Ironwood said as he pulled out his revolver.

"Shouldn't I be the one to search for the spirit user located in the mountains?" Glynda asked.

"No, you need to stay here. We've still yet to uncover the whereabouts of the Winter Maiden." He said. "Not only that but I need people I can trust here. People who know what's at stake." Ironwood said.

"Very well." She said.

Though as the two started to walk through the runways, the general turned to face the huntress before placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We will find him. I don't know where or how. But we will find him." Ironwood said.

"I have no doubt in my mind. I just hope that when he does, it is not too late." She said.

The two continued to walk down the runway until they eventually reached the two ships that he had prepared for the operation. As the two continued to get closer and closer to the ships, they could see Winter Schnee standing by one of them.

"Schnee." He called out.

"General." She said with a salute.

"Is everything ready?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes, sir." Winter said.

"Good. You know your roll in this plan, correct?" He asked.

"Make it to Mistral and ensure the safety of the Relic of Knowledge." She said.

"Excellent." Ironwood said. "Now, let's not waste any more time, shall we?" Ironwood asked as he started to walk towards his private ship.

"Yes sir!" Winter said, moving towards her own ship.

Once the two had gotten into there ships, Ironwood ordered the troops to open up the doors leading to the outside of Atlas. After a few moments of silence, the doors opened with a gust of cold air.

Glynda did a small salute to the General as his ship took to the skies.

The two had been flying for a few minutes now in relative silence, though it was Winter who eventually broke the said silence.

 _ **"Taking off now, General."**_ Winter said as her ship flew in front of the General and into the frozen tundra.

"Copy. Taking off." He said as he started to fly out of his Military base. Once the two ships had left the kingdom, the doors leading to the outside started to close. As the general flew off into the frozen winds, he started to scan around the area in attempts to locate his flight path.

 _ **"Moving towards Mistral now. Good luck sir."**_ The specialist said through the speakers.

"Copy." Ironwood said.

Once Winter was gone from the area, Ironwood started to make his adjustments to the airship. Once he had reached his desired settings, he placed the ship on autopilot.

Taking this time to himself, he pulled out the information he had on the spirit user that was in the mountains of Atlas. From what he had gathered, he was able to get at least the general location of the spirit user.

Most of the activity he had on them was near the frozen mountains of Atlas. There wasn't a single village in sight near those mountains due to the constant blizzards that plague that area.

So this leads the general to believe that this user was located somewhere in the Mountains. How they had been surviving on there own for so long was still a mystery to him.

Though if the general had any hopes to turn the tides of this war in his favor, he needed to locate this user that was hidden within the frozen tundra.

After a few moments of silence, Ironwood eventually found his flight path to the frozen mountains.

"Alright, let's-!" He began, only for the sound of a loud explosion to cut him off abruptly.

"What the hell?!" Ironwood asked as he stared at the console. The general could see that the entirety of the right engine had been blown off of the airship, causing it to go flying down to the growled and attempted to regain control of his ship.

"Damn it! Come on!" He growled. The ship was spiraling out of control, the winds from outside howling against the ship. Though before he could react, he could hear another explosion coming from the side of the ship. Ironwood looked down to see that the other engine had been completely destroyed.

"What the hell?! How did-?!" He began, only for the sounds of the alarm in his ship to go off. He looked up to see that his ship was heading straight for a large mountainside at a very high velocity.

Without time to react, Ironwood took the full force of the explosion caused by his ship crashing into the mountainside.

Then there was nothing.

Meanwhile, Vladimir was standing outside of his chamber as he stared out into the night sky of Atlas. The man was staring at his model of Atlas that he had created with the ice magic that was given to him.

The man snapped his fingers, causing the model of Atlas to shatter into a ball of bright light. Suddenly, a knock could be heard in his doorway, causing the man to turn his head towards the door.

"Yes?" He asked as he walked towards the door.

"Your tea, sir." A woman said.

"Ah, thank you very much." Vladimir said as he opened the door to take the tea away from the woman.

"Will that be all, sir?" She asked.

"Indeed. Oh! Wait, one more thing." He said as he pulled out a handful of Lien from his pocket.

"Why don't you treat yourself to something, hmm? I believe you've earned it for all your hard work." He said.

"I-I couldn't sir." She said.

"Please, I insist." Vladimir said.

"W-well. If you say so. Thank you sir." The woman said as she walked away, causing Vladimir to close the door and face the bright light once again.

"An empire that falls to its enemies can rise from the ashes once again." He said as he stared at the ball of light that was right in front of him. "Though one that falls from within-." Vladimir began as the light flickered out.

"Will crumble to the ground." He said.

* * *

 _ **Thus the members of team JNPR go there separate ways. Jaune and Pyrrha head towards the great city of Mistral while Ren takes the injured Nora to safety with his new ally, Evie.**_

 _ **Also it appears like Vladimir is starting to make his next move.**_

 ** _What will become of this new development, and what kind of secrets does Evie hold?_**

 ** _Only one way to find out I suppose._**

 _ **Flametusk: Sorry about that, I was talking from the point of view of the author, not Brandon. Sorry for the confusion.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: I'll check it out once I get the time.**_

 _ **A Random Commie: Fixed it.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Glad you like Ash's backstory.**_

 _ **54godamora: Interesting theory, but no.**_

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: Thanks.**_

 _ **TheManCalledDonovan: If it is, I'll give it a look.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Yeah, I suppose that's one way to look at it.**_

 ** _Evie_**

 _ **Race: Human**_

 _ **Weapon: None**_

 _ **Gender: Female**_

 _ **Height: 5'8"**_

 _ **Weight: 145 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 30**_

 _ **Outfit: Brown, Black, White, Red.**_

 _ **Handedness: Right.**_

 _ **Complexion: White.**_

 _ **Hair Color: Blonde and Brown.**_

 _ **Eye color: Blue**_

 _ **Aura Color: Gold and Black**_

 _ **Semblance: Unknown**_

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	74. Welcome to Vacuo

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

* * *

Speech: "Welcome to Vacuo"

Thought: _'Welcome to Vacuo'_

Flashback: _"Welcome to Vacuo_ _"_

The great Kingdom of Vacuo, a civilization located in a barren and desolate wasteland the western end of Sanus. Though it wasn't always the dry desert it was known as today. Long ago, the vast desert of Vacuo harbored a beautiful oasis in the center of its natural desert.

Nomads and wanderers that survived the harsh treck across Vacuo's scorching sands were rewarded with the once lush jungle of Vacuo. Some would even call such a place paradise.

However, the peace wouldn't last forever. While the rest of Remnant had to learn and adapt in order to ensure there own survival, Vacuo's ancient society kicked back and lived a life of complacency.

Though once the other kingdoms set their eyes on the natural resources that Vacuo had to offer, the citizens couldn't do anything to prevent them from overrunning and taking there home.

Once the dust had settled on the sands of Vacuo, the once great paradise crumbled to the ground. To put it lightly, the people that once inhabited this paradise weren't exactly happy with the world.

Though as the hatred in Vacuo grew as time went on, the Grimm that inhabited the sands of the kingdom evolved. It wasn't until the Great War that a formal government was finally established.

But by that point, the people that inhabited Vacuo didn't much care to uphold its laws. It wasn't until Shade Academy that the chaos that plagued Vacuo truly died down. Though through all the hardships that the world put them through, the kingdom was still standing proud.

The only real rule that the kingdom of Vacuo had was an unspoken rule created by its citizens. So that begged the question that was in the back of the mind of the swordsman that had just entered Vacuo's walls.

If the people of Vacuo had such a respect for one another, then what drove them to imprison one of there own? That was a question that the spirit user was determined to find the answer to.

However, before he could continue his search for the spirit user that was located in Vacuo, he needed to have a little talk with the headmaster of Shade Academy. Right now she was the only one who had a grasp of the situation at hand, so she was his best shot.

Though as the swordsman continued to walk through the streets of Vacuo in attempts to find Shade Academy, he was also trying to find someplace he could get some information about this spirit user.

"Alright, if I wanted to get some information on the whereabouts of a single man then where would I go?" Brandon asked himself as he continued to walk the streets of Vacuo.

The town was rather load compared to the other kingdoms he had been to, people yelling from across the streets, local fights happening in the more open areas of the kingdom, there was always something happening with every turn of the kingdom.

 _ **"The Kingdom of Vacuo. It's been quite some time since I've visited this place."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, was one hell of a challenge just to get here." He said to the spirit.

 _ **"Indeed, and the trials ahead are only just beginning."**_ He said.

"Yeah, only this time I don't have the team with me. That's one less set of hands to be working on this task." Brandon said. "I can't exactly break into one of the most heavily guarded prisons on my own." He said.

 _ **"Yes, I suppose that would complicate things."**_ The spirit said. _**"Our first order of business should be to speak to the Guardian of the Relic of Destruction. After that, we should begin our search for your companions."**_ Caliber said.

"Assuming they haven't already killed one another." Brandon grumbled.

The duo continued to walk through the city of Vacuo until they eventually reached some sort of tavern on the other side of the road. After a few moments of silence, Brandon walked towards the front doors and pushed them open, a roar of voices meeting him once he entered.

As soon as he walked in, he had to duck under a glass that was being thrown in his direction. Once he looked up to see who had thrown the bottle across the tavern, he could see various people in the bar.

A few of them were playing some sort of betting game with a recording of the Vytal tournament on the table, while some of the others were watching a group of people fight in the center of the bar.

On the side of the tavern was some sort of band playing jazz music to the tune of the fight that was going on. It was a rather upbeat tune with the lead singer singing some sort of song to go along with the melody.

At the very end of the tavern was the bar where the bartender was serving alcohol to the various people that had stopped by for a drink. If there was anywhere Brandon could get some information on this guy, then this was the place to do it.

Brandon started to make his way through the crowd, eventually reaching the bar at the back of the tavern. After a few moments of silence, the bartender eventually walked over to greet the swordsman.

"What can I do for ya, kid?" The man asked.

"So, what's a guy gotta do to get some information around here?" Brandon asked.

"Depends on what you want to know." The bartender said.

"I'm looking for a guy. Heard he was pretty well known around here." He said.

"Hmm...twenty lien." He said, causing the swordsman to nod and pull out twenty lien from his pocket.

"I'll keep this quick. I've got places to be." Brandon said. "So, what do you know about the only guy in the history of Vacuo to have ever been put behind bars?" The swordsman asked, causing the bartender to drop the glass he was filling.

"Uh..." Brandon said as he sat on the seat in front of the bar as the bartender started to clean up the mess he had made. Once he had cleaned up the mess on the floor, he started to look around the bar in attempts to see if anyone was attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I'm not sure who told you about that man, but let me tell you something kid. It's probably best if you don't go after him." The man said.

"So you do know him." He said.

"That I do kid." He said to the swordsman. Though before Brandon could continue to question the bartender, he was quickly cut off by his sudden voice. "Though before I tell you whatever I can about him, why don't you tell me what business you have with the most dangerous man in Vacuo." He said.

"Let's just say I have some unfinished business with him." Brandon said to the bartender with a serious expression on his face. After a few moments of silence, the man nodded his head to the boy that sat in front of him.

"So, what do you want to know?" The man asked as he leaned in closer to the swordsman.

"Where exactly can I find this guy?" Brandon asked the bartender.

"Hmm, wish I could help you there, kid. There aren't a whole lot of people in Vacuo that know of the man's existence to begin with, so I doubt there will be people who will know where he's being held." The man said.

 _'I guess that would have been too easy.'_ Brandon grumbled to himself.

"So what exactly did this guy do to get himself thrown behind bars in the first place?" He asked.

"Not entirely sure myself. Like I said, there are very few people out in these parts that even know he exists, so I'm not really sure why they put him in prison to begin with." The man said.

"I thought you said you knew this guy." He said.

"I did. Never said I knew a whole lot about him." The bartender said.

"Great." Brandon groaned as he slammed his head down on the counter.

However, after a few moments of silence had passed, something had clicked within the mind of the swordsman.

"Wait, you said that not a whole lot of people know about this guy to begin with, right?" Brandon asked, causing the bartender to nod his head. "Though that means that there are at least some people here who know about him, right?" He asked, causing the man to nod his head once again.

"Do these people live in the kingdom?" Brandon asked the man. Once again, the man nodded his head to answer the swordsman's question.

"So could you point me in there direction?" He asked the bartender. The only response the man gave him was to walk over to a small notepad on the back of the counter and picked it up in his hand.

He pulled out a pen from one of his pockets and started to write down some sort of list on the piece of paper. Once he had written the last set of names and numbers, he tore out the slip of paper and placed in front of the counter.

Brandon picked up the slip of paper and started to read the names that were written on the list. After a few moments of silence, the swordsman nodded and placed the slip of paper into his pocket.

"So how exactly do I convince these people to tell a complete stranger about information that they want to keep under wraps?" Brandon asked.

"Just tell them that you want to know more about Klaus Von Reinhardt." The man said with a chuckle in his voice.

"Hmm, well alright then." The swordsman said as he jumped off of the chair.

"Good luck out there kid." The bartender said as the swordsman walked out of the bar and into the kingdom of Vacuo.

 _'Well, I guess that went well. We've got the name of the house of the spirit of Mjolnir, Klaus Von Reinhardt.'_ Brandon said to the spirit as he pulled out the slip of paper that was in his pocket.

 ** _"Indeed. We have also acquired the means to locate the man."_** Caliber said.

 _'Yeah, let's hope that these guys can be of some help to us.'_ He said as he placed the slip of paper into one of his coat pockets. Though before he could continue his search for Shade Academy, he could hear the sound of a car horn coming from behind him.

Once he had turned to face the source of the noise, he could see a black car driving up to the side of the road where he was standing. He looked around to see if there was anyone who was walking towards the car, though after a few moments of silence he had deduced that the driver was attempting to grab his attention.

 _ **"Someone you know?"**_ The spirt asked.

"I guess." Brandon said as he walked over to the window of the car.

Though once he walked up to the front window of the car, the glass started to roll down from the door of the car.

"Well now, never thought I'd ever see you again." A familiar voice said, causing Brandon to blink a couple of times. Once he looked into the car, he could see that his old boss, Tukson, was sitting in the driver seat with a pair of sunglasses on his face.

"Nice to see that you're still kicking, kid." The man said.

After a brief exchange between the two, the former White Fang member had offered to give the swordsman a lift to Shade Academy.

"I heard what happened in Vale. I knew there was something going on in the city but damn, didn't really expect that." Tukson said.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone did." Brandon said.

"So, what brings you to Vacuo of all places?" The Faunus asked.

"Well, it was the closest kingdom to Vale, and I couldn't exactly afford a boat to head to Mistral or Atlas." He said.

"Fair point. Vacuo may not be the primmest or the most proper of all places, though it's still standing." Tukson said to the swordsman.

"So how have you been? It's been awhile since we last talked." Brandon said.

"From my knowledge, it's been about a year since I left for Vacuo." The Faunus said. "I was able to open up another bookstore here in Vacuo, Tuksons Bookstore is officially back in business." The man said.

"Hmm, guess things worked out well for you." Brandon said.

"You know, it's been strange not having you around for the night shifts. There's always a spot open if you're interested." Tukson said.

"I think I'll pass." He said.

"Well, worth a try." He said before his expression turned into a more serious one. "So, what happened back in Vale if you don't mind me asking?" Tukson asked the swordsman.

"No one's really a hundred percent sure when it comes to the details regarding the people behind the Fall of Vale. The only thing people saw through the broadcasts were Grimm swarming the city and the White Fang attacking the Atlas Military, as well as the students at Beacon." Brandon said.

"Damn." Tukson said as he gripped the steering wheel to his car.

"You okay?" He asked his former boss. After a few moments of silence, Tukson let out a sigh before turning to face the road once again.

"I'm fine." The man said.

"..." The swordsman merely remained silent as he sat in the car of the man until he eventually broke the silence. "I'm looking for someone." Brandon said, causing the Faunus to turn his attention over to Brandon.

"Hmm?"

"I don't really know a whole lot about him. All I know is his name." He said.

"Who is he?" Tukson asked.

"Klaus Von Reinhardt." Brandon said to the man.

After a few moments of deep thought from the Faunus, he shook his head and turned to the swordsman.

"Doesn't sound familiar to me. Sorry kid." Tukson said.

"Not a whole lot of people know about him to begin with, so it's not surprising." Brandon said.

Eventually, the duo reached the Huntsmen Academy in Vacuo, Shade. Rather than various other structures like the other three Academies, the Academy of Shade was one giant structure that towered above the kingdom.

It was similar to the Academy of Beacon when it came to size, only that it was completely covered by the massive pyrimid that was in the center of the city.

It looked like some sort of pyramid in a way, though it did have some noticeable differences. The Academy was divided into four separate level, each level pertaining to each year in Shade.

Though the very top level was the headmaster's office, the place Brandon was heading to.

"So, this is Shade Academy, huh?" Brandon asked Tukson.

"Yep. This is the one thing keeping Vacuo in check." The Faunus said the swordsman opened the car door.

"Stay safe out there, kid." Tukson said as he drove away from the swordsman.

"Alright then, let's go and meet this headmaster." Brandon said as he started to walk towards the doors that led to the inside of the Academy. However, once he actually entered the Academy, he could see that it was unusually quiet for one of the huntsmen schools.

"Hello." He called out, his voice echoing throughout the halls.

Though despite his voice echoing throughout the halls of the massive building, the only thing he was met with was a cold silence.

"Where is everyone?" Brandon asked as he walked down the halls of the school. After a few moments of walking later, he eventually arrived at some sort of elevator that was in the center of the large room that was in the center of the pyramid.

"Hmm, I guess that leads to the headmaster's office." Brandon said as he walked over to the elevator. As he started to walk towards the elevator in the center of the room, he had noticed that there wasn't even a single staff member to be seen.

"It's quiet." He said.

 _ **"Indeed. There isn't a soul in sight."**_ Caliber said.

The two eventually reached the elevator in the center of the room. Brandon pressed the button on the console, causing the doors to the elevator to open. Once he had walked into the elevator, he pressed the button on the very top of the console, causing the doors to the elevator to close.

Fortunately for the swordsman, the Academy of Shade wasn't nearly as big as Beacon tower when it came to height, though the wait was still rather tiresome. After a few moments of silence later, the sound of the ding quickly broke him away from his daze.

Once the doors to the elevator opened, he walked into the room that led to the headmaster's office. He looked around to see that most of the room was lit by the sunlight from the desert of Vacuo.

His eyes eventually settled on the door that was at the end of the hallway, the door that led to the headmaster's office. He shrugged and started to walk over to the door that was at the end of the room.

Once he actually opened the door, he could see yet another hallway that he had to walk through. The hallway in question had some sort of desk at the right side of the door, various books and papers were stacked up against the desk.

The other side had some sort of lodging area that was made for anyone who wanted to seek an audience with the headmaster of Shade. The swordsman started to walk over to the two doors that lead to the office of the headmaster with his hands in his pockets.

After a few moments of silence, he eventually stood in front of the doors of the headmaster's office.

"I swear to god if these just lead to another hallway." He grumbled to himself as he reached for the handles that were on the door. Though before he could even grasp the handles, the doors flung open, revealing a woman carrying two cups of coffee in her hands.

"So...are you the headmaster of Shade?" Brandon asked.

"Yes...and you are?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Brandon Kim. Ozpin may have mentioned me." He said with a prideful smirk on his face.

"Who?" The woman asked.

"...I have the vessel that holds the spirit of Caliber." Brandon said as the spirit of Caliber appeared beside him.

 _ **"Hello, Milady."**_ Caliber said.

"Oh! Now I remember Ozpin mentioning you. The names Tsing." The newly named Tsing said as she held out her hand.

"So where is everyone? I thought this place would be a bit more crowded." He said.

"All of the staff are currently away until classes resume." Tsing said as she took a sip from her mug of coffee.

"Then who's guarding the relic?" Brandon asked, causing the headmaster to spit out her coffee our of pure shock.

"H-how the hell do you know about that?!" She asked.

"Well..." He began as he started to scratch the back of his head. "It's a long story." Brandon said.

* * *

It had been a full day since the remaining members of Brandon's group had separated from the swordsman in question. While their situation was less than desirable, they really couldn't complain about how they lucked out from spending god knows how long in those ruins.

However, they did have a few questions about their current situation. However, those were questions that would have to be saved for another time. For now, they had to recover from the exhaustion they had gained from the trip across the sands of Vacuo.

On the bright side of there situation, they had managed to find one of the spirit users that Brandon was looking for, though they weren't entirely sure which one it was yet. The only thing they were able to identify was the spirit that was behind the woman that found them before they passed out.

Though what was she doing in the ruins that they occupied? So many questions with no answers to be seen.

"..." The assassin known as Mercury was laying in a bed that was in the house that the woman occupied. In the distance of his slumber, he could hear the sound of a faint male voice calling out to him.

"Hello?" The voice called out to him. However, Mercury still laid in the bed fast asleep, showing no signs of waking up soon.

 _'Who is that? Doesn't sound like anyone I know. It's not the spirit user, I know that. I remember the spirit user being female the last time we saw her.'_ Mercury thought to himself as he laid on the bed.

"Hmm." The man hummed.

 _'What the hell happened back there anyway's? We fell off the bike that Brandon was driving and got tossed into that sandstorm.'_ ThAssassinin thought to himself in is slumber.

 _'Not only that but that growling noise wasn't exactly settling noise. It didn't really sound like any Grimm I've come across. Actually, now that I think about it, it didn't really sound like a Grimm at all.'_ He thought to himself.

 _'Then there's that whole situation with Roman's little helper. I knew that girl was off when I first saw her, though I didn't expect that. What was up with that black aura we saw around her?'_ Mercury asked himself.

 _'Hmm, I can feel my strength coming back to me. I think I can open my eyes.'_ The assassin thought to himself as he attempted to wake himself from his state of slumber.

Sure enough, the assassin was able to open his eyes to the world around him. Once his visioned returned to him, he was able to see some sort of stone ceiling from above him.

"Huh?" He asked as he got up from the bed. "Where the hell am I?" The assassin asked.

"Oh, seems like you finally came around." He heard the man say, causing him to spin his head towards the man. Though right as he did, he could feel a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

"Whoa, take it easy." The man said as he placed his hand on the shoulder of the assassin.

After a few moments of silence, Mercury eventually regained his strength. Once he did, he looked up to get a better view of the man.

He was a rather tall one with dark skin, brown eyes and a muscular build. He had dark hair and wore some sort of black shirt with a pair of blue jeans, as well as a pair of brown boots.

"Why don't you relax for a second? Get your bearings." The man said to the assassin. "You know, most folks tend to avoid the harsh climates of the Wasteland here." He asked.

"Though I can tell that you're not like most folks. That right?" He asked.

"Something like that." Mercury said.

"What's your name, kid?" The man asked.

The assassin was hesitant due to the teachings of his father still lingering in his mind. Though after a few moments of silence, he eventually concluded that this man wasn't a threat to him, at least for now.

"Mercury." He said.

"I'm Dave." The newly named Dave said to the assassin.

"Where am I?" Mercury asked.

"You're back in our place. You kids were in pretty bad shape when Cleo brought you through our front doors." Dave said to the assassin.

"Cleo?" The assassin asked.

"She was the woman you saw before you blacked out. I'll try to introduce you, but she's never really been a people person." He said. "You think you can get out of bed?" Dave asked the assassin.

After a few moments of silence, the assassin seemed to be well enough to move around again.

"Yeah, I should be good, just need to take it easy for awhile." Mercury said.

"Alright then, let's get you moving then." Dave said as he got up and started to walk towards a wheelchair that was on the other side of the room.

"What's with the wheelchair?" Mercury asked.

"Right, Cleo is currently doing some modifications to your legs so that it was more suited for the heat here in Vacuo." He said as he brought the chair over.

"...Huh?!" The assassin asked as he looked under the blanket of the bed. Sure enough, his metal legs were nowhere to be seen.

"You gotta get special prosthetics out here in order to deal with the intense heat. Otherwise, the metal will just burn your skin." Dave said.

"Jeez. No wonder my legs felt so hot." The assassin said.

"Here, let me help you up." He said as he held his hand out to Mercury. The assassin grasped the man's hand and sat down in the wheelchair that was prepared for him.

"Good. Why don't I show you around the house." The man offered.

"Sure. It's not like I'm going anywhere." Mercury said as he got situated in the chair he was in. It had been quite some time since the assassin had to use a wheelchair to maneuver around the area.

Not since his time with Cinder that is. He wasn't exactly a huge fan of using a wheelchair to move around the area, though right now he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter.

If it meant he got new, better legs then he would suck it up for now.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the group eventually made it to the living room of the house. It was a rather small room due to the kitchen and living room being connected to one another.

Though it did look rather comfortable. There was some sort of television in the front of a coach that was on the right side of the room. On the coach were two girls, one had black short hair, while the other one had short brown hair.

However, there was one that the assassin did recognize. It was his partner in crime, Emerald Sustrai.

"Hey! He's up and about! Why don't you two go and introduce yourselves?" Dave said, causing the two girls to turn there heads towards the assassin.

"Hey." One of them said with a weak wave.

"Hiya! Nice to meet ya! I'm Carly! That's Daryl." The girl said as she pointed at the girl with black hair.

"Uh, yeah. Hey." Mercury said as he rolled up to Emerald.

"..." Emerald merely stared at the television in silence.

"Hello to you to." He said.

"..." The thief turned her eyes over to the direction of Mercury and stared down at the area where his legs should have been.

"Yeah, I know. The great Mercury doesn't even have a set of legs anymore. Go ahead and laugh it up." Mercury said.

"...Eh." Emerald said as she turned back over to the T.V.

"Huh?" The assassin asked.

"I already laughed at the scene when it first happened a few years back. It's not really as funny now." She said.

"...Oh." Mercury said.

"Yeah." Emerald said as she started to flip through the channels.

"So how long was I out?" He asked.

"About half of a day. Not really a whole lot we can do until your legs are ready to go." She said.

"So where are we anyways?" Mercury asked the thief.

"I'm not entirely sure." Emerald said to the assassin. After a few moments of silence, Dave eventually came back with some sort of notepad in his hands.

"So, now that you two are up and about, how about you tell me your story." The man said.

"Not like we have anything else better to do." Mercury said.

"Fair enough. So what were you kids doing out in the desert to begin with?" Dave asked.

"We were making our way to Vacuo, though that stupid sandstorm really hit us hard." The assassin said.

"Hmm, so why are you going to Vacuo in the first place?" He asked.

The two looked at one another for a few moments before turning there heads towards the man.

"We were traveling with a friend to help him out with a few problems of his." Emerald said.

"How come? They aren't your problems. Why get involved?" Daryl asked the duo.

"Well, it's not like we have anywhere else left to go. Besides, we're already way too deep into this ditch, so we might as well see where the rabbit hole goes." Mercury said to the girl.

"If you say so." She said.

"Besides, we owe him for helping us out with our own problems." Emerald said.

"So where is this friend of yours anyways?" Dave asked.

"If we know him, he's probably in the kingdom of Vacuo right now." Mercury said to the man.

"Hmm, I see." He said to himself.

"So where do you guys come from?" Carly asked.

"We come from Vale." Mercury said, causing the trio to turn there heads towards the duo with expressions of surprise on there faces.

"Really?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, it was one hell of a walk." Mercury said.

Though as Emerald and Dave went back and forth, something from the back of the mind of the assassin started to surface. Now that Emerald had explained their situation to the man, Mercury decided to do a little questioning of his own.

"Hey." Mercury called out, causing Dave to turn his head towards the assassin.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Mind if I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure thing. I suppose I owe you two an explanation since Cleo isn't coming out of her workshop anytime soon." Dave said.

"Workshop?" The two asked.

The trio merely pointed at the door on the other side of the room. On the door was a sign that had the words "Keep out" written in bold letters.

"So what do you want to know?" Dave asked.

"Well, where the hell are we anyways?" Mercury asked.

"Ah, that's an easy one. Right now you're in an underground city that was made by a few wanderers a couple decades back." He said.

"...Wait, what?" The two asked as Emerald got up and started to walk over to the nearest window she could find. Once she pushed the blinds aside, she looked up to see if what the man said was true.

Sure enough, the thief saw the stone ground of Vacuo above her, as well as various other buildings that were built along the sides of the underground cavern.

"Whoa." Emerald said.

"Yeah, not a whole lot of people know about this place to begin with." Dave said. "Anything else you want to know?" He asked the duo.

"Who exactly is this Cleo person?" Mercury asked, causing the trio to get a set of serious expressions on there faces. From the looks of it, they were trying to keep Cleo's secret hidden from the outside world.

This only confirmed that what they saw was indeed one of the twelve spirits of Remnant.

"Why do you ask?" He asked.

"..." Emerald and Mercury looked at one another for a few moments before nodding to one another.

"It's just that we saw something strange before we passed out." Emerald said. However, Mercury said something different entirely. It was this single statement that caused the girls on the coach to fall to the floor out of pure shock.

"Because we were traveling with one of the spirit users." He said.

"...Mercury!" The thief yelled.

"What, was that not what we were agreeing on?" Mercury asked.

"No! Ugh!" Emerald yelled as she pinched her temples.

Though before Mercury could defend himself, Dave quickly scooted his chair up to the where the duo was sitting.

"Wait, hold on. Did I hear you correctly?" He asked. "Did you say you were traveling with one of the twelve spirit users?" Dave asked.

"...Yeah, that's right." Mercury said as he stared at Emerald with a look of pride on his face. Emerald dug her hands into her face, baffled that the lack of communication between the two was what actually got the trio to talk.

Dave got up and stared out of the window that was in front of there house. After a few seconds of silence, he quickly pulled the blinds shut, locked the front door and started to walk over towards the duo.

"So how exactly did this friend of yours get his hands on one of the twelve spirits of Remnant?" He asked.

"That we're not entirely sure about. He had the vessel when we first met him." Emerald said.

"Hmm, is that so?" Dave asked.

"So, is your friend in there one of them?" Mercury asked as he pointed at the door that led to the workshop of Cleo.

"Yeah, Cleo is one of the twelve spirit users." He said.

"One down, ten more to go." Mercury said as he threw his hands behind his head.

"You guys are looking for the spirit users?" Dave asked.

"That's right." Emerald said to the man.

"If you don't mind me asking, why exactly do you want to find all twelve of them?" He asked.

"Well, that's a bit complicated. Our friend has a better grasp on the situation. It would be better if we had him explain it to you all personally." She said.

"Hmm, fair enough." Dave said. "So do you two have any other questions?" Dave asked.

"Well, we do have one." Emerald said as she started to stare around the room.

"I can't believe I'm actually asking this, but where's the short one?" She asked the trio. The group looked at one another for a few moments before getting up from there seats.

"Follow us." Daryl said as she started to walk towards the hallway.

The duo looked at one another for a few moments before shrugging and following the group into the hallway. They eventually reached the door at the very end of the hallway.

As Dave entered the room, the duo followed close behind the man with curious looks on there faces. Though once they entered the room, they could see that Neo was laying on the bed in the back of the room.

"So she's sleeping?" Mercury asked.

"Not exactly." Carly said as she walked over to the girl that was laying on the bed in the center of the room.

Once they had reached the side of the bed, Carly reached down and grabbed one of Neo's eyelids. Once she pulled it open, the duo could see that both of Neo's eyes were glowing with a white aura.

"What up with her?" Mercury asked.

"We're not sure. All we know is that she's not waking up anytime soon." Daryl said.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Carly asked.

"Eh...not exactly." The two said, causing the trio to look at the two with looks of confusion on there faces. Though they eventually shrugged it off as they had more important matters to deal with.

"Coem with me." Dave said as he walked out of the room.

The duo's confusion grew even further, though they eventually followed the man back into the living room. Once they had, Dave could be seen standing in front of the door to Cleo's workshop.

"Cleo!" He called out as he knocked on the door.

"What?!" She asked.

"You may want to come out here." Dave said before turning towards the duo. "There's something you might want to hear." He said.

* * *

"And that's basically everything that happened." Brandon said as he finished telling his tale to the headmaster of Shade Academy.

"Hmm, seems like the situation is only getting worse as time goes by." Tsing said.

"Yeah, no kidding." The swordsman said.

"What about the Relic of Choice? Is it safe?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. I passed out after my fight with Cinder, the current Fall Maiden." Brandon said.

"Damn." Tsing said as she slammed her fist on her desk.

"How exactly do people even gain access to these relics? Is there like a key or something?" He asked.

"I thought you knew this sort of stuff." She said.

"I only know bits and pieces. I don't really know the whole story." Brandon said.

"I guess that makes sense, and to answer your question, sort of. The Maidens are the only ones who can access the relics of there respective kingdoms, and each one is locked in a chamber that can only be accessed through magic." She explained.

"Winter for the gift of Creation, Fall for the gift of Choice but we all know how that turned out, Spring for the gift of Knowledge, and Summer for the gift of Destruction." Tsing explained.

"Oh, then I think the Relic is safe, at least for now." Brandon said.

"What makes you say that? You weren't so sure of yourself just a minute ago." She said.

"Well, I didn't know how the Relics really operated a minute ago." He said to the headmaster of Shade.

"Hmm, well I guess that's good." Tsing said as she took a sip from her mug of coffee.

"So, what about the Summer Maiden?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, that's currently on my list of problems right now." She said. "We've still yet to find the Summer Maiden ever since her last bearer bit the dust a decade ago." Tsing said to the swordsman.

"Great. Was hoping that you at least had an idea of where she could have been." He said.

"Heh, sorry to burst your bubble kid." The headmaster said with a chuckle as she took a sip from her mug of coffee. "So, you want to gather the twelve spirit users in hopes that we can combat Salem, right?" She asked.

"That's the gist of it, yeah." Brandon said.

"I guess that might be our best chance if this whole situation with the Maiden's goes south. There four Maiden's, but there are twelve spirit users in Remnant." Tsing said. "Only problem? The spirit users are even harder to find that the Maidens. It'll be damn near impossible to locate eleven people in the world of Remnant."

"..." Brandon stood there in silence before he pulled out a slip of paper that the bartender gave him.

Sure enough, Tsing's name was written on the very top of the list of people who knew about Klaus's existence. The swordsman took a deep breath before placing the piece of paper back into his pocket.

"Tell me what you know about Klaus Von Reinhardt." Brandon said, causing Tsing to dawn a serious expression on her face.

"...Where did you hear about him?" She asked.

"So you do know." He said, causing the headmaster of Shade to sigh.

"Yeah, I know all about the man who held the house of Mjolnir." Tsing said to the swordsman.

"Then tell me about him. Who is he?" Brandon asked the headmaster.

"Look, there's a reason why very few people know about Klaus to begin with." She said. "There's a reason why the council of Vacuo made a prison for the sole purpose of holding him." Tsing said.

"What are you talking about?! Klaus is one of the twelve spirit users. You said it yourself, these guys may be our best shot if the situation with the Maidens goes south." He said.

"Look, kid. I understand why you want to get Klaus on your side, I do. Though the Council isn't exactly going to just let the most dangerous man in Vacuo free at the drop of a hat!" She said.

"This isn't the kind of thing that the Council will just sweep under the rug like it never happened to begin with. You could be court marshaled for this. I could be court marshaled for this! I need to stay here to guard the Relic of Destruction from the eyes of the entire world. I can't exactly do that if I'm not there!"

"To hell with the council, let's just get him ourselves! You're a trained huntsman, I'm a spirit user, and I have a list of the people who know about Klaus. " Brandon said. "You are on the top of the list that the old man gave me. You are my best chance at getting that guy out of prison." He said.

"Kid, it is one of the most heavily guarded prisons in the world. It's not exactly a place you can just sneak into and sneak out of without being noticed." Tsing said to the swordsman.

"All you would get was one shot. That's it." She said. "Look, I understand why you want to do this, but there's just too much at risk here to be putting everything on one jailbreak." Tsing said to the swordsman.

"..."

"We'll figure something out kid." Tsing said to the spirit user.

"Right. I'll stay in the city for now. Local coms should still be up. Keep in touch." Brandon said as he started to walk out of the office.

"Sure thing." She said.

Though as the swordsman gripped the doorknob of the office doors, he stood there in silence.

"You're right about one thing." He said to the professor. "I will figure something out." Brandon said as he walked out of the office.

Once he closed the door to the headmaster's office, he let out a sigh before leaning up against the wall. Once he did, he started to slowly slide down the stone wall before he eventually reached the floor.

"Well, that could have gone better." He said.

 _ **"It appears that the situation regarding my brother's escape has gotten a tad more complicated."**_ Caliber said.

"No kidding." Brandon said.

 _ **"Though the flame inside your heart has yet to extinguish."**_ The spirit said.

"Well, our job hasn't gotten any easier. Though this isn't over, not by a long shot." He said as he started to walk towards the elevator in the center of the room. "You know what they say, if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself." Brandon said.

 _ **"The Council will not be pleased with your decision. Nor will the Guardian of Destruction."**_ Caliber said.

"Yeah, well what else is new?" He asked.

 _ **"Hmm, I suppose you have a point there."**_ He said.

As the swordsman continued to walk down the hallway, he pulled out the piece of paper that was in his pocket that had the list of names of the people who knew about Klaus.

"Maybe we'll have some luck with the next guy." Brandon said he crossed out Tsing's name with a pen he took from her office. The next one was a man known as Chase. The man he had met before had written the address of the man on the paper.

"Chase, huh? Wonder what he has to do with Klaus." The swordsman said.

 _ **"I suppose there is only one way to truly get the answers we seek."**_ Caliber said.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something, Caliber?" Brandon asked the spirit.

 _ **"What troubles your mind, my boy?"**_ He asked.

"You always told me the story of the heroes of the past of Remnant. I'm kinda curious about the spirit of the twelve spirits." He said as he entered the elevator that lead to the bottom of the Academy.

 _ **"I believe that there are various books that tell the tale of my brothers and sisters."**_ Caliber said. _**"The Four Lords tells the tales of the exploits and secrets of yours truly."**_ He said.

"Yeah, the books were how I found out about the spirits in the first place. I want to know what happened before you guys came to Remnant." Brandon said.

 ** _"You speak of the time before dear Olaf made the contract with the realm of the spirits?"_** Caliber asked.

"Yeah, I mean I seriously doubt you all just sat in the spirit realm doing nothing for ten thousand years." The swordsman said.

 _ **"Hmm, I suppose I can indulge you in the tale of the spirits."**_ He said. _**"As you already know, the spirits reside from within a realm that exists between mind and reality. Though, the plain we resided in could be seen as the kingdom of the spirits."**_ Caliber said.

"So you had a kingdom of your own?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"Indeed we did. It was known as the Nest of The Spirits."**_ He said.

"So were you the king or something?" The swordsman asked the spirit.

 _ **"Heavens no. I was merely one of the knights that served the ruler of our kingdom, The White Queen."**_ Caliber said.

"You guys have a queen?" Brandon asked.

 ** _"Indeed we do. Alongside my brothers and sisters, we served under the Queen as her trusted knights."_** The spirit said to his holder.

"Okay, can I ask you a quick question before you move on with your story?" He asked.

 _ **"Quite the curious fellow you are."**_ Caliber said.

"Are you all actually related?" Brandon asked, causing the spirit to chuckle.

 _ **"Not exactly. It is more brothers and sisters in arms."**_ He said.

"Oh." He said.

 _ **"It was the White Queen who brought the twelve of us together as one. We were but mere ghosts once, though now we are known as the Great Knights of the kingdoms."**_ Caliber said.

 _ **"We were each granted a title to commemorate our service to the kingdom. We would go by these titles in hopes to spark hope into the hearts of the weary, only disclosing our true names amongst our fellow comrades."**_ He said.

"You mean Caliber isn't your actual name?" Brandon asked.

 ** _"It was the name that the legends of Remnant had bestowed upon me. It was not the name that the queen gave us."_** Caliber said.

"Hmm, so what exactly are these titles the kingdom gave to you?" He asked.

 _ **"For his many battles and triumphs, my brother that resides within his trusty hammer was given the title of, The Mighty."**_

 _ **"Due to her sheer grace and ferocity in combat, my sister that resides within her beautiful rapier was given the title of, The Fierce."**_

 _ **"The mysterious nature and the vast knowledge that my brother that resides within his dagger gave him the title of, The Mysterious."**_

 _ **"With treasures from all over the land, my brother that resides within the mighty blade that was bestowed upon him by the people of this word was given the title of, The Keeper."**_

 _ **"Once he was tamed by the White Queen and given individuality, my brother that resides within the mace that was bestowed up him by the people was given the title of, The Tame."**_

 _ **"Due to his destructive nature, my brother that resided within the spear given to him by the mortals of this world was given the title of, The Beast."**_

 _ **"The undying loyalty that my brother gave to the White Queen earned him the title of, The Loyal."**_

 ** _"Having toppled various other rulers and empires in there past exploits and travels, my brother and sister that reside within the scythe were given the title of, The Kingslayer."_**

 ** _"After centuries of walking the earth, the White Queen gave my brother the opportunity to reclaim his honor. Pledging his sword to serving her side, my brother that resides within his cold blade was given the title of, The Wanderer."_**

 ** _"Guarding the kingdom with her watchful eyes, my sister that resided within the bow that was given by the people of this world was given the title of, The Watcher."_**

 ** _"With her cold yet warm demeanor, my sister was tasked with guarding those who have strayed to the path of the wicked. Once she was recruited into the knights, she was given the title of, The Warden."_**

"Hmm." Brandon hummed.

 ** _"So, that is what we spirits were known as back in the Nest."_** Caliber said.

"What about you? You mentioned every knight except for you." He said.

 ** _"..."_**

"Caliber?" Brandon called out.

 _ **"It is not a tale that should concern you, my boy."**_ He said.

"...Alright, if you say so." He said.

 _ **"Once the Great Knights were formed, the White Queen had made the contract with the Mortal Realm. The Queen entrusted the Knights with the task of serving the Mortals however they see fit."**_

"Hmm." Brandon hummed to the spirit. Though as Caliber finished telling his tale, the two had finally reached the bottom of the Academy. Brandon stretched his arms out and started to walk towards the exit and into the hot sun.

He looked up to see that the giant star in the sky was starting to descend, making way for the night.

"Alright, let's see if we can't find this Chase guy." Brandon said as he walked over to the side of the street. After a few moments of waiting later, a taxi cab eventually stopped at the side of the road where the swordsman was waiting.

"Where to?" The Taxi driver asked.

"Yeah, can you take me to this address?" He asked as he handed the slip of paper to the man, pointing to the address that was on the bottom of Chase's name. Once the man read the address the swordsman was pointing at, he looked at the boy with a look of confusion on his face.

"Uh, you sure you want to go there of all places kid?" The man asked.

The only response the swordsman gave the man was to pull out a handful of Lien from his pockets.

"Hop in." He said as he opened the taxi cab door. The swordsman smirked to himself as he climbed into the back of the car that the man was driving. Once he had actually closed the door behind him, the man started to drive towards the city of Vacuo.

As the cab drove down the roads of the kingdom of the sands, the swordsman took the opportunity to read off all of the names that the old man had given him back in the bar.

The first one that he was going to go meet was a man that went by the name of Chase. He didn't really know a whole lot about the man, the only thing the old man had given him at the bar was the names of the people and there addresses.

However, he was able to deduce that this man was some sort of fighter at least. The man driving the cab was rather hesitant when it came to driving all the way to the address that he was given.

It must have been in one of the more tougher parts in Vacuo. At least, that's what Brandon was hoping for. If this Chase was really the fighter he believed him to be, then he needed to convince him to be on board with the jailbreak.

He wasn't really sure if the other people on the list were fighters, though if they all had some form of a connection with one another than maybe convincing them to aid him in this operation would be less difficult than he believed it would be.

Sure not having the headmaster of Shade Acadamy on board was a rather unfortunate development, though it was nothing that the swordsman couldn't work with. If he could get the rest of these people on board then one person wouldn't really make that much of a difference.

There were a total of six people he needed to find if he included this Chase person. Michelle, Marcus, Ian, Saxon, and Ran. Those were the remaining five people that he needed to visit once his business with Chase was done.

However, as he continued to read off the names of people that the old man had given him, the inside of the cab suddenly got darker. When Brandon looked up to see what was going on, he could see that they were driving through some sort of tunnel.

"Uh, where are we going?" Brandon asked the driver.

"You said to take you to the address, so that's what I'm doing." The driver said as they reached the light from the end of the tunnel. Once the swordsman looked out of the window, he could see some sort of underground city that was below Vacuo.

"What is this place?" He asked.

"It's the underground area of the city. This is where the people who want to lay low for a little while go to." The man said. However, once they reached some sort of park way on the side of the road, the man pulled over.

"This is as far as I'm taking you. Now pay up." The man said as he held out his hand.

Once the swordsman had given the driver his pay, he was quickly kicked out of the cab that the driver owned. After he had closed the door, he drove back into the tunnel, leaving the swordsman to stand there in silence.

"So, this is where I'll find this Chase guy." Brandon said to himself as he stared off into the city.

"Well, time to get to work." He said as he started to make his way towards the city below the kingdom of Vacuo.

* * *

 _Neo wasn't quite sure how long she had been asleep for. All she really remembered was sitting in the cave with the assassin and the thief, waiting for the sandstorm to calm down._

 _She didn't remember any of the events that had transpired after they had entered the cave. Right now she was just floating through some sort of town that she had seen for quite some time now._

 _The town itself was fairly advanced compared to the other towns they had visited over there journey. If anything it could be considered its own kingdom with how advanced it was._

 _However, there was one thing that was holding it back from becoming its own kingdom. It was the fact that most of it_ was _completely destroyed. The buildings were crumbling to the ground as fire surrounded the area._

 _It was a dream that had plagued her mind for quite some time now. She always saw the same thing in this dream. The town was burning to the ground in an unsettling silence, and she would wake up after a few moments of silence._

 _Though this dream was different. Instead of the usual silence that had plagued her dreams, the sounds of the fire crackling could be heard from the cars that were on the road she was standing on._

 _She could feel the wind blowing through her hair, which was strange to her considering this was a dream. The road was completely destroyed, as well as any of the cars that were in the surrounding area._

 _Though the most noticeable part of the dream was the piece of untouched grass that was in the distance of the road. It was as if that single area was completely immune to all forms of damage._

 _'What's going on? This isn't like the other times I had this dream.' Neo thought to herself._

 _However, before she could further continue to investigate the dream, the sudden gust of wind quickly cut her off. Instinctively, she reached for her weapon, though quickly stopped herself once she realized that her weapon wasn't there._

 _She turned to face the source of the sudden gust of wind. Though once she did, she could see some two people standing in front of a strange head made out of flames. The head itself was like a skeleton of a human, it's hallowed eyes staring deep into the eyes of the two people that stood in front of it._

 _The first one was a boy with black hair and pale skin. He dawned a black turtleneck as well as a pair of glasses. The second one looked fairly similar to the boy when it came to skin color, though she had blonde hair instead of black hair._

 _The girl had some sort of pistol in her hands, pointing the barrel of the gun at the flaming skull that stood above the two._

 _However, before Neo could take action, the voice of the boy quickly cut her off._

 _"Take me!" He yelled, causing the skull to turn towards the boy and for the girl to stare at the boy in shock._

 _"What?!" She yelled._

 _"Just take me! But you have to leave her alone!" The boy yelled._

 _"Black, no!" The girl yelled._

 _"White! You of all people know that we can't let this thing lose into the world!" Black yelled to the newly named White._

 _"Let me take it then!" White yelled._

 _"I can't! I promised mother I'd protect you!" He yelled._

 _The skull merely stared at the boy for a few moments before opening its massive jaw._

 _"White! Run!" Black yelled._

 _"Black!"_ She yelled as the skull clamped down onto the boy, causing a bright light to blind Neo's vision. Once she had recovered from the sudden burst of light, she could see that she was laying in some sort of bed above a stone ceiling.

The ice cream themed girl blinked a few times before standing up from where she was laying. It was a fairly large room with a night table on the right side of the bed, as well as two doors in front of the bed.

One led to the hallway of the household she was staying in, while the other one led to the closet of the room.

 _'What was that?'_ Neo asked herself.

Though before she could continue to question the details of her dream, she could hear the sound of the doorknob to the door leading to the hallway opening. Instinctively, she quickly got up from her bed and got into her combat position.

Once the door actually opened, the man knowns as Dave could be seen walking into the room.

"Oh! You're awake. How about that." He said.

Neo merely stood her ground as she glared at the man.

"Whoa, easy there. No one's gonna hurt ya. My friend was actually the one who picked you up from the ruins after you all passed out." Dave said, causing Neo to raise one of her eyebrows.

"Silent type, huh? That's okay. I'm Dave, nice to meet you." He said. "So, I know that you just got out of bed and you're probably really confused, but my friend would like to know more your friend with the spirit." Dave said, causing Neo to tense up.

"Now you're probably wondering why my friend wants to know about the spirit user to begin with, that right?" He asked, causing Neo to nod her head. "Well, as fate would have it, my friend is actually one of the twelve spirit users herself." Dave said, causing Neo's eyes to widen.

"Looks like that got your attention." He said. "Now, normally I'd just let you rest up, take in the whole situation. Though my friend's never been a very patient one, so it would be best for everyone if we started this talk as soon as possible." Dave said.

After a few brief moments of hesitation from the girl, she eventually lowered her guard and shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Great. Follow me, your friends are waiting just outside." He said as he started to walk out of the door. Neo jumped from the bed she was standing on and started to follow the man.

Once they reached the living room where everyone was gathered, Neo could see both Mercury and Emerald sitting on the couch that was in the living room.

"Well look who finally decided to come around." Emerald said as she glared at the girl.

Neo merely rolled her eyes as she walked over to the chair that was right next to the couch.

Tension filled the room as the group started to glare at one another. Now that the one thing keeping them in check was gone, there was nothing to stop them from killing one another.

"Jeez, I know they said things were complicated but I didn't think it was this bad." Carley whispered to Daryl.

"No kidding." She said.

"Well, looks like everyone is here." Dave said as he walked over to the door to Cleo's workshop.

"Cleo! Everyone's here." He said as he knocked on the door.

After a few moments of silence, the door eventually opened and a woman walked out from the other room. She had medium brown hair with blue eyes and slightly tanned skin.

She wore a black shirt with some a pair of worn out brown jeans with a belt wrapped around the waist of the pants. There were visible dirt marks on her arms and face as a result of all of the work she had been doing on Mercury's legs.

She also wore a pair of brown boots on her feet that reached above her ankle, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves on her hands.

Though the most noticeable part of the woman was the axe she was carrying. Upon further inspection, it was a one-handed throwing axe with various markings and scriptures on them.

Once the woman known as Cleo sat down on the chair, she stared the two in the eye with a serious expression on her face.

"So, let's talk." She said.

* * *

It had been a fairly long road for the duo, though Hazel and Iris had finally managed to make their way to the city of Vacuo. They had decided that for now, they would make their base of operation from within the underground city.

While Hazel didn't exactly think that this place was exactly fit for a child such as Iris, he did understand that this would be the safest place for them to carry out their plans for the kingdoms of the world.

Though despite all of that, Hazel was still against the plan that Salem had mapped out for the duo. Now that he was in Vacuo, Lilith would finally be able to pinpoint an exact location for the two. This way she could use her abilities to send Hazel over to the continent of Anima so that he could meet with the leader of the White Fang.

Sienna Khan.

However, with these circumstances, the giant of a man wouldn't be able to look after the young girl while he was making his way to meet with the high leader. This meant that she would be completely alone in the city of Vacuo.

The thought of a young child like her roaming one the most dangerous kingdoms in all of Remnant on her own was not a settling thought in the mind of Hazel. However, after he weighed out the positives and the negatives of the plan, he eventually decided that he would carry out his mission and go to meet with the high leader.

While he was concerned that Iris's mischievous nature and tendencies would get her into more trouble than she can manage, he was confident that the girl would be able to hold her own.

However, this still didn't put the man at ease. They lived in an unpredictable world, and there was no telling what kind of trouble Iris could get into. She was just a small girl, up against a huge world.

Though for the sake of there goal, for the sake of the new world, Hazel would put those worries aside.

"Wow! I've never seen so many buildings in the same area!" Iris said as she darted around the city with stars in her eyes. This was the very first time that Iris had seen one of the great kingdoms of Remnant.

She had never seen so many people in a single place, so many things being sold at once. There was so much to do within the kingdoms that occupied the world of Remnant.

"Hmm, yes the great kingdoms are a sight to behold indeed." Hazel said to the young girl.

"Yeah, though does it have to be so loud?" Iris asked the man.

"Well, I suppose that is one of the many negatives of having a large kingdom." The man said to the girl.

"So, what's the plan anyway's, Haze?" Iris asked as she climbed up the giant of a man.

"Well, I will be taking a little trip to the continent of Anima to meet a few people there." The man said as he held the girl in place.

"Hmm." Iris hummed as she stared around the area, her eyes darting off and on the various people in the kingdom.

"You know what you're task is, correct?" Hazel asked the young girl.

"Yep. Find the Summer Maiden and find that person that Cinder doesn't like." Iris said.

"Good." The man said as he continued to walk down the road that led to the base of operation that was set up beforehand.

After a few moments of walking later, they eventually arrived at the inn that they would be staying in for the duration of there operation. The man walked up to the in and opened the front door before walking inside.

"Stay close." Hazel said to the young girl as he walked inside. The people that occupied the inn were paying no attention to the duo as they walked up to the front counter.

"Hmm, what can I do for you today?" The man in front of the desk asked.

"Hazel." He said to the man. Seeing what Hazel was talking about, the man quickly grabbed his clipboard and started to flip through the pages of the various people that had rooms here.

Sure enough, Hazel's was on the list.

"Ah! Here you are." The man said as he placed down his clipboard and handed the man the keys to his room.

"Thank you." Hazel said as he started to walk to the stairs that led to the upper level alongside Iris. Eventually, the two had reached the rooms that they had prepared for themselves.

Iris wasted no time to start her exploration of the room they would be staying in while Hazel took this opportunity to take out the communication ball that he had aquired from Salem.

After a few moments of silence, the image of Salem could be seen through the crystal ball.

"Ma'am." Hazel said to his boss.

 _ **"Ah, Hazel. I assume that you were successful with your journey Vacuo."**_ Salem said to the man.

"Yes, we are standing by for orders." He said.

"Hi!" Iris said as she popped over Hazel's shoulder with a smile on her face.

 _ **"Hello, Iris. I trust you are enjoying your stay in the kingdom of Vacuo?"**_ She asked.

"Yep!" She said.

 _ **"Excellent. How goes your task with locating the Summer Maiden?"**_ Salem asked the young girl.

"No dice." Iris said.

 ** _"I see, and what of the spirit user?"_** She asked.

"I think I've got a clue. Though I'm not so sure." She said.

 _ **"Excellent."**_ Salem said before she shifted her gaze over to Hazel. _**"I trust that you are prepared to meet with High Leader Khan?"**_ She asked the giant of a man.

"Yes." Hazel said with a nod.

 ** _"I see. I will inform Adam of your pending arrival."_** Salem said to the man, causing him to nod. _**"You will meet Lilith at the designated location, correct?"**_ She asked, causing the man to nod his head.

 _ **"Excellent."**_ She said as her image started to fade from the crystal ball.

Hazel took a deep breath before standing up from the coach he was sitting on.

"Come. It's time to put our plan into motion." He said as he started to walk towards the front door. Iris nodded her head and followed the man with a smile on her face.

After a few moments of walking later, the two had finally arrived at the area where they would meet Lilith. Though once they had actually arrived, they noticed that Lilith was nowhere to be seen.

"...Lilith. It's time." Hazel called out.

After a few moments of silence, Hazel could see Lilith appear from on the bench that was in front of the fountain in the center of the city.

"You sure know how to keep a woman waiting." Lilith said as she started to walk over to Hazel.

"Hello, Lilith." He said to the woman.

"Well, better late then never I suppose." She said as she snapped her fingers, causing her body the markings on her clothing to glow with a bright green aura. Though before the two could embark for Mistral, Hazel turned towards the girl and started to walk towards her.

Once he had reached her, he kneeled down so that he was able to talk. He took a deep breath before exhaling out of his mouth.

"Try to stay out of trouble. It's a dangerous world out here." He said as he placed his massive hand on the shoulder of the girl.

"Heh, don't worry about me. I'll be fine!" She said with a smile.

Hazel chuckled to himself before bringing the small child into an embrace, causing the girl to wrap her tiny arms around the man.

"Cute. Now come on, we've got places to be." Lilith said.

Hazel let go of the child and started to walk towards the masked woman. Once he had finally reached the woman, she placed her hand onto the shoulder of the man. Iris quickly waved goodbye to Hazel with a smile on her face, causing the man to wave back with a smile of his own.

Once he did, he quickly vanished from sight alongside Lilith, leaving the young girl with the task of locating the Maiden and the Spirit user. Though as she stood in the middle of the city, she started to sniff the air suddenly.

After a few moments of silence, the girl quickly made her way over to the buildings that surrounded the fountain and started to quickly make her way up to the top in attempts to get a better view of the city.

It was faint, though the girl had smelt a strange scent in the air. It was something supernatural, and Iris was going to find out just what it was. She started to jump from building to building before she eventually reached the source of the scent.

She looked down to see a boy walking down the streets of the underground city with a slip of paper in his hand. He had some sort of strange hat on his head, as well as a sword with very unfamiliar markings on them.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the girl started to giggle to herself.

* * *

 ** _So yeah, that meeting could have gone better for me. It doesn't help that I don't have the headmaster of Shade on board with my plan. Though I still have six other candidates to check out._**

 ** _Let's hope I can find out more about the story behind Klaus. This guy's one hell of a mystery that's for sure, though if his spirit was strong enough to gain the title of "The Mighty" then he's definitely someone I need on my side._**

 ** _Though I seriously doubt that breaking him out of prison is going to be as simple as I'd like it to be._**

 ** _Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out._**

 ** _Review Response_**

 _ **UndeadLord22: Glad you like it.**_

 _ **54godamora: I have a lot of them. I suppose I just want to make a good story that people will enjoy. From the looks of it, I've been doing a good job of doing so.**_

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: More fights is one of them, as well show more and tell less.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Glad to hear.**_

 _ **Fiction Fan 369: Get used to that from here on out.**_

 _ **Nakaru Uzumaki: Glad you like it.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Yeah, like I said. Might want to get used to that from here on out.**_

 _ **olTran: Glad you think so.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Indeed they do.**_

 _ **TheManCalledDonovan: Maybe so.**_

 _ **Chimera Spyke: Well, you'll just have to wait and find out.**_

 _ **LordChaos1317: Thanks.**_

 _ **LordChaos1317: Thanks.**_

 _ **Cleo**_

 ** _Race: Faunus_**

 ** _Trait: Mole_**

 ** _Weapon: One-Handed Axe_**

 ** _Gender: Female_**

 ** _Height: 5'8"_**

 ** _Weight: 154 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 28_**

 ** _Outfit: Black, Brown._**

 ** _Handedness: Ambidexterity_**

 ** _Complexion: Tanned_**

 ** _Hair Color: Brown_**

 ** _Eye color: Blue_**

 ** _Aura Color: Sand_**

 ** _Semblance: Spirit._**

 ** _Weapon Spirit: Perun_**

 ** _Appearance: Unknown_**

 ** _Destructive Power: Unknown_**

 ** _Speed: Unknown_**

 ** _Endurance: Unknown_**

 ** _Precision: Unknown_**

 ** _Potential Growth: Unknown_**

 ** _Range: Unknown_**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	75. Shrouded Forest

**Hello readers, welcome to the next install** **ation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**

 **Updates: Clem's name has been changed to Cleo.**

* * *

Speech: "Shrouded Forest"

Thought: _'Shrouded Forest'_

Flashback: _"Shrouded Forest_ _"_

The boy known as Oscar stood in front of his mirror with a serious expression on his face. This was the day that he finally embarked on his journey to Mistral in attempts to stop Salem and her followers.

However, such a task was much easier said than done. Oscar was just a simple farm boy with little to no experience with actual combat. The most he had when it came to fighting was the occasional small Grimm that would come to destroy the harvest.

While Ozpin did say that his centuries of experience would transfer over to the boy as time went on, though his physical strength would remain the same. Not only that but not even the Wizard knew when all of his experience would be passed onto Oscar.

It could be today, tomorrow, a week from now, a month, maybe even years before Oscar fully mastered Ozpin's magic. Even if it was only a fraction of what he once had all those centuries ago.

While Oscar had been slowly regaining the memories of the wizards various lives in the world of Remnant, he wasn't able to remember a single thing from the most recent life that the Wizard had lost.

Though from what Ozpin had told him, he should be able to regain those memories rather easily. Once he saw the people from his most previous life, he would be able to regain the memories related to that person rather quickly.

However, the young farm boy would need more than memories alone to combat the threat known as Salem. While Ozpin's powers had been slowly fading away as time went by, Salem has had centuries to hone her skills.

There was no telling how powerful she had become ever since she had last engaged in combat with the Wizard. This made acquiring the Relics all the more important to the safety of the World of Remnant.

Though once the farm boy had a grasp of the threat that was just on the horizon, he swallowed his fears and was ready to set out to the great kingdom of Mistral. He now stood from within his room as the morning sun shone through his window.

Due to the time that Oscar had to prepare, his aunt Marissa had taken the time to give the farmboy a proper outfit that was more suited for a huntsman. The boy dawned a more formal looking jacket than the one had had before. Though unlike the previous colors that the headmaster once dawned, Oscar had decided to take on lighter colors to suit his personality.

The jacket was a moss like green with buttons in the stomach area, as well as his shoulders. It was a short sleeved jacket that reached all the way down to his elbows before stopping.

He wore one of the black shirts that he had on his dresser to wear underneath the jacket that was made for him, as well as a pair of gloves that were more suited for combat rather than farming.

Oscar wore light green pants with a black belt wrapped around his waist, the back of the belt having some sort of pouch to hold his cane inside of. To finalize his attire, Oscar wore a pair of boots that were more suited for combat.

Though to remember his own individuality from Ozpin, Oscar had kept the pocket watch that his mother had left for him as a reminder of his own personal goal to find his mother one day.

"So, this is it, huh?" Oscar asked the Wizard as he stood in front of the mirror.

 _ **"Indeed. I know that this decision was not an easy one to make."**_ Ozpin said to the young boy.

"Well, there's no going back now. I've made up my mind." The young boy said as he reached into his pocket to pull out the pocket watch that his mother had given him.

"Besides, I've got a goal of my own, you know?" He said as he gripped the watch in his hand.

 _ **"Yes, to reunite yourself with your long lost mother."**_ He said.

"That's right." He said as he started to chuckle to himself. "It's crazy, you know? I don't even have a single clue on where she could even be." Oscar said to the Wizard.

 ** _"Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out."_** Ozpin said from within the mind of the boy.

"Yeah, I guess so." He said as he put the watch back in his pocket. The farmboy sighed as he walked over to his bed and picked up the bag he had placed on the mattress. Once it was firmly placed on his back, he started to walk towards the door that led to the outside of his room.

Though as he gripped the doorknob, he turned around to look around the room one last time. It was going to be quite some time until he was back here again. Once he had said his final goodbyes, he opened the room and started to walk down the hallway.

It was still rather early in the morning, so Oscar wasn't quite sure that his aunt was still awake. The young man started to look around his house in attempts to see if he couldn't find the whereabouts of his aunt.

 ** _"Hmm, odd."_** Ozpin said.

"Yeah, where is she?" Oscar asked as he started to walk around the room in attempts to find his aunt.

"Out here!" He heard her yell from outside of the house. The young man was rather confused for a few moments but eventually decided to go out to meet his aunt before he embarked on his long journey.

"Hey." Marissa said as Oscar walked down the steps that led to there house.

"Uh, hey." Oscar said as he started to scratch the back of his neck.

The air was filled with a silence, the only sound that could be heard was the wind blowing through the leaves.

"So, you're heading out." She said as she stood in front of Oscar.

"Yeah." Oscar said.

"Well, I won't stop you. You've already made up your mind." Marissa said as she placed her hand on Oscar's shoulder with a smile on her face. "Though someone's gotta look after the farm, so I won't be coming with you this time." She said.

"When you find your mother, tell her thanks for giving me the privilege to watch you grow into the man you've become today." Marissa said to him. Oscar took a deep breath before wiping his eyes free from the tears that were starting to well up in them.

"Yeah, sure thing." He said.

"I guess this is it. This is the last time I'm gonna see you, at least until you come back to the farm one day." She said. "Good luck out there, Oscar. Become the hero you've always wanted to be." Marissa said to her nephew.

"I will." Oscar said as he brought his aunt into an embrace.

Though as his aunt returned the favor, he could tell that she was holding onto him more tightly than usual. There was no guarantee that Oscar would be coming back to the farm, there was no guarantee that he would make it out of this alive.

For all his aunt knew, this would be the very last time that she would ever get to see Oscar's face. So she wanted to make the best of the moment while she could before he set out on his quest.

After the two embraced for a few moments, they eventually pushed off one another.

"Alright, off you go, Oscar." Marissa said as Oscar started to run down the path that led down there home. Though as the boy came to the halfway mark of the road that separated him from his home, he quickly turned around to face the farm one last time.

"I'll be back! Until then!" Oscar yelled to his aunt, causing her to wave goodbye to the boy.

Once the moment had passed, Oscar started to make his way to the train stop that was near his town, ready for whatever obstacles that he may face. The two continued to walk down the road in relative silence, though it was Ozpin who eventually broke the silence.

 _ **"I'm sorry."**_ Ozpin said to the boy as he continued to walk down the path.

"Y'know...the weirdest part is how it feels. Going out into the world of Remnant to fight this god-like being is insane. Everything you've told me, everything I've been able to remember, is like something out of a Fairy Tale." Oscar said.

"Though it doesn't feel all that weird to me anymore. Like the supernatural had become natural to me." He said as he gripped the straps on the bag he was carrying.

"It feels like I'm doing the right thing." Oscar said.

 _ **"I suppose that's good."**_ Ozpin said to the young man.

"No, it's scary." He said.

 _ **"This is only the beginning. The things you will see will be like the fears that haunt your dreams. The terrors that would keep one up at night."**_ The headmaster said to the young man.

"Yeah, I know." Oscar said to the voice inside of his head. Though before the two could continue there conversation, the sound of thunder quickly brought Oscar back to reality.

"Seriously?" The boy asked as he started to run down the path in attempts to avoid the rain that was soon to pour down on him.

Unfortunately for him, the rain had soon started to come down onto the forests of Anima, causing Oscar to place his bag up a top of his head in attempts to block the rain from pouring on him.

Though Oscar was eventually able to get to the train station that led to the kingdom of Mistral. Once he had shaken all the water off of him, he walked over to the machine that allowed people to go onto the train.

Once the boy took out the card of Lien he had been saving up for a long time, he quickly slid it through the machine. Though unfortunately for him, the machine had declined the card of Lien that he had.

"Stupid thing." Oscar groaned as he placed the card back into his pocket. "I'm assuming whatever weird magic this is doesn't come with an infinite supply of money?" He asked Ozpin.

 _ **"I'm afraid you'll have to overcome this obstacle on your own-."**_ Ozpin began, only to quickly cut himself off before he could finish.

"Huh?" He asked.

 _ **"Be on your guard."**_ He warned.

"What do you mean?" Oscar asked the Wizard from within his mind.

"Here." He heard a man say, causing him to turn to face the man. Oscar wasn't sure why, but he sensed a feeling of familiarity coming from the man as if he had met him somewhere before.

Though the more he tried to dig into the memories of Ozpin in attempts to find out who this man was, the more confused he got. The only thing that the boy was able to find was a single name that was linked to the man.

Hazel.

As the man known as Hazel walked over to the machine that Oscar was standing in front of, he quickly raised his fist up into the air, causing Oscar to hold up his arms in attempts to block the hit.

Though instead of hitting Oscar, he slammed his fist onto the machine. After a few moments of silence, a single ticket came out of the piece of technology.

"Uh, thanks." Oscar said as he picked up the ticket from off of the ground.

The man merely nodded as he continued to walk away from the boy with a serious expression on his face. Though before he could reach the steps that led to the pathway to the forest, he turned around to face the boy.

"Don't let such a small obstacle block your path." He said as he started to walk away from the boy.

"Who was that guy?" Oscar asked Ozpin in hopes that he would have the answers.

 _ **"Someone from my past. Someone who should not be taken likely."**_ He said as the train to Mistral arrived at the station.

* * *

Once the two strangers that the group had run into took Qrow to the hospital that was located in there town, they had all settled down in an Inn that was located near the hospital where Qrow rested.

It had been a day since they had arrived at the town, and the drunken huntsman has still yet to awaken from his slumber. All the group could do for now was wait until the fate of the man was decided.

Thankfully, Ash had decided to stick with the group for a little while longer. There was something about this town that interested her, as well as the forest that was right next to the town.

The father of Ruby and Yang, Tai also noticed the strange atmosphere that surrounded the town. It was hard not to notice. One would think that due to Tai's profession and Ash's abilities that they would already be used to the idea of strange by now.

However, what they saw fell into the supernatural category. There was something going on from within the heart of that forest. Though that could wait for another time, right now the group needed to worry more about Qrow's health more than anything.

Noon had come for the town and the sun was shining above the mountain where the town stood. The people were out and about going through there days from within the town.

Though instead of seeing just what the town had to offer, the group continued to wait from within the lodge of the hospital in hopes that their uncle would be able to push through this obstacle.

It was relatively quiet in the waiting room, the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock. The group had been in the room for twenty minutes now, though it had felt like an eternity.

Yang was rapidly tapping her foot on the ground while Ruby was passing around the room. Though as time went by, the door to the medical rooms finally opened up, causing everyone, with the exception of Ash to stand from where they were sitting.

"Hmm, are you here for Mr. Branwen?" The man with the clipboard in his hands asked.

"Yeah, that's us." Tai said.

"Is he okay?!" Ruby asked as she rushed over to meet the doctor face to face.

"You were fortunate to have run into this town when you did. That man wouldn't have lasted another night out there." The doctor said.

"So he's-?!" Yang began, a look of hope starting to shine through her eyes.

"Yes, he'll be okay with a few days of rest." The doctor said.

"Can we see him?" Ruby asked the man.

"Of course, follow me." He said as he started to walk through the doors, the group following close behind the man. The group continued to walk down the hallway, passing various operating rooms as they made their way towards the room that held Qrow.

Eventually, they arrived at the door that the drunken huntsman was in. The doctor opened the door and let the group in to see their uncle.

Once Ruby saw that her Uncle was laying on the bed from across the room, tears of joy started to form within the corners of her eyes. Qrow turned around to face the group with a tired expression on his face.

"Hey, kiddo." The man said.

Once they heard the voice of there uncle, both Ruby and Yang rushed over to there uncle with looks of relief in their eyes.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow." Ruby said as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Glad to see you haven't kicked the bucket yet." Yang said with a chuckle in her voice and tears of joy in her eyes.

"Heh, yeah." Qrow said with a chuckle in his voice.

Blake watched her two teammates as the feeling of relief washed over them. She smiled, happy that their uncle Qrow would be okay, at least for now that is. Their journey was far from over.

Especially with this unexpected development that Tai had discovered with the forest that was right next to the mountains where the town rested. It seems that the group was about to take an unexpected detour on their journey towards the kingdom of Mistral.

"Hey, Tai." Qrow said as he raised his hand to greet his partner.

"Good to have you back, Qrow." Tai said as he grasped the hand of his partner.

"It's good to be back." The man said with a chuckle in his voice. "So, where are we anyway's?" Qrow asked as he looked around the hospital room.

"We're in the hospital of the Mountainside town. We were lucky we got you here when we did." Ruby said.

"Hmm, the mountainside." The man said to himself.

Though while the moment was good while it lasted, the group had more pressing things on their hands to discuss.

"So, what exactly happened while I was out cold?" Qrow asked.

"Well, let's just say that we've run into an unexpected detour." Tai said to the man.

"Huh?" The huntsman asked as he looked over his partner's shoulder to see the spirit user that defeated Tyrian standing by the door with her arms crossed.

"So, you decided to stick around after all." Qrow said to the woman.

"Well, the situation changed. You guys peaked my interest so I decided to lend you a hand before I hit the road again." Ash said to the drunken swordsman with her arms crossed.

"Alright, so what do you mean that we ran into an unexpected-?" Tai began, only for two unfamiliar figures to walk into the room where Qrow was.

"Hello! Glad to see you're okay! You were in pretty bad shape when you're friend found us!" The boy that Yang had met when she first ran into the town.

"It's you!" Yang said as she pointed at the boy.

"Oh! You're the ones who showed us the way to the hospital!" Ruby said as she stared at the duo.

"Hmm, so you're the ones who saved my ass, huh?" Qrow asked. "Thanks for that." He said as he held his hand out to the duo.

"It's no problem. Doing things for people is sorta our thing." The boy said as he shook the hand of the man.

"Though we don't do it for free. So pay up." The girl said as she held out her hand.

"...Wait, what?" Qrow asked. Though before she could continue, the boy quickly rammed his fist upside her head.

"Ow! What the hell, four eyes?!" She asked.

"Sorry about her." The boy said to the group as they stared at the duo with looks of confusion in their eyes.

"Tch." The girl growled as she rubbed the area where the boy had hit.

"Right...so who are you kids anyway's?" Qrow asked the duo.

"I'm Simon. It's a pleasure to meet you all." The newly named Simon said to the group.

"The names Riley. Most people call me Ri though." The newly named Riley said as she raised two of her fingers from her crossed arms.

"Hello! My name's Ruby!" Ruby greeted.

"Names Yang." Yang greeted with a grin on her face.

"Blake" Blake greeted.

"So, you guys said that saving people was sorta your thing, right?" Ruby asked.

"For a price that is." Riley said.

"Well, what exactly do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Right, I guess we should have been a bit more specific." Simon said sheepishly.

"Four eyes and I run this little Odd Jobs shop near the edge of the mountains with our boss." Riley said.

"What did I say about calling me that?!" He asked the girl.

Once again, the two started to go back and forth with one another. Having enough of the antics of the kids, Qrow quickly stepped in before the argument could get too out of hand.

"So, you kids familiar with the area?" Qrow asked as Riley put Simon in a headlock.

"Yeah, we live here." She said as her partner desperately attempted to break free from her hold.

"Alright Tai, how about you tell us about this unexpected detour." He said to the man.

Tai looked around the room before walking towards the door and peeking his head out of the door to see if there were any peering souls lurking around the corner of the hospital. Once he was certain that they were in the clear, he walked back into the room with a serious expression on his face.

"It's about this town." Tai said, causing the duo that had walked into the room to stop their antics. Once they had heard the words of the Huntsman, Riley quickly let go of Simon.

"What about it?" She asked.

"Something about it doesn't feel right to me. Like there's something deeper going on here." Tai said. "Though if there's anything about this part of town that doesn't seem right with me is that forest that's on the side of the Mountain." He said, causing the two to stare at the man with looks of mild surprise on there faces.

"You mean the Shrouded Forest?" Riley asked, causing everyone in the room to stare at the duo with curious expressions on there faces.

"So you know about this forest?" Ash asked the duo.

"There's not a single person in town who doesn't know about the Shrouded Forest." Simon said to the group. "I would recommend you folks steer clear from the forest. The things that happen in that place fall into the supernatural category." The boy said.

"Yeah, it looks all...spooky with that dark shadow coming from the inside of the forest." Ruby said.

"That's kinda why they call it the Shrouded Forest in the first place. For one, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, the forest will always be shrouded in this pitch black darkness." Riley said.

"Whoa." Yang said, surprised that such a place could even exist in Remnant.

"Yeah, it's a place that you folks might want to steer clear from. Though I have to ask, why the interest in the Shrouded Forest?" Simon asked the group.

"Let's just say that dealing with these sort of things how we spend most of our time these days." Ruby said to the duo.

"Hmm, well I suppose we'll leave you guys to that." Simon said as he pulled out some sort of calling card from his pocket.

"If you ever have a job for us, then just head on over to this address. We'll do anything from walking your dog to saving the world." Simon said as he started to walk out of the room with Riley right behind him.

"For the right price that is." Riley said as she closed the door behind the group.

"...Wait, what?" The remaining members of team RWBY asked, specifically curious about the last part of that slogan.

"So, what's the plan here?" Qrow asked.

"First we need to go somewhere where we can talk in private. There's no telling who could be listening" Tai said.

"Alright, come on kids. We're moving on." He said as he started to walk over towards the door that led to the outside of the hallway. Though as he gripped the handle of the door, he realized that the only thing he was really wearing was a hospital nightgown that the staff had put him in.

"Right after we get my stuff." Qrow said as he walked out of the door and towards the front desk.

* * *

"The Shrouded Forest." Yang said to herself, still rather curious about the mystery's that the forest had hidden within the darkness surrounding it.

"A forest plagued with eternal darkness. It's like something out of a fantasy." Blake said as she sat on the couch next to her partner.

"Jeez, things just keep getting stranger and stranger, huh?" She said to her partner.

"Yeah." Blake said.

"Well, at least we're all together now." Ruby said with a smirk on her face.

After a few moments of silence had passed, Tai and Qrow eventually walked into the room with Ash following close behind them.

"This isn't exactly the kind of trip I had in mind, though I guess that shouldn't really be all that surprising." Qrow said as he sat down on one of the chairs in the room with his flask in his hand.

"Well, I guess it's not all bad. I mean we did find one of the twelve spirit users of Remnant." Tai said as he pointed ay Ash, causing her to wave at the Huntsman.

"Right. Here's hoping we can find more while we're here." He said to his partner.

"So, what's the plan?" Yang asked.

"If it wasn't obvious enough, we'll be staying in this town for a little longer than usual." Qrow said to the group.

"Is it about the forest?" Ruby asked her Uncle.

"Yeah, I suppose that's part of the reason why we're sticking around here. The other part is about the town itself." The drunken huntsman said to the ground.

"What do you mean? It seems pretty normal compared to the towns we've stopped by during our journey to Mistral." Blake said to the man.

"Well when you've been on the road for as long as I have, you tend to get to know the vibe of a town once you actually walk into it." Qrow said to the group.

"The vibe?" They asked.

"It's the atmosphere of the town. It seems strange compared to the ones I've been to." Ash said to the group. "That's something coming from one of the twelve spirit users." She said.

"So what's the plan?" Yang asked.

"Well, our options right now are pretty limited. I'm not exactly in fighting condition after the little incident back at the kingdom." Qrow said as he placed his hand on the bandage that he had gotten from the hospital of the town.

"So right now I suggest we divide and conquer if we want to get this whole situation sorted out quickly. We don't exactly have a lot of time on our hands." The man said as he took a sip from his flask.

"Alright, so how are we gonna divide the teams?" Ruby asked her uncle.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Qrow said as he placed his scroll on the table, causing a map of the world of Remnant to appear from above the screen. Once Qrow typed in some sort of codes into the scroll, the map zoomed in on the forest that they had seen before they entered town.

Sure enough, the outside of the Shrouded Forest was completely covered in a veil of darkness. Not a single speck of light could be seen from within the trees that inhabited the forest.

Though apart from the pitch black darkness of the woods, the gigantic tree that could be seen in the center of the forest stood out to the group in the room. From the looks of it, it was even taller than Beacon Tower, and the trunk of the tree was large enough to hold a large town.

It is still unknown how such a tree ever came into existence into the world of Remnant, though it did have a strange effect on the plant life around it. The two were right about one thing, the mysteries that shrouded this forest did fall into the supernatural category.

"If I had to make a wild guess, I'm just gonna assume that this tree right here has something to do with what's going on in the forest below it." Qrow said as he pointed at the giant tree in the center of the forest.

"Might be." Tai said as he stared at the map.

"So half of us will go to the tree to see if this little theory of ours holds any water." Qrow said. "The problem is getting into the forest to begin with." He said.

"Well, Blake is a Faunus, maybe she can go and navigate through the forest?" Ruby asked.

"No, I doubt that would work." Ash said to the group.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"If the light from the sun alone can't shine through the forest, then I doubt the vision of a Faunus would be any different. Though there is one thing that I'm certain of." The woman said as a smirk started to form on her face.

"Who or whatever made this darkness wants to keep something away from the world." Ash said as she started to chuckle to herself.

"I wonder what secrets you hold?" She said as she stared at the massive tree from the scroll.

"Okay, so then how are we going to navigate through the forest to begin with?" Ruby asked the group.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Qrow said as he placed his hand on his chin.

"Hmm, maybe our aura's can light the way?" Tai suggested.

"Maybe, though that would leave us completely defenseless from any threats that may be in that forest." He said.

Though as the two started to go back and forth, Ruby's eyes started to wander over to the Lantern that contained Ash's spirit. Once her eyes made contact with the fire in the lamp, an idea sprung into her mind.

"What about that?" Ruby asked as she pointed at the lamp.

The members of the group looked at Ruby with confused expressions on their faces. That is until they actually followed to where Ruby was actually pointing. Once they saw the fore that was lit in the lantern, they all came to the same conclusion that the red hooded girl did.

"You want to use my lantern?" Ash asked the young girl.

"Well, yeah. I mean, if that forest has some sort of supernatural darkness, then wouldn't a supernatural fire be able to light our way?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, it might be our best bet when it comes to getting to the tree." Qrow said to the group as they turned there heads towards Ash.

After a few moments of silence from the woman, she eventually came to a decision. Ash picked up the lantern in her hand and walked over towards Ruby.

"Fine, you can borrow it for awhile." Ash said as she held out the lantern.

"Alright! Thank you Ash!" Ruby said as she brought the woman into one of her embraces.

"Don't push it." The woman said, causing the red hooded girl to let go with a sheepish grin on her face.

"Sorry." She said.

The woman sighed before walking back over to the couch she was originally sitting on.

"Alright, so you three will head on down to the Shrouded Forest, see if you can't get to that tree that's in the center." Qrow said as he pulled out his scroll.

"Once you get to the tree, call us on our scrolls. The tree should be close enough for the local comms to work." He said.

"Got it." Ruby said as she grasped the handle of the lantern.

"Are you sure that wandering into an unknown forest is the right call?" Blake asked Qrow.

"Well, it's not like we have time to come up with this grand strategy, and our options are fairly short as it is." He said. "So right now, this is the only plan we've got to work with." Qrow said as he picked up his scroll from the table.

"So, what now?" Yang asked.

"You kids need to go into town and get ready for the road ahead. There's no telling how long you're gonna be in that forest." The man said to the group as he pulled out his flask.

The group nodded and started to walk towards the door leading to the streets of the town.

"Let me see the lantern." Yang said as she peered over to get a closer look at the vessel that contained the spirit. Its flames were unlike anything the group had seen before, it had a distinct warmth to it that didn't feel like natural fire.

"Whoa." She said as she started to tap on the metal vessel with her metal finger.

"Can't believe there's actually a spirit inside here." Ruby said.

However, as the group started to walk down the streets of the town, Blake could sense a vaguely familiar presence lingering in the shadows. She turned around in attempts to locate the presence, though she was having no luck doing so.

"Hey, Blake." Yang said, causing the Faunus to snap back into reality.

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." She said.

"Hmm." She hummed to herself as she looked around the area.

The familiar presence was still there, though Blake wasn't really sure who it was exactly.

"You looking for something?" Yang asked as she started to look around the area in attempts to find whatever Blake was looking for.

Though after a few moments of silence, Blake let out a sigh as a smirk started to form on her face.

"Should have figured you'd be here." She said.

"Well, what can I say? With you guys, it's always one adventure after the other." They heard a familiar voice say.

"...Wait, that can't be-!" Yang began as she and her sister Ruby spun there heads around to the source of the familiar voice. Sure enough, a top of one of the various buildings in the area was none other than the Monkey Faunus himself, Sun Wukong.

Though the Monkey Faunus in question looked rather different from when they last saw him before the fall of Vale. He dawned some sort of red jacket instead of his usual white one that he wore back in Vale. The jacket had some sort of markings on the shoulders and the back of the jacket.

It also had slightly furry parts on the edge of the sleeves and near the collar area. He wore a pair of brown pants with some sort of logo on the lower left part of his leg. To finish his attire, he wore some sort of red boots that had the same patterns as the rest of his outfit.

"Sun?!" Yang and Ruby yelled as the Monkey Faunus jumped down from the building.

"What's up you guys? It's been awhile!" Sun said with his usual cheeky grin.

After a few moments of silence, Yang and Ruby rushed towards the monkey Faunus, happy to see one of their old friends once again.

"Long time no see, Monkey Boy!" The Blonde Brawler said as she put the Faunus in a headlock.

"It's good to see you again, Sun!" Ruby said cheerfully.

Though as Sun started to laugh with his long lost friends, he noticed the mechanical arm that Yang had.

"Whoa!" The Monkey Faunus said as he started to look at Yang's new arm. "Sweet arm!" He said.

"Thanks. It is pretty awesome." Yang said as she started to flex the arm.

"Made by yours truly!" Ruby said as she puffed out her chest with pride.

"No way! You made that?!" Sun asked.

"More like she modified it so that it suited me more." Yang said.

"Same thing." She huffed.

"It's not a replacement for the real thing. But, I'll sure to make good use of it." She said. It didn't take too long for the Monkey Faunus to catch a glimpse of the strange lantern that Ruby was carrying in her hands.

"So what's up with that?" Sun asked as he pointed at the lamp.

"Oh! Well...it's a bit of a long story." Ruby said.

Though before the group could continue there conversation, Blake walked up to Sun with a smile on her face.

"..."

"Guess you took my advice after all!" Sun said with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, it's good to see you again." Blake said as she lightly jabbed Sun on the arm.

"So, what are you guys doing here anyways?" The Monkey Faunus asked.

"We could ask you the same thing. I would have thought you went back to Mistral with the rest of team SSSN." She said.

"Well...it's a bit of a long story. Why don't I show you guys around, the people here are awesome!" Sun said as he started to run into the town.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ruby said as she and Yang started to run after the Monkey Faunus.

Blake chuckled and started to run after her companions as they made their way into the town.

* * *

"Ugh, what's a guy gotta do to find a decent bar around here?" Qrow asked as he and Tai started to walk around the large town. Ash had decided to stick back at the Inn they were staying so that she could do some planning of her own while she was here.

"The little witch back there doesn't really seem to be all buddy buddy with everyone yet." He said to his partner.

"Well, we did only meet her a few days ago. The only reason she's actually helping us is so that she can achieve her own personal goals." Tai said.

"Hey, help is help. As long as we're on the same page we should be good, at least for now." Qrow said as he looked around the town in attempts to find a bar.

"I wonder how exactly she got her hands on one of the twelve spirits of Remnant. It's not exactly something you can just pick up at a local shop or something." The blonde huntsmen said to his partner.

"How should I know? So far she hasn't really told us anything about where she comes from or how she was able to forge a contract in the first place." Qrow said to the man.

"She doesn't really seem like the trusting type, right?" Tai asked.

"Tch, no kidding. Though if she's willing to lend us a hand then I suppose it doesn't really matter in the long run." He said.

"Though she seems to trust Ruby enough to keep her lantern safe while she goes into the forest." He said.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what happened while I was out, though Ruby somehow managed to at least gain some form of trust with that woman. Even if it is just a little bit of it." Qrow said.

"Right." Tai said to his partner.

Though as the two continued to walk around the town, the strange atmosphere became all the more clear to them. Though what the two didn't understand is how the people of the town were just going about there days as if it was just a regular old day for them.

It's as if the townsfolk weren't aware of the strange nature of there own town, which is why the two huntsmen were determined to find out more about this strange town on the Mountainside.

"I'm sure you've noticed it to, right? About those two kids that came into the hospital." Qrow asked his partner.

"Yeah." Tai said with a serious expression on his face.

"Those two kids know something about what's going on in this little town. They seemed pretty knowledgeable when it came to the supernatural elements of that forest, and I'm sure they know more then they're letting on." Qrow said.

"So, what do you suggest we do? Not like we can go knocking on there front door demanding information." Tai said.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He said as he started to rub the temples of his eyes. The duo continued to walk around the town before eventually reaching a fountain that was in the center of town.

"So, whats on your mind? You've got that look again." Tai said.

After a few moments of silence, Qrow sighed and turned to face his partner.

"It's about Leo." He said to the man.

"What about him?" Tai asked his partner.

"I'm not sure. Though ever since the Vytal Tournament I haven't been able to contact him. It's like he just severed ties with everyone involved in Oz's mission." Qrow said to the blonde huntsmen.

"Somethings up in the kingdom of Mistral. I don't want to make any assumptions, though we can't exactly let our guard down either." He said. "So right now playing things close to the chest until we get a better hand is our best course of action." Qrow said.

"Got it." Tai said to his partner.

After the two continued to walk through the town, they eventually found a bar near the fountain that was in the center of town.

"Jeez, it's about time." Qrow said as he started to walk into the town's tavern, his partner following close behind. As they entered the tavern, they could see various people around the room of the tavern going about there days.

The bar resided on the side of the tavern with various bottles on the long walls that went down the side of the building. The bar even had kegs of ale, which was already rare as it is in the kingdom of Vale.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Qrow said with a chuckle in his voice as he walked over towards the counter of the bar. Even Tai was slightly taken aback that a town like this had there own Ale.

So naturally, even he decided to try some despite quitting most of his drinking once Yang enrolled into Signal. Once the two got to the front counter, the bartender walked over to the two as he cleaned one of the various glasses that he had.

"Hey, two glasses of that." Qrow said as he pointed at the keg of Ale in the back of the bar. The man nodded and started to walk towards the two barrels in the back of the bar and started to pour the duo two glasses of Ale.

As Qrow held the glass in his hands, he took a big sniff at the scent of the Ale before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Now that's the good stuff." Qrow said as he started to slurp down the bottle of Ale that the bartender had given him and his partner. Meanwhile, Tai was just taking small little sips, though even he had to admit that it was some of the best alcohol that he ever had.

"Aha! I'm feeling better already!" He said with a laugh in his voice.

"Yeah, this stuff is pretty good." Tai said with a chuckle.

"It's been awhile since you and I went out for a drink." Qrow said as he started to drink the ale he had in his hand.

"No kidding. Takes me back to the good old days." Tai said as he took a sip from his cup. "You know, Rae and I would go out to drink whenever she felt stressed, you know?" He said as he took a sip from his cup.

"Hmm." The drunken huntsmen merely hummed in response.

"Those were good times." Tai said as he placed the cup back on the counter.

After a few moments of silence, Qrow finished the remains of his Ale before placing it back down on the counter. The bartender came by and grabbed the glass, causing the huntsmen to place some Lien onto the counter.

"Keep the change." Qrow said as he started to walk away from the counter.

"Where are you going?" Tai asked as the man started to walk away.

"I'm just going for a little walk." He said as he started to walk towards the doors that led to the outside of the town. As he walked through the doors that led to the town, he started to look around the streets as if he were looking for something.

After a few moments of silence, he eventually started to walk towards the fountain that he and Tai originally came from. As the huntsmen arrived at the fountain, he could see some sort of Feline Faunus with black hair sitting on the edge of the fountain as he flipped a gold coin in his fingers.

He had some sort of White Attire as well as a White Fedora on his head.

"Well now, looks like our special guest has finally arrived." The man said as he stared at Qrow with his golden eyes. "So, how was the trip?" The Faunus asked the huntsmen.

"Do I know you?" Qrow asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

"No, though I've heard a lot about the valiant hero known as Qrow Branwen." The man said with a smirk on his face.

The huntsmen narrowed his eyes as he stared at the mysterious man. He wasn't sure what this man wanted from him, though he doubted that it was anything good.

"Look pal, I'm not looking for trouble. So why don't you make this easier for both of us and-." Qrow began, only for the Faunus to jump from the fountain he was standing on, landing in front of the drunken warrior.

"Neither am I. I just thought we could have ourselves a little chat." The man said as he took off his hat and held out his hand. "The names Usher, though most people around here just call me Ush." The newly named Ush said as he held out some sort of calling card.

"...Yeah." Qrow said as he reluctantly shook the man's hand. "So, what do you want?" He asked as he took the card from the hand of Ush and started to read it.

From the looks of it, it was some sort of calling card for this shop that this man owned. Fortune and riches galore, or at least that's what the information on the card said. He wasn't quite sure what this man meant by fortune and riches, and he doubted he wanted to find out.

"Hmm." The man hummed as he continued to examine the card that Ush gave him. "Look, I'm not exactly interested in whatever you have to sell." Qrow said as he threw the mans card over his shoulder before walking away.

Though before the man could walk away from the Faunus, he quickly spoke up as he turned around to go back to the bar where Tai was.

"I heard from a little dog that you're looking for information about the Shrouded Forest, as well as the secrets that this town has." Ush said, causing Qrow to stop in his tracks.

"..."

"Peaked your interest, did I?" He asked the man, causing Qrow to turn his head to face the man. Ush could be seen shuffling a deck of cards in his hands with a smirk on his face.

"Information is hard to come by these days, you know? Everyone's got there own little secrets." Ush said. "Though for the right price, I'd be able to tell you all I know about the Shrouded Forest, tell you about the secrets of this little town." The man said.

Qrow stared at the man intently, his fist clenched up into a ball. He could tell that there was more to this little deal of his then he was letting on, that much was obvious. He wasn't against going to the lower parts of the underworld to get the information he needed, though this offer was different from the ones he made in the past.

Still, this was an opportunity that he wasn't going to get again. If this man knew more about the supernatural nature of this town, as well as the Shrouded Forest, then he was willing to play this little game the man was playing.

"I'll think about it." Qrow said to the man.

"Fair enough. Though if you change your mind, then you know where to find me." Ush said as he disappeared from sight, causing the huntsmen to be taken aback by the sudden action.

He looked around in attempts to see if he couldn't find where the man had run off to, though from the looks of it, he was already long gone from the center of the town. Though as Qrow looked at the area where Ush originally was, he could see the calling card that the man had given to him before he left.

After making sure that someone wasn't trying to pull one over him, he grabbed the card and started to read the information on it once again. On the back of the card was the address to the shop that Ush owned, as well as a little note saying "We'll work out the details later." with the signature of an ace right below it.

"Hmm." Qrow hummed to himself as he placed the card into his pocket and started to walk towards the bar that he and Tai were drinking in. He still wasn't entirely sure about this little deal that Ush was offering, though right now he didn't have a whole lot of options available to him.

* * *

"So that's basically what happened." Ruby said as she finished catching Sun up to speed with everything that had happened so far. They decided to stop at the local park that was in the town so that they could explain their story.

It was a rather nice place when compared to the other towns they had been to. The view that the group had of the forests was a sight to be held. Such sights were hard to come across so they wanted to take in every little detail of it.

"So let me see if I've got this straight." Sun began. "So it turns out that the people who were behind the whole Fall fo Vale are actually after some sort of bigger goal." He said.

"Right." Ruby said.

"So it turns out that the story of the Seasons is actually true, and that these guys are after the Maidens, right?" Sun asked.

"Pretty much." Yang said.

"Then as luck would have it, you guys come across another spirit user." He said

"Yeah, the spirit is in the lantern that Ruby's holding." Blake said as she pointed at the lamp.

"Can I see it?" Sun asked as he leaned over to get a better look at the lantern that contained the spirit.

"Whoo!" The Monkey Faunus whistled as he stared at the fire that was raging on from within the lamp that Ruby was holding.

"So, you guys are trying to get all twelve of the spirit users together, that right?" Sun asked as he put his hands up to the fire of the spirit, basking in the warmth of its fire.

"Yeah, so far we've only managed to find one though." Ruby said.

"Well, one is better than none!" Sun said with one of his signature grins. "So what about Brandon, any news on him yet?" The Monkey Faunus asked, causing the group to get saddened expressions on there faces.

"Oh...Sorry." Sun said as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"No, it's fine. You didn't know." Blake said.

"Right...so anyways, this scorpian Faunus guy just came out and attacked you while you guys were going to Mistral." Sun said.

"Yeah, he was super tough to. Even Uncle Qrow and Dad weren't able to take him down." Yang said.

"Whoa, seriously?!" He asked.

"Yeah, though luckily Ash came in at the very last second. Even if she was only doing it because of the bounty that was on his head." Blake said.

"Ash is the spirit user, right?" Sun asked, causing the group to nod. "What's she like?" He asked.

"Well..." The group began, not really sure as to how to describe the spirit user to Sun. "I wouldn't really say that she's the nicest person in the world, but she did help Uncle Qrow! So I guess she's alright." Ruby said.

"That and we've only really known her for a couple days." Yang said to the Faunus.

"Right." He said.

"Also Ruby has this crazy power that painted a huge target on her back." He said.

"We think so. I mean, we've never actually seen her use it." Blake said.

"You can use it, right sis?" Yang asked.

"I can try." Ruby said as she started to attempt to call upon her silver eye'd powers. Though after a few moments of silence, it was clear that Ruby didn't have any real control over the power she inherited from her mother.

"Rats." She pouted as she kicked the dirt with her boot.

"You'll get it eventually, Ruby." Yang said.

"Would help if I knew how to do it in the first place." Ruby said.

"So what about you, Sun?" Blake asked the Faunus.

"What about me?" Sun asked.

"We told you what we were up to for the last few months, so now you tell us what you've been doing in this town for the last few months. I thought you went back to Mistral with the rest of your team." She said.

"Yeah, well once you ran off to go to Patch, I decided to head on back to the boats that were taking people to Mistral. Though I kinda got lost and ended up here." Sun admitted sheepishly.

"Originally I was just gonna grab a quick bit to eat and go. Though there was something about this town that just feels...off." Sun said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I'm sure you've noticed that this town isn't exactly like most others in the kingdom of Vale." The Monkey Faunus said, causing the group to nod there heads. "There's something up with this town, and I just can't shake it off my back." Sun said.

"Something big is about to happen here. I'm not really sure what, but I know that something is about to go down." He said, causing the group to get serious expressions on there faces.

"You guys know about the Shrouded Forest, right?" Sun asked.

"A forest consumed by a eternal darkness, yeah we've heard about it." Yang said.

"Well, I tried going into the forest, turns out that not even Faunus can see through the darkness." He said.

"Great." She sarcastically.

"Though I'm thinking that this lantern might be able to fix that!" Sun said as he pointed to the lamp that was in Ruby's hand.

"Yeah, that's what we were thinking to." Ruby said.

"Now that I think about it. You might make traversing the forest easier than before." Blake said.

"What do you mean?" Sun asked, though the only response Blake gave the boy was to point at his tail. "Hmm? My tail?" He asked.

"Yeah, you'll be able to hold the lantern with your tail and we'll still be able to fight off any potential threats that may lurk in the forest." She said.

"Really? Cool!" Sun said. "So, mind if I tag along with you guys from here on out? I mean, once we handle whatever it is that's happening here, we'll be heading to Mistral, right?" Sun asked.

"That's the plan." Blake said.

"Cool. I still have to explain to my team why I ran off like I did." He said sheepishly.

"Well, we could use all the help we can get, especially from a good friend." Blake said as she held out her hand to Sun. "Good to have you." She said.

"Same here!" Sun said with one of his usual smirks on his face.

"Come on, we'll go and introduce you to Uncle Qrow and Dad. Ash might want to meet you as well." Yang said as she started to walk towards the direction of the Inn they were staying in, the rest of the group following close behind her.

However, as the group started to walk around the town, they could see the girl known as Riley standing in the distance. The girl was standing in front of some sort of bridge where a group of men were. They didn't really look like the welcoming type, though the girl didn't really seem to be all that intimidated by the group.

"Well, miss, taking a stroll on your own?" One of the men asked as Riley walked across the bridge.

"Miss, wanna come have a drink with me?" One of them asked the girl.

"No." She merely said as she continued to walk away. The members of the group were slightly taken aback by how quick they were shot down, though they weren't about to let the girl off of the hook just yet.

"Hey! Hold on just a-!" One of them began, though what no one expected was for Riley to lift the man over her shoulders with just one arm before throwing him into the river.

"I said, no." Riley said as she continued to walk away. However, she was stopped by a rather tall man with some sort of weapon over his shoulder.

"So, you the one who's messing with my men?" The leader asked.

"Yeah! You show her boss!" One of them said.

"Move." Riley said with a deadpanned expression on her face.

"Sorry, miss. But you don't get off that-!" The man began, only for Riley to pick him up with one hand before throwing him into to the river as well. The group of men slowly turned there heads towards the girl with terrified expressions on there faces.

"Boo." She said, causing all of the men to scream with fairly high pitched voices before jumping into the river. Riley sighed before she continued her walk to her home. After a few moments of walking later, she eventually reached the Odd Jobs office that she worked in.

She grabbed the handle of the door and walked into the office. It was rather quiet in the main room, though that was to be expected due to them being closed at the moment.

"You're back late." Simon said as he walked through the door to the kitchen with an apron on.

"...Nice apron." She chuckled as she placed her bags on the couch of the shop.

"It was a gift! Okay?!" He yelled.

"Whatever." Riley said as she grabbed the T.V remote. "So, where's the boss?" She asked.

"He's down in the basement." Simon said as he placed a plate in front of the table he was sitting in front of.

"You'd think the owner of the damn shop would actually do some of the work." Riley grumbled.

Meanwhile, back down in the basement of the office was a man in the treasury of the establishment. The room was filled to the brim with various jewels and gold, as well as priceless artifacts that he may or may not have taken over the years of his travels.

Though the most noticeable part of the collection was the giant longsword that was in the center of the room.

* * *

Once everyone was situated and ready for the plan, the group set out to the entrance to the Shrouded Forest the next day. The road leading up to the forest had a few statues of owls that eventually lead to the entrance to the forest.

It was almost as if they were walking towards some sort of temple. Though there was only one way to find out for certain. Though before they actually embarked into the forest, they wanted to make sure that they were prepared for the unknown.

"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time." Qrow said as the group stood in front of the Shrouded Forest.

"You guys are gonna go into the forest to see if you can't find this tree that's in the center of the forest. Once you actually get there I want you to contact Tai or me on your scrolls." He said.

"After that we want you guys to keep us updated on what you find there." Qrow said. "Though if we don't hear back from you in the next couple of days then we'll come looking for you ourselves." He said.

"Your little friend here is gonna light the way, so stay behind him so you can see where you're going." Qrow said as he pointed at Sun who was currently holding the lantern that would light there way in his tail.

"Sup." He said as he raised one of his hands.

"If you come across anything you think is strange then we want to know about it. We're gonna need all the information we can get about this tree so we can get a grasp on the situation at hand." Qrow said to the group.

"Once you think you have everything you need, come back here so we can discuss our next move." He said.

"Got it." Ruby said as everyone else nodded their heads.

"Make sure you don't lose my lantern. You got that?" Ash asked Sun with a serious expression on her face.

"You got it." Sun said to the spirit user.

"So, what are you guys gonna do while we're gone?" Ruby asked.

"We're gonna poke around town, see if we can't get any information about the secrets behind it." Qrow said to the group. "Well, you kids should be heading out. Stay safe out there, okay?" He said.

"Don't worry. You can count on us." Ruby said as she brought Qrow in for an embrace. Yang smiled and joined in on the hug, Tai joining in not too long after. After a few moments of silence, the family eventually separated and said there final goodbyes.

The group waved back at the adults of the group before walking into the Shrouded Forest. As soon as they actually entered the forest, they could finally see first hand why it was given the name it was given.

It lived up to the tale of being shrouded in a pitch black darkness that not even a Faunus can see through. Neither Blake or Sun could actually see through the darkness of the forest.

Though luckily for them, the lantern that was given to them by Ash proved to be the necessary light source needed in order to actually move through the dark forest.

"Well, this certainly helps." Blake said as the group continued to walk through the dirt road of the forest. Sun was walking in front of them while holding the lamp in his tail and his staff in one of his hands.

"This place certainly lives up to its name, I can barely see a thing without the fire from the lantern." Yang said as she attempted to look off into the distance.

The group continued to wander the forest for a few minutes before Sun looked to his right suddenly. The Monkey Faunus started to walk some sort of ruins that were in the distance of the forest.

"Whoa. Take a look at this." Sun said as he held the lantern in the direction of the ruins.

Though as the group started to walk towards the ruins, Blake could hear the faint sound of leaves rustling in the distance. She spun her head around in attempts to locate the source of the noise, though it was no use due to the darkness of the forest.

"What do you think this place is?" Yang asked as she walked into the ruins.

"I'm not sure." Sun said to the group. There was some sort of unfamiliar writing on the walls of the ruins, as well as some strange painting that they weren't able to understand entirely.

However, that feeling still lingered from within the mind of Blake. There was one thing she knew for certain, they weren't the only ones who were in this forest.

"I think I see another pathway over here." Sun said as he started to walk towards the pathway.

"Hmm." Blake hummed as she switched her weapon over to her pistol form.

"What is it Blake?" Yang asked, causing Ruby and Sun to turn towards the cat Faunus with expressions of confusion on there faces.

"I'm not sure. It might have been my imagination, though I don't think that we're the only ones in this-." She began, only for an arrow to just narrowly miss her head.

"Forest." She finished as the group stared at the glowing arrow.

"...Uh." Ruby began.

"Run!" Sun yelled as he and the rest of the group started to run down the forest in attempts to flee there pursuer. As they ran through the forest, various arrows started to zoom past them, just narrowly missing them as they ran through the forest.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?!" Yang asked as she ducked under an arrow.

"I don't know! I don't even know how they're able to see through this darkness!" Blake said as she slid under some arrows that just narrowly missed her. Meanwhile, while it was faint, the group could see some sort of light green aura from the distance.

Though before they could question it, an arrow zoomed past the head of Sun, causing him to throw the lantern up into the air.

"I got it!" He yelled as he jumped up into the air and caught it with his tail. "Hey! Quit shooting at us! We're not looking for trouble!" Sun yelled.

However, the barrage of arrows continued to rain down on the group, causing them to constantly duck, jump, and slide under the arrows in attempts to dodge the attacks that were being shot at them.

"Alright! Let's see how you like this!" Yang yelled as she shot one of her dust rounds at one of the trees in attempts to lighten there path. However, instead of the leaves catching fire, they merely glowed with a strange yellow aura.

"What the hell?!" She asked as she stared at the aura.

"Doesn't look like we can set the trees on fire!" Blake said as they continued to run.

"Anyone got any other ideas?!" Yang asked.

"I do! Run!" Ruby yelled as she kept on running.

The group continued to run through the forest, various arrows being shot at them in attempts to strike them down. Whoever was shooting at them clearly didn't want them to reach the center of the forest.

"Do you think we're getting close yet?!" Yang asked as she ducked under another arrow.

"I'm not sure! It's not like I've ever been this deep into the-!" Sun began, only for the feeling of a stone door to suddenly cut him off, causing him to fall to the ground with an audible thud.

The group looked up to see some sort of door blocking the path. While the group couldn't hear it, the rustling of the leaves was just above them. With nowhere left to run, the group was only left with one option.

"Yang! Get this door open!" Blake yelled.

"On it!" She yelled as she started to charge up her fist. After a few moments of silence, her attack was eventually ready to open the door that was blocking there path.

"Rah!" Yang roared as she slammed her fist onto the stone door, causing it to fly open. Once it did, the group wasted no time to rush through the gates that led to the deepest part of the forest.

Though as they ran through the doors to the other side, they quickly came to a halt once they saw the massive tree that stood in front of them. However, it wasn't just a tree that threw them off.

On the trunk of the tree were various windows and balconies, light could be seen shining through the windows. The group could see some sort of gateway that was at the very bottom of the forest, the sound of various voices could be heard from the other side.

"Hold on. People live here?!" Sun asked.

"Yeah." They heard a male voice say, causing the group to spin their heads to face the source of the voices. Once they turned around, they could see two small Owl Faunus's standing in front of them with serious expressions on there faces.

They wore some sort of attire that was reminiscent to that of a personal bodyguard. They were rather small compared to the members of the group, though that by no means meant that they were defenseless.

"Hey, hey, hey!" One of them said to the group. "Hey, you! Yeah, we're talking to you kids! What are you doing in the Tree of Civilization?" One of them asked.

"You have a lot of nerve for a couple of kids!" One of them said. "Do you have any idea where you kids are?" He asked.

"...Uh." Ruby attempted to answer, though one of the guards quickly cut them off.

"This is where we guard the treasure of the tree! Now we can't just let you turn around and leave! Oh no! You've really put the boss in the bad mood now!" One of them said as the two birds started to walk towards the group with serious expression on there faces.

"What do we do?!" Yang asked.

"Hmm." Ruby hummed as she attempted to come up with a peaceful situation for the sitation they were in. "Let's just ride this out, see where it goes. We won't be doing ourselves any favors by starting any fights." She said.

"Besides, we might want to meet this boss that they're talking about. We might be able to learn more about this forest." Ruby said. After a few moments of silence, the group nodded.

"What are you waiting for?! An invitation?! The boss hates to be kept waiting!" One of them said as they started to walk towards the Tree of Civilization. The group looked at one another for a few moments before following the two birds into the giant tree.

* * *

 ** _Well, the situation isn't really looking good for the remaining members of team RWBY, as well as the leader of team SSSN. Though this may be the only way they'll be able to find out about more about the forest and it's secrets._**

 ** _All they have to do is to meet this boss that the two guards were talking about._**

 ** _Though that's not the only strange thing that's going on with the group. Qrow had the pleasure, or displeasure, of meeting Ush. Though it is still unclear as to who Ush exactly is._**

 ** _Not only that but those two kids seem to know more then they're letting on._**

 ** _Review Response._**

 _ **54godamora: Yes.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Yeah, the past of Caliber isn't exactly a happy tale.**_

 _ **myfunvideos: Not the same character. Also not the same concept or personality. The only thing that is common about them is their names.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: Words to live by.**_

 _ **rocketmce: Added some more diversity to make it seem less like it.**_

 _ **TheTrueWrath: Well, I'm glad you like the characters that I created. Vladimir is definitely one that I'm looking forward to exploring with what I have planned for him. Also with what I have planned, I doubt I'll need to.**_

 ** _LordChaos1418: Thanks_**

 ** _Riley_**

 ** _Race: Human_**

 ** _Weapon: None_**

 ** _Gender: Female_**

 ** _Height: 5'8"_**

 ** _Weight: 154 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 19_**

 ** _Outfit: Black, Brown, Red._**

 ** _Handedness: Ambidexterity_**

 ** _Complexion: Pale_**

 ** _Hair Color: Black_**

 ** _Eye color: Blue_**

 ** _Aura Color: Red_**

 ** _Semblance: Unknown_**

 ** _So after the long wait, it's time to reveal the final results of the poll that was set all those months ago._**

 ** _Spirit of Silence: 79 Votes_**

 ** _Amiltola's Spirit: 48 Votes_**

 ** _Spirit of Thievery: 46 Votes_**

 ** _Wow...Emerald and Ilia were neck and neck, though Ilia was the one to come out on top in the end. Now before you start celebrating, this poll does NOT determine the final pair._**

 ** _It only influences the actual result for the pair of the ship. So anything is possible._**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	76. Family Reunion

_**Hello readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**_

* * *

Speech: "A Family Reunion"

Thought: _'A Family Reunion'_

Flashback: _"A Family Reunion"_

The next day for Jaune and Pyrrha had been rather tense ever since they had separated from Ren and Nora. The girl had taken a heavy blow from there battle with the beast that had slain Ren's parents, and she wasn't looking so well the last time they saw her.

Luckily, she still had a sliver of life left in her once they had actually killed the Nuckelavee. They had also run into a strange woman that as passing through the forests of Anima that was near the ruins of the town.

She had offered to take Nora and Ren to the island that was just outside of Anima in hopes that she could aid the young girl, though there was no guarantee that she would survive that long.

The only way the two would know for certain that Nora was still alive is if they saw her with their own two eyes. All they could do was wait until that day where they would learn the fate of the Valkyrie.

For now, they would continue their journey towards the kingdom of Mistral in attempts to save it from falling victim to the same fate as the once great kingdom of Vale. Though despite the kingdom being just on the horizon, it was still proving to be quite the challenge to cross the mountain terrain that bordered Mistral from the outside world.

The two were walking up a path of one of the various mountains that led to the kingdom of Mistral, the river that flowed through the mountain pouring out of the side like some sort of waterfall. The sound of the waves crashing against the surface of the land gave the forest life as the wildlife of the land flourished and thrived in the environment.

It truly was living up to its reputation for its respect for the wildlife around it. Especially the water around it, it was crystal blue and looked like the purest kind of water you could find in the world.

The Blonde Knight looked over at the edge of the river and stared into the crystal blue water. He had been worried about Ren and Nora ever since they had left with Evie for the island outside of Anima.

Jaune let out a sigh before drinking some of the crystal blue waters that flowed down the mountain of Mistral in attempts to clear his troubled mind. He gasped out suddenly before getting back up on his feet.

"Do you think we're getting close yet?" Jaune asked his partner.

"I'm not sure. Though the kingdom shouldn't be too far off." Pyrrha said as she looked into the distance of the terrain around them.

"Let's hope you're right." The Blonde Knight said as he started to walk towards the path that led down the mountain terrain.

"They'll be fine, Jaune. I'm certain of it." The Spartan said in attempts to calm her friend.

"Yeah, I know. Those two are tough." Jaune said as he turned to face his partner with a serious expression on his face. "It's just hard not to think about. There's no telling what will happen." He said.

"Don't worry, they are more than capable on their own." Pyrrha said as she placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. "We just have to put our trust in them and hope that they will meet us in the field of battle once again." She said.

"...Right." Jaune said with a determined expression on his face. "We should get going, I'd rather not spend another night out in this forest." Jaune said as he started to scratch the back of his neck with his hand.

"Then let us be on our way." Pyrrha said with a chuckle in her voice as the two started to walk down the path that led to the kingdom of Mistral.

The two continued to walk down the mountain in relative silence, though as they continued their path towards the kingdom of Mistral, they started to notice a strange aura that was in the distance of the pathway.

It was rather strange, though the duo continued to move onwards with their quest. After a few moments of silence had passed, they eventually arrived at the source of the strange aura that they had sense.

"Hmm." Jaune hummed as he looked at the map he had in his bag. After a few moments of silence, he started to walk down the pathway that led down the mountain and towards the kingdom of Mistral.

"So if the map is correct then we should be..." The Blonde Knight began as he lowered his gaze from the map and to the horizon ahead. Sure enough, the great Kingdom of Mistral stood atop the mountain that was in the distance from the summit they were walking down.

"There it is! Pyrrha! We're here! We actually made it to the kingdom of Mistral!" Jaune yelled to his partner. Though the only thing he was met with was the silence of the forest around them.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune called out as he turned his head towards the forest they had just come from. Though what he wasn't expecting was to see Pyrrha standing in front of some sort of Tavern that stood near the bottom of the mountain.

The Blonde Knight stared at his partner with a confused expression on his face before putting the map back into his bag.

"What's up, Pyr?" Jaune asked as he walked towards the Tavern that his partner was standing in front of. It was rather large compared to the other ones that they had seen over there travels.

Not to mention that it looked rather different when it came to the design of the structure. The sound of voices could be heard from the inside of the Tavern as the lights shone through the window.

"Weird, I don't think this Tavern is on the map." Jaune said as he stared at the structure.

"Hmm." Pyrrha hummed to herself.

"What's up?" The Blonde Knight asked his partner as he stared at the Tavern that was in front of them.

"I'm not sure, though there's something about this structure that's strange." She said.

"Well, it does stand out compared to the other Tavern's we've seen." Jaune said.

"Not like that. It's the atmosphere." Pyrrha said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I'm not certain." She said as she clenched one of her fists.

"Wanna check it out?" Jaune asked his partner.

"If it's no trouble that is." Pyrrha said as she started to walk towards the Tavern that was emanating the strange atmosphere from within. She grasped the handle of the door and started to walk into the tavern.

Once she did, she could see various people that were sitting at the tables that were scattered around the bar. Everyone seemed like they were having a good time, and there was even a stage on the right side of the room.

So far it seemed like the usual taverns that she would see in the capital of Mistral, as well as the various ones she had seen over the course of her journey. Though it was the actual bar that stood to her.

It seemed rather different compared to the ones that she had seen before. There were various brands of alcohol that weren't very native to that of Mistral, as well as some of the design choices that the owner had picked.

"Well, this definitely seems like a welcoming place." Jaune said as he walked into the Tavern alongside his partner.

"Why thank you! That was the look I was going for." The sound of a woman's voice could be heard from behind the counter of the bar. The woman had a rather pale complexion with two grey eyes and long iris hair that was neatly wrapped in some sort of ponytail.

She wore a white collared shirt with some sort of black tie that was wrapped around the collar of the shirt, as well some sort of black skirt that was held up by a set of suspenders that were wrapped around her shoulder, the skirt went up to her knees.

Though despite the suspender she had, the skirt in question was being held up by some sort of belt that was wrapped around her waist, the belt having various pouches on it.

A purple sash could also be seen wrapped around the belt she had.

The woman also wore a pair of black leggings with a pair of black knee-high high heeled boots. She also had a pair of earrings that were placed on her earlobe and the helix of the ear.

Once Jaune had closed the door behind him, the two started to walk around the area in attempts to see what was the cause of the strange and unfamiliar atmosphere. Though apart from the strange design choice, there wasn't anything off about the Tavern in question.

Though little did the duo know, some sort of girl was watching them as they made their way into the Tavern. She stared at them with a look of surprise in her eyes as they continued to walk into the bar.

"Hmm, doesn't seem like anything's off yet." Jaune said as they made their way to the front of the bar.

"I swear, it's true!" They heard someone say. "I swear by all that's holy, it was the Woman in The Green Mask." One of them said, causing the duo to turn their attention over to the conversation of the group of people.

"Yeah, seems like she's been on everyone's mind." One of them said.

"Hmm." The woman behind the counter hummed as she narrowed her eyes.

"Come on, those are just made up stories people use to scare their kids into behavior." He said. "What are the odds of some old fairy tale making their way into the modern day?" One of them asked.

"Woman in The Green Mask?" The woman asked, causing the men to turn their heads towards her.

"You mean you've never heard of her?" One of the men asked.

"Surprised you haven't, I mean her wanted poster is hanging on your wall over there." He said, causing Jaune and Pyrrha to turn to face the poster. Sure enough, some sort of green mask could be seen on a poster, though the rest of the woman's figure was nowhere in sight.

"She'll appear in the dead of night and kill you before you can even blink, at least that's what people say." He said. "It was even said that she brought down entire governments before." The man said.

"Even to this day, she's still yet to be caught. Though you'd think that with a mask like that you'd stick out like a sour thumb." He said.

"Though it's not like we have anything to worry about. The Huntsmen back in the kingdom would never let her live after what she did." One of the men said.

"Yeah, you got a point there." He said. "Even with everything that's happened to Vale, you can bet that the council is gonna make sure that the people are safe." One of them said before getting a nervous look on his face.

"Though her wanter poster gets updated every single year. Doesn't that mean that The Woman in The Green Mask is still out there?" The men asked.

"...Yeah, well some spooky killer walking around with a glowing green mask sounds pretty ridiculous to me." One of the men said.

"What do you think, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked his partner after hearing the tale of the Woman in The Green Mask.

"I'm not sure. Though I'm sure that this little Fairy Tale might hold some truth to it." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." He said. "We should keep a lookout for anyone who might know about this masked woman." He said.

"Right." She said with a nod.

Though as the two were talking amongst one another, the owner of the bar stared at the two from behind the counter with her eyes narrowed.

"Are you messing with us you little punk?" They heard someone ask, causing the duo to turn their heads towards the source of the commotion. Once they did, they could see three men towering over some sort of waiter with looks of anger in their eyes.

Though before Jaune or Pyrrha could step in, they could feel a small burst of wind fly past them. In the blink of an eye, the woman that was behind the counter had appeared in front of the man with a serious expression on her face.

"Huh?!" Jaune asked as he looked back in the direction where the woman originally was.

"..." The three men stared at the woman with looks of complete and utter shock on their faces, clearly noticing that she was behind the counter not seconds ago.

"Well, looks like we've got a problem. Now, how about we fix it?" She asked with a serious expression on her face.

"H-hey, we didn't mean anything by it." One of them said as he started to slowly back away from the woman in question. The other two men were also equally as nervous by the aura the woman was letting loose.

After a few moments of silence, the three men left the bar in a hurry.

"Whew, looks like that's taken care of. You be careful next time, got it?" She said to the man.

"Of course." The man said as he started to walk towards the counter. "Excuse me." The waiter said as he walked past the duo. While they weren't able to identify him completely, they were able to take notice of his mustache that would even rival their old teacher Port.

"...I take it back. This place is definitely weird." Jaune said to his partner.

"Well, doesn't that face take me back." The sound of a girl's voice could be heard from behind the duo, causing them to turn to face the girl in question. Though once they did, Jaune's jaw practically dropped to the floor.

"J-June?!" He asked.

"What's up, Jaune?" The newly named June asked. Though as Pyrrha stared at the girl more and more, she started to notice that she looked very similar to Jaune with her hair and eye color.

"Do you know this person, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"Wow! It's been so long! Pyrrha, let me introduce you to one of my seven sisters, June Arc." Jaune said with a big smile on his face.

"...Huh?!" She asked.

* * *

Deep within the forests of Anima laid a structure of great importance. It was a rather large and well-fortified one at that, though it was blocked off from the outside world due to the people in power wanting to put an end to the actions they have taken.

As such, they had decided to place the structure deep within the ground in attempts to hide from those who wished to destroy all that they had created. Though after the events that had happened in Vale, they were now more a target than ever before.

Deep below the grounds of Anima laid the high council of the White Fang organization, led by the great Sienna Khan herself. After the leader of the Vale branch, Adam Taurus had let his wrath lose into the kingdom of Vale, he had received harsh words from the leader.

However, he was still determined to carry out his goal of wiping humanity off of the face of the world so that the Faunus would no longer have to bear their hatred any longer.

Though convincing Sienna Khan to take the same actions as the Bull Faunus did in Vale was proving to be quite the challenge. The leader of the White Fang wanted the world to know that the Faunus race would not be pushed down any longer, though refused to take the actions necessary to truly get the freedom they deserved.

Alongside Hazel Rainart, a man sent to him to help persuade the leader of the White Fang to take action, he would make his final attempt to convince Sienna Khan to truly revolutionize their cause.

To gain the freedom that they so deserved. Though such a freedom would not come without sacrifice, and Adam was prepared to make any sacrifices necessary in order to achieve his goal.

The Bull Faunus in question was waiting outside the doors leading to the room of Sienna Khan. He had taken up some sort of new attire to commemorate this newfound resolve he had acquired.

Rather than his usual elegant like attire that he once had during his time in Vale, Adam took on a form-fitting black, gray and red tunic with two-layers of flares that fell beyond his thigh.

The top layer, at the base of the torso, is solid red and extends over the hips. Below it, the second layer has two solid black pieces of fabric with red piping that cover the sides of the thighs.

The sleeves have a zipper on the upper arm and wide black cuffs. His pants are a matching gray to the tunic, the back of his tunic having his wilting rose emblem over a white floral design.

Hazel was also waiting beside Adam with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. After a few moments of silence, Adam placed his hands on the massive doors leading to the room of the high leader and pushed them open, causing the sound to echo throughout the halls.

"Wait here." He said to Hazel, causing the giant of a man to nod his head.

Once he walked into the giant hallway, he could see the leader of the White Fang herself sitting on the throne that was placed at the end of the hallway. The leader of the White Fang in question was a female, tiger-based Faunus with orange eyes, dark complexion and wild black, short hair.

Her Faunus trait manifested as an extra pair of ears, and her body was adorned with numerous tattoos resembling tiger stripes. She wore four golden earrings on three of her ears, one each on her human ears, and two on her left Faunus ear, as well as a small jewel on her forehead.

She was seen dressed in a form-fitting black dress with light green accents on the rims of the outfit; the dress left most of her back open, had two long splits on the side which revealed a pair of black shorts, a shorter split in the front and a small squared keyhole.

Over the dress, she wore a back-revealing red cape with gold accents, as well as a green waist cincher with red rims that had a black belt over it, which fastened a green pouch on her right hip.

Aside from that, she wore black stockings in conjunction with green sandals that had red laces which were tied to her calves, as well as a black elbow length fingerless glove on her right hand.

The Tiger Faunus in question was staring at the Bull Faunus with a serious expression on her face. Adam kneeled before the leader to show his respect for all that she had done for their cause.

"High Leader Khan." He said, waiting for the final decision for his offer to attack Haven Academy to be brought down.

"Adam." She merely said. "I know why you're here." Sienna said to Adam.

"I'm not going to repeat myself, so I want you to listen when I tell you that the White Fang will not attack Haven Academy." She said.

"High Leader Khan, please listen to what I have to say." Adam said to the leader.

"I believe I've heard enough from you!" Sienna yelled, causing the Bull Faunus to back down. "The assault you led on Beacon was not the great victory you clearly think it was, and you should be grateful that your punishment wasn't more severe." She said.

Adam clenched his fist as he kneeled on the ground. So far things were looking rather bleak for his plans for the future of the world they lived in. Though he would not back down now, not when he was so close.

"You are a symbol for many in our organization, but that doesn't make you infallible." Sienna said.

"I was merely trying to follow your example, High Leader." He said.

"Oh? To what example are you speaking of?" She asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Strength. Strength and unwavering conviction." Adam said to the high leader, attempting to cater to her ego. "The humans have seen that strength now." He said.

"I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world." She said. "I will not allow humanity to push us down without pushing them back." Sienna said.

"Though the destruction of the Huntsman Academies crosses a line!" She said to the Bull Faunus. "The loss of the CCT has brought global communication to a crawl! Not only that but the White Fang is more of a target now than ever before!" Sienna said.

"You have justified humanity's campaign against us, and for what? Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about and come and go as they please!" She said.

"These are not examples of strength, are examples of your talents being diminished by shortsightedness." Sienna said.

"...I see. If you want to know more about the humans, then why not talk to one of them yourself?" He asked as he stood from where he was kneeling before turning his head towards the door.

"Hazel!" Adam shouted, causing the doors leading to the room to fly open. Once they did, Hazel emerged from the darkness from the other side of the hallway.

"Took you long enough." He said as he started to walk into the room.

"What is this?!" She asked as the high leader of the White Fang stood from where she sat. Once she did, her guard raised their weapons and pointed them at the giant of a man that was walking towards the throne.

"Apologies. I don't aim to cause any trouble." Hazel said.

"You brought a human to this location?" Sienna asked.

"You should hear what he has to say." Adam said to the High Leader.

"This is grounds for execution!" She roared. Though before the guard could move in to oppress the duo, Hazel quickly spoke up.

"Ma'am...please. Nobody needs to die today." Hazel said as he kneeled before the high leader. "I'm just asking for a moment of your time." He said.

"The longer you stay here, the less of a chance you have of leaving alive." She growled.

"I'll take those chances if you don't mind." Hazel said.

After a few moments of silence, Sienna Khan eventually decided to listen to the words of the human.

"You don't like me. You have no reason to like me. But you don't have to like me to get the results you want." He said.

"I'm starting to doubt that either of you fully comprehend what it is that I want." She said. "I want humanity to fear the Faunus, to know that we demand respect. I do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!" Sienna said.

Though before Hazel could speak up, Adam stepped forward's to speak to the high leader.

"That's where you're wrong." He said.

"We can win a war against the humans. Not only because of the support of Hazel's master but because the Faunus are the dominant species of this planet." Adam said as he started to walk towards the leader of the White Fang.

Hazel clenched his fist, clearly not liking the sudden actions of the Bull Faunus.

"We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Yet there are thousands of humans who would oppress us for who we are, for being more than they could ever be." Adam said.

"You're methods have been an inspiration to us all, Sienna Khan. Though now it's time for a change." Adam said. "The humans killed one of our own, the man who was known as Os was left to die in the ruins of Vale." He said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"One of our own, left to die like some sort of animal. Is that the freedom you believe in?! Is that the justice you're fighting for?!" He asked. "The time for negotiations has passed. Now is the time for action. To truly liberate our people from the oppression of the humans, once and for all!" Adam said.

"...I've had enough of this conversation for one night. Leave us at once, and get this human out of my sight." Sienne said.

"...So, that is how it will be?" He asked as he raised his hand to the air. "Then I only ask that the gods above welcome you with open arms." Adam said as he snapped his fingers, causing various White Fang soldiers to walk out from the pillars.

"Farewell, Sienna Khan." Adam said as he started to walk towards the High Leader.

However, before either side could take action against the other, Hazel quickly slammed his fist into Adam's side, causing his body to go flying through the stone walls taht surrounded the room.

"..." The room fell deafly silent as everyone had just witnessed Hazel push Adam aside as if he were nothing.

"Apologies, I am normally not so quick to take such actions." Hazel said as he brushed himself off with his right hand.

Though before he could continue to speak, the feeling of a bullet hitting him on the head quickly cut him off. Though once the bullet hit the ground, he turned around to face the members of the White Fang that Adam had brought.

"Excuse me for a moment." Hazel said as he started to walk towards the group.

The members who had firearms started to shoot at the man as he started to walk towards them, though this didn't even phase the man as he continued his treck towards the group.

Once they were within his range, he picked two of them up as if they were as light as a feather and threw them across the room. One of them had attempted to slash at him with their sword, though the blade in question didn't really seem to phase the man.

He turned around and punched the member away, causing them to go flying through the doors that led to the hallway. Another White Fang member attempted to shoot the man down, though he was easily able to block the attack with the palm of his hand.

Once he got into his range, he picked him up and slammed him to the ground. Two more charged towards the man, though Hazel merely picked the two up and slammed them together, causing them to lose consciousness.

Lastly, the remaining two members of the White Fang were slowly walking towards Hazel with their weapons by their side.

"You don't have to do this." Hazel said.

However, the only response the duo gave him was to start firing their weapons at the man. Though just like before, this did nothing but tear the clothes that he dawned. Hazel reached over and grabbed the two guns before breaking them in half with his bare hands.

"..." The two stared at the giant of a man before looking back at their broken guns. After a few moments of silence, they fled the room out of fear for there lives. Once everything was taken care of, Hazel turned towards Sienna Khan.

"Sorry about that. Now, where were we?" Hazel asked as he started to walk towards Sienna Khan.

"Who...Who are you?" She asked.

"Hazel Rainart." He said to the woman. "As I said before, I'm just asking for a few moments of your time." Hazel said.

"...Very well." Sienna said to the man as she sat on her chair.

"If it's no trouble, I wish to only speak with you alone." He said to the woman.

"I am the leader of the White Fang. Anything you can say to me you will say to all those who follow me." She said.

"That may be so. Though I do not wish to speak to the leader of the White Fang. I wish to speak to Sienna Khan." Hazel said to the woman.

After a few moments of silence, the leader of the White Fang turned towards her guards.

"Leave us." She said, causing the group to nod their heads and walk out of the hallway, leaving the two to speak alone. Sienna Khan merely stared at the man with a serious expression on her face.

Though Hazel was able to get the attention of the leader of the White Fang without having to be killed. Now all he had to do was to convince the leader to cooperate with there plans for the New World.

After a few moments of silence, Sienna Khan motioned Hazel to speak his mind.

"Now then, let us begin." Hazel said to the leader of the White Fang.

* * *

Nora wasn't quite sure what had happened ever since the battle with the Nuckelavee. She had fallen unconscious after she had taken the hit for Ren, though even she wasn't sure whether or not she would survive the blast.

It was one hell of a gamble she took for the sake of her partner, though it was a chance she was willing to take. He had saved her all those years ago, and it was time to repay the debt she owed to him.

That being said, she wasn't exactly feeling one hundred percent at the moment, though that could be expected after tanking an attack like that. She could feel various motions throughout her body, though they were rather faint.

She could tell that she was being moved by someone, though she wasn't exactly sure who exactly was moving her, or where they were taking her in the first place. Though if she could at least feel something from the outside world then she was alive at the very least.

While she was prepared to do whatever it took to protect Ren from the Nuckelavee, she wasn't exactly to keen on dying anytime soon. Though it didn't really help that she wasn't able to wake up from her slumber.

The Valkyrie had gotten bored of just sitting around rather quickly and wanted to get back in the action as soon as possible. Though even she knew that she wasn't exactly in the best shape to do so at the moment.

So for now, all she could do was wait until she was actually able to wake up. She was hoping that her sacrifice wasn't for nothing and that Ren did indeed survive until the end of the battle.

Though after she laid in the darkness for awhile, she suddenly felt this surge of unfamiliar energy throughout her body. She wasn't sure how, but her body was healing much faster than normal.

Nora would definitely have to see if she couldn't get whatever had healed her at such a rapid pace. It would sure come in handy in the future of their journey to Mistral. Speaking of which, she was rather curious as to how the journey to Mistral was actually going.

They had said that they were getting close, though they never said how close they were getting. If she had missed out on any cool fights then she was going to be pretty annoyed.

She wanted to give that Nuckelavee a good beat down after what it did to her friends, though considering she was alive and well, she was certain that her friends had managed to take it down.

 _'Ah well. Guess it's not the only Nuckelavee in the world.'_ Nora thought to herself.

Though after a few moments of silence, Nora could feel herself start to regain consciousness. Once she returned to the outside world, she was met with a blinding ray of light that shone through the window next to her.

"Mmm." She groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Once her vision had returned to her, she started to scan her surroundings in attempts to see where exactly she was. While she wasn't exactly sure where she was taken, she was sure that she wasn't in the Kingdom of Mistral.

The interior of the bedroom was completely different when compared to the Inn's she had stayed in throughout her journey across Anima. It was much more modern when compared to Mistral.

"Huh." She said as she continued to look around the room. Though if there was one thing that did catch her eye, it was the sleeping Ren that was sitting in a chair beside her bed.

The Valkyrie chuckled and leaned over to the Monk in question. She reached over to Ren and grabbed his nose, causing him to awaken due to the sudden lack of air he was getting.

"Gah!" He yelled as he fell over in his chair.

This caused Nora to let out a heart filled laugh as the boy slowly got up from where he had fallen. Once he got a good look at the girl, he started to rub his eyes to see if he wasn't just seeing things.

"Good to see you, Ren." Nora said with a smile on her face.

After a few moments of silence, Ren started to chuckle to himself due to the antics of his partner.

"Yes, it's good to see you." Ren said, causing the girl to let out a giggle.

"So, where are we anyways?" She asked her partner.

"After you had fallen in battle, we were able to come up with a strategy to defeat the Nuckelavee. Once it was defeated, we thought you had fought your last battle." He said to the Valkyrie.

"It's gonna take more than that to keep me down." Nora said, causing the Monk to chuckle to himself.

"Anyways, after the battle we met this woman that had offered to take you back to her town that resided on a small island just outside of Anima. I needed to make sure that you survived the trip so I went with the woman to the town." Ren explained.

"Huh, so we're not in Mistral?" Nora asked.

"Not yet." He said.

"So where are the others?" Nora asked the Monk.

"With any luck, they should be in Mistral by now. We had to split up in order to cover more ground. Unfortunately, I am unable to contact at the moment." Ren said to his partner.

"So, when do you think we should hit the road?" She asked.

"Hmm, I'm unsure. There are a few things that I find rather odd about this town." Ren said as he started to walk around the room with his arms behind his back.

"You mean stranger than the thing's that have already happened?" Nora asked as she got out of the bed in attempts to move her muscles.

"Indeed. While I have yet to narrow it down to a single course of events, this island is indeed full of mystery." The Monk said to the girl as he walked over to the window that kept them from the outside world.

"Must be pretty weird if you can't figure it out." She said as she started to walk towards her partner.

"Yes. Though I suppose we can worry about that at a later time. For now, I'm just glad that you are well." Ren said to his partner.

Though before the two could continue to converse with one another, the sound of the door to the room opening quickly cut them off. The two turned around to see the woman known as Evie walking into the room with a bucket of water in her hands.

"Is everything okay? I heard a thud from downstairs." She said as she opened the door. "Oh, you're awake." Evie said as she placed the bucket of water on the dresser on the other side of the room before walking towards the two.

"So, you're the one who patched me up, right?" Nora asked as she walked towards the woman.

"That's right. I'm Evie." Evie said as she held out her hand to greet the girl.

"Nora Valkyrie." She said as she grabbed the hand of the woman and started to squeeze it. It was how she normally greeted people, wanted to see how strong they were before actually meeting them.

Though what the young girl didn't expect was for the woman to be rather unphased by the iron grip of the Valkyrie. She merely just stood there with a smile on her face as she shook her hand.

"How are you feeling? You were in pretty bad shape when I found you on my way back home." Evie said.

"Hmm." Nora hummed as she started to do a few stretches to see how her muscles were after the effects of the blast. Sure enough, she had completely recovered from the battle she had fought the previous day.

Though even she knew aura couldn't just heal wounds like that overnight. However, she wouldn't really be doing herself any favors with prying for information the seconds she woke up, so she held her tongue for how.

"Yep! Looking good!" Nora said as she gave the girl a thumbs up.

"That's a relief." Evie said with a sigh before walking towards the door once again. "Why don't you come on down, I'll show you two around." She said as she walked out of the door.

The two looked at one another with curious expressions on their faces. They weren't entirely sure what the woman had in store for the duo, though right now the only thing they could do was follow her.

"Don't need to tell me twice." The Valkyrie said as she started to walk towards the door in question. The two had started to look around the house in attempts to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.

Though unfortunately for them, they weren't able to find anything that stuck out to them. It looked like any other house you would see in the various kingdoms of the world. It didn't look like anyone else in the house had lived here, so that told them that the woman was living in this house alone.

Once they had reached the downstairs, Evie was seen going through some sort of cupboard in her living room. After a few moments of silence, she eventually stood up and started to walk towards the dup with Nora's belongings.

Though what nearly caused the Valkyrie's jaw to hit the floor and what made Ren question his view of the woman was how she was easily able to hold Nora's weapon with just a single hand.

Sure Nora was able to do the same thing, though this woman made it look like it didn't even weight more than a single pound.

"I believe these belong to you." Evie said to the girl as she handed Nora her belongings. Once the moment of shock and confusion had passed, the two quickly snapped back into reality.

"R-right. Thanks." Nora said as she grabbed her things from the arms of the woman. She looked around to see if there was a bathroom anywhere in the lower levels of the house.

After a few moments, Evie poked the shoulder of the girl before pointing to the left of the kitchen. Nora nodded and walked over towards the room before getting changed into her usual attire.

"Hmm." Ren hummed to himself.

"Is something wrong?" Evie asked the young Monk.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm just thinking to myself." He said to the woman. It wasn't a complete lie, he was still rather curious about the woman in question, as well as the strange elixir that she had given Nora last night.

After a few moments of silence had passed, Nora walked out of the bathroom in her usual attire. She did a few stretches before walking back over towards the group in question.

"Ready?" Evie asked the group, causing them to nod there heads. "Alright then." She said as she walked over towards the front door and stepped out into the outside world. The two looked at one another for a few moments before following the young woman.

Once they actually walked out of the house of Evie, they could see the entire town that resided on the island that was just outside of the continent of Anima. It was much larger than any other town they had been to, and the nature of the town was a sight to be held as well.

Despite being a separate continent, they still held the nature of Remnant in the highest regard. The town in question was placed on a fairly large mountain that was on the island, Evie living near the middle of the town.

On the top of the town was a rather large structure with various buildings surrounding it. On the bottom of the mountain was the vast ocean of Remnant, though they could easily see the forests of Anima in the distance.

"Whoa." Nora said as she started to look around the area.

There were various people walking up and down the mountain town, each one going about their day without a care in the world.

"It's rather peaceful." Ren commented.

"Welcome to our little town." Evie said as she started to walk down the stone road that led to the upper levels of the town. "So, I hope you don't mind if I ask you two a couple of questions." She said as they started to walk to the structure at the top of the town.

"Sure." Nora said, throwing her hands to the back of her head.

"Where did you two come from?" Evie asked the duo.

"It may be rather difficult to believe, but we were originally in the once great kingdom of Vale before starting our journey to Mistral." Ren said, causing the woman to stare at the two with a rather surprised expression on her face.

"Well then, you've been on the road for quite some time then." Evie said to the duo.

"Yes, it was a rather long and perilous journey." He said. "I take it that you are familiar with the island?" Ren asked.

"That's right. I've lived here for a very long time." Evie said to the two as they made their way up to the path that led to the very top of the mountain where the large structure was.

"So how exactly did this town come to be? A town like this could be considered its own kingdom." Ren said.

"Well, originally this town was meant to be its own kingdom in a way. Though an earthquake that happened here long ago separated the two continents from one another." Evie said to the group.

"Though we do get the occasional merchant from time to time." She said. "There are a few legends and pieces of folklore about this town, so that brings in a few thrills seeking travelers." Evie said as they continued to walk up the road that led to the top of the mountain.

"What kind of folklore?" Nora asked.

"Hmm, well there is the Tale of the Treasure of the Forest." She said to the duo, causing their attention to turn towards the woman's tale. "In the deepest parts of this island is a treasure that rivals all other treasures, or at least that's what the legend says." Evie said.

"There are some people who wish to take this treasure for themselves, though it's all just folklore in the end." She said to the duo. However, if there was anything the duo had learned over their journey, is that nothing is just folklore.

"Really? I'm not sure I fully get it, but I think there's more to it than that." Nora said to Evie.

"Maybe so." She said to the group. "So why exactly were you two heading towards the kingdom of Mistral?" The woman asked the duo. They were rather hesitant to tell her the tale behind the Fall of Vale, as well as what could possibly be happening to the Great Kingdom of Mistral.

"I suppose we were just finishing what a friend started." Ren said.

"Hmm, is that so?" She asked as they continued to walk up the mountain.

"Hey, I know that this is a little late to ask, but where exactly are we going?" Nora asked.

"We're heading towards that building over there." Evie said as she pointed at the large building that stood a top of the mountain. It definitely stood out compared to the rest of the structures that surrounded the mountain.

"Why are we going there?" She asked.

"There are a few people who would like to meet you." She said as she continued to walk up the path that led to the top of the mountain. The two looked at one another with uncertain looks in their eyes, though they continued to follow the woman none the less.

After a few more moments of walking had passed, the group eventually arrived at the large structure that stood a top of the mountain. From the looks of it, it looked like some sort of office.

Though there were various bars of some sort in the front of the office that acted as some sort of meeting place for various travelers. The place was rather busy with people of all kind.

"What is this place?" Nora asked.

"It's the outpost for the various travelers. It's actually run by a veteran huntsmen team." Evie said, causing the duo to stare at the woman with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Seriously?!" Nora asked.

"Yep. Follow me, I'll introduce you." Evie said as she started to walk inside of the facility. The two were still rather shocked that veteran huntsmen were all the way out here, though this could work in their favor.

They would need all the help they could get for the things to come, so maybe they could convince this team of huntsmen to help aid in their quest to save Mistral. As the group walked inside of the office, Evie started to lead them towards the stairs that were near the end of the massive room.

Once they had made their way up the stairs, they could see a double set of doors at the end of the room. They assumed that this was the office of the leader of this team of huntsmen.

Evie walked up to the set of doors and started to hit her fist up against the wood of the door. After a few moments of silence, a male voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Huh? Who is it?" The voice said from the other side of the door.

"It's me. I have the two you asked for." Evie said.

"Oh! Well then don't just stand there. Bring em in!" The man said, causing Evie to nod her head and turn towards the duo. She motioned for the duo to walk towards the door, causing the two to nod their heads before walking towards the door.

"I'll wait for you two outside." Evie said as she started to walk towards the exit to the hall. Once she was gone, Ren gripped the handle to the door before walking into the office of the leader of the team.

Once they walked in, they were greeted by a rather large, muscular man with gray hair and red eyes. He wore a black tank top with a set of dark blue jeans with a few tears in them.

Around his jeans was a black belt with various pouches around them, the center of the belt having some sort of golden crest around it. He also wore a pair of black boots on his feet.

"So, you're the kids that took down that Nuckelavee, huh?" The man asked.

"That's right. I'm Nora Valkyrie." Nora said.

"Lie Ren."

"Nice to meet ya, the names Fernando, leader of team Frontier." The newly named Fernando said.

Meanwhile, Evie could be seen walking from outside of the hallway with a rather serious expression on her face. She seemed rather lost in thought as if there was something important on her mind.

Though during her state of mind, she failed to notice the rather large figure that was walking right in front of her. Once she had made contact with the man, she noticed that the impact was rather soft.

However, this didn't prevent the man from falling on to the ground beneath her. The man landed on the ground with an audible thud, implying that he had a lot of weight on him.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I was just so lost in thought." Evie said as she held out her hand.

"It's alright. It happens to all of us from time to time." The Faunus said as he grasped the hand of the girl, the girl in question being able to pick up the giant of a man rather easily.

"Hmm, you're quite strong." He said.

"I get that a lot." Evie said to the man.

"Hmm, do you happen to live here by any chance?" The Faunus asked.

"That's right. My name's Evie. Pleasure to meet you." She said as she held her hand outwards.

"Otso. The pleasure is all mine." The newly named Otso said as he shook the girl's hand. "I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of this building?" The bear Faunus asked as he held up an address.

"Hmm...Just got that way." Evie said as she pointed to the direction of the building.

"Excellent. Thank you very much." Otso said as he started to walk towards the direction of the building. Once the man was gone, Evie started to make her way back to her house.

Though as the man eventually arrived at the building, he pulled out a set of keys that were attached to the note that he had gotten. He put the keys into the lock and turned it, causing the door to open.

Once Otso had entered the house that was at the address, he placed his belongings on the sofa that was in the living room before pulling out some sort of crystal ball from his pack.

He walked over to the table that was in the kitchen and closed his eyes. After a few moments of silence, his aura flared to life which caused the crystal ball to glow with the same color as his aura.

"This is Otso speaking." He said with a serious expression on his face. "I have arrived at the location of the Artifact of Life."

* * *

The nights of the kingdom of Atlas were rather beautiful once the light from the shattered moon shone over the white snow. It gave a rather captivating glow that drew the people of the kingdom in.

However, some would see the night as an opportunity to take action. One of those individuals was the former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee. Now with no reason to stay in Atlas and armed with the knowledge of her sisters leave for Mistral, she would embark on a journey that would change the course of her life.

It was rather difficult to prepare, though the night of her escape had finally arrived. It was time for Weiss to take action against her father. Though she would do it with the gift that Winter had given her.

She had dawned a brand new outfit to guide her new life not just as a huntress, but her own person. Weiss wore a white, double-breasted jacket with black piping, cuffs and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim.

Weiss had also dawned a belt of some sort around her skirt, the belt in question having various pouches that were used to store various kinds of dust. She also wore a pair of armored silver, thigh high boots with black heels and lace-topped black stock.

It was rather similar to the outfit she had dawned when she had fought Roman Torchwick in Vale. She had asked Winter to make a few modifications to the outfit so it was more suited for combat.

The girl in question was walking out of her room to meet her butler, Klein so that she may leave for the great kingdom of Mistral to meet her sister. She looked around the hallway for a few moments to make sure that neither her father or brother were anywhere in sight.

Once she was certain that they were gone, she slowly started to walk out of her room with the case that held her weapon. Weiss turned around to attempt to find her butler, though she was quickly cut off by the man himself.

Though before she could speak up, Klein told her to keep quiet.

"Let's go." He whispered to her, causing her to nod as she followed her butler to the location of the secret passage that was in her manor. As the two started to walk through the manor, she decided to get one last look at the interior.

It would be the last time she would ever get to see the place she once called home. Though there was no turning back now, not after everything that had happened. However, before the two could arrive at the secret passage, Klein's scroll started to vibrate in his pocket.

The man pulled out the device and put it up to his ear.

"Master Whitely? I...Um, yes of course. I'll be just a moment." He said as he hung up the call before turning towards Weiss. "Head to the first-floor library, I'll meet you there." Klein said as he started to walk towards Whitely's room.

Weiss was rather uncertain as to what the young boy could want, though decided to press on as her butler had requested. Though as she passed by her father's office, she could hear the sound of glass breaking from the other side.

'What in the world?' She asked herself as she leaned up against the door in attempts to listen to what was happening from the other side. She had suspected that Ironwood had informed her father of the decision made by the council, though she was rather surprised when she had heard the voice of the General's right hand, Count Vladimir.

"Please, Mr. Schnee. Control yourself." Vladimir said.

"You're talking to me about control?! Do you even hear what you're saying?" He asked. "A traitor in our own borders? Someone who plans to bring the great kingdom of Atlas down? What blasphemy is this?!" Jacques asked.

'Traitor?' Weiss asked herself.

"It is the only explanation to how the General fell. No one but a select few individuals knew about the operation he was undergoing." Vladimir said.

'The General?! What's going on?!' She asked herself.

"The people of Atlas were fretful enough as it is with the Fall of Vale, though now that the person who had promised them protection has fallen, the people are wondering how safe they really are." He said.

"Our people need protection." Vladimir said. "As of this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No one shall be able to leave or enter without the permission of the Council." He said.

"Though that is not all. As of this day, I will be taking on the mantle that the general had left behind. I will be the one to lead our kingdom to a brighter future." He said.

"With the borders of our kingdom closed off, as well as the technological advancements our kingdom has made, we would have all the resources at our disposal to live independently from the other nations." Vladimir said.

"The people of Atlas will not fall to the same fate as the kingdom of Vale, mark my words." He said.

"You talk as if we were on the brink of war." Jacques said to the man with his eyes narrowed.

"Perhaps. Though I suppose only time will tell." Vladimir said as he started to walk towards the door that led to the outside of the office. Though as Weiss heard the Count coming towards the door, she quickly stood up and pointed her rapier at the handle to her father's door, causing one of her glyphs to form around the handle.

From the inside of the office, Vladimir grasped the handle to the door and attempted to leave the office of the man. Though once he attempted to turn the doorknob leading to the outside of the office, he noticed that he was having some trouble getting it to open.

"Strange." He said to himself as he continued to push on the door. "Would you be so kind enough as to come and unlock this door?" Vladimir asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jacques asked.

The man narrowed his eyes at the boss of the company before attempted to break down the door, though his efforts were to no avail. Using the opportunity that was in front of her, Weiss started to make her way towards the library that Klein had told her to go to.

Once she had actually arrived at the library where Klein was supposed to meet her, she started to look around the area in attempts to find her butler. Though as she continued to walk up and down the stairs of the library, she soon realized that the butler was nowhere to be seen.

"Klein! Klein where are you?!" Weiss called out to her butler.

"It's rather late, Weiss." A familiar voice said, causing the Heiress to freeze. She slowly turned around to see that her mother, Willow Schnee, was standing right behind her with a rather serious gaze on her.

"Mother." She said.

"Hello. What are you doing at a time like this?" She asked, though once she got a glimpse at the suitcase that Weiss was carrying, Willow was able to put two and two together.

"Ah. I see. You're leaving." Willow said to her daughter.

"..."

"I suppose I understand why you would take such actions." She said to her daughter as she started to walk towards her daughter with a serious expression on her face. Weiss was expecting her mother to stop her, though she was rather surprised once she felt the loving touch of her mother's hand on her shoulder.

"You're going to Mistral, correct?" Willow asked, causing the girl to nod her head to confirm her statement. "That is where your sister Winter was sent." She said to herself before looking at her daughter once again.

"What do you hope to accomplish once you leave, Weiss? What are you hoping to find out there?" Willow asked her daughter.

"...A new path." Weiss said to her mother with a determined expression on her face.

"I see." She said as she closed her eyes before nodding to herself. "Tell me, Weiss. How old are you as of this moment?" Willow asked.

"Eighteen." Weiss said to her mother.

"Is that so? My, how time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that you were in my arms only mere moments after you came into this world." She said, causing Weiss to clench the suitcase she had in her hand.

"I suppose I cannot stop you from making your own decisions. If you desire to leave this place then who am I to stop you?" Willow asked her daughter.

After a few moments of silence, Weiss eventually spoke up to face her mother.

"Come with me." Weiss said.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"We can both leave this place. The borders of Atlas will be closing next week, we can leave father forever!" Weiss said to her mother. Willow stared at her daughter with a rather surprised expression.

She had heard about the general's fall in the tundra's of the mountains, though this was the first she was hearing about the closing of the borders. Weiss was correct, she would be able to finally escape the hold that Jacques had on her for so long.

Though as tempting of an offer as it was...

"I'm sorry Weiss. I can't leave this place." Willow said as she turned towards the family painting that was hung on the wall of the library. "There are still some things that I must do here." She said.

"...Oh." Weiss said, realizing what exactly she was referring to.

"I almost lost you to that devil of a man. I'll be damned if I let my son walk down the same road he did." Willow said to Weiss.

"Right...So, I guess this may be the last time I'll ever see you." Weiss said with a saddened look in her eyes.

"I suppose so. Though do not let that cloud your judgment, Weiss." Willow said as she brought her daughter into a loving embrace. "Words cannot express how proud I am of you, Weiss. You make me proud to be your mother." She said.

It was at this moment that Weiss completely lost all form of composure and completely broke down in front of her own mother. Her mother in question merely started to caress the head of her daughter as she wrapped her arms around her.

Though as the two shared this tender moment, the secret door leading to the outside of the manor opened. Once it did, Klein could be seen walking into the room.

"Ah. Hello Madam Schnee." Klein said to Willow.

"Klein. I wanted to personally thank you for assisting in my daughters escape." She said.

"It's no trouble." He said before turning toward Weiss. "Are you sure Mistral is safe?" Klein asked.

"No, but it's where I'll find Winter." Weiss said.

"I suppose she'll be the only family you have left after tonight." Klein said. Weiss merely smiled as she placed her hand on the shoulder of her butler.

"I'll always have you and mother." She said.

"You most certainly will." Klein said.

Though before the three could continue their conversation, the sound of the door to her father's office being crashed down could be heard from the library.

"Klein?! Klein, get down here this instant!" Jacques yelled.

"Go, now." Klein said as he moved out of the way of the secret door.

Though as Weiss walked into the door, she turned to face her mother and butler one last time.

"Goodbye." She said as the door to the secret passage closed. Once she had actually made her way over to the pilot that Klein had prepared, she started to make her way towards the ship that they would be driving in.

Weiss had brought the requested Lien for the job in question and once the pilot had made sure that the deal was met, he spoke up.

"Okay, you can hide out back in the cargo hold. I'll take you as far as I can, but if we get caught, you're on your own. Understood?" He asked, causing Weiss to nod as she walked onto the ship.

As the ship started to take to the skies, she looked back at the place she once called home for what may be the last time. It hurt to have to leave her mother and Klein behind, though there was no turning back now.

It was time to carve her own path to her own future. Though meanwhile, Vladimir was watching the ship take off from the outside of the Schnee manor with a smirk on his face.

The man snapped his fingers, causing some sort of crystal ball to appear from thin air. He closed his eyes and flared his aura to life, causing the ball to glow as the image of Salem appeared from above the ball.

"This is Count Vladimir. The operation was successful, theAtlesian army is under our complete control." He said into the ball. "All that's left to do is to locate the Winter Maiden, as well as the location of the Artifact ofFire." Vladimir said with a smirk.

* * *

"So, that's basically what happened." Jaune said as he finished telling the tale of the journey they had been through just to get to the kingdom of Mistral.

"...Whoa." June said, shocked by all the events that Jaune had told her. From the times at Beacon to the journey through the forests of Anima.

"Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Though I had one heck of a team to back me up." Jaune said as he referred to his partner that was sitting next to him at the table that his sister was sitting at.

"Hello again." Pyrrha said as she waved to Jaune's sister.

"So, you're the great Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl, right?" June asked the girl.

"Well, I don't think that title would fit me anymore, as I had been bested in battle quite a few times." She said.

"Really now? Must be some tough opponents back in Vale. You know when it was still...you get the point." June said as she took a sip from her cup.

"Yeah, there were." Jaune said with a slightly saddened tone. "I wonder where they all are now? I bet they're out doing their own things to make Remnant a better place." He said.

"They all sounded like great people." June said.

"Yeah, they were. I owe them a lot. I wouldn't be who I am today without them." He said.

"Mom and dad are gonna be really proud of you. You know that, right?" June asked the blonde huntsmen.

"Well, I've still got a long way to go before I get to dad's level." Jaune said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Are you kidding me? You killed a Nuckelavee! A freaking Nuckelavee! Dad's gonna completely lose it once he hears that!" She said with a hint of laughter in her voice. "And wait until he hears that you unlocked your semblance!" Jaune's sister said to him.

"You think so?" He asked.

"I know so! Though you may want to keep that from mom. I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if she hears that you were fighting monsters like that." June said as she and her brother started to shutter slightly.

"So, you're Jaune's partner, right?" She asked as she turned her head towards Pyrrha.

"Hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you." Pyrrha said as she held out her hand.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. Still can't believe you got the Mistral Champion as your partner." June said as she shook the girl's hand.

"Well, I guess I just got lucky." Jaune said.

"So, why exactly are you guys all the way out here anyway's? You said something about finishing something that a friend of yours started, though what exactly do you mean by that?" She asked.

The two looked at one another before Jaune nodded to Pyrrha, telling her that June could be trusted.

"We're looking for the twelve spirit users." He said to his sister.

From the looks of it, the barkeeper from behind the counter overheard Jaune's statement because she dropped the glass she was washing due to the sudden feeling of surprise that washed over her.

"Oh come on, Jaune. Those are just myths." She said.

"No, they're real alright. We saw them with our own eyes." Jaune said, causing Pyrrha to nod her head.

After a few moments of silence, June looked at her brother with a shocked expression on her face.

"Wait, you can't be serious. You're telling me the spirits are real?!" She asked.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Jaune said.

"Right. Sorry." June said.

"Yeah, our friend was the user of the spirit, Caliber." He said.

"Whoa, seriously?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're going out here to find the rest of them." Jaune said.

"What makes you think that some are out here?" June asked her brother.

"Well, we're not entirely sure, though it is a possibility." He said.

"Fair enough." She said to her brother.

Meanwhile, the lady from behind the counter was telling the mustached waiter something, causing the waiter to nod to the lady. Once the man started to go from table to table, each of the groups of people started to walk out of the bar.

Though he came to all the tables except for the one that the group was sitting at. Once the only people that were in the bar were the staff and the group that sat at the table, Jaune leaned over to his sister.

"What's going on?" He whispered to her.

"I don't know." She whispered right back to her brother.

Though before the two could continue to question one another, the mustached man started to walk over to the group.

"Excuse me, may I take a moment of your time?" He asked.

"Uh, sure." June said.

"Splendid. I overhead that you three were just conversing among yourselves about the twelve spirit users. Am I correct?" The man asked.

"...Yeah." Jaune said.

"Very well. Then she would like to talk to you." The man said as he pointed at the woman behind the counter. The trio looked at one another for a few moments before walking over towards the woman in question.

"Hello!" The woman said with a smile on her face.

"Uh, hey." The girl said as she woman placed a bottle of wine on one of the shelves.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you three over here." She said, causing the trio to nod their heads. "Right, well let me introduce myself. My name is Clair." The newly named Clair said to the group.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Pyrrha." The Spartan introduced.

"Jaune Arc."

"And I'm his older sister, June Arc." She said.

"So, why are you looking for the twelve spirit users anyways?" Clair asked the group.

"Well, let's just say that we need their help." Jaune said to the woman.

Though before Clair could continue to question the trio, the sound of someone knocking on the door of the bar quickly cut them off.

"Open up! We know you're in there!" A man said from the other side of the door.

"We know you're in there, Woman in the Green Mask! For your crimes against the kingdom, we have come to capture you! Come out and do so peacefully!" The man said from the other side of the door.

"What's up with everyone today?" Clair asked as he leaned over to the group in question. "Well, looks like our little conversation will have to wait.

Though after a few moments of waiting later, it was evident that the group wasn't coming out of the bar.

"I don't think they're coming out." One of the members said.

"This is strange. Maybe the lead was wrong after all." One of the men said.

"It can't be! Those people were just talking about the Woman in the Green Mask. She has to be here!" He said as he reached for his weapon. "On your guard. We're going up against one of the most seasoned killers of our generations." He said.

The group was still rather uncertain whether or not the lead still held some water, though they were ready for anything none the less. After a few moments of silence, Clair walked out of the bar to face the men in question.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Oh! Sorry to disturb you miss, but have you by chance seen the Woman in the Green Mask?" He asked.

"Well, if I had I certainly wouldn't be talking to you right now." She said.

"Right. I suppose you have a point there." The man said.

"If you want info on the Woman in the Green Mask, there's a wanted poster on the board over there." She said as she pointed at the wanted poster at the billboard.

"...Huh?" He asked.

"Told you." One of the men said.

"You mean we came all this way for a...poster?!" He asked.

"Looks like it. Do you want it? I've got a lot of em." Clair said.

"Hah. No, I'm fine. I think I'm just going to go home right now." The man said as he started to walk away from the tavern with his group. Once they had left, Clair turned around to face the group in question.

However, once she turned to face them she could see that they were nowhere to be seen, though this had meant that her little plan worked. She doubted that those guys would let those kids leave just like that after coming all this way, so she had them leave from the back of the bar.

Though she made them promise to come back to the tavern to tell them more about their quest. Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha were walking away from the tavern alongside June.

Jaune had decided to pay his family a visit after being away for so long, and it was on the way to Mistral anyways so there wasn't a whole of harm to it. Though little did they know, they were being tailed by a fairly large man with a suit of armor.

"Everyone is gonna be so happy to see you again." June said.

"Yeah, it sure has been awhile. Oh! Everyone would love to meet you as well, Pyrrha!" Jaune said.

"That would be lovely, Jaune." Pyrrha said as the group eventually arrived at the cliffside that would lead to the direction of there house.

"Wow, it's been so long." Jaune said as he stared out into the distance.

"Well, it's been waiting for ya." June said with a smile on her face. "Come on, let's head-." She began, only to be cut off suddenly.

Before the group could continue to walk towards the direction of Jaune's house, they could feel the ground beneath them start to give.

"Whoa!" June yelled as they started to fall down the cliff side.

"Aw give me a break already!" Jaune yelled as he and Pyrrha fell down the cliffside.

"Hmm, it appears I forgot to confirm whether they were the people who were named in the report." The giant of a man said as he put his sword back into its sheath. "I suppose it doesn't matter either way. If they were truly the Woman in The Green Mask then I doubt I could have taken them by surprise as easily as I did." He said.

Though as he started to walk away from the cliffside, he could hear the sound of a sudden thump from his right. Once the man looked in the direction of the noise in question, he could see that the woman known as Clair was holding the two girls in her arms while she was holding Jaune by his hood.

However, unlike last time, she had some sort of weapon at her side.

"Oh? Those were some quick movements for a mere bartender." He said to the woman.

"You kids okay?" Clair asked as she placed them all down on the ground.

"Huh? Oh, yeah we're okay." Jaune said, slightly taken aback by Clair's speed. He knew she was fast but that was just fell into the abnormal category of speed that would put Ruby to shame.

"Lucky I came when I did. Otherwise, these kids would have been six feet under by now." She said to the man.

"Indeed, such speeds are rather uncommon these days." The man said as he gripped his sword once again. "If I had to come to a conclusion, I'd say that you are a rather skilled warrior." He said.

"Maybe so." Clair said.

"A woman who can strike down her opponents in the blink of an eye! Such speeds would only be worthy of the Woman in The Green Mask!" He roared as he charged towards Clair.

Though just before he could reach her, he was quickly struck down to the ground below the cliff in the blink of an eye. The group stared at the area where the man originally was before turning to face Clair.

However, once they turned to face the woman, she was nowhere to be seen. They turned their heads towards the bottom of the cliff to see that she was at the bottom of the cliff alongside the man.

"Come on!" Jaune said as they started to run down the path that led down the cliff. Once they arrived at the bottom, they could see that the man was desperately attempting to strike at the woman.

Though everytime he did, she would always appear in another location in the blink of an eye. She was moving at speeds so fast it almost made it look like she was teleporting across the fields.

"Well, you're right about one thing." She said as she suddenly appeared in front of the man suddenly. "I'm not exactly normal." Clair said as the man was suddenly knocked unconcious by a sudden force that the group was unable to see with their own eyes.

"Though you're wrong about who I am. I may not be as famous as the Woman in The Green Mask, but I do have a little legend of my own." She said as she swung her rapier.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Clair, bearer of the spirit of Joyeuse!" Clair said as the blade of the rapier glowed with a white aura.

"...What?!" Pyrrha and Jaune shouted.

* * *

 _ **And with that, another spirit user is revealed into the story. Clair, the spirit user of Joyeuse The Fierce. Not to mention that Ren and Nora had gotten the attention of a huntsmen team, specifically the leader, Fernando.**_

 _ **What's more is that Weiss is making her way over to the kingdom of Mistral, though she'll soon learn that her trials are far from over.**_

 _ **Fate has taken another turn as Sienna Khan lives to see another day. Though it is uncertain whether this will turn out for the best, or for the worst.**_

 _ **Only time will tell.**_

 _ **Review Response**_

 _ **SPDefender: Glad you like that Sun has made his way into the main story. As for who will become Brandon's partner, well there's only one way to find out in the end.**_

 _ **OS: Yes, it's where I got the inspiration for his character.**_

 _ **Guest: The ability only works on allies, though he can't use it on himself. Whenever he snaps his fingers, purple sparks will come off of them, causing the ability to activate. So the reason why you haven't been seeing it a lot is that Brandon's been alone for most of his chapters.**_

 _ **Guest: Well, why settle for an imitation?**_

 _ **Dalan777: That's where I got the inspiration for their characters.**_

 _ **dragonborn795: What's with the deep messages all of a sudden?**_

 _ **Guest: He can only protect Brandon from outside forces like bullets and weapons. Though bombs aren't really something he can protect him from.**_

 _ **Flametusk: Glad you like it so far, hope you get better.**_

 _ **Clair**_

 _ **Race: Human**_

 _ **Weapon: Rapier**_

 _ **Gender: Female**_

 _ **Height: 5'9"**_

 _ **Weight: 160 lbs**_

 _ **Age: 30**_

 _ **Outfit: Black, White, Purple**_

 _ **Handedness: Right**_

 _ **Complexion: Pale**_

 _ **Hair Color: Iris**_

 _ **Eye color: Gray**_

 _ **Aura Color: Magenta**_

 _ **Semblance: Spirit**_

 _ **Destructive Power**_ : ?

 _ **Speed: A**_

 _ **Endurance**_ : ?

 _ **Precision: A**_

 _ **Potential Growth**_ : ?

 _ **Range**_ : ?

 _ **If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.**_

 _ **See you guys in the next update.**_

 _ **Have a good one!**_


	77. Child of The Forest

_**Hello readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**_

* * *

Speech: "Child of The Forest"

Thought: _'Child of The Forest'_

Flashback: _"Child of The Forest"_

Once the rest of the White Fang have cleared out and Adam was taken away to wait for his punishment for attempting to strike down the leader of the White Fang, Sienna Kha, the leader in question stared at the man known as Hazel with a rather serious expression on her face.

Despite having saved her from Adam's blade, Sienna Khan still was rather wary of what the human had to offer. She by no means trusted him or the promises of who he worked for, though she would at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

She was rather curious to know just what sort of plans this man could have, and what could warrant the destruction of not one but two huntsmen academies. Adam was right about one thing, the Faunus were the superior race.

They were basically humans with animal-like traits and senses. Though the humans more than made up for that with the sheer numbers they had in the world of Remnant. When it came down to the population of the planet as a whole, there were indeed more humans than there were Faunus.

It was why Sienna Khan wished to avoid the declaration of war against humanity that Adam so desired for. What Adam wanted was Genocide, the complete eradication of the human race.

She was placed in power because she was willing to make any sacrifices necessary in order to get the equality that the White Fang desired for. Though what the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang was suggesting would only justify humanities transgressions against the Faunus.

Sienna Khan wanted the humans to know that they would not give in to their transgressions without taking a stand to rise up against them. She wanted the humans to pay for the actions against their people.

Though here she stood, listening to the promises of a human she knew nothing about. It went against everything she had stood for, it went against everything the White Fang stood for.

Yet despite all that, she was willing to listen to the words of the man known as Hazel. This man would not have come here knowing that there was a fairly high possibility that he would not be walking out alive, not without reason that is.

This man spoke of a method that would help Sienna Khan achieve her goal. He has already proven that his intentions are not to destroy the White Fang, so the leader would listen to the promises of this man.

Whether these promises would indeed aid her in her goal as high leader of the White Fang would be entirely up to fate itself. The room was rather quiet once all of the guards had left the hall, leaving the only two souls, Sienna Khan and Hazel Rainart, to speak to one another.

A few moments of silence had passed until the High Leader of the White Fang motioned for the man to speak. The man stood from where he was kneeling and faced Sienna Khan with a calm expression on his face.

"Now then, let us begin." Hazel said to the leader of the White Fang.

"Before we begin, I have a few questions for you." The High Leader said to Hazel, causing the man to stare at her with a look of curiosity on his face. "Adam may have spoken of your promises but I am not so easily convinced." Sienna Khan said, causing Hazel to nod his head in agreement.

"If you desire the aid of the White Fang, then I wish to know who you are." She said.

"Who am I? I am Hazel Rainart." The giant of a man said.

"Yes, but I wish to know just who is Hazel Rainart. I wish to know what you hope to achieve by allying yourself with us." Sienna Khan said to the man that stood before her. "I want to know if your intentions are what you say they are." She said.

"I understand." Hazel said as he nodded his head. "The person I work for is someone who is working from the shadows to change the ways of the World of Remnant." The man said.

"Is that so? To what pray tell, is the name of this individual that you follow?" Sienna Khan asked the man.

"I'm afraid that my leader wishes to keep their identity a secret. They would rather keep to the shadows by having only a select few of there most trusted followers know of their identity." Hazel said.

"You wish for me to follow someone whom I do not even know the name of?" The leader of the White Fang asked.

"A name is just that. A name. Though it is the meaning behind it that gives it purpose." Hazel said to the woman. "Once you were just Sienna Khan, though now you are Sienna Khan, the High Leader of the White Fang organization." He said.

"The White Fang, once it was a few Faunus taking actions against the oppression of humanity, now it is a force of revolution." Hazel said.

Sienna Khan stared at the man with a serious expression on her face, she was unsure of the intentions of the individual that this man followed. He asked her to fight for their cause, their revolution that would change the World of Remnant.

Yet she has still yet to fully grasp as to what this goal of there's could possibly be. She closed her eyes for a few moments, debating whether or not to continue to listen to the words of the man or not.

After a few moments of silence, she decided to continue to listen to the words of the man known as Hazel.

"So, tell me about this so-called deal you have in mind?" Sienna Khan asked with one of her eyebrows raised. "What possible cause could warrant the destruction of the once Great Kingdom of Vale?" She asked.

Hazel sighed to himself before starting back at the High Leader of the White Fang. It was clear that even he was not exactly pleased that the Kingdom that stood in the forests of Sanus was no more.

"We ran into some trouble back in the Kingdom of Vale, forcing us to take more drastic measures to achieve our goals." Hazel said before facing the High Leader with a rather serious expression on his face.

"Though we are prepared to make any sacrifices necessary in order to achieve our goal." He said. "Our goal in question is to create a world that is free from the kingdoms that manipulate their own." Hazel said.

"We wish to rid the people of Ozpin's deception." The man said, causing the High Leader of the White Fang to stare at the man with a rather perplexed expression on her face.

"Ozpin? You mean the former headmaster of Beacon Acadamy?" Sienna Khan asked, causing the man to nod his head.

"While he may be gone, his deception still remains. The illusion he created is still in the minds of all the children he has corrupted to fight for his lost cause." Hazel said as he clenched his fist.

"They fight to preserve his secrets, to preserve the deception he had maintained for decades." The man said to the High Leader of the White Fang. "That is why we shall destroy everything that he has created. Destroy the illusion he has kept from this world for so long." He said.

"What illusion do you speak of? What has the headmaster of Beacon Acadamy kept from the World of Remnant?" Sienna Khan asked.

"Believe me, Sienna Khan. That man is far more than just the headmaster of his little school. Though to answer your question, it is not my place to speak of such matters." Hazel said.

"Such a responsibility only fits that of my leader." He said.

"To what relations does your leader have with Ozpin, pray tell?" Sienna Khan asked the giant of a man.

"They once knew one another in the past, once considered one another friends. Though it was Ozpin who drove my leader to take such drastic measures." Hazel said to the woman.

"Hmm, I see." She said. "What about you? What do you hope to gain from aiding your leader in their battle against Ozpin's design?" Sienna Khan asked.

The man closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and clenched his fist's, remembering the day he found out the truth of Ozpin's design. How he realized that the people the Kingdom's trusted the most had been deceiving them for so long.

"I desire justice." Hazel said as he balled up his fist towards the High Leader of the White Fang.

"To what justice do you speak of?" Sienna Khan asked the man.

After a few moments of silence, he decided that it would be in his best interest to tell her of the actions Ozpin has done. The things he has taken from the children who have fallen victim to his perception.

"Justice for all those who had fallen to his deception. To all those who had suffered." Hazel said. "Justice for the one I lost." He said to the woman.

"Hmm...I see." She said, her serious expression not wavering from her face.

"I wish to eliminate this illusion so that the ones who had suffered by his hand can be at peace once again." Hazel said as he started to walk towards the leader of the White Fang.

"Though there are still those who would fall victim to his lies and fight for his cause. We need the forces you have in order to combat the man." He said. "Once the dust is cleared, and the illusion is gone, the people of Remnant will come together as one to rebuild what was once lost." Hazel said.

"Once the truth is revealed, the humans will see who the true monsters are." He said as he stood in front of the throne of the High Leader of the White Fang. "Though this will only possible through unity." The man said.

The High Leader of the White Fang stared at the hand of the man with a rather serious expression on her face. To think that the people who had protected the Kingdoms for so long had created such an elaborate ruse.

How many people had suffered because of this lie that had been going on for so long? That was a question that was lingering in the mind of the High Leader of the White Fang.

Though despite all of that, she still has yet to be convinced by the tale of the Headmaster of Beacon Acadamy.

"You have still yet to answer my question. For what reason do you see it necessary to destroy the Huntsmen Academies?" She asked. After a few moments of silence, Hazel eventually broke the cold silence that filled the room.

"Well, the Huntsmen Academies to have the necessary tools needed in order to achieve our goal." Hazel said to the High Leader, causing her to raise one of her eyebrows.

"And what are these tools you speak of?" Sienna Khan asked the man.

"It is not my place to say. It is something that my leader wishes to keep a secret." He said.

"Your masters seems to have quite the number of secrets." She said.

"Don't we all?" The man asked the High Leader of the White Fang. Sienna Khan closed her eyes once again, debating whether or not she should truly side with this man. This Master of his was a rather secretive individual, though after hearing the truth of the deception of Ozpin, she was unsure if they could even trust the ones who vowed to protect the World of Remnant.

"It is time for a change. The question is, are you willing to take such actions?" He asked the High Leader as he held out one of his hands.

After a few moments of silence, Sienna Khan nodded her head and grasped the hand of Hazel.

"I would like to think this matter over." She said.

"Very well." Hazel said.

"I will have one of my own contact you when the time comes. For now, I must attend to the execution of that traitorous Taurus." She said as she started as she started to walk towards the gates that led to the rest of the compound.

"I don't believe that will be necessary." Hazel said as he quickly stopped the High Leader in her tracks.

"He was lucky that his punishment for destroying the Kingdom of Vale wasn't more severe, I will not be giving him the same kindness twice." She said, though Hazel quickly walked in front of her to stop her.

"Nobody needs to die today. Everyone does deserve at least one chance to redeem themselves." Hazel said to the woman.

"Who are you to tell me how to run the Revolution I lead?" Sienna Khan asked.

"That may be so. Though you cannot deny the influence that Adam has had on his followers. Killing him now would only turn those who had looked up to him against you." The man said to the woman.

"Hmm." She hummed, debating whether or not such a chance was worth taking. After a few moments of silence had passed, she eventually decided that it would be best to spare the Bull Faunus.

The last thing she needed was a rebellion from within her own ranks. Not to mention that Adam was already familiar with who they were working for, so he would have the most experience in that department.

"Very well. I shall give the man one last chance to redeem himself." She said as she started to walk towards the end of the hallway. Hazel nodded his head and started to follow the High Leader of the White Fang.

Meanwhile, Adam was currently sitting in the waiting room of the compound as the doctor of the Vale Branch of the White Fang, Naomi, was starting to treat the man's wounds he had gotten from Hazel.

"I suppose that didn't go as planned." Adam said as he hissed once the alcohol that Naomi was using to treat his wounds made contact with his body.

"Yes, though overthrowing the High Leader of the White Fang was not really the best course of action when taking into account of all the potential consequences that would ensue if such a plan were to succeed." Naomi said as she turned around to move one of her chess pieces to another level of a game she had created.

She found regular chess to be rather simple for her, so she created various other variants that would suit intelligence. The one she was playing with the twins of the White Fang, Aleria and Alerio, was three person chess, where both the twins would put their minds together in hopes to outsmart the doctor.

"Hmm." Alerio hummed as he determined what move he should make. Though as he reached for one of his chess pieces, Naomi gave him a look that made him question intelligence.

After a few moments of silence, Alerio eventually reached to move another one his pieces, though the Doctor gave him the exact same look as before. Tired of waiting, Aleria eventually spoke up.

"Just make your move already!" She yelled.

"Alright, alright! Don't rush me!" Alerio yelled as he stared back at the board. Eventually, Alerio moved one of his nights to the playing field. Aleria made her move soon after as Naomi continued to treat the wounds of Adam.

"What do you mean by consequences?" Adam asked.

"You assumed that the other branches of the White Fang would be willing to follow your example after you assassinated the High Leader. This would not be the case. If they had knowledge of your actions against the High Leader, they would most certainly rebel." She said as she wiped one of his wounds clean before moving another one of her pieces.

"Couldn't we have just said that a human huntsman did it or something? Would give them the motivation to strike at the Huntsmen Schools." Aleria said as she moved one of her pieces.

"Perhaps. Though there is no guarantee that such a ruse would last forever." Naomi said as she moved another one of her chess pieces across the board. "This won't hurt." The Fish Faunus said as she pulled out some sort of needle and poked Adam with it.

"Ah!" He yelled, not expecting her to be so forceful with her jab.

"I lied." She said as she wiped the hole she had poked in Adam clean with one of her wipes. Once she had finished treating Adam as she moved another one of her pieces once the twins had made their moves.

"Checkmate." She said as she won the match between the two. In the span of only two moves, she had managed to checkmate both of them.

"Damn. Again?" Alerio asked.

"Just reset the board." Aleria grumbled to herself.

Meanwhile, both Ilia and Veronica were waiting in the room for Hazel to be finished with his meeting with the High Leader of the White Fang. Ilia was bobbing her head as she listened to the music that originated from the planet, earth.

She has yet to give the Music Played back to the human ever since there encounter back at the Ocean Side town, though she wasn't exactly sure if he was still alive or not. Not that she particularly cared for the human, she just wished to pay all debts to him.

Meanwhile, Veronica was fast asleep on the couch due to various all-nighters had done to improve her own weapon, as well as the implants that were in her body. Normally she would be able to keep going for a few nights before she had to sleep.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the doors leading to the waiting room had opened, revealing the man known as Hazel and the high leader of the White Fang. Each member of the elites started to stand in the presence of the High Leader, all with the exception of Veronica due to her slumber.

"Wake up." Aleria said as she lightly hit Veronica across the head, causing her to suddenly jolt from her slumber.

"Huh?" She grumbled as she started to look around the room. Though once she saw the High Leader of the White Fang, she fell off of the couch due to sheer shock. Once she had gotten back up, she stood up straight in the presence of Sienna Khan.

"At ease." She said, causing the members of the elites to calm down.

Though once the High Leader walked over to Adam Taurus, causing a rather tense feeling to consume the room. After all, the man did attempt to take the woman's life only a few moments ago.

"...Adam." Sienna Khan said.

"..." The man kneeled before the High Leader in silence, already prepared for the consequences to come.

"Stand up." She said, causing the man to rise from where he was standing.

"The stunt you pulled is grounds for execution. You do realize that, correct?" Sienna Khan asked.

"I understand." He said.

"Which is why I want you to understand the gravity of your situation." She said, causing the man to look up to the leader with an expression of confusion. "I am going to give you one last chance to redeem yourself." Sienna Khan said to the man.

"..."

"However, if you fail me. If you prove to me that you are not worthy of this kindness, you will be banished from the White Fang." She said.

"I understand." Adam said.

"Very well." Sienna Khan said as she turned towards the rest of the elites. "It would be in your best interest to leave this place at once." She said as she started to walk out of the door.

"I am giving you one last chance, Taurus. Do not disappoint me again." Sienna Khan said as she started to walk out of the room, leaving the elites and Hazel to converge with one another.

"So, you're Hazel?" Veronica asked as she walked up to the giant of a man.

"Yes. Who might you be?" Hazel asked.

"Veronica." She said as she held out one of her hands to greet the man.

"Likewise." He said as he shook the hand of the woman. "I assume that you all are the White Fang's most capable warriors?" Hazel asked.

"That's right. The names Alerio." The brother of the twins said as he held out his fist towards the man.

"..." The man merely connected his fist with the fist of Alerio, causing the bird Faunus to shake his hand due to the unintentional force behind the form of greeting.

"Jeez, you've got one heck of an arm on you." He said.

"Apologies. It appears I don't know my own strength." Hazel said.

"No kidding. I mean you were able to make Adam here into some sort of wall decoration." Veronica said with a chuckle.

"Yes. I am not one to take such actions, though he forced my hand." He said as he stared at the man. "So, when were you planning on telling me about that?" Hazel asked, clearly not happy with the actions of the Bull Faunus.

"It was none of your concern." He said.

"The actions you take from here on out are my concern. I don't appreciate you holding things like that." Hazel said with a glare plastered on his face.

"Whoa, whoa. Let's all just calm down for a moment. It's in the past. Adam here was a little bit worried that old Khan out there wouldn't exactly be on board with your little plan. Though it all turned out fine in the end, right?" Alerio asked, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Despite that, it appears it is time for an alternative route." He said. "...Come with me." Hazel sighed before looking around the room to face everyone.

"Where are we going?" Veronica asked.

"To meet an associate of mine." He said as he started to walk out of the room.

* * *

The room where the three criminals sat in was rather quiet all things considered. The last thing they were expecting was to meet one of the bearers of the twelve spirits of Remnant.

After telling her friends that they were traveling with a spirit user of their own, she wanted to personally talk to them about the situation regarding the ruins, as well as the story of their companion with the spirit.

Cleo was sitting on one of the chairs in the living room with a rather serious expression on her face. They weren't sure as to the reason why she wished to know more about the ruins they were in, as well as the story of the Spirit User they were traveling with.

Though they were certain that they were about to find out soon enough.

"...Well?" Cleo asked, finally breaking the silence that filled the room. The three criminals weren't sure where to start with the tale of how they got to where they were now, nor if they should even tell her the full story.

After a few moments of silence, they could see that the Spirit User that was sitting across from them was starting to grow impatient.

"What do you want to know?" Emerald asked the Spirit User.

"I want to know what three kids like you were doing in the ruins of the Northern Desert?" Cleo asked the trio. Once they had actually gotten a name for the place they were in, they finally had a point in which they could begin to figure out the situation they were in.

"The Northern Desert?" Mercury asked.

"Right, you guys aren't from around here." She said as pulled out some sort of notebook from her bag. After a few minutes of flipping through the pages in the notebook, she eventually reached notes she had taken on the Ruins of The Northern Desert.

"The Northern Desert is the most dangerous part of Vacuo. It's home to most of the strongest environmental phenomenon." Cleo explained to the group. "Even the scientists of Vacuo have yet to explain the reason to the unusual atmosphere behind The Northern Desert." She said to the group.

"What makes it so weird?" Emerald asked.

"For one, the terrain of the desert will constantly change as time goes on, making it near impossible for anyone to navigate through the terrain of the desert." Cleo explained as she showed the various sketches that were in the journal.

"What are all these?" Mercury asked as he flipped through the pages of the journal that the Spirit User had.

"They're notes based off of all the unnatural phenomenon's that have been going on in that desert." She said to the group. The three leaned over one another to get a better look at the notes that the woman has taken during her time researching the desert.

"So how long have you been researching this Desert anyways?" Mercury asked Cleo.

The woman in question placed her hand on her chin, looking back on how long she had actually researched the desert.

"About five years now." Cleo said to the group.

"How long has this desert been here?" Emerald asked as she turned one of the pages in the journal. The next page showed various notes and sketches of the Ruins they originally were before Cleo found them.

"Around thirty years now." She said.

"So what's up with these Ruins anyways? Was something there before?" Mercury asked the Spirit User. After a few moments of silence, Dave eventually walked over to the table in front of them and opened it up with the key he had.

Once he pulled out some sort of picture from the inside of the table, he placed it in front of the three so that they could get a better look of what the Ruins once was before it collapsed.

The picture showed some sort of large town that could almost be considered a city in some way.

"What is this?" Emerald asked as she started to inspect the picture that was in front of her while Mercury kept flipping through the pages. Meanwhile, Neo was staring at the chest that was right in front of her, curious as to what sort of things it could be holding.

Though considering these people were humble enough to nurse her back to health, she would avoid sticking her nose into things that didn't concern her. She was still rather curious about what the context's of that dream were.

"Those were the Ruins before they became...well, the Ruins." Cleo said to the trio. "It was once a great city that resided in the Northern Desert before it became the unnatural phenomenon it's known as today." She said.

"It was kinda like Vacuo's Mountain Glenn in some way." Cleo explained. "Though thirty years ago, the city suddenly vanished without a trace. This was around the time the unnatural phenomenon's started to appear." She said.

"No one really knows how exactly the city disappeared, though it probably has something to do with the mysterious beast that you kids saw that day." Cleo said, causing the three to look up from the various research notes and sketches of the journal.

"Hmm, right I remember seeing some sort of shadow while we were in that sandstorm. Do you have any idea of what it was?" Emerald asked.

"Well, I've only really heard it a few times during my times at the ruins." Cleo said to the young girl. "I'm assuming that beast has something to do with the strange phenomenon's that have happened in the Northern Desert, as well how the town disappeared in the first place." She said.

"So, why exactly are you researching this place anyway's?" Mercury asked.

"Well, if you would just read a little further, you'll see that deep within the ruins is an Artifact of unbelievable power." Cleo said, causing the trio to turn their heads towards the woman at the mention of this treasure.

"Artifact?" Emerald and Mercury asked the woman.

"Yeah, and if all these things are connected somehow, then I think that this little Artifact has something to do with the whole Phenomenon that's been going on in the Northern Desert." The Spirit User said.

"So, what are you gonna do when or if you find this artifact?" Mercury asked.

"Well, first I would probably have to take down that beast that resides within the ruins of the Northern Desert. After that, I would have to see just what exactly this little Artifact could do." Cleo said.

"Though if it's the same Artifact that I'm thinking of, then I don't think it would be the best idea to just go in and take it." She said.

"What do you mean?" Emerald asked.

"You kids ever hear the story of the Four Blessings of Remnant?" Cleo asked, causing the trio to shake their heads in response. "Alright then, I'll break it down for you." She said as she prepared to tell her little tale.

"It sorta ties in with the story of the Two Brothers. If you don't know that one, basically it's about the two gods of Remnant, the God of Light, and the God of Darkness. The God of Light, being the eldest, wanted to create life, while the God of Darkness wanted to Destroy it." Cleo said.

"Tired of his little game the eldest put a stop the younger brothers action. After they made humanity, the eldest brother created four blessings that would preserve all life on Remnant." She said.

"The Artifact of Water, The Artifact of Fire, The Artifact of Wind, and the Artifact of Life." Cleo explained to the trio.

"The one I'm investigating at the moment is the Artifact of Water, which is used to create the sea's that would separate the continents." She said.

"Why explain this to us?" Emerald asked as she continued to listen to the tale of the Four Blessings.

"Because you kids aren't exactly strangers to the Super Natural. Which leads me to my next line of questioning." Cleo said. "I want to know more about this Spirit User that you travel with." She said.

"Well, where do you want us to start?" Emerald asked.

"I suppose a good place to start would be which spirit is he actually housing at the moment?" Cleo asked the duo.

"Oh, that's an easy one. He's housing Caliber." Mercury said.

Though before the Spirit User could respond, her aura suddenly started to flare to life, causing the various papers that were on the table to go flying across the room. Eventually, the spirit of Perun appeared in the room where everyone was sitting.

The spirit was a rather round like one, his body taking on the appearance of that of some sort of ball. The Spirit in question was wearing armor around his body, legs and shoulders, though the lower parts of his arms were completely exposed.

Rather than having hands like the spirit of Caliber did, Perun had bug-like claws that were designed for digging at high speeds. On his head, he dawned some sort of helmet with a strange visor and a rather fancy looking hat that was dawned on its head.

"What the hell?!" Mercury yelled as he backed away from the Spirit due to sheer shock.

 _ **"Does thou speak of my brother who was banished from the kingdom?!"**_ The Spirit known as Perun asked the trio.

The trio stared at the spirit with expressions of shock and awe on their faces. They had only seen the spirit that their companion had, so it was a surprise to see another Spirit right before their eyes.

 ** _"What holds your tongue, young ones?"_** Perun asked the trio, causing them to be brought back into reality.

"Yeah, that's right." Mercury said as he recovered from the sudden shock.

 _ **"I see. It has been quite some time since we have last crossed paths."**_ He said as he brought one of his claws up to his chin.

"So what do you mean by banished from the kingdom? Did the Spirit do something wrong?" Emerald asked.

 _ **"It is not my place to speak of such matters, young ones. Though many centuries ago, my brother committed a taboo even among us spirits."**_ The Spirit said to the trio. _**"As punishment for his actions, the Queen was forced to banished him from the nest and was brought down to the mortal realm."**_

"The Queen?" Emerald and Mercury asked.

 _ **"Ah, I see. Thou does not know of her Grace."**_ Perun said as he started to puff out his chest with a sense of pride in his voice. _**"You see, the Spirits that you all know of today were known by a rather different title in the realm of the Wandering Spirits."**_ He said.

 _ **"Alongside my brothers, we served under the rule of the White Queen as the Great Knights."**_ The Spirit explained to the group. _**"Those Twelve Spirits heeded The Champions Call and fought in the many wars that were waged within the realm."**_ He said as he recalled his many glories.

"The Champions Call?" Emerald asked.

 _ **"Indeed. Before it, we were nothing but lost souls who wondered the realm. It was the Queen who gave us a sense of Purpose, Glory, and Honor."**_ Perun said as he turned his head towards the small girl that was sitting on the couch with a rather surprised expression on her face.

 ** _"Hmm."_** He hummed as he brought one of his claws up to his chin as if he were in deep thought. Though after a few moments of silence, he eventually shook his head as if he were dismissing something.

"Anyways, how exactly did your friend get his hands on one of the Twelve Spirits of Remnant?" Cleo asked the trio.

"I think he got it from some old man or something." Mercury said.

"Did he describe what this old man looked like or where he got the weapon from?" She asked.

The three looked at one another in attempts to see if either one knew who this man was or how he got his hands on such a weapon of immense power. Though once they saw that neither of them knew anything about the man, they shook their heads towards the woman.

"Guess that was just wishful thinking. I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway's. What matters now is that he's the one with the Spirit." Cleo said to the group.

"Why do you want to know in the first place?" Emerald asked.

"I was hoping he could help me with my research with the Ruins of the Northern Desert. Perun may be powerful, though having another Spirit just like him would really help with handling that beast." She said.

"...Huh, then I guess maybe we can work something out." Mercury said.

"What do you mean?" Cleo asked.

"As it just so happens, we need help with a little situation of our own. One that directly involves the Twelve Spirit User's of Remnant." Emerald said.

"What kind of situation?" She asked.

"Well...it's a bit of a longstory." Mercury said.

* * *

"Honestly, how hard can one guy be to find?" Brandon asked himself as he roamed the streets of the underground city of Vacuo. The city in question was definitely more fitting for a city of criminals that the kingdom was known for.

The atmosphere of the town was definitely different when compared to the kingdom that was above the city in question. Though this was part of the city of Vacuo, it was still part of the city of criminals and thieves.

The underground city in question was home to the more questionable parts of Vacuo. It was the perfect place for anyone to make some questionable deals that would normally be frowned upon by the public people.

It was true that Shade was really the only form of Order from within the Kingdom, though Order wasn't really everything. From the looks of it, a few of the people on the list that the bartender gave the swordsman resided from within the underground city.

The first man he had decided to seek out was a man known as Chase. The bartender didn't really give him a whole lot other than the name's of the people, as well as their addresses.

Though as long as these people knew something about the man known as Klaus, and were on board with the plan to break him out of prison then he didn't really care about what kind of background they came from.

The other two people that were in the underground city were Saxon and Ran.

Saxon was in some sort of underground fight club that resided near the center of the city. He at least knew how to handle himself in a fight, and that was good enough for the swordsman.

Ran, on the other hand, ran some sort of motor shop near the west side of the city. As a little side note, the man that ran the bar in the main capital of Vacuo actually spelled out the pronunciation of Ran's name.

It was R-Ah-N, not the kind of ran you do when you're running. While it didn't really help the swordsmen when it came to locating the man, it did help when avoiding confusion.

He wasn't sure what kind of vehicles this man dealt with, though they would need some form of getaway for the aftermath of Klaus's jailbreak.

The remaining three people on the list the man had given him were in the main capital, not including the headmaster of Shade Academy. Though he still wasn't done with her yet.

He would need her help when it came to finding the Summer Maiden, as well as securing the Relic of Destruction.

 _ **"Hmm, so this is the city of criminals. The city of Abandon."**_ Caliber said as the swordsman roamed the streets of the city in search of the man known as Chase. _**"I wonder what sort of secrets this place may hold."**_ He said.

"We can figure that out later. Right now we need to find this Chase guy." Brandon said as he looked around the area.

 _ **"Hmm?"**_ Caliber hummed, causing the attention of the swordsman to turn towards the spirit.

"Something up?" He asked.

A few moments of silence had passed before the Spirit responded to the curiosity of the swordsman. _**"No. Though it would be wise to keep your guard up until we arrive at the abode of this man."**_ Caliber said.

"Alright." He said as he continued to walk through the city.

Though as the two continued to walk through the city, they eventually came across some sort of street bar that was on the corner of a street. The swordsman walked over towards the bar in hopes to find the man known as Chase.

Once he actually made his way over to the bar, he sat down on one of the various chairs that were placed in front of the counter. "Hmm." The man behind the counter hummed as he stared at the swordsman.

After a few moments of silence, he nodded his head before motioning for the boy to speak his mind. "Can you tell me where this address is?" Brandon asked as he pointed to the address of Chase.

The bartender stared at the address for a few moments before pointing down the street that led to the South side of the city.

"Thanks." He said as he started to walk down the street that led to the home of Chase.

However, as the two continued to make their way towards the South side of town, Caliber started to feel the strange presence coming towards them he could warn his user of the strange presence, the sound of faint roaring could be heard from the distance.

It was like some sort of battle cry, though the voice sounded like some sort of young girl that was doing her best to sound threatening.

"Hmm?" Brandon hummed as he stopped at the sound of the battle cry. "Hey Caliber, do you hear that?" He asked as he started to turn around to face the source of the noise.

"It kinda sounds like a-!" Brandon began, only for something small to latch onto his face. "What the hell?!" He yelled as he started to stumble back a bit.

"Rah!" The young girl roared as she started to rapidly hit her tiny fists on the head of the swordsman. While the attacks themselves weren't doing any real damage, they were starting to annoy the boy in question.

"Why you little-!" He began as he attempted to grab the young girl, though she quickly resorted to sinking her teeth into the skull of the boy. Now, this started to get a reaction out of the boy.

"Rah!" He roared as he eventually grabbed the young girl and threw her off of his head, though the girl in question was able to land on her feet rather easily.

"Heh, heh." The young girl who was no older than eight started to giggle at the frustration of the boy.

"Well, you've sure got an interesting way of greeting people!" Brandon asked as he started to wipe away the spit that was in his head due to the girl biting down on it. "Damn kids." He said as he reached over to grab the little girl by her hood.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked the girl.

"I wanted to talk to you!" The young girl said to the swordsman.

"Well, I'm a bit busy. So scram." Brandon said as he placed the girl behind him and started to continue his walk towards the South part of the city.

 _ **"Hmm?"**_ Caliber hummed.

"Huh?" Brandon asked, though just before the spirit could respond, he suddenly bumped into the girl that he had just placed behind him.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"What the-?! When did you-?!" He asked as his head started to dart back and forth to where he had placed her to where she was standing now.

"I've heard a lot of things about you. None of them were very nice things but still." The young girl said to the swordsman.

"How did you-?!" The boy began to ask, only for the words of the young girl to suddenly process in his head. "You know who I am?" Brandon asked the young girl.

"Yep!" She said with a smile on her face.

 _ **"Hmm, this girl has a rather strange aura."**_ Caliber said from within the mind of the swordsman.

 _'Yeah, I kinda figured she was strange the second she latched herself onto my face.'_ Brandon said to his spirit.

 _ **"I don't mean in person. The aura that resides within her is rather unusual."**_ He said. _**"It would be best not to take this girl lightly."**_ Caliber said to his user.

"Right." He said as he turned to face the girl who was just standing there with a smile on her face while humming some sort of tune. "So what do you want, kid?" Brandon asked the young girl.

"I have a few friends who want to talk to you. We've heard a lot of things about you after all." She said.

"And what if I say no?" He asked.

"Well, then I guess you don't want this back." The young girl said as she held the wallet of the swordsmen with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Huh?! When the hell did you-?!" Brandon asked as he reached into his pockets to see if the young girl was pulling some sort of prank on him. Though before he could finish his question, she quickly jumped onto his face and started to make her way down the streets of the city.

"I don't have time for your damn games!" He yelled as he turned to face the child, though the only response she gave him was to stick out her tongue before running down the streets of the city.

The boy growled before giving chase to the girl that had just stolen his wallet. Though just as he was about grabbed the young girl, she quickly jumped up into the air and landed on his head before jumping up towards some sort of sign that was connected to the structure that was right next to them.

"Too slow!" She taunted as she hung from the sign. "Don't be fooled by my appearance, I'm more than just your average little girl." The young girl taunted before starting to jump from the various railings of the building next to the swordsman.

"Damn." The swordsman swore as he continued to give chase.

"What's the matter? Can't catch one little girl?" She taunted.

"Okay, now you're really starting to get on my nerves!" He yelled as he jumped up into the air and grabbed onto the railings of the building. The girl once again started to stick her tongue out at the boy in attempts to taunt him.

The boy growled as he started to jump from the railings in attempts to catch the girl, though just as he was about to grab her, she quickly dodged and jumped onto his head again, sending him crashing onto the metal of the railings.

"Heh heh, I suppose warriors aren't what they used to be if one little girl is giving them this much trouble." She said with a shrug. Brandon growled to himself and continued to give chase to the little girl.

She was rather quick, and her small size made it difficult for the swordsman to grab her. Though the swordsman had learned a few things about the young girl from her previous assault on him.

While she had abnormal reaction time and speeds for someone her age, she didn't have the physical strength to do any actual damage to him. With the exception of her teeth though that was more of an annoyance than a threat.

"Hah!" The girl yawned to herself.

The boy clenched his fists before continuing to chase after the girl. His plan was to get her a top of the roof of the building where she would have few options to move around as much as she could.

The two continued to make their way up the building until they eventually reached the rooftops. The Spirit User stared at the young girl who was continuing to taunt him as time went on.

However, he had gotten her where he had wanted. Now all that was left to do was catch her and question her as to how she even knows about him in the first place.

"Something wrong?" The young girl asked.

The only response that the boy gave to her was to start to walk towards her with a serious expression on her face. The girl in question continued to giggle to herself, though instead of reaching to grab the girl, his Spirit appeared right behind her in attempts to catch the young girl.

Though what neither the Spirit or the User were expecting was for the young girl to just narrowly dodge the attempt that Caliber made to catch her. Once she had jumped up into the air, she landed on the structure leading to the staircase of the building.

"Whoa!" She said as she attempted to regain her balance. "Whew, that was a close one. Pretty cool trick you got there!" The young girl said.

"...Uh." The Spirit User began as he turned towards Caliber.

 _ **"Hmm, that was not the outcome I was expecting."**_ The Spirit said.

"Ooh! You can talk! That's pretty cool!" She said as the Spirit disappeared from sight.

"You know normally, not many people are able to predict The Spirits movements. Though it's pretty clear to me that you're not exactly normal." Brandon said to the young girl.

"Yep!" She said with a smile on her face.

"I know that this is a bit late to ask, but just who are you, kid?" He asked with a serious expression on his face. The young girl let out another laugh before staring at the boy with a rather determined expression on her face.

"My name's Iris." The newly named Iris said to the Spirit User.

* * *

Unfortunately for the man, he was not able to convince the leader of the White Fang to ally herself with his master. However, he had planted the seeds of doubt from within her mind.

Though fortunately for him, his master was prepared with another plan that would surely turn the tides of the battle in the favor of there cause. Instead of talking to the leader herself, they would talk to her followers.

Adam had already sent two of his own to the continent of Menagerie in hopes that they would be able to convince the two leaders of the Menagerie district to join his cause. . They were known as Yuma, the Bat Faunus, and Trifa, the Spider Faunus.

The members of the elites would be scattered throughout Remnant to meet with Hazel's subordinates. Once they had gotten the support of all leaders of the respective branch, Sienna Khan would see the resolve of this new cause.

"Who is the subordinate that you wish us to speak with?" Naomi asked as she and the rest of the members of the elites continued to follow Hazel through the forest where his subordinate was waiting.

"You will know in time. She will be the one taking you to the designated locations that we have assigned to you." Hazel said to the group. "Though I would keep my guard up when speaking to her. She is a rather unpredictable one." He said.

"We've already met one of your subordinates. We at least have a general idea on what we should expect." Aleria said to the man.

"We shall see." Hazel said as they continued to walk down the path where he would meet the one that would aid the group in getting to their assigned kingdom. After a few moments of silence, the group eventually arrived at some sort of warehouse.

"Let's go." He said as he started to walk towards the structure that was in the middle of the clearing of the forest. The group looked at one another in silence before following the giant of a man.

Once the man opened up the large doors and walked inside, the group could get a better look at who exactly they were meeting. In the center of the room stood a woman dawned with a Green Mask.

"Lilith." Hazel said as he started to walk towards the woman in question.

"So, I take it your talk with the High Leader went well?" Lilith asked.

"I ran into a few complications. It appears we will be going with the alternative course of action." He said to the woman.

"Damn." She said as she jumped off of the pile of crates and started to walk towards the group that was behind Hazel. "So, who are these guys?" Lilith asked as she started to inspect each individual.

"They are specially assigned members of the White Fang elites. They will be aiding us in our task to acquire what we need." Hazel said.

"Oh, is that so?" She asked.

"What exactly are we attempting to steal exactly? You still haven't told us all the details of the mission." Ilia said.

"Correction, we haven't told you all the details of _our_ mission. All you need to do is take down the Huntsmen Schools so that we can go in and take what we need." Lilith said to the young girl. Ilia growled to herself, though held her tongue so that she didn't agitate the woman that was in front of her.

"So, who's going where exactly?" Veronica asked. Though the only response the woman gave her was to turn her head towards the giant of a man, causing him to nod his head before walking over to the group.

"We have divided you all based on the usefulness of your abilities, as well as the situation of the plan in question." Hazel said before turning his head to face Naomi.

"You will be going to meet one of our associates in Atlas. He will be in need of someone with your skills." He said, causing Veronica to sigh in relief, seemingly glad that she was not the one to go to the capital of Atlas.

"You will be going to Vale to meet with two of my subordinates. Your expertise in the art of stealth will be quite useful." Hazel said to Ilia, causing the girl to nod her head in response.

"The two of you will be coming with me to Vacuo." The man said, causing the twins to freeze in place.

"..." Aleria stood there in silence with a rather distant expression on her face. Her brother noticed this and attempted to shake his sister out from her daze.

"Hey, sis. You okay?" Her brother asked, causing her to snap back into reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. It's just been a while, you know?" She asked. It took a few moments for her brother to connect the dots, though after a few moments of thought, he suddenly realized what his sister was implying.

"Oh. Right, I suppose it has been awhile." Alerio said as he scratched the back of his neck with his right hand.

"Will this be a problem for the two of you?" Hazel asked the two siblings.

"No. We'll be fine." She said to the man with a serious expression on her face.

"Just show us where the bad guys are and we'll give em a good smackdown." Alerio said with one of his usual smirks.

"Very well." Hazel said as he turned towards Veronica. "You will make your way to the capital of Mistral. An associate of mine has taken an interest in your skills in the field of engineering." He said.

"Cool." She said to the man.

Hazel turned towards the woman in the Green Mask and nodded his head, causing the woman to clap her hands and walk towards the group in question.

"So how exactly is this gonna work?" Veronica asked as Lilith placed her hand on her shoulder, causing the two to disappear from sight in the blink of an eye, causing the rest of the elites to stumble back a bit.

"Like that." She said as she and Veronica stood in some sort of room in the Kingdom of Mistral.

"What the-?!" Veronica asked as her head started to dart around the room. From the looks of it, the two had arrived in what looked to be in some sort of mansion that acted like a museum.

"How did you-?!" She began, only for the woman in the Green Mask to hand her a slip of paper.

"Go to the top floor and give this to the man who runs this place." Lilith said.

Though before she could question the woman, she quickly disappeared from sight.

"...Watt's, huh?" She asked as she placed the slip of paper into her pocket.

"Well, I suppose anything beats having to go back to Atlas." Veronica said as she started to walk up the stairs. Meanwhile, the others were staring at the area where Lilith originally was, though after a few moments she quickly appeared from thin air.

"What did you do to her?!" Ilia roared as she reached for her weapon.

"Calm down. She merely transported her to the kingdom of Mistral. Your friend is alright, you have my word." Hazel said to the group. After a few moments of silence, the tension that filled the air eventually died down.

"How did you do that?" Alerio asked as he looked at the area that Veronica originally was.

"Just a little trick I know." Lilith said with a chuckle. "Alright, who's next?" She asked as she turned her heads towards the rest of the group. After a few moments of silence, she suddenly appeared in front of Ilia in the blink of an eye.

"What the-?!" She began, only for Lilith to place her hand on her shoulder, causing the two to appear in some sort of workshop. There were various books and treasures scattered throughout the room with a desk standing at the very end of the room.

"Hmm, looks like nobody's home yet. Wait here. They should be here soon." Lilith said to the girl as she disappeared from sight.

"A little warning would have been nice." Ilia grumbled as she kicked the wooden floor. Though before she could start to explore the shop, the door leading to the outside world opened, causing her to reach for her weapon.

"Hmm?" A voice hummed as he walked into the room. What caught Ilia off guard was the actual build of the man in question. He had a rather small frame when compared to the other people she had seen before.

It wouldn't really be fair to compare Hazel to this man, it would be like comparing an ant to a boot.

"Ah. So you must be the one that Hazel sent." The Faunus said as he walked over to the girl and held out his hand. "My name is Abel. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The newly named Abel said to the girl.

"Ilia." She said as she shook the hand of the man.

"Come. It would be wise to make our way to the Tree before sunrise." Abel said as he started to walk out of the building. Ilia was still rather curious as to the secrets of the man, though she pushed it to the back of her mind and started to follow the man in question.

Meanwhile, both Lilith and Naomi had arrived in Atlas where they would meet the man that was stationed in the kingdom of snow.

"Hmm." Naomi hummed as she looked around the office that originally occupied the late General Ironwood.

"Vlad should be here in a bit. Don't go wandering off and don't touch anything." Lilith said to the scientist.

"Understood." She said to the woman as she disappeared from sight.

The woman looked around the room of the late general, looking at the various paintings and bookshelves that were scattered around the room. She was about to continue to explore the office, though the sound of the door leading to the outside hallway opened.

She turned around to see the man known as Vladimir walking into the office with his arms filled with various books and documents.

"Hmm? Oh! Hello there. You must be the one Hazel had sent to aid me." Vladimir said as he walked over to the desk and placed the documents on it. "My name is Vladimir, a pleasure to meet you." He said as he held out his hand.

Meanwhile, Lilith had returned to the warehouse so that she could bring the rest of the group over to the kingdom of Vacuo. "Alright, you're all gonna have to grab onto one another so the link will be better, got that?" She asked.

The twins nodded and held onto one another while Hazel put his massive hand on Alerio's shoulder. Once the group was situated, Lilith walked towards the giant of a man and placed her hand on his shoulder.

After a few moments of silence, the group arrived in the city of criminals that was just below the kingdom of Vacuo.

"Hmm." Hazel hummed as he looked around the area.

"Remember to keep in touch. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some business to attend to." Lilith said as she disappeared from sight.

The twins looked around the city with a rather nostalgic expression on their faces. Meanwhile, Hazel was continuing to walk around the fountain area with his eyes narrowed.

"Man, it sure has been awhile since we were last here." Alerio said to his sister. "Home sweet home." He said as he took a sniff at the familiar air.

"Yeah. Still looks like the same old city." She said with a chuckle in her voice. "I wonder how everyone's been? It's been awhile since we last saw them." Aleria said as she looked down into the water of the fountain.

The bird Faunus in question had a rather saddened expression on her face, though her brother quickly placed his hand on her shoulder in attempts to raise her spirits.

"It's in the past. No use crying about it now." Alerio said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Aleria said to her brother. The two turned around to face the giant of a man to see that he was still moving around the fountain area as if he were looking for something.

"What's up with him?" He asked his sister.

"How should I know?" She asked her brother as they continued to look at Hazel.

"...Something isn't right." Hazel muttered under his breath.

"Hmm?" The brother of the two hummed.

"You two wait here." He said as he started to walk off into the distance, leaving two very confused siblings behind.

* * *

"So let me see if I got all that." Cleo said as she pinched the brim of her nose. "You were traveling with this kid who just so happens to be one of the Twelve Spirit Bearers to the kingdom of Vacuo to find somebody." She said.

"Seems about right so far." Mercury said.

"This man just so happens to be another one of the Twelve Spirit Users, not only that but he's the guy who has an entire prison made for the sole purpose of containing him." Cleo said to the group.

"That's right." Emerald said to the woman that sat across from them.

"Not only that but it turns out that this person you fought just so happens to be part of this bigger plan that involves all four kingdoms of Remnant." She said, causing Neo to nod her head.

"So in order to stop this big plan, you've all set out to find all twelve of the Spirit Users." Cleo said.

"Yeah, that's basically the gist of it." Mercury said.

"Though the Vacuo council isn't exactly gonna let the most dangerous man in Vacuo off scot-free, so you're all planning this big jailbreak so that you can get him out." She said to the group.

"That's the plan." Emerald said.

"Now I just have on question for you kids." Cleo said, causing the attention of the trio to shift towards the woman in question. "Why tell me all this? What exactly are you hoping to gain by telling me your little tale?" She asked.

"Well, we were hoping that we could get your help. I mean, you do have one of the Twelve Spirits of Remnant at your side." Emerald said.

"How long have you had your spirit anyways?" Mercury asked.

"Hmm." Cleo hummed to herself as she looked back on the years she and her spirit have been working together. "About eight years now." She said to the duo.

"Well, our friend has only had his for about two years now. Can't imagine what eight years of experience would look like in a battle." The assassin said to the woman with a smirk on his face.

"That's why we need the Twelve Spirit Users. They're the only ones who are strong enough to combat the Maidens. If we have all twelve, we'd be able to put a stop to whatever the people behind the scenes have in store once and for all." Emerald said.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, or request really is..." She began as she sat up from where she was standing. "We want you to help us in this War against a threat that nobody knows about." Emerald said.

"Not a chance." Cleo said without hesitation.

"...Maybe you'd like more time to consider it?" The thief asked, clearly not expecting such a quick decline from the woman.

"No, sorry kid but I have my own problems to deal with." She said. "I've still got the mystery of the Northern Desert to take care of. I've spent eight years researching the ruins themselves, I'm not just about to drop everything to fight your little cause." Cleo said to the trio.

"Besides, did you ever stop to think why exactly this man is in prison in the first place?" She asked. "People don't just get thrown behind bars for no reason." Cleo said to the trio.

"Not only that but they also don't get labeled as the most dangerous man in Vacuo for no reason. He must have done something to warrant being thrown behind bars." She said.

"Hmm." Emerald hummed to herself as she thought about another way to convince the Spirit User to lend them her power. Though after a few moments of silence, something clicked within the mind of the thief.

"What if both of us got something out of this?" Emerald asked.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she turned towards the thief in question.

"You wanted our friend to help you with your research on the ruins, and we need help with the situation in Vacuo." She said.

"...I'm listening." Cleo said as she stared at the young thief with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Once we break the Spirit user that's locked up in the prison somewhere in Vacuo, we'll help you with your research." Emerald said. "In return, you help us with what's going on in Vacuo." She said to the woman.

"Hmm." Cleo hummed to herself as she pinched her chin with her finger. After a few moments of silence had passed, she eventually came to a decision on the matter.

"I'm not saying that I'm gonna fight in this little war that you guys are waging, though if you help me with my research, then I might give you a hand with what's going on in Vacuo." She said to the trio.

"That's what we like to hear." Mercury said with a smirk while Emerald stood there with a smile on her face.

"So, what are you guys gonna do now?" Cleo asked the group.

"I suppose we'll head on over to Vacuo. See if we can't find our friend." Emerald said to the woman.

"Pretty long walk over to the kingdom of Vacuo. Though if you think you can make the trip then I guess I won't stop you." She said to the group.

"...Hey." Mercury said to the woman. "Mind if we ask for a little request?" He asked.

"What now?" Cleo asked.

"If we manage to pull this big jailbreak off, then we're gonna need somewhere to hide one of the most dangerous men in Vacuo." Mercury said. "Didn't you say that not a whole lot of people know about this place?" He asked.

"...I guess I did." She said, already knowing what the assassin was going to ask.

"Then let me cut to the chase. We're gonna need a place to lay low for a little while before we put our plan in Vacuo in action." He said to the woman.

"...Hah, sure." Cleo said.

The three criminals looked at one another with rather satisfied expressions on their faces. They had not only managed to find a place they could hide the Spirit User once they helped him escape from the prison, they had also gotten the aid of the Spirit User known as Cleo.

They could only hope that their friend could have gotten more information on the whereabouts of the man.

* * *

The Spirit User and the girl known as Iris stood across from one another, the boy in question staring at the girl with one of his eyebrows raised. She had certainly gotten the attention of the spirit user with her most recent actions.

"Iris, huh? So how exactly do you know about me, Iris?" Brandon asked the young girl.

"Our leader told us a lot about you. She's also told us about the trouble that you and your friend caused her." The young girl said as she pointed at the vessel that contained Caliber.

"So they know about the spirits, great." He muttered under his breath. "You're friends seem like they know quite a lot about me. Mind telling me who they are?" Brandon asked as he raised one of his eyebrows.

"Oh, they've told us a lot about you. That because of your actions you tend to put the lives of others in danger." Iris said to the boy.

"Well...They're not wrong I guess." Brandon said as he clenched his fists. "You still haven't told me who you're working for, though I think I can put the pieces together." He said.

"I know it sounds pretty crazy, how a kid like you managed to wind up with someone like her. Though I'm just gonna go off on a limb and say you work for Salem." Brandon asked.

"That's right!" Iris said with a smile on her face.

"Figures." He said. "So what's a kid like you working for someone like her?" Brandon asked.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" She asked as she tilted her head to the right.

"Well, you may be a kid but you've got to have your own reasons for wanting to help her." He said.

 ** _"Hmm."_** Caliber hummed.

Brandon was rather curious as to what had gotten the Spirits curiosity peaked, though he pushed it to the back of his mind for now.

"Of course I've got reasons! We all have our own reasons for wanting to help create the New World." Iris said as she stood from where she was standing. The whole New World part peaked the interest of the boy, though he could only focus on one thing at a time.

"So what's a kid like you got to gain by helping her?" He asked.

While Iris still kept her smile, her eyes showed emotions of sadness in them. "It's because Salem promised me that my friends won't have to suffer the way they did that day in the New World." She said.

"Your friends?" Brandon asked.

"This world took so much from me. It took the only home I ever had away from me. I can't wait for things to change." Iris said as tears started to stream down her face. "I can't wait to see all my friends again!" She said as she wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"..." The Spirit User wasn't quite sure how to take the story of the girl. On one hand, he felt bad for the kid, though on the other hand he seriously doubted that she was telling him everything.

Either that or not even she knew everything behind the motives of Salem.

"So I doubt you came all this way just to tell me a little story." Brandon said to the young girl.

"Yep!" She said.

"So what, you come to pick a fight with me or something?" He asked.

"Nope. I'm just testing you is all. Salem told me that the Spirits were super strong, so I wanted to see it for myself." Iris said.

"So, you think you got what it takes? A little kid like you?" Brandon asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Don't you look down on me! I'm stronger then I look! Just watch, I'm gonna kick your butt!" She said.

"Yeah, whatever you say, kid." He said with a chuckle in his voice.

Iris huffed before she started to charge towards the boy at surprisingly fast speeds. Though unlike last time, the Spirit User was able to dodge the attack that the girl threw at him.

However, as the young girl passed the Spirit User, the Spirit in question noticed something very strange about the girl.

 _ **"What in gods name?"**_ He asked.

Iris rolled on the ground for a few moments before rushing back at the boy at full speeds. Though unlike last time, the boy was able to sidestep to the right before grabbing the hood of the girl.

"What the-?! Hey! Put me down!" She said as she flailed wildly in the air.

"Hmm? What was that? Sorry, you're gonna have to speak up there." He said.

Iris growled as her eyes started to glow with a light pink color, her aura starting to glow with the same color as her eyes.

"Aw, did I make you angry?" Brandon asked as the young girl continued to hang by her hood.

 _ **"Boy! Put her down now!"**_ Caliber yelled from within the mind of the boy.

"Huh? What are you talking-?!" The swordsman began, only for Iris to break free from the grip of the boy. Once she did, she mustered up all the strength she could muster and punched the boy right in the gut.

Only this time it has significantly more impact than usual. The Spirit User was sent flying across the rooftop, the structure leading to the staircase stopping him in his tracks.

"What the hell?!" He asked as he got up from where he was standing.

 _ **"I knew this young one was rather strange ever since we first encountered her. Though even I did not expect for her to have such power."**_ Caliber said to his user.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

 ** _"I'm not sure how, though there's no doubt about it. This girl does indeed hold a Spirit from within her soul."_** He said.

"...Excuse me, what?!" Brandon yelled. "You mean to tell me that this brat has one of the Twelve Spirits of Remnant?!" The boy asked as he stared at Iris.

 _ **"No, this is not the presence of one of my comrades."**_ Caliber said. _**"While it may be a Spirit, it is not one that originated from the Spirit Realm."**_ The Spirit said to his user.

"Then what the hell does she have then?" Brandon asked.

 _ **"I'm not certain."**_ The Spirit said as the young girl stared at the boy with a smirk on her face.

"Alright, guess there's only one way to find out!" The swordsman said as he started to rush towards the young girl. Though as he attempted to grab her, she quickly jumped up in the air with her aura starting to flare around her.

"Damn it. She's even faster then last time." Brandon said as he continued to chase after the girl. Though as the two continued to dart around the roof of the building, the swordsman noticed the the young girl was getting rather tired.

It seemed like the young girl didn't have proper control over the power she wielded. Brandon took this opportunity to catch the girl off guard and grabbed her by one of her legs.

She attempted to break free from the grip of the boy, though this time he wasn't about to let go of her so easily.

"Finally." He said. "Alright kid, you've gotten my attention. I've got a few questions for you, and you're not going anywhere until I get an ans-!" He began, only for a sudden force to hit him from the side, causing him to fly across the roof top and onto the streets of the city.

"Ugh, what now?!" Brandon asked as he looked up to face whoever had just attacked him. The man on top of the roof top stared down at the swordsman before jumping off of the building, causing him to land on the ground with an audible thud.

"Alright now." The man said as he started to crack his knuckles. Once the man walked out from the shadows of the building, Hazel could be seen with a rather serious expression on his face. "Let's test the might of one of the Spirits of Remnant." He said.

* * *

 _ **So yeah, some eight year old kid is working for Salem. Who would have thought. Not only that but she just so happens to have some sort of spirit in her soul.**_

 ** _Not really sure what kind of Spirit she has though, or why she's even working for Salem to begin with._**

 ** _Though to make matters worse, I just so happen to run into Hazel. I'm still not really sure what this guy is capable of, though if he's anything like Cinder then I'm in for some real trouble._**

 ** _Still have to find that Chase guy to, though I suppose that will have to wait for later._**

 ** _Review Response_**

 _ **Guest: What?**_

 _ **GOH426: I suppose I can see why the two would be similar.**_

 _ **myfunvideos: Just...go back and read the previous chapters.**_

 _ **youngsavage: I went back and fixed those issues.**_

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Okay.**_

 _ **Just a Fan: Considering I was not following Paladins until you had just told me, yes, it was just a coincidence.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Glad to hear it.**_

 _ **Reaper Of the dark Grimm: I update every Friday.**_

 _ **Overtale: It is AU.**_

 _ **Overtale: Bit more of North from RvB.**_

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Um...I see myself?**_

 _ **Bulletproof Vanguard: Well good thing I didn't go for the sole purpose of reference because I'm not to keen on taking anything from SAO anytime soon.**_

 ** _Hazel Rainart_**

 ** _Race: Human_**

 ** _Weapon: Fists and Dust Crystals._**

 ** _Gender: Male_**

 ** _Height: 7'0"_**

 ** _Weight: 275 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 40_**

 ** _Outfit: Brown_**

 ** _Handedness: Right_**

 ** _Complexion: Tan_**

 ** _Hair Color: Dark Brown_**

 ** _Eye color: Hazel_**

 ** _Aura Color: Hazel_**

 _ **Semblance: Pain Suppression**_

 ** _Description:_** ** _Hazel's Semblance allows him to be completely insensitive to pain, as such, he is able to stab Dust into his body without feeling the negative effects of the Dust or the afflictions themselves._**

 ** _While he may not be able to feel pain, he is not invulnerable. If enough damage is caused to his body, he will be unable to continue fighting regardless of whether he feels it or not. This critical weakness is somewhat compensated by the abnormally fast rate that his Aura is replenished at._**

 ** _Destructive Power: E_**

 ** _Speed: E_**

 ** _Endurance: A_**

 ** _Precision: E_**

 ** _Potential Growth: A_**

 ** _Range: E_**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	78. Treasure of The Tree

_**Hello readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**_

 ** _Update: The previous chapter has been updated._**

* * *

Speech: "Treasure of The Tree"

Thought: _'Treasure of The Tree'_

Flashback: _"Treasure of The Tree"_

After the remaining members of team RWBY and the leader of the team of Haven, Sun Wukong, had said their final goodbyes to the two huntsmen that had been guiding and watching them throughout there journey, they set out to discover the mystery behind the Shrouded Forest.

Normally such a trip would be impossible due to the unnatural darkness that shrouded the forest. However, they had quite the unnatural ally themselves. Armed with the Lantern that contained one of the Twelve Spirits that came from an unknown realm, they were able to push out the darkness and press onwards.

However, they had run into some unforeseen complications by an unknown archer that had attacked the group while they were making their way through the Shrouded Forest. While the group had been able to escape from the sharp end of the archer's arrows, they now find themselves in another predicament.

The tree that stood above the entire forest was no mere tree. From within the tall trunk of the tree lied a hidden civilization that rested deep within the forest consumed with darkness.

Upon further inspection, it appeared that the effects of the strange darkness of the forest only affected the forest that surrounded the giant tree. The tree itself was rather well lit when compared to the rest of the forest.

Though unfortunately for the group, the chief in charge of the people of the tree did not take too kindly to outsiders and had asked his personal bodyguards to bring the group to him.

If it weren't for the fact that the Spirit was contained inside a mere Lantern, the group believed that their chances of clearing up the situation at hand would be rather difficult. The last thing they needed was to be seen with one of the twelve most powerful spirits in the whole world.

They were still rather curious about the secrets of the Shrouded Forest, though right now they needed to convince the chief of the tree that they posed no threat to his people or the treasure that they were keeping.

However, they would be lying if they said that the mention of a treasure among treasures was not appealing. Though they doubted that their curiosity would out the odds in their favor.

So for now, the best course of action they could take was to convince the boss of this civilization that they were of no threat to them.

The actual civilization that was held in the trunk of the tree was quite the sight to behold indeed. There was a massive staircase that went all around the inside of the trunk of the tree until it reached the very top.

Various shops could be seen on the walls of the civilization, as well as the bottom of the tree. There were even various other establishments that were placed on the large branches of the tree.

The houses were either placed from within the tree trunk itself or were placed on the various branches that surrounded the tree. There seemed to be a very large quantity of water that the tree had from within the center of the civilization.

It was also rather technologically advanced for a civilization that resided mostly from within the woods. Everyone that owned their respective establishment had their own Scroll.

"Whoa, this place is awesome." Sun said as they continued to walk up the tall tree with the two bodyguards guiding them to the boss of the civilization.

"Yeah, to think that something like this was hiding from the world in plain sight." Blake said. "It makes you wonder just what other secrets our world has to offer." She said as she continued to walk along the path.

"Save the chit-chat for later. Right now we have to get out of this whole situation." Yang said to the duo as they continued to walk up the path that led to the top of the tree.

"Right. So what exactly are we gonna do if we get out of this?" Sun whispered to the group.

"I'm not sure. This is all really surprising for everyone. I mean, it's not every day you just wander into a thriving civilization like this." Ruby whispered back.

"Yeah, I know." He said. "Though what exactly did those guys mean when they said that this place had some sort of treasure?" Sun asked.

"I'm not really sure. Though it has to be pretty important if they're hiding out all the way in a forest like this." She said.

"No kidding." Sun said to the red hooded girl.

"Hey! What are you two whispering about?" One of the bodyguards asked, causing the two to snap back into reality.

"What?! Oh! Nothing! Just having a little chat is all!" Ruby said, not wanting to upset the guards any further. After a long walk up the city, the group eventually reached a fairly large looking gateway that was at the very back of the tree.

This was assumed to be the area where the boss of the civilization made his residence. The two guard walked up to the two doors and pushed both of them open, causing the creaking of the doors to echo throughout the halls.

"Come on. The boss is just at the end of this hall." One of them said as they started to walk into the hall that led to where the boss of the tree was. The group looked at one another with serious expressions on their faces before following the duo into the halls.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the group eventually reached the end of the hall. At the end was some sort of chair that was atop a small set of stairs. Behind the chair was some sort of wall with various patterns of a golden forest of some sort.

Though the strangest thing for the group was the fact that the chief was nowhere to be seen. The two bodyguards walked over towards the chair, each guard going to their respective side.

After a few moments of silence, the chair started to rotate towards the group, revealing the chief himself. He was a rather large, old looking Owl Faunus that sat upon his chair with his two trusted guard standing beside him.

The group sat before the large man, waiting to hear what the chief had to say about their intrusion upon their land. After a few moments of silence, the man moved for a fraction of a second before speaking.

"Hmm." He hummed.

"..." The group sat there in silence as they waited to hear the mans words.

"The boss asked you to introduce yourselves!" The guard on the left said. "It would be in your best interest to do so!" The guard on the right said to the group.

"...Huh?" Ruby asked, clearly taken aback by the fact that the man did indeed speak to them then.

"Do we need to write it out for you? Tell the boss your names!" The Owl Faunus on the left said.

"Oh! Well, my name is Ruby Rose." Ruby said, deciding not to question it. Though once she heard the cold silence of her group, she turned around and motioned for them to introduce themselves.

"Sun! Sun Wukong!" Sun said.

"Names Yang Xiao Long." Yang said.

"Blake Belladonna?" Blake said, clearly still confused by the chief's response.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"..."

"The boss wants to know what you kids were doing in our forests." The Owl Faunus on the right said.

"Oh. Well, we were just passing through sir. We don't mean to cause any trouble." Ruby said to the man. "We heard that about the strange darkness that was in the Shrouded Forest, so we were just curious to see what the cause of it was." She said.

"..." The boss sat in his chair for a few moments before responding once again. "Hmm?" He hummed.

"..."

"The boss wants to know how a couple of kids like you were able to navigate through our forests?" The Owl Faunus on the left asked the group.

"Well..." Ruby said, not entirely sure if she should tell the actual reason as to how the group was able to navigate through the forest in the first place. Though as the young girl continued to debate to herself whether or not she should tell the man, the boss in question started to hum to himself once again.

"Hmm?" The boss hummed.

"Something up, boss?" The Owl Faunus on the right asked as he turned towards the man in question.

"Hmm." He said.

"You sure about that boss? I mean, these are just a couple of kids here. How can they get their hands on something like that?" The Owl Faunus on the left asked.

"What are they talking about?" Yang asked.

"I don't know." Blake said to her partner.

After a few more brief exchanges, the two guards nodded and turned towards the group once again.

"The darkness of the Shrouded Forest is caused by our little treasure." The Owl Faunus on the right said to the group.

"Your treasure?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it's a treasure among treasures. Though it has some weird effects on the surrounding area." The Owl Faunus on the left said. "That darkness in the forest is one of the effects of our treasure." He said.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of treasure is it?" Ruby asked.

After a few brief moments of silence, the Owl Faunus on the right eventually decided to speak up to the group. "It's a magic treasure." The bodyguard said, causing the members of the group to stare at the boss in surprise due to their knowledge of the supernatural elements that were scattered around their world.

"Magic?" Ruby asked.

"That's right. It's because of that magic that the forest outside of our tree is so hard to navigate." The Owl Faunus on the left said to the group.

"Whoa." Sun said.

"Alright, though why tell us this? I doubt you would just give away the secret to your treasure to just anyone. What made us the exception?" Blake asked.

"We only told you that our treasure was magic, we never told you what it was or why it's so important." The Owl Faunus on the right said before turning his head towards the girl that was holding the lantern.

"Though to answer your question, we told you because the boss has got a hunch that you kids are pretty familiar with this sort of stuff." He said, causing the tension in the air to rise.

"Who us? No, we're not really familiar with that sort of thing." Ruby said, attempting to dismiss the idea. "Though what makes you think we are familiar with the supernatural?" She asked.

"Because the only way to see through the darkness created by the magic of the treasure is to have magic yourself." The Owl Faunus on the left said, causing Ruby to mentally curse herself.

"No use hiding it. The boss wants to know where you got your hands on magic like that?" The Owl Faunus on the right asked.

After a few moments of silence, Ruby eventually decided to tell them where she got the Lantern. It was no use hiding it now, they had already been caught in the act.

"It was from a friend of ours. She let us borrow it so that we could make our way through the forest." She said. "Though our reason for coming here still remains. We came to investigate the darkness created by your treasure." Ruby said.

"Hmm." The boss hummed.

"The boss wants to know just what kind of magic you've got in your Lantern." The Owl Faunus on the left asked.

"Well...I know that this may be hard to believe, though this is actually one of the vessels that contains one of the Twelve Spirits of Remnant." Ruby said as she held the Lantern that contained the spirit outwards.

"Hmm?" The boss hummed.

"Did you just say that that was one of the Twelve Vessels of the Spirits of Remnant?" The Owl Faunus on the right asked the group.

"Well, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Yeah, why do you ask?" She asked.

"...Hmm." The boss hummed.

"You sure about that boss? This isn't information we can just be throwing around." The Owl Faunus on the left said.

"Hmm." He hummed as he nodded his head.

"Alright, you're the boss." The Owl Faunus on the right said before turning towards the group.

"The boss wants you kids to go up and meet someone." He said to the group. Ruby turned back towards her companions who were equally as confused before turning back to the boss and his guard.

"What?" She asked.

"You guys are gonna go up and meet our watcher." The Owl Faunus on the left said.

"Watcher?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. The boss asked us to take you to her. Said you might want to have a little chat with her." The Owl Faunus on the right said as he and the guard on the left started to walk towards the group.

"What kind of chat?" Yang asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"She's not gonna hurt you." The Owl on the left said as he started to walk past the group. "You coming or what?" He asked as they started to walk towards the door. The group looked at one another with rather uncertain expressions on their faces.

"What do you think we should do?" Ruby asked her teammates.

"I don't exactly trust these guys. Too many secrets for my liking." Yang said.

"Yeah, it's clear that there's more to this treasure then they're letting on." Blake said to her group. "The concept of magic existing in our world is still so strange to me. To think that all those Fairy Tales that our parents told us turned out to have some truth to them." She said.

"No kidding. I've seen some strange things back at Vale, though they don't even compare to the things we've seen caused by magic." Yang said.

"their reaction to the spirit in this Lantern didn't really sit with me. I mean, we did tell them that we have one of the twelve most powerful spirits in the whole world." Ruby said.

"Strange that they would want to bring up their watcher after hearing about our possession of one of the spirits." Blake said. "Do you think that this watcher has some sort of connection with the spirits?" She asked.

"Hmm, maybe. Though are we really willing to take that chance?" Yang asked.

"Our whole goal is to find all twelve of the Spirit Users to stop the other kingdoms from suffering the same fate as Vale. If this watcher has some sort of connection to the Spirits then it's a chance we have to take." Blake said.

"Well, that settles it then. Let's go meet this watcher person." Ruby said.

"Hey! What's the holdup?!" One of the guards asked as they stood in front of the doors leading to the rest of the tree. Once everyone understood what their next course of action would be, they started to follow the two guards towards the quarters of the watcher.

The tree as it turned out, went even higher then the group had originally imagined. It was only one floor, though just the sheer sight of the drop below was enough to make their hearts drop.

They eventually arrived at some sort of door that was on the very top of the tree. There was some sort of door that led to the home of the watcher and various plants were held on the window seats that were on the exterior of the house.

One of the guards walked up to the door and started to knock on its wooden surface. After a few moments of silence, the door leading to the inside of the house made an audible clicking noise.

"Watch yourselves around her." One of the guards said as he started to walk away.

"She's not exactly the most hospitable one." The other one said as he followed the other guard towards the room of the chief.

"So...I guess we just walk inside." Sun said as he shrugged his shoulders. The group nodded as Ruby reached to grasp the doorknob. Once it was in her hand, she twisted it to the right, causing the door to open.

The interior of the house was rather well decorated, various rugs, ornaments and pictures were scattered around the house. At the end of the room was some sort of balcony that led to the outside of the tree.

"Hello!" Ruby called out in hopes to get the attention of the watcher. Though after a few seconds, it was clear that the watcher was nowhere to be found. "Maybe she isn't home." She said.

"Well, what do we do now?" Yang asked.

"Whoa!" The voice of Sun could be heard from the outside of the house. The group turned around to see that Sun was peering over the edge of the balcony that was outside of the house.

Once the group actually walked outside of the balcony, they could see just what the Monkey Faunus was marveling at. The view of the mountainside had nothing when compared to what the top of this tree had to offer.

The forests that stood below the tree were truly a sight to be held, though what truly captivated the group was the view of the crystal blue waters that separated the kingdoms of the world.

"Are you done sightseeing?" The voice of a woman asked, causing the group to turn around. Though once they looked from the inside of the house, there was no one to be found.

"Up here." She said, causing the group to look up towards the branches above them. Sure enough, a dark-haired woman could be seen sitting on the branches above them, her green eyes peering into the souls of the group.

Though there were two things that stood out about the woman. The bird-like features on her hair, as well as the bow she carried with her. The bow in question looked rather strange when compared to the other weapons they saw.

However, before they could question the woman, a strange looking bird flew past them and onto the finger of the woman. The bird had a distinct glow to it, which caused the all the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

The woman that stood before them was one of the Spirit Users they had been looking for. The woman in question jumped down from the large branch and onto the balcony of her home.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked the woman as she held the Lantern that contained the spirit tightly.

"Nyx." The newly named Nyx said as she stared at the group. "So, why are you here?" She asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Well..." Ruby began as the group prepared to tell the woman about the strange turn of events that had transpired over the course of a few days.

* * *

After the group had left for the forest, the huntsmen had made there way back to the town where they would start their investigation. Though such a challenge would prove to be rather difficult for the group.

Luckily for the Drunken Huntsmen known as Qrow, he had run into a rather strange individual the night before the remaining members of team RWBY had set off into the Shrouded Forest.

The man was known as Ush, and he had offered the knowledge that the man had desired for a certain price. Though the man was still rather unsure as to what sort of price this could be.

If the man did indeed know the secrets of the town and the reason behind the darkness of the forest, then it was a chance that the man was going to have to take. The sooner they had cleared up these strange happenings the better.

Which brings us to the man in question, who was walking through the town in hopes to find the shop that the man owned.

"Hmm." Qrow hummed to himself as he walked down the streets of the town with the calling card that Ush had given him the night before. The card had the address of the shop that he had run, though so far he was having no luck finding the shop in question.

"Gotta be around here somewhere." He mumbled to himself. After a few moments of walking down the town, he eventually found the area where the shop was supposed to be.

It was a rather rundown part of the town that had more questionable shops and vendors when compared to the other parts of the town. Though it was only natural that such a large town would have its fair share of crime.

Once he had gotten in the general area, the shop in question wasn't hard to find in the slightest. The name of the shop was on the top of the structure on the side of the run-down part of town with big bolded words.

There were various wares and treasures on display to lure the shoppers inside of the shop. The card was right about one thing, this guy did sell wares and treasures that you wouldn't normally find anywhere else.

Once the man actually walked inside, the sound of a bell could be heard above him. He looked around to see if he couldn't find the man anywhere. Though it appears that he wasn't at his front desk at the moment, so the man decided to take the opportunity to look around.

"Hmm." Qrow hummed as he inspected the various treasures that were in stock in the shop. Though as Qrow continued to look around, the sound of someone speaking from behind him caused him to snap back into reality.

"So you decided to come and make a deal with me after all." Ush said, causing Qrow to turn towards the man.

"Yeah, something like that." The Huntsman said to the man known as Usher. He was still rather wary about the man in question, so he wasn't about to let his guard down around him.

"Well then, let's get right down to business." He said as the man walked on over to his desk rather swiftly. Qrow narrowed his eyes but started to walk over towards the desk with his weapon within hands reach.

"So, tell me what you know." Qrow said as he took his flask from out of his pocket.

"Where do you want to start?" Ush asked the man as he started to play with some of his playing cards.

"Hmm." The man hummed as he thought on a certain topic to start with. "How about we start off by you telling me about the Shrouded Forest." Qrow said to the man as he took a sip from his flask.

"The Shrouded Forest, huh? Now that is a place filled with many secrets. Though luckily for you, I just so happen to have the answers you need." Ush said with a smirk. "The question is, are you willing to pay the necessary price needed for the information you need?" He asked the man.

"You need information, I need help with a little something I've been working on. Seems like a fair trade, don't you think?" Ush asked as he held out his hand.

The Huntsman narrowed his eyes as he stared at the man in question. This was the moment of truth, there would be no turning back if he made the deal with this man.

However, the man only had few options open to him at the moment. He needed to settle this situation as fast as possible, so he was prepared to make any necessary choices in order to do so.

Ush held out his hand to the Huntsman, and after only a few moments of brief hesitation, he grasped the hand of the man. Though once he did, purple flames started to consume their hands.

"What the hell?!" Qrow yelled as he pulled his hand away from the man.

"Just a little seal of approval is all. We'll work out the details later." Ush said as he shook the flames that consumed his hands away. Qrow narrowed his eyes at the man before he eventually sat back down in his chair.

"There are many secrets in our world. The Shrouded Forest is only one of many that our world has to offer." Ush said to the man. "The Forest is completely covered by an eternal darkness. Sure you could come to the conclusion that it's because of the giant tree that's in the center of it all." He said.

"Though that's not exactly the case." Ush said to the man. "It's something a bit more on the...supernatural side." He said, causing Qrow to stare at the man with a serious expression on his face.

"You're familiar with Fairy Tale's, right?" Ush asked the man.

"You have no idea." Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask that he carried with him. "So what do Fairy Tale's have to do with the Shrouded Forest?" He asked the man in question.

"Tell me, you're familiar with the tale of the Four Blessings, right?" Ush asked.

"Yeah. The Eldest Brother of the Two Gods created four blessings for the world in order to maintain natural life on it. Water, Fire, Wind, and Life. Each one is essential to maintaining life in our world." Qrow said.

"The Blessing of Wind provides the world with the winds necessary to shake the trees and make the tides in the ocean." He said.

"The Blessing of Water created Remnant's oceans that separate's our kingdoms."

"The Blessing of Fire creates all the magma that's needed to create the metal we use in our weapons, defenses, etc."

"Finally, The Blessing of Life allows life to flow through our planet and allows plants to grow."

"That's right. Though you missed out on one little detail." The man said to the man. "Each Blessing drastically changes its surrounding environment, and believe me when I say that these Blessings can have some strange effects on the world." He said.

"Hmm." The Huntsman hummed to himself. "So, you think that one of the Blessings is in that forest, that right?" Qrow asked. "Guess it does explain the eternal darkness that shrouds the forest." He said to the man.

"Though that isn't even the half of it. The entire structure of the environment will start to change. It's why it's considered impossible to navigate to begin with. It's always changing, never having a set path or layout." Ush said.

"Well, that's a problem." Qrow said under his breath. "Anyways, let's move onto something else." The huntsmen said to the man. It was clear that the man that sat before him was no ordinary man.

Though he had gotten what he wanted, though he was still rather skeptical around the man in question. He would have to keep his guard up until he knew for certain that the man was of no threat to him.

"Right, you want to know about this here town." Ush said to the man that sat before him.

"Yeah." Qrow said to the man as he took a sip from his flask.

"Well, I'm afraid that there isn't really a whole lot to say about this town. Apart from this shop, this town is like any other town you'll see while going through our world." The man said. "Though the town's history, on the other hand, is the real mystery." Ush said to the man that stood before him.

"That so?" He asked the man with one of his eyebrows raised.

"It happened around one thousand years ago. It was before the time of kingdoms and when the world was forever divided. There was this warrior, trickster that was known all throughout the land, a warrior that struck fear into the hearts of anyone who had dared come across him." He said.

"He traveled the world in search of all the treasures of the world. He wanted it all, every treasure that the world had to offer." Ush said to the man. "Though some treasures he may or may not have taken from places that weren't meant to be discovered." He said.

"The man had a lot of enemies due to most of his specialty for making powerful weapons. Though out of all the weapons that the man had, the one that got him his reputation was the massive greatsword that he carried with him." Ush said.

Qrow raised one of his eyebrows at the mention of the greatsword. The man known as Ush noticed this and started to chuckle to himself.

"The blade wasn't like most blades you'll find in our world. It was a blade of incredible power and might. It even had its own set of magic that the warrior used." Ush said to the man.

"Though after he stole a certain piece of treasure to make one last creation, he made some less then desireable enemies. Though the man was a trickster, he was able to outsmart the world with one last trick he had up his sleeve." He said.

"You see, the magic he used had a little catch to it. Once he died, his soul would return to the egg from which the magic originated from. It's sort of like a strange way of reincarnation." Ush explained.

Qrow grunted as he gripped his flask with his right hand at the mention of reincarnation. It seemed rather similar to what Ozpin went through, though instead of going into the mind of a like-minded individual, the man was reborn into the egg.

Though there was one thing that confused the man in question. "What does this egg have to do with his magic?" Qrow asked.

"Well, Dragons do come from eggs." Ush said.

"...Hold on. Did you just say a Dragon?" He asked the man.

"That's right. The magic that resided within the blade was the magic of that of a Dragon." He said. "Though the whole rebirthing process would take some time. Once the man eventually hatched from the egg, he lost all memories of his previous life." Ush said.

"Though the Dragon that laid deep within the blade still stood to watch over the egg until it was ready to hatch." He said.

"Hold on. If what you're saying is true, then that can only mean that the blade that the man wielded all those years ago was actually one of the vessels that contained the Twelve Spirits of Remnant." Qrow said.

"You catch on quickly." Ush said to the man as he started to shuffle the cards that he had in his hand. The Huntsman sat across from the man with a rather serious expression on his face.

The man had held true to his word, he did indeed know a great deal about the mysteries that surrounded the mountain plain. Though there was still something about the man that didn't sit right with him.

"You said you heard all these things from some friends you have. Mind telling me just who these friends of yours are?" Qrow asked the man with his eyes narrowed. The man merely chuckled as he started to twirl a card in his hand.

"Let's just say I've got some pretty...interesting friends." Ush said as he twirled the card one last time, the Queen of Spades being shown clearly in his hand. After a few moments of silence, it finally clicked just who this man was.

As well as who these friends of his were. The man narrowed his eyes, put his flask back into his back pocket, and reached for his weapon that was placed on the belt he wore. After a few moments of silence, Qrow shot up from his seat and flipped the table that stood between him and Ush.

The man was easily able to jump up into the air to dodge the attack. He landed on the ground with relative ease, though once he did, he formed some sort of red ball in his hand.

He threw it up into the air and kicked it towards Qrow, causing the man to hit it away with his blade. Though what he didn't expect was the for the ball to bounce off of the wall and hit the man directly in the back of the head.

Though before he could counter, Ush jumped up into the air and kicked the ball towards the man once again, causing it to hit him directly in the jaw. He eventually got his bearings once again and started to charge towards the man that stood before him.

He started to slash at the man with his weapon, though he was easily able to dodge each and every one of his attacks with relative ease. Ush started to kick the ball he had created towards the Huntsman, though he was able to dodge the oncoming attack and started to swing his blade at the man once again.

"Hmm." Ush hummed to himself as he easily dodged each of and every one of the man's attacks. Though as Qrow continued to strike at the man, he noticed that his body was starting to feel rather strange.

He could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead as he continued his assault on the man that stood before him. Though after a few moments of the fight had passed, the man noticed that his vision was starting to get rather blurry.

"Ugh, what the hell?" Qrow asked as he attempted to shake himself to stay focused. Though before he could continue his oncoming assault on the man, he could feel something hit him from the back.

"Gah!" He gasped as he fell to the ground. The man attempted to get up, though no matter what he did, his body would not respond to the commands he was giving him. "What the hell did you do to me?" Qrow managed to ask.

"You see, everyone in our little circle has some form of magic of there own. Mine just so happens to specialize in a certain category." Ush said to the man. The man didn't know why, but after each passing second, he could feel something changing from within his body.

The man attempted to reach to grab the man with the palm of his hand, though once he did he could see just what the man had done to him. In the corner of his eyes, he could see a strange man walking towards Ush.

Then the man was consumed with darkness as his consciousness slipped away from him. Once that was said and done, a man that looked exactly like Qrow walked out from the store with a rather serious expression on his face.

He looked around the area to see if anyone had seen what had just transpired in the store he had just entered. Once he was sure that no one had seen what had happened from within the store, he started to make his way back to the town square.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Spirit User known as Ash had decided to do her own investigation. While she may not have the vessel of the Spirit with her, she did still have access to some of her powers.

The vessel was used as a method to control the powers that she wielded, though the Spirit itself was the source of the power. If she were to give an example of how the whole process worked, let's say that a lake represented the power of one of the Spirits that were scattered around the world.

If you were to use your palms, the amount of water you could acquire would be rather minimal. No matter how much power the Spirits had, the user would be limited if they were to just user their bare hands.

Though if you had a tool to aid you, or in this case, a vessel at your side, you could draw power that would be incomparable to what you could before. Which is why she was rather skeptical when she parted ways with her vessel.

However, it was a necessary sacrifice she had to make if she wanted to discover the secrets of the forest. Right now the woman was walking around the town in search of that boy and girl she saw the other day.

She wasn't able to shake the feeling away from her soul, as if these people knew more about the secrets behind this town then they were letting on. They also seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the Shrouded Forest.

The woman walked around the town in search of the shop that the two said they worked in. It was an Odd Jobs shop, a shop that basically did anything you asked them to do as long as you had the money for it.

She held the calling card that the boy known as Simon had given her the other day in her hand, the address of the store was right below the logo that was placed on the card she held.

The Spirit User had asked a few of the locals to point her in the direction of the shop, eventually leading her to the side of the mountain that the town resided on. The town was a rather nice one when compared to the other towns she had been to in her years of traveling the world.

It was at this moment that the Spirit User had finally arrived at the shop that the two had worked for. The shop in question was a rather tall building when compared to the others she had passed during her stroll through the town.

The building acted like some sort of large two-story house that had some sort of sign at the side of the two front doors. The woman looked at the calling card before looking up to face the shop once again.

"I guess this is the place." Ash said to herself as she started to walk into the building that the two she had met the day before worked. Once she actually walked into the building, she started to look around at the interior of the shop.

It looked like a rather well-decorated area with a lodge to the right and billboards where you would post jobs to anyone who desired to take a job offer that was posted on the side of the shop. There were various chairs and couches by the billboards as well, including a wooden table that stood in the center of the chairs and sofas.

At the end of the shop was the front desk where people were supposed to be working, a set of bookshelves and two wooden doors that led to the back of the shop. Though from the looks of it, no one was working at the front desk at the moment.

The Spirit User decided to take the opportunity to explore the shop to see if there were any clues that would lead her to the answers she desired about the secrets behind this town.

Though as she continued to walk around the house in search of any clues that may lead her to potential answers, the sound of the two front doors opening from behind the woman caused her to break out of her daze.

She turned around to see some sort of blonde haired Faunus with a dark complexion walking into the building. She had animal-like ears on her head as well as a pair of glasses that stood to shield her bronze eyes.

The girl wore some sort of brown dress with a pair of brown boots on her feet. She also wore some sort of pink collared poncho over her shoulders.

"Um, excuse me." She said as she walked over to the Spirit User.

"Yeah?" Ash asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.

"Do you know if a woman named Riley is here?" The girl asked as she adjusted her glasses.

Though before she could respond to the young girl, the doors leading to the back room opened up, causing the girl known as Riley to walk out into the lobby with various boxes in her arms.

"Riley!" The girl said as she ran up to the girl.

"J-Julie?!" Riley asked the newly named Julie.

"Where have you been?! You were supposed to meet me an hour ago!" Julie said to the girl.

"R-Right. Sorry. I just lost track of time is all." She said as a blush started to form on the girls face. Though her blush immediately faded away once her eyes settled on the Spirit User.

"Oh, I remember you. You're with that group who stopped by in town, that right?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, that's me." Ash said to the young girl.

"So what're you doing here? You come to look at the job boards?" She asked as she pointed at the bulletin boards on the right.

"Not exactly." The Spirit User said, not entirely sure how she should respond.

"Well, if you change your mind, just ring that bell over there." Riley said as she pointed at the bell that was on the counter.

"Come on! We're already late as it is!" Julie said as she started to pull the arm of Riley.

"Hey! Quit pulling!" Riley yelled as the girl dragged her out of the building, leaving Ash to stand in the middle of the room alone.

"Kids these days." She mumbled to herself as she walked over to the front counter. Once she arrived at the counter, her eyes wandered over to the various books that were placed on the shelves that were behind the counter.

The books in question were rather strange to the woman. Various books of the land that the people of the world walked on were seen on the shelves, as well as books of the various Fairy Tales that were created throughout the history of Remnant.

The Spirit User looked around to see if there were any signs of the other one she had run into the other day. Once she was certain that the boy was nowhere to be seen, she walked behind the counter and started to walk behind the counter.

She started to take the various books that were on the shelf off of the wooden surface keeping them organized. The books were like any ordinary books you would see in a library, though the one that caught her attention the most was the with various bookmarks and pages sticking out of it.

"Hmm." Ash hummed as she took the book off of the shelf and started to flip through the various pages that were in the book. Upon further inspection, the book contained various research notes of various locations.

There were various sketches and notes about these locations, as well as various notes about various treasures that she saw in the book. Though as she reached the last page of the book, she saw a sketch of the bookshelf that stood before her.

"What?" Ash asked as she stared at the sketch of the bookshelf that was in front of her. There were various books on the shelf that were highlighted, though there weren't any indications as to what they meant.

The woman pinched her chin as she attempted to decipher the message that was at the end of the book. After a few moments of silence had passed, the Spirit User attempted to take some of the books out in a specific order.

The notes taken from the research books she held were all in a specific order. All she had to do was look at the dates in which they were labeled and take out the respective book that was on the shelf.

Once she did that, the shelf made an audible clicking noise. After a few moments of silence, Ash walked over to the bookshelves and pushed them to the left. Sure enough, once she moved the door out of the way a path that led to the lower levels of the shop.

She looked around to make sure that no one had seen her before she walked through the secret passage leading to the lower levels of the shop. Once she walked through the doors, she turned around and closed it to avoid suspicion.

"Whoever made this clearly wanted to hide something." Ash said to herself as stared down the path that led to the lower levels of the shop. "Alright, let's see what lies beyond this place." She said as she started to walk down the path.

The path in question was lit up by various torches that were placed on the walls of the path in question. Though as Ash continued to walk down the path, she started to hear the voice of her Spirit speak to her from within her mind.

 _ **"Hmm?"**_ The Spirit hummed as her wielder kept walking down the path.

"Something wrong?" The Spirit User asked.

 _ **"Perhaps it was just a figment of my imagination."**_ She said.

"What is it?" Ash asked her Spirit.

 _ **"No. I suppose my mind is clouded at this moment. Come, let us continue down this Path of Secrets."**_ The Spirit said.

While the Spirit User wasn't quite convinced that the spirit that resided deep within her soul was telling her the truth, she kept down the path none the less. It wasn't until they reached the near end of the path that they could see light shining from the corner.

It was a golden light that radiated through the corner of the path was rather inviting for anyone who would come across it. After a few moments of silence, Ash started to walk down to the end of the path.

Though once she reached the source of the golden light, the sight she saw once she walked into the cave was rather surprising. Gold as far as the eye could see, treasures that have been long forgotten were placed all around the room.

It was like a temple of treasure that was long forgotten by the world around it. Though as Ash continued to walk around the cave that she had just discovered, she could hear the sound of footsteps from within the cave.

The Spirit User got into her combat position, prepared to deal with any oncoming threat that may jump out at her. _**"Hmm."**_ The Spirit hummed once more as the Spirit User prepared to do battle.

Though before the Spirit User could question the Ghost that resided from deep within her soul, she could see a White-Haired man jumping towards her from one of the walls of the cave.

Before the man could strike at the woman, she quickly jumped up into the air to avoid the oncoming assault. However, this did not stop the man from swinging the massive Great Sword that he carried at the woman, causing her to bring her arms up to block the attack.

She was sent flying through the dirt of the cave, though eventually regained her balance as she landed on the ground, a trail of dust picking up around her. Once the dust cleared, the woman could see the man that stood before her clearly.

The man that stood before her was a rather tall man with a pale complexion, as well as white hair and dark brown eyes. The man wore a black sleeveless shirt, a wide brown belt, grey pants, and black boots.

Though the most notable feature about the man was the massive greatsword that he carried over his shoulder. It was unlike any blade she had seen before, the blade of the sword itself was even larger than the man that wielded it.

"Pretty big sword you got there." Ash said to the man as the strands of her hair started to turn into strands of fire that crackled throughout the room.

"Yeah, nice light show." The man said as he pointed at the hair of the woman.

After a few moments of silence, the two charged at one another. The man swung his blade at the woman with surprising ease, though Ash was able to just narrowly dodge the assault that the man threw at her.

She formed a ball of fire in the palm of her right hand and rammed it into the gut of the man, causing him to slide backward's as the explosion echoed throughout the cave, though what she wasn't expecting was for the man to be relatively unphased by her fire.

He roared and swung his blade onto the ground, causing a massive shockwave to echo throughout the area.

It didn't help that the Spirit User didn't have her Vessel with her at the moment. It put her at a severe disadvantage in this battle. However, she would have to make due if she wanted to get the knowledge she desired.

Once she landed on the ground, the man could be seen forming some sort of fireball from within the palm of his hand. In the blink of an eye, he was able to ram the ball of fire into the gut of the woman, causing her to go flying towards one of the pillars that were scattered throughout the cave.

"I can do this too, you know." He said with a smirk on his face. The man formed yet another fireball in the palm of his hand and shot it at the woman, though the Spirit User was able to counter the attack with one of her own blasts, causing the explosion to echo throughout the cave.

The man got a serious expression on his face before he gripped the blade he hand in his hand tightly. He started to walk towards the Spirit User, forming another fireball from within the palm of his hand as he started to close the gap between them.

Ash growled as she stared at the man that was making his way towards her. The ground started to rumble as rocks started to fall from the ceiling. An idea sparked from within the mind of the woman as she formed one of her attacks from within her hand.

She shot it at the ceiling, causing various pieces of rubble to fall from the mountain above. Though before the rocks could actually fall onto the man, he took a deep breath and to her surprise, shot a steam of fire out of his mouth that destroyed all of the rocks before they could even hit the ground.

"He can breathe fire?!" Ash asked as she landed on the ground where the man started to walk. The man in question continued to walk towards the woman before eventually charging forwards in attempts to strike the woman down.

Ash took a deep breath and clapped her hands together, causing another ball of fire to form from in between her hands. Once the attack was complete, she threw it at the man with her finger.

The man was able to dodge the oncoming attack, though what he wasn't expecting was for the Spirit User to swing her finger to the right, causing the ball to come back towards him to strike his back.

She smirked and started to swing her finger in various directions, causing the ball of fire to move in that said direction. The man growled as he dodged and blocked the oncoming attacks from the ball of fire.

He was eventually able to get close enough to the woman with his blade, though the Spirit User was able to dodge the oncoming attack. The man continued to swing his blade at the woman in attempts to strike her down, though she was able to dodge each attack that the man threw at her.

The man attempted to strike at the woman once again, though she was able to create some sort of barrier at the last moment. She jumped backward's and picked up one of the various blades that were scattered across the room.

She gripped the blade tightly as she infused it with some of the Spirit's magic, causing the blade to glow a bright red due to the intense heat. The two rushed towards one another with their respective weapons at their side.

Once the two clashed with one another, part of the ground opened up due to the pressure of the clash. The man jumped backward's and started to fire more fireballs from his mouth, though the woman was able to block them with the blade she had.

The man shot two more fireballs before jumping into the air, causing a small shockwave to spread throughout the area. The Spirit User quickly slashed the two balls of fire away before meeting blows with the man, both sides getting very visible cut marks on their head and cheek.

The two continued to clash with one another, the man throwing fireballs at the man while the woman slashed at him with the blade she found, as well as attempting to strike at him with her own fireball.

The two clashed with one another one last time before both sides jumped back to regain their composure. The man held his sword over his shoulder while the woman had the blade at her side and the ball of fire hovering beside her.

However, before the two combatants could continue in their brawl, the sound of a voice that echoed throughout the caves quickly cut them off.

 _ **"Enough!"**_ The voice said, causing the duo to stop in their tracks. Ash turned to face the source of the voice, though what she saw only made her question her view on mythology and folklore.

Above the duo was a massive Black-Winged Dragon that glowed with a dark like aura surrounding him. Once the Dragon reached the ground, she turned to face the woman that was facing off against the man.

 _ **"Hmm. It has been quite some time, my old friend."**_ The Dragon said to the woman.

Though before Ash could question the Dragon that stood before her, the spirit that resided within her soul emerged to face the massive dragon. The Spirit in question had a rather small like build to her.

She wore a small pointed hat with some sort of crest in the middle of it, while most of her face was concealed with some sort of cloth. Most of the inside of her cloth was filled with darkness, though both of her pure bright red eyes could be seen from within the darkness.

The Spirit wore some sort of robe over her shoulders, as well as a few armor platins on her legs and arms. Her belt consisted of a book that was wrapped around her belt, as well as some sort of pouch that she wore.

She also glowed with a bright red aura, the same color that her eyes glowed with. After a few moments of silence, the man spoke up to break the silence that filled the caves they were in.

 ** _"Indeed it has, old friend."_** The Spirit said as she walked up to the Dragon in front of her. **_"Quite the treasury you have made. Though I fail to see the reason for such a collection of treasures."_** She said as she looked around the habits

 _ **"Old habits die hard, I suppose."**_ The Dragon said.

"Uh, hey." The man said, causing the Dragon to turn its massive head towards the man in question.

 _ **"Speak."**_ He said.

"Mind telling me who this is? You two talk like your old friends or something." The man said.

 _ **"I suppose introductions are in order."**_ The Dragon said as he turned to face the Spirit once again. _**"The one who stands before you is known by many names. The Warden, One of the Queen's guard. Though to you mortals, you know her as the one of the Twelve Spirits."**_ He said.

"...Hold on, what?!" The man asked the Dragon.

"Hmm?" Ash hummed to herself as she stared at the Dragon.

 _ **"I suppose this is the mortal you have decided to ally yourself with."**_ The Dragon said as he stared at the woman.

 ** _"Indeed."_** The Spirit said to the Dragon.

 ** _"Very well. Typically I do not engage in the affairs of Mortals, though I suppose an ally of one of my comrades is an ally to one such as I."_** The Dragon said as he kneeled down to face the woman.

 _ **"Greetings, Mortal. I am known by many names. The Keeper, One of the Queen's Guard. Though you may refer to me as one of the Twelve Spirits."**_ The Dragon Spirit said to the woman.

"..." The woman stood before the Dragon in relative silence.

 _ **"What hold your tongue, child?"**_ Ash's Spirit asked as she walked over towards her user.

"You mean to tell me that this Dragon is one of the Twelve Spirits?!" Ash asked her spirit.

 _ **"Indeed. Does this pose a problem to you?"**_ She asked.

"No. Its just...surprising is all." She said.

"Wait, hold on. You have a Spirit of your own?!" The man asked the woman that stood before him.

"Yeah. I can assume that you're one of the Spirit Bearers as well." Ash said to the man.

"That's right. The name's Blitz." The man said with a smirk on his face.

"Blitz? Ash." The Spirit User said to the man.

"So I can assume that you're not here to steal any of my treasure, am right?" He asked the woman.

"No. The only treasures I seek are the secrets that this world has to offer." Ash said to the Spirit User. "It's why I came on down here. Heard about the mystery that surrounded this town." She said.

"Yeah, it's something like that." The man said to the woman.

 _ **"The Shrouded Forest. Quite the Mystery that is."**_ The Dragon said to the duo before turning towards his comrade. _**"Though where is the Vessel that you have chosen? This blade does not hold the same magic used from within the vessels."**_ He said.

 ** _"That is quite the tale to tell, my friend. One that would best be saved for another time."_** The Spirit said. Though before the duo could question the Spirits reasoning, the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway caused them to turn towards the door.

Sure enough, both Simon and Riley had made their way down the secret passage to see what the commotion was about.

"What the hell is going on?!" The girl asked as she rushed into the cave. Though as soon as her eyes met Ash's, her expression turned into a rather sour one. "You! I knew you were trouble when I saw you!" Riley yelled as she started to run towards the woman.

Though before she could get any further, Blitz quickly stopped her in her tracks. "Whoa! Easy there! She's not our enemy!" The man said to the girl before turning towards the Spirit User in question. "Right?" He asked, causing the woman to nod.

However, before the situation could get any more out of hand than it already was, the sound of footsteps could be heard from the halls. Everyone turned to see that the girl known as Julie was walking through the doors.

"Riley! Why did you just run off...like...that?" She asked as her gaze slowly fell onto the massive Dragon that stood before her.

"..." After a few moments of silence, the girl eventually passed out on the floor.

"Ah damn. This isn't gonna be fun to explain." Blitz said.

* * *

"So that's why we're here. We've been looking for all Twelve of the Spirit users to help us fight this war." Ruby said as she finished explaining the tale of the struggles they had to the woman known as Nyx.

"It's why we need your help. We've seen first hand just what someone with the power of the Twelve Spirits could do." Blake said to the woman.

The woman sat in her chair with a cup of tea that she had poured for herself, pondering the tale that the group had just told her. Once the woman placed down the cup of tea she had, she stared at the group with a serious expression on her face.

"That's quite the tale there." Nyx said to the group.

"So you'll help us?" Ruby asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"No." She said without any hesitation in her voice, causing all hope that the girl felt to crumble to the ground.

"What?! You mean to tell us after hearing all that, you still won't help us?!" Yang asked.

The woman sighed to herself before she rubbed the temples of her eyes with her right hand. "I don't exactly have a job that I can just walk away from. I keep outsiders away from our home so that they don't ever find out about the power that's held here." Nyx said to the group.

"Imagine what would happen if people found out that the power to control the winds of our world was kept in our tree." She said. "People from all across the world would come to get their hands on it." Nyx said.

"My home was put at risk once already." She said to the group with a rather somber expression on her face. The group looked at the woman with curiosity in their eyes before looking back at one another.

The woman sighed before getting up from where she was sitting. She closed her eyes before facing the group with a rather serious expression on her face. "You have my response. Now if that's all you came here to do, then leave." Nyx said as she started to walk towards the balcony.

"Why?" Yang asked the Spirit User.

"I already gave you my reason. I'm not repeating myself." She said to the blonde brawler.

"No, I mean why are you protecting this Tree?" Yang asked the woman. "Why go through all this trouble?" She asked.

"...It's nothing that concerns you." Nyx said as she started to pull out various maps that she had made of the layout of the forest that surrounded her home. "Now if you have nothing else to say, then leave." She said.

"The two guards told us about you. Said that you weren't the type of person who would just do something out of the goodness of your heart." Yang said to the woman.

"Well, I suppose they're right." Nyx said to the woman.

"Then why go through all this trouble? What do you have to gain through all this?" She asked.

"I do live here." She said with one of her eyebrows raised as she started to get various pencils and pens she had stored on one of her shelves.

"Yeah, that's what you're protecting. I want to know why you're protecting it." Yang said with a rather serious expression on her face.

"...Atonement." Nyx said to the group.

"What?" Ruby asked the woman.

"I protect this place because I owe it to some people. It's the least I can do for them." She said.

"Were you close with them?" She asked.

"More then you could ever know." Nyx said with a somber expression on her face.

"Well, if they were here right now, what do you think they would say?!" Yang asked the woman, causing her to grasp the pencil she held in her hand tightly. "I bet they would say that you-!" Yang began, only for Nyx to suddenly turn around with her bow at her side. She had an arrow pointed directly at the head of the blonde girl with a look of absolute malice in her eyes.

"I said, go." She said to the girl. The room was filled with a rather unsettling silence as the woman pointed one of her arrows at the head of the blonde brawler. After the moment had passed, the woman lowered her bow, her expression also calmed down a bit.

"You got what you came for. Now leave." Nyx said as she started to walk towards the balcony with her maps and graphs at her side. The group looked at one another before they made their way towards the door that led to the outside of the house of the Spirit User.

"So what now?" Sun asked the group.

"I'm not sure." Ruby said to as she started to think about what their next move should be. Blake looked at her partner to see that she had a rather deep expression on her face.

"Hey." Blake said, causing her to snap back into reality.

"Huh?" Yang asked.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Oh. I guess I am. It's just...I can't get what she said out of my head." She said to her partner. "I mean, what did she mean by I protect this place because I owe it to some people?" Yang asked.

"I'm not sure. Must have been someone important to her." Blake said.

"No kidding." Yang said.

"Alright." Ruby said as she turned towards the group. "We should split up for now." Ruby said to the group.

"...Huh?" They asked the girl.

"Uncle Qrow and Dad will probably need help back at the town. They'll also want to know more about this place." She said to the group.

"Do you really think we should tell them about this town? The boss did trust us enough to let us leave, despite knowing about this place. Don't you think we owe them for giving us the benefit of the doubt?" Sun asked.

"We don't have to tell them about this town. We can just tell them about the Blessings. Chances are they already know about them." Ruby said. "Though these blessings seem pretty important, so half of us should stay here just in case Salem sends more of her followers to take the Blessing." She said.

"Hmm...Yeah, that makes sense. Good thinking Rubes!" Yang said.

"How should we divide the teams?" Blake asked her leader.

"Hmm...I think Yang and I should head back to town." Ruby said to the group.

"But Blake and I are partners. Wouldn't it make more sense if we stayed here?" Yang asked.

"We'll still need her help, and I doubt she's going to be in the mood to talk to you after the stunt you just pulled in there." Blake said to her partner.

"...Damn." Yang said.

"Don't worry. It'll only be temporary." Ruby said.

"Alright, so Blake and I will hang back here." Sun said.

"That's the plan." Ruby said to the group. "Alright, the next assignment of team RWBY...and Sun. Help the people of the town and the forest out and then it's off to Mistral!" Ruby said.

"Wonder how the team is doing. It's sure been awhile since I last saw em." Sun said.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Blake said.

"Yeah, those guys can hold there own. Especially Sage! Man, I can't believe I missed out on a fight like that." Yang said.

"Maybe we'll run into team JNPR while we're there! It'll be nice to see them again!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, I still need that rematch with Nora for that arm wrestling contest." Yang said.

"With any luck, they'll have the same idea we had and are already on there way to Mistral." Blake said.

"Yeah, maybe they can soften the load a bit." Yang said.

"Anyways you guys should probably find a place to stay while Yang and I talk to the chief about getting back to the town." Ruby said as the group nodded.

Though as the group started to put their plan into action, Blake's ears started to twitch suddenly. She turned around and started to look around the area as if she were looking for something.

"Hmm." Blake hummed to herself. She could have sworn that she had sensed something around her.

Something familiar, though It vanished as soon as it appeared.

"Hey, you coming?" Sun asked his friend.

After a few moments of silence, the girl eventually shook and off and turned her head towards Sun.

"...Yeah, I'll be right there." She said as she started to follow her friends as they made their way down the tree.

Though little did she know, she was indeed being tailed by someone from her past. Someone who once saw her as a partner.

Her friend.

Though now the now they were on opposite sides of the war they we're waging.

* * *

 _ **So, our group arrives at the Tree of Civilization and found yet another one of the Twelve Spirit users. A woman that is known by the name of Nyx. Though it seems that a certain level of mystery surrounds the woman.**_

 ** _Qrow has seemed to get into a rather unwanted situation as well. The fate of the man is still unclear._**

 ** _Not only that but it seems that the Spirit User, Ash, has found one of her own, the Spirit User that goes by the name of Blitz. Though what could be the story behind the man._**

 ** _Only one way to find out._**

 ** _Review Response._**

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Indeed. Though it does make for an interesting character.**_

 _ **Flametusk: You'll find out eventually.**_

 _ **GOH426: Glad to see that you're looking forward to more screen time with them. I plan to dive more into their characters and reveal more about their backstories.**_

 _ **EzioIsPIRATE: That only calculates his Semblance, not him as a whole.**_

 _ **SPDefender: Glad you like it.**_

 _ **UndeadLord22: I've only seen bits and pieces of Berserk, so it wasn't intentional.**_

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Yep.**_

 _ **Zentari2238:**_ ** _"Though it will only be if he is willing to bear the responsibility for the power. Though in the end, the decision is up to him." I'm not sure what part of this seems forced._**

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Trust me, Brandon is no knight on a noble steed.**_

 _ **Blitz**_

 ** _Race: Human_**

 ** _Weapon: Great Sword_**

 ** _Gender: Male_**

 ** _Height: 6'0"_**

 ** _Weight: 196 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 30_**

 ** _Outfit: Black, Brown_**

 ** _Handedness: Right_**

 ** _Complexion: Light_**

 ** _Hair Color: White_**

 ** _Eye color: Dark Brown_**

 ** _Aura Color: Grey._**

 ** _Semblance: Spirit._**

 ** _Spirit: Dgraig Goch_**

 ** _Appearance:_** ** _A gigantic two-winged black Dragon who serves as one guard's to the White Queen alongside the other Great Knights. Due to his Spirit origin, the Dragon is able to channel magic into his already destructive attacks._**

 ** _Destructive Power: A_**

 ** _Speed: c_**

 ** _Endurance: A_**

 ** _Precision: D_**

 ** _Potential A_**

 ** _Range: A_**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	79. The Island of Mystery

_**Hello readers, welcome to the next installation of RWBY: Remnants of Another World. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY. All rights to the series go to Rooster Teeth, please support the official release.**_

 ** _Update: Chapters will be released on Saturdays from here on out. The previous chapter will be added upon in the days to come._**

* * *

Speech: "The Island of Mystery"

Thought: _'The Island of Mystery'_

Flashback: _"The Island of Mystery"_

After the leader of team JNPR, Jaune Arc, alongside his partner and mentor, Pyrrha Nikos, had parted ways with there teammates so that one of them could get medical aid from a distant island, they had decided to continue their journey towards the great kingdom of Mistral.

Though upon reaching the surrounding towns that surrounded the kingdom, they had stumbled into a tavern of some sorts where they were reunited with one of the Blonde Knight's dear sister's, June Arc.

However, their reunion was cut short thanks to the owner of the Tavern they had run into. The owner in question had requested information on the supernatural events that the team had witnessed over the following months of there struggles.

She had specifically wanted to know more about the Spirit Users that the two had encountered over the course of there journey, though they were quickly silenced by a group of newly bred huntsmen that had come searching for the dreaded Criminal of the east, the Woman in The Green Mask.

Unfortunately, the group in question was mistaken for the Criminal of the East by a Bounty Hunter looking to collect the High Bounty placed onto the Woman in The Green Mask.

They would have surely met there demise if it weren't for the owner of the Tavern that they had run into on the way towards the kingdom of Mistral. After quite the display of speed, the woman who took on the name of Clair revealed herself to be one of the wielders of the Spirits that were scattered across the world they stood in.

It was quite shocking, to say the least. The duo had only ever met the one that they allied themselves with during there time in the Academy and had only ever heard bits and pieces of the Spirit User that was Yang's mother.

To meet one face to face caught the group off guard, they had set out to Mistral with the intentions to find the Spirit User's, though they did not think they would find one so soon upon there arrival to the capital of the East.

Her speed was unmatched, no one in the group could see her movements. It was as if she were teleporting around the fields outside of the tavern the woman ran. Her speeds were even faster than that of their Red Hooded friend, Ruby Rose, whose semblance focuses entirely on speed.

Though one could expect such power from one of the twelve Spirits of Remnant, as well as the Twelve Great Knights of the Spirit Kingdom. The Spirit was one of the Queen's royal guard, it was not a position one could simply gain.

Jaune, alongside his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, had made there way back towards the Tavern alongside the Spirit User, Clair. Meanwhile, June had told Jaune that she would go and retrieve the rest of the Arc family from the house they had deep in the woods.

The duo knew nothing of the duo that ran the Tavern, though it was very evident that these two were no mere barkeepers. Which is why they were rather curious to know just who these people were.

The duo in question were currently sitting by the bar of the Tavern, awaiting an explanation behind the recent events. It was rather quiet until the man that worked with the Spirit User walked out of the room with two cups of water in his hands.

"Here you are. You must be parched after such a long trip." The man said to the duo.

"Yeah, it has been a long trip." Jaune said as he grabbed one of the glasses.

"You have our thanks." Pyrrha said as she and Jaune started to drink the water that the man had given them.

"I do not believe I have introduced myself. My name is Joeseph." The newly named Joeseph said to the duo.

"Jaune Arc. This here is my partner, Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune said to the man that stood before them.

"Hello again." She said as she waved to the old man.

"So, I presume that the two of you are quite perplexed by the secrets that my friend holds, correct?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement." Jaune said to the old man. "Though it's not all that strange. We do know another one of the Spirit User's after all." He said to the man.

"I see. Who might this friend of yours be? If you don't mind me asking of course." Joeseph said to the duo.

"Well..." Jaune said as he stared down at his glass with a rather somber expression on his face. After a few moments of silence, Pyrrha had gotten a rather similar expression on her face.

"Oh! My apologies, I did not mean to stir up memories of such a tragedy." He said.

"No, it's fine. It's why we're out here in the first place. Our friend wanted to find the remaining eleven Spirit Users to help fight against the man who gave him the blade had been hunting. It's the least we can do for him." Jaune said.

"Besides, hope is not lost. Not just yet." Pyrrha said. "We believe that our friend is still out there. We are unsure of his exact location, though we have come to believe that the most likely place would be in the kingdom of Vacuo." She said.

"All the way out to the west I see. My, it's been quite some time since I have been out there." Joeseph said to the duo, causing them to move their attention towards the old man that stood in front of them.

"Were you a traveler of sorts?" Pyrrha asked.

"I suppose you could say that." He said as he stared up at the sky with a rather nostalgic expression on his face. "Ah yes, those were the days indeed. Traveling across the lands of our world in search of thrills and challenges." Joeseph said.

"It was a tale of thrills and romance. Ah, those were the days indeed." He said with a sigh in his voice. "Though these old bones aren't what they used to be, and time waits for no one." He said.

"So what did you do after everything was set and done?" Jaune asked.

"My original intentions were to settle down and live a quiet life near the city of Mistral." Joeseph said to the duo. "Though in the end, I suppose a man such as myself does not get the luxury of peace." He said.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"I was going to set up shop here, live my life as one of the local Tavern owners. Though that is when I stumbled upon the woman that had saved your lives just moments ago." He said as he got another Nostalgic expression on his face.

"When one story ends, another is bound to begin. Thus I would take care of the young girl that wandered over to the doors of my Tavern so long ago." Joeseph said to the duo.

"What did she want?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm, it's for a quite unusual given the circumstances." He said. "One would assume that she was there for food, a drink, maybe a place of rest. It is what most people would want, is it not?" Joeseph asked, causing the duo to nod there heads.

"However, she was a rather special case. She saw that I was a wandering warrior, so she asked me to take her under my wing as a pupil of some sorts." He said as he started to scratch his back nervously.

"I shall admit that I wasn't the noblest of men back in my youth, so originally I decline such an offer." Joeseph said to the duo. "However, after hearing of her motivations to acquire such strength I decided to see if her resolve was as strong as she says it was." He said.

"You see, I once had the weapon you see in the hands of my dear friend long ago." He said to the duo.

"Huh?!" Jaune asked.

"You mean that you were the original wielder?!" Pyrrha asked.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the man that stood in front of them burst out into a heart filled laugh. Once he managed to regain his breath, he stared at the two children with a smirk on his face.

"Heavens no. I couldn't wield such a Spirit even if I tried. Though I did know the original owner long ago before I considered settling down in this little Tavern you see here." He said to the duo.

"Where is she now?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hah, that I do not know of. I can only hope that she is still seeking the thrills that lay deep within our world." Joeseph said to the duo. "Though no use dwelling on the past." He said to the duo.

"It sounds like quite the tale indeed." The Spartan said to the old man.

"Indeed it was." The man said to the duo.

"Hey! Why don't you tell us about it while we're waiting for your friend to get back!" Jaune said.

"Ha ha ha! I would love to, dear children. Though such a tale would require time that we do not have." He said to the duo. "Though you two are more than welcome to come by and listen to my stories." He said.

"Well, once everything is set and done we'll come on back here to take you up on that offer." The Blonde Knight said to the man.

"Yes, I am quite eager to know of the tales surrounding you." Pyrrha said to the man, causing Joeseph to chuckle to himself. "Though if you do not mind me asking, you said that you were the one taught your friend how to wield her blade, correct?" She said.

"Indeed I am." He said to the Spartan.

"Well...It's just..." Pyrrha began, unsure as to how she should go about asking the old man that stood before her.

"Yes? What is it, young one?" Joeseph asked.

"I was wondering how someone as...aged as you are is still able to train a full grown woman?" She asked the old man, causing him to let out yet another heart filled laugh.

"Well, we all have our means to combat the villains we face, do we not?" He asked as he started to walk over towards one of the kegs that they head behind the counter, causing the duo to look at one another with rather confused expressions.

Joeseph pulled the handle of the keg with his right arm, causing the shelves that held the various bottles of alcohol to shake where they stood. After a few moments of silence, the shelves moved from where they were, revealing a rather impressive armory.

There were various weapons that were scattered across the wall, though the two most notable pieces of combat material on the wall were the golden suit of armor that stood on a shelf on the wall, as well as a single set of large golden nunchucks.

"Whoa!" Jaune said as he stared at the armory that was on the wall.

"Believe me, my friends. While I may be old, I still hold a few of my tricks from back in my youth." Joeseph said to the group as he closed the armory with the keg handle once again.

"What's going on down there?" The voice of Clair could be heard from the stairs on the right. The duo turned around to see the woman in question in a more combat centered outfit of her last one.

"Terribly sorry, I am just telling these children of the tale's of my youth." He said.

"Is that so?" She asked as she walked behind the counter. "So, giving a little tour of the armory?" Clair asked as she stared at the wall and grabbed some sort of bottle from it.

"Indeed. I do not see the harm in such an action. Do you?" Joeseph asked.

"No, I suppose not." She said as she walked over to the kids. "So, I'm sure you two have a few questions after seeing what you saw out in the fieldsn." The woman asked the duo.

The two looked at one another before they turned back towards the woman. "Well, I suppose we have just one question for you." Pyrrha said. "Why did you take up the art of swordplay all those years ago?" She asked.

The woman in question chuckled to herself before she placed the bottle back on the shelf and turned towards the duo in question. "That's a bit of a personal question, don't you think?" Clair asked.

"Oh! We do not mean to pry. We are just curious what drove you to take up such a skill." Pyrrha said. "You are quite the capable warrior, like few we've ever seen." She said to the woman.

"Well, if you must know, I dedicated my life to the study of fencing so that I could find the woman you see on the bulletin board over there." The Spirit User said as she pointed at the wanted poster that was posted on the board.

"You mean the Terror of The East?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's right. She took something very precious from me. Though when I went to the Kingdom of Mistral to seek justice, I couldn't find a single soul who would believe my story." She said to the duo.

"So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. If I wanted Justice, then I would have to seek it out myself." Clair said to the duo. "Because her soul will never be able to rest as long as she walks through this world." She said.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the woman took a deep breath before turning her head towards the duo in question.

"Now, I know that you two have somewhere to be and all. Though I was hoping that you could answer a few questions of mine." The Spirit User said to the Blonde Knight and the Spartan.

"Sure. We're waiting for someone anyways." Jaune said to the woman.

"You two said that you were already familiar with two of the Spirit Users that are scattered across Remnant, that right?" Clair asked.

"Yeah. One of our friends as well as the mother of another one of our friends." Jaune said.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not curious to know more about them." She said to the duo.

"Actually, we don't really know a whole lot about our friend's mother. We only know bits and pieces, we've never actually met her." He said. "Though we can tell you what we know, even if it isn't a whole lot." He said.

"We do know that she is the house of the Spirit of Masamune, and has been for most of her life." Pyrrha said to the woman.

"That so?" Clair asked the duo.

"Yeah, the last time we saw her was at the Fall of Vale." Jaune said to the duo, causing them to stare at the Blonde Knight and the Spartan with rather surprised expressions. After the shock had passed the two, the bartender spoke up to the two,

"My word. You two witnessed the fall of such a great kingdom?" He asked.

"Indeed. We were actually in the heat of the battle, fighting to protect our dear school." Pyrrha said. "Though unfortunately, it appears fate had other plans for the Kingdom of Vale." She said.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. It wasn't your fault, and you did the best you could do." Jaune said to his partner as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We can win this war." He said.

"I suppose you are right." Pyrrha said though Jaune knew full well of the emotions that plagued Pyrrha's heart. He was willing to lend her his support and aid, though this was a battle of Self Forgiveness that she was facing.

It was a battle that she would have to face alone. He could only push her in the right direction, though whether or not she would rise from her guilt would be entirely up to her.

"I'm terribly sorry. I could not imagine the horrors that such youth had to witness on that day." Joeseph said.

"Yeah, but we're still here. We're still standing, and that's all that matters in the end." Jaune said to the bartender that stood behind the counter.

"So, back to this woman." Clair said to the duo, getting them back on track.

"Oh! Right. Well, that's all we really know about her. She is pretty strong from what we saw." Jaune said.

"Hmm, well what about your friend? You said he had one of the Spirits as well." She said to the duo.

"Oh! Well, we know a lot about him. He's helped us in a lot of ways. I don't think some of us would be here if it weren't for him." He said to the woman. "Where to start..." Jaune said as he pinched his chin with his fingers.

"Well, what Spirit did he house?" Clair asked the duo.

"Ah! That's an easy one. He housed the Spirit of Caliber." Jaune said to the duo. Though before Clair could respond, the rapier that was wrapped around her waist started to shake in its sheath.

After a few moments of silence, the Spirit that the woman housed from within her soul appeared from thin air. It was a rather regal looking Spirit with gray armor wrapped around her body.

The armor in question looked like some form of dress that reached down to her upper thigh. She wore armor on her legs as well, her feet were taking on the form of some sort of single pointed foot.

Her shoulder plates made room for her arms to move around, while her upper arm had its own piece of armor. The shoulder plates in question made room for some sort of back collar that had various floating fragments of her armor above it.

The helmet she wore on her head had two hollow holes in the front of it with three horns pointing out from the back of the helmet, the center horn being the largest of the three.

She also had some sort of rapier that she held on her right hand, the blade in question glowing with a white aura. The waistline of her dress also had fragments of her armor floating around it.

"Whoa!" Jaune said as he stumbled backward's and fell out of his seat.

In the blink of an eye, the Spirit appeared beside the boy with her two glowing eyes staring at the boy that laid on the floor.

 _ **"You speak of The Exile?"**_ The Spirit asked as she stared down at the boy that laid on the ground beneath her.

"..." Jaune merely laid there in silence, not expecting the sudden appearance of the spirit.

 _ **"Answer the question!"**_ She yelled, causing a small gust of air to shoot out from the spirit in question.

"Y-Yes!" He said as he raised up his hands as some form of surrender.

 _ **"Hmm, how interesting. So he still walks this plain to this day."**_ She said.

"..."

 _ **"I pity one unfortunate enough to have been burden with his sin."**_ The Spirit said.

"Sin? What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha asked.

 _ **"The affairs of us Spirits are of no concern to you, mortal."**_ She said to the woman.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked, still recovering from the Spirits sudden actions.

 _ **"I am the Spirit of Ferocity. The Fierce one. I am the personal guard of her Majesty."**_ She said.

"Her Majesty?" Pyrrha asked.

 _ **"Indeed. We Spirits serve under the White Queen to protect The Nest of The Spirits. I myself, am her personal guard."**_ The Spirit explained. _**"I protect the Kingdom of Spirits alongside my brothers and sisters in arms."**_ She said.

"Then why are you here?" Jaune asked. "Shouldn't you be with your queen?" He asked.

 _ **"This is a special task given to us by her Majesty. She believes that learning more about the mortal realm will aid us in our quest to protect the kingdom."**_ She said.

"Interesting." Pyrrha said.

 _ **"If you are ever reunited with your comrades, I would take precautions around my brother."**_ She asked.

"Thanks for the warning, though we'll take our chances." Jaune said as he stood up from the stone floor of the Tavern.

 _ **"Hmm, I see."**_ The Spirit said as she disappeared from sight.

"So, you two are looking for the Spirit Users that are scattered all throughout our world, right?" Clair asked the duo.

"Indeed we are." Pyrrha said.

"Mind if I ask why?" The Spirit User asked the duo.

"Well..." The Spartan said as she stared at her partner. After a few moments of silence, he eventually stood up from where he stood.

"We're trying to finish what our friend started." Jaune said. "Though the people that the old man he got the sword from was hunting down are more powerful then we thought. So we're going to need someone as equally as powerful to help stop them." He said.

"So what we're trying to say is, will you help us finish what our friend started?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm." Clair hummed to herself as she put her hand on her chin.

The two stared at the woman in silence, hoping, if not praying that the woman would take them up on there offer. A few moments of silence felt like an eternity, though eventually, the woman came to a decision.

"I like your drive. I suppose I'll lend you my blade for now." Clair said.

"Seriously?! Alright! Thanks a lot Clair!" Jaune said.

"However, I have one condition." She said to the duo.

"Sure, it's the least we can do after everything is said and done in Mistral." He said.

"I want you to help me find the Woman in The Green Mask." Clair said to the duo. "After all, the least I can do for you helping me find the Woman in The Green Mask." She said to the duo.

"Of course, with you on our side, I doubt finding her would be too much of an issue. Not only that but I'm sure that the kingdom would be able to rest easy knowing that the Terror of the East has been brought to justice." Pyrrha said.

"Sounds like a plan to me. You know where to find me when you want to put your little plan into action, or if you find anything on the whereabouts of that woman." Clair said as she placed one of the cups on the counter.

Though before the duo could respond, the sound of the door opening from behind them quickly cut them off. As the Blonde Knight turned to face the people who were walking into the tavern, he could feel his breath shake a bit.

As the group of people started to walk into the Tavern, the group could clearly see a group of Blondes ranging from various different ages and looks. Though the one that caught his attention the most was the woman that stood before them all.

His mother, Jean Arc.

"M-Mom?" Jaune asked as he slowly walked over towards his mother. His mother in question stared at him with a loving smile before walking over towards her son and wrapping him in a loving embrace.

"It's been so long, my son." She said, causing Jaune to completely break down in his mother's arms.

"Mom. I've...I've missed you so much." He said.

"I missed you to." Jean said to her son. "As did another." She said as she let go of her son as a fairly tall man walked into the bar. He could feel his heart rate skyrocket as the man stood before him.

This was the man who started it all, the one who inspired him to become a Huntsmen in the first place, and the previous owner of the blade known as Crocea Mors.

His father, Joan Arc.

* * *

After the Monk of the team of JNPR had left his remaining teammates behind in order to seek the aid that his teammate Nora needed, he stumbled upon some sort of island just outside of the continent of Anima.

It was home to a rather large town that stood on the mountain of the island in question. The town in question seemed to hold some feeling of mystery to it, though it was rather unclear as to what secrets it held.

Once the duo met the woman known as Evie, she had led them to the top of the town to meet a group of Huntsmen that had taken station from within the town. It was rather unclear as to why they had chosen this town of all places to set up a station, though they would find out the secrets behind this town soon enough.

Meanwhile, the enemy has made their next move with there plans to obtain the Relics that were scattered throughout the world they lived in. Not to mention that they were seeking out the mysterious treasures known as the Blessings of Remnant.

It would be up to the Monk and Valkrie to put a stop to the plans that Otso had in store for the treasure that laid deep within the island. Though as of now, they had made their way towards the station a the very top of the mountain.

Once they had entered the station in question, they came face to face with the leader of the Huntsmen team known as Team Frontier. The intentions of the team have yet to be revealed, though the two decided that it would be in their best interest to seek their aid.

They would need all the help they could possibly get if they had any hopes to combat the threat that was in the Kingdom of Mistral. The two Huntsmen in Training stood across at the entrance to the room as they faced the leader of Team Frontier, Fernando.

As for the room in question, there were various maps and treasures that were scattered throughout the main office of the station. There were also various books on the shelves on the sides of the room, each book telling of the respective land of each kingdom.

"So, you're the kids that Evie brought in, that right?" Fernando asked the duo.

"Indeed we are. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Lie Ren." Ren said as he took a bow.

"The names Nora Valkyrie!" Nora said to the man.

"Pleasure to meet ya." He said to the duo.

"I must say, we were not expecting to meet a team of Huntsmen who have set up station in this town." Ren said. "Speaking of which, what made you decide to set up station on this island in the first place?" He asked.

"Well, our team is a little different when you compare them to the other Huntsmen teams across the world." He said to the duo. "You see, it's the job of Team Frontier to map out the various lands that make our world." Fernando said.

"Every piece of land you see on the maps of Remnant were made and discovered by yours truly." The man said to the duo.

"Whoa! You mean you've been to the Badlands?!" Nora asked. "I thought that continent was only reserved for super strong teams of Huntsmen." She said to the man with stars in her eyes.

"I wouldn't recommend it. Strange things can happen on that island." He said to the duo.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Nora asked.

"They're out on the island doing some of the work we do here." The Huntsmen said to the duo. "Don't worry, you'll meet them soon enough." He said to the duo.

"What kind of work do you and your team here?" Ren asked the man.

"You'll find out soon enough." Fernando said to the boy before turning his head towards him. "I'm sure you've already met Evie by now." He said to the duo.

"Ah, yes. She was the one who nursed Nora back to health. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards her." Ren said to the man.

"Is she part of your team? I mean, she seems pretty capable herself." Nora said to the man, causing him to chuckle to himself.

"While Evie may be able to hold her own in more than a few fights, she's not part of team Frontier herself." The Huntsmen said. "Though she does help us out from time to time when we have to look into the more...stranger series of events that happen on this island." He said.

"What kind of stranger events?" Nora asked.

"It's nothing that you kids should concern yourself with. You should just enjoy your youth while you still have it." The man said to the duo.

"Believe us, we've seen our fair share of the supernatural...as well as our fair share of tragedy." Ren said to the man.

"..." Fernando stood there in relative silence until he eventually spoke up. "Where did you kids say you came from again?" He asked the duo.

"From the once great kingdom of Vale." He said.

"Ah. Guess that explains it. Well, I suppose you two aren't exactly kids anymore now are ya?" The man asked the duo.

"Nope!" Nora said.

"Well...most of us." Ren said playfully.

"Hey!" She said as she lightly jabbed Ren in the arm.

"I'm joking." He said with a chuckle.

"So I'm sure you kids want to know why I called you up here in the first place, that right?" He asked.

"It is a question that has been at the back of our minds." Ren said.

"Well, you're Huntsmen in training, so that's a start." Fernando said as he stood from his desk.

"Do you need something that requires our field of expertise?" Ren asked the man.

"Something like that." He said as he took out some sort of map. "You kids said you were familiar with the supernatural, that right?" The Huntsman asked them as he took one of the books off of the shelves.

"We have had our fair share of the supernatural." Ren said to the man.

"Mind being a bit more specific?" He asked the Monk that stood before him.

"Well, I suppose it is just one Supernatural tale that holds a shred of truth to it. It is the Tale of the Twelve Spirits of the World." The Monk said, causing the man to blink a few times before dropping the book he had in his hands.

"Hold on. When you mean you were familiar with the Tale of the Spirits, what exactly do you mean by that?" Fernando asked the duo as he started to stare at there weapons.

The two noticed how he was inspecting there weapons and quickly dismissed his suspicions.

"No, we ourselves do not house one of the Spirits." Ren said to the man. "Though we do happen to know of one." He said to the man.

"Oh. You wouldn't happen to know where this friend of your is, would you?" Fernando asked.

"Unfortunately no. We have yet to reunite with him since the Fall of Vale." Ren said to the man.

"Damn. Well, sorry if he met an unfortunate fate at the Ruins of the Kingdom." He said to the duo.

"Thank you." He said to the man. "Though if you don't mind us asking, why the sudden curiosity with our knowledge of the Supernatural." Ren asked.

"Well the reason why the team and I placed a station on this mountain falls into the Supernatural category." The man said, causing the Monk and the Valkyrie to look at one another with confused expressions.

Meanwhile, from within the center of the large town was some sort of roadside diner that the citizens of the town went to so that they could meet with travelers or meet with friends.

One such person was the woman who had saved the life of the Valkyrie, Evie. She was currently sitting at one of the diners in question with a cup of iced tea in her hand. The streets were packed with various different kinds of people.

The woman in question was just having yet another good day from within the town she made her home in. Though as she continued to sip on her tea, she could feel someone sitting beside her.

"Would you mind if I took this seat?" The man asked, causing the woman to look up to see a rather large man standing above her.

"Oh! No, go ahead." Evie said as the man sat beside her. "Wait, aren't you that man I ran into just a while ago?" She asked the man that sat in the chair next to her own.

"Ah! Yes, I suppose I am. Allow me to formally introduce myself." The man said as he held out his hand. "My name is Otso. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said to the woman that sat beside him.

"Evie. Nice to meet you." The woman said as he shook the hand of the man. "So, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you a lost traveler?" Evie asked the man beside her.

"I suppose so. I am just a mere traveler who wants to the sights of the world. I must say, this place is quite fascinating." Otso said to the woman.

"Is that so? Well, you must be a pretty brave one if you're willing to face the dangers that surround our world." The woman said with a smile on her face, causing the man to scratch the back of his neck out of embarrassment.

"Oh, you flatter me." He said to the woman.

"So what brings you here?" Evie asked the man known as Otso.

"I suppose I'm here to rest for a bit before I continue on my journey." Otso said to the woman. "I must say, these people have been fairly hospitable since I arrived it. It's quite refreshing." He said.

"Well, you've sure picked a pretty interesting place to rest. This town's pretty strange when compared to the ones that surround the kingdoms." Evie said to the man.

"Speaking of which, I don't believe that this island is on the maps on any of the kingdoms. I don't mean to pry but you do happen to know why that may be?" Otso asked.

"Hmm. I'm not entirely sure. No one here in the town has really questioned it to be honest." Evie said to the man.

"Is that so? My, that is peculiar." He said as a cup was placed in front of him. The woman in question turned around to see that most of the town merchants were placing their items that they sold in secure boxes.

"Hmm, I wonder what everyone could be preparing for?" Otso asked.

Though before the man could question the woman about the behavior of the townsfolk, the ground beneath them started to rumble and shake. The Bear got up from his seat and raised his guard.

However, he noticed that the townsfolk were relatively unaffected by the sudden turn of events. They were still going about there day to day lives as if this was just the norm for them.

Meanwhile, both Ren and Nora were having fairly similar reactions to the rumbling of the ground beneath them, though the Huntsman that stood before them seemed relatively unaffected by the whole thing.

Though before the duo could question the man, the rumbling of the ground beneath them stopped, causing them to slightly ease up. Nora was the first one to turn towards the man to question him about the series of events.

"What just happened?!" Nora asked.

"Come with me. You're gonna want to see this." Fernando said as he started to walk towards the front door to his office. The duo looked at one another with rather confused expressions on there faces before they started to follow the man in question.

Once the duo looked around the lobby of the station to see how the outside world had reacted, they were surprised to see that everyone was still going about there day to day lives.

The people who ran the bar were placing the glass bottles they had back on the shelves from the box they had put them in. It was so strange, everyone was completely unphased by the whole series of events.

"What's going on here?" Nora whispered to Ren.

"I'm not sure. Though I believe that we are about to find out." Ren said to his partner.

However, once the duo actually walked out of the door, what they saw completely baffled them. They had seen there fair share of the Supernatural, though what they were seeing went beyond that.

The entire layout of the town was completely different, the town was in some sort of crater rather than on a mountain.

"Wha-?! How did-?! When did-?! What the hell is going on?!" Nora yelled.

"Yeah, this town isn't like the ones you'll see in the other kingdoms." The man said to the duo.

"How is this possible?" Ren asked, equally as bewildered as his partner.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story." He said to the duo. "It's part of the reason why I called you here. You kids already have a firm grasp on the concept of the Supernatural secrets that shroud our world." Fernando said to the duo.

Meanwhile, Otso was staring at the town from the newly formed crater with a look of complete shock on his face. He couldn't even utter a single word at the sight of the town that stood before him.

"Hmm, you haven't passed out from shock. Must see some pretty strange things out there." Evie said.

"My word. I don't believe I've seen anything like this! How did this happen?" Otso asked.

"It's something that happens here every month. On the first day of each month, the mountain that the town resides on will suddenly start to shift its structure and take on a new form." She said.

"We built the town so that it would be able to adapt to each new form it takes. It has a total of twelve forms, one for each month. After a year has passed, the mountain will reset it's cycle." Evie said.

"This is truly a sight to be held. In all my years of traveling, I have never seen something quite as wonderous as this." Otso said.

"Yeah, it can throw everyone for a loop the first time around." She said to the man.

Though before the man could respond to the woman, a strange figure started to make there way over towards the woman in question. The figure in question had a male like structure to him.

He wore some sort of brown hat with a strange red symbol attached to the right side of the hat. The hat in question covered up his black hair and his dark eyes. He wore some sort of attire that consisted of black, green, and red, with a hint of brown in it as well.

"Hmm? What is it?" Evie asked the man that was approaching her.

The man in question leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Once he had passed on the message, her eye's widened from pure shock.

"What?!" She asked as she chugged down the last of her tea and placed some lien on the counter. "Come on, there's no time to waste!" Evie said as she started to run back in the direction of her house, the man following in close pursuit.

"Hmm? Wonder what's got her so troubled." Otso said as he started to walk down the streets of the town. Though as he arrived in a more concealed part of the town, he let out a sigh before turning his head up to face someone.

"I know you're there, Lilith." He said, causing the woman to appear from the shadows of the building.

"You're just as sharp as ever." She said dryly as she started to look around the area of the town. "I gotta admit, wasn't expecting the town to suddenly take on an entierly different shape like that." Lilith said.

"Though I guess that should be expected. The Blessings to have that sort of effect on the environment around them." She said.

"I assume that you have successfully located the Blessing of Life?" Otso asked his comrade.

"Well, I located the entrance to the temple that leads to it." Lilith said to the man.

"I see. Then let us make haste to the entrance." He said as to the woman.

"Follow me." She said as she jumped up into the air and started to leap from building to building, Otso following close behind her with his bag strapped to his back.

"So let me see if I've got this whole thing boiled down." Nora said as the man finished telling the secrets that shrouded this mountain.

"There are these Blessings that were left by some all-powerful being, and each Blessing does something to help the world thrive like it does." Nora said.

"Pretty much." The Huntsman said.

"There are four of them as well. The Blessings of Water, Fire, Wind, and Life." Ren said.

"Right." He said.

"To top it all off, deep within the mountain lies the entrance that leads to the temple that holds the Relic of Life." Nora said. "Did we miss anything at all? Because this is really a lot to take in." She said.

"No, you pretty much got it all down." The man said.

"So each Blessing causes Supernatural phenomenon's to occur in the surrounding environment." Ren said as he pinched his chin.

"Yep. This is only one of the few things that can happen to the environment." Fernando said as he motioned his head towards the entire town.

Though before the duo could continue to question the man, the sounds of footsteps coming towards them broke them out of there daze and back into reality. The figure that was running towards had a feminine like structure.

The woman had black hair that was tied into a ponytail, though the hair in question looked rather strange. She had a pale complexion and dark eyes from what the duo could see.

She wore some sort of armored attire that consisted of black, grey, and beige. The armor in question was most noticeable around the woman's arms and legs.

"Boss!" She yelled as she ran over towards the man in a rather panicked tone.

"Mal! What's wrong?" The Huntsman asked the newly named Mal.

"Somethings wrong with the gateway!" Mal said

"What?! What do you mean something's wrong with it?!" He asked.

"I mean that someone managed to access it!" She said.

"Damn it! What of Brasil and Evie?!" Fernando asked.

"They're already making there way over to the house! We need to get moving!" Mal said.

"Right! You two! With me!" He said as he started to run towards with house with Mal in following close behind him.

The two looked at one another with rather confused expressions, though they decided that it was best to follow the duo. Once they had reached the house in question, they could clearly see that the house was the one that Nora had made her recovery in.

Evie's house.

"Wonder what's going on." Nora said as she and Ren walked into the house in question. Though once they did, they could see all the usual books and treasures that were there before, though the most noticeable thing was the strange table that was at the center of it all.

"Hmm? Oh, it's you two!" Evie said as she stared at Ren and Nora.

"You know them?" The man known as Brasil asked the woman.

"Yeah, they're the kids I took in when I came back to the island." She said.

"So, can someone please explain to us what's going on?!" Nora asked.

"..." The trio turned there heads towards Fernando, causing the man to sigh as he stood up from where he stood.

"Remember how I said that Evie helps us out with some of the more Supernatural jobs that we do around here?" He asked the duo, causing them to nod. "Well, one of those jobs is to guard the gateway that leads to the Blessing of Life." The Huntsman said.

"...What?!" The duo asked.

"Yeah, and right now it seems that the Blessing of Life is in danger. It's our job to make sure that whatever is threatening it is resolved." He said. "Though the question is, what exactly is threatening it?" The Huntsman asked.

"My my, isn't that the question of the day?" The voice of a woman said, causing everyone to get into there respective combat positions.

"Who's there?!" Fernando yelled.

Though before anyone could react, the front of the house leading to the living room burst open, causing everyone to shield themselves from the rubble. Once the dust had cleared, the man that Evie had met mere moments ago could be seen clear as day.

"You?!" Evie yelled as she stared at the man known as Otso.

"Terribly sorry to intrude like this. Though this is a necessary precaution that we must take." He said to the group.

"So I assume that you're the one who's after the Blessing of Life?" Brasil asked the man.

"Indeed I am, and I would like to avoid any unnecessary conflict." The man said to the duo.

"You've sure got an interesting way of showing it." Mal said.

"Well, this is a necessary measure that one has to take for the New World." He said.

Though before the duo could question the man any further, the gateway leading to the Blessing of Life suddenly opened, causing everyone to be blown backward's. In the blink of an eye, the woman known as Lilith jumped down from the roof and onto the floor of the house.

The woman turned towards Evie and chuckled before she jumped through the gateway in question.

"Damn it!" Mal said as she started to charge towards Otso, though Fernando quickly raised his hand to stop the woman in question. "Boss?" She asked.

"You worry about capturing that woman. I'll handle this one." He said as he started to walk towards Otso.

She looked at the man with a rather uncertain look before she nodded and ran towards the porta. "You two go with them. They'll need the extra set of hands while they're there. No matter what they cannot get to the Blessing of Life." He said.

"Right!" Nora said as she ran towards the gateway.

"Be careful." Ren said to the man as he followed his partner.

"Now if you believe that I will just let you go through that gateway then you are sorely mi-." Otso began, only for the Huntsman to dig his fist into the gut of the man, causing him to go flying out into the street.

"Move it!" He ordered, causing the group to nod as they jumped through the gateway. "Alright, here we go!" He said as he charged towards the man in question.

Otso growled as he stood from where he was standing and charged towards the man as well.

Meanwhile, the group had successfully managed to go through the gateway that led to the Ruins of the Blessing of Life. While Mal and Brasil had managed to land on the ground with relative ease, Nora and Ren had more of a rough landing.

"Ow." Nora groaned as she got up from the ground beneath her. Though once the two had actually managed to recover from the fall, they could see a rather large forest that surrounded the area.

The Forest in question stretched on for miles and the trees seemed to go up above the clouds. The tree's in question were letting off some strange aura that the trees in the other world didn't let off.

"Where are we?" Ren asked.

"The Ruins of the blessing of Life." Mal said as she started to walk through the ruins. "Come on, we need to hurry if we want to protect the Blessing." She said as she and Brasil started to jump from tree to tree.

While the duo still had questions for the two, they were able to push them to the back of there minds and started to follow the duo as they made their way through the forest.

* * *

It has only been a few days since the Fall of Ironwood was made public to the soldiers of the Atlesian army. The news devastated the soldiers from all branches alike, as well as a few who were acquainted with the man himself.

As such, a funeral would be held in his honor, to commemorate everything that the general had done for the good of the world they lived in. The Council would still honor the wishes of the general, keeping the borders of Atlas closed until the tension between kingdoms have died down.

The entire military of Atlas had gathered in front of the Huntsmen Academy to honor the man. Vladimir, the Generals right hand, was personally seeing to it that his coffin made it to the altar.

Glynda was also honored with standing at the altar as well, though very few trusted the former crime boss known as Roman Torchwick. As such, he was not allowed to attend the funeral in question.

The sounds of faint sobs could be heard from some of the students of the Acadamy as they watched the coffin move towards the altar in question. Penny and Ciel were also given the opportunity to stand at the altar.

Unfortunately, Penny's father could not make it to the ceremony in question. While the Android was rather suspicious of her father's actions, though she put her doubts to the back of her mind.

As the coffin was placed onto the stand of the altar, Vladimir turned towards the people who had attended the ceremony in question.

"First of all, I wish to thank anyone who took the time out of there day to come and honor our dear general." He said. "I wish to take time to honor the man that once led our kingdom to greatness." The man said.

"Today is a day of tragedy." He said to the crowd. "Today, a good man has left our world to join the comrades that once fell in battle." Vladimir said.

"He was a man that sparked the flames of hope into the hears of many, including myself." He said. "I'm sure that everyone who stands here can say the same." The Count said to the people.

"Everything he did, every action he took was for the good of the people of the world." Vladimir said to the crowd. "However, there are those who wish to strike that hope down from the hearts of others. To extinguish the flames that he had left behind." He said.

"The good man did his best to fight those oppressors, though such a battle proved to be too much for even him alone." The man said. "However, that does not mean that his dream dies with him." The count said.

"While he may be gone, the flames that he had left behind still rage on within the hearts of every man and woman here." He said. "I know that sorrow has struck you all when the news of the General's demise had reached our hearts." Vladimir said to the people that stood before him.

"Perhaps some saw him as a Beacon of Hope for those who did not have any. Some may see him as an opportunity to achieve greatness. Some may have even seen the great man as a friend." He said.

"Though no matter what your relationship was towards the general. The fact is, if the man had struck the feeling of hope in your heart, then his dream still lives on in each and every one of you." He said.

"If the people who wish to extinguish that hope from the hearts of our people, then it is our job to fight back against the ones who wish to destroy what the General has created." The Count said.

After a few moments of silence had passed, the Count could clearly see that the people of the Atlas Army, as well as the students of the Acadamy, were still struck with grief by the fall of the General.

"Those who wish to leave will be pardoned from there position of there rank." Vladimir said, causing everyone to murmur to themselves. "All those who wish to leave the path of a Huntsman are free to leave as well." He said.

"A man who surrenders to their fear of the enemy is a man no longer fit for the heat of combat." The Count said. "Those who have seen the horrors that have transpired at the Fall of Vale, or those who have seen their comrades butchered before their very eyes are pardoned." He said.

Once the offer was made, some of the soldiers and students of the Acadamy started to walk towards the exit of the kingdom. Though just before everyone could leave, the man spoke once again.

"Furthermore, those who wish for there loved ones, friends, or comrades to suffer the same fate as the people who have fallen at the Fall of Vale are pardoned as well." The Count said, causing everyone to stop in there tracks.

"..." The man stood there in silence as he stood before the ones who were about to abandon everything that the General stood for. It was only after a few moments of silence that the people who were about to leave started to walk back towards the altar once again,

"The only reason that every one of you stands here today is that of the sacrifices of the ones who fell before." Vladimir said. "It is because of there bravery, there will to defend the ones they loved." He said.

"Walking away now would not only make every sacrifice that the men who have seen the horrors of the world be in vain, but you would also be allowing those you love to experience the same horrors that the people of the once great kingdom of Vale have seen." He said.

"The Fall of the once great kingdom of Vale is a sin that all of mankind must bear." Vladimir said. "If the great kingdom of Atlas should fall, it would not be due to the actions of the ones who orchestrated the Fall of Vale, but the people within the kingdom itself." He said.

"So I implore you all! Do not die because of your own cowardice, but die by defending the people of our great kingdom!" He yelled.

After a few moments of silence had passed, one of the students of the Academy started to clap his hands. This caused various others to join in the applause that soon spread all throughout the area.

"We will win this war! Mark my words! We will not let those who wish to destroy what we have created succeed!" He yelled, causing the audience to cheer even louder than before.

After the time of hope had passed, everyone left the Acadamy feeling more inspired than ever before. All except for a few of those who had managed to see through the man's words.

Glynda Goodwitch, the former right hand of the headmaster of Beacon was walking towards the exit of the Acadamy with the remaining two members of Ironwoods secret service behind her.

"Are you alright Ms. Goodwitch?" Penny asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I suppose my mind is just clouded at the moment." Glynda said.

"What sort of troubles could be going through your mind?" She asked.

"Well, the man who had planned to move the plans of the late Professor Ozpin forwards has fallen, so I suppose that is the most of it." She said.

"I see." Penny said.

Though as the group started to walk into the main building where the Relic of Creation stood, they could hear the sound of whistling behind them, causing them to turn to face the former crime boss known as Roman Torchwhick.

"Well then, I suppose this puts a wrench in things." Roman said.

"Yes, I am well aware of our current predicament." Glynda growled.

"Oh, you are! Well, that's just lovely then. Then maybe you can tell us just what exactly we're supposed to do." He said to the witch.

"...We proceed as usual." She said.

"What?" Roman asked.

"While the General may be gone, the plan still remains. Winter has more than likely left the borders of Atlas safely and will soon arrive in the great kingdom of Mistral soon." Glynda said.

"For now, we must keep an eye on the right hand of the General." She said.

"You mean Count Vladimir?" Ciel asked the woman.

"Indeed. I have my suspicions of that man, though we cannot take make our next move until we have hard proof of his actions." Glynda said.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked, just as confused as her partner.

"Think about it kiddies. Don't you find it a little too convenient that the right hand of the General just so happens to be appointed to the highest rank in the military, as well as the headmaster of this academy only days after the previous headmaster kicked the bucket?" Roman asked.

"...Yes, I suppose that would raise suspicions." Ciel said.

"Which is why it is all the more important that we locate the Winter Maiden. Because as of right now we have lost access to the vault that leads to the Relic of Creation." She said to the group.

"I do not believe that the man knows of the power that slumbers under the desk of the former general, though we cannot rule out any of the possibilities." Glynda said to the group.

"So for now, we will continue to head the plan of the General. We will continue to ensure the safety of the Kingdom of Atlas and continue our search for the Winter Maiden." She said.

"That is all. You are all dismissed." She said as she started to walk towards the office that the general gave her.

"Hmm, the tides of this war have certainly taken a rather strange turn." Ciel said. "What do you make of it Ms. Polendina?" She asked as she turned towards her partner. Though once she did, she could see that she was walking towards the exit of the building.

"Ms. Polendina!" She yelled as she started to run towards the girl in question, causing her to turn to face her partner.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Please do not run off like that." Ciel said.

"Oh. Sorry about that." Penny said to her partner.

"Where are you going anyways?" She asked.

"I wish to go and speak with my father. There is something that has been on my mind for quite some time now." She said as she continued to walk towards the exit. Her partner was still rather confused, though she decided that it would be best to follow her partner to her father's laboratory.

* * *

The night quickly came to a close to welcome the day, and Weiss was well on her way to the great kingdom of Mistral in attempts to reunite herself with her dear sister. Along the way, they recently heard a distress call.

She wanted to go and aid the troubled ones, though the pilot quickly refused, saying that it would only increase there chances of being caught. Reluctantly, she pushed it to the back of her mind and drifted off into sleep.

Once she awoke, she could see that they were passing by the floating islands that were infused with the Gravity dust of the lands.

It was quite the sight to be held, though no one would make settlements or military outposts on them due to the swarm of Grimm that have plagued the area once the islands rose from the sea.

So they were normally blocked off by the military and local traders to prevent the people of Remnant from meeting a rather unfortunate fate. Though there were some that would rather brave enough to attempt to pass through this plain of territory.

Though there was a rather fine line between bravery and stupidity, where the former Heiress fell into would be up to fate itself. Though she was still rather curious as to why the pilot took this route of all places.

So she decided to move towards the cockpit to confront the man about it. Once the arrived at the front of the cargo ship, she wasted no time to question the man.

"Where are we?" Weiss asked.

"Nowhere good." He said. "Passing by some of Lake Matsu's floating islands." The pilot said.

"The Gravity Dust that forms in these things is giving us a little turbulence. Nothing I can't handle, but the islands sometime hide some nasty Grimm." He said.

Though the two failed to notice a Mistral airship moving towards them at an alarmingly fast velocity. The entire ship was engulfed in flames, implying that this was the ship that sent out the distress call.

"I'm just betting on our friends in distress keeping them preoccupied." He said.

Weiss was about to quickly say something about the man's actions, though she was quickly cut off by the sight of the ship heading straight towards them.

"Look out!" She called out, causing the pilot to turn his head to face the ship. Acting quickly, the pilot was able to maneuver the ship over the crashing aircraft, causing the ship in question to crash into one of the islands.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He said as he turned the distress call on once again.

 **"By the gods, we lost Percy! Help!"** One of the pilots cried out.

The duo quickly turned around to see another ship attempting to escape from a horde of Lancers. Unfortunately, the Lancers in question were able to latch their stingers onto the ship, causing it to stop dead in it's tracks.

 **"We're hooked! We're hooked!"** The woman cried out in a fit of panic. **"Everyone, abandon ship!"** She yelled. Though the pilot failed to notice the Grimm flying above the ship.

The Grimm in question charged towards the aircraft and pierced through it, causing it to explode in a burst of fire. Unfortunately for the duo, the Grimm turned around to face the ship before charging towards it.

The pilot growled and gripped onto one of the levers on the console. "Lancers, freaking' Lancers!" He said as he prepared to speed the ship up. "Alright buckle up! He said as he turned to face Weiss, though was surprised to see the girl moving down towards the cargo of the ship.

"Huh?" He asked as he flipped the intercom on. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"What we should've done in the first place!" She yelled as she prepared for battle. 'You're carrying Dust, right?" Weiss asked.

"Officially, no." The pilot said. "Actually, yes." He said.

Weiss nodded and proceeded to open up the various crates that were in the cargo area. Sure enough, there were pounds upon pounds of dust that she could use to her advantage.

"Then when I tell you, open the rear door!" Weiss yelled as she started to load dust into her rapier. Though once she was finished loading all of the dust into her rapier, she stumbled to the side a bit due to the pilot making a sudden turn.

"Better make it quick!" He said as he attempted to shake off the beasts that were tailing them.

He was able to narrowly dodge a few of there attacks, though the last one grazed the ship. "Kid! We're cutting close!" He yelled.

"Ready!" Weiss yelled as she summoned one of her gravity Glyphs. Sure enough, the pilot opened the doors to give Weiss an opportunity to strike. The former Heiress swung her blade to create a gust of wind with the Wind Dust she had.

She quickly switched over to fire and started to shoot various fireballs at the oncoming beasts. Seeing an opportunity to shake their pursuers off, the pilot let out a laugh from the cockpit.

"Ha ha! Hold on!" He yelled as she moved towards some of the rocks in the air.

Weiss smirked and summoned another set of Glyphs to shoot at the bugs in question, causing a few of them to freeze in the air. Though before she could fire more attacks at the beasts, the aircraft shook a bit.

"What _was_ that?!" Weiss asked.

"We're hooked!" The pilot yelled as various stingers started to make there way into the craft. The pilot attempted to shake them off, though soon saw an opportunity to rid them of both problems.

"I got an idea! Hold on!" He yelled as pushed the lever forwards. "Literally!" He yelled.

The pilot was coming dangerously close to hitting the piece of land that was in the air, though he was able to push downwards, causing the craft to move up, causing some of the beasts to slam into the land.

"Ha ha!" He laughed victoriously.

"Can you find a pair of islands we can fit between?" Weiss asked.

"Kid, you are reading my mind!" He yelled as he moved towards the island. Once they were between the rocks, Weiss summoned her fire Glyphs and started to shoot various fireballs at the pieces of land between her.

This caused pieces of rubble to fall onto the beasts, allowing them to escape.

"Yeah! Great going, kid! We are in the clear." The pilot yelled.

"Heh-heh." She giggled.

Though before she could settle down, the sound of a fairly loud buzzing noise could be heard from the distance. Weiss looked up to see a rather large Lancer trailing them from behind.

"It's a Queen Lancer!" She yelled.

"What?!" The pilot asked.

Weiss wasted no time to summon her glyphs and fire each one at the Lancer in question, though each one had little to no effect. The beast in question started to fire various needles at the girl, causing her to create a barrier around herself.

Though unfortunately, a few of the needles managed to hit the engine of the ship.

"Do something!" The pilot yelled as he attempted to fix the issue.

Weiss turned around and shot herself towards the cargo, cutting the rope that was holding it together. She summoned a few of her wind Glyphs and shot the cargo at the Queen Lancer.

In quick succession, she used her semblance to detonate the dust as they made contact with the Queen Lancer. Though unfortunately, the blast only angered the beast even more.

"I can see the shoreline!" He said. "Gods, we're not gonna make it!" He yelled in a fit of panic.

In one last effort to kill the beast, Weiss summoned her familiar to her side. Once the knight was summoned, the former Heiress shouted up to the pilot.

"Pull up!" She yelled, causing the pilot to maneuver the ship to the girls liking. The knight quickly ran out of the ship and started to fall towards the Queen Lancer. Though before it could make contact, it disappeared and suddenly appeared behind the beast.

It started to slash and stab at the beast before it eventually landed the final killing blow, though not before the beast landed a solid blow on one of the wings of the ship. The Heiress attempted to use some of her Glyphs to slow the crash of the ship, though it was no use.

The ship eventually crashed into the earth of the continent of Anima, causing Weiss to blackout.

* * *

Jaune stood before his father with a rather surprised expression on his face. It had been a whole year since the boy had seen his father last, and with the circumstances he left him with, he doubted that he was pleased to see him.

He did take forged transcripts in order to get into the Academy of the once great kingdom of Vale. It wasn't exactly something that brought honor to the name of the Arc's, let alone their family in general.

Sure they let him leave, though they were less than pleased with how he was going about achieving his dreams. Some were less than supportive of this method, most notably Jaune's eldest sister.

Though the Blonde Huntsmen knew the consequences that would follow when he took those forged transcripts, as well as the consequences if the headmaster of the Acadamy found out.

Now he would have to face the family he left behind all those months ago, not just as a boy anymore, but as the man he became during his time at the Acadamy.

"Jaune." Joan said sternly.

"Dad." He said back to his father in a rather nervous tone.

Everyone in the family, including Pyrrha, could feel the tension in the air that surrounded the two.

"It's...been awhile." Jaune said.

"Sure has." Joan said.

"How...how have you been?" He asked.

"All things considered? I've been rather well." He said.

"Well...that's good." Jaune said.

"You've been rather busy." Joan said to his son.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." He said.

"You know, when your mother and I heard that the kingdom of Vale had fallen to the ground, she nearly passed out due to shock." He said. "Though naturally, she knew that you would be alive somehow." Joan said.

"So...you know about that." Jaune said.

"Your sister June filled us in on everything about your time at Beacon up until now." He said.

"Oh." He said, already knowing what was coming.

"I gotta hand it to you." Joan said as he moved in a little closed to his son. He raised his hand and slapped him on the back rather playfully, catching the Blonde Knight off guard and causing him to stumble forward a bit.

"You've grown into one hell of a warrior!" He said.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"I knew that letting you go off to Beacon was the right call, even with your mother's objections." Joan said.

"Really?" He asked.

"Really! I mean, look at ya! You're hardly recognizable from what you were before!" He said. "I see you've been taking good care of that sword. Good on you boy, I knew that blade would come in handy." Joan said.

"Y-You're not mad?" Jaune asked.

"Mad?! Of course I'm not mad! I'm filled with pride to see my boy grow into a fine warrior!" He said.

"Really?" He asked.

"I mean, not only were you able to go toe to toe with a Nuckelavee, your semblance lets you control the damn plants!" Joan said with a full-hearted laugh in his voice.

"Dad." June said to her father.

"What is it, June?" He asked.

"I never told mom about the Nuckelavee part." She said.

"...Ah." Joan said as he stared at his wife's rather horrified expression. "Now honey, I know that may sound bad on paper. But you have to realize that our boy isn't just some little kid anymore. He's a grown man who's able to take on anything the world throws at-." He began, only for his wife to push him out of the way with relative ease.

"Whew." Clair whistled at the display of strength.

"You fought a what?!" She asked as she grasped both her son's arms tightly.

"M-Mom!" Jaune squealed as he could feel his arms starting to break.

"What in the world were you thinking when you were face to face with a beast like that?!" Jean yelled.

"Well, I-." He began.

"I know that you had become stronger, but fighting a beast like that is just suicide!" She yelled.

"But I-." Jaune began.

"What was even going through your mind when that beast stared into your eyes?" Jean asked.

"...It killed my friend's parents." He said.

"...Oh." She said.

"I know it was suicide. I...I don't even know if one of my friends is even going to survive." Jaune said. "But that thing needed to pay for all the lives it took. I...I couldn't just sit back and know that it would only hurt more people." He said.

"Not when I could do something about it." Jaune said.

"...Well, when you put it like that, I'm glad that you did something about it." Jean said. "Now, moving to a more light-hearted subject, why don't you tell me about your girlfriend over there?" She asked as she pointed at Pyrrha.

"...Wait, what?" He asked as Pyrrha turned red as her the hair on her head.

"H-huh?!" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh don't be coy with me. I know that during your time at the Acadamy that you had to at least set your eyes on someone." Jean said as she turned towards Pyrrha. "Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all." She said as she leaned in closer to the girl.

"What's your name, young lady?" Jean asked.

"P-Pyrrha Nikos." She stammered out.

"Jean Arc. A pleasure." She said as she held out her hand.

"I-Indeed." She said as she gripped the hand of the woman.

"Well, I suppose I should introduce you to the rest of the family." Jean said as she turned towards Jaune's various sisters.

"You've already met my daughter, June Arc." She said as she turned towards the girl in question.

"Sup." She said as she waved at the girl.

"This is the eldest daughter of our family, Noel." Jean said as turned towards the newly named Noel.

"A pleasure." She said.

"This is the second eldest one of our family, Trinity." She said as she turned towards the newly named Trinity.

"Hello there." Trinity said.

"This here is Pipper, she's only a year younger than our dear Jaune and June." Jean said as she turned towards Pipper.

"Greetings." She said.

"This here is Valentina." She said as she turned towards Valentina.

"How long have you two been dating?" She asked.

"W-what?!" She asked.

"Dear! What have I told you about prying into other people's love lives?" Jean asked.

"Not to?" Valentina asked.

"That's right." She said. "Anyways, this here is Octavia." Jean said.

"Uh...hey." She said.

"Hello again." Pyrrha said.

"...Right." Octavia said.

"Don't mind her. She's just not good with social situations." She said. "Finally, we have the youngest of the bunch, Odelia." Jean said as she turned to face her daughter. Though she was surprised to see that her daughter was nowhere to be found.

"Odelia?" She asked as she looked around.

"Under your leg, mother." Pipper said as she pointed at the youngest. For some reason, the young girl was glaring daggers at the Spartan girl, causing her to get very uncomfortable.

"Um, hello there." Pyrrha said though the only response the young girl gave was to spit at the girl's feet, surprising the older brother immensely.

"Odelia! What do you think you're doing?!" Jaune asked.

"Big brother!" She yelled as she wrapped her little arms around the leg of her brother. "I missed you so much!" Odelia said.

"I missed you to. Though why did you just do that to my friend?" Jaune asked.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked as she gave the boy her best puppy dog eye's she could muster.

"...Oh, I can't stay mad at that face." He said as he scooped his little sister up in his arms. Though as the girl stared at Pyrrha over the boys shoulder, she gave Pyrrha another glare and mothed the worlds "I'm watching you." To her.

"Now then, now that we've gotten everyone introduced, I've got to ask you Jaune." His father said as he walked towards the boy.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Did you really see one of the twelve Spirit User's?" Joan asked.

"Oh! Yeah, I sure did." Jaune said with a smile on his face.

"You're not gonna believe this dad. But the woman right there is actually one of the Twelve Spirit users!" June said as she pointed at Clair.

"June! That was supposed to be a secret!" He said.

"...Oh. Sorry." She said.

"Really now?" Joan asked as he turned towards Clair. "Doesn't really look like the fighting type." He said.

"Now why would you think that?" She asked as she suddenly appeared behind the man.

"..." The man merely started to dart his head at the area where he originally saw the woman and back where the woman actually was.

The various sisters had different reactions at the speed of the woman.

Noel and Trinity stared at the woman with rather surprised expressions on there faces, Pipper looked as if she were about to have a thought overload, Valentina stared at the woman with stars in her eyes, Octavia stared at her slack-jawed, while Odelia stared at her with a rather normal expression on her face.

"My, that's quite the display of speed there." Joan said as Clair quickly appeared behind the counter in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you." She said.

"Alright, it's settled then." He said as he took Jaune's blade from out of its sheath.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"This is a once in a lifetime chance that I'm looking at here." Joan said as he stared at the woman with a rather determined expression on his face. "Clair, was it?" He asked the woman.

"That's me." She said.

"Alright then, I hereby challenge you to a duel." Joan said as he pointed the blade at the woman.

"Huh? Dad, you can't be serious. I mean, I know you're strong and all but this is one of the Twelve Spirit user's your talking to here." Jaune said.

"All the more reason to challenge her." He said.

"A fight between dad and one of the Twelve Spirit Users! That sounds awesome!" June said.

"Hmm, I am rather curious to see what one of the Spirits are truly capable of." Noel said.

"As am I." Pipper said.

"Hmm, okay then." Clair said.

"Shall we then?" Joan asked as he started to move towards the door. The woman chuckled and followed the man out of the tavern, the rest of the family following close behind.

The duo looked at one another before they followed the rest of the group outside of the tavern.

* * *

Otso stumbled back a bit in attempts to regain his footing from the attack that Fernando had thrown at him. The man in question jumped out from the house and glared at the man.

The people of the town had walked outside from there houses to see what the commotion was about, though once they saw the Huntsman standing before the man, they decided that it would be best to stay out of harm's way.

"Now, that was quite rude, don't you think?" Otso asked.

"You're one to talk." He said. "So, I don't think that you just so happened to stumble upon our town here, that right?" Fernando asked.

"I would not take it in the personal matter. Though indeed, we have known that the Blessing of Life has resided her for quite some time now." Otso said as he dusted himself off.

"So how about you just tell me what you want, saves me the time of finding out for myself." He said.

"You will find out soon enough, good sir. Trust me, the actions we take are for the good of the New World." He said.

"You keep rambling on and on about this New World, though you've yet to actually explain what this New World is." Fernando said.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty. All we be made clear in time." Otso said.

"Yeah, I think things are pretty clear right now!" He yelled as he charged towards the man with his fist reeled backward's. Though what the man didn't expect was for the Bear to suddenly appear before him with his own fist reeled backward's.

The Huntsman growled and brought his arm up to block the attack. He roared and swung his fist at the Bear Faunus, though the man smirked and dodged the attack with some sort of split with his legs.

He slammed his raised foot onto the ground, causing the stone of the ground beneath them to crack. He was about to counter-attack, though Otso quickly appeared behind the man and kicked him away.

"Not bad." He said, though failed to see the man quickly appear behind him with some sort of mace in his hand. The man quickly turned around to block the attack, causing him to go flying through the town.

Otso was about to strike at the man once again, though he was able to block the attack. This time, he was able to land some solid hits on the man, causing the man to growl as he attempted to strike at him again.

He smirked and dodged the attack before delivering a swift uppercut to the jaw, causing him to stumble back a few feet. Otso was able to regain his footing, causing the man to see that the man was relatively unharmed.

The man cracked his knuckles before charging at the man once again. Though this time, the man didn't seem like he was getting ready to dodge, rather he was getting ready to do something else.

However, before he could, the man rammed his fist into the gut of the man and sent him flying across the town. Though rather than just crashing into the stone wall of the town, he bounced off of it like some sort of rubber ball.

"What the-?!" Fernando began, only for Otso to hit the man at full force, causing him to go flying through the town. Though before he could get up, the man dug his foot into the head of the man.

He growled and kicked the man in the back before getting up once again. The man started to bounce off of the walls before charging towards the man again, though this time the Huntsman was able to read his movements and dug his fist into the man's jaw.

As the man took his time to recover from the attack, his opponent took the time to strategies.

 _'Alright, he may be large, though he's fast for his size. Though from the looks of it, he needs a running start of at least a few yards to be at his top speeds. Though then there's that fat of his.'_ The Huntsman thought as Otso shook the dirt off of him.

 _'It's like rubber, so direct attacks won't really do much to him. My best bet is to use his speed and size against him, as well as aim for the parts that don't have as much fat.'_ He thought to himself.

"Tired already?" Otso aksed.

"No, I'm just getting started." Fernando said with a smirk.

"Very well then, the battle continues!" Otso said as he charged towards the man. Though what he wasn't expecting was for the man to charge at him in the same direction. With no time to react, he suffered yet another blow to the face of the man.

The man growled and attempted to strike at him once again, though he was able to start punching the man with relative ease. He finished his barrage of blows with a swift uppercut to the head.

The Bear flew up into the air, though he quickly slammed down to the ground as the ground beneath him started to crack. The man in question rushed towards the Bear Faunus and started to punch the man rapidly.

However, the man was able to dodge the attack and rammed his elbow into the man's head, causing him to move backward's a bit. The man growled and attempted to strike at the bear with his fist, though he was able to move to the side to dodge the attack.

The sheer force of the punch was enough to send a small shockwave throughout the town, though the man took the opportunity to punch the man across the town with his own fist.

"I gotta hand it to ya, you're not half bad." The man said as he dusted himself off.

"As are you." Otso said.

"Though I've been in this business long enough to know when someone is holding back." Fernando said to the man.

"Indeed. Though I suppose that statement can apply to the both of us." He said.

"Yeah, well I don't exactly have all my gear with me." He said.

"Indeed, and I would rather not use the gift her grace gave me until the time is right." Otso said.

"Her grace?" Fernando asked.

"You will find out soon enough." He said.

"Maybe so." He said as he got into some sort of combat position. "Though right now I've got other priorities to attend to!" Fernando said as he slammed his fist onto the ground and took a piece of the ground off from the stone beneath them.

With relative ease, the man threw the stone at Otso, causing the man to get ready to counter. He was able to catch the rock that was coming towards him, though this gave the man the opening he needed to make his way towards the gateway.

"Hmm, well this is troublesome." Otso said as the man made his way through the gate. "Well, no matter. It is only a matter of time before Lilith plants the Corruption from within the Blessing." He said as he stood from within the house.

"For now, I suppose I should report back to Watts. He is waiting for a report on the situation." Otso said as he pulled out some sort of orb. After a few moments of silence, the orb lit up, causing the picture of Watts to appear on the orb.

 _ **"Ah, Otso. I presume that your task was successful?"**_ The man asked.

"We ran into some complications, though Lilith is well on her way to the Temple of Life." He said.

 _ **"Excellent. Report back to Haven at once. We will discuss the next phase of the plan once you arrive."**_ Watts said.

"What of the location of the Spring Maiden?" Otso asked.

 _ **"That has been a rather...complicated task. Locating her has proven to be quite the challenge."**_ He said.

"I see." He said.

 _ **"Do not fret, dear Otso. It is only a matter of time before all the pieces fall into place."**_ Watts said.

"I have no doubt of that." Otso said.

 _ **"Very well, you are dismissed."**_ He said as the orb stopped glowing.

Once the man was gone, Otso sighed to himself before he placed the orb back into his bag. "I may not approve of such methods for attaining the New World, though I suppose sacrifice is necessary for change to occur." He said as he started to make his way towards the shore of the island.

* * *

 _ **From the looks of it, things have taken a rather unfortunate turn for our heroes. The enemy makes its next move on the Blessing of Life that was hidden deep within the mountain where Ren and Nora reside.**_

 ** _Evie was revealed to be the guardian of the Temple that holds the Blessing, while team Frontier is shown to aid her in the Supernatural events that happen all throughout Remnant._**

 ** _Meanwhile, it is revealed that Joeseph was the one who gave Clair her blade, as well as knew the previous user. Though what past could this man be hiding?_**

 ** _Only one way to find out._**

 ** _Review Responce._**

 _ **SpectreFanchin10: Well, only time will tell if he is truly friendly or not.**_

 _ **SPDefender:**_ ** _He's a spirit that took the form of a Dragon. He didn't look like that all his life._**

 ** _And yes, not all the Spirits have human-like appearances._**

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Creative.**_

 _ **Dovahkiin795: Maybe you are, maybe you're not. Only one way to find out.**_

 _ **A Random Commie: Because everything's a reference nowadays. No, if that is how you saw it, it was your own interpretation.**_

 _ **Dovahkiin795: He knows he's not a hero or a knight, nor does he want to be. He wants to be a hero by his own standards.**_

 _ **SMV Aria2: In what regard?**_

 _ **TheAnnoyingGuyNextDoor: They come out on Saturdays from now on.**_

 ** _Otso_**

 ** _Race: Faunus_**

 ** _Trait: Bear Ears._**

 ** _Weapon: Mace_**

 ** _Gender: Male_**

 ** _Height: 6'2"_**

 ** _Weight: 326 lbs_**

 ** _Age: 35_**

 ** _Outfit: Black, Brown, Green, Red._**

 ** _Handedness: Right_**

 ** _Complexion: Light_**

 ** _Hair Color: Black_**

 ** _Eye color: Hazel_**

 ** _Aura Color: White_**

 ** _Semblance: Thick Fat._**

 ** _Summary: Otso's semblance allows his fat to convert itself into a armor of some sorts. This allows him to shake off even the most fatal of blows, as well as ables him to move at speeds that would not be normal for someone his size._**

 ** _It also allows him to bounce around the open area like a " ball of some sorts._**

 ** _This also gives him an immunity to elements such as fire and ice._**

 ** _Destructive Power: E_**

 ** _Speed: E_**

 ** _Endurance: A_**

 ** _Precision: A_**

 ** _Potential A_**

 ** _Range: E_**

 ** _If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review._**

 ** _See you guys in the next update._**

 ** _Have a good one!_**


	80. A Long Awaited Return

_**After nearly months of waiting, the long-awaited reboot has officially been uploaded. The journey of our heroes will continue in the story known as "RWBY: New World Hope"**_

 _ **I hope to see all of you there to witness the new and hopefully improved version of a story you have all grown rather familiar too.**_

 _ **Anyways, Safe Travels and Happy Hunting!**_


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